1944

1944 was a pivotal year in World War II, marked by large-scale Allied offensives on European and Pacific fronts and by decisions that shaped the war’s final phases. The year also featured sustained civilian suffering under occupation regimes and continued persecution associated with the Holocaust and other wartime atrocities.

In Europe, the Allied invasion of Normandy began on June 6, 1944, establishing a Western Front and allowing a breakout into France. Paris was liberated on August 25, and Allied forces pushed toward Belgium and the Low Countries. In the east, the Soviet Union launched Operation Bagration (June–August 1944), destroying much of German Army Group Centre and accelerating the Soviet advance. In Italy, Rome fell to Allied forces in June, after a protracted campaign that included the battles at Monte Cassino earlier in the year. The Warsaw Uprising lasted from August to October 1944. The Battle of the Bulge, Germany's last major offensive on the Western Front, began in December 1944 and continued into 1945.

In the Pacific, Allied forces pursued a strategy of island hopping, with notable successes such as the capture of Saipan in July 1944. The Battle of the Philippine Sea in June effectively neutralized much of the Japanese fleet, while the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October secured Allied control of sea routes. The Mariana and Palau Islands campaign provided bases for further operations against Japan, and Peleliu (September–November 1944) formed part of that phase.

By the end of 1944, Allied strength and strategic positioning had shifted the balance toward victory in Europe and the Pacific. The year underscored the global scale of the war and the widening set of operations that would culminate in 1945.