the fact that Soviet forces had fought against impossible odds and had won in the end. Stalin and the Soviets faced Hitler more boldly than the Western allies had. This was shown by how the Soviets sacrificed nearly everything in the war while Britain and the United States were very hesitant about opening up a second front-which happened nearly two years after Germany invaded Russia when the allies invaded Italy. The delaying in opening up the second front in Europe led Stalin to believe that his Western allies wanted Russia to win, but that they wanted the victory to be as costly for the Soviets as possible. When the leaders of the Soviet Union, the United States, and Great Britain-Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill met in Yalta in February of 1945 there was a great deal of rivalry and resentment between the western allies. Stalin refused to give up any of the territory that the Soviet Union had conquered from Germany. The three allies did agree on how Germany was to be split up. The Soviet Union would receive the eastern half while Britain, France, and the U.S. would split up the west. The allies agreed to have a trial for Nazi war criminals as well as determine what reparation Germany owed and to what countries. The meeting at Yalta was the last meeting between the leaders of the three major allies; and its outcome was the Cold War, which lasted for over 40 years. During this time the former allies were split, and instead of in World War II where fascism was seen as the common enemy, capitalism and communism became enemies. The Battle of Stalingrad was fought from August 1942 to February of 1943. Over two million soldiers died in this battle, most of who were Soviets. The battle ended the German invasion of the Soviet Union-this began the Soviet counter offensive, which would eventually capture Berlin in 1945. The early part of World War II focused on Western Europe, but by 1941 Hitler was ready to invade the Soviet Union. ...
