German-held Normandy was invaded on 6 June 1944 ("D-Day") by the Westen Allies, opening the "second front" against Germany.2 Hedgerows aided the defender, and for months the Allies measured progress in hundreds of yards. An Allied breakout was effected at St.-Lô, and the most powerful German force in France, the Seventh Army was destroyed in the Falaise pocket while counterattacking. The French Riviera was invaded by Allied forces stationed in Italy on 15 August, and linked up with forces from Normandy. Paris was captured by the Allies on 25 August.
Shortly after Allied landings at Normandy, on 9 June, the Soviet Union began an offensive on the Karelian Isthmus, that after three months would force Nazi Germany's co-belligerent Finland to an armistice. Operation Bagration, a Soviet offensive involving 2.5 million men and 6,000 tanks, was launched on 22 June, destroying the German Army Group Centre and taking 350,000 prisoners. By early 1944, the Red Army had reached the border of Poland and lifted the Siege of Leningrad.
Romania surrendered in August of 1944 and Bulgaria in September. British forces attempted a fast advance into Germany with Operation Market Garden in September, but were repulsed. The Warsaw Uprising was fought between 1 August and 2 October. Germany withdrew from the Balkans and held Hungary until February 1945.
In December of 1944, the German Army made its last major offensive in the West, attempting to capture the vital port of Antwerp and cripple the Allies in the Battle of the Bulge. The offensive was defeated. By now, the Soviets had reached the eastern borders of pre-war Germany.