In this look at the 20th century's most crucial conflict, historian P.M.H. Bell analyses twelve unique turning points that determined the character and the ultimate outcome of the Second World War.

Hitler's triumph : the collapse of France, May-June 1940 -- 'Finest hour' : the Battle of Britain, July-September 1940 -- Operation Barbarossa : the German attack on the Soviet Union, 1941 -- Pearl Harbor, December 1941 : the war becomes a World War -- The battle of Midway, 4 June 1942 -- The battle of Stalingrad, July 1942-February 1943 -- Convoys and wolf packs : decision in the Atlantic, March-May, 1943 -- 'The proper application of overwhelming force' : the battle of the factories -- The Teheran Conference, 28 November-1 December 1943 : turning point for the Grand Alliance -- D-Day and the Battle of Normandy, June-July 1944 -- 'A fateful conference' : Yalta, 4-11 February 1945 -- The defeat of Japan and the atomic bombs, 1945.