With Eisenhower and Patton restoring the Allied front alongside the 101st Airborne Division, Allies claimed victory in the Battle of the Bulge on Jan. 25, 1945. As the Allies made advances from the west and the Soviet forces closed in from the east, Nazi Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945, marking VE Day.
As the war unfolded in Europe, U.S. Marines made an amphibious landing at the Japanese island of Iwo Jima on Feb. 19, 1945. The island was considered a tactical staging point for a possible invasion of mainland Japan. Just four days into the battle, Mount Suribachi was captured by U.S. Marines. Battles continued across the island until March 25, 1945, when Tadamichi Kuribayashi, a Japanese general, launched his final attack. After American forces declared the capture of Iwo Jima, soldiers spent weeks searching the island for Japanese troops who refused to surrender.