Victory at Sea: Across the globe the war rages

Mediterranean Mosaic: The British presence in and around the Mediterranean Sea was a constant thorn in the side of Hitler's expansionist vision. Occupation of Malta and Gibraltar and a large naval fleet insured an ever ready and formidable force that proved an insurmountable object for the Axis Powers.

Guadalcanal: The 90 square miles of steaming jungle that constitute the island of Guadalcanal was the scene of some of the most fierce, dogged and brutal fighting of the Second World War. The previously innocuous island became the epicentre of a war within a war as Allied Forces began to drive the Japanese out of the Solomon Islands.

Rings Around Rabaul: Following its early successes, the forces of Imperial Japan swept almost unhindered through the South East Pacific. Rabaul was selected as a strategic springboard and was quickly reinforced with thousands of Japanese men and machines. If the Allies were to gain control of the region, Rabaul would have to be taken.

Mare Nostrum: "Mare Nostrum" was the Roman name for the Mediterranean Sea adopted by Mussolini to explain his vision of Italian domination and the reestablishment of a Roman Empire. Even with immense German assistance in Europe and Africa, the cold realities of war and the determination of those he sort to dictate ended any such dream and spelt the end for Il Duce