The Great Patriotic War

The Great Patriotic War is the war of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics against Nazi Germany and its European allies (Hungary, Italy, Romania, Slovakia, Finland, Croatia), which began with the invasion of Soviet territory and ended with the liberation of Central and Eastern European countries from fascism; a major part of World War II, which ended with the victory of the Red Army and the unconditional surrender of the German armed forces. In Western countries it is referred to as the "Eastern Front", in Germany - also as the "German-Soviet War".