He did a better-than-average job in the worse-than-average war with Finland ... as Chief of Staff in February 1941 was one of the earliest indications that Russia did not trust the Germans ...

For to them, Alexander Pokryshkin is one of the war’s top air heroes ... fight for the control of Russia’s skies, contributed much to this year’s victories. In 1941, German bombers droned ...

not least that of the USSR and Great Britain in World War Two. The invasion of Russia by Nazi Germany in 1941 shattered their formerly expedient pact and sent the USSR into the arms of the West.

Britain declared war two days later, on 3 September. In June 1941, Hitler invaded Russia and in December 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the USA into the war. The war became a ...