World War II was a true clash of civilizations not seen since the Islamic Conquest and the resulting Crusades. Japan and China fought a genocidal war in the east that would have no victor. And Germany executed millions of civilians behind lightning attacks that shattered the remnants of the old world in the west. The war wreaked unparalleled destruction and it would take unparalleled destruction to end it. It was a war of survival that far too many people did not survive.