The fourth year of the war had turned the European conflict into a world war. On the Eastern front, the counteroffensives of the Red Army had come to a halt. German soldiers were once again storming eastward. The targets were the Caucasus, Crimea, and finally Stalingrad. In the African theater, Erwin Rommel had re-entered the scene with the Panzer Group, later known as the Panzer Army Africa. His goal: the Nile. The air war over Germany and England entered its phase of total destruction with the infamous "Target Area Bombing," initiated by the first thousand-bomber raids. In the Pacific, Japan and America were engaged in a desperate struggle for victory. The defeats in Stalingrad and Africa were becoming apparent.