Germany’s problems wouldn’t have disappeared. Here's What You Need To Remember: World War II destroyed Germany and Japan as great powers. The UK and France were left a shadow of their former selves. The USSR and the United States both emerged as formidable military powers with footholds in Europe and Asia. Legend has it that on September 28, 1918, a wounded Private Adolf Hitler lay in the sights of Henry Tandey, a British soldier who would receive the Victoria Cross for his daring actions in engagement in Marcoing, France. Tandey supposedly took pity on the limping German soldier, who nodded in gratitude and made his escape.