By the end of '43 the tides of this brutal war slowly began to shift in the favor of the allies. By mid '44, the liberation of France was underway. It was during this time that reports began to surface about whole squads of Nazi SS troops found dead, having been brutally beaten and hung by their necks in the forests of Germany and France. It was a horrific nail in the coffin of Hitler's Reich.
Vanguard 13, believed to have died during an investigation into a weapons smuggling ring in Shore City (see news article), remained undercover throughout the rest of the war; aiding the troops mostly on the European front. Other Vanguard teams fought in Africa, Italy and in Asia. Some groups survived but many were put out of commission.
By June of '45 the Nazi's were defeated, the full horror of their bloody reign only beginning to come to light. Two months later the first Atomic Bombs were dropped on Japan bringing an end to the second World War and opening the doors to the Atomic Age.Evidence recovered by Vanguard 13 and Automaton shows that Hitler and the Nazi's may have had otherworldly allies aiding them at least in the beginnings of the war. When Nazi war criminals were interrogated, not much was discovered about these mysterious allies but one word came to light; The Mogul.
With the War To End All Wars over and the Cold War having begun, the US government brought the remaining Vanguard groups out of the public spotlight and had them working undercover against the Reds and other more sinister enemies. Superheroes were somewhat forgotten during America's prosperous years after the war as most just wanted to forget the bloody fighting of the 1940's. But with the dawn of the 1960's and the assassination of President Kennedy, the innocence of those years were abruptly brought to an end and a new Silver Age had begun!
