The Eastern Front of World War II was a theater of war between the European Axis powers and their ally Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and several other Allies, spanning Northern, Southern, and Eastern Europe from June 22, 1941, to May 9, 1945. Depending on the country, the front was known by many different names, particularly the Great Patriotic War in the former Soviet Union, while in Germany it was known as the Eastern Front, the Eastern Campaign, or the Russian Campaign.