Although the West provided all the non-military assistance it could, many historians argue that the Allies could have launched an invasion of the continent sooner than June, 1944 . After a series of difficult battles in Italy and North Africa in 1942 and 1943, however, it is possible that they were afraid of being beaten by the still-tough German forces and losing their one chance to gain a foothold in Northern Europe. Whatever the reason, it was up to the Soviets to bear the brunt of the fighting on the continent until the Western Allies could invade.
Beginning in 1942, the USSR had ben successful in stopping the Nazi advance, and had actually begun to move westward. By early 1944, the Soviets had retaken Ukraine and Belarus, and had even gotten a foothold in northeast Estonia. With the Allied invasion on June 6, Germany was forced to fight on two fronts, thus weakening its defenses in the East. By then it was just a matter of time--the Russians could not be stopped until they met their erstwhile allies further west. Everything in their path would fall under their domination, including Poland.
The Nazis were beaten, which the West had hoped to achieve. But Poland would again be ruled by a powerful neighbor, this time for over 40 years. While the Western Allies had gone to war to keep Poland free, they in the end were unable to do so. The Soviet Union, with its gigantic Red Army and the desire to get revenge for the German aggression that almost destroyed the USSR, was so powerful and well-placed that no one--even the victorious West--could stop it.
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