Polish soldiers fought under their own flag but under the command of the British military. They were major contributors to the Allies in the theatre of war west of Germany and in the theatre of war east of Germany, with the Soviet Union. The Polish armed forces in the West created after the fall of Poland played minor roles in the Battle of France, and larger ones in the Italian and North African Campaigns. The Soviet Union recognized the London-based government at first. But it broke diplomatic relations after the Katyn massacre of Polish nationals was revealed. In 1943, the Soviet Union organized the Polish People's Army under Zygmunt Berling, around which it constructed the post-war successor state People's Republic of Poland. The Polish People's Army formed in USSR took part in a number of battles of the Eastern Front, including the Battle of Berlin, the closing battle of the European theater of war.