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<!--This is a very long article. If you have more information regarding World War II, please consider adding it to one of the articles referenced by this article that deal with specific areas of World War II rather than to this article.-->
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'''World War II''', also known as the '''Second World War''', was a mid-20th-century conflict that engulfed much of the globe and is generally considered the most costly and intense [[war]] in [[human history]].
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The war was fought between the [[Axis Powers]], which was formed by the countries Germany, Japan and Italy, and the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]]. Fighting occurred across the [[Second Battle of the Atlantic|Atlantic Ocean]], in [[European Theatre of World War II|Western and Eastern Europe]], in the [[Battle of the Mediterranean|Mediterranean Sea]], [[African Theatres of World War II|Africa]], the [[Middle East Theatre of World War II|Middle East]], in the [[Pacific War|Pacific and South East Asia]], and it continued in China. In Europe, the war ended with the surrender of Germany on [[8 May]] [[1945]] ([[Victory in Europe Day|V-E]] and [[Victory Day|Victory]] Days), but continued in Asia until [[Japanese Instrument of Surrender|Japan surrendered]] on [[15 August]] [[1945]] ([[V-J Day]]).
About 50 million people [[World War II casualties|died as a result of the war]], this includes acts of genocide such as [[the Holocaust]] and General [[Ishii Shiro]]'s [[Unit 731]] experiments in [[Pingfan]], incredibly bloody battles in Europe and the Pacific Ocean, and the atomic bombings of [[
Post–World War II Europe was partitioned into [[Western world|Western]] and [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Sphere of influence|spheres of influence]], the former undergoing economic reconstruction under the [[Marshall Plan]] and the latter becoming satellite states of the Soviet Union. This partition was, however, informal; rather than coming to terms about the spheres of influence, the relationship between the victors steadily deteriorated, and the military lines of demarcation finally became the [[de facto]] country boundaries. Western Europe largely aligned as [[NATO]], and Eastern Europe largely as the [[Warsaw pact]] countries, alliances which were fundamental to the ensuing [[Cold War]]. In Asia, the United States' military occupation of Japan led to its democratisation. China's civil war continued through and after the war, resulting eventually in the establishment of the [[People's Republic of China]]. The war sparked a wave of independence for colonies of European powers, who were exhausted from fighting the war. There was a fundamental shift in power from Western Europe to the new superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, though there were few actual boundary changes.
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|groupA=[[Allies of World War II|Allies]]
|groupB=[[Axis Powers|Axis]]
|A1=[[
|A2=[[Military history of France during World War II|France]]
|A3=[[Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II|UK]] & [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]]
|A4=[[
|A5=[[Military history of China during World War II|China]]
|A6=[[Military history of Poland during World War II|Poland]]
|B1=[[Military history of Germany during World War II|Germany]]
|B2=[[
|B3=[[Military history of Italy during World War II|Italy]]
|B4=[[Romania]]
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The belligerents of the Second World War are usually considered to belong to either of the two blocs: the '''[[Axis powers|Axis]]''' and the '''[[Allies of World War II|Allies]]'''. A number of smaller countries participated in the war, more or less voluntarily, on the side of the power that in their neighbourhood was the most influential. However, when judged by the death tolls of the various participants, it was largely a war between Germany and the USSR, who each suffered almost half the deaths (close to 30 million). Also, here, ideology played a much larger part (Nazism versus Communism). And the Nazis showed as much hatred towards [[Slavic peoples|Slav]]s as they did towards [[Jew]]s and other groups.
The Axis Powers consisted primarily of [[Military history of Germany during World War II|Germany]], [[Military history of Italy during World War II|Italy]], and [[
Just before the war broke out, the USSR and Germany signed the non-aggression [[Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact]], which, among other things, divided Eastern Europe into regions of influence. But Germany violated the pact when it [[Operation Barbarossa|attacked]] the USSR in [[1941]]. Similarly, the U.S. had the (much older) unilateral [[Monroe Doctrine]], which stated that Europe should not interfere in the Americas and in turn the U.S. would then not interfere in European affairs (including wars). But the U.S. was also forced to enter the war after first Japan and then Germany declared war on the U.S. and launched attacks on U.S. soil.
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[[Image:Bigthreetime.jpg|thumb|right|179px|The "Big Three" on the cover of [[Time (magazine)|TIME]] (May 14, 1945).]]
Among the Allied powers, the "'''Big Three'''" were the [[Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II|United Kingdom]], from [[September 3]] [[1939]]; the [[
Countries that attempted to remain [[neutral country|neutral]] in the conflict were often viewed with suspicion by the participants, and often pressured to make contributions to the most influential power in their neighbourhood. Sovereignty was often difficult to maintain as many countries that did not directly participate in the conflict nevertheless held vested interests in seeing a particular side prevail. For example, neutral Switzerland was generally considered to be "Allied-friendly", while neutral Spain was considered "Axis-friendly", despite the fact that neither country openly proclaimed any alliances. Such situations allowed neutral countries to become hotbeds of [[espionage]].
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'''''The Mediterranean:'''''
[[Greco-
On the other hand, the Italian declaration of war challenged the British supremacy of this sea, a supremacy hinged on Gibraltar, Malta and Alexandria. While Gibraltar was never under direct attack, Alexandria and to a deadlier degree Malta were hit repetitively by Axis attacks, the thrusts towards the Suez Canal for the former, and the 1940/42 Blitz for the latter, which made the island of Malta the heaviest bombed place on earth.
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[[Image:Ww2summarymapeurope.gif|thumb|right|300px|Overview map of World War II in Europe: Allies (green), Axis (pink) and Axis conquests (yellow)]]
[[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia's]] government succumbed to the pressure of Italy and Germany and signed the Tripartite Treaty on [[25 March]] [[1941]]. This was followed by anti-Axis demonstrations in the country and a [[coup]] which overthrew the government and replaced it with a pro-Allied one on [[27 March]] [[1941]]. Hitler's forces then invaded Greece and Yugoslavia on [[6 April]] [[1941]]. Hitler reluctantly sent forces to assist [[Mussolini]]'s forces in their attempt to capture Greece, principally to prevent a British build-up on Germany's strategic southern flank. With these new troops the Axis succeeded in driving the Greek forces back. British troops were diverted from North Africa to assist with the defence but failed to prevent Greece's capture. On [[20 May]] [[1941]], the [[Battle of Crete]] began when tens of thousands of elite German [[paratrooper]]s and some 1,300 aeroplanes launched a massive airborne invasion of the Greek island of Crete. Crete was defended by an ill-equipped group of about 43,000 Greek, New Zealand, Australian and British troops. The Germans attacked the island simultaneously on the three airfields. Their invasion on two of the airfields failed miserably, but they successfully captured one, which allowed them to reinforce their position by landing reinforcements. After a week it was decided that so many German troops had been flown in that there was no way to defeat them, and about 17,000 Commonwealth soldiers were evacuated. However, over 10,000 Greek and 500 Commonwealth troops remained at large and caused serious problems for the German occupiers over the next four years. So heavy were the German losses that the Germans never launched another airborne assault. General [[Kurt Student]] would later say, "Crete was the grave of the German parachutists". [[Operation Barbarossa]], the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the largest invasion in history, commenced on [[22 June]] [[1941]]. The "[[Great Patriotic War]]" ([[Russian language|Russian]]:
'''''The Mediterranean again:'''''
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''Main article: [[Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945)]]''
A war had begun in Asia years before World War II started in Europe. Japan had [[Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945)|invaded China]] in [[1931]]. By 1937, war had broken out as the Japanese sought control of China. Roosevelt signed an unpublished (secret) executive order in May 1940 allowing U.S. military personnel to resign from the service so that they could participate in a covert operation in China: the American Volunteer Group, also known as Chennault's [[Flying Tigers]]. Over a seven-month period, Chennault's [[Flying Tigers]] destroyed an estimated 600 Japanese aircraft, sunk numerous Japanese ships, and stalled the Japanese invasion of Burma. With the United States and other countries cutting exports to Japan, particularly fuel oil, Japan planned a [[attack on Pearl Harbor|strike on Pearl Harbor]] on Sunday, [[7 December]] [[1941]], to cripple the U.S. [[Pacific Fleet]] while consolidating oil fields in Southeast Asia. It is hard to determine whether the Japanese intended to release an advance declaration of war, however, as means of coordinating secret directives with public communication, particularly during a weekend in the U.S., were limited. Despite what warning signs remained, the attack on Pearl Harbor achieved military surprise and dealt severe damage to the American Fleet's [[battleship]]s, though the primary targets, [[aircraft carrier]]s, remained safely at sea. The next day, Japanese forces arrived at Hong Kong, which later led to the [[
'''''Asia: The United States enters the war'''''
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'''''The Mediterranean:'''''
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<!--Please do not add new info on Operation Torch here - consider placing it in the main article -->
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===1944: The beginning of the end===
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''Main articles: [[Battle of Normandy]], [[Operation Bagration]], [[Operation Market Garden]], [[Battle of the Bulge]]''
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The massive research and development demands of the war, including the [[Manhattan Project]]'s efforts to quickly develop the [[atomic bomb]], had a great impact on the scientific community, among other things creating a network of national laboratories in the United States. In addition, the pressing need for numerous time-critical calculations for various projects like [[Colossus computer|code-breaking]] and ballistics tables accentuated the need for the development of electronic computer technology. While the war stimulated many technologies, such as radio and [[radar]] development, it retarded related yet non-critical fields such as television in the major powers.
The [[
Military technology progressed at rapid pace, and over six years there was a disorientating rate of change in combat in everything from aircraft to small arms. The best [[List of jet aircraft of World War II|jet fighters]] at the end of the war easily outflew any of the leading aircraft of 1939, such as the [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfire Mark I]]. However, despite their technological edge, German jets were overwhelmed by Allied air superiority, frequently being destroyed on or near the airstrip. Other jet aircraft, such as the British [[Gloster Meteor]], did not significantly distinguish themselves from top-line piston-driven aircraft. The early war bombers that caused such carnage would almost all have been shot down in 1945, many with one shot, by radar-aimed, [[proximity fuse|proximity-fuse]]-detonated [[anti-aircraft]] fire, just as the 1941 "invincible fighter", the [[Mitsubishi Zero|Zero]], had by 1944 become the "turkey" of the [[Battle of the Philippine Sea|"Marianas Turkey Shoot"]]. The best late-war tanks, such as the Soviet [[Iosef Stalin tank|JS-3]] heavy tank or the German [[Panther tank|Panther]] medium tank, handily outclassed the best tanks of 1939 such as [[Panzer IV]]s. The chaotic impotence of opposed amphibious landings typical of [[Battle of Gallipoli|WW I disasters]] was overcome: the [[Higgins boat]], primary troop landing craft; the [[DUKW]], a six-wheel-drive [[amphibian vehicle|amphibious truck]]; and amphibious tanks were developed by the Western Allies to enable beach landing attacks, and the organisation and coordination of amphibious assaults coupled with the resources necessary to sustain them became a science.
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World War II also saw the first large-scale use of bombing against civilian areas. Germany had been bombing civilian targets from the first days of the war. In the first months of the war the British Government ordered the RAF to adhere strictly to draft international rules prohibiting attacking civilians, but this restriction was progressively relaxed and abandoned altogether in 1942. By 1945 the strategic bombing of cities had been employed extensively by all sides. German bombing of Poland, Britain Yugoslavia, and the USSR was responsible for over 600,000 civilian deaths. Allied strategic bombing, including the [[Firestorm|firestorm bombing]] of Japanese and German cities including [[Bombing of Tokyo in World War II|Tokyo]], [[Operation Gomorrah|Hamburg]] and [[Bombing of Dresden in World War II|Dresden]] by Anglo-American forces and the American atomic bombing of two Japanese cities, [[Hiroshima]] and [[Nagasaki]], likely killed over 400,000 German civilians and between 350,000 and 500,000 Japanese. Compounding the issue, however, is the fact that the Japanese industrial production relied heavily on manufacturing facilities which were located in close proximity to, and in many cases intermixed with, residential property, which eliminated or greatly hampered the ability to attack the Japanese war machine without affecting the Japanese near that industrial infrastructure ([http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat1.htm#Second]).
From 1945 to 1951 German and Japanese officials and personnel were prosecuted for the war crimes they committed. Accused of genocide and atrocities, top German officials were tried at the [[Nuremburg Trials]] and other trials, and many Japanese officials at the [[Tokyo War Crime Trial]] and [[
==Aftermath==
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In total, about 50 million people lost their lives in World War II—about 20 million soldiers and 30 million civilians (estimates vary widely). This includes the estimated 10 million lives lost due to the [[Holocaust]], consisting of about 6 million Jews and 4 million non-Jews made up of Poles, Roma, homosexuals, communists, dissidents, Afro-Germans, the disabled, Soviet prisoners and others.
[[Allies of World War II|Allied forces]] suffered approximately 13 million military deaths (of which 11 million were Soviet) and [[Axis Powers|Axis forces]] 7 million (of which 4 million were German). The [[
[[Image:Dresden ww2-43.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Bombing of Dresden in World War II|Dresden in ruins]] 14 February 1945]]
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In the areas occupied by Western Allied troops, democratic governments were created; in the areas occupied by Soviet troops, including the territories of former Allies such as Poland, communist [[puppet government]]s were created, giving rise to the [[western betrayal]] sentiment in many of those countries. Many in the West have concurred, believing that Roosevelt and Churchill were treating Stalin too much like a democratic ally and have blamed them for displaying toward Stalin the same sort of "appeasement" approach at Yalta that Hitler was treated with before the war, thus not learning from prior mistakes as well as handing over Eastern Europe to the Communists. (Churchill himself remarked after the Cold War started, "We killed the wrong pig.")
Germany was partitioned into four zones of occupation, with the American, British and French zones grouped as [[West Germany]] and the Soviet zone as [[East Germany]]. Austria was once again separated from Germany and it, too, was divided into four zones of occupation, which eventually reunited and became the state of Austria. [[Korea]] was [[
The partitions were however informal—rather than coming to terms about the spheres of influence, the relationship between the victors had steadily deteriorated, with the military lines of demarcation finally becoming the de facto country boundaries. The [[Cold War]] had begun, and soon two blocs would emerge: [[NATO]] and the [[Warsaw Pact]].
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