World War II
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'''World War II''', or the '''Second World War''',<ref>Official military histories in Commonwealth nations refer to the conflict as the Second World War, while the United States' official histories refer to the conflict as World War II. English translations of the official histories of other nations tend to resolve into English as Second World War also, for example ''Zweiter Weltkrieg'' in German. See [[C.P. Stacey]] ''Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War'', for example. "Official" usage of these terms is giving way to popular usage and the two terms are becoming interchangeable even in formal military history.</ref> was a global military conflict which involved a [[Participants in World War II|majority of the world's nations]], including all of the [[great power]]s,<ref>Hartmann, Frederick H. ''The relations of nations'', pg. 312</ref> organized into two opposing military alliances: the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] and the [[Axis powers|Axis]]. The war involved the mobilization of over 100 million military personnel, making it the most widespread war in history, and placed the participants in a state of "[[total war]]", erasing the distinction between civil and military resources. This resulted in the complete activation of a nation's economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities for the purposes of the war effort. Over [[World War II casualties|70 million people]], the majority of them civilians, were killed, making it the deadliest conflict in [[History of the world|human history]].<ref>[[Jim Dunnigan|Dunnigan, James]]. Dirty Little Secrets of World War II: Military Information No One Told You About the Greatest, Most Terrible War in History, William Morrow & Company, 1994. ISBN 0-688-12235-3</ref> The financial cost of the war is estimated at about a trillion 1944 U.S. dollars worldwide,<ref>Mayer, E. (2000) [http://emayzine.com/lectures/WWII.html "World War II"] course lecture notes on ''Emayzine.com'' (Victorville, California: Victor Valley College)</ref><ref>Coleman, P. (1999) [http://members.aol.com/forcountry/ww2/wc1.htm "Cost of the War,"] ''World War II Resource Guide'' (Gardena, California: The American War Library)</ref> making it the most expensive war as well.<ref>{{citation |last=Keegan |first=John |title=The Second World War |place=Glenfield, Auckland 10, New Zealand |publisher=Hutchinson |year=1989}}.</ref>
The starting date of the war is generally held to be September 1939 with the [[Invasion of Poland (1939)|German invasion of Poland]] and subsequent declarations of war on [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] by the [[United Kingdom]], [[French Third Republic|France]] and the British [[Dominion]]s;<ref>Kantowicz, Edward R. ''The Rage of Nations'', pg. 346</ref><ref>Greer, Gordon B. ''What Price Security?'', pg. 28</ref> some sources use other starting points, including the [[Mukden Incident]], the [[Marco Polo Bridge Incident]], and the [[Attack on Pearl Harbor]]. The Allies were victorious, and, as a result, the [[Soviet Union]] and the United States emerged as the world's leading superpowers. This set the stage for the [[Cold War]], which lasted for the next 45 years. The United Nations was formed in the hope of preventing another such conflict. The self determination spawned by the war accelerated decolonization movements in Asia and Africa, while Western Europe itself began moving toward integration.
== Background ==
{{main|Causes of World War II}}
In the [[aftermath of World War I]], a defeated [[History of Germany during World War I|Germany]] signed the [[Treaty of Versailles]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Hakim |first=Joy |title=A History of Us: War, Peace and all that Jazz |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=1995 |location=New York |isbn=0-19-509514-6}}</ref> This caused Germany to lose a significant portion of its territory, prohibited the annexation of other states, limited the size of German armed forces and imposed massive reparations. Russia's [[Russian Revolution (1917)|Civil war]] led to the creation of the [[Soviet Union]] which soon was under the control of [[Joseph Stalin]]. In Italy, [[Benito Mussolini]] [[March on Rome|seized power]] as a [[fascist]] [[dictator]] promising to create a "[[New Roman Empire]]."<ref>Shaw, Anthony. ''World War II Day by Day'', pg. 35</ref> The ruling [[Kuomintang]] (KMT) party in China launched a [[Northern Expedition (1926–1927)|unification campaign]] against rebelling warlords in the mid-1920s, but was soon embroiled in a [[Chinese Civil War|civil war]] against its former [[Chinese communist]] allies. In 1931, an [[Militarism-Socialism in Showa Japan|increasingly militaristic]] [[Empire of Japan|Japanese Empire]], which had long sought influence in China<ref>Myers, Ramon; Peattie, Mark. ''The Japanese Colonial Empire, 1895-1945'', pg. 458</ref> as the first step of its [[Hakko ichiu|right to rule Asia]], used the [[Mukden Incident]] as justification to invade [[Manchuria]]; the two nations then fought several small conflicts until the [[Tanggu Truce]] in 1933.
[[Image:Reichsparteitag 1935 mod.jpg|thumb|left|German troops at the 1935 [[Nuremberg Rally]]]]
[[Nazism|National Socialist]] [[Adolf Hitler]] became the leader of Germany in 1933 and soon began a massive rearming campaign.<ref>Wouk, Herman. ''The Winds of War'', pg. 72</ref> This worried France and the United Kingdom, who had lost much in the previous war, as well as Italy, which saw its territorial ambitions threatened by those of Germany.<ref>Brody, J. Kenneth. ''The Avoidable War: Pierre Laval and the Politics of Reality, 1935-1936'', pg. 4</ref> To secure its alliance, the [[Franco–Italian Agreement|French allowed Italy a free hand in Ethiopia]], which Italy desired to conquer. The situation was aggravated in early 1935 when the [[Saarland]] was legally reunited with Germany and Hitler repudiated the Treaty of Versailles, speeding up remilitarization and introducing conscription. Hoping to contain Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Italy formed the [[Stresa Front]]. The Soviet Union, concerned due to [[Drang nach Osten|Germany's goals of capturing vast areas of eastern Europe]], concluded a treaty of mutual assistance with France.
Before taking effect though, the [[Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance|Franco-Soviet pact]] was required to go through the bureaucracy of the [[League of Nations]], rendering it essentially toothless<ref>Record, Jeffery. ''Appeasement Reconsidered: Investigating the Mythology of the 1930s'', pg. 50</ref><ref>Mandelbaum, Michael. ''The Fate of Nations: The Search for National Security in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries'', pg. 96</ref> and in June of 1935, the United Kingdom made an [[Anglo-German Naval Agreement|independent naval agreement]] with Germany easing prior restrictions. The United States, concerned with events in Europe and Asia, passed the [[Neutrality Act]] in August.<ref>Schmitz, David F. ''Henry L. Stimson: The First Wise Man'', pg. 124</ref> In October, Italy [[Second Italo-Abyssinian War|invaded Ethiopia]], with Germany the only major European nation supporting her invasion. Italy then revoked objections to Germany's goal of making [[Austria]] a satellite state.<ref>Kitson, Alison. ''Germany 1858-1990: Hope, Terror, and Revival'', pg. 231</ref>
In direct violation of the Versailles and [[Locarno Treaties|Locarno]] treaties, Hitler [[Remilitarization of the Rhineland|remilitarized]] the [[Rhineland]] in March of 1936. He received little response from other European powers.<ref>Adamthwaite, Anthony P. ''The Making of the Second World War'', pg 52</ref> When the [[Spanish Civil War]] broke out in July, Hitler and Mussolini supported fascist Generalísimo [[Francisco Franco]]'s [[Nationalist Spain|nationalist forces]] in his civil war against the Soviet-supported [[Second Spanish Republic|Spanish Republic]]. Both sides used the conflict to test new weapons and methods of warfare<ref>Graham, Helen. ''The Spanish Civil War: A Very Short Introduction'', pg. 110</ref> and the nationalists would prove victorious in early 1939.
With tensions mounting, efforts to strengthen or consolidate power were made. In October, Germany and Italy formed the [[Rome-Berlin Axis]] and a month later Germany and Japan, each believing communism and the Soviet Union in particular to be a threat, signed the [[Anti-Comintern Pact]], which Italy would join in the following year. In China, the Kuomintang and communist forces agreed on a ceasefire to present a [[Second United Front (China)|united front]] to oppose Japan.<ref>Busky, Donald F. ''Communism in History and Theory: Asia, Africa, and the Americas'', pg. 10</ref>
== Chronology ==
Other dates for the beginning of war include the [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]] [[invasion of Manchuria]] in 1931,<ref>[[James Bradley|Bradley James]], [[Ron Powers|Powers, Ron]]. ''[[Flags of Our Fathers]]'', pg. 58</ref><ref>Tucker, Spencer; Roberts, Priscilla Mary. ''Encyclopedia of World War II: A Political, Social, and Military History'', pg. 771; note, however, that Tucker's own view is that 191 is most convenient; p. 9. </ref> the start of the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] in 1937,<ref>Chickering, Roger; Förster, Stig; Greiner, Bernd. ''A World at Total War: Global Conflict and the Politics of Destruction, 1937-1945'', pg. 64</ref><ref>Fiscus, James W. ''Critical Perspectives on World War II'', pg. 44</ref> or one of several other events. Other sources follow [[A. J. P. Taylor]], who holds that there was a simultaneous Sino-Japanese War in East Asia, and a Second European War in Europe and her colonies, but they did not become a World War until they merged in 1941; at which point the war continued until 1945. This article uses the conventional dating.<ref>Among other starting dates sometimes used for World War II are the 1935 Italian invasion of Abyssinia; <small>(Ben-Horin, Eliahu. (1943). ''The Middle East: Crossroads of History'', pg. 169; Taylor, Alan. (1979). ''How Wars Begin'', pg. 124; Yisreelit, Hevrah Mizrahit. (1965). ''Asian and African Studies'', pg. 191)</small> for 1941 see <small>([[A. J. P. Taylor|Taylor, AJP]]. (1961). ''The Origins of the Second World War'', pg. vii; Kellogg, William O. (2003). ''American History the Easy Way'', pg. 236)</small>. There also exists the viewpoint that both World War I and World War II are part of the same [[European Civil War]]. <small>(Canfora, Luciano; Jones, Simon. (2006). ''Democracy in Europe: A History of an Ideology'', pg. 155; Prin, Gwyn. (2002). ''The Heart of War: On Power, Conflict and Obligation in the Twenty-First Century'', pg. 11)</small></ref>
The end of the War also has several dates. Some sources end it from the armistice of [[August 14]], [[1945]], rather than the formal surrender; in some European histories, it ended on [[V-E Day]]. The [[Treaty of San Francisco| treaty with Japan]] was not signed until 1951.
== Course of the war ==
{{see also|Timeline of World War II}}
=== War breaks out ===
[[Image:Wuhan 1938 IJA.jpg|right|thumb|[[Imperial Japanese army|Japanese forces]] during the [[Battle of Wuhan]]]]
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In mid-1937, following the [[Marco Polo Bridge Incident]], Japan began a [[Second Sino-Japanese War|full invasion of China]]. The Soviets [[Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact|quickly lent support to China]], effectively ending China's prior [[Sino-German cooperation (1911–1941)|cooperation with Germany]]. [[Battle of Shanghai|Starting at Shanghai]], the Japanese pushed Chinese forces back, [[Battle of Nanjing|capturing the capital Nanjing]] in December. In June of 1938 Chinese forces stalled the Japanese advance by [[1938 Yellow River flood|flooding the Yellow River]]; though this bought time to prepare their defenses at [[Wuhan]], the [[Battle of Wuhan|city was still taken]] by October.<ref>Twitchett, Denis; Fairbank, John K. ''The Cambridge history of China'', pg. 566</ref> During this time, Japanese and Soviet forces engaged in a minor skirmish at [[Battle of Lake Khasan|Lake Khasan]]; in May of 1939, they became involved in a more serious [[Battle of Khalkhin Gol|border war]].<ref>Coox, Alvin D. ''Nomonhan: Japan Against Russia, 1939'', pg. 189</ref>
In Europe, Germany and Italy were becoming bolder. In March 1938, Germany [[Anschluss|annexed Austria]], again provoking [[Appeasement of Hitler|little response]] from other European powers.<ref>Collier, Martin; Pedley, Philip. ''Germany 1919-45'', pg. 144</ref> Encouraged, Hitler began making claims on the [[Sudetenland]]; France and Britain [[Munich Agreement|conceded these]] for a promise of no further territorial demands.<ref>Kershaw, Ian. ''Hitler, 1936-1945: Nemesis'', pg. 173</ref> Germany soon reneged, and in March 1939 fully [[German occupation of Czechoslovakia|occupied Czechoslovakia]].
[[Image:German Soviet.jpg|thumb|left|[[USSR|Soviet]] and [[Third Reich|German]] officers in [[Poland]].]]
Alarmed, and with Hitler making further demands on [[Free City of Danzig|Danzig]], France and Britain [[Polish-British Common Defence Pact#British Guarantee to Poland|guaranteed their support for Polish independence]]; when [[Italian invasion of Albania|Italy conquered Albania]] in April, the same guarantee was extended to [[Romania]] and [[Greece]].<ref>Lowe, C. J.; Marzari, F. ''Italian Foreign Policy 1870-1940'', pg. 330</ref> The Soviet Union also attempted to ally with France and Britain, but was rebuffed due to western suspicions about Soviet motives and capability.<ref>Sharp, Alan; Stone, Glyn. ''Anglo-French Relations in the Twentieth Century'', pg 195-197</ref> Shortly after the Franco-British pledges to Poland, Germany and Italy formalized their own alliance with the [[Pact of Steel]]; following this, in a move that shocked all other major powers, Germany and the Soviet Union concluded a [[Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact|non-aggression pact]], including a secret agreement to split Poland and eastern Europe between them.<ref>Day, Alan J.; East, Roger; Thomas, Richard. ''A Political and Economic Dictionary of Eastern Europe'', pg. 405</ref>
By the start of September 1939, the Soviets had routed Japanese forces<ref>Williams, Peter; Wallace, David. ''Unit 731: Japan's Secret Biological Warfare in World War II'', pg. 64</ref> and the Germans [[Invasion of Poland (1939)|invaded Poland]]. France, Britain, and the countries of the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] [[Declaration of war#1939|declared war on Germany]] but lent little support other than a [[Saar Offensive|small French attack into the Saarland]].<ref>May, Ernest R. ''Strange Victory: Hitler's Conquest of France'', pg. 93</ref> In mid-September, after signing an armistice with Japan, the [[Soviet invasion of Poland (1939)|Soviets launched their own invasion of Poland]].<ref>Zaloga, Steven J. ''Poland 1939: The Birth of Blitzkrieg'', pg. 80</ref> By early October, Poland had been divided [[Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany|between Germany]] [[Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union|and the Soviet Union]]. During the battle in Poland, Japan launched its [[Battle of Changsha (1939)|first attack against Changsha]], a strategically important Chinese city, but was repulsed by early October.<ref>Jowett, Philip S. ''The Japanese Army, 1931-45'', pg. 14</ref>
=== Axis advances ===
[[Image:Nazi-parading-in-elysian-fields-paris-desert-1940.png|thumb|right|[[Third Reich|German]] troops in [[Paris]] after the fall of [[France]].]]
Following the invasion of Poland, the Soviets began moving troops into the [[Baltic region]]. Finnish resistance in late November led to a [[Winter War|four-month war]], ending with [[Moscow Peace Treaty|Finnish concessions]].<ref>Hanhimäki, Jussi M. ''Containing Coexistence: America, Russia, and the "Finnish Solution"'', pg. 13</ref> France and the United Kingdom, treating the Soviet attack on Finland as tantamount to entering the war on the side of the Germans<ref name="ChinaBitter16">Hsiung, James Chieh; Levine, Steven I. ''China's Bitter Victory: The War with Japan, 1937-1945'', pg. 16</ref> responded to the Soviet invasion by supporting its expulsion from the League of Nations.<ref name="ChinaBitter16"/> Though China had the authority to veto such an action, it was unwilling to alienate itself from either the Western powers or the Soviet Union and instead abstained.<ref name="ChinaBitter16"/> The Soviet Union was displeased by this course of action and as a result suspended all military aid to China.<ref name="ChinaBitter16"/> By mid-1940, the Soviet Union's [[Occupation of Baltic states|occupation of the Baltics]] was completed with the installation of pro-Soviet puppet governments.<ref>Bilinsky, Yaroslav. ''Endgame in NATO's Enlargement: The Baltic States and Ukraine'', pg. 9</ref>
In Western Europe, British troops deployed to the Continent, but [[Phoney War|neither Germany nor the Allies]] launched direct attacks on the other. In April, [[Operation Weserübung|Germany invaded Denmark and Norway]] to secure shipments of [[Swedish iron ore (WWII)|iron-ore from Sweden]] which the allies would try to disrupt. [[Denmark]] immediately capitulated, and [[Norwegian Campaign|despite Allied support]], [[Norway]] was conquered within two months.<ref>Commager, Henry Steele. ''The Story of the Second World War'', pg. 30</ref> [[Norway Debate|British discontent over the Norwegian campaign]] led to the replacement of Prime Minister [[Neville Chamberlain]] by [[Winston Churchill]] on May 10, 1940.<ref>Reynolds, David. ''From World War to Cold War: Churchill, Roosevelt, and the International History of the 1940s'', pgs. 76, 77</ref>
On that same day, Germany [[Battle of France|invaded France and the Low Countries]]. The [[Battle of the Netherlands|Netherlands]] and [[Belgium]] were overrun using [[blitzkrieg]] tactics in a few weeks. British troops were [[Dunkirk evacuation|forced to evacuate]] the continent, abandoning their heavy equipment by the end of the month.<ref name="FreeFromFear439">Kennedy, David M. ''Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945'', pg. 439</ref> On June 10th, [[Italian invasion of France|Italy invaded]], declaring war on both France and the United Kingdom;<ref name="FreeFromFear439" /> twelve days later [[Armistice with France (Second Compiègne)|France surrendered]] and was soon divided into [[German occupation of France during World War II|German]] and [[Italian-occupied France|Italian occupation zones]],<ref>Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt. ''Germany and the Second World War — Volume 2: Germany's Initial Conquests in Europe'', pg. 311</ref> and an unoccupied [[rump state]] under the [[Vichy Regime]]. In early July, the British [[Attack on Mers-el-Kébir|attacked the French fleet]] in [[French Algeria|Algeria]] to prevent their seizure by Germany.<ref>Brown, David. ''The Road to Oran: Anglo-French Naval Relations, September 1939-July 1940'', pg. xxx</ref>
[[Image:Supermarinespitfire.JPG|thumb|left|[[RAF]] [[Supermarine Spitfire]] during the [[Battle of Britain]].]]
With France neutralized, Germany began an [[Battle of Britain|air superiority campaign over Britain]] to prepare for [[Operation Sealion|an invasion]]<ref>Kelly, Nigel; Rees, Rosemary; Shuter, Jane. ''Twentieth Century World'', pg. 38</ref>. The campaign failed and by September the invasion plans were cancelled. Using newly-captured French ports the German Navy [[Battle of the Atlantic (1939–1945)#.22Happy Time.22 .28June 1940 .E2.80.93 February 1941.29|enjoyed success]] against an over-extended [[Royal Navy]], using [[U-boat]]s against British shipping in the [[Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945)|Atlantic]].<ref>Goldstein, Margaret J. ''World War II'', pg. 35</ref> Italy began operations in the Mediterranean, initiating a [[Siege of Malta (World War II)|siege of Malta]] in June, [[Italian conquest of British Somaliland|conquering British Somaliland]] in August, and [[Western Desert Campaign#Italian invasion of Egypt|making an incursion into British-held Egypt]] in early September. Japan increased its blockade of China in September by [[Invasion of French Indochina|seizing several bases]] in the northern part of the now-isolated [[French Indochina]].<ref>Mercado, Stephen C. ''The Shadow Warriors of Nakano: A History of the Imperial Japanese Army's Elite Intelligence School'', pg. 109</ref>
Throughout this period, the neutral United States took measures to assist China and the Western Allies. In November 1939, the American Neutrality Act was amended to allow [[Cash and carry (World War II)|Cash and carry]] purchases by the Allies.<ref>Brown, Robert J. ''Manipulating the Ether: The Power of Broadcast Radio in Thirties America'', pg. 91</ref> In 1940, following the German capture of [[Paris]], the size of [[United States Navy]] was [[Two-Ocean Navy Act|significantly increased]] and after the Japanese incursion into Indochina, the United States [[embargo]]ed iron, steel and mechanical parts against Japan.<ref>Morison, Samuel Eliot. ''History of United States Naval Operations in World War II'', pg. 60</ref> In September, the United States further agreed to a [[Destroyers for Bases Agreement|trade of American destroyers for British bases]].<ref>Maingot, Anthony P. ''The United States and the Caribbean: Challenges of an Asymmetrical Relationship'', pg. 52</ref>
At the end of September the [[Tripartite Pact]] between Japan, Italy and Germany formalized the [[Axis Powers]]. The pact stipulated, with the exception of the Soviet Union, any country not in the war which attacked any Axis Power would be forced to go to war against all three.<ref>Bilhartz, Terry D.; Elliott, Alan C. ''Currents in American History: A Brief History of the United States'', pg. 179</ref> The Soviet Union expressed interest in joining the Tripartite Pact, sending a modified draft to Germany in November and offering a very German-favourable economic deal;<ref name="WorldArms200">Weinberg, Gerhard L. ''A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II'', pg. 200</ref> while Germany remained silent on the former, they accepted the latter.<ref name="WorldArms201">Weinberg, Gerhard L. ''A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II'', pg. 201</ref> Regardless of the pact, the United States continued to support the United Kingdom and China by introducing the [[Lend-Lease]] policy<ref>Murray, Williamson; Millett, Allan Reed. ''A War to Be Won: Fighting the Second World War'', pg. 165</ref> and creating a security zone spanning roughly half of the Atlantic Ocean where the [[United States Navy]] protected British convoys.<ref>Knell, Hermann. ''To Destroy a City: Strategic Bombing and Its Human Consequences in World War II'', pg. 205</ref>
In October, [[Greco-Italian War|Italy invaded Greece]] but within days were repulsed and pushed back into Albania, where a stalemate soon occurred.<ref>Clogg, Richard. ''A Concise History of Greece'', pg. 118</ref> Shortly after this, in Africa, Commonwealth forces launched offensives [[Operation Compass|against Egypt]] and [[East African Campaign (World War II)#Allied counter-offensive|Italian East Africa]]. By early 1941, with Italian forces having been pushed back into Libya by the Commonwealth, Churchill [[Operation Lustre|ordered a dispatch of troops from Africa to bolster the Greeks]]. The [[Regia Marina|Italian Navy]] also suffered significant defeats, with the Royal Navy putting three Italian battleships out of commission via [[Battle of Taranto|carrier attack at Taranto]], and several more warships neutralized at [[Battle of Cape Matapan|Cape Matapan]].<ref>Jackson, Ashley. ''The British Empire and the Second World War'', pg. 106</ref>
[[Image:German paratroopers jumping From Ju 52s over Crete.jpg|right|thumb|[[Fallschirmjäger|German paratroopers]] invading [[Crete]]]]
The Germans soon intervened to assist Italy. Hitler [[Operation Sunflower|sent German forces to Libya]] in February and by the end of March they had [[Axis desert offensive (1941)|launched an offensive]] against the diminished Commonwealth forces. In under a month, Commonwealth forces were pushed back into Egypt with the exception of the [[Siege of Tobruk|besieged port of Tobruk]]. The Commonwealth attempted to dislodge Axis forces [[Operation Brevity|in May]] and [[Operation Battleaxe|again in June]], but failed on both occasions. In early April the Germans similarly intervened in the Balkans, [[Battle of Greece|invading Greece]] and [[Invasion of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]]; here too they made rapid progress, eventually forcing the Allies to evacuate after Germany [[Battle of Crete|conquered the Greek island of Crete]] by the end of May.<ref>Weinberg, Gerhard L. ''A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II'', pg. 229</ref>
The Allies did have some successes during this time though. In the [[Middle East]], Commonwealth forces first [[Anglo-Iraqi War|quashed a coup in Iraq]] which had been supported by German aircraft from bases within Vichy-controlled [[French Mandate of Syria|Syria]],<ref>Watson, William E. ''Tricolor and Crescent: France and the Islamic World'', pg. 80</ref> then, with the assistance of the [[Free French]], [[Syria-Lebanon Campaign|invaded Syria and Lebanon]] to prevent further such occurrences.<ref>Jackson, Ashley. ''The British Empire and the Second World War'', pg. 154</ref> In the Atlantic, the British scored a much needed public morale boost by [[Last battle of the battleship Bismarck|sinking the German flagship Bismarck]].<ref>Stewart, Vance. ''Three Against One: Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin Vs Adolph Hitler'', pg. 159</ref> Perhaps most importantly, the [[Royal Air Force]] had successfully resisted the Luftwaffe's assault, and on May 11, 1941, Hitler called off the bombing campaign over Britain.<ref>{{cite web |title=The London Blitz, 1940 |url=http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/blitz.htm |work=Eyewitness to History |date=2001 |accessdate=2008-03-11}}</ref>
In Asia, in spite of several offensives by both sides, the war between China and Japan was stalemated by 1940. In August of that year, Chinese communists launched an [[Hundred Regiments Offensive|offensive in Central China]]; in retaliation, Japan instituted [[Three Alls Policy|harsh measures]] in occupied areas to reduce human and material resources for the communists.<ref>Joes, Anthony James. ''Resisting Rebellion: The History And Politics of Counterinsurgency'', pg. 224</ref> Mounting tensions between Chinese communist and nationalist forces [[New Fourth Army Incident|culminated in January 1941]], effectively ending their co-operation.<ref>Fairbank, John King. ''China: A New History'', pg. 320</ref>
With the situation in Europe and Asia relatively stable, Germany, Japan and the Soviet Union made preparations. With the Soviets wary of mounting tensions with Germany and the Japanese planning to take advantage of the European War by seizing resource-rich European possessions in Southeast Asia the two powers signed a [[Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact|neutrality agreement]] in April, 1941.<ref>Garver, John W. ''Chinese-Soviet Relations, 1937-1945: The Diplomacy of Chinese Nationalism'', pg. 114</ref> By contrast the Germans were steadily making preparations for an attack on the Soviet Union, amassing forces on the Soviet border, particularly in [[Finland]] and [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]].<ref>Weinberg, Gerhard L. ''A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II'', pg. 195</ref>
=== The war becomes global ===
[[Image:GermanTroopsInRussia1941.jpg|right|thumb|[[Wehrmacht|German soldiers]] in the [[Invasion of the Soviet Union]], 1941]]
In late June, Germany, along with other European Axis members and Finland, [[Operation Barbarossa|invaded the Soviet Union]]. They made significant gains into Soviet territory, inflicting large numbers of casualties, and by the start of December had [[Battle of Moscow|almost reached Moscow]], with only the besieged cities of [[siege of Leningrad|Leningrad]] and [[Siege of Sevastopol (1941-1942)|Sevastopol]] behind their front-lines left unconquered.<ref>Shukman, Harold. ''Stalin's Generals'', pg. 113</ref> With the onset of a fierce Soviet winter though, the Axis offensive was ground to a halt<ref>Burroughs, William James. ''Climate: Into the 21st Century'', pg. 115</ref> and the Soviets launched a [[Soviet Offensive (1941-1942)|counter-offensive]] using reserve troops brought up from the border near Japanese Manchukuo.<ref>Whymant, Robert. ''Stalin's Spy: Richard Sorge and the Tokyo Espionage Ring'', pg. 314</ref>
Following the German attack on the Soviets, the United Kingdom began to regroup. In July, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union formed a [[Anglo-Soviet Agreement|military alliance against Germany]]<ref>Pravda, Alex; Duncan, Peter J. S. ''Soviet-British Relations Since the 1970s'', pg. 29</ref> and shortly after [[Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran|jointly invaded Iran]] to secure the [[Persian Corridor]] and Iran's oilfields.<ref>Heptulla, Najma. ''The Logic of Political Survival'', pg. 131</ref> In August, the United Kingdom and United States jointly issued the [[Atlantic Charter]], a vision for a post-war world which included "the right of all peoples to choose their form of government".<ref name="AdvenBrit223">Louis, William Roger. ''More Adventures with Britannia: Personalities, Politics and Culture in Britain'', pg. 223</ref> In November, Commonwealth forces [[Operation Crusader|launched a counter-offensive in the desert]], reclaiming all gains the Germans and Italians had made.<ref>Gannon, James. ''Stealing Secrets, Telling Lies: How Spies and Codebreakers Helped Shape the Twentieth Century'', pg. 76</ref>
Japan, hoping to utilize Germany's control over the Netherlands, made several demands, including a steady supply of oil, from the [[Dutch East Indies]]; these talks, however, broke down in June.<ref>''AFLMA Year in Review'', pg. 32</ref> In July, Japan seized military control of southern Indochina since it would not only put them in a better position to coerce the Dutch East Indies into yielding, but it would also be a blow against China; should war be necessary, it also improved their strategic position against the Americans and British.<ref>''AFLMA Year in Review'', pg. 33</ref> The United States, United Kingdom and other western governments responded to Japan's incursion by freezing all Japanese assets<ref>Ropp, Theodore. ''War in the Modern World'', pg. 363</ref> and the United States, which supplied 80% of Japan's oil, further placed an oil embargo against Japan.<ref>Northrup, Cynthia Clark. ''The American economy: a historical encyclopedia'', pg. 214</ref> With the unexpected embargo, Japan was essentially forced to choose between withdrawing from their aggression in Asia, or seizing the oil they needed directly; the Japanese military did not consider the former an option, and many of them considered the oil embargo as an unspoken declaration of war.<ref>Lightbody, Bradley. ''The Second World War: Ambitions to Nemesis'', pg. 125</ref>
The [[Imperial General Headquarters]] thus planned to create a large perimeter stretching into the Central Pacific in order to facilitate a defensive war while exploiting the resources of Southeast Asia; to prevent intervention while securing the perimeter it was further planned to neutralize the [[United States Pacific Fleet]] on the outset.<ref>Morgan, Patrick M. ''Strategic Military Surprise: Incentives and Opportunities'', pg. 51</ref> On December 7th Japan attacked British, Dutch and American holdings with near simultaneous [[Japanese expansion (1941-1942)|offensives against Southeast Asia and the Central Pacific]], including an [[attack on Pearl Harbor|attack on the American naval base of Pearl Harbor]].<ref>Thurman, M. J.; Sherman, Christine. ''War Crimes: Japan's World War II Atrocities'', pg. 68</ref>
These attacks prompted the United States, United Kingdom, China, and other Western Allies to declare war on Japan. Italy, Germany, and the other members of the Tripartite Pact responded by declaring war on the United States. In January, the United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union and China, along with twenty-two smaller or exiled governments, issued the [[Declaration by United Nations]], affirming the Atlantic Charter<ref>Mingst, Karen A.; Karns, Margaret P. ''United Nations in the Twenty-First Century'', pg. 22</ref> and formalizing their alliance against the Axis Powers. The Soviet Union did not adhere fully to the declaration though, as they maintained their neutrality agreement with Japan<ref>Dunn, Dennis J. ''Caught Between Roosevelt & Stalin: America's Ambassadors to Moscow'', pg. 157</ref> and exempted themselves from the principle of self-determination.<ref name="AdvenBrit223"/>
[[Image:1stAlameinBritDefense.jpg|left|thumb|[[United Kingdom|British]] troops at the [[First Battle of El Alamein|Battle of El Alamein]] in [[Egypt]].]]
The Axis Powers, however, were able to continue their offensives. Japan had almost fully conquered Southeast Asia with minimal losses by the end of April, 1942, [[Japanese capture of Burma|chasing the Allies out of Burma]] and taking large numbers of prisoners in the [[Battle of the Philippines (1941–42)|Philippines]], [[Battle of Malaya|Malaya]], [[Netherlands East Indies campaign|Dutch East Indies]] and [[Battle of Singapore|Singapore]].<ref>Klam, Julie. ''The Rise of Japan and Pearl Harbor'', pg. 27</ref> They further [[Bombing of Darwin (February 1942)|bombed the Allied naval base at Darwin, Australia]] and sunk significant Allied warships not only at Pearl Harbor, but also in the [[Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse|South China Sea]], [[Battle of the Java Sea|Java Sea]] and [[Indian Ocean raid|Indian Ocean]].<ref>Hill, J. R.; Ranft, Bryan. ''The Oxford Illustrated History of the Royal Navy'', pg. 362</ref> The only real successes against Japan were a repulsion of their [[Battle of Changsha (1942)|renewed attack on Changsha]] in early January, 1942,<ref name="ChinaBitter158">Hsiung, James Chieh; Levine, Steven I. ''China's Bitter Victory: The War with Japan, 1937-1945'', pg. 158</ref> and a psychological strike from a [[Doolittle Raid|bombing raid on Japan's capital Tokyo]] in April.<ref>Chun, Clayton K. S. ''The Doolittle Raid 1942: America's First Strike Back at Japan'', pg. 88</ref>
Germany was able to regain the initiative as well. Exploiting American inexperience with submarine warfare, the [[Kriegsmarine|German Navy]] [[Second Happy Time|sunk significant resources]] near the American Atlantic coast.<ref>Gooch, John. ''Decisive Campaigns of the Second World War'', pg.52</ref> In the desert, they launched an offensive in January, pushing the British back to positions at the Gazala Line by early February.<ref>Molinari, Andrea. ''Desert Raiders: Axis and Allied Special Forces 1940-43'', pg. 91</ref> In the Soviet Union, the Soviet's winter counter-offensive had ended by March.<ref>Welch, David. ''Modern European History, 1871-2000: A Documentary Reader'', pg. 102</ref> In both the desert and the Soviet Union, there followed a temporary lull in combat which Germany used to prepare for their upcoming offensives.<ref>Mitcham, Samuel W.; Mitcham, Samuel W. Jr. ''Rommel's Desert War: The Life and Death of the Afrika Korps'', pg. 31</ref><ref>Glantz, David M. ''From the Don to the Dnepr: Soviet Offensive Operations, December 1942-August 1943'', pg. 215</ref>
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=== The tide turns ===
[[Image:SBDs and Mikuma.jpg|right|thumb|[[SBD Dauntless|American aircraft]] attacking a [[Japanese cruiser Mikuma|Japanese cruiser]] at the [[Battle of Midway]].]]
In early May, Japan initiated operations to [[Operation Mo|capture Port Moresby]] via [[amphibious assault]] and thus sever the line of communications between the United States and Australia. The Allies, however, [[Battle of the Coral Sea|intercepted and turned back Japanese naval forces]], preventing the invasion.<ref>Maddox, Robert James. ''The United States and World War II'', pgs. 111-112</ref> Japan's next plan, motivated by the earlier bombing on Tokyo, was to seize the [[Midway Atoll]] as this would seal a gap in their perimeter defenses, provide a forward base for further operations, and lure American carriers into battle to be eliminated; as a diversion, Japan would also send forces to [[Aleutian Islands Campaign|occupy the Aleutian Islands]].<ref>Salecker, Gene Eric. ''Fortress Against the Sun: The B-17 Flying Fortress in the Pacific'', pg. 186</ref> In early June, Japan put their operations into action but the Americans, having broken [[Japanese naval codes]] in late May, were fully aware of the Japanese plans and force dispositions and used this knowledge to [[Battle of Midway|achieve a decisive victory]] over the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]].<ref>Ropp, Theodore. ''War in the Modern World'', pg. 368</ref> With their capacity for amphibious assault greatly diminished as a result of the Midway battle, Japan chose to focus on an [[Kokoda Track campaign|overland campaign]] on the [[Territory of Papua]] in another attempt to capture [[Port Moresby]].<ref>Weinberg, Gerhard L. ''A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II'', pg. 339</ref> For the Americans, they planned their next move against Japanese positions in the southern [[Solomon Islands]], primarily against the island of [[Guadalcanal]], as a first step towards capturing [[Rabaul]], the primary Japanese base in Southeast Asia.<ref>Gilbert, Adrian. ''The Encyclopedia of Warfare: From Earliest Times to the Present Day'', pg. 259</ref> Both plans started in July, but by mid-September [[Guadalcanal Campaign|the battle for Guadalcanal]] took priority for the Japanese, and troops in New Guinea were ordered to withdraw from the Port Moresby area to the [[Oro Province|northern part of the island]].<ref>Swain, Bruce. ''A Chronology of Australian Armed Forces at War 1939-45'', pg. 197</ref> Guadalcanal soon became a focal point for both sides with heavy commitments of troops and ships in a [[Attrition warfare|battle of attrition]]. By the start of 1943, the Japanese were defeated on the island and [[Operation Ke|withdrew their troops]].<ref>Hane, Mikiso. ''Modern Japan: A Historical Survey'', pg. 340</ref>
In Burma, Commonwealth forces mounted two operations. The first, [[First Arakan Offensive|an offensive into the Arakan region]] in late 1942 went disastrously, forcing a retreat back to India by May of 1943.<ref>Marston, Daniel. ''The Pacific War Companion: From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima'', pg. 111</ref> The second was the [[Operation Longcloth|insertion of irregular forces]] behind Japanese front-lines in February which, by the end of April, had achieved dubious results.<ref>Brayley, Martin. ''The British Army, 1939-45'', pg. 9</ref>
[[Image:Soviet soldiers moving at Stalingrad2.jpg|left|thumb|[[Red Army|Soviet soldiers]] in the [[Battle of Stalingrad]].]]
On Germany's [[Eastern Front (World War II)|eastern front]], the Axis defeated Soviet offensives in the [[Battle of the Kerch Peninsula|Kerch Peninsula]] and at [[Second Battle of Kharkov|Kharkov]]<ref>Read, Anthony. ''The Devil's Disciples: Hitler's Inner Circle'', pg. 764</ref> and then launched their main [[Case Blue|summer offensive]] against southern Russia in June, 1942, to seize the oil fields of the Caucasus. The Soviets decided to make their stand at Stalingrad which was in the path of the advancing German armies and by mid-November the Germans had [[Battle of Stalingrad|nearly taken Stalingrad]] in bitter [[urban warfare|street fighting]] when the Soviets began their [[Soviet Offensive (1942-1943)|second winter counter-offensive]], starting with an [[Operation Uranus|encirclement of German forces at Stalingrad]]<ref>Badsey, Stephen. ''The Hutchinson Atlas of World War II Battle Plans: Before and After'', pgs. 235-236</ref> and an assault on the [[Operation Mars|Rzhev salient near Moscow]], though the latter failed disastrously.<ref>Black, Jeremy. ''World War Two: A Military History'', pg. 119</ref> By early February, the German Army had taken tremendous losses; their troops at Stalingrad had been forced to surrender and the front-line had been pushed back beyond its position prior to their summer offensive. In mid-February, after the Soviet push had tapered off, the Germans launched another [[Third Battle of Kharkov|attack on Kharkov]], creating a [[Salients, re-entrants and pockets|salient]] in their front-line around the Russian city of [[Kursk]].<ref>Shukman, Harold. ''Stalin's Generals'', pg. 142</ref>
In the west, concerns that the Japanese might utilize bases in Vichy-held [[Madagascar]] caused the British to [[Battle of Madagascar|invade the island]] in early May, 1942.<ref>Paxton, Robert O. ''Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order, 1940-1944'', pg. 313</ref> This success was off set soon after by an Axis [[Battle of Gazala|offensive in Libya]] which pushed the Allies back into Egypt until Axis forces were [[First Battle of El Alamein|stopped at El Alamein]].<ref>Rich, Norman. ''Hitler's War Aims: Ideology, the Nazi State, and the Course of Expansion'', pg. 178</ref> On the Continent, Allied [[commando]]s had conducted a series of increasingly ambitious raids on strategic targets, culminating in a disastrous [[Dieppe Raid|amphibious raid on the German held port of Dieppe]].<ref>Penrose, Jane. ''The D-Day Companion'', pg. 129</ref> In August the Allies succeeded in repelling a [[Battle of Alam el Halfa|second attack against El Alamein]] and, at a high cost, managed to [[Operation Pedestal|get desperately needed supplies to the besieged Malta]].<ref>Thomas, David Arthur. ''A Companion to the Royal Navy'', pg. 265</ref> A few months later the Allies [[Second Battle of El Alamein|commenced an attack of their own]] in Egypt, dislodging the Axis forces and beginning a drive west across Libya.<ref>Thomas, Nigel. ''German Army 1939-1945 (2): North Africa & Balkans'', pg. 8</ref> This was followed up shortly after by an [[Operation Torch|Anglo-American invasion of French North Africa]] which resulted in the region joining the Allies.<ref name="AWP38">Ross, Steven T. ''American War Plans, 1941-1945: The Test of Battle'', pg. 38</ref> Hitler responded to the defection by ordering the [[Case Anton|occupation of Vichy France]],<ref name="AWP38" /> though the Vichy Admiralty managed to [[Scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon|scuttle their fleet]] to prevent its capture by German forces.<ref>Bonner, Kit; Bonner, Carolyn. ''Warship Boneyards'', pg. 24</ref> The now pincered Axis forces in Africa withdrew into [[Tunisia]], which was [[Tunisia Campaign|conquered by the Allies]] by May, 1943.<ref>Collier, Paul. ''The Second World War (4): The Mediterranean 1940-1945'', pg. 11</ref>
=== Allies gain momentum ===
[[Image:IND 004723.jpg|thumb|right|[[United Kingdom|British]] troops reclaiming [[Burma]].]]
In mainland Asia, the Japanese launched two major offensives. The first, started in March, 1944, was [[Operation U-Go|against British positions in Assam, India]]<ref>Lightbody, Bradley. ''The Second World War: Ambitions to Nemesis'', pg. 224</ref> and soon led to Japanese forces besieging Commonwealth positions at [[Battle of Imphal|Imphal]] and [[Battle of Kohima|Kohima]];<ref>Zeiler, Thomas W. ''Unconditional Defeat: Japan, America, and the End of World War II'', pg. 60</ref> by May however, other Japanese forces were being besieged in [[Myitkyina]] by Chinese forces which had invaded Northern Burma in late 1943.<ref>Craven, Wesley Frank; Cate, James Lea. ''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=6ZsTiBcmzNUC The Army Air Forces in World War II, Volume Five - The Pacific, Matterhorn to Nagasaki]'', pg. 207</ref> The [[Operation Ichi-Go|second was in China]], with the goal of destroying China's main fighting forces, securing railways between Japanese-held territory, and capturing Allied airfields.<ref>Hsiung, James Chieh; Levine, Steven I. ''China's Bitter Victory: The War with Japan, 1937-1945'', pg. 163</ref> By June the Japanese had conquered the province of [[Henan]] and begun a [[Battle of Changsha (1944)|renewed attack against Changsha]] in the [[Hunan]] province.<ref>Coble, Parks M. ''Chinese Capitalists in Japan's New Order: The Occupied Lower Yangzi, 1937-1945'', pg. 85</ref>
Following the Guadalcanal Campaign, the Allies initiated several operations against Japan in the Pacific. In May, 1943, American forces were sent to [[Aleutian Islands Campaign#Allied_response|eliminate Japanese forces from the Aleutians]],<ref>Thompson, John Herd; Randall, Stephen J. ''Canada and the United States: Ambivalent Allies'', pg. 164</ref> and soon after began major operations to [[Operation Cartwheel|isolate Rabaul by capturing surrounding islands]], and to [[Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign|breach the Japanese Central Pacific perimeter at the Gilbert and Marshall Islands]].<ref>''Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945'', pg. 610</ref> By the end of March, 1944, the Allies had completed both of these objectives, and additionally [[Operation Hailstone|neutralized another major Japanese base]] in the [[Caroline Islands]]. In April, the Allies then launched an operation to [[Western New Guinea campaign|retake Western New Guinea]].<ref>Rottman, Gordon L. ''World War II Pacific Island Guide: A Geo-Military Study'', pg. 228</ref>
In the Mediterranean, Allied forces launched an [[Allied invasion of Sicily|invasion of Sicily]] in early July, 1943. The attack on Italian soil, compounded with previous failures, resulted in the ousting and arrest of Mussolini later that month.<ref>O'Reilly, Charles T. ''Forgotten Battles: Italy's War of Liberation, 1943-1945'', pg. 32</ref> The Allies soon followed up with an [[Allied invasion of Italy|invasion of the Italian mainland]] in early September, following an [[Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces|Italian armistice with the Allies]].<ref>McGowen, Tom. ''Assault From The Sea: Amphibious Invasions in the Twentieth Century'', pgs. 43-44</ref> When this armistice was made public on September 8th, Germany responded by disarming Italian forces, seizing military control of Italian areas,<ref>Lamb, Richard. ''War in Italy, 1943-1945: A Brutal Story'', pgs. 154-155</ref> and setting up a series of defensive lines.<ref>Hart, Stephen; Hart, Russell. ''The German Soldier in World War II'', pg. 151</ref> On September 12th, German special forces further [[Gran Sasso raid|rescued Mussolini]] who then soon established a [[Italian Social Republic|new client state in German occupied Italy]].<ref>Blinkhorn, Martin. ''Mussolini and Fascist Italy'', pg. 52</ref> The Allies fought through several lines until reaching the [[Winter Line|main German defensive line]] in mid-November.<ref>Read, Anthony; Fisher, David. ''The Fall of Berlin'', pg. 129</ref> In January 1944, the Allies launched a [[Battle of Monte Cassino|series of attacks against the line at Monte Cassino]] and attempted to outflank it with [[Operation Shingle|landings at Anzio]]. By late May both of these offensives had succeeded and, at the expense of allowing several German divisions to retreat, on June 4th [[Rome]] was captured.<ref>Havighurst, Alfred F. ''Britain in Transition: The Twentieth Century'', pg. 344</ref>
[[Image:Prokhorovka.jpg|thumb|left|A [[USSR|Soviet]] tank during the [[Battle of Kursk]]]]
German operations in the Atlantic also suffered. By [[Black May (1943)|May 1943]], German submarine losses were so high that the naval campaign was temporarily called to a halt as Allied counter-measures became increasingly effective.<ref>Read, Anthony. ''The Devil's Disciples: Hitler's Inner Circle'', pg. 804</ref>
In the Soviet Union, the Germans spent the spring and early summer of 1943 making preparations for a large offensive in the region of Kursk; the Soviets anticipated such an action though and spent their time fortifying the area.<ref>Glantz, David M. ''From the Don to the Dnepr: Soviet Offensive Operations, December 1942-August 1943'', pgs. 216-217</ref> On July 4th, the Germans [[Battle of Kursk|launched their attack]], though only about a week later Hitler cancelled the operation.<ref>Kershaw, Ian. ''Hitler, 1936-1945: Nemesis'', pg. 592</ref> The Soviets were then able to mount a massive counter-offensive and, by June 1944, had largely expelled Axis forces from the Soviet Union and made [[Battle of Târgul Frumos|incursions into Romania]].<ref>Chubarov, Alexander. ''Russia's Bitter Path to Modernity: A History of the Soviet and Post-Soviet Eras'', pg. 122</ref>
In November, 1943, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill met with Chiang Kai-shek [[Cairo Conference|in Cairo]] and then with Joseph Stalin [[Tehran Conference|in Tehran]]. At the former conference, the post-war return of Japanese territory was determined and in the latter, it was agreed that the Western Allies would invade Europe in 1944 and that the Soviet Union would declare war on Japan within three months of Germany's defeat.
=== Allies close in ===
[[Image:Approaching Omaha.jpg|thumb|right|Allied [[Invasion of Normandy]].]]
On 6 June 1944 (known as [[D-Day]]), the Western Allies [[Battle of Normandy|invaded northern France]] and, after reassigning several Allied divisions from Italy, [[Operation Dragoon|southern France]];<ref>Zaloga, Steven J. ''US Armored Units in the North African and Italian Campaigns 19422-45'', pg. 81</ref> by [[25 August]], Paris was [[Liberation of Paris|liberated]].<ref>Badsey, Stephen. ''Normandy 1944: Allied Landings and Breakout'', pg. 91</ref> During the latter part of the year, the Western Allies continued to [[Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine|push back German forces]] in western Europe, and in Italy ran into the [[Gothic Line|last major defensive line]].
On the Germans eastern front, the Soviets launched a series of powerful offensives. Starting in early June the Soviets launched massive assaults against [[Fourth strategic offensive|Finland]], [[Operation Bagration|Belarus]], [[Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive|Ukraine and Eastern Poland]], [[Iaşi-Chişinău Offensive|Romania]], and [[Budapest Offensive|Hungary]].<ref>Wiest, Andrew A.; Barbier, M. K. ''Strategy and Tactics Infantry Warfare'' pgs. 65, 66</ref> These operations resulted in great successes, with Bulgaria, Romania and [[Moscow Armistice|Finland signing armistices]] with the Soviet Union,<ref>Wiktor, Christian L. ''Multilateral Treaty Calendar - 1648-1995'', pg. 426</ref> and prompted [[Armia Krajowa|Polish resistance forces]] to [[Operation Tempest|initiate several uprisings in Poland]], though the largest of these, in [[Warsaw Uprising|Warsaw]], was conducted without Soviet assistance and put down by German forces.<ref>Berend, Tibor Iván. ''Central and Eastern Europe, 1944-1993: Detour from the Periphery to the Periphery'', pg. 8</ref>
By the start of July, Commonwealth forces in Southeast Asia had repelled the Japanese sieges in Assam, pushing the Japanese back to the [[Chindwin River]]<ref>Marston, Daniel. ''The Pacific War Companion: From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima'', pg. 120</ref> while the Chinese captured Myitkyina. In China, the Japanese were having greater successes, having finally captured Changsha in mid-June and the city of [[Hengyang]] by early August.<ref>Jowett, Philip S. ''The Japanese Army, 1931-45'', pg. 8</ref> Soon after, they further invaded the province of Guangxi, winning major engagements against Chinese forces at [[Battle of Guilin-Liuzhou|Guilin and Liuzhou]] by the end of November<ref>Howard, Joshua H. ''Workers at War: Labor in China's Arsenals, 1937-1953'', pg. 140</ref> and successfully linking up their forces in China and Indochina by the middle of December.<ref>Drea, Edward J. ''In the Service of the Emperor: Essays on the Imperial Japanese Army'', pg. 54</ref>
In the Pacific, American forces continued to press back the Japanese perimeter. In the middle of June, 1944, they began their [[Mariana and Palau Islands campaign|offensive against the Mariana and Palau islands]], scoring a decisive victory against Japanese forces in the [[Battle of the Philippine Sea|Philippine Sea]] within a few days. In late October, American forces [[Battle of Leyte|invaded the Filipino island of Leyte]]; soon after, Allied naval forces scored another large victory against the Japanese in [[Battle of Leyte Gulf|the Leyte Gulf]].<ref>Cook, Chris; Bewes, Diccon. ''What Happened Where: A Guide to Places and Events in Twentieth-Century History'', pg. 305</ref>
=== Axis collapse, Allied victory ===
[[Image:AmericanAndSovietAtElbe.jpg|right|thumb|[[United States|American]] and [[USSR|Soviet]] troops meet east of the [[Elbe River]].]]
On [[December 16]], [[1944]] German forces [[Battle of the Bulge|counter-attacked in the Ardennes]] against the Western Allies. It took six weeks for the Allies to repulse the attack. The Soviets attacked through Hungary, while the Germans abandoned Greece, Albania and were [[Yugoslav_Front_of_World_War_II#Partisan_General_Offensive|driven out of southern Yugoslavia]] by [[Yugoslav Partisans|partisans]].<ref name="WorldArms758">Weinberg, Gerhard L. ''A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II'', pp.758 & 820.</ref> In Italy, the Western Allies remained stalemated at the German defensive line. In mid-January 1945, the Soviets attacked in Poland, [[Vistula-Oder Offensive|pushing from the Vistula to the Oder]] river in Germany, and [[East Prussian Offensive|overran East Prussia]].<ref>Glantz, David M. ''The Soviet-German War 1941-1945: Myths and Realities: A Survey Essay'' pg. 85</ref>
On February 4, U.S., British, and Soviet leaders [[Yalta Conference|met in Yalta]]. They agreed on the occupation of post-war Germany,<ref>Solsten, Eric. ''Dwight Germany: A Country Study '', pgs. 76-77</ref> and when the Soviet Union would join the war against Japan.<ref>United States Dept. of State. ''The China White Paper, August 1949'', pg. 113</ref>
In February, Western Allied forces entered Germany and closed to the [[Rhine]] river, while the Soviets [[East Pomeranian Offensive|invaded Pomerania]] and [[Silesian Offensives|Silesia]]. In March, the Western Allies crossed the Rhine [[Operation Plunder|north]] and [[Remagen|south]] of the [[Rhine-Ruhr|Ruhr]], [[Ruhr Pocket|encircling a large number of German troops]], while the Soviets advanced to [[Vienna]]. In early April the Western Allies finally [[Spring 1945 offensive in Italy|pushed forward in Italy]] and swept across western Germany, while in late April Soviet forces [[Battle of Berlin|stormed Berlin]]; [[Elbe Day|the two forces linked up on Elbe river]] on [[April 25]].
Several changes in leadership occurred during this period. On April 12, U.S. President Roosevelt died; he was succeeded by [[Harry Truman]]. Mussolini was killed by [[Italian resistance movement|Italian partisans]] on April 28th<ref>O'Reilly, Charles T. ''Forgotten Battles: Italy's War of Liberation, 1943-1945'', pg. 244</ref> and two days later [[Death of Adolf Hitler|Hitler committed suicide]], succeeded by [[Grand Admiral]] [[Karl Dönitz]].<ref>Kershaw, Ian. ''Hitler, 1936-1945: Nemesis'', pg. 823</ref>
German forces surrendered in Italy on April 29th and [[Victory in Europe Day|Germany itself surrendered on May 7]].<ref name="BritWarxiv">Donnelly, Mark. ''Britain in the Second World War'', pg. xiv</ref>
[[Image:481px-Atomic cloud over Hiroshima2.jpg|left|thumb|[[Nuclear explosion]] at [[Hiroshima]]]]
In the Pacific theater, American forces advanced in the [[Philippines campaign (1944–45)|Philippines]], clearing Leyte by the end of 1944. They [[Battle of Luzon|landed on Luzon]] in January 1945 and [[Battle of Mindanao|Mindanao]] in March.<ref>Chant, Christopher. ''The Encyclopedia of Codenames of World War II'', pg. 118</ref> British and Chinese forces defeated the Japanese in northern Burma from October to March, then the British pushed on to [[Rangoon]] by May 3.<ref>Drea, Edward J. ''In the Service of the Emperor: Essays on the Imperial Japanese Army'', pg. 57</ref> American forces also moved toward Japan, taking [[Battle of Iwo Jima|Iwo Jima]] by March, and [[Battle of Okinawa|Okinawa]] by June.<ref>Jowett, Philip S. ''The Japanese Army, 1931-45'', pg. 6</ref> American bombers destroyed Japanese cities, and American submarines cut off Japanese imports.<ref name="results of german and american submarines">{{cite web |last=Poirier |first=Michel Thomas |title=Results of the German and American Submarine Campaigns of World War II |url=http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/history/wwii-campaigns.html |publisher=U.S. Navy |date=1999-10-20 |accessdate=2008-04-13}}</ref>
On July 11, the Allied leaders [[Potsdam Conference|met in Potsdam, Germany]]. They [[Potsdam Agreement|confirmed earlier agreements]] about Germany,<ref>Williams, Andrew J. ''Liberalism and War: The Victors and the Vanquished'', pg. 90</ref> and reiterated the demand for unconditional surrender by Japan, specifically stating that "the alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction".<ref>Miscamble, Wilson D. ''From Roosevelt to Truman: Potsdam, Hiroshima, and the Cold War'', pg. 201</ref> During this conference the [[United Kingdom general election, 1945|United Kingdom held its general election]] and [[Clement Attlee]] replaced Churchill as Prime Minister.
When Japan continued to reject the Potsdam terms, the United States then [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|dropped atomic bombs]] on the Japanese cities of [[Hiroshima]] and [[Nagasaki, Nagasaki|Nagasaki]] in early August. Between the two bombs, the Soviets [[Operation August Storm|invaded Japanese-held Manchuria]], as agreed at Yalta. On [[August 15]], [[1945]] [[Surrender of Japan|Japan surrendered]], ending the war.<ref name="BritWarxiv" />
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== Aftermath ==
{{main|Aftermath of World War II}}
[[Image:Churchill waves to crowds.jpg|thumb|right|[[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Winston Churchill]] waves to crowds in [[London]] on [[Victory in Europe Day]].]]
In an effort to maintain international peace,<ref>Yoder, Amos. ''The Evolution of the United Nations System'', pg. 39</ref> the Allies formed the [[United Nations]], which officially came into existence on 24 October, 1945.<ref>[http://www.un.org/aboutun/history.htm History of the UN]</ref>
Regardless of this though, the alliance between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union had begun to deteriorate even before the war was over,<ref>Kantowicz, Edward R. ''Coming Apart, Coming Together'', pg. 6</ref> and the two powers each quickly established their own [[spheres of influence]].<ref>''A Constructed Peace: The Making of the European Settlement, 1945-1963'', pg. 33</ref> In Europe, the continent was essentially divided between Western and Soviet spheres by the so-called [[Iron Curtain]] which ran through and partitioned [[Allied Occupation Zones in Germany|Allied occupied Germany]] and [[Allied-administered Austria|occupied Austria]]. In Asia, the United States [[Occupation of Japan|occupied Japan]] and [[Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands|administrated Japan's former islands in the Western Pacific]] while the Soviets annexed [[Sakhalin]] and the [[Kuril Islands]]; the former [[Korea under Japanese rule|Japanese governed Korea]] was [[Division of Korea|divided and occupied between the two powers]]. Mounting tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union soon evolved into the formation of the American-led [[NATO]] and the Soviet-led [[Warsaw Pact]] military alliances and the start of the [[Cold War]] between them.<ref>Leffler, Melvyn P.; Painter, David S. ''Origins of the Cold War: An International History'', pg. 318</ref>
In many parts of the world, conflict picked up again within a short time of World War II ending. In China, nationalist and communist forces quickly resumed their [[Chinese Civil War|civil war]]. Communist forces were eventually victorious and established the [[People's Republic of China]] on the mainland while nationalist forces ended up retreating to the reclaimed island of [[Taiwan]]. In Greece, [[Greek Civil War|civil war broke out]] between Anglo-American supported royalist forces and [[Democratic Army of Greece|communist forces]], with the royalist forces victorious. Soon after these conflicts ended, [[Korean War|war broke out in Korea]] between [[South Korea]], which was backed by the western powers, and [[North Korea]], which was backed by the Soviet Union and China; the war resulted in essentially a stalemate and ceasefire.
Following the end of the war, a rapid period of [[decolonization]] also took place within the holdings of the various European colonial powers. These primarily occurred due to shifts in ideology, the economic exhaustion from the war and increased demand by indigenous people for self-determination. For the most part, these transitions happened relatively peacefully, though notable exceptions occurred in countries such as [[First Indochina War|Indochina]], [[Madagascar revolt|Madagascar]], [[Indonesian National Revolution|Indonesia]] and [[Algerian War|Algeria]].<ref>Conteh-Morgan, Earl. ''Collective Political Violence: An Introduction to the Theories and Cases of Violent Conflicts'', pg. 30</ref> In many regions, divisions, usually for ethnic or religious reasons, occurred following European withdrawal; this was seen prominently in the [[British Mandate of Palestine|Mandate of Palestine]], [[1947 UN Partition Plan|leading to the creation]] of [[Israel]] and [[Palestine]], and in [[British Raj|India]], [[Partition of India|resulting in the creation]] of the [[Dominion of India]] and the [[Dominion of Pakistan]].
Economic recovery following the war was varied in differing parts of the world, though in general it was quite positive. In Europe, [[West Germany]] [[Wirtschaftswunder|recovered quickly]] and doubled production from its pre-war levels by the 1950s.<ref>Dornbusch, Rudiger; Nölling, Wilhelm P.; Layard, Richard G. ''Postwar Economic Reconstruction and Lessons for the East Today'', pg. 29</ref> Italy came out of the war in poor economic condition,<ref>Bull, Martin J.; Newell, James. ''Italian Politics: Adjustment Under Duress'', pg. 20</ref> but by 1950s, the Italian economy was marked by stability and high growth.<ref>Bull, Martin J.; Newell, James. ''Italian Politics: Adjustment Under Duress'', pg. 21</ref> The United Kingdom was in a state of economic ruin after the war,<ref>Dornbusch, Rudiger; Nölling, Wilhelm P.; Layard, Richard G. ''Postwar Economic Reconstruction and Lessons for the East Today'', pg. 117</ref> and continued to experience relative economic decline for decades to follow.<ref>Emadi-Coffin, Barbara. ''Rethinking International Organization: Deregulation and Global Governance'', pg. 64</ref> France rebounded quite quickly, and enjoyed rapid economic growth and modernization.<ref>Harrop, Martin. ''Power and Policy in Liberal Democracies'', pg. 23</ref> The Soviet Union also experienced a rapid increase in production in the immediate post-war era.<ref>Smith, Alan. ''Russia And the World Economy: Problems of Integration'', pg. 32</ref> In Asia, Japan experienced [[Japanese post-war economic miracle|incredibly rapid]] economic growth, and led to Japan becoming one of the most powerful economies in the world by the 1980s.<ref>Harrop, Martin. ''Power and Policy in Liberal Democracies'', pg. 49</ref> China, following the conclusion of its civil war, was essentially a bankrupt nation.<ref>Harper, Damian. ''China'', pg. 45</ref> By 1953 economic restoration seemed fairly successful as production had resumed pre-war levels.<ref>Harper, Damian. ''China'', pg. 46</ref> This growth rate mostly persisted, though it was briefly interrupted by the disastrous [[Great Leap Forward]] economic experiment. At the end of the war, the United States produced roughly half of the worlds industrial output; by the 1970s though, this dominance had lessened significantly.<ref>Kunkel, John. ''America's Trade Policy Towards Japan: Demanding Results'', pg. 33</ref>
== Impact of the war ==
=== Casualties and war crimes ===
{{main|World War II casualties|War crimes during World War II}}
[[Image:World War II Casualties2.svg|right|550px]]
Estimates for the total casualties of the war vary, but most suggest that some 60 million people died in the war, including about 20 million soldiers and 40 million civilians.<ref name=WWII: C&C>{{cite web |title=World War II: Combatants and Casualties (1937 — 1945) |url=http://web.jjay.cuny.edu/~jobrien/reference/ob62.html |accessdate=2007-04-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Source List and Detailed Death Tolls for the Twentieth Century Hemoclysm |url=http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat1.htm#Second |accessdate=2007-04-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=World War II Fatalities |url=http://www.secondworldwar.co.uk/casualty.html |accessdate=2007-04-20}}</ref>
Many civilians died because of [[Infectious disease|disease]], [[starvation]], [[List of massacres|massacres]], [[genocide]]. The [[Soviet Union]] lost around 27 million people during the war, about half of all World War II casualties.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4530565.stm |title=Leaders mourn Soviet wartime dead}}</ref> Of the total deaths in World War II, approximately 85 percent were on the Allied side (mostly Soviet and Chinese) and 15 percent on the Axis side. One estimate is that 12 million civilians died in [[Holocaust]] camps,<ref>{{cite web |author=Florida Center for Instructional Technology |url=http://fcit.usf.edu/Holocaust/people/victims.htm |title=Victims |work=A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust |publisher=[[University of South Florida]] |year=2005 |accessdate=2008-02-02}}</ref> 1.5 million by [[Strategic bombing during World War II|bombs]], 7 million in Europe from other causes, and 7.5 million in China from other causes.<ref>J. M. Winter, "Demography of the War", in Dear and Foot, ed., ''Oxford Companion to World War'', p 290.</ref> Figures on the amount of total casualties vary to a wide extent because the majority of deaths were not documented.
Many of these deaths were a result of [[genocide|genocidal]] actions committed in Axis-occupied territories and other war crimes [[War crimes of the Wehrmacht|committed by German]] as well as [[Japanese war crimes|Japanese forces]]. The most notorious of German atrocities was [[The Holocaust]], the systematic [[genocide]] of [[Jew]]s in territories controlled by Germany and its allies. The Nazis also targeted other groups, including the [[Roma people|Roma]] (targeting in the [[Porajmos]]), [[Slav]]s, and [[History of gay men in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust|gay men]], exterminating an estimated five million additional people.<ref>Todd, Allan. ''The Modern World'', pg. 121</ref> For Japan, the most well-known atrocity is the [[Nanking Massacre]], in which several hundred thousand Chinese civilians were raped and murdered.<ref>Chang, Iris. ''The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II'', pg. 102</ref> Japanese military murdered from nearly 3 million to over 10 million civilians, mostly Chinese.<ref>Rummell, ''Statistics'', [http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/SOD.CHAP3.HTM]</ref> According to Mitsuyoshi Himeta, at least 2.7 million died during the ''[[Three Alls Policy|Sankō Sakusen]]'' implemented in Heipei and [[Shantung]] by General [[Yasuji Okamura]].
Limited Axis usage of [[Biological warfare|biological]] and [[Chemical warfare|chemical weapons]] is also known. The Italians used [[mustard gas]] during their conquest of Abyssinia,<ref>Hilton, Laura J. ''Encyclopedia of World War II: A Political, Social, and Military History'', pg. 319</ref> while the [[Japanese Imperial Army]] used a variety of such weapons during their [[Second Sino-Japanese war|invasion and occupation of China]] (''see [[Unit 731]]'')<ref>Hal Gold, ''Unit 731 testimony'', Tuttle, 1996, p.75-77; Hilton, Laura J. ''Encyclopedia of World War II: A Political, Social, and Military History'', pg. 320 </ref> and in [[Battle of Khalkhin Gol|early conflicts against the Soviets]].<ref>Harris, Sheldon H. ''Factories of Death: Japanese Biological Warfare,1932-1945, and the American Cover-up'', pg. 74</ref> Both the Germans and [[Japanese human experimentation on the Chinese|Japanese tested]] such weapons against civilians<ref>Sabella, Robert ; Li, Feifei; Li, Fei Fei; Liu, David. ''Nanking 1937: Memory and Healing'', pg. 69</ref> and, in some cases, on [[prisoner of war|prisoners]].<ref>''Japan tested chemical weapons on Aussie POW: new evidence'', http://search.japantimes.co.jp/member/nn20040727a9.html</ref>
While many of the Axis's acts [[List of Axis war crime trials|were brought to trial]] in the world's first international tribunals,<ref>Aksar, Yusuf. ''Implementing International Humanitarian Law: From the Ad Hoc Tribunals to a Permanent International Criminal Court'', pg. 45</ref> [[Allied war crimes during World War II|incidents caused by the Allies]] were not. Examples of such actions include [[population transfer in the Soviet Union]], [[Japanese American internment]] in the United States, the [[Katyn massacre|Soviet massacre of Polish citizens]] and the controversial [[Strategic bombing during World War II|mass-bombing of civilian areas]] in enemy territory, most notably at [[bombing of Dresden|Dresden]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,,1068437,00.html |title=Germany's forgotten victims}}</ref>
Large numbers of deaths can also be attributed, if even partially, indirectly to the war, such as the [[Bengal famine of 1943]].
=== Concentration camps and slave work ===
[[The Holocaust]] was the killing of approximately six million Jews (overwhelmingly [[Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazi]]) as well as two million [[Nazi crimes against ethnic Poles|ethnic Poles]] and four million others who were deemed "unworthy of life" (including the [[Disability|disabled]] and [[Mental disorder|mentally ill]], [[Nazi crimes against Soviet POWs|Soviet POWs]], [[homosexuals]], [[Freemasons]], [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], and the Roma) as part of a program of deliberate extermination planned and executed by the Nazi Germany. About 12 million, most of whom were [[Eastern Europe]]ans, were employed in the German war economy as [[forced labor in Germany during World War II]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1757323,00.html |title=Final Compensation Pending for Former Nazi Forced Laborers}}</ref>
[[Image:Holocaust123.JPG|thumb|Victims of the [[Holocaust]]]]
In addition to the Nazi [[concentration camp]]s, the Soviet [[Gulag]], or [[labor camp]]s, led to the death of citizens of occupied countries such as Poland, [[Lithuania]], [[Latvia]], and [[Estonia]], as well as German [[prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] (POW) and even Soviet citizens themselves who had been or were thought to be supporters of the Nazis.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.heritage.org/Research/RussiaandEurasia/HL-800.cfm |title=Gulag: Understanding the Magnitude of What Happened}}</ref> Sixty percent of [[Nazi crimes against Soviet POWs|Soviet POWs]] died during the war.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historynet.com/wars_conflicts/world_war_2/3037296.html|title=Soviet Prisoners of War: Forgotten Nazi Victims of World War II}}</ref> [[Richard Overy]] gives the number of 5.7 million Soviet POWs. Of those, 57% died or were killed, a total of 3.6 million.<ref>[[Richard Overy]] ''The Dictators Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia'' p.568–569</ref> The survivors on their return to the USSR were treated as traitors (see [[Order No. 270]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/t-z/warlords1stalin.html |title=The warlords: Joseph Stalin}}</ref>
[[Image:Unit 731.jpg|thumb|left|Body disposal at [[Unit 731]], the infamous Japanese biological warfare research unit.]]
Japanese [[prisoner-of-war camp]]s also had high death rates, many were used as labour camps. The [[International Military Tribunal for the Far East]] found the death rate of Western prisoners was 27.1 percent (for American POWs, 37 percent),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/bataan/peopleevents/e_atrocities.html |title=Japanese Atrocities in the Philippines}}</ref> seven times that of POW's under the Germans and Italians<ref>Yuki Tanaka, ''Hidden Horrors'', 1996, p.2,3.</ref> The death rate among Chinese POWs was much larger; a directive ratified on [[5 August]] [[1937]] by [[Hirohito]] declared that the Chinese were no longer protected under international law.<ref>Akira Fujiwara, ''Nitchû Sensô ni Okeru Horyo Gyakusatsu'', Kikan Sensô Sekinin Kenkyû 9, 1995, p.22</ref> While 37,583 prisoners from the UK, 28,500 from the, Netherlands and 14,473 from United States were released after the [[surrender of Japan]], the number for the Chinese was only 56.<ref>Tanaka, ibid., Herbert Bix, ''Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan'', 2001, p.360</ref>
According to a joint study of historians featuring Zhifen Ju, Mark Peattie, Toru Kubo, and Mitsuyoshi Himeta, more than 10 million Chinese were mobilized by the Japanese army and [[History of slavery#Japan|enslaved]] by the [[Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere#The Kōa-in|Kōa-in]] for [[Slavery|slave labor]] in [[Manchukuo]] and north [[China]].<ref>Zhifen Ju, "''Japan's atrocities of conscripting and abusing north China draftees after the outbreak of the Pacific war''", 2002</ref> The U.S. Library of Congress estimates that in [[Java (island)|Java]], between 4 and 10 million ''[[romusha]]'' (Japanese: "manual laborer"), were forced to work by the Japanese military. About 270,000 of these Javanese laborers were sent to other Japanese-held areas in South East Asia. Only 52,000 were repatriated to Java, meaning that there was a death rate of 80%.<ref>[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+id0029) Library of Congress, 1992, "Indonesia: World War II and the Struggle For Independence, 1942–50; The Japanese Occupation, 1942–45"] Access date: [[February 9]], [[2007]].</ref>
[[Image:Ebensee concentration camp prisoners 1945.jpg|thumb|Mistreated and starved prisoners in the [[Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp|Mauthausen camp]], [[Austria]], 1945]]
On [[February 19]], [[1942]] Roosevelt signed [[United States Executive Order 9066|Executive Order 9066]], interning thousands of [[Japanese American internment|Japanese]], [[Italian Americans|Italians]], [[German Americans]], and some emigrants from Hawaii who fled after the bombing of [[Pearl Harbor]] for the duration of the war. 150,000 [[Japanese American internment|Japanese-Americans were interned]] by the U.S. and Canadian governments, as well as nearly 11,000 German and Italian residents of the U.S.
Allied use of slave labor occurred mainly in the east, such as in Poland,<ref>http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=5580881617412</ref> but more than a million was also put to work in the west. By December 1945 it was estimated by French authorities that 2,000 German prisoners were being killed or maimed each month in mine-clearing accidents.<ref> S. P. MacKenzie "The Treatment of Prisoners of War in World War II" The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 66, No. 3. (Sep., 1994), pp. 487-520.</ref>
=== Home fronts and production ===
{{main|military production during World War II|Home front during World War II}}
[[Image:WorldWarII-GDP-Relations-Allies-Axis-simple.png|right|thumb|400px|Allied to Axis GDP ratio.]]
In Europe, prior to the start of the war, the Allies had significant advantages in both population and economics. In 1938, the Western Allies (United Kingdom, France, Poland and British Dominions) had a 30% larger population and a 30% higher [[gross domestic product]] then the European Axis (Germany and Italy); if colonies are included, it then gives the Allies more then a 5:1 advantage in population and nearly 2:1 advantage in GDP.<ref name="6Econ3">Harrison, Mark. ''The Economics of World War II: Six Great Powers in International Comparison'', pg. 3</ref> In Asia at the same time, China had roughly six times the population of Japan, but only a 89% higher GDP; this is reduced to three times the population and only a 38% higher GDP if Japanese colonies are included.<ref name="6Econ3"/>
Though the Allies economic and population advantages were largely mitigated during the initial rapid [[blitzkrieg]] attacks of Germany and Japan, they became the decisive factor by 1942, after the United States and Soviet Union joined the Allies, as the war largely settled into one of attrition.<ref name="6Econ2">Harrison, Mark. ''The Economics of World War II: Six Great Powers in International Comparison'', pg. 2</ref>
While the Allies ability to out-produce the Axis is often attributed to the Allies having more access to natural resources, other factors, such as Germany and Japan's reluctance to utilize women in the [[labour force]],<ref>Hughes, Matthew; Mann, Chris. ''Inside Hitler's Germany: Life Under the Third Reich'', pg. 148</ref><ref>Bernstein, Gail Lee. ''Recreating Japanese Women, 1600-1945'', pg. 267</ref> Allied [[Strategic bombing during World War II|strategic bombing]],<ref>Hughes, Matthew; Mann, Chris. ''Inside Hitler's Germany: Life Under the Third Reich'', pg. 151</ref><ref>Griffith, Charles. ''The Quest: Haywood Hansell and American Strategic Bombing in World War II'', pg. 203</ref> and Germany's late shift to a [[war economy]]<ref>Overy, R.J. ''War and Economy in the Third Reich'', pg. 26</ref> contributed significantly. Additionally, neither Germany nor Japan planned on fighting a protracted war, and were not equipped to do so.<ref>Lindberg, Michael; Daniel, Todd. ''Brown-, Green- and Blue-Water Fleets: the Influence of Geography on Naval Warfare, 1861 to the Present'', pg. 126</ref><ref>Cox, Sebastian. ''The Strategic Air War Against Germany, 1939-1945'', pg. 84</ref> To improve their production, Germany and Japan used millions of [[slave labour]]ers;<ref>Unidas, Naciones. ''World Economic And Social Survey 2004: International Migration'', pg. 23</ref> [[Forced labor in Germany during World War II|Germany used]] about 12 million people, mostly from [[Eastern Europe]],<ref>http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1757323,00.html</ref> while [[Slavery in Japan|Japan pressed]] more than 18 million people in [[Far East]] Asia.<ref>Zhifen Ju, "''Japan's atrocities of conscripting and abusing north China draftees after the outbreak of the Pacific war''", 2002, [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+id0029) Library of Congress, 1992, "Indonesia: World War II and the Struggle For Independence, 1942–50; The Japanese Occupation, 1942–45"] Access date: [[February 9]], [[2007]].</ref>
=== War time occupation ===
{{main|Collaboration during World War II|Resistance during World War II}}
In Europe, occupation came under two very different forms. In western, northern and central Europe (France, Norway, Denmark, the Low Countries, and the [[Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia|annexed portions of Czechoslovakia]]) Germany established economic policies through which it collected roughly 69.5 billion [[German Reichsmark|reichmarks]] by the end of the war; this figure does not include the [[Nazi plunder|sizable plunder]] of industrial products, military equipment, raw materials and other goods.<ref>Liberman, Peter. ''Does Conquest Pay?: The Exploitation of Occupied Industrial Societies'', pg. 42</ref> Thus, the income from occupied nations was over 40% of the income Germany collected from taxation, a figure which increased to nearly 40% of total German income as the war went on.<ref>Milward, Alan S. ''War, Economy, and Society, 1939-1945'', pg. 138</ref>
In the east, the much hoped for bounties of [[lebensraum]] were never attained as fluctuating front-lines and Soviet [[scorched earth]] policies denied resources to the German invaders.<ref>Milward, Alan S. ''War, Economy, and Society, 1939-1945'', pg. 148</ref> Unlike in the west, the [[Racial policy of Nazi Germany|Nazi racial policy]] encouraged excessive brutality against what it considered to be the "[[Untermensch|inferior people]]" of Slavic descent; most German advances were thus followed by [[Generalplan Ost|mass executions]].<ref>Perrie, Maureen; Lieven, D. C. B.; Suny, Ronald Grigor. ''The Cambridge History of Russia'', pg. 232</ref> Although [[Resistance during World War II|resistance groups]] did form in most occupied territories, they did not significantly hamper German operations in either the east<ref>Hill, Alexander. ''The War Behind The Eastern Front: The Soviet Partisan Movement In North-West Russia 1941-1944'', pg. 5</ref> or the west<ref>Christofferson, Thomas Rodney; Christofferson, Michael Scott. ''France During World War II: From Defeat to Liberation'', pg. 156</ref> until late 1943.
In Asia, Japan termed nations under its [[Japanese occupation|occupation]] as being part of the [[Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere]], essentially a Japanese [[hegemony]] which it claimed was for purposes of liberating colonized peoples.<ref>Ikeo, Aiko. ''Economic Development in Twentieth Century East Asia: The International Context'', pg. 107</ref> Although Japanese forces were originally welcomed as liberators from European domination in many territories, their excessive brutality turned local public opinions against them within weeks.<ref name="GSWW6_266" /> During Japan's initial conquest it captured 4 million barrels of oil left behind by retreating Allied forces, and by 1943 was able to get production in the Dutch East Indies up to 50 million barrels, 76% of its 1940 output rate.<ref name="GSWW6_266">Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt. ''Germany and the Second World War — Volume VI: The Global War'', pg. 266</ref>
=== Advances in technology and warfare ===
{{main|Technology during World War II}}
During the war, aircraft continued their roles of reconnaissance, [[fighter aircraft|fighters]], [[bomber]]s and ground-support from World War I, though each area was advanced considerably. Two important additional roles for aircraft were those of the [[airlift]], the capability to quickly move high-priority supplies, equipment and personnel, albeit in limited quantities;<ref name="EncWWII_76">Tucker, Spencer; Roberts, Priscilla Mary. ''Encyclopedia of World War II: A Political, Social, and Military History'', pg. 76</ref> and of [[strategic bombing]], the targeted use bombs against civilian areas in the hopes of hampering enemy industry and morale.<ref>Levine, Alan J. ''The Strategic Bombing of Germany, 1940-1945'', pg. 217</ref> [[Anti-aircraft warfare|Anti-aircraft weaponry]] also continued to advance, including key defences such as [[radar]] and greatly improved anti-aircraft artillery, such as the German [[88 mm gun]]. [[Jet aircraft]] saw their first limited operational use during World War II, and though their late introduction and limited numbers meant that they had no real impact during the war itself, the few which saw active service pioneered a mass-shift to their usage following the war.<ref>Sauvain, Philip. ''Key Themes of the Twentieth Century: Teacher's Guide'', pg. 128</ref>
At sea, while advances were made in almost all aspects of naval warfare, the two primary areas of development were focused around aircraft carriers and submarines. Although at the start of the war [[Aeronautics|aeronautical]] warfare had relatively little success,<ref name="EncWWII_163">Tucker, Spencer; Roberts, Priscilla Mary. ''Encyclopedia of World War II: A Political, Social, and Military History'', pg. 163</ref> actions at Taranto, Pearl Harbor, the South China Sea and the Coral Sea soon established the carrier as the dominant capital ship in place of the battleship.<ref>Bishop, Chris; Chant, Chris. ''Aircraft Carriers: The World's Greatest Naval Vessels and Their Aircraft'', pg. 7</ref><ref>Chenoweth, H. Avery; Nihart, Brooke. ''Semper Fi: The Definitive Illustrated History of the U.S. Marines'', pg. 180</ref> In the Atlantic, [[escort carrier]]s proved to be a vital part of Allied convoys, increasing the effective protection radius dramatically and helping to seal the [[Mid-Atlantic gap]].<ref>Sumner, Ian; Baker, Alix. ''The Royal Navy 1939-45'', pg. 25</ref> Beyond their increased effectiveness, carriers were also more economical then battleships due to the relatively low cost of aircraft<ref>Hearn, Chester G. ''Carriers in Combat: The Air War at Sea'', pg. 14</ref> and their not requiring to be as heavily armoured.<ref>Gardiner, Robert; Brown, David K. ''The Eclipse of the Big Gun: The Warship 1906-1945'', pg. 52</ref> Submarines, which had proved to be an effective weapon during the first World War<ref>Burcher, Roy; Rydill, Louis. ''Concepts in Submarine Design'', pg. 15</ref> were anticipated by all sides to be important in the second. The British focused development on [[Anti-submarine warfare|anti-submarine]] [[anti-submarine weapon|weaponry]] and tactics, such as [[sonar]] and convoys, while Germany focused on improving its offensive capability, with designs such as the [[German Type VII submarine|Type VII submarine]] and [[Wolf pack]] tactics.<ref>Burcher, Roy; Rydill, Louis. ''Concepts in Submarine Design'', pg. 16</ref> Gradually, continually improving Allied technologies such as the [[Leigh light]], [[Hedgehog (weapon)|hedgehog]], [[Squid (weapon)|squid]], and [[Mark 24 FIDO Torpedo|homing torpedoes]] proved victorious.
Overland warfare changed drastically from the static front lines experienced during World War I to become much more fluid and mobile. An important change was the concept of [[combined arms]] warfare, wherein tight coordination was sought between the various elements of military forces; the [[tank]], which had been used predominantly for infantry-support in the first World War, had evolved into the primary weapon of these forces during the second.<ref name="EncWWII_125">Tucker, Spencer; Roberts, Priscilla Mary. ''Encyclopedia of World War II: A Political, Social, and Military History'', pg. 125</ref> In the late 1930s, tank design was considerably more advanced in all areas then it had been during World War I,<ref>Dupuy, Trevor Nevitt. ''The Evolution of Weapons and Warfare'', pg. 231</ref> and [[Tanks in World War II|advances continued throughout the war]] in increasing speed, armour and fire-power. At the start of the war, most armies considered the tank to be the best weapon against itself, and developed special purpose tanks to that effect.<ref name="EncWWII_108">Tucker, Spencer; Roberts, Priscilla Mary. ''Encyclopedia of World War II: A Political, Social, and Military History'', pg. 108</ref> This line of thinking was all but negated by the poor performance of the relatively light early tank armaments against armour, and German doctrine of avoiding tank-to-tank combat; the latter factor, along with Germany's use of combined arms, were among the key elements of their highly successful [[blitzkrieg]] tactics across Poland and France.<ref name="EncWWII_125"/> Many means of [[anti-tank warfare|destroying tanks]], including [[Indirect fire|indirect artillery]], [[anti-tank gun]]s (both towed and [[self-propelled gun|self-propelled]]), [[anti-tank mine|mines]], short-ranged infantry carried anti-tank weaponry, and other tanks were utilized.<ref name="EncWWII_108" /> Even with the large-scale mechanization of the various armies, the infantry remained the backbone of all forces,<ref name="EncWWII_734">Tucker, Spencer; Roberts, Priscilla Mary. ''Encyclopedia of World War II: A Political, Social, and Military History'', pg. 734</ref> and throughout the war, most infantry equipment was similar to that utilized in World War I.<ref name="Comp_221">Cowley, Robert; Parker, Geoffrey. ''The Reader's Companion to Military History'', pg. 221</ref> Some of the primary advances though, were the widespread incorporation of readily portable [[machine gun]]s, a most notable example being the German [[MG42]], and various [[submachine gun]]s which were well suited to close quarters combat in urban and jungle settings.<ref name="Comp_221" /> The [[assault rifle]], a late war development which incorporated many of the best features of the [[rifle]] and submachine gun, became the post-war standard infantry weapon for nearly all armed forces.
In terms of communications, most of the major belligerents attempted to solve the problems of complexity and security presented by utilizing large [[codebook]]s for [[cryptography]] with the creation of various [[cipher]]ing machines, the most well known being the German [[Enigma machine]].<ref>Ratcliff, Rebecca Ann. ''Delusions of Intelligence: Enigma, Ultra and the End of Secure Ciphers'', pg. 11</ref> [[SIGINT]] ('''sign'''als '''int'''elligence) was the countering process of decryption, with the notable examples being the British [[ULTRA]] and the Allied breaking of [[Japanese naval codes]]. Another important aspect of [[military intelligence]] was the use of [[deception]] operations, which the Allies successfully used on several occasions to great effect, such as operations [[Operation Mincemeat|Mincemeat]] and [[Operation Bodyguard|Bodyguard]], which diverted German attention and forces away from the Allied invasions of Sicily and Normandy respectively.
Other important technological and engineering feats achieved during, or as a result of, the war include the worlds first programmable [[computer]]s ([[Z3 (computer)|Z3]], [[Colossus computer|Colossus]], and [[ENIAC]]), [[V-1 flying bomb|guided missiles]] and [[V-2 rocket|modern rockets]], the [[Manhattan Project]]'s development of [[nuclear weapon]]s, the development of [[Mulberry harbour|artificial harbours]] and [[Operation Pluto|oil pipelines under the English Channel]].
== Historical era ==
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{{succession box|title=World History|before=[[Interwar period]]|after=[[Cold War]]|years=1939–1945}}
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== See also ==
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* [[Causes of World War II|Precursors]]
* '''World War II'''
** [[Timeline of World War II|Timeline]]
** [[Home front during World War II|Home front]]
** [[List of World War II battles|Battles (list)]]
** [[List of World War II military operations|Military operations (list)]]
** [[Commanders of World War II|Commanders]]
** ''[[Atlas of the World Battle Fronts]]''
** [[Collaboration during World War II|Collaboration]]
** [[Resistance during World War II|Resistance]]
** [[Technology during World War II|Technology]]
** [[Aerial warfare#World War II|Aerial warfare]]
* [[Aftermath of World War II|Aftermath]]
** [[World War II casualties|Casualties]]
** [[Effects of World War II|Further effects]]
** [[Consequences of German Nazism|Consequences of Nazism]]
* [[World War II in contemporary culture|Depictions]]
== References ==
{{Reflist|3}}
== External links ==
{{sisterlinks|World War II}}
<div class="references-small">
; Directories
* [http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/History/By_Time_Period/20th_Century/Military_History/World_War_II/ Yahoo — "World War II"]
* [http://www.militaryindexes.com/worldwartwo/ Directory of Online World War II Indexes & Records]
* [http://vlib.iue.it/history/mil/ww2.html WWW-VL: History: WWII]
; General
* [http://www.ww2db.com/ World War II Database]
* [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WW.htm The Second World War] — [[Spartacus Educational]]
* [http://www6.dw-world.de/en/worldwarII.php Deutsche Welle special section on World War II] created by one of Germany’s public broadcasters on World War II and the world 60 years after.
* [http://www.wwii.ca/ Canada and WWII]
* [http://www.historisches-centrum.de/index.php?id=427 End of World War II in Germany]
* [http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=226140 World War II Encyclopedia by the History Channel]
* [http://www.ww2awards.com World War II Awards and their recipients]
* [http://www.gettysburg.edu/special_collections/collections/manuscripts/collections/ms056.dot World War II German Prisoner of War Collection at Gettysburg College]
; Media
* [http://www.archives.gov/research/ww2/ U.S. National Archives Photos]
* [http://digital.library.unt.edu/search.tkl?type=collection&q=WWII World War II Poster Collection] hosted by the University of North Texas Libraries'
* [http://gettysburg.cdmhost.com/cdm4/browse.php?CISOROOT=%2Fp126301coll3 World War II Poster Digital Collection at Gettysburg College]
* [http://digital.library.unt.edu/ Digital Collections]
* [http://www.psywar.org/leaflets.php World War II Propaganda Leaflet Archive]
* [http://www.ww2incolor.com/gallery/ World War 2 Pictures In Colour]
* [http://www.warphotos.co.nr/ Thousands of World War II Photographs & Movies]
* [http://worldwartwozone.com/photopost/ World War II Zone Photo and Multi-media gallery] (Blanked, requires registration)
* [http://english.pobediteli.ru/ Multimedia map] — Presentation that covers the war from the invasion of the Soviet Union to the fall of Berlin
* [http://www.otr.net/?p=news Radio news from 1938 to 1945]
* [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/theartofwar/ The Art of War Online Exhibition at the UK National Archive]
; On-line documents
* [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/maps/wwii/ World War II Military Situation Maps. Library of Congress]
* [http://ww2.war-letters.com WWII Letters] Online database of letters mailed by soldiers during the 2nd world war.
* [http://www.american-divisions.com After Action Reports (AAR’s) and other official documents about the American Divisions during the Second World War]
* [http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/history_ww2.html Maps from the Pacific and Italian theaters]
* [http://www.theblackvault.com/modules.php?name=core&showPage=true&pageID=35 Officially Declassified U.S. Government Documents about World War II] <!-- NOTE TO WIKI EDITORS: I did ask to add this link via the talk page, and received permission. -->
* [http://www.foia.cia.gov/CPE/CAESAR/caesar-25.pdf ''The Soviet History of World War II''], 28 October 1959 — [[Central Intelligence Agency]], Office of Current Intelligence.
* [http://chrito.users1.50megs.com/ Daily German action reports]
* [http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/cdm4/browse.php?CISOROOT=%2Fp4013coll8 World War II Operational Documents] Combined Arms Research Library, Fort Leavenworth, KS
; Stories
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/ WW2 People's War] — A project by the [[BBC]] to gather the stories of ordinary people from World War II
; Documentaries
* ''[[The World at War]]'' (1974) is a 26-part [[Thames Television]] series that covers most aspects of World War II from many points of view. It includes interviews with many key figures ([[Karl Dönitz]], [[Albert Speer]], [[Anthony Eden]] etc.) ([http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071075/ Imdb link])
* ''The Second World War in Colour'' (1999) is a three episode documentary showing unique footage in color ([http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212694/ Imdb link])
* ''[[Battlefield (documentary series)]]'' is a television documentary series initially issued in 1994–1995 that explores many of the most important battles fought during the Second World War''
* ''[[The War (documentary)|The War]]'' (2007) is 7-part [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] documentary recounting the experiences of a number of individuals from American communities.
</div>
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