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World War II articles |
World War II, or the Second World War, was a global military conflict from 1939 to 1945, which was fought between the Allied powers of the United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union against the Axis powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan, with their respective allies.
World War II began in Europe in 1939 with the German invasion of Poland, launching a European war which merged with the ongoing Second Sino-Japanese War which had been started by the Japanese in 1937. [1] It involved the mobilization of over 100 million military personnel, making it the most widespread and largest war in history, propelling the participants into a state of "total war", which erased the distinction between civil and military resources, as nations focused their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities toward winning (and ending) the war. Over 60 million people, the majority of them civilians, were killed, making it the deadliest conflict in human history.[2] The financial cost of the war is estimated at about a trillion 1944 U.S. dollars worldwide,[3][4] making it the most costly war in capital as well as lives.
The Allies were victorious, and from among them emerged two superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union, the tension between them setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 45 years. The United Nations was formed in hopes of preventing further international conflicts. The self determination spawned by the war accelerated decolonization movements in Asia and Africa, while Europe itself began moving toward integration.[5]
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to World War II:
Contents
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Essence of World War II
- Main articles: World War II and Timeline of World War II
Causes of World War II
Main article: Causes of World War II
The Holocaust
Main article: The Holocaust
Participants in World War II
Main article: Participants in World War II
- Allies of World War II (see also Allies)
- Major Allied powers
- Poland
- China
- Canada
- United States
- Soviet Union
- United Kingdom
- France (Sep 1939 - June 1940) / Free French (June 1940 to end of war)
- Minor Allied powers
- Major Allied powers
- Axis powers
- Major Axis powers
- Minor Axis powers
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Hungary
- Romania
- Slovak Republic
- Kingdom of Yugoslavia (for two days)
- Thailand
- (For co-belligerents, puppet states, and collaborator states, see Axis Powers).
Timeline of World War II
Main articles: Timeline of World War II and List of military engagements of World War II
- Invasion of Poland (September 1-October 6, 1939)
- Phoney War
- Battle of the Atlantic (September 3, 1939-May 7, 1945)
- Invasion of Denmark and Norway (April 9–June 10, 1940)
- Invasion of the Low Countries and the fall of France (May 10-June 25, 1940)
- Dunkirk evacuation (May 26-June 4, 1940)
- Battle of Britain (September 1940)
- Operation Barbarossa (Invasion of the Soviet Union, commencing on June 22, 1941)
- Siege of Leningrad (September 8, 1941-January 27, 1944)
- Battle of Moscow (October 2, 1941-January 7, 1942)
- Attack on Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941)
- Battle of the Coral Sea (May 4–8, 1942)
- Battle of Midway (June 4-7, 1942)
- Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942-February 2, 1943)
- Dieppe Raid (August 19, 1942)
- Second Battle of El Alamein (October 23-November 5, 1942)
- Operation Torch (November 8-10, 1942)
- Battle of Kursk (July 4-August 23-1943)
- Allied invasion of Sicily (July 9-August 17, 1943)
- Allied invasion of Italy (September 3-16, 1943)
- Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces (Signed on September 3, declared on September 8, 1943)
- Battle of Monte Cassino (January 17-May 18, 1944)
- Landings at Anzio (January 22-June 5, 1944)
- D-day (June 6, 1944)
- Destruction of Army Group Centre (June 22-August 19, 1944)
- Invasion of Southern France (August 15, 1944)
- Gothic Line (August 25-December 17, 1944)
- Operation Market Garden (September 17-25, 1945)
- Battle of Hürtgen Forest (September 19, 1944-February 10, 1945)
- Battle of Aachen (October 2-21, 1944)
- Battle of the Scheldt (October 2-November 8, 1944)
- Battle of the Bulge (December 16, 1944–January 25, 1945)
- Battle of Berlin (April 16-May 2, 1944)
- Victory in Europe Day (May 8, 1945)
- Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 6 and 9, 1945)
- Victory over Japan Day (September 2, 1945)
World War II by region
World War II theatres, fronts, and campaigns
- African campaigns of World War II
- Home front during World War II
- Mediterranean Theatre of World War II
- Pacific Ocean theater of World War II
- Timeline of the Eastern Front of World War II
- U.S. campaigns in WWII
- Western Front (World War II)
- Campaigns of World War II
- East African Campaign (World War II)
- Eastern Front (World War II)
- Italian Campaign (World War II)
- West Africa Campaign (World War II)
- European Theatre of World War II
- South-East Asian Theatre of World War II
- Attacks on Australia during World War II
- Attacks on North America during World War II
- Australian home front during World War II
- List of Military operations on the Eastern Front European Theater during WW2
- United States home front during World War II
- Arctic convoys of World War II
World War II by country
- Occupation of Baltic republics by Nazi Germany
- Occupation of Belarus by Nazi Germany
- Occupation of Denmark
- Occupation of the Channel Islands
- Orders, decorations, and medals of Nazi Germany
- Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany
Other initiatives in World War II
Propaganda during World War II
- American propaganda during World War II
- British propaganda during World War II
- Nazi propaganda
- Soviet propaganda during World War II
People in World War II
- History of gay men in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust
- History of the Jews during World War II
- List of people who assisted Jews during the Holocaust
- American Minority Groups in World War II
- Hispanic Americans in World War II
Leaders in World War II
Main articles: Allied leaders of World War II, Axis Leaders of World War II, and Commanders of World War II
Military forces of World War II
- List of World War II aces by country
- List of World War II air aces
- British 51st (Highland) Infantry Division (World War II)
- British Army Groups in WWII
- British Brigades in World War II
- British Corps in World War II
- 17th Airborne Division
Technology during World War II
Main article: Technology during World War II
- German military technology during World War II
- Allied technological cooperation during World War II
- Technological escalation during World War II
Equipment of World War II
Vehicles of World War II
- List of World War II military vehicles by country
- List of World War II military vehicles of Germany
- List of World War II ship classes
- List of World War II ships
- List of World War II ships of less than 1000 tons
- List of WW2 Luftwaffe aircraft by manufacturer
- List of aircraft of Italy, World War II
- List of aircraft of Japan, World War II
- List of aircraft of Russia, World War II
- List of aircraft of World War II
- List of aircraft of the Armée de l'Air, World War II
- List of aircraft of the British, World War II
- List of aircraft of the Luftwaffe, World War II
- List of aircraft of the U.S. military, World War II
- List of armoured fighting vehicles of World War II
- List of broadsides of major World War II ships
- List of undersea-carried planes during World War II
- List of weapons on Japanese combat aircraft
- List of prototype WWII combat vehicles
- List of foreign vehicles used by Nazi Germany in World War II
- List of helicopters used in World War II
- List of jet aircraft of World War II
- List of limited service World War II combat vehicles
Weapons of World War II
Common military awards
Soviet Union
- Hero of the Soviet Union
- Order of Lenin
- Order of Suvorov
- Order of the October Revolution
- Order of the Red Banner
- Order of Victory
United States
- Medal of Honor
- Silver Star
- Bronze Star
- Distinguished Flying Cross
- Air Medal
- World War II Victory Medal
- Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
- European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
- American Campaign Medal
United Kingdom
- Victoria Cross
- Air Force Cross
- Order of the Bath
- Order of the British Empire
- Distinguished Flying Cross
- Africa Star
- Pacific Star
France and Belgium
Poland
Nazi Germany
The End of World War II
Aftermath of World War II
Main articles: Aftermath of World War II and Effects of World War II
- Allied war crimes during World War II
- Axis war criminals
- Nazi crimes against ethnic Poles
- Nazi gold
- Post-World War II baby boom
- Pursuit of Nazi collaborators
- Cold War
- Emergence of superpowers
World War II in pop-culture
World War II lists
- Main articles: List of World War II topics and Lists of World War II topics
See also
References
- ^ 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 zweite 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.
- ^ Dunnigan, James; Albert Nofi. 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
- ^ Mayer, E. (2000) "World War II" course lecture notes on Emayzine.com (Victorville, California: Victor Valley College)
- ^ Coleman, P. (1999) "Cost of the War," World War II Resource Guide (Gardena, California: The American War Library)
- ^ "World War II". The Columbia Encyclopedia (6th ed.). 2007. http://www.bartleby.com/65/ww/WW2.html. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
External links
Find more about World War II on Wikipedia's sister projects:
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Quotations from Wikiquote
Source texts from Wikisource
Images and media from Commons
News stories from Wikinews
Learning resources from Wikiversity- Directories
- General
- World War II Database
- The Second World War—Spartacus Educational
- 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.
- Canada and WWII
- End of World War II in Germany
- World War II Encyclopedia by the History Channel
- World War II Awards and their recipients.
- Media
- U.S. National Archives Photos
- World War II Poster Collection hosted by the University of North Texas Libraries' *Digital Collections
- World War II Propaganda Leaflet Archive
- World War 2 Pictures In Colour
- Thousands of World War II Photographs & Movies
- Multimedia map—Presentation that covers the war from the invasion of the Soviet Union to the fall of Berlin
- Radio news from 1938 to 1945
- The Art of War Online Exhibition at the UK National Archive
- On-line documents
- World War II Military Situation Maps. Library of Congress
- After Action Reports (AAR’s) and other official documents about the American Divisions during the Second World War
- Maps from the Pacific and Italian theaters
- Officially Declassified U.S. Government Documents about World War II
- The Soviet History of World War II, 28 October 1959—Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Current Intelligence.
- Daily German action reports
- Stories
- 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.) (Imdb link)
- The Second World War in Colour (1999) is a three episode documentary showing unique footage in color (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 (2007) is 7-part PBS documentary recounting the experiences of a number of individuals from American communities.
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