World War II

How Did The War Start?

World War II began in Europe on 1 September 1939 with the German invasion of Poland and the United Kingdom and France's declaration of war on Germany two days later on 3 September 1939. Dates for the beginning of the Pacific War include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or the earlier Japanese invasion of Manchuria, on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who stated that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously, and the two wars became World War II in 1941. Other theorised starting dates for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939. Others view the Spanish Civil War as the start or prelude to World War II.

 Which Countries Were In World War II

Almost every country in the world participated in World War II. Most were neutral at the beginning, but only a relative few nations remained neutral to the end. The Second World War pitted two alliances against each other, the Axis powers and the Allied powers. It is generally estimated that a total of 74 million people died, with the lowest estimate being 40 million dead and the highest estimate being 90 million dead (this if we count the Holocaust causalities too). The leading Axis powers were Nazi Germany, the Empire of Japan and the Kingdom of Italy; while the British Empire, the United States, the Soviet Union and China were the "Big Four" Allied powers.

Important Dates In World War II

• September 1, 1939: Germany invades Poland, starting World War II.
• September 3, 1939: Britain and France declare war on Germany.
• March 1940: The Phoney War begins.
• May 10, 1940: Germany invades Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

Important People In World War II

• Leaders of World War Two Winston Churchill. (1874–1965) Churchill epitomised the British bulldog spirit. ...
• Military heroes Dwight Eisenhower (1890–1969) Supreme Allied Commander for the D-Day Landings. ...
• Spies of the Second World War Odette Sansom (1912–1995) British spy for SOE (Special Operations Executive). ...
• Heroes who resisted the Holocaust ...
• German resistance to Hitler ...

What Happened At The End Of The War?

The exact date of the war's end also is not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 15 August 1945 (V-J Day), rather than with the formal surrender of Japan on 2 September 1945, which officially ended the war in Asia. A peace treaty between Japan and the Allies was signed in 1951. A 1990 treaty regarding Germany's future allowed the reunification of East and West Germany to take place and resolved most post–World War II issues. No formal peace treaty between Japan and the Soviet Union was ever signed, although the state of war between the two countries was terminated by the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956, which also restored full diplomatic relations between them.