Outline of World War II

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The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to World War II:

World War II, or the Second World War was a global military conflict that was fought between September 1, 1939, and September 2, 1945. The war pitted two major military alliances against each other: the Allies of the United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, China and others against the Axis of Germany, Japan, Italy and others. Over 60 million people, the majority of them civilians, were killed, making it the deadliest conflict in human history.^[1]

The Second World War was known for modern warfare and tactics such as air warfare, strategic bombing, blitzkrieg and the first, and only, use of nuclear weapons in warfare. It is also known for the numerous war crimes committed during its duration, mostly by Axis forces but also by Allied forces, that left tens of millions of civilians dead through genocides, massacres and starvation; such as the Holocaust, Three Alls Policy, Genocide of ethnic Poles, Unit 731, Nanjing massacre, Hunger Plan and the Warsaw Uprising.

Causes of World War II edit

Participants in World War II edit

The Axis powers edit

Major Axis powers edit

Other Axis powers edit

The Allied powers edit

The 'Big Five' major allies edit

Other major allies edit

People in World War II edit

Leaders in World War II edit

Axis leaders edit

Adolf Hitler – Führer (leader) of Germany
Hirohito – Emperor^[i] of Japan
Benito Mussolini – Prime Minister^[j] of Italy

Allied leaders edit

Joseph Stalin – Leader^[k] of the Soviet Union
Franklin D. Roosevelt^[l] – President of the United States
Winston Churchill^[m] – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Chiang Kai-shek – Leader^[n] of China

Military forces of World War II edit

British Army during the Second World War edit

Military history of France during World War II edit

Military history of the United States during World War II edit

Red Army edit

National Revolutionary Army edit

Army groups of the National Revolutionary Army

Military history of Germany edit

Imperial Japanese Army edit

Royal Italian Army during World War II edit

Timeline of World War II edit

The following list includes some of the largest events in World War II:

1939 edit

August 23: Germany and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression pact
- September 1: Germany^[o] invades Poland, beginning the war^[p]
- September 3: War is declared on Germany by the United Kingdom and France, the Battle of the Atlantic and Phoney War begins
- September 17: After the Soviet Union defeats Japan in Mongolia, they invade Poland as well
November 30: The Soviet Union invades Finland

1940 edit

April 9: Germany invades Denmark and Norway
May 10: Germany invades France and the low countries
- May 26: British troops evacuate Dunkirk
July 10: Germany begins an air campaign against Britain
- September 7: Germany begins a major bombing campaign against Britain

1941 edit

June 22: Germany invades the Soviet Union
September 8: The Siege of Leningrad begins
October 2: The Battle of Moscow begins
December 7: Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into the war^[q]

1942 edit

1943 edit

July 4: Battle of Kursk
July 9: Allied invasion of Sicily
September 3: Allied invasion of Italy and surrender of Italy^[r]

1944 edit

January 17: Battle of Monte Cassino
January 22: Landings at Anzio
April 19: Operation Ichi-Go
June 6: D-day
June 22: Destruction of Army Group Center
August 1: Warsaw Uprising
August 15: Invasion of Southern France
September 17: Operation Market Garden
September 19: Battle of Hürtgen Forest
October 23: Battle of Leyte Gulf
December 16: Battle of the Bulge

1945 edit

April 16 - May 2: Battle of Berlin
May 8: Victory in Europe Day
August 6 and 9: Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
August 15: Victory over Japan Day
September 2: Surrender of Japan

World War II by region edit

Theatres and major campaigns edit

Europe edit

Asia edit

Africa edit

For all theatres in Africa, see: African theatres

Other edit

Home front during World War II

By country edit

Europe edit

Asia edit

Africa edit

Oceania edit

The Americas edit

War crimes edit

The Second World War was characterized by many instances of War crimes:

Genocide edit

The Holocaust edit

Other genocides edit

Massacres edit

Three Alls Policy
Nanjing massacre
Massacres during the Warsaw Uprising
- Wola massacre
- Ochota massacre
Katyn massacre

Mistreatment of civilians edit

Technology during World War II edit

Technology during World War II

Equipment of World War II edit

Vehicles of World War II edit

Weapons of World War II edit

Other initiatives in World War II edit

Nazi plunder

Propaganda during World War II edit

Common military awards edit

Soviet Union edit

United States edit

United Kingdom edit

France and Belgium edit

Croix de Guerre

Poland edit

Nazi Germany edit

Iron Cross

Aftermath of World War II edit

The end of World War II edit

Immediate events edit

The post-war world edit

Cold War
- Emergence of United States and USSR as global superpowers
- NATO
- Warsaw Pact
- Iron Curtain
- Proxy wars
- Decolonization
Post–World War II baby boom
Pursuit of Nazi collaborators

World War II - related media edit

See also edit

Notes edit

^ The Kingdom of Italy was an axis power until it changed sides to the Allies after an armistice in 1943. After the armistice, the Italian Social Republic was set up as a German puppet state
^ As the Slovak Republic, a German client state
^ During the Continuation War
^ From June 1941
^ From December 1941
^ China had been fighting an undeclared war against Japan since 1937, with various other conflicts since 1931. On December 9, 1941, they officially joined the war
^ In June 1940, France surrendered and a government-in-exile, Free France, was formed that fought with the Allies until the Provisional government was formed in 1944
^ Yugoslavia was occupied after an invasion, but there were prominent partisan groups that continued fighting
^ The emperor was the titular leader of Japan and had the final say on decisions, but his power was still (somewhat) limited. The Prime Minister (Fumimaro Konoe and later Hideki Tojo for most of the war) held immense political power, and thus the emperor was not a dictator in the way Hitler or Mussolini were^[2]
^ Victor Emmanuel III was the Italian head of state and did overrule Mussolini on certain occasions (such as refusing to join the Second World War until 1940 and even deposing him in 1943), but Mussolini used more de facto power and influence than the king
^ Stalin was neither the head of state nor the head of government, but he held de facto dictatorial power
^ Harry S. Truman from April 1945
^ Neville Chamberlain until May 10th 1940 and Clement Attlee from July 1945
^ China was fragmented at the time due to a halted civil war and legacies of the warlord era; thus, other leaders such as Mao Zedong of the Chinese Communists and various warlords (such as Li Zongren, Yan Xishan and (initially) Chang Hsueh-liang) had significant power. However, Kai-shek was the leader of the nationalists which allied with the communists and controlled most of China during the Second World War
^ And Slovakia
^ Other dates have been proposed, but September 1, 1939, is generally accepted
^ The United States Congress did not officially declare war until the next day
^ Signed on September 3, declared on September 8
^ Undeclared from 1937 to 1941, this war merged into World War II in 1941

References edit

^ 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
^ Bix, p. 457.

Bibliography edit

Bix, Herbert P. (September 4, 2001). Hirohito and the making of modern Japan. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-093130-8. Retrieved April 6, 2022.

External links edit

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 Archived 2009-09-05 at the Wayback Machine hosted by the University of North Texas Libraries' *Digital Collections
World War II Propaganda Leaflet Archive
World War 2 Pictures In Colour
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 Archived 2008-03-21 at the Wayback Machine
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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