Prelude:
• Causes
• in Europe
• in Asia Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... The European Theatre was an area of heavy fighting across Europe, during World War II, from 1 September 1939 to 8 May 1945. ... British Ministry of Home Security Poster The Phony War, or in Winston Churchills words the Twilight War, was a phase in early World War II marked by few military operations in Continental Europe, in the months following the German invasion of Poland. ... German battle cruisers in a Norwegian port in June 1940 The Norwegian Campaign led to the first direct confrontation between the military forces of the Allies — United Kingdom and France against Nazi Germany in World War II. The primary reason for Germany seeking the occupation of Norway was Germanys... Combatants France United Kingdom Canada Poland Belgium Netherlands Luxembourg Nazi Germany Italy Commanders Maurice Gamelin, Maxime Weygand (French) Lord Gort (British Expeditionary Force) H.G. Winkelman (Dutch) Gerd von Rundstedt (Army Group A) Fedor von Bock (Army Group B) Wilhelm von Leeb (Army Group C) H.R.H. Umberto di... The Eastern Front of World War II was the theatre of war covering the conflict in central and eastern Europe from June 22, 1941 to May 9, 1945. ... The Continuation War or War of Continuation (Finnish: , Swedish: ) June 25, 1941-September 19, 1944, was the war that was fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II. The United Kingdom declared war on Finland on December 6, 1941, but did not participate actively. ... During World War II, the Western Front was the theater of fighting west of Germany, encompassing France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemberg, and Denmark. ... Combatants Republic of China U.S.A. (from 1941) U.K. (from 1941) Australia (1941) Netherlands (1941) New Zealand (1941) Canada (1941) U.S.S.R. (from 1945) Empire of Japan Commanders Chiang Kai-shek, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin (from 1945) Hideki Tojo The Pacific War was... The South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was the name given to the campaigns of the Pacific War in India, Burma, Thailand, Malaya and Singapore. ... South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was the name given to one of the four major Allied commands in the Pacific theatre of World War II, during 1942-45. ... Combatants Soviet Union Japan Commanders Alexandr Vasilevskij Otsuzo Yamada Strength Soviet Union 1,577,225 men, 26,137 artillery, 1,852 sup. ... The Mediterranean region. ... The name African Theatres of World War II encompasses actions which took place in World War II between Allied forces and Axis forces, between 1940 and 1943 both on the African mainland and in nearby waters and islands. ... The Middle East Theatre of World War II is defined largely by reference to the British Middle East Command, which controlled Allied forces in both Southwest Asia and eastern North Africa. ... Battle of Mediterranean Conflict World War II Date Place Mediterranean Sea Result Allied victory The Naval Battle of the Mediterranean was waged during World War II, to attack and keep open the respective supply lines of Allied and Axis armies, and to destroy the opposing sides ability to wage... The East African Campaign refers to the battles fought between British Empire and Commonwealth forces and Italian Empire forces in Italian East Africa during World War II. This campaign is often seen as part of the North African Campaign. ... During World War II, the North African Campaign, also known as the Desert War, took place in the North African desert from September 13, 1940 to May 13, 1943. ... The name West African campaign refers to two battles during World War II: the Battle of Dakar (also known as Operation Menace) and the Battle of Gabon, both of which were in late 1940. ... Combatants Germany Italy Bulgaria Albania, Greece, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Yugoslavia Commanders Maximilian von Weichs Giovanni Messe Alexander Papagos Strength unknown unknown Casualties unknown unknown The Balkans Campaign was the Italian and German invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece during World War II. It began with Italys annexation of... The Middle East Campaign was a part of the Middle East Theatre of World War II. // Overview This campaign included: The British police actions in Palestine. ... Strategic Bombing during World War II was unlike anything the world had previously witnessed. ... It has been suggested that Axis plans for invasion of the United States during WWII be merged into this article or section. ... Combatants Chinese Nationalists Chinese Communists Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Mao Zedong Strength 4,300,000 (July 1946) 3,650,000 (June 1948) 1,490,000 (June 1949) 1,200,000 (July 1946) 2,800,000 (June 1948) 4,000,000 (June 1949) The Chinese Civil War (Traditional Chinese: , Simplified Chinese... Combatants Soviet Union Mongolia Japan Commanders Georgy Zhukov Michitaro Komatsubara Strength 57,000 30,000 Casualties 6,831 killed, 15,952 wounded 8,440 killed, 8,766 wounded The Battle of Khalkhin Gol, sometimes spelled Halhin Gol or Khalkin Gol after the Halha River passing through the battlefield and known... Combatants  Finland  USSR Commanders Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim Kliment Voroshilov, later Semyon Timoshenko Strength 250,000 men 30 tanks 130 aircraft 1,000,000 men 3,000 tanks 3,800 aircraft[1][2] Casualties 22,830 dead 43,557 wounded 1,000 captured (at least) 126,875 dead or missing... Combatants Vichy France (first phase), Free France, British and Commonwealth nations (second phase) Thailand Commanders Jean Decoux Plaek Phibunsongkhram Strength 50,000(First Phase), 150,000 (Second Phase) 60,000(First Phase), 120,000 (Second Phase) Casualties 489 military (First Phase), 12,900+ military (Second Phase) 583 military (First Phase... Combatants Iraq United Kingdom Commanders Rashid Ali General Sir Edward Quinan Strength five divisions about two divisions Casualties 2,500 1,200 The Anglo-Iraqi War was a short war fought between the United Kingdom and the Iraqi nationalist government, from April 18 to May 30, 1941. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... Participants in World War II involves all nations who either participated directly or were affected by any of the theatres or events of World War II. // Alliances World Map with the participants in World War II. The Allies depicted in green (those in light green entered after the Attack on... This article lacks information on the importance of the subject matter. ... This article is concerned with the events that preceded World War II in Asia. ...

Main theatres:
• Europe
• Eastern Europe
• Africa
• Middle East
• Mediterranean
• Asia & Pacific
• China
• Atlantic The European Theatre was an area of heavy fighting across Europe, during World War II, from 1 September 1939 to 8 May 1945. ... The Eastern Front of World War II was the theatre of war covering the conflict in central and eastern Europe from June 22, 1941 to May 9, 1945. ... During World War II, the North African Campaign, also known as the Desert War, took place in the North African desert from September 13, 1940 to May 13, 1943. ... The Middle East Theatre of World War II is defined largely by reference to the British Middle East Command, which controlled Allied forces in both Southwest Asia and eastern North Africa. ... The Mediterranean region. ... Combatants Republic of China U.S.A. (from 1941) U.K. (from 1941) Australia (1941) Netherlands (1941) New Zealand (1941) Canada (1941) U.S.S.R. (from 1945) Empire of Japan Commanders Chiang Kai-shek, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin (from 1945) Hideki Tojo The Pacific War was... Combatants Royal Navy Royal Canadian Navy United States Navy Kriegsmarine Regia Marina Commanders Sir Percy Noble Sir Max K. Horton Ernest J. King Erich Raeder Karl Dönitz Casualties 30,248 merchant sailors 3,500 merchant vessels 175 warships 28,000 sailors 783 submarines The Second Battle of the Atlantic...

General timeline:
• Timeline This is a timeline of events in World War II. // German soldiers supposedly destroying a Polish border checkpoint. ...

1939:
• Invasion of Poland
• Phony War
Combatants Poland Nazi Germany Soviet Union Slovakia Commanders Edward Rydz-Śmigły Fedor von Bock (Army Group North) Gerd von Rundstedt (Army Group South) Mikhail Kovalov (Belorussian Front) Semyon Timoshenko (Ukrainian Front) Ferdinand Čatloš (Field Army Bernolak) Strength 39 divisions 16 brigades 4,300 guns 880 tanks 400 aircraft Total... British Ministry of Home Security Poster The Phony War, or in Winston Churchills words the Twilight War, was a phase in early World War II marked by few military operations in Continental Europe, in the months following the German invasion of Poland. ...

1940:
• Invasion of Denmark and Norway
• Battle of France
• Battle of Britain
• East African Campaign
• North African Campaign
• West Africa Campaign
Operation Weserübung was the German codename for Nazi Germanys assault on Denmark and Norway during World War II and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign. ... Combatants France United Kingdom Canada Poland Belgium Netherlands Luxembourg Nazi Germany Italy Commanders Maurice Gamelin, Maxime Weygand (French) Lord Gort (British Expeditionary Force) H.G. Winkelman (Dutch) Gerd von Rundstedt (Army Group A) Fedor von Bock (Army Group B) Wilhelm von Leeb (Army Group C) H.R.H. Umberto di... Combatants United Kingdom Germany Commanders Hugh Dowding Hermann Göring Albert Kesselring Strength 700+ Grew to nearly 1000 during end of the Battle. ... The East African Campaign refers to the battles fought between British Empire and Commonwealth forces and Italian Empire forces in Italian East Africa during World War II. This campaign is often seen as part of the North African Campaign. ... During World War II, the North African Campaign, also known as the Desert War, took place in the North African desert from September 13, 1940 to May 13, 1943. ... The name West African campaign refers to two battles during World War II: the Battle of Dakar (also known as Operation Menace) and the Battle of Gabon, both of which were in late 1940. ...

1941:
• Invasion of Soviet Union
• Battle of Moscow
• Attack on Pearl Harbor
Combatants Germany Romania Finland Italy Hungary Slovakia Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim Joseph Stalin Strength ~ 3. ... Combatants Germany Soviet Union Commanders Fedor von Bock Georgi Zhukov Strength ~ 1,500,000 ~ 1,500,000 Casualties 250,000 700,000 The Battle of Moscow refers to the defense of the Soviet capital of Moscow and the subsequent counter-offensive against the German army, between October 1941 and January... Combatants United States Empire of Japan Commanders Husband Kimmel (USN), Walter Short (USA) Chuichi Nagumo (IJN), Mitsuo Fuchida (IJNAS) Strength 8 battleships, 8 cruisers, 29 destroyers, 9 submarines, ~50 other ships, ~390 planes 6 aircraft carriers, 2 battleships, 3 cruisers, 9 destroyers, 8 tankers, 23 fleet submarines, 5 midget submarines...

1942:
• Battle of Stalingrad
• Second Battle of El Alamein
• Operation Torch
Combatants Germany Italy Romania Hungary Soviet Union Commanders Friedrich Paulus Erich von Manstein Hermann Hoth Georgiy Zhukov Vasiliy Chuikov Aleksandr Vasilyevskiy Strength German Sixth Army German Fourth Panzer Army Romanian Third Army Romanian Fourth Army Hungarian Second Army Italian Eighth Army 500,000 Germans Unknown number Reinforcements Unknown number Axis... Combatants British 8th Army German Panzer Army Africa Commanders Bernard Montgomery Erwin Rommel Strength 250,000 men 1,030 tanks 900 guns 530 aircraft 90,000 men 500 tanks 500 guns 350 aircraft Casualties 13,500 dead and wounded 13,000 dead 46,000 wounded or captured The Second Battle... Combatants United States United Kingdom Free French Forces Germany Vichy France Commanders Dwight Eisenhower Andrew Cunningham Erwin Rommel François Darlan Strength 73,500 - Casualties 479+ dead 720 wounded 1346+ dead 1997 wounded Operation Torch (initially called Operation Gymnast) was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World...

1943:
• Battle of Kursk
• Invasion of Italy
Combatants Nazi Germany Soviet Union Commanders Erich von Manstein, Hans von Kluge, Walther Model Georgiy Zhukov, Konstantin Rokossovskiy, Nikolay Vatutin Strength 800,000 infantry, 2,700 tanks, 2,000 aircraft 1,300,000 infantry, 3,600 tanks, 2,400 aircraft Casualties 500,000 dead, wounded, or captured 500 tanks 200... This article covers the invasion of mainland Italy by the World War II Allies in September 1943 during the Italian Campaign. ...

1944:
• Battle of Normandy
• Operation Bagration
• Operation Dragoon
• Operation Market Garden
• Battle of the Bulge
Combatants United States United Kingdom Canada Free France Poland Germany Commanders Dwight Eisenhower (Supreme Allied Commander) Bernard Montgomery (land) Bertram Ramsay (sea) Trafford Leigh-Mallory (air) Gerd von Rundstedt (OB WEST) Erwin Rommel (absent) (Heeresgruppe B) Friedrich Dollmann () Strength 326,000 (by June 11) Unknown, probably some 1,000,000... Combatants Axis Soviet Union Commanders Ernst Busch Konstantin Rokossovski Georgy Zhukov Aleksandr Vasilevsky Strength 800,000 1,700,000 Casualties (Soviet est. ... Combatants United States1 Free France, United Kingdom Nazi Germany Commanders Jacob L. Devers Johannes Blaskowitz Strength 250,000 (approx) 230,000 (approx) Casualties 4,500 American, 4,500+ French 125,000+ (approx) Monument to the landings of Allied troops under General Patch on the beach of St Tropez, France. ... Combatants United Kingdom United States Poland Germany Commanders Bernard Montgomery Gerd von Rundstedt Strength XXX Corps, 35,000 airborne 20,000 Casualties 17,000 casualties 8,000 casualties Operation Market Garden (September 17-September 25, 1944) was an Allied military operation in World War II. Its tactical objectives were to... Wikisource has original text related to this article: The Ardennes: Battle of the bulge Combatants United States United Kingdom Germany Commanders Dwight Eisenhower George Patton Bernard Montgomery Walther Model Gerd von Rundstedt Strength Dec 16 - start of the Battle: about 83,000 men; 242 Sherman tanks, 182 tank destroyers, and...

1945:
• Battle of Okinawa
• Battle of Berlin
• End in Europe
• Atomic bombings of Hiroshima & Nagasaki
• Operation August Storm
• Surrender of Japan
• more...
Combatants United States United Kingdom (naval involvement only) Empire of Japan Commanders Simon Bolivar Buckner† Joseph Stilwell Mitsuru Ushijima† Strength 548,000 marines 107,000 regulars 24,000 militia Casualties 12,500 killed or missing 38,000 wounded 33,096 non-combat wounded 38 ships lost 763 aircraft lost 110... Combatants Nazi Germany Soviet Union Commanders Gotthard Heinrici Helmuth Weidling Helmuth Reymann Wilhelm Mohnke Georgiy Zhukov Ivan Koniev Konstantin Rokossovskiy Vasiliy Chuykov Strength 1,000,000 men, 1,500 tanks, 3,300 aircraft 2,500,000 men, 6,250 tanks, 7,500 aircraft, 41,600 artillery Casualties 150,000–173... The final battles of the European Theatre of World War II and the German surrender took place in late April and early May 1945. ... The Fat Man mushroom cloud resulting from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rises 18 km (11 mi, 60,000 ft) into the air from the hypocenter. ... Combatants Soviet Union Japan Commanders Alexandr Vasilevskij Otsuzo Yamada Strength Soviet Union 1,577,225 men, 26,137 artillery, 1,852 sup. ... The surrender of Japan in August 1945 brought World War II to a close. ... German soldiers during the Battle of Stalingrad. ...

• Blitzkrieg
• Cryptography
• Equipment
• Home Front
• Military engagements
• Production
• Resistance
• Technology
One of the defining characteristics of what is commonly known as Blitzkrieg is close co-operation between infantry and tanks. ... Cryptography was used extensively during World War II, with a plethora of code and cipher systems fielded by the nations involved. ... // Aircraft List of aircraft of World War II List of World War II military aircraft of Germany List of aircraft of the Armée de lAir, World War II List of aircraft of the USAAF, World War II List of aircraft of the Royal Air Force, World War II... During the war, women worked in factories throughout much of the West and East. ... German soldiers during the Battle of Stalingrad. ... Resistance during World War II occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation, disinformation and propaganda to hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns. ... Technology during World War II played a crucial role in determining the outcome of the war. ...

Civilian impact and atrocities:
• Allied war crimes
• Dutch famine of 1944
• Hiroshima & Nagasaki
• Holocaust
• Japanese war crimes
• Strategic bombings
At the end of World War II, several trials of Axis war criminals took place, most famously the Nuremberg Trials. ... After the landing of the Allied Forces on D-Day, conditions grew worse in Nazi occupied Netherlands. ... The Fat Man mushroom cloud resulting from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rises 18 km (11 mi, 60,000 ft) into the air from the hypocenter. ... Selection procedure of Hungarian Jews at the Auschwitz camp on 26 May 1944, where the Nazis chose whom to kill immediately and whom to use as slave labor or for medical experimentation. ... Aitape, New Guinea, 1943. ... Strategic Bombing during World War II was unlike anything the world had previously witnessed. ...

Aftermath:
• Effects
• Casualties
• Expulsion of Germans
• Cold War Note: This section was copied from the article World War II and removed from that article in order to reduce the size of the article. ... Piechart showing percentage of military and civilian deaths by alliance during World War II. World War II was the single deadliest conflict the world has ever seen, causing many tens of millions of deaths. ... Germans expelled from the Sudetenland // The flight and expulsion of Germans after World War II refers to the escape and mass deportation of people considered Germans (both Reichsdeutsche and Volksdeutsche) from Soviet-occupied areas of Europe during 1945 and in the first three years after World War II 1946-48. ... For other uses, please see Cold War (disambiguation). ...

The Allies
• United Kingdom
• United States
• Soviet Union
• Poland
• France
• Republic of China
• Netherlands
• Belgium
• Canada
• Norway
• Greece
• Yugoslavia
• Czechoslovakia
• India
• Australia
• New Zealand
• South Africa
• Egypt
• Brazil
• more...
The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis Powers during the Second World War. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Image File history File links US_flag_48_stars. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Poland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Republic_of_China. ... The Second Sino-Japanese War was a major invasion of eastern China by Japan preceding and during World War II. It ended with the surrender of Japan in 1945. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belgium. ... Image File history File links Canadian_Red_Ensign_1921. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Norway. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Greece_(1828-1978). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_SFR_Yugoslavia. ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in all South Slavic languages, Југославија in Serbian and Macedonian Cyrillic) is a term used for the three separate political entities that existed during most of the 20th century on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic. ... Image File history File links Imperial-India-Blue-Ensign. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Australia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_New_Zealand. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_South_Africa_1928-1994. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Egypt_1922. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Brazil. ... The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis Powers during the Second World War. ...

The Axis
• Germany
• Japan
• Italy
• Hungary
• Bulgaria
• Romania
• Finland
• Croatia
• Slovakia
• Thailand
• more... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany_1933. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Japan_-_variant. ... Download high resolution version (2250x1500, 14 KB)Flag of the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 to 1946. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Hungary_1940. ... Image File history File links Bulgaria_flag. ... Image File history File links Romania_flag. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Finland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Croatia_Ustasa. ... Image File history File links 1stslovakia_flag_large. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Thailand. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...