Jump to content

Main menu Navigation ●Main page ●Contents ●Current events ●Random article ●About Wikipedia ●Contact us ●Donate Contribute ●Help ●Learn to edit ●Community portal ●Recent changes ●Upload file

●Create account ●Log in ●Create account ● Log in Pages for logged out editors learn more ●Contributions ●Talk

(Top) 1 Causes of World War II 2 Participants in World War II 2.1 The Axis powers 2.1.1 Major Axis powers 2.1.2 Other Axis powers 2.2 The Allied powers 2.2.1 The 'Big Five' major allies 2.2.2 Other major allies 3 People in World War II 3.1 Leaders in World War II 3.1.1 Axis leaders 3.1.2 Allied leaders 3.2 Military forces of World War II 3.2.1 British Army during the Second World War 3.2.1.1 Military history of France during World War II 3.2.1.2 Military history of the United States during World War II 3.2.1.3 Red Army 3.2.1.4 National Revolutionary Army 3.2.1.5 Military history of Germany 3.2.1.6 Imperial Japanese Army 3.2.1.7 Royal Italian Army during World War II 4 Timeline of World War II 4.1 1939 4.2 1940 4.3 1941 4.4 1942 4.5 1943 4.6 1944 4.7 1945 5 World War II by region 5.1 Theatres and major campaigns 5.1.1 Europe 5.1.2 Asia 5.1.3 Africa 5.1.4 Other 5.2 By country 5.3 Europe 5.4 Asia 5.5 Africa 5.6 Oceania 5.7 The Americas 6 War crimes 6.1 Genocide 6.1.1 The Holocaust 6.1.2 Other genocides 6.2 Massacres 6.3 Mistreatment of civilians 7 Technology during World War II 7.1 Equipment of World War II 7.1.1 Vehicles of World War II 7.1.2 Weapons of World War II 8 Other initiatives in World War II 8.1 Propaganda during World War II 9 Common military awards 9.1 Soviet Union 9.2 United States 9.3 United Kingdom 9.4 France and Belgium 9.5 Poland 9.6 Nazi Germany 10 Aftermath of World War II 10.1 The end of World War II 11 Immediate events 11.1 The post-war world 12 World War II - related media 13 See also 14 Notes 15 References 16 Bibliography 17 External links

Outline of World War II

●العربية ●한국어 ●中文 Edit links ●Article ●Talk ●Read ●Edit ●View history Tools Actions ●Read ●Edit ●View history General ●What links here ●Related changes ●Upload file ●Special pages ●Permanent link ●Page information ●Cite this page ●Get shortened URL ●Download QR code ●Wikidata item Print/export ●Download as PDF ●Printable version Appearance From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

World War II
Navigation
Campaigns Countries Equipment Timeline Outline Lists Historiography Category Bibliography
v t e

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 AxisofGermany, Japan, Italy and others. Over 60 million people, the majority of them civilians, were killed, making it the deadliest conflictinhuman 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]ofJapan
Benito Mussolini – Prime Minister and Duce^[j]ofItaly

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]ofChina

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]

Timelines of World War II
Chronological
Prelude (in Asia in Europe)
1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 onwards
By topic
Diplomacy Declarations of war Battles Operations
By theatre
Battle of Europe air operations Eastern Front Manhattan Project United Kingdom home front Surrender of the Axis armies
v t e

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
June 10: Italy declares war on United Kingdom and France
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]

World War II by region[edit]

Theatres and major campaigns[edit]

Europe[edit]

Asia[edit]

Africa[edit]

For all theatres in Africa, see: ‹The template Category link is being considered for merging.› 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]

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]

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 still under Mussolini.

^ 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

^ InJune 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) Zhang Xueliang) 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]

Definitions from Wiktionary

Media from Commons

News from Wikinews

Quotations from Wikiquote

Texts from Wikisource

Textbooks from Wikibooks

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 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.

Wikipedia outlines

General reference

World War II

General

Topics	Air warfare of World War II In Europe Blitzkrieg Comparative military ranks Cryptography Declarations of war Diplomacy Governments in exile Home front Australian United Kingdom United States Lend-Lease Manhattan Project British contribution Military awards Military equipment Military production Naval history Nazi plunder Opposition Technology Allied cooperation Mulberry harbour Total war Strategic bombing Puppet states Women Art and World War II Music in World War II
Theaters	Asia and Pacific China South-East Asia Pacific North and Central Pacific South-West Pacific Indian Ocean Europe Western Front Eastern Front Mediterranean and Middle East North Africa East Africa Italy West Africa Atlantic timeline Americas
Aftermath	Chinese Civil War Cold War Decolonization Division of Korea First Indochina War Expulsion of Germans Greek Civil War Indonesian National Revolution Keelhaul Marshall Plan Occupation of Germany Occupation of Japan Osoaviakhim Paperclip Soviet occupations Baltic Hungary Poland Romania Territorial changes of Germany Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany United Nations
War crimes	Allied war crimes Soviet war crimes British war crimes United States war crimes German war crimes forced labour Wehrmacht war crimes The Holocaust Aftermath Response Nuremberg trials Italian war crimes Japanese war crimes Nanjing Massacre Unit 731 Prosecution Croatian war crimes Genocide of Serbs Persecution of Jews Romanian war crimes Sexual violence German military brothels Camp brothels Rape during the occupation of Germany / Japan / Poland Rape during the liberation of France / Serbia Sook Ching Comfort women Rape of Manila Marocchinate

Participants

Allies	Algeria Australia Belgium Brazil Bulgaria (from September 1944) Canada China Cuba Czechoslovakia Denmark Ethiopia Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) Finland (from September 1944) France Free France Greece India Italy (from September 1943) Luxembourg Mexico Netherlands Newfoundland New Zealand Norway Philippines Poland Romania (from August 1944) Sierra Leone South Africa Southern Rhodesia Soviet Union Tuva United Kingdom British Empire United States Puerto Rico Yugoslavia
Axis	Albania protectorate Bulgaria (until September 1944) Wang Jingwei regime Independent State of Croatia Finland (until September 1944) German Reich Hungary Azad Hind French Indochina Iraq Italy (until September 1943) Italian Social Republic Empire of Japan Manchukuo Philippines Romania (until August 1944) Slovak Republic Thailand Vichy France
Neutral	Afghanistan Andorra Bhutan Ireland Liechtenstein Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland Tibet Vatican City
Resistance	Albania Austria Belgium Bulgaria Czech lands Denmark Dutch East Indies Estonia Ethiopia France Germany Greece Hong Kong Italy Japan Jews Korea Korean Liberation Army Korean Volunteer Army Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malaya Netherlands Northeast China Norway Philippines Poland Romania Thailand Soviet Union Slovakia Western Ukraine Vietnam Quốc dân Đảng Viet Minh Yugoslavia
POWs	Finnish prisoners in the Soviet Union German prisoners Soviet Union Azerbaijan United States United Kingdom Italian prisoners in the Soviet Union Japanese prisoners Soviet Union Soviet prisoners Finland atrocities by Germans Polish prisoners in the Soviet Union Romanian prisoners in the Soviet Union

Timeline

Prelude	Africa Second Italo-Ethiopian War Asia Second Sino-Japanese War Battles of Khalkhin Gol Europe Anschluss Munich Agreement Occupation of Czechoslovakia Operation Himmler Italian invasion of Albania
1939	Invasion of Poland Battle of the Atlantic Phoney War First Battle of Changsha Battle of South Guangxi Winter War 1939–1940 Winter Offensive
1940	Norwegian campaign German invasion of Denmark Battle of Zaoyang–Yichang German invasion of Luxembourg German invasion of the Netherlands German invasion of Belgium Battle of France Dunkirk evacuation Battle of Britain Battle of the Mediterranean North Africa West Africa British Somaliland Hundred Regiments Offensive Baltic states Eastern Romania Japanese invasion of French Indochina Italian invasion of Greece Compass
1941	Battle of South Henan Battle of Shanggao Invasion of Yugoslavia German invasion of Greece Battle of Crete Anglo-Iraqi War Battle of South Shanxi Syria–Lebanon campaign East African campaign Invasion of the Soviet Union Summer War Finland (Silver Fox) Lithuania Battle of Kiev Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran Second Battle of Changsha Siege of Leningrad Battle of Moscow Bombing of Gorky Siege of Sevastopol Attack on Pearl Harbor Japanese invasion of Thailand Fall of Hong Kong Fall of the Philippines Battle of Guam Battle of Wake Island Malayan campaign Battle of Borneo Japanese invasion of Burma Third Battle of Changsha Greek famine of 1941–1944
1942	Fall of Singapore Battle of the Java Sea St Nazaire Raid Battle of Christmas Island Battle of the Coral Sea Battle of Madagascar Zhejiang-Jiangxi campaign Battle of Gazala Battle of Dutch Harbor Battle of Midway Aleutian Islands campaign Kiska Attu Blue First Battle of El Alamein Battle of Stalingrad Rzhev Jubilee Second Battle of El Alamein Guadalcanal campaign Torch Chinese famine of 1942–1943
1943	Tunisian campaign Battle of West Hubei Battle of Attu Bombing of Gorky Battle of Kursk Allied invasion of Sicily Smolensk Solomon Islands campaign Cottage Battle of the Dnieper Allied invasion of Italy Armistice of Cassibile Burma Northern Burma and Western Yunnan Changde Second Battle of Kiev Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign Tarawa Makin Bengal famine of 1943
1944	Tempest Monte Cassino / Anzio Korsun–Cherkassy Narva Ichi-Go Overlord Neptune Mariana and Palau Bagration Western Ukraine Second Battle of Guam Tannenberg Line Warsaw Uprising Eastern Romania Liberation of Paris Dragoon Gothic Line Belgrade offensive Lapland Market Garden Estonia Crossbow Pointblank Vietnamese famine of 1944–1945 Philippines (1944–1945) Leyte Syrmian Front Hungary Budapest Burma (1944–1945) Ardennes Bodenplatte Dutch famine of 1944–1945
1945	Vistula–Oder Battle of Manila Battle of Iwo Jima Indochina Vienna offensive Project Hula Western invasion of Germany Bratislava–Brno offensive Battle of Okinawa Second Guangxi campaign West Hunan Italy (Spring 1945) Battle of Berlin Prague offensive Surrender of Germany document Borneo Taipei Naval bombardment of Japan Manchuria Atomic bombings Debate South Sakhalin Kuril Islands Shumshu Surrender of Japan Potsdam Declaration document End of World War II in Asia

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Outline_of_World_War_II&oldid=1229513236" Categories: ●Outlines of wars ●Outlines ●World War II Hidden categories: ●Articles with short description ●Short description matches Wikidata ●Pages using Sister project links with default search ●Webarchive template wayback links ●Articles with LCCN identifiers ●This page was last edited on 17 June 2024, at 06:38 (UTC). ●Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. ●Privacy policy ●About Wikipedia ●Disclaimers ●Contact Wikipedia ●Code of Conduct ●Developers ●Statistics ●Cookie statement ●Mobile view