World War II(1939 - 45)

Period of War : September 1939 to September 1945

War Between : 'Allies' and 'Axis' 

Allies comprised of - USSR;USA;UK held leadership of the Allies powers.France and China were also major allies.Other allies are - Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Ethiopia, Greece, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Union of South Africa and Yugoslavia.

Axis comprised of  Germany;Italy and Japan

'The Big Three'
Joseph Stalin,Franklin D Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meeting at the Tehran Conference in1943

                                                                         

Beginning of the War
The war began with the invasion of Poland by Germany and Slovakia and subsequent declarations of war on Germany by France and most of the countries of the British Empire and Commonwealth.Germany set out to establish a large empire in Europe, conquered or subdued much of continental Europe. In December 1941, Japan,which had been at war with China since 1937, and aimed to dominateAsia, attacked USA and European possessions in the Pacific Ocean, quickly conquering much of the region.

Result of the War
The war in Europe ended with the capture of Berlin by Soviet and Polish troops the subsequent German Unconditional Surrender on May 8 , 1945. The war in Asia ended on 15 August 1945 when Japan agreed to surrender.The war ended with the total victory of the Allies over Germany and Japan in 1945. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world. The United Nations(UN) was established to foster international cooperation and prevent future conflicts.The Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, which lasted for the next 46 years.