World War II was the most devastating war in human history and, to date, the only nuclear war. It was the culmination of a number of factors including left-over resentment from the Treaty of Versailles, unresolved geopolitical disputes, ideological tensions between socialism and capitalism, as well as (in some cases) the unchecked growth of ultranationalism. Unlike the conflict which preceded it, World War II fully lived up to its name; fighting occurred in the plains of Europe 🌍, in the deserts of West Asia 🌴, in the jungles of Asia 🌏, in the beaches of Oceania 🌅, under every sea and over every sky of Earth.
In German articles this conflict is known as the Second Weltkrieg and in Soviet articles as the Great Patriotic War.
Numerous regional alliances participated in the fighting, but they eventually coalesced into two sides:
- Kaiserliche Eisenpakt
(Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, West Poland, Yurislanzia) - Allied Nations of North America (ANNA)
(United States of America, Canada, Mexico) - Red Sea Alliance (RSA)
(United Arab Kingdoms, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Imperial African Army) - Other Allied Nations
(Republic of China, Oceanyka)
- Moscow Pact (MTO)
(Soviet Union, France, Turkey, East Poland, Finland, Iran, Terranihil, Konratopia, Communist China) - South European Pact (SEUROP)
(Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Yugoslavia, Albania, Danubia) - Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere (GEACPS)
(Japan, Manchuria, Korea, Thailand)
While some historians argue that it began earlier (particularly at the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War, most agree that it began on September 1st, 1939, with the French Invasion of Germany.
~ Western European Theatre ~
WW2 - The Battle of Alsace | WW2 - The Low Countries Campaign
WW2 - Guderian's Counteroffensive
~ Eastern European Theatre ~
WW2 - The Third Battle of Tannenberg | WW2 - The Battle of Poland | WW2 - The Battle of Galicia | WW2 - The Bohemian Campaign | WW2 - The Battle of the Eastern Alps
~ Pacific & East Asian Theatre ~