Clockwise from top left: Commonwealth troops in the desert; Chinese civilians being buried alive by Japanese soldiers; Soviet forces during a winter offensive; Carrier-borne Japanese planes readying for take off; Soviet troops fighting in Berlin; A German submarine under attack.
World War II, or the Second World War, was a global military conflict. It began as the joining of what had initially been two separate conflicts, with the first beginning in Asia in 1937 (the Second Sino-Japanese War) and the other beginning in Europe in 1939 (the German and Soviet invasion of Poland).
The war split the majority of the world's nations into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. It involved the mobilization of over 100millionmilitary personnel, making it the most widespread war in history, and placed the participants in a state of "total war", which erased the distinction between civil and military resources and resulted in the complete activation of a nation's economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities for the purposes of the war effort. Over 70 million people, the majority of them civilians, were killed, making it the deadliest conflict in human history.
The Allies won the war, and as a result, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as the world's leading superpowers. This set the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 45 years. The United Nations was formed in the hope of preventing another such conflict. The self-determination spawned by the war accelerated decolonization movements in Asia and Africa, while Europe itself began moving toward integration.
Operation Downfall was the overall Allied plan for the invasion of Japan near the end of World War II. The operation was cancelled when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Soviet Union's declaration of war against Japan.Operation Downfall consisted of two parts—Operation Olympic and Operation Coronet. Set to begin in October 1945, Operation Olympic was intended to capture the southern third of the southernmost main Japanese island of Kyūshū, with the recently captured island of Okinawa to be used as a staging area. Later, in the spring of 1946, Operation Coronet was the planned invasion of the Kantō plain near Tokyo on the Japanese island of Honshū. Airbases on Kyūshū captured in Operation Olympic would allow land-based air support for Operation Coronet. Japan's geography made this invasion plan obvious to the Japanese as well; they were able to accurately deduce the Allied invasion plans and adjust their defensive plans accordingly. The Japanese planned an all-out defense of Kyūshū, with little left in reserve for any subsequent defense operations.
The T-26 was a light tank used by the Soviet Union from the 1930s until World War II. It was based on the BritishVickers 6-Ton tank and widely considered one of the most successful designs of the 1930s.The T-26 made-up the majority of the Red Army's armour force until late 1941, and saw a long history in the armed forces of various different nations around the world. For almost a decade the T-26 proved to be one of the best tanks in production, with a total of around 12,000 units produced.Success and failure in the Spanish Civil War, where it served as the most widely used tank, ultimately played a major role in influencing the Soviet doctrine of tank warfare in the late 1930s. The T-26 participated in German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 as one of the most numerous tanks inservice,contributing to the defense of the Soviet Union.Although the T-26's reputation was marred by its abysmal performance during World War II, it was nevertheless the most important tank of the Spanish Civil War and played major roles during the Winter War and the Battle of Khalkhin Gol in 1939. Between its introduction and its retirement, the T-26 saw a great deal of modernization efforts between 1932 and 1941.
Image 9Grave of German soldiers fallen during invasion of Poland in Końskie. Visible inscription "For Fuhrer und Vaterland" (from Causes of World War II)
Image 101935 poster of the puppet state of Manchukuo promoting harmony among peoples. The caption reads: "With the help of Japan, China, and Manchukuo, the world can be in peace." (from Diplomatic history of World War II)
Image 12Shooting from behind became popular because killers did not have to look at their victims' faces and the dead were likely to fall into the grave. (from The Holocaust)
Image 29Original Nazi propaganda caption: "Too bad even for a bullet... The Jews shown here were shot at once." 28 June 1941 in Rozhanka, Belarus (from The Holocaust)
Image 39Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939 which directly led to the Anglo-French declaration of war on Germany on 3 September. The Soviet Union joined Germany's invasion of Poland on 17 September. (from Causes of World War II)
Image 46British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and Hitler at a meeting in Germany on 24 September 1938, and Hitler demanded the immediate annexation of Czechoslovak border areas. (from Causes of World War II)
Image 50Italian Social Republic (RSI) as of 1943 in yellow and green. The green areas were German military operational zones under direct German administration. (from Diplomatic history of World War II)
Image 51Jews from Carpathian Ruthenia, annexed by Hungary in 1938, on the selection ramp at Auschwitz II in May or June 1944. Men are lined up to the right, women and children to the left. About 25 percent were selected for work and the rest gassed. (from The Holocaust)
Image 59Soviet POWs held by the Nazis in Mauthausen concentration camp. It is estimated that at least 3.3million Soviet POWs died in German custody. (from World War II casualties)
Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Vasilevsky , September 30, 1895 – December 5, 1977) was a Soviet military commander, promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1943. He was the Soviet Chief of the General Staff and Deputy Minister of Defense during World War II, as well as Minister of Defense from 1949 to 1953. As the Chief of the General Staff, Vasilevsky was responsible for the planning and coordination of almost all decisive Soviet offensives, from the Stalingrad counteroffensive to the assault on East Prussia and Königsberg.Vasilevsky started his military career during the First World War, earning the rank of captain by 1917. At the beginning of the October Revolution and the Civil War he was conscripted into the Red Army, taking part in the Polish–Soviet War. After the war, he quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a regimental commander by 1930. In this position, he showed great skill in the organization and training of his troops. Vasilevsky's talent did not go unnoticed, and in 1931 he was appointed a member of the Directorate of Military Training. In 1937, following Stalin's Great Purge, he was promoted to General Staff officer.
It is my melancholy duty to inform you officially that, in persistence by Germany in her invasion of Poland, Great Britain is at war, and that, as a result, Australia is also at war...
There was never any doubt as to where Great Britain stood... There can be no doubt that where Great Britain stands, there stands the people of the entire British world."
Battle of Uhtua-Kiestinki•Battles of Repola-Rukajärvi•Battle of Siiranmäki•Battle of Łuck•Battle of Równe•Battle of Włodzimierz Wołyński•Battle of Lubartów•Battle of Miedniki•Battle of Jodła•Francis Blanchain•Shinshou Draenger•Christer Lyst Hansen•Ove Kampman•League for Combat Policy•Julien Meline•Operation Mittelmeer•Operation Richard•Otto Program•Martin Poppel•Roehm's Avengers•Poul Bruun•Raoul Boulanger•Battle of West Ukraine (1941)•Battle of Zunyi•Liberation of Denmark (currently redirect) •Operation Vado (currently redirect) •Finnish 19th Division (Continuation War)•Finnish 11th Division (Continuation War)•Finnish Cavalry Brigade•1st Jaeger Brigade•2nd Jaeger Brigade•168th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)•71st Rifle Division (Soviet Union)•Group Oinonen•Operation Vesuvius (currently redirect) •Capture of Kassala (currently redirect) •Battle of Pankow•Brandenburg–Rathenow Offensive•Japanese internment of European civilians during World War II•Miranda de Ebro concentration camp•German occupation of the Netherlands (current redirect) •Soviet home front during World War II•Labour Charter (Vichy France)•Berles-Monchel and Aubigny-en-Artois massacres (1940) •Febvin-Palfart massacre (1940) •German massacres of French colonial prisoners of war•1941 Nord-Pas de Calais miners' strike•Spitfire funds•Good War (historiography)•Nederlandsche Oost Compagnie•West African Pioneers•2nd Marching Battalion of Ubangui-Shari•Bataillon du Pacifique•Persecution of freemasons in Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe•Mohammed El Maadi•Luxembourgers in the Wehrmacht•Chantiers de la Jeunesse (Vichy France) •Netherlands East Indies Government in exile•Burma Government in exile (1942-1945)•Free Republic of Nias
5th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment[ru]•Novorossiysk-Taman Operation[ru]•1943 Novorossiysk Operation[ru]•1943 Air Battles over Kuban[ru]•Battle of Rostov (1943)[ru]•Battle of Olshansky[ru]•Nalchik-Ordzhonikidzevskaya Operation[ru]•Bukrinsky Landing[ru]•Cape Tarhan Landing[ru]•1942 Sudak Landing[ru]•Mozdok-Malgobek Operation[ru]•Alexander Sergeyevich Ksenofontov[ru]•Henri de Vernejoul[fr]•André Bergeret[fr]•Battle of Nice[fr]•Liberation de Saint-Malo[fr]•Battle of Seuil Valley[fr]•René-Jean-Paul Cassagne[fr]•Cameroun's rallying to the Free French[fr]•Battle of Bouno-Misaki[ja]