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World War II, or the Second World War (abbreviated as WWII or WW2), was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945 involving most of Earth's nations, forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. Various technological advancements were made during the war as the Axis conquered many countries in Europe, Africa and Asia.

History[]

Leading up to World War II[]

Hitler's Rise to Power[]

The devastation of the Great War (as World War I was known at the time) had greatly destabilized Europe, and in many respects World War II grew out of issues left unresolved by that earlier conflict. In particular, political and economic instability in Germany, and lingering resentment over the harsh terms imposed by the Versailles Treaty, fueled the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist (Nazi) Party.[1]

Outbreak of World War II[]

In late August 1939, Adolf Hitler and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which incited a frenzy of worry in London and Paris. Hitler had long planned an invasion of Poland, a nation to which the United Kingdom and France had guaranteed military support if it was attacked by Germany. The pact with Stalin meant that Hitler would not face a war on two fronts once he invaded Poland, and would have Soviet assistance in conquering and dividing the nation itself. On September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland from the west; two days later, France and Britain declared war on Germany, beginning World War II.

On September 17, Soviet troops invaded Poland from the east. Under attack from both sides, Poland fell quickly, and by early 1940 Germany and the Soviet Union had divided control over the nation, according to a secret protocol appended to the Nonaggression Pact. Stalin's forces then moved to occupy the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and defeated a resistant Finland in the Russo-Finish War. During the six months following the invasion of Poland, the lack of action on the part of Germany and the Allies in the west led to talk in the news media of a "phony war." At sea, however, the British and German navies faced off in heated battle, and lethal German U-boat submarines struck at merchant shipping bound for Britain, sinking more than 100 vessels in the first four months of World War II.[1]

World War II in the Pacific (1941-43)[]

Pearl Harbor[]

With the United Kingdom facing Germany in Europe, the United States of America was the only nation capable of combating Japanese aggression, which by late 1941 included an expansion of its ongoing war with China and the seizure of European colonial holdings in the Far East. On December 7, 1941, 360 Japanese aircraft attacked the major U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, taking the Americans completely by surprise and claiming the lives of more than 2,300 troops.[1]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Sometimes the Watchmen Universe alludes to events which happened in our world, and it is assumed they happened on the same dates in the universe, for timeline purposes.
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