World War II began on September 1, 1939, when Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland. Following the invasion, Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939.
The war escalated as Germany created alliances with other countries and launched further military campaigns. In 1940, Germany invaded Denmark and Norway, followed by the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and eventually France. France surrendered to Germany on June 22, 1940, leaving Britain as the primary opposition to Nazi Germany.
Throughout the war, various nations aligned themselves into two major alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. The major Allies were the United Kingdom, Soviet Union, United States, and China, while the Axis powers consisted primarily of Germany, Italy, and Japan.
The war in the Pacific began on December 7, 1941, when Japan attacked the United States' naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. This prompted the United States to enter the war on the side of the Allies.
Over the course of the war, major battles and events took place, such as the Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943), the D-Day invasion in Normandy (1944), and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States (1945), which led to Japan's surrender on September 2, 1945.
World War II ended with the defeat of the Axis powers and resulted in significant geopolitical shifts, the creation of the United Nations, and the emergence of the United States and the Soviet Union as two superpowers locked in the Cold War.
Entering World War II
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