Knowra World War II World War II A global war fought from 1939 to 1945, chiefly between the Axis powers and the Allied powers. It ended with the defeat of the Axis and transformed the international order.
Invasion of Poland : Germany’s September 1939 attack on Poland, followed by the Soviet invasion from the east, began the European war. The invasion prompted Britain and France to declare war on Germany.
Axis powers : The wartime alliance led by Germany, Italy, and Japan. Their cooperation and separate national aims defined the opposing coalition.
Treaty of Versailles : The 1919 peace treaty that formally ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied powers after World War I. Its terms became a focus of German grievances exploited by Nazi politics.
The Holocaust : The systematic persecution and murder of six million European Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II. Genocide was central to Nazi rule and unfolded alongside the war.
Battle of Britain : The 1940 air campaign in which Germany tried and failed to gain air superiority over Britain. Its outcome prevented Germany from securing the conditions for invading Britain.
Allies of World War II : The coalition that fought the Axis, including the United Kingdom, Soviet Union, United States, and China. The coalition combined major powers across Europe, Asia, and the Atlantic.
Great Depression : A worldwide economic crisis that began in 1929 and lasted through much of the 1930s. Economic collapse destabilized politics and helped extremist movements gain support.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki : The United States’ August 1945 nuclear attacks on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bombings contributed to Japan’s surrender and raised enduring questions about nuclear warfare.
Operation Barbarossa : Germany’s June 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union, the largest land invasion in history. The invasion opened the war’s vast Eastern Front and drew the Soviet Union fully into the Allied coalition.
World War II logistics : The transport, supply, and maintenance systems that sustained military forces during World War II. Distance and supply capacity often determined which operations could be sustained.
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