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World War II
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World War II: Germany invading Poland Winston Churchill, Harry Truman, and Joseph Stalin atomic bombing of Hiroshima Adolf Hitler German tanks Stuka German aircraft production by year, 1933–39 Allied air strength, September 1939
View archival footage of German troops invading Poland and forcing Europe into war
Bismarck battleship
For Students
Germany invades Poland, September 1, 1939, using 45 German divisions and aerial attack. By September 20, only Warsaw held out, but final surrender came on September 29.
Pop Quiz: 17 Things to Know About World War II
World War II: V-E Day
World War II summary
Quizzes
Louis IX of France (St. Louis), stained glass window of Louis IX during the Crusades. (Unknown location.)
World Wars
D-Day. American soldiers fire rifles, throw grenades and wade ashore on Omaha Beach next to a German bunker during D Day landing. 1 of 5 Allied beachheads est. in Normandy, France. The Normandy Invasion of World War II launched June 6, 1944.
A History of War
American soldiers in the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge.
Germany and World War II
Tecumseh. Battle of the Thames, Ontario, Canada, and the death of Tecumseh. Col. Richard M. Johnson with the Kentucky volunteers on left battle with Tecumseh and his Native troops. Native American Shawnee chief. North American indian. (See Notes)
Military History Buff Quiz
Marine Corps War Memorial Arlington, VA. Iwo Jima Memorial. By Felix W. de Weldon based on Joe Rosenthal news photo of afternoon flag raising Feb. 23, 1945 WWII World War II. Hompepage blog 2009, history and society, memorial day veterans day 4th of July
United States at War Quiz
Related Questions
Read Next
Aircraft spotter on the roof of a building in London with St. Paul's Cathedral in the background, ca. 1940 exact date unknown. Battle of Britain, The Blitz, World War II, Great Britain
75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain
People celebrate in Times Square in New York City, New York on V-E Day (Victory in Europe), May 8, 1945.
70th Anniversary of V-E Day
Smoke billowing 20,000 feet above Hiroshima, Japan, from the first atomic bomb every dropped in World War II.
70 Years After Hiroshima
Aerial view of Asakusa, Tokyo heavily damaged by the World War II March 1945 US fire bombing raids of Tokyo.Tokyo famous for the Senso-ji a Buddhist temple that survived the air raids. Allied firebombing of Tokyo 1945. Fire bomb Tokyo. WWII, World War II
Anniversary of the Tokyo Firebombing
Operation Barbarossa, German troops in Russia, 1941. Nazi German soldiers in action against the Red Army (Soviet Union) at an along the frontlines in the early days of the German invasion of the Soviet Union, 1941. World War II, WWII
75th Anniversary of Operation Barbarossa
Discover
Community service - volunteers picking up garbage in a park during a spring cleanup. Environmentalism
A Timeline of Environmental History
Close up of praying mantis walking on stone ground against a blurred background in Japan
6 Animals That Eat Their Mates
The Titanic. (disasters, ships)
Timeline of the Titanic’s Final Hours
The Battle of New Orleans, by E. Percy Moran, c. 1910. Andrew Jackson, War of 1812.
26 Decade-Defining Events in U.S. History
Obscure Freaky Smiling Psycho Man, phsychopath, sociopath, evil, mean
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Secret Service Agent Listens To Earpiece
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Encyclopaedia Britannica First Edition: Volume 1, Plate XXXVIII, Figure 2, Ark, Ark of the Covenant, a small chest, coffer, contains Aaron's rod, manna pot, tables of covenant, Schechinah, Divine Presence, oracle, shittim-wood, acacia tree
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World War II: Facts & Related Content

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Facts

Also Known As WWII • Second World War
Date September 3, 1939 - September 2, 1945
Participants Axis powers • Canada • Czechoslovakia • Free French • India • Japan • Luxembourg • South Africa • Yugoslavia • Allied powers

Did You Know?

  • About 70 million total soldiers fought on behalf of the Allied or Axis countries.
  • Some scholars argue that the "start" of WWII was in 1937 when Japan invaded China instead of when Germany invaded Poland.
  • Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and Sweden all declared themselves neutral during WWII.

Photos and Videos

World War II: Germany invading Poland
Winston Churchill, Harry Truman, and Joseph Stalin
atomic bombing of Hiroshima
Adolf Hitler
German tanks
Stuka
Bismarck battleship
Maginot Line
German invasion of Poland in World War II
Supermarine Spitfire
View archival footage of German troops invading Poland and forcing Europe into war
See how German troops parachuted behind the Maginot Line as part of the blitzkrieg against Allied forces
How the halt command saved British troops in Dunkirk
Learn how Nazi panzers wedged between French and British troops and trapped the latter at Dunkirk
What was the Battle of Britain?
See All Videos, Images, Audio and Interactives →

Related Topics and References

Topics
Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Timeline

Samuel Bak: Smoke
Holocaust
1933 - 1945
Invasion of Poland
Invasion of Poland
September 1, 1939 - October 5, 1939
Battle of the Atlantic
September 3, 1939 - May 8, 1945
Dunkirk evacuation
Dunkirk evacuation
May 26, 1940 - June 4, 1940
North Africa campaigns of World War II
North Africa campaigns
June 1940 - May 13, 1943
the Blitz
Battle of Britain
July 1940 - September 1940
Vichy: Battle of France
Vichy France
July 1940 - September 1944
German bombing of London during the Blitz
the Blitz
September 7, 1940 - May 11, 1941
aftermath of the Battle of Crete
Battle of Crete
May 20, 1941 - June 1, 1941
German soldiers during Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
June 22, 1941
German troops at the Battle of Moscow, 1941–1942
Battle of Moscow
September 30, 1941 - January 7, 1942
Pearl Harbor attack
Pearl Harbor attack
December 7, 1941
Wake Island
Battle of Wake Island
December 8, 1941 - December 23, 1941
U.S. troops advancing on Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, in 1943
Pacific War
December 8, 1941 - September 2, 1945
Bataan Death March
Bataan Death March
April 9, 1942
eastern New Guinea, from the 10th edition of Encyclopædia Britannica, c. 1902
Kokoda Track Campaign
July 1942 - January 1943
Battle of Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad
August 22, 1942 - February 2, 1943
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
April 19, 1943 - May 16, 1943
Allied decoy tank
Operation Fortitude
1944
Normandy Invasion
Normandy Invasion
June 6, 1944 - July 9, 1944
U.S. Marines on Saipan, Mariana Islands, 1944
Battle of Saipan
June 15, 1944 - July 9, 1944
Operation Bagration
June 23, 1944 - August 19, 1944
Cowra, New South Wales, Australia
Cowra breakout
August 5, 1944
Operation Market Garden
September 17, 1944 - September 27, 1944
Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
December 16, 1944 - January 16, 1945
Yalta Conference
Yalta Conference
February 4, 1945 - February 11, 1945
Battle of Iwo Jima
Battle of Iwo Jima
February 19, 1945 - March 26, 1945
Battle for Castle Itter
May 5, 1945
atomic bombing of Hiroshima
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
August 6, 1945 - August 9, 1945

Key People

Alessandro Pertini
president of Italy
Edward O'Hare
Edward O’Hare
American aviator and WWII hero
Puller, Chesty
Chesty Puller
United States Marine Corps officer
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
prime minister of United Kingdom
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
dictator of Germany
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
president of United States
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
premier of Soviet Union
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
president of United States
Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Italian dictator
Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
president of France
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
president of United States
George S. Patton
George Patton
United States general
Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
president of Yugoslavia
Alan Turing
Alan Turing
British mathematician and logician
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chinese statesman
Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
German minister
George C. Marshall
George C. Marshall
United States general
Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
United States general
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel
German field marshal
Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
German propagandist

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Tecumseh. Battle of the Thames, Ontario, Canada, and the death of Tecumseh. Col. Richard M. Johnson with the Kentucky volunteers on left battle with Tecumseh and his Native troops. Native American Shawnee chief. North American indian. (See Notes)
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Louis IX of France (St. Louis), stained glass window of Louis IX during the Crusades. (Unknown location.)
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Louis IX of France (St. Louis), stained glass window of Louis IX during the Crusades. (Unknown location.)
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American soldiers in the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge.
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D-Day. American soldiers fire rifles, throw grenades and wade ashore on Omaha Beach next to a German bunker during D Day landing. 1 of 5 Allied beachheads est. in Normandy, France. The Normandy Invasion of World War II launched June 6, 1944.
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