World War II

Flag of Soviet Union Soviet Union
Flag of United States United States
Flag of United Kingdom United Kingdom
Flag of Republic of China China
Flag of France France
...et al.

Flag of Germany Germany
Flag of Japan Japan
Flag of Italy Italy
...et al.

Flag of United States Franklin Roosevelt
Flag of United Kingdom Winston Churchill
Flag of Republic of China Chiang Kai-shek
Flag of France Charles de Gaulle
...et al.

Flag of Japan Hirohito
Flag of Italy Benito Mussolini
...et al.

World War II (abbreviated WWII or WW2), or the Second World War, was a worldwide military conflict which lasted from the late 1930s to 1945. World War II was the amalgamation of two conflicts, one starting in Asia, 1937, as the Second Sino-Japanese War and the other beginning in Europe, 1939, with the invasion of Poland.

This global conflict split a majority of the world's nations into two opposing camps: the Allies and the Axis. Spanning much of the globe, World War II resulted in the deaths of over 60 million people, making it the deadliest conflict in human history.

World War II was the most widespread war in history, and countries involved mobilized more than 100 million military personnel. Total war erased the distinction between civil and military resources and saw the complete mobilization of a nation's economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities for the purposes of the war effort; nearly two-thirds of those killed in the war were civilians. For example, nearly 11 million of the civilian casualties were victims of the Holocaust, which was largely conducted in Eastern Europe.

The conflict ended in an Allied victory. As a result, the United States and Soviet Union emerged as the world's two leading superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War for the next 45 years. Self determination gave rise to decolonization/independence movements in Asia and Africa, while Europe itself began traveling the road leading to integration.