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'''World War II'''{{efn|Often abbreviated as '''WWII''' or '''WW2'''}} or the '''Second World War''' (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a [[World war|global conflict]] between two coalitions: the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] and the [[Axis powers]]. [[World War II by country|Nearly all the world's countries]]—including all the [[great power]]s—participated, with many investing all available economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities in pursuit of [[total war]], blurring the distinction between military and civilian resources. [[Tanks in World War II|Tanks]] and [[Air warfare of World War II|aircraft played major roles]], with the latter enabling the [[strategic bombing]] of population centres and delivery of the [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|only two nuclear weapons]] ever used in war.  World War II was the [[List of wars by death toll|deadliest conflict]] in history, resulting in [[World War II casualties|70 to 85 million deaths]], more than half being civilians. Millions died in [[genocides]], including [[the Holocaust]] of European Jews, as well as from massacres, starvation, and disease. Following the Allied powers' victory, [[Allied-occupied Germany|Germany]], [[Allied-occupied Austria|Austria]], [[Occupation of Japan|Japan]], and [[Division of Korea#Post–World War II|Korea]] were occupied, and [[War crimes in World War II|war crimes]] tribunals were conducted [[Nuremberg trials|against German]] and [[International Military Tribunal for the Far East|Japanese leaders]].
'''World War II'''{{efn|Often abbreviated as '''WWII''' or '''WW2'''}} or the '''Second World War''' (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a [[World war|global conflict]] between two coalitions: the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] and the [[Axis powers]]. [[World War II by country|Nearly all the world's countries]]—including all the [[great power]]s—participated, with many investing all available economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities in pursuit of [[total war]], blurring the distinction between military and civilian resources. [[Tanks in World War II|Tanks]] and [[Air warfare of World War II|aircraft played major roles]], with the latter enabling the [[strategic bombing]] of population centres and delivery of the [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|only two nuclear weapons]] ever used in war.  World War II was the [[List of wars by death toll|deadliest conflict]] in history, resulting in [[World War II casualties|70 to 85 million deaths]], more than half being civilians. Millions died in [[genocides]], including [[the Holocaust]] of European Jews, as well as from massacres, starvation, and disease. Following the Allied powers' victory, [[Allied-occupied Germany|Germany]], [[Allied-occupied Austria|Austria]], [[Occupation of Japan|Japan]], and [[Division of Korea#Post–World War II|Korea]] were occupied, and [[War crimes in World War II|war crimes]] tribunals were conducted [[Nuremberg trials|against German]] and [[International Military Tribunal for the Far East|Japanese leaders]].


The [[causes of World War II]] included unresolved tensions in the [[aftermath of World War I]] and the rise of [[fascism in Europe]] and [[Japanese militarism|militarism in Japan]]. Key events leading up to the war included [[Japanese invasion of Manchuria|Japan's invasion of Manchuria]], the [[Spanish Civil War]], the outbreak of the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]], and Germany's [[Anschluss|annexations of Austria]] and [[Munich Agreement|the Sudetenland]]. World War II is generally considered to have begun on 1 September 1939, when [[Nazi Germany]], under [[Adolf Hitler]], [[Invasion of Poland|invaded Poland]], prompting the [[United Kingdom declaration of war on Germany (1939)|United Kingdom]] and [[French declaration of war on Germany (1939)|France]] to declare war on Germany.  Poland was divided between Germany and the [[Soviet Union]] under the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]], in which they had agreed on "[[spheres of influence]]" in Eastern Europe. In 1940, the Soviets [[Occupation of the Baltic states|annexed the Baltic states]] and [[Winter War|parts of Finland]] and [[Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina|Romania]]. After the [[Battle of France|fall of France]] in June 1940, the war continued mainly between Germany and the [[British Empire]], with fighting in the [[Balkans campaign (World War II)|Balkans]], [[Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II|Mediterranean, and Middle East]], the aerial [[Battle of Britain]] and [[the Blitz]], and naval [[Battle of the Atlantic]]. Through a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany took control of much of [[continental Europe]] and [[Tripartite Pact|formed the Axis alliance]] with [[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|Italy]], [[Empire of Japan|Japan]], and other countries. In June 1941, Germany led the European Axis in [[Operation Barbarossa|an invasion of the Soviet Union]], opening the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]] and initially making large territorial gains.
The [[causes of World War II]] included unresolved tensions in the [[aftermath of World War I]] and the rise of [[fascism in Europe]] and [[Japanese militarism|militarism in Japan]]. Key events leading up to the war included [[Japanese invasion of Manchuria|Japan's invasion of Manchuria]], the [[Spanish Civil War]], the outbreak of the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]], and Germany's [[Anschluss|annexations of Austria]] and [[Munich Agreement|the Sudetenland]]. World War II is generally considered to have begun on 1 September 1939, when [[Nazi Germany]], under [[Adolf Hitler]], [[Invasion of Poland|invaded Poland]], prompting the [[United Kingdom declaration of war on Germany (1939)|United Kingdom]] and [[French declaration of war on Germany (1939)|France]] to declare war on Germany.  Poland was divided between Germany and the Soviet Union under the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]], in which they had agreed on "[[spheres of influence]]" in Eastern Europe. In 1940, the Soviets [[Occupation of the Baltic states|annexed the Baltic states]] and [[Winter War|parts of Finland]] and [[Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina|Romania]]. After the [[Battle of France|fall of France]] in June 1940, the war continued mainly between Germany and the [[British Empire]], with fighting in the [[Balkans campaign (World War II)|Balkans]], [[Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II|Mediterranean, and Middle East]], the aerial [[Battle of Britain]] and [[the Blitz]], and naval [[Battle of the Atlantic]]. Through a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany took control of much of [[continental Europe]] and [[Tripartite Pact|formed the Axis alliance]] with [[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|Italy]], [[Empire of Japan|Japan]], and other countries. In June 1941, Germany led the European Axis in [[Operation Barbarossa|an invasion of the Soviet Union]], opening the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]] and initially making large territorial gains.


Japan aimed to [[Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere|dominate East Asia and the Asia-Pacific]], and by 1937 was at war with the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]]. In December 1941, Japan attacked American and British territories [[Pacific War#Japanese offensives, 1941–42|in Southeast Asia and the Central Pacific]], including [[attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor in Hawaii]], which resulted in the US and the UK declaring war against Japan, and the European Axis declaring war on the US. [[Pacific War|Japan conquered much of coastal China and Southeast Asia]], but its advances in the Pacific were halted in mid-1942 after its defeat in the naval [[Battle of Midway]]; Germany and Italy were [[Tunisian campaign|defeated in North Africa]] and at [[Battle of Stalingrad|Stalingrad]] in the Soviet Union.  Key setbacks in 1943—including German defeats on the Eastern Front, the [[Allied invasion of Sicily|Allied invasions of Sicily]] and the [[Allied invasion of Italy|Italian mainland]], and Allied offensives in the Pacific—cost the Axis powers their initiative and forced them into strategic retreat on all fronts. In 1944, the Western Allies [[Normandy landings|invaded German-occupied France at Normandy]], while the Soviet Union [[Stalin's ten blows|regained its territorial losses]] and pushed Germany and its allies westward. At the same time, Japan suffered reversals in mainland Asia, while the Allies crippled the [[Imperial Japanese Navy|Japanese Navy]] and [[Leapfrogging (strategy)|captured key islands]].  
Japan aimed to [[Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere|dominate East Asia and the Asia-Pacific]], and by 1937 was at war with the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]]. In December 1941, Japan attacked American and British territories [[Pacific War#Japanese offensives, 1941–42|in Southeast Asia and the Central Pacific]], including [[attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor in Hawaii]], which resulted in the US and the UK declaring war against Japan, and the European Axis declaring war on the US. [[Pacific War|Japan conquered much of coastal China and Southeast Asia]], but its advances in the Pacific were halted in mid-1942 after its defeat in the naval [[Battle of Midway]]; Germany and Italy were [[Tunisian campaign|defeated in North Africa]] and at [[Battle of Stalingrad|Stalingrad]] in the Soviet Union.  Key setbacks in 1943—including German defeats on the Eastern Front, the [[Allied invasion of Sicily|Allied invasions of Sicily]] and the [[Allied invasion of Italy|Italian mainland]], and Allied offensives in the Pacific—cost the Axis powers their initiative and forced them into strategic retreat on all fronts. In 1944, the Western Allies [[Normandy landings|invaded German-occupied France at Normandy]], while the Soviet Union [[Stalin's ten blows|regained its territorial losses]] and pushed Germany and its allies westward. At the same time, Japan suffered reversals in mainland Asia, while the Allies crippled the [[Imperial Japanese Navy|Japanese Navy]] and [[Leapfrogging (strategy)|captured key islands]].  
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{{See also|List of timelines of World War II}}
{{See also|List of timelines of World War II}}
{{WWII timeline}}
{{WWII timeline}}
World War II began in Europe on 1 September 1939{{sfn|Weinberg|2005|p=6}}<ref>Wells, Anne Sharp (2014) ''Historical Dictionary of World War II: The War against Germany and Italy''. [[Rowman & Littlefield Publishing]]. p. 7.</ref> with the [[German invasion of Poland]] and the [[United Kingdom declaration of war on Germany (1939)|United Kingdom]] and [[French declaration of war on Germany (1939)|France]]'s declaration of war on Germany two days later on 3 September 1939. Dates for the beginning of the [[Pacific War]] include the start of the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] on 7 July 1937,<ref>{{Cite book|first1=John|last1=Ferris|first2=Evan|last2=Mawdsley|title=The Cambridge History of the Second World War, Volume I: Fighting the War|location=[[Cambridge]]|language=en|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2015}}</ref>{{sfn|Förster|Gessler|2005|p=64}} or the earlier [[Japanese invasion of Manchuria]], on 19 September 1931.<ref>Ghuhl, Wernar (2007) ''Imperial Japan's World War Two'' Transaction Publishers pp. 7, 30</ref><ref>Polmar, Norman; Thomas B. Allen (1991) ''[[iarchive:worldwariiameric00polm|World War II: America at war, 1941–1945]]'' {{ISBN|978-0-394-58530-7}}</ref> Others follow the British historian [[A. J. P. Taylor]], who stated that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously, and the two wars became World War II in 1941.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hett |first=Benjamin Carter |date=1 August 1996 |title='Goak here': A.J.P. Taylor and 'The Origins of the Second World War.' |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&issn=00084107&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA18672225&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs |journal=Canadian Journal of History |language=English |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=257–281 |doi=10.3138/cjh.31.2.257 |access-date=14 September 2022 |archive-date=7 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307200155/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&issn=00084107&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA18672225&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs&userGroupName=nm_p_oweb&isGeoAuthType=true |url-status=live |issn = 0008-4107 }}</ref> Other proposed starting dates for World War&nbsp;II include the [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War|Italian invasion of Abyssinia]] on 3 October 1935.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ben-Horin|1943|p=169}}; {{Harvnb|Taylor|1979|p=124}}; Yisreelit, Hevrah Mizrahit (1965). ''Asian and African Studies'', p. 191.<br />For 1941 see {{Harvnb|Taylor|1961|p=vii}}; Kellogg, William O (2003). ''[[iarchive:americanhistorye00kell|American History the Easy Way]]''. Barron's Educational Series. p. 236 {{ISBN|978-0-7641-1973-6}}.<br />There is also the viewpoint that both World War&nbsp;I and World War&nbsp;II are part of the same "[[European Civil War]]" or "[[Second Thirty Years' War]]": {{Harvnb|Canfora|2006|p=155}}; {{Harvnb|Prins|2002|p=11}}.</ref> The British historian [[Antony Beevor]] views the beginning of World War{{nbsp}}II as the [[Battles of Khalkhin Gol]] fought between [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] and the forces of [[Mongolian People's Republic|Mongolia]] and the [[Soviet Union]] from May to September 1939.{{sfn|Beevor|2012|p=10}} Others view the [[Spanish Civil War]] as the start or prelude to World War II.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 March 2017 |title=In Many Ways, Author Says, Spanish Civil War Was 'The First Battle Of WWII' |website=[[Fresh Air]] |publisher=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/03/10/519462137/in-many-ways-author-says-spanish-civil-war-was-the-first-battle-of-wwii |url-status=live |access-date=16 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416013707/https://www.npr.org/2017/03/10/519462137/in-many-ways-author-says-spanish-civil-war-was-the-first-battle-of-wwii |archive-date=16 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40105814|title=The Spanish Civil War and the Coming of the Second World War|author=Frank, Willard C.|year=1987|journal=The International History Review|volume=9|issue=3|pages=368–409|doi=10.1080/07075332.1987.9640449|jstor=40105814|access-date=17 February 2022|archive-date=1 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201143429/https://www.jstor.org/stable/40105814|url-status=live}}</ref>
World War II began in Europe on 1 September 1939{{sfn|Weinberg|2005|p=6}}<ref>Wells, Anne Sharp (2014) ''Historical Dictionary of World War II: The War against Germany and Italy''. [[Rowman & Littlefield Publishing]]. p. 7.</ref> with the [[German invasion of Poland]] and the [[United Kingdom declaration of war on Germany (1939)|United Kingdom]] and [[French declaration of war on Germany (1939)|France]]'s declaration of war on Germany two days later on 3 September 1939. Dates for the beginning of the [[Pacific War]] include the start of the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] on 7 July 1937,<ref>{{Cite book|first1=John|last1=Ferris|first2=Evan|last2=Mawdsley|title=The Cambridge History of the Second World War, Volume I: Fighting the War|location=[[Cambridge]]|language=en|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2015}}</ref>{{sfn|Förster|Gessler|2005|p=64}} or the earlier [[Japanese invasion of Manchuria]], on 19 September 1931.<ref>Ghuhl, Wernar (2007) ''Imperial Japan's World War Two'' Transaction Publishers pp. 7, 30</ref><ref>Polmar, Norman; Thomas B. Allen (1991) ''[[iarchive:worldwariiameric00polm|World War II: America at war, 1941–1945]]'' {{ISBN|978-0-394-58530-7}}</ref> Others follow the British historian [[A. J. P. Taylor]], who stated that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously, and the two wars became World War II in 1941.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hett |first=Benjamin Carter |date=1 August 1996 |title='Goak here': A.J.P. Taylor and 'The Origins of the Second World War.' |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&issn=00084107&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA18672225&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs |journal=Canadian Journal of History |language=English |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=257–281 |doi=10.3138/cjh.31.2.257 |access-date=14 September 2022 |archive-date=7 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307200155/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&issn=00084107&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA18672225&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs&userGroupName=nm_p_oweb&isGeoAuthType=true |url-status=live |issn = 0008-4107 }}</ref> Other proposed starting dates for World War&nbsp;II include the [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War|Italian invasion of Abyssinia]] on 3 October 1935.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ben-Horin|1943|p=169}}; {{Harvnb|Taylor|1979|p=124}}; Yisreelit, Hevrah Mizrahit (1965). ''Asian and African Studies'', p. 191.<br />For 1941 see {{Harvnb|Taylor|1961|p=vii}}; Kellogg, William O (2003). ''[[iarchive:americanhistorye00kell|American History the Easy Way]]''. Barron's Educational Series. p. 236 {{ISBN|978-0-7641-1973-6}}.<br />There is also the viewpoint that both World War&nbsp;I and World War&nbsp;II are part of the same "[[European Civil War]]" or "[[Second Thirty Years' War]]": {{Harvnb|Canfora|2006|p=155}}; {{Harvnb|Prins|2002|p=11}}.</ref> The British historian [[Antony Beevor]] views the beginning of World War{{nbsp}}II as the [[Battles of Khalkhin Gol]] fought between [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] and the forces of [[Mongolian People's Republic|Mongolia]] and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939.{{sfn|Beevor|2012|p=10}} Others view the [[Spanish Civil War]] as the start or prelude to World War II.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 March 2017 |title=In Many Ways, Author Says, Spanish Civil War Was 'The First Battle Of WWII' |website=[[Fresh Air]] |publisher=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/03/10/519462137/in-many-ways-author-says-spanish-civil-war-was-the-first-battle-of-wwii |url-status=live |access-date=16 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416013707/https://www.npr.org/2017/03/10/519462137/in-many-ways-author-says-spanish-civil-war-was-the-first-battle-of-wwii |archive-date=16 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40105814|title=The Spanish Civil War and the Coming of the Second World War|author=Frank, Willard C.|year=1987|journal=The International History Review|volume=9|issue=3|pages=368–409|doi=10.1080/07075332.1987.9640449|jstor=40105814|access-date=17 February 2022|archive-date=1 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201143429/https://www.jstor.org/stable/40105814|url-status=live}}</ref>


The exact date of the war's end also is not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 15 August 1945 ([[Victory over Japan Day|V-J Day]]), rather than with the formal [[surrender of Japan]] on 2 September 1945, which officially [[End of World War II in Asia|ended the war in Asia]]. A [[Treaty of San Francisco|peace treaty between Japan and the Allies]] was signed in 1951.{{sfn|Masaya|1990|p=4}} A 1990 [[Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany|treaty regarding Germany's future]] allowed the [[German reunification|reunification of East and West Germany]] to take place and resolved most post–World War{{nbsp}}II issues.<ref>{{cite web |date=12 September 1990 |title=German-American Relations – Treaty on the Final Settlement concerning Germany |url=https://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/2plusfour8994e.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120507180629/https://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/2plusfour8994e.htm |archive-date=7 May 2012 |access-date=6 May 2012 |publisher=usa.usembassy.de}}</ref> No formal peace treaty between Japan and the Soviet Union was ever signed,<ref>[https://asiatimes.com/article/fact-box-japan-russia-never-signed-wwii-peace-treaty/ Why Japan and Russia never signed a WWII peace treaty] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180604072306/https://www.atimes.com/article/fact-box-japan-russia-never-signed-wwii-peace-treaty/ |date=4 June 2018 }}. ''Asia Times''.</ref> although the state of war between the two countries was terminated by the [[Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956]], which also restored full diplomatic relations between them.<ref name=nyt>[https://www.nytimes.com/1956/10/20/archives/texts-of-sovietjapanese-statements-peace-declaration-trade-protocol.html?sq=Soviet-Japanese+Joint+Declaration&scp=1&st=p ''Texts of Soviet–Japanese Statements; Peace Declaration Trade Protocol.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209133402/https://www.nytimes.com/1956/10/20/archives/texts-of-sovietjapanese-statements-peace-declaration-trade-protocol.html?sq=Soviet-Japanese+Joint+Declaration&scp=1&st=p |date=9 December 2021 }} The New York Times, page 2, 20 October 1956.<br />Subtitle: "Moscow, October 19. (UP) – Following are the texts of a Soviet–Japanese peace declaration and of a trade protocol between the two countries, signed here today, in unofficial translation from the Russian". Quote: "The state of war between the U.S.S.R. and Japan ends on the day the present declaration enters into force [...]"</ref>
The exact date of the war's end also is not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 15 August 1945 ([[Victory over Japan Day|V-J Day]]), rather than with the formal [[surrender of Japan]] on 2 September 1945, which officially [[End of World War II in Asia|ended the war in Asia]]. A [[Treaty of San Francisco|peace treaty between Japan and the Allies]] was signed in 1951.{{sfn|Masaya|1990|p=4}} A 1990 [[Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany|treaty regarding Germany's future]] allowed the [[German reunification|reunification of East and West Germany]] to take place and resolved most post–World War{{nbsp}}II issues.<ref>{{cite web |date=12 September 1990 |title=German-American Relations – Treaty on the Final Settlement concerning Germany |url=https://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/2plusfour8994e.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120507180629/https://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/2plusfour8994e.htm |archive-date=7 May 2012 |access-date=6 May 2012 |publisher=usa.usembassy.de}}</ref> No formal peace treaty between Japan and the Soviet Union was ever signed,<ref>[https://asiatimes.com/article/fact-box-japan-russia-never-signed-wwii-peace-treaty/ Why Japan and Russia never signed a WWII peace treaty] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180604072306/https://www.atimes.com/article/fact-box-japan-russia-never-signed-wwii-peace-treaty/ |date=4 June 2018 }}. ''Asia Times''.</ref> although the state of war between the two countries was terminated by the [[Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956]], which also restored full diplomatic relations between them.<ref name=nyt>[https://www.nytimes.com/1956/10/20/archives/texts-of-sovietjapanese-statements-peace-declaration-trade-protocol.html?sq=Soviet-Japanese+Joint+Declaration&scp=1&st=p ''Texts of Soviet–Japanese Statements; Peace Declaration Trade Protocol.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209133402/https://www.nytimes.com/1956/10/20/archives/texts-of-sovietjapanese-statements-peace-declaration-trade-protocol.html?sq=Soviet-Japanese+Joint+Declaration&scp=1&st=p |date=9 December 2021 }} The New York Times, page 2, 20 October 1956.<br />Subtitle: "Moscow, October 19. (UP) – Following are the texts of a Soviet–Japanese peace declaration and of a trade protocol between the two countries, signed here today, in unofficial translation from the Russian". Quote: "The state of war between the U.S.S.R. and Japan ends on the day the present declaration enters into force [...]"</ref>
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====Axis attack on the Soviet Union (1941)====
====Axis attack on the Soviet Union (1941)====
{{Main|Eastern Front (World War II)}}
{{Main|Eastern Front (World War II)}}
[[File:Second world war europe animation large de.gif|thumb|upright=1.2|[[European theatre of World War&nbsp;II]] animation map, 1939–1945 – Red: [[Allies of World War II|Western Allies]] and the Soviet Union after 1941; Green: [[Soviet Union]] before 1941; Blue: [[Axis powers]]]]
[[File:Second world war europe animation large de.gif|thumb|upright=1.2|[[European theatre of World War&nbsp;II]] animation map, 1939–1945 – Red: [[Allies of World War II|Western Allies]] and the Soviet Union after 1941; Green: Soviet Union before 1941; Blue: [[Axis powers]]]]


With the situation in Europe and Asia relatively stable, Germany, Japan, and the Soviet Union made preparations for war. With the Soviets wary of mounting tensions with Germany, and the Japanese planning to take advantage of the European War by seizing resource-rich European possessions in [[Southeast Asia]], the two powers signed the [[Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact]] in April 1941.{{sfn|Garver|1988|p=114}} By contrast, the Germans were steadily making preparations for an attack on the Soviet Union, massing forces on the Soviet border.{{sfn|Weinberg|2005|p=195}}
With the situation in Europe and Asia relatively stable, Germany, Japan, and the Soviet Union made preparations for war. With the Soviets wary of mounting tensions with Germany, and the Japanese planning to take advantage of the European War by seizing resource-rich European possessions in [[Southeast Asia]], the two powers signed the [[Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact]] in April 1941.{{sfn|Garver|1988|p=114}} By contrast, the Germans were steadily making preparations for an attack on the Soviet Union, massing forces on the Soviet border.{{sfn|Weinberg|2005|p=195}}
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