World War II began as a conflict between the Axis powers and the Allies. The Axis consisted of Germany, Japan, Italy, the Soviet Union, and the United States. It ended with the Allies prevailing over Germany in 1945.

The Axis was formed out of dissatisfaction with the world order following the First World War. In addition to the Central Powers, the Allied powers included France, Great Britain, and Russia.

The United States was threatened with a full-scale world war. Pearl Harbor, an attack by Japanese naval forces, sparked the nation’s war spirit and prompted President Roosevelt to declare war on Germany.

The Allied forces launched counter-attacks against the Germans. These attacks drove the Germans back north of the Aisne River. However, the German army was only able to penetrate into northeastern France by summer 1941.

At the beginning of the war, the countries that supported the Central Powers were allies of Germany, while the nations that opposed it were called the Allies. Some of these nations were France, England, Belgium, and Russia.

During the war, the Soviet Union took control of Eastern Poland, Bessarabia, and northern Bukovina. It also invaded Finland.

Several European countries joined the Allies, including France, England, Belgium, and Italy. Eventually, China and the United States were added to the Allied forces.

By the end of the war, there were between nine and ten million military personnel and seven to eight million civilians killed. The exact numbers will never be known.