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Allies of World War II

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The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis Powers during the Second World War. During the war they were often called the United Nations, although that name now usually refers to the United Nations organization they established after the war.

Image:WWII.png "The Big 3": Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meeting at Tehran in 1943.

Contents

[edit] China

Main article: Second Sino-Japanese War

When World War II began, the Republic of China had been fighting the Empire of Japan since 1937.

During the 1920s, the Kuomintang government was aided by the Soviet Union, which helped to reorganize the party, superficially at least, along Leninist lines: a unification of party, state, and army. However, following the unification of China, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek purged leftists from his party and refused to ally with the Communist Party of China to fight against the Japanese, and instead opted to fight both at once. This remained the case even after the Mukden Incident and the puppet regime of Manchuria set by Japanese troops in 1931. Chiang's anti-communist campaigns continued while he fought small, incessant conflicts against Japan throughout the 1930s. This period saw China lose territories piece by piece to Japan.

In the early 1930s, Germany and China became close partners in military and industrial matters. Nazi Germany provided the largest proportion of Chinese arms imports and technical expertise. Following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of July 7, 1937, China and Japan became embroiled in a full-scale war which continued until 1945. Initially, Germany denounced Japanese war crimes in China, such as the Nanking Massacre of 1937. However Germany also recognized that Japan would be a more capable ally against the Soviet Union, and broke off the cooperation with China in May 1938. The Soviet Union, wishing to keep China in the fight against Japan, supplied China with some military assistance until 1941, until it made peace with Japan to prepare for the war against Germany.

Even though China had been fighting the longest among all the Allied powers, it only officially joined the Allies after the attack on Pearl Harbor, on 7 December 1941. Chiang Kai-shek felt Allied victory was assured with the entrance of the United States into the war and he declared war on Germany and the other Axis nations. However, Allied aid remained low as the Burma Road was closed and the Allies suffered a series of military defeats against Japan early on in the campaign. The bulk of military aid would not arrive until the spring of 1945. More than 1.5 million Japanese troops were trapped in the China Theater; troops that otherwise could have been deployed elsewhere had China collapsed and made a separate peace with Japan.

[edit] Key alliances are formed

On September 1, the German invasion of Poland began World War II. Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand all declared war on Germany on September 3. Nepal, Newfoundland, Tonga, South Africa and Canada followed suit within days. On September 17, USSR invaded Poland from the East and on November 30 Soviet Union attacked Finland. The following year the USSR annexed the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) together with parts of Romania. The German-Soviet agreement was brought to an end by the German invasion of the USSR on June 22, 1941.

The United States of America joined the Allies following the attack on Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941. The Declaration by United Nations, on January 1, 1942, officially united 26 nations as Allies. (The Declaration also formed the basis for the United Nations.) The informal Big 3 alliance of the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and the United States emerged in the latter half of the war, and their decisions determined Allied strategy around the world.

[edit] Dates on which states joined the Allies

Image:Ww2 allied axis.gif


[edit] Following the German invasion of Poland

[edit] After the end of the Phony War

[edit] After the attack on Pearl Harbor

[edit] After the Declaration by United Nations

[edit] After D-Day

[edit] After the bombing of Hiroshima

[edit] Formal alliances during the war

[edit] Original allies

The original allies were those states that declared war on Nazi Germany following the German invasion of Poland in September 1939.

These countries were allied to each other by a net of common defence pacts and military alliance pacts signed before the war. The Franco-British Alliance dated back to the Entente Cordiale of 1904 and the Triple Entente of 1907, active during the World War I. The Franco-Polish Alliance was signed in 1921 and then amended in 1927 and 1939. The Polish-British Common Defence Pact, signed on August 25, 1939, contained promises of mutual military assistance between the nations in the event either was attacked by Nazi Germany. Poland never officially surrendered to the Third Reich and the Polish government in exile after 1939 continued the Polish contribution to World War II on several fronts with hundreds of thousands of members in the Polish Army in France and UK, as well as the Home Army in occupied Poland. The Soviet Union however, did not recognize the government and in 1943 organized the Polish People's Army under Rokossovsky, around which eventually it constructed the post-war successor state the People's Republic of Poland in 1952.

British, Dutch and French colonies fought alongside their metropolitan countries, and many continued their contribution also when the mother countries were occupied.

[edit] The British Commonwealth

In addition to the United Kingdom, several independent members of the British Commonwealth — the official name in 1926-49 — known as the Dominions, declared war on Germany separately, either on the same day, or soon afterwards. These countries were: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland (which was not part of Canada until 1949) and South Africa.

The Indian Empire (including the areas covered by the later Republic of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) and the many British Crown Colonies around the world were controlled politically by Britain and therefore also entered hostilities with Britain's declaration of war. The Indian Empire suffered 1,500,000 civilian casualties, more than the U.K. It also contributed about 2,500,000 personnel and suffered 87,000 military casualties, more than any Commonwealth country other than the U.K.

[edit] The Oslo Group

The Oslo Group was an organisation of officially neutral countries. Four members later joined the Allies, as governments in exile: the Kingdom of Norway, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

The Republic of Finland was invaded by the USSR on November 30 1939 [1]. Later Finland and the Kingdom of Denmark officially joined the Axis Anti-Comintern Pact. The Kingdom of Sweden remained officially neutral. Following the Moscow armistice of September 1944, Finland effectively joined the Allies and expelled German forces. This led to a series of armed clashes called the Lapland War.

Denmark was invaded by Germany on April 9, 1940. The Danish government did not declare war and it surrendered the same day, on the understanding that it retain control of domestic affairs. No government-in-exile was formed. Danes fought with both Allied and Axis forces. (See Occupation of Denmark for more details.) Iceland and Greenland, which were respectively in union with Denmark and a Danish colony, were occupied by the Allies for most of the war. British forces took control in Iceland in 1940, and it was used to facilitate the movement of Lend Lease equipment. Forces from the United States, although they were officially neutral at the time, occupied Greenland on April 9, 1941. The US also took over in Iceland on July 7, 1941. Iceland declared full independence from Denmark in 1944, but never declared war on any of the Axis powers.

[edit] Portugal

Although Portugal remained officially neutral, the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance was invoked in World War II leading to the establishment of an Allied base in the Azores. Portugal protested the occupation of Portuguese Timor by Allied forces in 1942, but did not actively resist. The colony was subsequently occupied by Japan; Timorese and Portuguese civilians assisted Allied commandos in resisting the Japanese (see: Battle of Timor). Macau was also occupied by Japan.

[edit] Atlantic Charter

The Atlantic Charter was negotiated at the Atlantic Conference by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, aboard warships in a secure anchorage at Argentia, Newfoundland (located on Placentia Bay) and was issued as a joint declaration on August 14, 1941.

The Atlantic Charter established a vision for a post-World War II world, despite the fact the United States had yet to enter the war.

In brief, the nine points were:

  1. no territorial gains sought by the United States or the United Kingdom;
  2. territorial adjustments must be in accord with wishes of the people;
  3. the right to self-determination of peoples;
  4. trade barriers lowered;
  5. global economic cooperation and advancement of social welfare;
  6. freedom from want and fear;
  7. freedom of the seas;
  8. disarmament of aggressor nations, postwar common disarmament
  9. defeat of Germany and other Axis powers

The Atlantic Charter proved to be one of the first steps towards the formation of the United Nations.

[edit] Comintern

The following socialist and pro-Soviet forces also fought against the Axis powers before or during the Second World War.

[edit] Declaration by United Nations

Declaration by United Nations, January 1, 1942
(26 signatories)

(Note: During 1942 the declaration was adhered to by Mexico, the Commonwealth of the Philippines, and Ethiopia; in the first four months of 1943, it was adhered to by Iraq, Brazil, and Bolivia.

[edit] Tripartite Treaty of Alliance 29 January 1942

[edit] Pan American Union

[3] (21 members)

(Final Act of the Second Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the American Republics at Habana, Cuba, July 30, 1940)

From July 1944, a Brazilian Expeditionary Force of 25,000 personnel joined the Allies in the Italian campaign. In 1945, the Mexican Air Force's Escuadrón 201 was attached to the U.S. Far East Air Force, during the Philippines campaign. The other countries in this group contributed support units, small combat forces, or to lesser degrees.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

World War II
Theatres     Main events     Specific articles     Participants    

Prelude:
• Causes
• in Europe
• in Asia

Main theatres:
• Europe
• Eastern Europe
• Africa
• Middle East
• Mediterranean
• Asia & Pacific
• China
• Atlantic

General timeline:
• Timeline

  

1939:
• Invasion of Poland
• Winter War

1940:
• Invasion of Denmark and Norway
• Battle of France
• Battle of Britain
• East African Campaign
• North African Campaign
• West Africa Campaign

1941:
• Battle of Greece
• Battle of Crete
• Invasion of Soviet Union
• Battle of Moscow
• Attack on Pearl Harbor

1942:
• Battle of the Coral Sea
• Battle of Midway
• Battle of Stalingrad
• Second Battle of El Alamein
• Operation Torch

1943:
• Battle of Kursk
• Battle of Guadalcanal • Invasion of Italy

1944:
• Battle of Leyte Gulf • Battle of Cassino • Battle of Normandy
• Operation Bagration
• Battle of the Bulge

1945:
• Battle of Okinawa
• Battle of Berlin
• End in Europe
• Atomic bombings of Hiroshima & Nagasaki
• Operation August Storm
• Surrender of Japan
• more...

   

• Blitzkrieg
• Cryptography
• Equipment
• Home Front
• Military Engagements
• Production
• Resistance
• Technology

Civilian impact and atrocities:
• Holocaust
• Allied war crimes
• Dutch famine of 1944
• Hiroshima & Nagasaki
• German war crimes
• Japanese war crimes
• Strategic bombings

Aftermath:
• Effects
• Casualties
• Expulsion of Germans
• Cold War

  

The Allies
• Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
• Image:US flag 48 stars.svg United States
• Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Union
• Image:Flag of the Republic of China.svg Republic of China
• Image:Flag of Poland.svg Poland
• Image:Flag of France.svg France
• Image:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands
• Image:Flag of Belgium.svg Belgium
• Image:Canadian Red Ensign 1921.svg Canada
• Image:Flag of Norway.svg Norway
• Image:Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg Greece
• 20px Yugoslavia
• Image:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czechoslovakia
• Image:Imperial-India-Blue-Ensign.svg India
• Image:Flag of Australia.svg Australia
• Image:Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand
• Image:Flag of South Africa 1928-1994.svg South Africa
• Image:Flag of Egypt 1922.svg Egypt
• Image:Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil
• more...

The Axis
• Image:Flag of Germany 1933.svg Germany
• Image:Flag of Japan - variant.svg Japan
• Image:Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg Italy
• Image:Flag of Hungary 1940.svg Hungary
• Image:Bulgaria flag.gif Bulgaria
• Image:Romania flag.gif Romania
• Image:Flag of Finland.svg Finland
• Image:Flag of Croatia Ustasa.svg Croatia
• Image:1stslovakia flag large.svg Slovakia
• Image:Flag of Thailand.svg Thailand
• more...

See also

• Category: World War II
• Topics
• Conferences
• Total war
• WWII in contemporary culture
• Military awards of World War II
• Attacks in North America
• Comparative military ranks of World War II


More information on World War II:

Image:Wiktionary-logo-en.png World War II from Wiktionary
Image:Wikibooks-logo.png WWII Textbooks from Wikibooks
Image:Wikiquote-logo.png WWII Quotations from Wikiquote
Image:Wikisource-logo.png WWII Source texts from Wikisource
Image:Commons-logo.svg WWII Images and media from Commons
Image:Wikinews-logo.png WWII News stories from Wikinews

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ca:Aliats de la Segona Guerra Mundial da:De Allierede es:Aliados de la Segunda Guerra Mundial fa:متفقین در جنگ جهانی دوم gl:Aliados da Segunda Guerra Mundial hr:Saveznici id:Pihak Sekutu di Perang Dunia II is:Bandamenn (seinni heimsstyrjöldin) he:בעלות הברית lt:Sąjungininkai (Antrasis pasaulinis karas) no:De allierte (andre verdenskrig) pl:Alianci II wojny światowej ro:Aliaţii din al doilea război mondial ru:Антигитлеровская коалиция simple:Allies of World War II sr:Савезници у Другом светском рату th:ฝ่ายพันธมิตร zh:反法西斯同盟

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