Second World War

The global war of 1939–45 between the Allies, principally Britain, France, China, the Soviet Union, and the United States, and the Axis Powers, principally Germany, Italy, and Japan. It began in Europe with Germany’s invasion of Poland in September 1939 and spread across Europe, Africa, Asia, the Atlantic, and Pacific. Germany surrendered in May 1945 and Japan in September 1945.