World War II took place from 1939 to 1945 and involved all of the world's major powers. On one side were the Allies, including Britain, the United States, France and the Soviet Union. On the other side, the Axis powers included Germany, Japan and Italy. This conflict resulted from the rise of totalitarian and militarist regimes in Germany, Japan and Italy after the First World War. The humiliating peace treaties imposed on Germany after World War I were partly to blame. The Great Depression of the 1930s created worldwide economic disorder and thus contributed to the war. During the 1930s, Japan was very aggressive in Asia and Italy, led by Mussolini, invaded Ethiopia. French and British appeasement of Hitler's Nazi regime in Germany culminated in the Munich Pact of 1938. This sacrificed a large part of Czechoslovakia to Germany. France and Britain began to rearm and offer guarantees to other potential victims of Nazi aggression. In August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union, previously bitter enemies, concluded a non-aggression pact, allowing Hitler to invade Poland on September 1. 1939. France and Britain immediately declare war on Germany, officially starting World War II. Germany won a quick victory in Poland and occupied Norway and Denmark in 1940. In May, it invaded the Netherlands, broke into France and rushed across the English Channel. On June 22, 1940, France capitulated. However, a Free French force continued to fight. Britain, led by Prime Minister Winston Churchill, had to fight alone. The Battle of Britain lasted from August to October 1940. Germany's attempt to bomb Britain into submission was the only German failure of the early years of the war. Axis land operations continued in North Africa and the Balkans, where Greece and Yugoslavia were occupied. On June 22, 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union, drawing that nation under the leadership of Prime Minister Joseph Stalin into war. Meanwhile, the United States, under the leadership of President FD Roosevelt, was moving closer to the Allies. On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, drawing the United States into the war. Axis successes continued. By 1942, Japan had conquered the Philippines and many other Pacific islands as well as all of Southeast Asia. German forces in the Soviet Union reached Stalingard and the Caucasus. German General Ro... middle of paper ...... 945, as the United States prepared to invade Japan, American President Harry S. Truman ordered the dropping of the atomic bomb on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On August 14, 1945, Japan surrendered. Thus ending World War II. Work Cited Hirsch, ED, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, James Trefil. The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 1991. pp. 231-234. “Second World War”. The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia. New York: Columbia University Press. 1983. pp 930-931. Tourtellot, Arthur B.. History in pictures of life in the Second World War. New York: Time Inc.. 1950. pp 227 Hofstadter, Richard, William Miller, Daniel Aaron. The United States The history of a republic. New Jersey: 2nd edition. Prentice-Hall Inc..1967. pp 702-703 Jablonski, Edward. A pictorial history of the years of World War II. New York: Doubleday & Co. Inc.. 1977. pp. 207-230. Sramek, Joseph. “The greatest deception of all time: Britain, Ultra and D-Day” 2/10/1998. www.suite 101.com/article.cfm/945/7260. “D-Day” The American experience..