"The Second World War" and "WWII" redirect here.

For other uses, see The Second

World War (disambiguation), WWII (disambiguation), and World War II
(disambiguation).
World War II

in the

Clockwise from top left:

Chinese forces in the Battle of ChangdeAustralian 25-pounder guns during the First
Battle of El AlameinGerman Stuka dive bombers on the Eastern Front in December
1943US naval force in the Lingayen GulfWilhelm Keitel signing the German Instrument
of SurrenderSoviet troops in the Battle of Stalingrad
Date
1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945[a]
(6 years and 1 day)
Location
EuropePacificAtlanticIndian OceanSouth-East AsiaChinaJapanMiddle
EastMediterraneanNorth AfricaHorn of AfricaCentral AfricaAustraliaNorth and South
America
Result
Allied victory
Fall of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan
Allied military occupations of Germany, Japan, Austria and Korea
Beginning of the Nuclear Age
Dissolution of the League of Nations and creation of the United Nations
Emergence of the United States and the Soviet Union as rival superpowers and
beginning of the Cold War (See Aftermath of World War II)

Participants
Allies Axis
Commanders and leaders
Main Allied leaders:
Soviet Union Joseph Stalin
United States Franklin D. Roosevelt
United Kingdom Winston Churchill
Republic of China (1912–1949) Chiang Kai-shek
Main Axis leaders:
Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler
Empire of Japan Hirohito
Fascist Italy (1922–1943) Benito Mussolini
Casualties and losses
Military dead:
Over 16,000,000
Civilian dead:
Over 45,000,000
Total dead:
Over 61,000,000
(1937–1945)
...further details
Military dead:
Over 8,000,000
Civilian dead:
Over 4,000,000
Total dead:
Over 12,000,000
(1937–1945)
...further details
vte
Campaigns of World War II
World War II
Alphabetical indices
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
0–9
Navigation
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TimelineOutlineListsHistoriography
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vte
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a
global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the
world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military
alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. In a total war directly involving more
than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries, the major participants
threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war
effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft
played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population
centres and the only two uses of nuclear weapons in war. World War II was by far
the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million
fatalities, a majority being civilians. Tens of millions of people died due to
genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, massacres, and disease. In the
wake of the Axis defeat, Germany and Japan were occupied, and war crimes tribunals
were conducted against German and Japanese leaders.