What was World War II?
World War II was a devastating conflict that, just like its name suggests, spanned the world. There was fighting in Europe, Africa, the Atlantic, and the Pacific, and Asia. Although many parties with scattered, and not always compatible interests fought, the war is said to have been between the Axis and Allied Powers. When Germany invaded Poland, the Axis Powers (primarily Germany, Japan, and Italy) had initiated the fight with the Allies, who were originally composed of France and Great Britain with the United States and the Soviet Union joining later (obviously there were other, minor Allies). The war lasted slightly over six years (1939-1945) and cost millions of lives. The events and conflicts of World War II effect the modern day and our recent history, including the Cold War and the prominence of the United States. Below are some figures from World War II:
4 million civilians from Axis nations were killed, 8 million Axis military personal died, 12 million total people on the Axis side died, 16 million Allied soldiers died fighting, 45 million Allied civilians were killed, 61 million Allies died, and 73 million people lost their lives.