Portal:World War II

The World War II Portal World War II, or the Second World War, was a global military conflict. It began as the joining of what had initially been two separate conflicts, with the first beginning in Asia in 1937 (the Second Sino-Japanese War) and the other beginning in Europe in 1939 (the German and Soviet invasion of Poland). The war split the majority of the world's nations into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. It involved the mobilization of over 100 million military personnel, making it the most widespread war in history, and placed the participants in a state of "total war", which erased the distinction between civil and military resources and resulted in the complete activation of a nation's economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities for the purposes of the war effort. Over 70 million people, the majority of them civilians, were killed, making it the deadliest conflict in human history. The Allies won the war, and as a result, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as the world's leading superpowers. This set the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 45 years. The United Nations was formed in the hope of preventing another such conflict. The self-determination spawned by the war accelerated decolonization movements in Asia and Africa, while Europe itself began moving toward integration. More about World War II... Featured article In late May and early June 1942, during World War II, submarines belonging to the Imperial Japanese Navy made a series of attacks on the cities of Sydney and Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia. On the night of 31 May–1 June, three Ko-hyoteki class midget submarines, each with a two-member crew, entered Sydney Harbour to sink Allied warships. After being detected and attacked, the crews of two of the midget submarines scuttled their boats and committed suicide without engaging Allied vessels. The third attempted to torpedo the heavy cruiser USS Chicago but instead sank the converted ferry HMAS Kuttabul, killing 21 sailors. This midget submarine then disappeared, its fate remaining a mystery until in 2006 amateur scuba divers discovered its wreck off Sydney's northern beaches.Immediately following the raid the five Japanese fleet submarines that carried the midgets to Australia embarked on a campaign to disrupt merchant shipping in eastern Australian waters. Over the next month the submarines attacked at least seven merchant vessels, sinking three. As part of this campaign two of the submarines bombarded the ports of Sydney and Newcastle, during the early morning of 8 June. Selected equipment The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1941 to 1958. It is widely regarded to have been the world's best tank when the Soviet Union entered World War II, and although its armor and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it is credited as the war's most effective, efficient and influential design.First produced at the KhPZ factory in Kharkov (Kharkiv, Ukraine), it was the mainstay of Soviet armoured forces throughout World War II, and widely exported afterwards. It was the most-produced tank of the war, and the second most-produced tank of all time, after its successor, the T-54/55 series.A 1996 publication showed that the T-34 was still in service with twenty-seven countries.The T-34 was developed from the BT series of fast tanks, and was intended to replace both the BT-5 and BT-7 tanks and the T-26 infantry tank in service (Zaloga & Grandsen 1984:66, 111).At its introduction, it was the tank with the best balanced attributes of firepower, mobility, and protection in existence, although initially its battlefield effectiveness suffered from the unsatisfactory ergonomic layout of its crew compartment, lack of radios and poor tactical employment. Selected battle The Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo was a land battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, between Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied (mainly United States (U.S.) Marine) ground forces. It took place August 7 – August 9, 1942, on the Solomon Islands, during the initial Allied landings in the Guadalcanal campaign.In the battle, U.S. Marines, under the overall command of U.S. Major General Alexander Vandegrift, successfully landed and captured the islands of Tulagi, Gavutu, and Tanambogo among which the Japanese Navy had constructed a naval and seaplane base. The landings were fiercely resisted by the Japanese Navy troops who, outnumbered and outgunned by the Allied forces, fought and died almost to the last man.At the same time that the landings on Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo were taking place, Allied troops were also landing on nearby Guadalcanal, with the objective of capturing an airfield under construction by Japanese forces. In contrast to the intense fighting on Tulagi and Gavutu, the landings on Guadalcanal were essentially unopposed. The landings on both Tulagi and Guadalcanal initiated the six-month long Guadalcanal campaign and a series of combined-arms battles between Allied and Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands area. Related portals World War I War Military history Selected picture A 1942 aircraft worker at the Vega Aircraft Corporation in Burbank, California. Women on the United States home front during World War II took on many manufacturing jobs in factories, producing munitions and materiel for the battlefront. This photo was one of a series intended to chronicle many aspects of war mobilization, including factories, railroads, aviation training and women employees. Selected biography Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Browne Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope, KT, GCB, OM, DSO (7 January 1883 – 12 June 1963), older brother of General Sir Alan Cunningham, was a British admiral of the Second World War. Cunningham was born in Rathmines in the southside of Dublin on 7 January 1883. After starting his schooling in Dublin and Edinburgh, he enrolled at a naval academy, at the age of ten, beginning his association with the Royal Navy. After passing out of Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, in 1898, he progressed rapidly in rank. He commanded a destroyer during the First World War and through most of the interwar period. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and two Bars, for his performance during this time, specifically for his actions in the Dardanelles and in the Baltics. In the Second World War, as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet, Cunningham led British naval forces to victory in several critical Mediterranean naval battles. These included the attack on Taranto in 1940, the first completely all-aircraft naval attack in history, and the Battle of Cape Matapan in 1941. Did you know...? ...that the Polish Second Army was the second major formation of the Peoples' Army of Poland fighting alongside the Soviet Union in the Second World War? ...that the Ryūhō was the only major warship damaged in the Doolittle raid, and the last Japanese aircraft carrier to make a war-time voyage outside the Home Islands? ...that Target for Tonight was a 1941 documentary filmed, acted, and written by the Royal Air Force? Categories ▼ World War II ► World War II by continent ► World War II by country ► Lists of World War II topics ► World War II-related lists ► Chronology of World War II ► Aftermath of World War II ► Aviation in World War II ► Military awards and decorations of World War II ► Battles and operations of World War II ► World War II casualties ► Collaboration during World War II ► Cultural history of World War II ► Military deception during World War II ► Economic history of World War II ► Escapes and rescues during World War II ► Friendly fire incidents of World War II ► Historiography of World War II ► Intelligence of World War II ► World War II legislation ► Military logistics of World War II ► World War II and the media ► Military animals of World War II ► Military discipline and World War II ► Military equipment of World War II ► Military medicine in World War II ► Military units and formations of World War II ► Naval history of World War II ► World War II non-governmental organizations ► People of World War II ► Politics of World War II ► Pope Pius XII and World War II ► World War II propaganda ► World War II resistance movements ► Science and technology during World War II ► World War II sites ► Sociology of World War II ► Unfree labor during World War II ► World War II crimes ► Works about World War II ► World War II naval ships ► World War II stubs Selected quote "Fellow Australians It is my melancholy duty to inform you officially that, in persistence by Germany in her invasion of Poland, Great Britain is at war, and that, as a result, Australia is also at war... There was never any doubt as to where Great Britain stood... There can be no doubt that where Great Britain stands, there stands the people of the entire British world." — Prime Minister Robert Menzies, 3 September 1939 Topics World War II Theatres Main events Specific articles Participants Prelude • Causes • in Europe • in Asia Main theatres • Europe • Eastern Europe • China • Mediterranean, Middle East and Africa • Asia and the Pacific • Atlantic General timeline • Timeline 1939 • Invasion of Poland • Winter War 1940 • Invasion of Denmark/Norway • Battle of France • Battle of Britain 1941 • Invasion of the Soviet Union • Battle of Moscow • Attack on Pearl Harbor 1942 • Battle of Midway • Battle of Stalingrad • Second Battle of El Alamein 1943 • Battle of Kursk • Guadalcanal campaign • Invasion of Italy 1944 • Battle of Normandy • Operation Bagration • Battle of Leyte Gulf • Operation Market Garden • Battle of the Bulge 1945 • Battle of Iwo Jima • Battle of Okinawa • Battle of Berlin • End in Europe • Hiroshima and Nagasaki • Surrender of Japan • more... • Blitzkrieg • Cryptography • Equipment • Home Front • Military engagements • Production • Resistance • Technology Civilian impact and atrocities • Nanking Massacre • The Holocaust • Siege of Leningrad • Bataan Death March • Dutch famine of 1944 • Bengal famine of 1943 • Hiroshima and Nagasaki • Unit 731 • Strategic bombings • Comfort women • Allied war crimes • German war crimes • Japanese war crimes Aftermath • Effects • Casualties • Expulsion of Germans • Denazification • Cold War • Universal Declaration of Human Rights • Decline of the British Empire The Allies • Australia • Belgium • Brazil • British India • Canada • Czechoslovakia • Egypt • El Salvador • France (after June 16, 1940: Free France) • Greece • Netherlands • New Zealand • Norway • Philippines • Poland • Republic of China • South Africa • Soviet Union • United Kingdom • United States • Yugoslavia more... The Axis • Bulgaria • Independent State of Croatia • Japan • Finland • Vichy France • Hungary • Italy • Germany • Romania • Thailand • Slovakia more... Things you can do From the World War II task force of the Military history WikiProject: Attention needed ...to referencing and citation  • ...to coverage and accuracy  • ...to structure  • ...to grammar  • ...to supporting materials  Popular pages Full list Cleanup needed Battle of Kiev (1943) • Battle of Ko Chang • Colditz Castle • Spiritual national defence • Tuskegee Airmen Requested articles Battle of Uhtua-Kiestinki • Battles of Repola-Rukajärvi • Battle of Siiranmäki • Battle of Łuck • Battle of Równe • Battle of Włodzimierz Wołyński • Battle of Lubartów • Battle of Miedniki • Battle of Jodła • Francis Blanchain • Shinshou Draenger • Christer Lyst Hansen • Ove Kampman • League for Combat Policy • Julien Meline • Operation Bigot • Operation Mittelmeer • Operation Richard • Otto Program • Martin Poppel • Roehm's Avengers • Dorothy Tartiere • Poul Bruun • Raoul Boulanger • Serge Asher-Ravanel • Battle of West Ukraine (1941) • Battle of Zunyi • Liberation of Denmark (currently redirect) • Operation Vado (currently redirect) • Finnish 19th Division (Continuation War) • Finnish 11th Division (Continuation War) • Finnish VII Corps (Continuation War) • Finnish VI Corps (Continuation War) • Finnish IV Corps (Continuation War) • Finnish Cavalry Brigade • 1st Jaeger Brigade • 2nd Jaeger Brigade • Finnish 1st Division (Continuation War) • 168th Rifle Division (Soviet Union) • 71st Rifle Division (Soviet Union) • Group Oinonen • Operation Vesuvius (currently redirect) • Capture of Kassala (currently redirect) • Liberation of Lille • Battle of Pankow • Brandenburg–Rathenow Offensive • Japanese internment of European civilians during World War II • Miranda de Ebro concentration camp • The Holocaust in the Netherlands (current redirect) • German occupation of the Netherlands (current redirect) • Axis occupation of Monaco • SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade France • Soviet home front during World War II • Labour Charter (Vichy France) Expansion needed Princess Irene Brigade • Battle of Bay of Viipuri • Demilitarisation • Free Dutch Forces • Martha Desrumeaux • Mochitsura Hashimoto • Operation Cascade • Operation Tan No. 2 • Burma Area Army • Battle of Courland • Battle of Munda Point • Battle of Voronezh (1943) • Drive on Munda Point • First Battle of Kharkov • Race to Berlin • Marie Fourcade • Victor Strydonck de Burkel • Donald Blakeslee • Operation Nordwind • Battle of Skerki Bank • Michael Sinclair (soldier) • Battle of Maastricht • Battle of Zeeland • Landings on Rendova • New Georgia counterattack • Operation Waterfall • Petsamo–Kirkenes Offensive • American-British-Dutch-Australian Command • Battle of Viru Harbor • Battle of Wickham Anchorage • Western New Guinea campaign (and the individual battles of the campaign) • Operation Blockbuster • Operation Cooney • The Holocaust in France • Knowledge of the Holocaust in Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe • Francoist Spain and the Holocaust • more Images needed Twelfth Army (United Kingdom) • 4th Airborne Division (United Kingdom) • 5th Airborne Division (United Kingdom) • XVI Corps (United Kingdom) • Battle of Dakar • Battle of the Lys (1940) • Battle of Zeeland • Battle of the Grebbeberg • Franco-Thai War • Battle of Ko Chang • Switzerland during the World Wars • Berthe Fraser • Western Allied invasion of Germany • LXXXIII Army Corps (Wehrmacht) Merging needed Add an article here! Citations needed Battle of Borneo (1941–42) • Battle of Imphal • Garderegiment Fuseliers Prinses Irene • Japanese invasion of French Indochina • Japanese invasion of Thailand • Luxembourg in World War II • New Georgia Campaign • Operation Cartwheel • Operation Chastise • Royal Netherlands Motorized Infantry Brigade • Solomon Islands campaign • Battle of Radom • Seishin Operation • Moravia–Ostrava Offensive • Panzerjäger Translation needed Tobrouk (WWII) • 5th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment • Novorossiysk-Taman Operation • 1943 Novorossiysk Operation • 1943 Air Battles over Kuban • Battle of Rostov (1943) • Battle of Olshansky • Nalchik-Ordzhonikidzevskaya Operation • Bukrinsky Landing • Cape Tarhan Landing • 1942 Sudak Landing • Mozdok-Malgobek Operation • Alexander Sergeyevich Ksenofontov • Henri de Vernejoul • André Bergeret • Battle of Nice • Liberation de Saint-Malo • Battle of Seuil Valley • René-Jean-Paul Cassagne • Battle of Bouno-Misaki Associated Wikimedia Portals Activities Culture Geography Health History Mathematics Nature People Philosophy Religion Society Technology Random portal