Military Strategies and Early Atrocities

World War II was a global war that was fought between two groups of countries. The Axis Powers included Germany, Italy, and Japan. Fighting to stop the Axis Powers were the Allies. The Allies were made up of many countries, but the major contributors were the United States, Britain, France, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India, the Soviet Union, and China. Some countries, including countries close to the war in Europe, decided to remain neutral and not enter the war.

The map above shows all of the countries today. When you think about a world war, do you think that the entire world was actually at war? The Axis Powers were just three smaller countries, but they were powerful enough to cause a world war. How was the location of Germany important in causing World War II? The Allied Powers made up a significant portion of the world. Hover your cursor over the map above to view the Axis Powers in red, the Allied Powers in green, and the neutral countries in blue. Any country that did not have a major impact on the war is colored gray.