The Second World War was the largest and deadliest conflict in human history, involving most of the world’s nations and causing tens of millions of deaths.

Causes

• Harsh terms imposed on Germany after World War I by the Treaty of Versailles.
• The Great Depression, which caused economic hardship and helped extremist leaders rise.
• Aggressive expansion by Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler, Fascist Italy and imperial Japan.
• The failure of the League of Nations to stop aggression.

The two sides

• Allies: mainly Britain, France, the Soviet Union, the United States and China.
• Axis: Germany, Italy and Japan.

Major events

• 1 September 1939: Germany invaded Poland; Britain and France declared war.
• 1940: France fell; Britain held out in the Battle of Britain.
• 1941: Germany invaded the Soviet Union; Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, bringing the USA into the war.
• 1942–43: Turning points at Stalingrad, El Alamein and Midway.
• 6 June 1944: D-Day landings in Normandy.
• May 1945: Germany surrendered.
• August 1945: atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Japan surrendered.

The Holocaust

Nazi Germany carried out the systematic murder of about six million Jews, along with millions of others, one of history’s greatest crimes.

India’s role

India contributed one of the largest volunteer armies in history, about 2.5 million soldiers, who fought in North Africa, Italy, the Middle East and Burma (Myanmar). The battles of Kohima and Imphal in 1944 were major turning points in the war against Japan. India also supplied huge amounts of material for the war effort, while the Bengal Famine of 1943 caused immense suffering. Meanwhile, Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army fought against the British for India’s freedom.

After the war

• The United Nations was founded in 1945 to keep world peace.
• The USA and Soviet Union became superpowers, leading to the Cold War.
• Weakened European powers began to lose their colonies; India became independent in 1947.