The Second World War was not only the most terrible tragedy in the history of mankind, but also was the largest geopolitical conflict during the development of civilization. Dozens of countries were involved in this bloody confrontation, each of which pursued its own goals: territorial expansion, expansion of influence, economic benefits, protection of its own borders and population.
To achieve their goals, participants in World War II were forced to form coalitions. Allied groups included countries whose interests and goals were most closely intertwined. But sometimes, even countries that saw the post-war structure of the world in completely different ways united in similar blocks for the sake of solving a higher task.
Who were the main and secondary participants in World War II? A list of countries officially party to the conflict is presented below.
Axis countries
First of all, consider the states that are considered to be the immediate aggressors that unleashed the Second World War. They are conditionally called the Axis countries.
Triple Pact countries
The Tripartite or Berlin Pact countries were participants in World War II, who played a leading role among the Axis states. They concluded an alliance agreement between themselves on September 27, 1940 in Berlin, directed against their rivals and determining the post-war division of the world in case of victory.
Germany is the most powerful militarily and economically state from the Axis countries, which has been the main connecting force of this association. It was this power that carried the greatest threat and caused the most severe damage to the troops of the anti-Hitler coalition. She started the Second World War in 1939.
Italy is Germany's strongest ally in Europe. Unleashed the fighting in 1940.
Japan is the third member of the Tripartite Pact. It claimed exclusive influence in the Asia-Pacific region, the fighting within which led. Entered the war in 1941.
Minor Axis members
Secondary members of the Axis include World War II participants from among the allies of Germany, Japan and Italy, who did not play primary roles on the battlefields, but nonetheless took part in hostilities on the side of the Nazi bloc or declared war on the countries of the Anti-Hitler coalition. They include:
- Hungary;
- Bulgaria;
- Romania;
- Slovakia;
- Kingdom of Thailand;
- Finland;
- Iraq;
- Republic of San Marino.
States Governed by Collaborative Governments
This category of countries includes states occupied during the war by Germany or its allies, in which governments were established that were loyal to the Axis bloc. It was precisely the Second World War that brought these forces to power. The participants in the Triple Pact, therefore, wanted to position themselves in these countries as liberators, and not conquerors. These countries include:
- Croatia;
- Serbia
- Burma (this country and all of the following states were occupied by Japan);
- Philippines;
- Laos;
- Vietnam;
- Cambodia.
Anti-Hitler coalition
The symbol “Anti-Hitler coalition” means the union of countries that opposed the Axis states. The formation of this allied bloc took place over almost the entire period during which the Second World War was going on. The countries participating in the anti-Hitler coalition were able to withstand the struggle against Nazism and win.
The big three
The Big Three are the participants of the Second World War from among the countries of the Anti-Hitler Coalition, who made the greatest contribution to the victory over Germany and other Axis states. Possessing the highest military potential, they managed to turn the tide of hostilities, which initially developed not in their favor. First of all, thanks to these countries, the Second World War ended in a triumph over Nazism. Participants in battles from among other states of the Anti-Hitler coalition, of course, also earned the gratitude of all the free peoples of the world for getting rid of the "brown plague", but without the coordinated actions of these three powers, victory would have been impossible.
Great Britain is the state that first entered into open confrontation with Nazi Germany in 1939 after the latter attacked Poland. Throughout the war, it created the greatest problems for the Third Reich in western Europe.
The USSR is the state that suffered the greatest casualties during the Second World War. According to some estimates, they exceeded 27 million people. It was at the cost of blood and incredible efforts of the Soviet people that they managed to stop the victorious march of the Reich divisions and turn the flywheel of the war back. The USSR entered the war after the Nazi attack in Germany in June 1941.
USA - later than all of the Big Three states took part in hostilities (since the end of 1941). But it was the entry of the United States into the war that made it possible to complete the formation of the Anti-Hitler coalition, and successful actions in the battles with Japan did not allow it to open a front in the Far East against the USSR.
Minor Members of the Anti-Hitler Coalition
Of course, in such an important matter as the fight against Nazism, there can be no secondary roles, but the countries presented below still had less impact on the course of hostilities than the Big Three. At the same time, they made their contribution to the end of such a grand military conflict as World War II. The member countries of the Anti-Hitler coalition, each, due to their capabilities, fought Nazism. Some of them directly opposed the military forces of the Axis states on the battlefields, others organized a movement against the invaders, and others helped with supplies.
Here you can name the following countries:
- France (one of the first to enter the war with Germany (1939) and was defeated);
- Commonwealth of Nations nations ;
- Poland;
- Czechoslovakia (at the time of the outbreak of hostilities virtually no longer existed as a single state);
- Netherlands;
- Belgium;
- Luxembourg;
- Denmark;
- Norway;
- Greece;
- Monaco (despite its neutrality, it was alternately occupied by Italy and Germany);
- Albania;
- Argentina;
- Chile;
- Brazil;
- Bolivia;
- Venezuela;
- Colombia;
- Peru;
- Ecuador;
- Dominican Republic;
- Guatemala;
- Salvador;
- Costa Rica;
- Panama;
- Mexico;
- Honduras;
- Nicaragua;
- Haiti;
- Cuba;
- Uruguay;
- Paraguay;
- Turkey;
- Bahrain;
- Saudi Arabia;
- Iran;
- Iraq;
- Nepal;
- China;
- Mongolia;
- Egypt;
- Liberia;
- Ethiopia;
- Tuva.
It is difficult to underestimate the breadth of the scope of such a grand tragedy as World War II. The number of participants in the largest armed conflict of the 20th century was 62 countries. This is a very high indicator, given that at that time there were only 72 independent states. In principle, there were no countries to which this grandiose event did not affect at all, at least ten of them declared their neutrality. Neither the memoirs of the participants of the Second World War or the victims of concentration camps, nor even historical textbooks, can convey the full scale of the tragedy. But the present generation should remember well the mistakes of the past so as not to repeat them in the future.