World War II
Infobox collage for WWII.PNG
Clockwise from top left: Chinese forces in the Battle of Wanjialing, Australian 25-pounder guns during the First Battle of El Alamein, German Stuka dive bombers on the Eastern Front winter 1943–1944, US naval force in the Lingayen Gulf, Wilhelm Keitel signing the German Surrender, Soviet troops in the Battle of Stalingrad
Date September 1, 1939 – September 2, 1945
Location Europe, Pacific, Atlantic, South-East Asia, China, Middle East, Mediterranean and Africa
Result Allied victory
  • Creation of the United Nations
  • Emergence of the United States and the Soviet Union as superpowers
  • Beginning of the Cold War.
Belligerents
Allies

Soviet Union (1941-45)
United States (1941-45)
United Kingdom
China (at war 1937-45)
France
Poland
Canada
Australia
New Zealand
South Africa South Africa
Yugoslavia (1941-45)
Belgium (1940-45)
Netherlands (1940-45)
Greece (1940-45)
Norway (1940-45)
and others

 Axis and Axis-aligned

Germany
Japan (at war 1937-45)
Italy (1940-43)
Romania (1941-44)
Hungary (1940-45)
Finland (1941-44)
Bulgaria (1941-44)
Iraq (1941)
Thailand (1941-45)
and others
Commanders and leaders
Allied leaders

Soviet Union Joseph Stalin
Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov
United States Franklin D. Roosevelt
United States George Marshall
United Kingdom Winston Churchill
United Kingdom Alan Brooke
Republic of China Chiang Kai-shek
Free French Forces Charles de Gaulle
Democratic Federal Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito
and others

 Axis leaders

Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler
Nazi Germany Wilhelm Keitel
Empire of Japan Hirohito
Empire of Japan Hideki Tōjō
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946) Benito Mussolini
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946) Ugo Cavallero
Kingdom of Romania Ion Antonescu
Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946) Miklós Horthy
Finland C.G.E. Mannerheim
and others
Casualties and losses
Military dead:
Over 16,000,000
Civilian dead:
Over 45,000,000
Total dead:
Over 61,000,000 (1937-45)

 Military dead:
Over 8,000,000
Civilian dead:
Over 4,000,000
Total dead:
Over 12,000,000 (1937-45)