A representation of the changes in territory controlled by Allies and Axis powers over the course of the war.
----
The 'Allies of World War II' were the countries officially opposed to the
Axis powers during the
Second World War. Within the ranks of the
Allied powers, the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the
United States of America, and the
United Kingdom were known as "The
Big Three." U.S. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt referred to the Big Three and
China as the "
Four Policemen".
France, before its
defeat in 1940 and after its
liberation in 1944, was also considered a major Ally.
During December 1941, Roosevelt devised the name "
United Nations" for the Allies, and the ''
Declaration by United Nations'', on
1 January,
1942, was the basis of the modern UN.
[1] At the
Potsdam Conference of July-August 1945, Roosevelt's successor,
Harry S. Truman, proposed that the foreign ministers of China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States "should draft the peace treaties and boundary settlements of Europe," which led to the creation of the
Council of Foreign Ministers.
[ The Second World War, Volume VI: Triumph and Tragedy, , Winston S., Churchill, Houghton-Mifflin Company, , ]
Dates on which independent states joined the Allies
Following the German invasion of Poland
★ :
1 September 1939
★ :
3 September 1939 , including:
★
★
Indian Empire
★
★
Crown Colonies
★ :
3 September 1939
★ :
3 September 1939
★
France:
3 September 1939 (until
17 June 1940), including:
★
★
French overseas territories
★
South Africa:
6 September 1939
★
Canada:
10 September 1939
After the Phoney War
★ :
9 April 1940
★ :
9 April 1940
★ :
10 May 1940, including:
★
★
Belgian Congo
★ :
10 May 1940
★ :
10 May 1940, including:
★
★
border
★
★
other Dutch colonies
★
Free France:
18 June 1940
★
Greece:
28 October 1940
★
Kingdom of Yugoslavia:
6 April 1941 (signed partial
Tripartite Pact on
25 March, attacked by Germany on
6 April)
After the invasion of the USSR
★
Soviet Union:
22 June 1941
★
Tannu Tuva:
25 June 1941 (annexed by Soviet Union in
1944)
After the attack on Pearl Harbor
★ :
7 December 1941
★
United States:
8 December 1941, including:
★
★
American Samoa
★
★
Guam
★
★
Commonwealth of the Philippines
★
★
Puerto Rico
★
★
U.S. Virgin Islands
★
★
other unincorporated territories
★
Costa Rica:
1941 8 December
★ :
8 December 1941
★ :
8 December1941
★ :
8 December1941
★ :
8 December1941
★ :
8 December1941
★
Republic of China:
9 December 1941 (at war with
Empire of Japan since 1937)
★ :
9 December 1941
★ :
9 December1941
★
Czechoslovakia (
government-in-exile):
16 December 1941 (Czech lands occupied by Germany since
15 March 1939)
After the Declaration by United Nations
Main articles: Declaration by United Nations
★
Peru:
12 February 1942
★
Mexico:
22 May 1942
★
Brazil:
22 August 1942
★
Ethiopia:
14 December 1942 (formerly occupied by
Fascist Italy)
★
Iraq:
17 January 1943 (occupied by Allies in 1941)
★
Bolivia:
7 April 1943
★
Iran:
9 September 1943 (occupied by Allies in 1941)
★
Italy:
13 October 1943 (formerly a member of the Axis)
★ :
26 November 1943
★
Democratic Federal Yugoslavia:
1 December 1943 [2]
★ :
27 January 1944
After D-Day
★
Romania:
23 August 1944 (formerly a member of the Axis)
★
Bulgaria:
8 September 1944 (formerly a member of the Axis)
★ :
21 September 1944
★ :
26 October 1944 (formerly occupied by
Fascist Italy)
★
Bahawalpur:
2 February 1945
★ :
2 February 1945
★ :
7 February 1945
★ :
15 February 1945
★
Venezuela:
15 February 1945
★ :
23 February 1945
★ :
27 February 1945
★ :
1 March 1945
★ :
4 March 1945 (formerly an Axis co-belligerent, co-belligerent of UN in
Lapland War)
★ :
27 March 1945
★ :
11 April 1945
After the Soviet invasion of Japanese-held Manchuria
★
.svg.png)
border
:
9 August 1945
History
China
Main articles: Second Sino-Japanese War
When World War II began, China had been fighting the
Empire of Japan since 1937.
During the 1920s, the
Kuomintang government led by
Chiang Kai-shek was aided by the Soviet Union, which helped to reorganize the party, superficially at least, along
Leninist lines: a unification of party, state, and army. However, following the nominal unification of China in 1928, Chiang Kai-shek purged leftists from his party and fought against the
Chinese Communist Party, former warlords, and other militarist factions. A fragmented China provided easy opportunities for Japan to gain territories piece by piece without engaging in total war. Following the 1931
Mukden Incident, the puppet state of
Manchukuo was established. Throughout the early to mid 1930s, Chiang's anti-communist and anti-militarist campaigns continued while he fought small, incessant conflicts against Japan, usually followed by unfavorable settlements and concessions.
In the early 1930s,
Germany and China became close partners in military and industrial matters.
Nazi Germany provided the largest proportion of Chinese arms imports and technical expertise. Following the
Marco Polo Bridge Incident of
7 July,
1937, China and Japan became embroiled in a full-scale war which continued until 1945. Initially, Germany denounced
Japanese war crimes in China, such as the
Nanking Massacre of 1937. However Germany also recognized that Japan would be a more capable ally against the Soviet Union and broke off the cooperation with China in May 1938. The Soviet Union, wishing to keep China in the fight against Japan, supplied China with some military assistance until 1941, until it
made peace with Japan to prepare for the
war against Germany.
Even though China had been fighting the longest among all the Allied powers, it only officially joined the Allies after the attack on Pearl Harbor, on
7 December 1941. Chiang Kai-shek felt Allied victory was assured with the entrance of the United States into the war, and he declared war on Germany and the other Axis nations. However, Allied aid remained low because the
Burma Road was closed and the Allies suffered a series of military defeats against Japan early on in the campaign. The bulk of military aid did not arrive until the spring of 1945. More than 1.5 million Japanese troops were trapped in the China Theater; troops that otherwise could have been deployed elsewhere had China collapsed and made a separate peace with Japan.
Key alliances are formed
On
1 September 1939, the German invasion of Poland began World War II. The United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany on the
third of September. The British declaration also covered the
Indian Empire and other states which were British
Crown Colonies at the time.
Following the ''
Statute of Westminster'' in 1931, the Dominions of the
British Commonwealth had independence in foreign policy.
Australia and
New Zealand accepted and reiterated the British declaration.
Nepal, another independent member of the Commonwealth, declared war on Germany on
4 September. The
South African Prime Minister,
Barry Hertzog, refused to declare war, leading to the collapse of his
coalition government on
6 September; the new Prime Minister,
Jan Smuts, declared war that same day.
Canada declared war on Germany on
10 September; this was necessary as Canada had ratified the ''Statute of Westminster''.
On
17 September, the USSR , and on
30 November, the Soviet Union
attacked Finland. The following year the USSR annexed the
Baltic states —
Estonia,
Latvia and
Lithuania — together with parts of
Romania. The German-Soviet agreement was brought to an end by
The German invasion of the USSR on
22 June 1941.
The United States of America joined the Allies following the attack on Pearl Harbor, on
7 December 1941. The Declaration by United Nations, on
1 January 1942, officially united 26 nations as Allies. The informal ''Big 3'' alliance of the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and the United States emerged in the latter half of the war, and their decisions determined Allied strategy around the world.
Formal alliances during the war
Original Allies
The original Allies were those states that declared war on Nazi Germany following the German invasion of Poland in September 1939.
★
Second Polish Republic
★
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
★
French Republic
These countries were allied to each other by a net of common defence pacts and military alliance pacts signed before the war. The Franco-British Alliance dated back to the
Entente Cordiale of 1904 and the
Triple Entente of 1907, active during the
World War I. The
Franco-Polish Alliance was signed in 1921 and then amended in 1927 and 1939. The
Polish-British Common Defence Pact, signed on
25 August 1939, contained promises of mutual military assistance between the nations in the event either was attacked by Nazi Germany.
Poland
Poland is sometimes considered a major Ally,
[3] since it never officially surrendered to the
Third Reich, and the
Polish government in exile after 1939 continued the
Polish contribution to World War II on several fronts with hundreds of thousands of members in the
Polish Armed Forces in the West in France and the United Kingdom, as well as the
Home Army in occupied Poland. Resistance organizations provided most of the intelligence that enabled successful operations later in the war. The Soviet Union recognized the
London-based government but broke
diplomatic relations after revealing the truth about the
Katyn massacre, and in 1943 organized the
Polish People's Army under
Zygmunt Berling, around which it constructed the post-war
successor state People's Republic of Poland in 1952.'
British Commonwealth
In addition to the United Kingdom, several independent members of the British Commonwealth — the official name in 1926-49 — known as the
Dominions, declared war on Germany separately, either on the same day, or soon afterwards. These countries were:
Australia,
Canada,
New Zealand,
Newfoundland (which was not part of Canada until 1949) and
South Africa.
The
Indian Empire (including the areas covered by the later
Republic of India,
Pakistan and
Bangladesh) and the many British
Crown Colonies around the world were controlled politically by Britain and therefore also entered hostilities with Britain's declaration of war. The Indian Empire suffered 1,500,000 civilian casualties, more than the United Kingdom. It also contributed about 2,500,000 personnel and suffered 87,000 military casualties, more than any Commonwealth country other than the United Kingdom.
France
Main articles: Military history of France during World War II
France experienced several major phases of action during World War II:
★ The "
Phoney War" of 1939–1940, also called ''drôle de guerre'' ("Strange War") in France, or the ''"Sitzkrieg"'' ("Sitting War") in Germany.
★ The
Battle of France in May–June 1940, which resulted in the defeat of the French Army, the fall of the
French Third Republic and the creation of the rump state
Vichy France.
★ The period of
French Resistance and
Free French Forces, from 1940–1944, until the June 1944
D-Day invasions part of the
Battle of Normandy and the August 1944 invasion of southern France in
Operation Dragoon, which led to the
Liberation of Paris on
25 August 1944 and the liberation of France by the allies.
★ The political creation of the
Provisional Government of the French Republic, and the military actions following the redesignation of "French Army B" as the
First French Army, including the final drive on Germany, which culminated in
V-E Day, on
7 May 1945.
Oslo Group
The Oslo Group was an organisation of officially neutral countries. Four members later joined the Allies, as
governments in exile: the
Kingdom of Norway, the
Kingdom of the Netherlands, the
Kingdom of Belgium and the
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
The
Republic of Finland was invaded by the USSR on
30 November 1939 [1]. Later Finland and the
Kingdom of Denmark officially joined the Axis
Anti-Comintern Pact. The
Kingdom of Sweden remained officially neutral. Following the Moscow armistice of September 1944, Finland effectively joined the Allies and expelled German forces. This led to a series of armed clashes called the
Lapland War.
Denmark was
invaded by Germany on
9 April 1940. The Danish government did not declare war and it surrendered the same day, on the understanding that it retain control of domestic affairs. No government-in-exile was formed. Danes fought with both Allied and Axis forces.
Iceland and
Greenland, which were respectively in union with Denmark and a Danish colony, were occupied by the Allies for most of the war. British forces
took control in Iceland on
May 10,
1940, and it was used to facilitate the movement of
Lend Lease equipment. Forces from the United States, although they were officially neutral at the time, occupied Greenland on
9 April 1941. The U.S. also took over in Iceland on
7 July 1941. Iceland declared full independence from Denmark in 1944 but never declared war on any of the Axis powers.
Portugal
Although
Portugal remained officially neutral, the
Anglo-Portuguese Alliance — the world's oldest military alliance (1373) — was activated by the United Kingdom during World War II, leading to the establishment of an Allied base in the
Azores. Portugal protested the occupation of
Portuguese Timor by Allied forces in 1942 but did not actively resist. The colony was subsequently occupied by Japan. Timorese and Portuguese civilians assisted Allied
commandos in
resisting the Japanese. Portuguese
Macau was also occupied by Japan.
Pan American Union
The members of the
Pan American Union, who were all neutral in 1939-41, formed a mutual defence pact at a conference of foreign ministers at
Havana, on
21 July-
30 July 1940. The "Declaration on Reciprocal Assistance and Cooperation for the Defense of the Nations of the Americas" was part of the ''Final Act of the Second Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the American Republics at Havana, Cuba, July 30, 1940''.
[4] There were 21 signatories:
★
Bolivia
★
Brazil (
25 August 1942)
★
Colombia
★
Costa Rica
★
Cuba
★
Dominican Republic
★
El Salvador
★
Guatemala
★
Haiti
★
Honduras
★
Mexico (
1 June 1942)
★
Nicaragua
★
Panama
★
United States of America
From July 1944, a
Brazilian Expeditionary Force of 25,000 personnel joined the Allies in the
Italian campaign. In 1945, the
Mexican Air Force's ''
Escuadrón 201'' was attached to the
U.S. Far East Air Force, during the
Philippines campaign. The other countries in this group contributed support units, small combat forces, or to lesser degrees.
Comintern
The following
socialist and pro-Soviet forces also fought against the
Axis powers before or during the Second World War:
★
International Brigades
★
Popular Front
★
Albanian National Liberation Army
★
Chinese Red Army (a.k.a 8th Route Army; ROC 18th Army or; New Fourth Army)
★
Greek National Liberation Front
★
Hukbalahap (
Philippines)
★
Malayan Communist Party
★
Mongolia
★
Polish People's Army
★
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
★
Viet Minh
★
Communist Party of Yugoslavia
Atlantic Charter
The
Atlantic Charter was negotiated at the ''Atlantic Conference'' by
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, aboard warships in a secure anchorage at
NS Argentia,
Newfoundland (located on
Placentia Bay) and was issued as a joint declaration on
14 August 1941.
The Atlantic Charter established a vision for a post-World War II world, despite the fact the United States had yet to enter the war.
In brief, the nine points were:
# no territorial gains sought by the United States or the United Kingdom;
# territorial adjustments must be in accord with wishes of the people;
# the right to
self-determination of peoples;
#
trade barriers lowered;
# global economic cooperation and advancement of social welfare;
# freedom from want and fear;
# freedom of the seas;
# disarmament of aggressor nations, postwar common disarmament
# defeat of Germany and other Axis powers
The Atlantic Charter proved to be one of the first steps towards the formation of the
United Nations.
United Nations
Declaration by United Nations
Main articles: Declaration by United Nations
The alliance was formalised in the ''Declaration by United Nations'' on
1 January 1942. There were 26 signatories, as follows:
★ ''Union of Soviet Socialist Republics''
★ ''United Kingdom''
★ ''United States''
★ ''Republic of China''
★ ''Canada''
★ ''Australia''
★ ''Belgium''
★ ''Costa Rica''
★ ''Cuba''
★ ''Czechoslovakia''
★ ''Dominican Republic''
★ ''El Salvador''
★ ''Greece''
★ ''Guatemala''
★ ''Haiti''
★ ''Honduras''
★ ''India''
★ ''Luxembourg''
★ ''Netherlands''
★ ''New Zealand''
★ ''Nicaragua''
★ ''Norway''
★ ''Panama''
★ ''Poland''
★ ''South Africa''
★ ''Yugoslavia''
|
Later in 1942, ''Mexico'', ''The Philippines'' and ''Ethiopia'' adhered to the declaration. During 1943, it was signed by ''Iraq'', ''Iran'', ''Brazil'', ''Bolivia'' and ''Colombia''. In 1944, ''Liberia'' and ''France'' signed . During the early part of 1945, ''Peru'', ''Chile'', ''Paraguay'', ''Venezuela'', ''Uruguay'', ''Turkey'', ''Egypt'', ''Saudi Arabia'', ''Lebanon'', ''Syria'' and ''Ecuador'' became signatories.
Charter of the United Nations
Main articles: Charter of the United Nations
The Charter of the United Nations was agreed to during the war at the
United Nations Conference on International Organization, held between April and July 1945. The Charter was signed by 50 nations on
26 June (Poland had its place reserved and later became the 51st "original" signatory), and was
formally ratified shortly after the war on
24 October 1945. The five leading Allied nations, namely China,
France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States met repeatedly during the war, such as at the
1944 conference at
Dumbarton Oaks where the formation and permanent seats of the
United Nations Security Council were decided. The Security Council met for the first time in the immediate aftermath of war on
17 January 1946.
[ United Nations Security Council: Official Records: First Year, First Series, First Meeting ] .svg.png)
The first version of the UN flag, introduced in April 1945.
These are the original 51 signatories (Security Council members are indicated in 'bold'):
Iran
On
29 January 1946, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union agreed to end their
occupation of Iran, six months after the end of the war. The Tripartite Treaty of Alliance also formalised
Iran's assistance to the Allies.
[2]
See also
★
Participants in World War II
Footnotes
1. Douglas Brinkley, ''FDR & the Making of the U.N.''
2. Democratic Federal Yugoslavia was founded on November 29, 1943, by the Yugoslav Partisans, who were recognized as an Ally at the Tehran Conference.
3. Kwan Yuk Pan, Polish veterans to take pride of place in victory parade, Financial Times, July 5 2005. Access date: March 31, 2006.
4. [http://www.ibiblio.og/pha/7-2-188/188-26.html; http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/decade/decad058.htm
External links
★
Changing Alliances In the International Arena
★
The Atlantic Conference: Resolution of September 24, 1941
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