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Allies Of World War II
*** Shopping-Tip: Allies Of World War II
The group of countries known as the '''Allies of World War II''', were those nations opposed to the
Axis Powers during the
Second World War.
Image:WWII.png participants in World War II.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|280px|World Map with the [[participants in World War II.
The
Allies of World War II Allies depicted in green (those in light green entered after the
Attack on Pearl Harbor), the
Axis Powers in orange, and neutral countries in grey..html" title="Meaning of 280px|World Map with the [[participants in World War II">thumb|280px|World Map with the [[participants in World War II.
The
Allies of World War II Allies depicted in green (those in light green entered after the
Attack on Pearl Harbor), the
Axis Powers in orange, and neutral countries in grey.">280px|World Map with the [[participants in World War II">thumb|280px|World Map with the [[participants in World War II.
The
Allies of World War II Allies depicted in green (those in light green entered after the
Attack on Pearl Harbor), the
Axis Powers in orange, and neutral countries in grey.
Image:Prince of Wales-5.jpg Winston_Churchill.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|280px|[[Winston Churchill meets
Franklin D. Roosevelt aboard HMS ''Prince of Wales'' at the Atlantic Conference in August, 1941..html" title="Meaning of right|280px|[[Winston Churchill">thumb|right|280px|[[Winston Churchill meets
Franklin D. Roosevelt aboard HMS ''Prince of Wales'' at the Atlantic Conference in August, 1941.">right|280px|[[Winston Churchill">thumb|right|280px|[[Winston Churchill meets
Franklin D. Roosevelt aboard HMS ''Prince of Wales'' at the Atlantic Conference in August, 1941.
Image:Tehran Conference, 1943.jpg Joseph Stalin.html" title="Meaning of 280px 280px|thumb|"The Big 3": [[Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meeting at
Tehran in
1943..html" title="Meaning of thumb|"The Big 3": [[Joseph Stalin">280px|thumb|"The Big 3": [[Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meeting at
Tehran in
1943.">thumb|"The Big 3": [[Joseph Stalin">280px|thumb|"The Big 3": [[Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meeting at
Tehran in
1943.
China
:''Main article:
Second Sino-Japanese War''
China Chinese forces had been fighting the
Empire of Japan on and off since 1894.
During the
1920s, the
Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalists;KMT) government was supported by the
Soviet Union, which sought to hinder Japanese attempts to threaten
Siberia.
During the 1920s,
Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek purged leftists from his party and refused to ally with the
Communist Party of China (CCP) to fight against the
Japanese, and instead opted to fight both at once. This remained the case even after the
Mukden Incident and the puppet regime of
Manchuria set by Japanese troops in
1931.
Starting in the late 1920s,
Sino-German cooperation Germany and China became close partners in areas of military and industrial exchange. After
1933, because of Chiang's
anti-communism anti-communist policies,
Nazi Germany provided the largest proportion of Chinese arms imports. German military advisors assisted the Kuomintang armies; Chinese officers (including Chiang's second son) were trained by and served with the German ''
Wehrmacht''. The Nazis denounced
Japanese war crimes in China, such as the
Nanking Massacre of 1937. However the Nazis broke off the cooperation in May 1938 when they recognised the existence of
Manchukuo.
Following the
Marco Polo Bridge Incident of
July 7,
1937, Chinese forces engaged the
Empire of Japan in full-scale hostilities which continued until 1945. In
1936, KMT generals
Zhang Xueliang and
Yang Hucheng (with the support of the Communist leader
Zhou Enlai), kidnapped Chiang Kai-shek in the
Xi'an Incident and forced him to join a united front with the Communists against the Japanese. Even though the ceasefire was in effect, the armies were never under a united command, as both armies were trying to conserve their own strength for a coming showdown with each other.
Even though China had been fighting longest among all the Allied powers, it only officially joined the Allies after the
attack on Pearl Harbor, on
9 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.
Pre-war alliances in Europe
France and the
United Kingdom were already linked by the
Entente Cordiale (since 1904) and had been members of the Triple Entente during
World War One The Great War.
In
1938,
Czechoslovakia had formal alliances with the
Soviet Union (USSR) and
France, but when
Nazi Germany sought to annex
Sudetenland, a part of Czechoslovakia, neither France nor the USSR was willing and/or able to offer military support. France and the
United Kingdom instead approved the annexation, under the
Treaty of Munich. Other areas of Czechoslovakia were subsequently annexed by
Poland (in October
1938) and
Hungary (in November
1938). The remaining territory was occupied by
Nazi Germany in March
1939.
The British
Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain declared that if
Hitler attacked Poland, which was considered to be at risk of an assault by the
Third Reich, then Britain and
France would give Poland ''"all support in their power".'' This promise was extended to
Greece and
Romania, after
Italy's conquest of
Albania on
April 7,
1939. A formal
military alliance was concluded between the UK, France and Poland on
April 6,
1939.
Meanwhile, attempts by the Soviet Union to negotiate an alliance with France and Britain proved unsuccessful. Furthermore, in both mid-1938 and between May-August, 1939, the Soviets were involved in localised conflicts with Japan (see
Battle of Lake Khasan and
Battle of Halhin Gol). Wishing to avoid war with Germany, on
August 23, 1939, the USSR signed the
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact German-Soviet non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany.
Key alliances are formed
On
September 1, the
German invasion of Poland began World War II. Britain, France,
Australia and
New Zealand all declared war on Germany on
September 3.
Nepal,
Newfoundland,
Tonga,
South Africa and
Canada followed suit within days. On
September 17, the Soviets
Polish_Defence_War_of_1939#Phase_2:_Soviet_aggression invaded Poland from the East. The following year, the USSR annexed the
Baltic states (
Estonia,
Latvia and
Lithuania) together with parts of
Romania, and
Winter War attacked Finland. The German-Soviet agreement was brought to an end by the
Operation Barbarossa German invasion of the USSR on
June 22,
1941.
The
United States of America joined the Allies following the
attack on Pearl Harbor, on
December 7,
1941. The
Declaration by United Nations, on January 1, 1942, officially united 26 nations as Allies. (The Declaration also formed the basis for the
United Nations.) 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.
Dates of joining Allies
*
Image:Flag of Poland.svg 15px Poland:
1939 1 September
*
Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg 15px United Kingdom:
1939 3 September
*
Image:Flag of Australia.svg 15px Australia:
1939 3 September
*
Image:Flag of New Zealand.svg 15px New Zealand:
1939 3 September
*
Image:Flag of France.svg 15px France:
1939 3 September
*
Image:Flag of Nepal.svg 15px Nepal:
1939 4 September
*
Image:Flag of Newfoundland.svg 15px Newfoundland:
1939 4 September
*
Image:Flag of Tonga.svg 15px Tonga:
1939 4 September
*
Image:South Africa flag 1927.png 15px South Africa:
1939 6 September
*
Image:Canada1921.gif 15px Canada:
1939 10 September
*
Image:Flag of Denmark.svg 15px Denmark:
1940 9 April
*
Image:Flag of Norway.svg 15px Norway:
1940 9 April
*
Image:Flag of Belgium.svg 15px Belgium:
1940 10 May
*
Image:Flag of Luxembourg.svg 15px Luxembourg:
1940 10 May
*
Image:Flag of the Netherlands.svg 15px Netherlands:
1940 10 May
*
Image:Flag of Free France.svg 15px Free France:
1940 18 June
*
Image:Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg 15px Greece:
1940 28 October
*
Image:Flag of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.svg 15px Kingdom of Yugoslavia:
1941 6 April
*
Image:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg 15px Soviet Union:
1941 22 June
*
Image:Tannutuva.gif 15px Tannu Tuva:
1941 25 June until
1944 11 October
*
Image:Flag of Panama.svg 15px Panama:
1941 7 December
*
Image:Flag of the Philippines.svg 15px Philippines:
1941 7 December
*
Image:Flag of Costa Rica.svg 15px Costa Rica:
1941 8 December
*
Image:Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg 15px Dominican Republic:
1941 8 December
*
Image:Flag of El Salvador.svg 15px El Salvador:
1941 8 December
*
Image:Flag of Haiti.svg 15px Haiti:
1941 8 December
*
Image:Flag of Honduras.svg 15px Honduras:
1941 8 December
*
Image:Flag of Nicaragua.svg 15px Nicaragua:
1941 8 December
*
Image:Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg 15px United States of America:
1941 8 December
*
Image:Flag of the Republic of China.svg 15px Republic of China:
1941 9 December
*
Image:Flag of Guatemala.svg 15px Guatemala:
1941 9 December
*
Image:Flag of Cuba.svg 15px Cuba:
1941 9 December
*
Image:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg 15px Czechoslovakia:
1941 16 December
*
Image:Flag of Mexico 1934.png 15px Mexico:
1942 22 May
*
Image:Flag of Brazil.svg 15px Brazil:
1942 22 August
*
Image:Ethiopia1897.gif 15px Ethiopia:
1942 14 December
*
Image:Iraq1924.gif 15px Iraq 1943:
17 January
*
Image:Flag of Bolivia.svg 15px Bolivia:
1943 7 April
*
Image:Persia1906.gif 15px Iran 1943:
9 September
*
Image:Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg 15px Italy:
1943 13 October (defected from Axis)
*
Image:Flag of Colombia.svg 15px Colombia:
1943 26 November
*
Image:Flag of Liberia.svg 15px Liberia:
1944 27 January
*
Image:Flag of Romania.svg 15px Romania:
1944 25 August (defected from Axis)
*
Image:Flag of Finland.svg 15px Finland:
1944 4 September (defected from Axis)
*
Image:Flag of Bulgaria.svg 15px Bulgaria:
1944 8 September (defected from Axis)
*
Image:Flag of San Marino.svg 15px San Marino:
1944 21 September
*
Image:Flag of Albania.svg 15px Albania:
1944 26 October
*
Image:Flag of Hungary.svg 15px Hungary:
1945 20 January (defected from Axis)
*
Image:Bahawalpur.gif 15px Bahawalpur State Bahawalpur:
1945 2 February
*
Image:Flag of Ecuador.svg 15px Ecuador:
1945 2 February
*
Image:Flag of Paraguay.svg 15px Paraguay:
1945 7 February
*
Image:Flag of Peru.svg 15px Peru:
1945 12 February
*
Image:Flag of Uruguay.svg 15px Uruguay:
1945 15 February
*
Image:Flag of Venezuela.svg 15px Venezuela:
1945 15 February
*
Image:Flag of Turkey.svg 15px Turkey:
1945 23 February
*
Image:Flag of Lebanon.svg 15px Lebanon:
1945 27 February
*
Image:Flag of the People's Republic of Mongolia (1949-1992).svg 15px People's Republic of Mongolia:
1945 9 August
*
Image:Flag of Switzerland.svg 15px Switzerland: Unofficial West Ally aid
*
Image:Flag of Sweden.svg 15px Sweden: Unofficial West Ally Combat, Intel aid
Formal alliances during the war
Original allies
*
French Third Republic French Republic
*
Republic of Poland
*
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
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 original allies were the states that declared war on
Germany Nazi Germany in September of 1939, thus starting
World War II.
The Commonwealth
In addition to the United Kingdom, several independent members of the
Commonwealth of Nations, known as the
Dominions, declared war on Germany separately, either on the same day, or soon afterwards.
British India
British India, a
crown colony of Great Britain which included modern-day
India,
Pakistan,
Bangladesh and
Burma declared war on the Axis powers soon after Britain's entry into the World War 2.
The 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
November 30 1939 [http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1939/391214a.html]. Later Finland and the
Occupation of Denmark#Danish Government 1940-43 Kingdom of Denmark officially joined the Axis
Anti-Comintern Pact. The
Sweden and the Winter War#Winter War Kingdom of Sweden remained officially neutral.
Iceland and
Greenland, 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 in 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 April 9, 1941. The US also took over in Iceland on July 7, 1941. Iceland declared full independence from Denmark in 1944, but never declared war on any of the Axis powers.
Atlantic Charter
The
Atlantic Charter was negotiated at the ''Atlantic Conference'' by
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and
President of the United States U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, aboard warships in a secure anchorage at
Argentia, Newfoundland and Labrador Argentia,
Newfoundland (located on
Placentia Bay) and was issued as a joint declaration on
August 14,
1941.
The dates given below are for entry into the war.
*United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (from
September 3,
1939)
* United States of America (from
December 8 1941)
*
Belgium Kingdom of Belgium (invaded by Germany,
May 10, 1940)
*
Czechoslovak Republic (seized by Germany,
September 29, 1938 as part of the
Munich Agreement)
*
History of Modern Greece#Wars and crises Kingdom of Greece (invaded by Italy,
October 28, 1940)
*
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (invaded by Germany, May 10, 1940)
*
Kingdom of the Netherlands (invaded by Germany, May 10, 1940)
*
Kingdom of Norway (invaded by Germany,
April 9, 1940)
*
Republic of Poland (invaded by Germany
September 1 and USSR
September 17 1939)
*
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (from
June 22,
1941, but see also the
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact)
*
Kingdom of Yugoslavia (invaded by Germany, Italy, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria,
April 6, 1941)
*
Free France (from
Charles de Gaulle's the
Appeal of June 18,
1940)
The
Polish government in exile after 1939 continued the
Polish contribution to World War II on several fronts with hundreds of thousand of members in the
Polish Army in France and UK, as well as the
Home Army in occupied Poland. The Soviet Union however, did not recognize the government and in 1943 organized the
Polish People's Army under
Rokossovsky, around which eventually it constructed the post-war
successor state.
British, Dutch and French colonies fought alongside their metropolitan countries, and many continued their contribution also when the mother countries were occupied.
Comintern
*
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
*
International Brigades
*
Popular Front
*
History of Albania#The Communist and Nationalist Resistance Albanian National Liberation Army
*
People's Liberation Army Chinese People's Liberation Army
*
Bessarabia#World War II Moldova [http://www.east-west-wg.org/cst/cst-mold/bessara.html] &
Bukovina
*
Communist Party of Yugoslavia
*
Greek_Civil_War#Background:_1941-44 Greek National Liberation Front
*
Malayan Communist Party
*
Tudeh Party of Iran
*
Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party Mongolian People's Republic
*
Polish People's Army
*
Viet Minh
*
People's Republic of Azerbaijan [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/iran-azeri.htm]
*
Kurdish People's Republic
Declaration by United Nations
[http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/paw/274.html Declaration by United Nations, January 1, 1942]
(26 signatories)
*
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
*
United States of America
*
Republic of China
*
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
*
Commonwealth of Australia
*
Belgium Kingdom of Belgium
*
Military history of Canada#World War II Canada
*
Republic of Costa Rica
*
Republic of Cuba
*
Czechoslovak Republic
*
Dominican Republic
*
El Salvador Republic of El Salvador
*
History of Modern Greece#Wars and crises Kingdom of Greece
*
Guatemala Republic of Guatemala
*
Haiti La Republique d' Haiti
*
Honduras Republic of Honduras
*
British India#World War II and the End of the Raj India
*
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
*
Kingdom of the Netherlands
*
Dominion of New Zealand
*
Nicaragua Republic of Nicaragua
*
Kingdom of Norway
*
Panama Republic of Panama
*
Republic of Poland
*
Union of South Africa
*
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
(Note: During 1942 the declaration was adhered to by
Mexico, the
Commonwealth of the Philippines, and
Ethiopia; in the first four months of 1943, it was adhered to by
Iraq,
Brazil, and
Bolivia.
Tripartite Treaty of Alliance
29 January 1942
* United Kingdom
*
Soviet Union
*
Iran [http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/wwii/persian/chapter01.htm#b2]
Pan American Union
[http://www.ibiblio.og/pha/7-2-188/188-26.html] (21 members)
-
Havana Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the American Republics, July 21-30, 1940
(''Final Act of the Second Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the American Republics at Habana, Cuba, July 30, 1940'')
*
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. The other countries in this group contributed support units, small combat forces, or to lesser degrees.
See also
*
Participants in World War II
External links
-
Changing Alliances In the International Arena
-
The Atlantic Conference: Resolution of September 24, 1941
{{World War II}}
Category:World War II politics
Category:Empires
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see
Allies of World War II
*** Shopping-Tip: Allies Of World War II
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