World War II by country

Bulgaria

Greater Bulgaria, but it did not participate in the Invasion of the Soviet Union

and eventually on to India, January 1942

After the Communist-dominated

Bulgarian coup d'état of 1944 of 9 September, the Bulgarian government declared war on Germany. Bulgarian armies attacked the German positions in Yugoslavia. An armistice was signed with the Allies in Moscow on 28 October 1944. After the Nazis fled Yugoslav territory, the Bulgarian Army continued its offensive in Hungary and Austria. Bulgaria's participation in World War II ended when its soldiers met British troops in Klagenfurt, Austria

in May 1945.

Burma (Myanmar)

Rangoon to Mandalay

conquest of Burma with small raids in December 1941, launching a full invasion the following January. Japan held most of the country by April and ceded the Shan states to its ally Thailand

Many Burmese hoped to gain support of the Japanese in expelling the British, so that Burma could become independent.

puppet government led by Ba Maw was installed. However, many Burmese began to believe the Japanese had no intention of giving them real independence.^[65]^[66] Aung San and other nationalist leaders formed the Anti-Fascist Organisation in August 1944, which asked the United Kingdom to form a coalition with the other Allies

against the Japanese.

Allied forces launched

offensives into Burma beginning in late 1944. They captured Rangoon following the Battle of Elephant Point in May 1945. Subsequently, negotiations began between the Burmese and the British for independence. Under Japanese occupation, 170,000 to 250,000 civilians died.^[65]^[66]

Canada

Propaganda Poster created by the Canadian Wartime Information Board, 1942.

At the time of World War II,
Newfoundland section
.

On 10 September 1939, Canada likewise declared war on Germany,^[67] this was the beginning of Canada's participation in the largest combined national effort in its history. Canada's military was active mainly in Italy,^[68] Northwestern Europe,^[69] and the North Atlantic.

Over the course of the war, 1.1 million Canadians served in the

Army, Navy, and Air Force. Of these more than 45,000 lost their lives and another 54,000 were wounded.^[70] The financial cost was $21,786,077,519.13, between the 1939 and 1950 fiscal years.^[71] By the end of the War, Canada had the world's fourth largest air force,^[72] and third largest navy.^[73] As well, the Canadian Merchant Navy completed over 25,000 voyages across the Atlantic.^[74] Many Allied pilots trained in Canada during the war. Canadians also served in the militaries of various Allied countries

, to fight against the Allies. They never actually saw action.

Canadian forces deployed to the United Kingdom in 1939. One corps fought in the Italian campaign while the other fought in Northwest Europe beginning with the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, invading Juno Beach. The 1st Canadian Army ended the war on German soil with five Canadian divisions and a host of allied formations under direct command.

During the war, Canada was subject to direct attack in the

Estevan Point

in British Columbia.

The war had significant cultural, political and economic effects on Canada, including the conscription crisis. However, the war effort not only strengthened the Canadian economy but further established Canada as a major actor on the world stage.^[75]

Caribbean Islands

Over the course of World War II, the United States assumed Britain's defense responsibilities in the Caribbean. In September 1940, the two countries agreed to the Lend-Lease Agreement (also called the

Panama Declaration of 1939. American strategists called the West Indies as "the bulwark that we watch."^[76]

More than 50 percent of the supplies sent to Europe and Africa from the United States were shipped from ports in the Gulf of Mexico and passed through the Caribbean. One year after the Pearl Harbor attack, the United States Caribbean Defense Command reached a total of 119,000 personnel, half of them stationed in Panama to protect the canal from an anticipated Japanese attack. Meanwhile, the German Kriegsmarine inflicted massive damage on shipping in the Caribbean in 1942. By the end of that year, U-boats operating in the Caribbean had sunk 336 ships, at least half of which were oil tankers.^[76]

Parts of the Caribbean had been colonized by countries that now came under Axis occupation. Aruba and Curaçao remained loyal to the Dutch government-in-exile, but because they housed valuable refineries that processed Venezuelan petroleum, they were placed under British protection. Both islands were subjected to German attacks in Operation Neuland. In 1942 they were transferred to the United States, which had also stationed troops in Surinam in 1941 to secure its bauxite mines.^[77] Martinique and Guadeloupe came under the control of Vichy France. American and British pressure ensured that several French ships, including its only aircraft carrier, Béarn, remained interned at Martinique.^[78] Thousands of refugees fled, many going to Dominica, while an anti-Vichy resistance movement grew.^[77] The islands, along with French Guiana, switched to Free France in 1943.

See also this article's sections on Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Bahamas, and Puerto Rico.

Ceylon (Sri Lanka)

Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka), was a British colony and a major Allied naval base. On 5 April 1942, over 300 aircraft from Japanese carriers bombed the island. Winston Churchill called it "the most dangerous moment" of World War II, because the Japanese wished to replicate a grander success of the attack at Pearl Harbor. British ships, however, were moved to Addu Atoll, Maldives Islands. Nevertheless, the British lost an aircraft carrier, two cruisers, and two destroyers, while the Royal Air Force squadrons on Ceylon suffered severe losses.

The

the regiment mutinied

on the night of 8 May 1942, intending to hand the islands over to the Japanese. The mutiny was suppressed and three of the Ceylonese soldiers were executed.

Following the Cocos Islands Mutiny, no Ceylonese combat unit was deployed in front-line combat, although Supply & Transport Corps troops were used in rear areas in the Middle East. The defences of Sri Lanka were beefed up to three Allied army divisions because the island was strategically important, as a producer of

rubber. Ceylonese in Japanese-occupied Malaya and Singapore were recruited by the Japanese for the Lanka Regiment of the Indian National Army

Chile

demonstrations in Chile,^[79] relations with Axis countries were broken on January 20, 1943. Throughout the duration of the war, Chilean naval presence around Easter Island was strengthened to ward-off a feared Japanese attack (as the Japanese had territorial ambitions for all the islands of Polynesia to be under their rule), and bolstered defensive capabilities at the vital harbors of Antofagasta, Coquimbo, Valparaíso and Talcahuano. Chilean merchant naval ships also aided Peruvian, Colombian and Cuban ships in patrolling the area around the Panama Canal Zone during the Battle of the Caribbean. From 1943 to 1945, the Chilean prison camp of Pisagua became the site of wartime internment for citizens of enemy nations. Chile eventually declared war on Japan on April 13, 1945, becoming the last country in Latin America to do so.^[80] In mid-2017, newly declassified documents revealed that Chile's Investigative Police Units had stopped a Nazi spy ring's plot to bomb Northern Chilean copper mines and blow up the Panama Canal.^[81]

China

The

Burma, in early 1942. More than 1.5 million Japanese military personnel were bogged down in China with casualties estimated at 1.1–1.9 million. At the start of the war, the Chinese army

had 2.6 million soldiers; by end of the war it had grown to 5.7 million (excluding communist soldiers).

The war cooled China's formerly warm relations with Germany (see

Sino-German cooperation

), and following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, China formally joined the Allies and declared war on Germany on 9 December 1941.

Many of China's urban centers, industrial resources, and coastal regions were occupied by Japan for most of the war. China suffered a large death toll from the war, both military and civilian. The Chinese Nationalist army suffered some 3.2 million casualties, and 17 million civilians died in the crossfire. After the war, China gained one of the permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council.^[82]

Although the Nationalists and Communists had cooperated to oppose the Japanese, once the war was over the

People's Republic of China

was established on the mainland.

Colombia

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Colombia broke diplomatic relations with the Axis powers. Colombia provided the Allies with petroleum products. In 1943, the German submarine U-505 destroyed a Colombian schooner, which caused Colombia to declare a "status of belligerency" against Germany on 26 November 1943.^[83]

The German ambassador left the country, and measures of control were implemented, including the internment of German citizens in designated areas. Photographs and reconnaissance airplanes belonging to the Colombian-German company

Scadta, which used to take aerial shots of Colombian and German cities, were also handed to the United States. The Colombian Navy assisted in patrolling the waters near the Panama Canal Zone and participated in the Battle of the Caribbean. The only notable engagement occurred in 1944: the destroyer ARC Caldas attacked the German submarine U-154, which faked its own destruction in order to escape.^[84]

Comoros

See History of the Comoros.

Costa Rica

Left-wing reformist President Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia was an ally of Franklin Roosevelt and hostile to Nazism. In 1940, it was reported that Calderón and Roosevelt had agreed to the construction of an American base on Cocos Island, Costa Rica's territory in the Pacific; however, the United States ultimately decided on a base in the Galápagos instead. Costa Rica joined the Allies on 8 December 1941, declaring war on Japan the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and on Germany and Italy shortly afterwards. While Costa Rica's small army of 500 men could not contribute directly to the fighting, Calderón's administration introduced wartime measures against people from Axis nations in the country, including property seizure and internment. Targets included Germans, Italians, and Spaniards, the last of whom were viewed as franquistas sympathetic to fascism.^[85]

Cuba

Morro Castle in the background, the USS Texas sails into Havana Harbor

, February 1940.

President Federico Laredo Brú led Cuba when war broke out in Europe, though real power belonged to Fulgencio Batista as Chief of Staff of the army.^[86] In 1940, Laredo Brú infamously denied entry to 900 Jewish refugees who arrived in Havana aboard the German oceanliner MS St. Louis. After both the United States and Canada likewise refused to accept the refugees, they returned to Europe, where many were eventually murdered in the Holocaust.^[87] Batista became president in his own right following the election of 1940. He cooperated with the United States as it moved closer to war against the Axis. Cuba declared war on Japan on 8 December 1941, and on Germany and Italy on 11 December.^[88]

Cuba was an important participant in the

submarine chasers sank the German submarine U-176 near Cayo Blanquizal.^[89] Cuba received millions of dollars in American military aid through the Lend-Lease program, which included air bases, aircraft, weapons, and training.^[88] The United States naval station at Guantanamo Bay also served as a base for convoys passing between the mainland United States and the Panama Canal or other points in the Caribbean.^[90]

Cyprus

The

Battle of Greece), North Africa (Operation Compass

), France, the Middle East and Italy. In the post war years and prior to its disbandment, the regiment served in Cyprus and the Middle East, including Palestine in 1945–1948. The Regiment was disbanded on 31 March 1950.

Czechoslovakia

puppet regime led by Roman Catholic priest Jozef Tiso was set up, while the remainder of Carpathian Ruthenia was occupied and annexed by Hungary. The next day the Czech part of the country became the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia under state-President Emil Hácha

defeated the Germans and ousted Tiso's government.

From 1940, a

government-in-exile in London under former Czechoslovak President Edvard Beneš was recognized as an Allied power. In April 1945, the Red Army

Slovak Republic (Slovakia)

The newly founded Slovak Republic led by Jozef Tiso was proclaimed on March 14, 1939, allying with Nazi Germany and its armed forces participated in war against Poland and Soviet Union. Slovakia adopted Nazi antisemitic policy and paid Germany for deportation of its Jews. Trans-Olza was annexed by Germany following the Invasion of Poland, the Slovak National Uprising, commenced in August 1944 was suppressed by German forces at the end of October; partisans, however, continued fighting in the mountains until the war's end. In April 1945, the Red Army defeated the Germans and ousted Tiso's government, and restored the Czechoslovak state.^[83]

Danzig

The Free City of Danzig, a semi-autonomous city-state under League of Nations protection, was predominantly German and had a Nazi government by 1936.^[91] On 30 August 1939, Germany gave Poland an ultimatum demanding control of the city, provoking the Danzig crisis and the invasion of Poland on 1 September. The city-state aided Nazi Germany during the invasion. The Free City of Danzig Police and militia fought in the Battle of Westerplatte and the attack on the Polish post office in Danzig.^[92] After the Polish campaign, Danzig was annexed to Germany. The Nazis subjected Danzig's Jewish and Polish minorities to the violence of the Holocaust and the Nazi crimes against the Polish nation. The Red Army occupied Danzig on 30 March 1945 and expelled its Germans; an estimated 290,800 had fled or been expelled from the city by 1950.^[93] Gdańsk became part of Poland after the war.

Denmark

Schalburg Corps, a Danish SS

unit, in Copenhagen after 1943.

Denmark officially remained neutral from the outbreak of the war. Germany invaded without declaration of war as part of Operation Weserübung on 9 April 1940, and overwhelmed Denmark in a few hours of fighting.

The Danish government remained in office in Copenhagen until 1943 and signed the Anti-Comintern Pact. On 29 August 1943, the government resigned and dissolved, as a response to German demands for more concessions. Denmark was now under German military occupation. Civil affairs were handled by SS-general Werner Best.

On 4 May 1945, German forces in Denmark surrendered to the British army. Since the German commander of the eastern island of Bornholm refused to surrender to the Soviet Union, two local towns were bombed and the garrison forced to surrender. Bornholm remained under Soviet control until 1946.

Faroe Islands and Greenland

On 10 May 1940, the British invaded

Faroe Islands. The United States occupied Greenland, a position later supported by the Danish envoy in Washington, Henrik Kauffmann. Iceland, which was later transferred from British to American control, declared independence

in 1944.

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic declared war on Germany and Japan following the attacks of Pearl Harbor and the Nazi declaration of war on the U.S. It did not directly contribute with troops, aircraft, or ships, however 112 Dominicans were integrated into the U.S. military and fought in the war. In addition, 27 Dominicans were killed when German submarines sank four Dominican-crewed ships in the Caribbean.^[94]

Dutch East Indies (Indonesia)

The rich petroleum resources of the Dutch East Indies were a prime objective of the Japanese military in its attack on the Allies from 7 December 1941. The

occupied by Germany in 1940, the country was little able to defend its colony. The Japanese navy and army overran Dutch and allied forces in less than three months, completing the occupation in March 1942.^[95]

Some Dutch personnel and ships escaped to Australia, where they continued to fight the Japanese.

The period of the Japanese occupation was one of the most critical in Indonesian history. Initially, many Indonesians joyfully welcomed the Japanese as liberators from Dutch colonialism. The sentiment changed, however, as Indonesians realized that they were expected to endure hardships for the Japanese war effort. In Java and Sumatra, the Japanese educated, trained and armed many young Indonesians and gave nationalist leaders a political voice. In this way, the Japanese occupation created the conditions for Indonesian independence.^[96]

In 1944–1945, Allied troops largely bypassed Indonesia. Therefore, most of the colony was still under Japanese occupation at the time of its surrender in August 1945. The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence was read within days of the Japanese surrender in the Pacific. The Indonesian National Revolution followed, winning independence for the country in 1949. A later UN report stated that four million people died in Indonesia as a result of the Japanese occupation.^[97] About 2.4 million people died in Java from famine during 1944–45.^[98]

Ecuador

Ecuador was one of several South American nations to join the Allies late in the war (joined against Germany on 2 February 1945), allowing the United States use of Baltra Island as a naval base.^[99]

Egypt

Britain had unilaterally recognized the independence of Egypt in 1922, but continued to occupy the country militarily, and to dominate it. By the Anglo–Egyptian Treaty of 1936, the British occupation was limited to the Suez Canal Zone, but it allowed British troops to re-occupy the rest of the country in time of war.

Egypt was of vital strategic importance because of the Suez Canal and Egypt's central geographical location. The Egyptian government supplied the British forces, but some engaged in secret negotiations with Germany about the prospect of Egypt's joining the Axis should the British be defeated in the

Western Desert Campaign

. Many Egyptian politicians and army officers sought Axis support for removing the occupying British forces from the country.

After British forces defeated the initial Italian invasion, Germany entered the North African theatre to save

King Farouk

still resisted British pressure to declare war on Germany until 1945.

El Salvador

From 1931 to 1944, El Salvador was ruled by the military dictator Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, an admirer of Hitler and Mussolini. Despite his personal admiration, Hernández Martínez declared war on both Japan (8 December 1941) and Germany (12 December 1941) shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor due to El Salvador's strong economic ties with the United States. He removed Germans from the government and interned Japanese, German, and Italian nationals. The Second World War made Salvadorans weary of their dictatorship, and a general national strike in 1944 forced Hernández Martínez to resign and flee to Guatemala. Postwar, he was later killed in Honduras by a vengeful Salvadoran citizen.^[100]

Nazi persecution by providing them with false papers of Salvadoran nationality.^[101]

Jose Gustavo Guerrero was a Salvadoran judge who challenged the Nazis during Hitler's invasion on Europe. The distinguished Salvadoran jurist lived in Europe for many years in his career as a diplomat and as presiding judge of the Permanent Court of International Justice, based in The Hague, Netherlands

In 1937, during the rise of Nazism in Europe, Doctor Guerrero took over as president, until he was forced to leave in 1940 by the Nazis. Precisely after the

fall of the Netherlands, on May 17, 1940, the Nazis tried to take the Peace Palace of the Permanent Court of International in The Hague, but there they met the Salvadoran, the only judge who stayed with a group of Dutch officers. When a German general approached, the Presiding Judge told him: "The Court and its staff are inviolable. Only on my body can they enter the palace." For this and others before courage in defense of Universal Law, Dr. Guerrero was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize

Once established in Geneva, Dr. Guerrero was visited by the Consul General of El Salvador in Switzerland, Colonel José Castellanos Contreras, who had fled from Germany, where he served as Consul until El Salvador broke relations with the Hitler regime.

Colonel Castellanos had already granted several visas to people of Jewish origin who were persecuted by the Nazis. However, now that it was part of a larger project: the handing over of false documents of Salvadoran nationality to people of Jewish origin. Castellanos then consulted Dr. Guerrero, who immediately agreed to the plan that saved the lives of thousands of Jews. According to the investigations, Dr. Guerrero would have contributed to writing the text of the document that was then given to them to save their lives.

Estonia

The August 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union left Estonia in the Soviet sphere of interest. The Soviet Union threatened Estonia with war if Estonia did not agree with "a mutual assistance pact", which would allow the Soviet troops to use several military bases in Estonia during a 10-year period. The Estonian government, convinced that a war against USSR would be inevitably lost, agreed on 28 September 1939. The Soviets conducted a coup d'état with the start of the full Soviet occupation of Estonia by the Red Army in June 1940, and a sham election was held under Soviet control. The new government took office and the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed on 21 July 1940. The puppet state was formally accepted into the Soviet Union on 6 August. The legality of the annexation was not recognized by most Western countries and the Baltic states continued to exist formally as independent nations until they regained independence in 1991.^[83]

Estonia was

Forest Brothers armed insurrection against the Soviet authorities started, which lasted in the Baltic states until the mid-1950s. Estonia remained a de facto part of the USSR until 1991.^[83]

Ethiopia

At the outbreak of the war, Ethiopia was under Italian occupation and Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia was in exile in England trying in vain to obtain Allied support for his nation's cause. The Arbegnoch movement had begun its guerrilla war against the occupying Italian forces the day Addis Ababa fell in May 1936. Upon the emperor's flight into exile, remnants of Ethiopia's disbanded imperial army had transformed into guerrilla units. Urban city residents throughout the country formed underground movements to aid the Patriots as the overall population led a passive resistance campaign aimed at stifling Mussolini's economic agenda for the region. Throughout the occupation and into the beginning of the Second World War, the constant harassment of Italian columns and communication and supply lines reduced their fighting capabilities and their morale. A state of paranoia among Italian troops and civilians alike had sunk in as they became increasingly isolated from Rome.^{[citation needed]} Fascist retaliation to Patriot attacks was brutal and often targeted the civilian population, which only further filled the ranks of the Patriots creating a cycle that led to the eventual demise of Mussolini's Italian East Africa.^[102]

Britain's declaration of war against Italy reinvigorated the Patriot movement and paved the way for the final ousting of the Italians in Ethiopia and in the

Free French Forces. Within months, the liberation of Ethiopia was achieved, and on 5 May 1941, five years to the day that the Emperor fled his capital, Haile Selassie was restored to his throne. The defeat of fascists in Ethiopia marked the first victory for the Allies in the Second World War^{[citation needed]} and allowed for the remaining forces to be quickly moved up to Egypt to confront the Axis advance towards Cairo.^[102]

Fiji

Fiji was a British colony during World War II. The Fiji Defence Force served with New Zealand Army formations, under the Allied Pacific Ocean Areas command. The Fiji Infantry Regiment fought in the Solomon Islands Campaign against the Japanese. Fiji became a major military sea port for convoy traffic between the U.S. and Australia. It was the closest reasonably safe route around the embattled Solomon Islands, a stopping-off point for troops and supplies being shipped to the Solomons, just to the north, and the closest protected harbor available to ships damaged around Guadalcanal. Fiji also constructed many facilities such as airfields for Allied bombing runs, barracks and training grounds.^[103]

See also Pacific Islands.

Finland

Finland was left to the Soviet sphere of interest in

pre-emptive air attack on Finland, which started the Continuation War (25 June 1941 – 4 September 1944), in which Finland was a co-belligerent of Germany. The UK declared war on Finland on 6 December 1941.^[104] Canada and New Zealand declared war on Finland on 7 December, as did Australia and South Africa

the following day.

To secure military support needed to stop the

V-E Day). Complete peace with the UK and the USSR was concluded in the Paris Peace Treaties, 1947

, a government-in-exile in London with control over France's unoccupied overseas territories and forces which fought on the Allied side.

France

France was one of the original guarantors of Polish security and as such was one of the first countries to declare war on Germany. For several months, little fighting occurred in the Phoney War or drôle de guerre ("funny war"). On May 10, 1940, Germany began its attack on France. After six weeks of intense battling, the French government signed the Armistice of 22 June 1940.^[105]

After the armistice, France was split into two parts, an

occupied sector and an unoccupied sector. Within Occupied France, Otto von Stülpnagel and his cousin and successor, Carl-Heinrich, led a military administration. Citizens were subjected to the Service du travail obligatoire, a program of forced labor in Germany. Jews and Roma faced the persecution of the Holocaust in France. An active Resistance fought against the occupying forces throughout the war. Southern France was administered by a puppet government under Philippe Pétain in Vichy, known therefore as Vichy France. In opposition, Charles de Gaulle led Free France

The

Security Council.^[107]

Vichy France

The Vichy regime remained officially neutral during the conflict but collaborated with Germany. Prime Minister

high treason

after the war. Pétain was sentenced to death but his sentence was commuted.

Free France

The Free French Forces (FFF) of the

Mediterranean Theatre and the liberation of western Europe

, including France in 1944. By 1943, free France controlled large territories but had no war industry, remaining dependent on US aid. It regrouped with the Vichy authority that joined it and the interior resistance into fighting France. The CFLN took control of France in August and September 1944.

In 1944, FFF soldiers numbered about 560,000 and in 1945, more than 1,300,000. The Resistance (forces of the interior), according to D. E. Eisenhower, played a role equal to 15 fighting divisions. The FFF and Resistance played a major role during the liberation of France.

French Equatorial Africa

The colonial federation rallied to the

Brazzaville Declaration represented an attempt to redefine the relationship between France and its African colonies.^[109]

French Somaliland

Free French forces on 26 December 1942, the last French possession in Africa to remain loyal to Vichy.^[112]

After the territory's liberation, French Somaliland cycled through governors rapidly and recovery from the deprivation of 1940–42 only began when the war ended.

French West Africa

French Gabon, the only colony of French Equatorial Africa not to join Free France after the armistice, fell to invading Free French Forces from the neighbouring colonies after the Battle of Gabon (8–12 November 1940), further isolating West Africa. Unlike in metropolitan France, the French Colonial Troops in West Africa were not reduced after the 1940 armistice and the region was little interfered with by the Axis powers

, providing a valuable addition to the forces of Free France after it had been liberated.

The Gambia

The

groundnut, which made up almost 100% of its exports.^[117]

Germany

Nazi Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, was the primary Axis Power in the European Theatre. German forces instigated the war in September 1939 by invading Poland. Poland was divided with the Soviet Union. The Phony War ensued and in the spring of 1940 German forces invaded and conquered Denmark, Norway, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Attempts to subdue the United Kingdom by air in the summer of 1940 failed and a planned invasion was called off. In the summer of 1941 Germany turned its forces east by invading the Soviet Union. The Eastern Front became the main theatre of war for the Germans. The invasion of the USSR had been delayed by campaigns in Greece and Yugoslavia, aimed at assisting floundering Italian forces. The Afrika Korps was similarly dispatched to the Western Desert to assist struggling Italian forces there, and German forces grew to an entire army group. Major defeats at Stalingrad in February 1943 and the destruction of Axis forces in North Africa shortly after are commonly thought to be the war's turning points. German forces fought on Sicily, and when Italy switched sides, German forces seized power, fighting a successful withdrawal and diverting Allied forces from Northwest Europe. Severe losses at Kursk in the summer of 1943 and during the Soviet summer offensives of 1944 shattered German fighting power, and Allied landings in Normandy and Southern France forced the Germans to fight on several fronts simultaneously. The surrender of the German forces between 4 May and 8 May 1945 signaled the end of the war in Europe.

German forces were very active at sea, primarily through its submarine force. The German air force provided effective tactical and logistical support until Allied air superiority was achieved by the middle of 1944. Strategic use of airpower failed and despite heavy aerial bombardment (and later, the V-1 and V-2 rockets) of the United Kingdom, failed to achieve lasting results.

Hitler's war aims included the destruction of the Jews of Europe, and at the Wannsee Conference in early 1942, a system of extermination was finalized which led to the Holocaust.

Austria

Austria became a full part of Nazi Germany in 1938 among popular acclaim during the Anschluss. About 1.2 million Austrians served in all branches of the German armed forces during World War II. After the defeat of the Axis Powers, the Allies occupied Austria in four occupation zones set up at the end of World War II until 1955, when the country again became a fully independent republic under the condition that it remained neutral. The four occupations zones were French, American, British, and Soviet, with Vienna also divided among the four powers. This paralleled the situation in post-war Germany.

Gibraltar

The

British overseas territory of Gibraltar has been a British fortress and bulwark for over 300 years. From the first days of World War II, the Rock became a pivot of the Mediterranean; Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa, was coordinated from the Rock. Operation Tracer, a top-secret mission in which six men were to be concealed inside a secret bunker inside the Rock of Gibraltar so that they could monitor enemy movements if the Rock was captured was also conducted through Gibraltar.^[118]

Gold Coast (Ghana)

Colonial troops from the

East African Campaign, particularly in attacking Italian-controlled Ethiopia. Accra, the capital, hosted Allied aircraft as they flew between the United States, Europe and the Pacific. The Gold Coast also benefited financially from the war. By 1945, increased British government spending and the introduction of an income tax led to an expansion of local revenue. The war changed the demographics of the colony, concentrating workers in a few large towns and cities. The colonial government launched a program to deal with a housing shortage by constructing inexpensive but sturdy local building material (an earthquake in 1939 had badly damaged infrastructure in many towns).^[119]

Greece

Greek People's Liberation Army

.

Fallschirmjäger over Crete

effectively put a halt to large-scale German airborne operations.

The government and the King

National Republican Greek League

(EDES).

Throughout 1943, the guerrillas liberated much of the country's mountainous interior, establishing a free zone called "

Lebanon conference

, which eased tension somewhat.

With the advance of the Red Army through Eastern Europe in summer 1944, the German forces withdrew from the Greek mainland in October–November 1944, although many island garrisons were left behind and surrendered after the unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945. The returning government in exile, backed by British forces, soon clashed with EAM forces in Athens, beginning the Greek Civil War; a conflict that would last until 1949 and leave a divisive legacy.

Guatemala

Guatemala initially stayed out of World War II, with President Jorge Ubico declaring the country's neutrality on 4 September 1941. This pronouncement was reinforced five days later with another declaration. Ubico implemented strong prohibitions on Nazi propaganda in Guatemala, which had one of Latin America's largest German immigrant populations. Later, Guatemala moved into the Allied camp—on 9 December 1941, it declared war on Japan, and three days later, it declared war on Germany and Italy. Ubico permitted the United States to build an air base in the country.^[120]

Unrest in Guatemala grew during the war years, culminating in the outbreak of the Guatemalan Revolution in June 1944. Ubico resigned in June following a general strike, and the new dictator that replaced him fell to a democratic popular revolution in October. The philosopher Juan José Arévalo won a presidential election held that December; he led Guatemala for the remainder of the war period.

Guyana

Haiti

Axis countries, only Romania reciprocated, declaring war on Haiti on the same day (24 December 1941).^[122] Haiti gave food supplies to Allied forces and hosted a detachment of the United States Coast Guard but did not contribute troops, however five Haitians from the Haitian Air Force were integrated into the U.S. army (Tuskegee Airmen division) and fought in the war.^[123]^[124] The President of Haiti, Élie Lescot, introduced several unpopular emergency measures during the war, which critics claimed were designed to increase his power. Lescot was deposed the year after the war ended.^{[citation needed}

Honduras

Honduras was initially neutral in the war but joined the Allied side after the attack on Pearl Harbor. It declared war on Japan on 8 December 1941, and on Germany and Italy five days later. It contributed food and raw materials to the Allied war effort and did send troops, of whom 150 died. Due to this, the country began a series of air patrols using NA-16 model aircraft starting in 1942. German submarines also sank three Honduran ships throughout the war and one was captured by the Japanese navy. In addition to patrolling Honduran territory, Honduran airmen also flew in the vicinity of the Gulf of Mexico in joint support with other Latin American nations to prevent more ships destined for the United States from sinking^[125]

Hong Kong

air raids on Hong Kong for three years while the Royal Australian Navy lay mines nearby, but the city remained in Japanese hands until after the Surrender of Japan in 1945. A group of cruisers led by HMS Swiftsure arrived at Hong Kong on 30 August to retake it for Britain; the Japanese formally surrendered on 16 September.^[128]

Hungary

Hungary was a significant German ally. It signed the Tripartite Pact on 20 November 1940, and joined in the invasion of the Soviet Union the next year. When, in 1944, the government of Regent Miklós Horthy wished to sign a ceasefire with the Allies, he was overthrown by the Nazis and replaced by a government run by the Hungarist Arrow Cross movement, which ruled the country until it was overrun by the Soviets in 1945.

Iceland

Iceland was a free state at the outbreak of war in personal union with the King of Denmark acting as head of state. After the German invasion of Denmark (1940), Iceland lost all contact with the King. British forces invaded Iceland on 10 May 1940, to secure bases for themselves and to deny Germany the same option. A small armed force was present, but obeyed orders not to resist the British. The British proceeded to arrest a number of German nationals, including the German consul, Werner Gerlach, and seize radio and telephone services.

Iceland's government formally protested the occupation, but provided the British with de facto cooperation. During the height of the occupation, 25,000 British soldiers were stationed in Iceland, compared to roughly 40,000 inhabitants of Reykjavík. On 7 July 1941, control of Iceland was transferred from Britain to the USA. The U.S. was not yet at war, but Iceland needed to be denied to the Germans.

Iceland experienced an economic boom during the occupation, since many Icelanders took jobs working for the foreigners, and some say that bretavinnan (roughly, the British Jobs) provided some of the successes of the post-war Icelandic economy. On 17 June 1944, with American encouragement, Iceland became a permanently independent republic, and it cut all ties with Denmark. Despite being occupied, Iceland remained officially neutral throughout the duration of the Second World War. Icelandic air bases such as at Keflavík were important to the Allied fight against the German U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic.

With its small population, Iceland was in no position to raise any armed forces. The close cooperation between the Americans and the Icelanders led to Iceland's giving up neutrality and becoming a charter member of the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949. Iceland has not had any armed forces (but see Cod Wars), but its contribution was bases for its allies: the American Air Force Base and Naval Air Station at Keflavík

An estimated 2.1–3 million, out of a population of 60.3 million, died of starvation, malaria and other diseases aggravated by malnutrition, population displacement, unsanitary conditions and lack of health care. Historians have frequently characterized the famine as "man-made", asserting that wartime colonial policies created and then exacerbated the crisis.[135]

India

The

Burma had become a separate colony in 1937, though unofficially the Persian Gulf Residency was included . As part of the British Empire, India was covered by Britain's declaration of war. Two and a half million Indian soldiers fought under British command with the Indian Army, Royal Indian Air Force, and Royal Indian Navy, forming the largest army raised by voluntary enlistment. Around 87,000 Indian members of the armed forces were killed in action,^[129] and another 64,000 were wounded.^[130] Many Indian personnel received awards for gallantry, including 30 Victoria Crosses during the 1940s.^[131]

The labour of millions more Indians contributed to the Allied war effort. Poor working conditions and accidents such as the

invaded eastern India, suffering devastating losses from disease, malnutrition, and exhaustion.^[134]

While large sectors of Indian society lent their support to the war, including the

Muslim League, Indians were far from unanimous in their support. The Cripps Mission of 1942 failed to win support of the Indian National Congress for the war effort and future Dominion status. Instead, Congress, led by Mohandas Gandhi, demanded independence in the Quit India Movement. In response, Gandhi and most of the Congress leadership were arrested. Meanwhile, Subhas Chandra Bose led a nationalist movement that sought to use World War II as an opportunity to fight the British. Bose's movement spawned a government in exile, called Azad Hind, and military units that fought with the Axis: the Indian National Army in Southeast Asia and the Indian Legion

in Europe.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

On 23 March 1942, Japanese forces invaded the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In December 1943, the Japanese-sponsored Free India Movement (Azad Hind) was formed. The Andaman Islands were renamed Shaheed Islands, and the Nicobars were renamed Swaraj Islands. Andaman & Nicobar Islanders fought alongside the Japanese during this time. The islands were not reoccupied by the British until 6 October 1945.

Indochina

After the

invasion of Malaya; this and attacks on Pearl Harbor and other British and American territories sparked the Pacific War, bringing World War II to Indochina.^[136]

During the Japanese occupation, Indochinese communists established a base in

Việt Minh to fight the Japanese occupation.^[137]

The

took back control of the country in 1945–1946, but the First Indochina War

that began that December would bring an end to French rule.

Laos

In 1945 the Japanese occupied Vientiane in April.

French–Thai War

in 1941. The territories were only returned to French sovereignty in October 1946.

Iran

During the start of the war the Allies demanded that Iran remove German nationals from their soil, fearing they might be Nazi spies or harm the British-owned oil facilities, but Reza Shah refused, stating that they had nothing to do with the Nazis.

The Allies worried that Germany would look to neutral Iran for oil. Soon the Allies questioned themselves about Iranian neutrality and they gave Reza Shah a final warning to remove the German workers. He refused once again. In August 1941, the British and Soviet troops invaded Iran (

Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi

, who was willing to enter the war on the side of the Allies. Iran became known as "The Bridge of Victory".

Iran provided a 'blue water' supply route to the Soviet Union via the port of

Tudeh Party

in early 1942.

In September 1943, Iran declared war on Germany, which qualified it for membership in the United Nations (UN).

The Soviet Union fomented revolts among the

Kurdish peoples in Iran and soon formed the People's Republic of Azerbaijan in December 1945 and the Kurdish People's Republic not long after. Both were run by Soviet-controlled leaders. Soviet troops remained in Iran, following the January 1946 expiration of a wartime treaty providing for the presence of American, British and Soviet troops.^{[citation needed}

. However, after the German-Italian defeat in Africa and Eastern Front, the Allies started to invade Italy in the summer of 1943 and Mussolini's government collapsed.

Iraq

Rashid Ali

in April 1941. Later British requests to reinforce Iraq were denied by the new leadership.

The new regime secretly began negotiations with the Axis powers. The Germans and Italians responded quickly and sent military aid by Luftwaffe aircraft to Baghdad via Syria. Indian troops consequently invaded in late April 1941 and reached Baghdad and RAF Habbaniyah in May. The Iraqi army attacked Habbaniyah but quickly capitulated and Rashid Ali fled the country. The United Kingdom urged Iraq to declare war on the Axis in 1942. British forces remained to protect the vital oil supplies. Iraq declared war on the Axis powers in 1943 after cutting diplomatic ties. Germany initially refused to accept the declaration, as they still recognised Rashad Ali as the legitimate government.^[139] The Iraqi army played a role in protecting the logistic routes of the Allies, especially the military aids to the Soviet Union which used to arrive from Basra, Baghdad and Kirkuk. British and Indian operations in Iraq should be viewed in conjunction with events in neighbouring Syria and Persia.

Ireland

Ireland remained neutral throughout the war, the only member of the British Commonwealth to do so. The Emergency Powers Act 1939 gave sweeping new powers to the government for the duration, including internment, censorship, and government control of the economy. Internment of both Axis and Allied military took place in separate sections of the same camp. No.1 Internment camp, built by the British pre-1922, held republicans who had a suspected link to the IRA.^[140]

Irish citizens were free to work abroad and join foreign militaries. By the end of the war, figures suggest that 70,000 men and women born in the State served in the British armed forces,

fighter ace in the Royal Air Force's history,^[143] before the age of 22 achieved one of the highest kill rates in the Battle of Britain and in offensive operations over France.^[144]

Some civilians were killed in the

electronic countermeasures against the Luftwaffe. It was established much later that the Luftwaffe bombed Dublin's North Strand district as part of Operation Roman Helmet, an operation carried out in retribution for Ireland's breaches of neutrality which included Eamon DeValera's decision to send fire engines across the border to assist in fighting fires in the Belfast blitz.^[146]

In June 1940 British Major General

D-day landings was decided by an Atlantic Ocean weather report from Blacksod Lighthouse, County Mayo Ireland.^[149]

Italy

Fascist Italy had completed conquests (Ethiopia and Albania) prior to its entry into World War II. After the initially successful campaigns of Nazi Germany, Italy joined in the war in June 1940, planning to get a share of Allied territory with the defeat of France.

The Italians

installed in Spain, and a puppet regime installed in Croatia following the Invasion of Yugoslavia. Albania, Ljubljana, coastal Dalmatia, and Montenegro had been directly annexed into the Italian state. Most of Greece had been occupied by Italy (despite initial defeat), as had the French territories of Corsica and Tunisia following Vichy France's collapse and Case Anton

The new royal government of Marshal

Victor Emmanuel III

escaped to Brindisi without giving any order to the army, which was left in chaos and without leadership: some divisions surrendered to the Germans, others fought back on their own.

The royal government remained in control of the south and declared war on Germany; the military forces it still controlled joined the Allies in a position of

partisan uprisings liberated northern Italy. Italy would become a member of NATO after the war, but lost the region of Istria and the Dalmatian city of Zadar to Yugoslavia, and all its colonies excluding Somalia.^[83]

Italian East Africa

Benito Mussolini had formed Italian East Africa in 1936 by merging recently conquered Ethiopia with the older colonies of Eritrea and Somaliland.^[151] On 10 June 1940, Mussolini declared war on Britain and France, which made Italian military forces in East Africa a danger to the bordering British and French colonies. The Comando Supremo (Italian General Staff) had planned for a war after 1942; in the summer of 1940 Italy was not ready for a long war or for the occupation of large areas of Africa.^[152]

The

East African Campaign began on 13 June 1940 with an Italian air raid on a British air base at Wajir in Kenya. To mount their counterattack, the Allies assembled a largely multi-African force that included Ethiopians, Eritreans, soldiers from Britain's African colonies and from India, and soldiers of the Congolese Force Publique fighting for Free Belgium. The campaign continued until Italian forces had been pushed back from Kenya and Sudan, through Somaliland, Eritrea and Ethiopia in 1940 and early 1941. The bulk of the Italian forces still in the colony surrendered after the Battle of Gondar in November 1941, but small groups kept fighting a guerrilla war in Ethiopia until the Armistice of Cassibile in September 1943.^[153]

The East African Campaign was the first Allied strategic victory in the war.

After the campaign, the victorious Allies dismantled Italian East Africa. The Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement restored Haile Selassie to the Ethiopian throne (see the section on Ethiopia). Somaliland and Eritrea were placed under British military administration. In 1945, during the Potsdam Conference, the United Nations granted Italy trusteeship of Italian Somaliland under close supervision, on condition that Somalia achieve independence within ten years.^[154] In 1950 Eritrea was ceded to Ethiopia. Both British and Italian Somaliland became independent in 1960 soon after united as the Somali Republic.^[155]

Jamaica

Japan

The

Tokyo tribunal and other Allied tribunals in Asia.^[159]

Kenya

During the war,

Japanese, alongside troops from west Africa. Individual Kenyans also served in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force

was established on August 15, 1948, and the Provisional Government was disbanded officially.

Fighting occurred in northern Kenya as part of the

an offensive across the border into southern Ethiopia.^[162]

Korea

Japan's 50-year imperialist expansion (22 August 1910 to 15 August 1945). During World War II more than 100,000^[163] Koreans were mandatorily drafted into the Imperial Japanese Army.^[164]

Independence movements during the colonial era included the

Provisional Government of Republic of Korea was established in 1919. It created the Korean Liberation Army (KLA) on September 17, 1940, and declared war against the Empire of Japan

on December 10, 1941.

The KLA failed to initiate Operation Eagle, a plan to liberate the Korean Peninsula by first attacking the capital region (

Republic of Korea

Formally, Japanese rule ended on 2 September 1945 upon the Japanese defeat in World War II in 1945. Postwar Korea was jointly occupied by Soviet and American forces, with political disagreements leading to the separation of the peninsula into two independent nations. This eventually escalated into the Korean War.

Latin America

Latvia

Nazi–Soviet population transfers

, 1939.

When the war began on September 1, 1939, Latvia declared its neutrality.

USSR. The following year, USSR security agencies "Sovietized" Latvia, resulting in the deaths of between 35,000 and 50,000 residents of Latvia.^[168] The legality of the annexation was not recognised by most Western countries and the Baltic states continued to exist

as formally independent nations until 1991.

After the outbreak of

German Army Group North (Heersgruppe Nord) was cut off in Kurzeme, the peninsula that forms the northwestern part of Latvia. There, they and locally raised Latvian units formed the "Kurland Fortress

", which successfully held out until the end of the war in May 1945.

The first

Latvian Waffen SS Volunteer Legion on 16 March 1943. The German Occupation Government soon resorted to conscription, and Latvia became one of two countries (the other was Estonia) from where the Waffen SS soldiers were draftees. By 1 July 1944, more than 110,000 men were under arms in German-controlled units. The Latvian Legion consisted of 87,550 men, of them 31,446 serving in the 15th and 19th Waffen-Grenadier Divisions, 12,118 served in Border Guard regiments, 42,386 in various Police Forces, and 1,600 in other units. 22,744 men served in units outside the Legion such as Wehrmacht Auxiliaries and as Luftwaffenhelfer.^[169]

Approximately 70,000 Latvians (both from Latvia and the Russian SFSR) were recruited, mostly through conscription, into national units in the Red Army (Latvian Riflemen Soviet Divisions). Also, a small fleet of Latvian ships, which did not return to their home country after the start of the Soviet occupation, became a part of the Allied merchant marine while flying the Latvian flag.^[170]

Some Latvian personnel took an

Forest Brothers

armed insurrection against the Soviet authorities lasted in the Baltic states until the mid-1950s.

Lebanon

Syria–Lebanon Campaign. De Gaulle declared Lebanon independent on 22 November 1943. In 1945, Lebanon declared war on Germany and Japan.^[83]

Liberia

rubber

during the war when the plantations of Southeast Asia had been taken over by the Japanese.

The importance of this resource led to significant improvement of Liberia's transport infrastructure and a modernisation of its economy. Liberia's strategic significance was emphasised when Franklin Roosevelt, after attending the Casablanca Conference, visited Liberia and met President Edwin Barclay. Despite its assistance to the Allies, Liberia was reluctant to end its official neutrality and did not declare war on Germany until 27 January 1944.^[83]

Libya

The coastal parts of

the Holocaust in Libya.^[176]

Libya saw some of the fiercest fighting of the

Tenth Army. With German support, this territory was regained during Operation Sonnenblume, though the Allies successfully lifted the Siege of Tobruk. The Battle of Gazala in 1942 finally drove the Allies from Tobruk and back into Egypt. The Second Battle of El Alamein

in Egypt spelled doom for the Axis forces in Libya and the end of the Western Desert Campaign.

In February 1943, retreating German and Italian forces abandoned Libya and withdrew to Tunisia, permanently ending Italian rule. The Free French occupied Fezzan in 1943. At the close of World War II, Britain and France collaborated with local resistance in the Allied administration of Libya. In 1951, the Allies ceded power to Idris, now king of an independent Libya.^[178]

Liechtenstein

After the end of

German occupation of Czechoslovakia, the vast lands that the House of Liechtenstein owned there were confiscated, forcing Prince Franz Joseph to move to Liechtenstein itself, the first prince to take up residence within the principality.^[180]

When war broke out, Franz Joseph kept the principality out of the war and relied upon its close ties to Switzerland for its protection.[181] The neutrality of the country itself was never violated, but the House of Liechtenstein never recovered its landholdings outside the principality, including its former seat in Lednice–Valtice.^[180] The country took in some 400 Jewish refugees from occupied Europe and granted citizenship to some others, mostly people of means who were able to pay.^[181] Jewish laborers at a concentration camp in Strasshof were hired out to work on estates belonging to the princely family.^[181] In 1945 Liechtenstein gave asylum to nearly 500 Russians of the pro-Axis First Russian National Army. It refused Soviet demands to repatriate them, and most eventually resettled in Argentina.^[182]

The National Socialist "German National Movement in Liechtenstein" was active but small. It called for unification with Germany and the expulsion of Liechtenstein's Jews.^[183] In March 1939, the party attempted a coup that ended in total failure, its leaders having fled or been arrested.^[183] The organization was formed anew in 1940 but did not gain any power. Its publication Umbruch was banned in 1943 and its leader was convicted of high treason after the war.^[183]

Lithuania

As a result of

occupied by the Red Army and forcibly annexed into the Soviet Union along with Latvia and Estonia, with no military resistance. ^{[citation needed]} The legality of the annexation was not recognised by most Western countries and the Baltic states continued to exist

as formally independent nations until 1991.

Some Lithuanians sided with Germany after Hitler eventually invaded the Soviet Union in the hopes of restoring Lithuania's independence. Some collaborators were

29th Rifle Corps) were formed in the Red Army. Unlike in Latvia, an attempt by the German authorities to form a 'Lithuanian Legion' failed, with the most notable unit formed being the Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force

armed insurrection against the Soviet authorities started, which lasted in the Baltic states until the mid-1950s.

At the end of the war, the subsequent

Forest Brothers

Luxembourg

When Germany invaded France by way of the Low Countries in the spring of 1940, it also

invaded Luxembourg, despite its neutrality. The country was occupied quickly: the government made an attempt to slow the advancing German forces, but local forces put up little resistance and surrendered before the end of the first day.^[184] During the German occupation, the administration was led by Gustav Simon, who pursued a policy of Germanisation and carried out the Holocaust in Luxembourg.^[185] In August 1942, Germany fully annexed Luxembourg and attached it to Gau Moselland.^[186]

The exiled Luxembourgish government meanwhile fled to France and then Portugal before establishing itself in London for the remainder of the war, while Grand Duchess Charlotte settled in Montreal.^[187] The exiled government committed its very limited resources to the Allied war effort, signing the Declaration of St James's Palace and Declaration by United Nations. It also formed the agreement that created the Benelux customs union with the exiled governments of Belgium and the Netherlands.^[188]

Some Luxembourgers collaborated with Nazi Germany or were drafted into the German armed forces. A total of 12,000 Luxembourgers served in the German military, of whom nearly 3,000 died during the war.^[189] Others joined the Luxembourg Resistance. The general strike of 1942 was an act of passive resistance that mobilized a large portion of the population and led to the execution of 21 leaders.^[189] American forces liberated the capital in September 1944, but the country continued to see combat. Luxembourg Resistance fought German forces in the Battle of Vianden in November, and the Battle of the Bulge was fought in the country between December and January.^[190]

Madagascar

Jewish Question by the government of Nazi Germany who floated the idea of deporting Europe's Jewish population to the island in 1940. This scheme, the Madagascar Plan

, never came to fruition for a variety of reasons.

In May 1942, the British and several other Allied forces launched an invasion of Madagascar, seeking to protect its position as a link in Allied shipping and deny its use to the Axis. The northern naval base at Diego Suarez quickly surrendered. That September, newly arrived troops from East Africa, South Africa, and Northern Rhodesia launched an offensive to capture the rest of the island. British forces took the capital Tananarive in late September; on 8 November, the last Vichy forces surrendered. The British handed the island over to Free France in 1943, under whose control it remained for the rest of the war.

Malaya

Malaya was under British rule before the war began. It was occupied by Japan in 1942 through 1945. The Malayan Communist Party became the backbone of the Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army. ^{[citation needed]} The British Forces in Malaya fled to Singapore, where they would eventually be defeated. After the war, the British Military Administration of Malaya took over the country.

The 4 Malay states of Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and Terengganu were annexed by Thailand, which was under a Fascist Regime and aligned to the Axis Powers. These territories were gifted by Japan, as they had occupied Malaya almost 2 years prior. All 4 states were given back to Malaya after the Japanese Surrender.

Maldives

During World War II, the

a succession of sultans. The islands were only lightly affected by the war. Britain built RAF Gan on Addu Atoll at the southern end of the country, which was later redeveloped as Gan International Airport.^[191] The Action of 27 February 1941 occurred near the Maldives. The Italian auxiliary cruiser Ramb I had escaped the destruction of the Red Sea Flotilla and sailed for Japanese-controlled territory. HMNZS Leander engaged and sank Ramb I; most of the crew were rescued and taken to Gan.^[192] The RAF forces created "Port T". The Maldive Islands, the British Indian Ocean Territory, Ceylon and other naval bases and areas in the Indian Ocean

were victims to the Easter Sunday Raids of 1941.

The Maldives were also a victim to massive resource shortages, notably economy and food-wise. Most food was imported into the country by boat during the war, and the nation relied on local fishing in the islands. This was commonly known as the great famine in the Maldives.^[193]

Malta

Ohio enters Grand Harbour after Operation Pedestal

, 15 August 1942.

King George VI to Governor William Dobbie: "To honour her brave people, I award the George Cross to the Island Fortress of Malta to bear witness to a heroism and devotion that will long be famous in history".^[194]

The fortitude of the population under sustained air raids and a naval blockade, which almost saw them starved into submission, won widespread admiration, with some historians dubbing it "The Mediterranean

Stalingrad". The George Cross is woven into the modern Flag of Malta.^[195]

Manchukuo

Established in 1931 as a puppet state of Japan, the Empire of

Pu Yi, the last Emperor of China, who reigned as Emperor Kang De. The state remained a loyal ally to Japan until 1945. In 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, and Manchukuo was subsequently invaded and abolished. The former puppet state was returned to communist China. ^{[citation needed}

and the Mexican government declared war on the Axis powers on 22 May 1942.

Mauritius

During the Second World War, the Mauritius Territorial Force was expanded to two battalions and renamed the Mauritius Regiment.^[196] The 1st Battalion went to Diego Suarez, Madagascar, in December 1943 to relieve imperial forces who had captured the island in the Battle of Madagascar. Shortly after landing, the battalion mutinied due to poor conditions and because they had been told they would not leave Mauritius. Disarmed by the King's African Rifles, 300 soldiers were arrested, but only 6 remained imprisoned by 1946.^[197] Mauritius also had a home guard formation, the Mauritius Defence Force of 2,000 men, and a naval Coastal Defence Force.^[198]

Mengjiang

Mengjiang was established in Inner Mongolia as a puppet state of Japan, and contributed troops which fought alongside the Japanese in China. It ceased to exist following the Soviet invasion in 1945.

Mexico

The first Braceros arrive in Los Angeles, 1942.

Mexico entered World War II in response to German attacks on Mexican ships. The

Faja de Oro, also a seized Italian ship, was attacked and sunk by the German submarine U-160, killing 10 of 37 crewmen. In response, President Manuel Ávila Camacho

A large part of Mexico's contribution to the war came through an agreement January 1942 that allowed Mexican nationals living in the United States to join the American armed forces. As many as 250,000 Mexicans served in this way.

Bracero program, which continued and expanded in the decades after the war.^[202]

World War II helped spark an era of rapid industrialization known as the

Mexican Miracle.^[203] Mexico supplied the United States with more strategic raw materials than any other country, and American aid spurred the growth of industry.^[204] President Ávila was able to use the increased revenue to improve the country's credit, invest in infrastructure, subsidize food, and raise wages.^[205]

Monaco

While

René Blum, founder of the Ballet de l'Opera, who died in a Nazi extermination camp.^[206] In August 1944, the Germans executed three Resistance leaders. Under Prince Louis's secret orders, the Monaco police, often at great risk to themselves, warned in advance those people whom the Gestapo planned to arrest.^{[citation needed}

] The country was liberated, as German troops retreated, on 3 September 1944.

Mongolia

During the war,

Republic of China by most nations. In August 1937, as part of their effort to support China, the Soviets decided to station troops along Mongolia's southern and southeastern frontiers. The arrival of the Soviet army coincided with a series of intensified terrors and purges (the "Great Terror").^[207]

The Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact of 13 April 1941 recognized the neutrality of Mongolia and its place with the Soviet sphere of influence. Its geographical situation made it a buffer state between Japanese forces and the Soviet Union. In addition to keeping around 10% of the population under arms, Mongolia provided supplies and raw materials to the Soviet military and financed several units, and half million military trained horses.

Mongolian troops took part in the

Battle of Khalkhin Gol in the summer of 1939 and in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August 1945, both times as small part in Soviet-led operations. On 10 August 1945, the Little Khural, the Mongolian parliament, issued a formal declaration of war against Japan.^[208]

For Mongolia, the most important result of World War II was the recognition of its independence by China, American consent having been given with the

Yalta agreement

Morocco

Most of

Goumier

's) fought on the side of the Allies.

A small area in northern Morocco,

Spanish Morocco, was a Spanish protectorate and remained neutral throughout the war, as did the international city of Tangier

Nauru

Nauru was administered by Australia under a League of Nations mandate. Nauru was shelled by a German surface raider in December 1940, aiming to incapacitate its phosphate mining operations (this action was probably the most distant military activity carried out by Germany during the entire war). Phosphates are important for making ammunition and fertilizers. ^{[citation needed]}

Nauru was occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945, and was the target of shelling by American battleships and cruisers, and aerial bombing by the Allies. For example, Nauru was bombarded by the American battleships

U.S. Navy carrier airplanes on the same day. See the article on the Washington. ^{[citation needed}

Nepal

The

Burma Campaign

. In addition to military support, Nepal contributed guns, equipment, and hundreds of thousands of pounds of tea, sugar and raw materials such as timber to the Allied war effort.

Besides RNA troops, Nepalese fought in the British Indian

Singapore.^[211] They did so with considerable distinction, earning 2,734 bravery awards^[209] and suffering around 32,000 casualties in all theatres.^[212] After the war, Gurkha troops formed part of the Allied occupation force in Japan

in protest of the deportation of Jews, 1941.

Netherlands

February Strike

Like the Belgians, the

Netherlands East Indies. Until their liberation in 1945, the Dutch fought alongside the Allies around the globe, from the battles in the Pacific to the Battle of Britain. On the islands of Aruba and Curaçao (Netherlands West Indies) a large oil refinery was of major importance for the war effort in Europe, especially after D-day. As a protection, a considerable U.S. military force was stationed on the island. ^{[citation needed}

New Zealand

New Zealand declared war on 3 September 1939, backdating the date to the time of Britain's declaration.

"With gratitude for the past and confidence in the future, we range ourselves without fear beside Britain. Where she goes, we go; where she stands, we stand. We are only a small and young nation, but we march with a union of hearts and souls to a common destiny."^[213]

New Zealand sent one Army division that served in

South Atlantic, including in the Battle of Rio de la Plata in 1939, before being called back to defend the homeland. ^{[citation needed}

New Zealand fought in the Pacific War through warships of the Royal New Zealand Navy, the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), and independent army brigades, such as on Vella Lavella. While New Zealand's home islands were not attacked, the casualty rate suffered by the military was the worst per capita of all Commonwealth nations, except for Great Britain.^{[citation needed]}

In the

USAAF, and RNZAF, with occasional help from the Royal Australian Air Force. ^{[citation needed}

. Some 900 Newfoundlanders (including at least 257 Merchant Mariners) lost their lives in the conflict.

Newfoundland

During World War II the

U.S. Navy bases on Newfoundland's territory. The influx of American money and personnel had significant social, economic, and political effects on the island.^[214]

Newfoundlanders were encouraged to enlist in the large armed forces of the

Merchant Navy

Newfoundland was directly attacked by German forces when U-boats attacked four Allied ore carriers and the loading pier at Bell Island. The cargo ships S.S. Saganaga and S.S. Lord Strathcona were sunk by the German submarine U-513 on 5 September 1942, and the S.S. Rosecastle and P.L.M. 27 were sunk by the German submarine U-518 on 2 November 1942. German troops were landed in Labrador to establish weather stations.

Nicaragua

During the war,

Axis countries, only Romania reciprocated, declaring war on Nicaragua on the same day (19 December 1941).^[122]

Nigeria

During World War II, three battalions of the

Burma. Wartime experiences provided a new frame of reference for many soldiers, who interacted across ethnic boundaries in ways that were unusual in Nigeria. Inside Nigeria, union membership increased sixfold during the war to 30,000. This rapid growth of organised labour brought new political forces into play. The war also made the British reappraise Nigeria's political future. In 1944, Herbert Macaulay and Nnamdi Azikiwe founded the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons, a nationalist and pro-labour political party advocating Nigerian independence.^[216]

Northern Rhodesia (Zambia)

East Africa, Madagascar and Burma.^[217]

Norway

Norwegian refugees cross the border into Sweden.

Altmark Incident

.

Norway remained neutral until it was invaded by Germany on 9 April 1940, as part of Operation Weserübung. The Norwegian government fled the capital and after two months of fighting went to Britain and continued the fight in exile.

The Norwegian Shipping and Trade Mission (

Philip Noel-Baker, Baron Noel-Baker commented after the war that "Without the Norwegian merchant fleet, Britain and the allies would have lost the war."^[218]

After the occupation, the Germans began producing heavy water in Norway. After commando raids and bomber attacks, the Germans decided to move heavy water supplies to Germany. The Allies maintained a deception of a planned invasion of Norway. As a result, additional German forces were held there to repel any attempts. In 1944, Finnmark was liberated by the Soviet Union, and (together with the northern parts of Troms) totally destroyed by the retreating Nazis. German forces surrendered on 8 May 1945.

Norway declared war on Japan on 6 July 1945, with reciprocal effect dating back to 7 December 1941.^[219] The delay was because it had been impossible for the parliament to convene during the German occupation.^[220] Several hundred Norwegian sailors died when their ships were sunk by Japanese forces or during subsequent captivity.^[220] After the war, Norway became one of the founding members of NATO.

Nyasaland (Malawi)

Throughout the war, the

camps were constructed in Nyasaland intended to house Polish war refugees. Additionally, perceived "enemy aliens" – primarily members of the German community, but also Italian settlers^[222] – were brought to Southern Rhodesia for internment during the war.^[223]

Many Nyasas fought for the British, primarily as

Burma Campaign. Nyasaland's economy benefited from the end of the war as returning soldiers came home with useful skills, such as the 3,000 who had been trained as lorry drivers.^[224]

Oman

The Sultan of Oman declared war on Germany on September 10, 1939. During the Second World War, Great Britain recognized the strategic importance of Oman's geographical location by expanding facilities throughout the country. A new airfield was built on Masirah Island, which, from 1943 onwards, housed No. 33 Staging Post. In 1943, both Masirah and Ras Al-Hadd became Royal Air Force stations in their own right. Units of No. 2925 Squadron of the RAF Regiment guarded these bases while the marine craft was based in Oman to perform air-sea rescue duties.^[225]

Pacific Islands

The population, culture and infrastructure of

Pacific Islands) were completely changed between 1941 and 1945 due to the logistical requirements of the Allies in their war against Japan.^[226]^[227] At the start of the war the islands had experienced 200 years of colonialism from Europe and its colonies; some islands were on the verge of being fully annexed while others were close to independence. The early Japanese expansion through the western Pacific then introduced a new colonial system to many islands. The Japanese occupation subjected the indigenous people of Guam and other Islands to forced labor, family separation, incarceration, execution, concentration camps, and forced prostitution, but also created opportunities for advanced education.^[228]^[229]

The Pacific Islands then experienced military action, massive troop movements, and resource extraction and building projects as the Allies pushed the Japanese back to their home islands.[230] The juxtaposition of all these cultures led to a new understanding among the indigenous Pacific Islanders of their relationship with the colonial powers. In communities that had very little contact with Europeans before the war, the sudden arrival and rapid departure of men and machines spurred the growth of so-called "cargo cults" in parts of Melanesia,^[231]^[232] such as the cult of John Frum that emerged in the New Hebrides (modern Vanuatu).

Palestine

bombing Tel Aviv, Haifa

and other coastal cities.

Since Nazi Germany was seen as a greater threat,

Lehi, referred to by the British as the "Stern Gang", as a completely separated militia.^[233]

During the

Syria–Lebanon Campaign starting on 8 June 1941, many volunteers from Palestine participated in the fighting, including Palmach units that had been attached to allied troops. It was during this campaign that Moshe Dayan, attached to the Australian 7th Division, lost an eye, requiring him to wear what would become his trademark eye-patch.^[234]

In order to maintain the status quo ante bellum between the Jews and the Arabs, the British instated a policy of equal recruitment from both groups to the

Mohammad Amin al-Husayni with Adolf Hitler, only one Arab volunteered for every three Jewish volunteers. On August 6, 1942, the policy was relinquished and the regiment was formed, containing three Jewish battalions and one Arab. The regiment was assigned mostly to guard duty in Egypt and North Africa.^[235]

On 3 July 1944, Britain agreed to allow the Jews to fight against the Nazis directly and not just in a supportive role. Thus the three Jewish battalions of the Palestine Regiment together with the 200th Field Regiment were reorganized under the aegis of the Jewish Brigade, which would see action in Italy.^[236]

At the start of the war, approximately a thousand German nationals residing in Palestine known as

Templers were deported by Britain to Australia, where they were held in internment camps until 1946–47. Although some had been registered members of the Nazi party and Nazi marches had taken place in their settlements, no evidence had been presented until 2007 that the majority supported Hitler. Although their property had been confiscated by the British authorities, the State of Israel chose to compensate them in 1962.^[237]

Panama

The small

USAAF (at Howard Air Force Base), and Colombian forces helped inside the Canal Zone, guarded the Panama Canal from both ends. This Canal provided the United States and its Allies with the ability to move warships and troops rapidly between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Since most of the American shipbuilding capability was on the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico, the Canal was vital for moving new warships to the Pacific to fight the Imperial Japanese Navy

Paraguay

Paraguay's authoritarian government under Higinio Morínigo was sympathetic to the Axis powers early in the war; the country's large German community, in particular, were supporters of Nazism, as well as most of the Paraguayan population.^[238] Serious thought was given to joining the war on Germany's side, but United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt avoided this by providing aid and military hardware in 1942. Paraguay declared war on Germany on February 2, 1945, by which time the war was almost over and many Paraguayans joined the Brazilian air force for fighting the Axis Powers.^[239]

Peru

Japanese American internment policy. ^{[citation needed}

Philippines

In 1941, the

maintained a stubborn resistance against the invasion. General MacArthur was ordered by the President to withdraw his headquarters to Australia, where he made his famous statement "I came out of Bataan, and I shall return". The Americans in the Philippines surrendered at Corregidor

, on 6 May 1942.

Despite the official surrender, there was a significant

Leyte. ^{[citation needed}

Poland

The Second World War started in September 1939, as

occupied Poland. German-occupied Poland was the only territory where any kind of help for Jews was punishable by death for the helper and his whole family. However, many Polish civilians risked their lives, and the lives of their families, to save the Jews from the Nazis. Moreover, Poles created "Żegota" – the only organization in occupied Europe, entirely focused on helping the Jews.^[241]

Portugal

For the duration of World War II, Portugal was under the control of the dictator António de Oliveira Salazar. Early in September 1939, Portugal proclaimed neutrality to avoid a military operation in Portuguese territory. This action was welcomed by Great Britain. Germany's invasion of France brought the Nazis to the Pyrenees, which increased the ability of Hitler to bring pressures on Portugal and Spain.

Following the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, which cut off their supply of tungsten metal, Germany sought tungsten from Portugal. Salazar attempted to limit their purchases, and in late 1941, German U-boats attacked Portuguese ships. In January 1942 Salazar signed an agreement to sell tungsten to Germany. In June 1943, Britain invoked the long-standing Anglo-Portuguese Alliance requesting the use of the Azores, to establish an air force and naval air base. Salazar complied at once. The Allies promised all possible aid in the event of a German attack and guaranteed the integrity of Portugal's territorial possessions. In 1944, Portugal declared a total embargo of tungsten shipments to Germany. Germany protested but did not retaliate.

Lisbon became a safe-haven to a scattering of

visas

to people coming via rescue operations, on the condition that Portugal would only be used as a transit point. More than 100,000 Jews and other refugees were able to flee Nazi Germany into freedom via Lisbon. By the early 1940s, there were thousands of Jews arriving in Lisbon and leaving weeks later to other countries.

Portuguese Macau

Although the Japanese military invaded and occupied the neighboring British colony of Hong Kong in 1941, they initially avoided direct interference in the affairs of Macau. It remained a neutral territory, belonging to Portugal, but Portuguese authorities lacked the ability to prevent Japanese activities in and around Macau. In 1943, Japan ordered the government of Macau to accept Japanese advisors. The limited Portuguese military forces at Macau were disarmed, although Macau was never occupied.

Portuguese Timor (East Timor)

In early 1942, Portuguese authorities maintained their neutrality, in spite of warnings from the Australian and Dutch East Indies governments that Japan would invade. To protect their own positions in neighboring Dutch Timor, Australian and Dutch forces landed in Portuguese Timor and occupied the territory. There was no armed opposition from Portuguese forces or the civilian population. However, within a matter of weeks, Japanese forces landed but were unable to subdue substantial resistance, in the form of a guerrilla campaign launched by Allied commandos and continued by the local population. It is estimated that 40,000–70,000 Timorese civilians were killed by Japanese forces during 1942–45.^[242]

Qatar

Qatar was a

British Indian Empire. The country's first oil strike occurred at Dukhan in 1939, but the outbreak of war halted production. The petroleum industry that was to transform the country did not resume until after the war.^[243] The war also disrupted food supplies, prolonging a period of economic hardship going back to the 1920s with the collapse of the pearl trade, continuing through the Great Depression and a Bahraini embargo in 1937. Entire families and tribes moved to other parts of the Persian Gulf, leaving many Qatari villages deserted. Emir Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani abdicated in 1940 in favor of his second son, Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani.^[244]

Romania

Sevastopol and ultimately suffering irrecoverable losses at Stalingrad. Romania was also a major source of oil for Nazi Germany via the Ploiești

oil fields.

With the entry of Soviet troops into Romania and a

royal coup in August 1944, a pro-Allied government was installed, and after Germany and Hungary declared war on Romania, the country joined the Allies as a co-belligerent for the remainder of the war. The total number of troops deployed against the Axis was 567,000 men in 38 army divisions.^{[citation needed]} The Romanian Army was involved in the siege of Budapest and reached as far as Czechoslovakia and Austria.^{[citation needed}

After the war, Romania forcibly became a

people's republic as the country fell under the Soviet sphere of influence and joined the Warsaw Pact

, Germany relinquished its claims to the islands.

Samoa

occupied by New Zealand in 1914. Under the Treaty of Versailles

Samoa sent many troops to fight with the

New Zealand armed forces

in the war. After the sinking of a Samoan food ship by a Japanese gunboat in 1940, the Samoan government was forced to dispatch a light-gunned ship. HMS Fa'i was in action and sank seven ships, including the attacking gunboat.

When the American armed forces entered Samoa, using it as a port, four

Apia's port. The Samoan home guard reacted by firing a fair number of rounds, resulting in the sinking of the Hirojimi and the Shijomiki.^{[citation needed}

See also Pacific Islands.

San Marino

Ever since the times of

4th Indian Division

. Allied victory was followed by a short occupation.

Saudi Arabia

King Abdul Aziz Al-Saud was a personal friend of Franklin D. Roosevelt.^{[citation needed]} The Americans were then allowed to build an air force base near Dhahran. On 28 February 1945, Saudi Arabia declared war on Germany and Japan, but no military actions resulted from the declaration. ^{[citation needed}

Sierra Leone

Freetown served as a critical convoy station for the Allies.

Singapore

Battle of Singapore from 7 February to 14 February 1942. The city was renamed Syonan and kept under Japanese occupation until the end of the war in September 1945. ^{[citation needed}

, leading Romania to ally with Germany.

Slovakia

Slovakia was part of Czechoslovakia during World War II. See this article's section on Czechoslovakia in general, and its subsection on the Slovak Republic in particular.

Solomon Islands

U.S. Marines cross the Matanikau River, September 1942.

Bougainville Island. In a campaign of attrition fought by land, sea, and air, the Allies wore the Japanese down, inflicting irreplaceable losses. The Allies retook parts of the Solomon Islands, but Japanese resistance continued until the end of the war.^[246]

The impact of the war on islanders was profound. The destruction, together with the introduction of modern materials, machinery and Western material culture, transformed traditional ways of life. Some 680 islanders enlisted in the British Solomon Islands Protectorate Defence Force, while another 3,000 worked as labourers in the Solomon Islands Labour Corps.^[247] The experiences of Corps members affected the development of the Pijin language and helped spark the postwar political movement Maasina Ruru.^[248]^[249] During the war, the capital of Tulagi was damaged, while the Americans did much to develop the infrastructure around Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. After the war, this evolved into the new capital, Honiara.^[250]

See also Pacific Islands.

South Africa

As a member of the British Commonwealth, the Union of

South African 2nd Division was taken prisoner with the fall of Tobruk on 21 June 1942. Under the Joint Air Training Scheme, part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, South Africa trained 33,347 aircrews for the British Royal Air Force, South African Air Force and other Allied air forces. Only Canada trained more.^[251]

Southern Africa (Botswana, Lesotho, and Eswatini)

The so-called High Commission Territories of

Italian campaigns. Initially a labor battalion, AAPC's duties were gradually expanded to include anti-aircraft artillery operation and other combat duties. Unequal treatment of the African soldiers compared to their white counterparts led to resentment and unrest, including mutinies and riots when the unit's return home was delayed after the end of the war.^[252]

Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)

Burma Campaign. A significant number of Southern Rhodesian troops, especially in the Rhodesian African Rifles, were black or mixed race. Their service has never been recognised by the ZANU–PF government in Harare. Ian Smith, the future Prime Minister, like many of his white contemporaries, served under British command as a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force.^[254]

Soviet Union

The

raw materials that were otherwise blocked by the British naval blockade. After Finland rebuffed Moscow's demands for military bases and a territorial swap, the Soviet Union invaded on 30 November 1939, in the Winter War. The Soviet Union also annexed Bessarabia

On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany launched a massive surprise attack on the Soviet Union. Soviet forces took heavy losses, but this Eastern Front fighting would inflict on German forces about half of their military casualties over the course of the war.^[255]^[256] After an initial devastating advance, the Wehrmacht suffered its first defeat in war at Moscow. The Germans and their allies tried in 1942 to advance southward, to the Caucasus. After six months of fighting, they suffered a pivotal defeat at Stalingrad. In late 1943, in the wake of Battle of Kursk, the Soviet Red Army gained the initiative with a series of major victories. After the Allies opened a second European front with the June 1944 landings in France, the USSR was able to push the Germans back.^[257]^[258]^[259]^[260] Soviet forces advanced into Eastern Europe during 1944 and into Germany in 1945, concluding with the Battle of Berlin. The war against the USSR inflicted loss of lives (both civilian and military), on a scale greater than any countries in the war. Following the end of the war in Europe and the American atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the USSR joined the war against Japan. The Soviet Union, as one of the main victors, gained one of the permanent seats in the United Nations Security Council. After the war, the Soviet sphere of influence was widened to cover most of Eastern Europe, formalized in the Warsaw Pact. The Soviet Union came to be considered one of the two superpowers of the Cold War.^[261]

Armenian SSR (Armenia)

Armenia participated in the Second World War on the side of the Allies under the Soviet Union. Armenia was spared the devastation and destruction that wrought most of the western Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War of World War II. The Nazis never reached the South Caucasus, which they intended to do in order to capture the oil fields in Azerbaijan. Still, Armenia played a valuable role in aiding the allies both through industry and agriculture. An estimated 300–500,000 Armenians served in the war, almost half of whom did not return.^[262] Armenia thus had one of the highest death tolls, per capita, among the other Soviet republics.

One hundred and nineteen Armenians were awarded with the rank of

89th Tamanyan Division, composed of ethnic Armenians, distinguished itself during the war. It fought in the Battle of Berlin and entered Berlin.^[265]

Azerbaijan SSR (Azerbaijan)

Azerbaijan played a crucial role in the strategic energy policy of the Soviet Union since much of the petroleum needed on the

Supreme Soviet of the USSR in February 1942, more than 500 workers and employees of the oil industry of Azerbaijan were awarded orders and medals. In addition to this labor, some 800,000 Azerbaijanis fought in the ranks of the Soviet Army, of which 400,000 died. Azeri Major-General Hazi Aslanov was twice awarded Hero of the Soviet Union

. Like the other people of the Caucasus, some Azerbaijanis joined the side of Germany.

Baku was the primary strategic goal of the right flank of Germany's 1942

Operation Edelweiss, the German Wehrmacht targeted Baku's oil fields.^[266] The German army was at first stalled in the mountains of the Caucasus, then decisively defeated at the Battle of Stalingrad

and forced to retreat.

Byelorussian SSR (Belarus)

During WWII, Belarus was part of the Soviet Union as the

Byelorussian SSR. Byelorussia's borders were expanded in the invasion of Poland of 1939 under the terms of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, which divided Poland's territory into German and Soviet spheres. Despite the pact, Nazi Germany invaded on June 22, 1941; Germany occupied all of Belarus by August. The Jewish inhabitants were rounded up by Einsatzgruppen and slaughtered. In 1943 the Germans established the Belarusian Central Council, a collaborationist government. Meanwhile, the Belarusian resistance fought against the occupiers. Soviet forces took back Belarus during Operation Bagration

on August 1, 1944.

Georgian SSR (Georgia)

Texel

in 1945.

Although the Axis powers never penetrated the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Georgia contributed to the war effort almost 700,000 officers and soldiers (about 20% of the total 3.2–3.4 million citizens mobilized), of which approximately 300,000 were killed. 137 Georgians were awarded Hero of the Soviet Union, the most numerous recipients of this award in the Caucasus.^[267]^[268] The country was also a vital source of textiles as well as an important manufacturer of warplanes.^{[citation needed]}

Around 30,000 Georgians, both captives and volunteers, fought for the Germans in units such as the

Georgian Uprising of Texel in the Netherlands, often described as Europe's last battle of World War II.^[269] When it became clear that the Germans were losing, the Georgians of the "Queen Tamar" Battalion,^[270]^[271] led by Shalva Loladze, decided to switch sides. On 6 April 1945, they attempted to capture the island's heavily fortified coastal batteries. A German counterattack led to fierce fighting and the failure of the uprising.^[269]^[271]

Ukrainian SSR (Ukraine)

Before the German invasion, Ukraine was a

German, Romani and Crimean Tatar minorities. It was a key subject of Nazi planning for the post-war expansion of the German state. Upon the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, modern-day Ukraine fell under their occupation. The Nazi occupation of Ukraine ended the lives of millions of civilians in the Holocaust and other Nazi mass killings: it is estimated 900,000 to 1.6 million Jews and 3^[272] to 4^[273] million non-Jewish Ukrainians were killed during the occupation. Under the Reichskommissariat Ukraine, many Ukrainians fled east to aid the Soviet Red Army in resisting the German advance, while others stayed behind and formed the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) (Ukrainian: Українська Повстанська Армія), which waged military campaign against Germans and later Soviet forces as well against Polish civilians.^[274]

Those Ukrainians who remained at times welcomed the Germans as liberators. Those who collaborated with the German occupiers did so in various ways including participating in the local administration, in the

Ukrainian volunteer SS division was created. Nationalists in western Ukraine were among the most enthusiastic and hoped that their efforts would enable them to re-establish an independent state later on. For example, on the eve of Operation' Barbarossa, as many as 4000 Ukrainians, operating under Wehrmacht orders, sought to cause disruption behind Soviet lines, and some groups aided the German Army in the invasion, including the infamous Nachtigall and Roland

battalions.

Spain

Italian and German intervention had aided the Franco government in the recent Spanish Civil War, but Franco and Hitler did not achieve an agreement about Spanish participation in the new war. Galicia became an alternate source of tungsten for the Reich. Despite its non-belligerency, Spain sent volunteers to fight against the Soviet Union in the form of the Blue Division. As the Allies emerged as possible victors, the regime declared neutrality in July 1943. Removal of Spanish troops from the Eastern Front was completed in March 1944.

Spain did make plans for defence of the country. Initially, the mass of the Spanish army was stationed in southern Spain in case of Allied attack from Gibraltar during 1940 and 1941. However, Franco ordered the divisions to gradually redeploy in the Pyrenees as Axis interest in Gibraltar grew. By the time it became clear that the Allies were gaining the upper hand, Franco had amassed all his troops on the French border and was assured that the Allies did not wish to invade Spain.

St. Lucia

Suriname

In 1940, Suriname was a colony of the Netherlands. At the start of the

Battle of the Netherlands, it was defended by 200 soldiers of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army and 180 local volunteers of the Schutterij.^[275]

Suriname was a major producer of

Queen Wilhelmina to station 3,000 soldiers in Suriname.^[276] The number of troops was later revised to 2,000 soldiers who started to arrive from November 1941 onwards.^[275] In December 1941, the American troops started to transform Airstrip Zanderij into the largest airport of South America at the time.^[277]

The border with

Puerto Ricans.^[275]

Swaziland (Eswatini)

In exchange for greater Swazi autonomy from the British, King Sobhuza II gathered a few thousand Swazi volunteers to fight with the Allies in the war. Swazi soldiers served in the Western Desert campaign and the Invasion of Italy.

Sweden

Sweden maintained neutrality throughout the war, though some Swedish volunteers participated in the Winter War and in the Continuation War against the Soviet Union.

After Denmark and Norway were invaded on 9 April 1940, Sweden and the other remaining Baltic Sea countries became enclosed by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, then on friendly terms with each other as formalized in the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. The lengthy fighting in Norway resulted in intensified German demands for indirect support from Sweden, demands that Swedish diplomats were able to fend off by reminding the Germans of the Swedes' feeling of closeness to their Norwegian brethren. With the conclusion of hostilities in Norway this argument became untenable, forcing the Cabinet to give in to German pressure and allow continuous (unarmed) troop transports, via Swedish railroads, between Germany and Norway. Throughout the war, Sweden supplied Germany with iron ore, which they desperately needed to produce weapons.

Switzerland

Switzerland intended to be a neutral power during the war, but Axis threats and military mobilizations towards its borders prompted the Swiss military to prepare for war. Following the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, this country was completely mobilized within three days. An invasion of Switzerland, codenamed Operation Tannenbaum was planned for 1940, but Hitler decided it would be a waste of resources. Unlike the Netherlands, Belgium, and other western European nations that had easily fallen under German maneuver warfare, Switzerland had a strong military and mountainous terrain offering defenders the traditional advantage of high ground in mountain warfare.

Despite its neutrality, Switzerland was not free from hostilities. Early in the war, Swiss fighters shot down German aircraft for violating Swiss air space. Counting both sides, hundreds of aircraft, such as those with battle damage, landed in Switzerland and were interned at Swiss airports and their crews held until the end of the war. Allied airmen were interned, in some cases contrary to Swiss law, and some were reportedly subjected to abuse in

Holocaust in Swiss banks

Syria

Rashid Ali) refuelled in Damascus. ^{[citation needed}

British and Free French forces invaded Syria

In June 1941,

, and after giving effective opposition, the Vichy forces surrendered in July 1941. British occupation lasted until the end of the war. During the occupation, Syria gradually went on the path towards independence. The proclamation of independence took place in 1944; October 1945 Syrian Republic was recognized by the United Nations; it became a de facto sovereign state on 17 April 1946 with the withdrawal of French troops.

Tanganyika (Tanzania)

After the United Kingdom declared war, the British forces in Tanganyika were ordered to intern the German males living in the territory out of fear that they would try to help the Axis. Some of the Germans living in Dar es Salaam attempted to flee the country, but they were stopped and later interned by a small group of Tanganyikan soldiers and British officers that included Roald Dahl.^[280]

During the war about 100,000 people from Tanganyika joined the Allies.

Burma Campaign against the Japanese.^[282] Tanganyika became an important source of food and Tanganyika's export income greatly increased from the pre-war years of the Great Depression;^[281] however, this led to a rise in inflation.^[283]

Tibet

Tibet was a de facto independent state that lacked international recognition.^[284] It remained neutral throughout the war. The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was enthroned by the Ganden Phodrang government at the Potala Palace in 1939. Tibet established a Foreign Office in 1942, and in 1946 it sent congratulatory missions to China and India related to the end of the war.^[285] Its era of independence ended after the Nationalist government of China lost the Chinese Civil War and the People's Liberation Army entered Tibet in 1950.

Thailand

Burma Campaign

.

Japanese victory in the

Malayan Campaign made the Premier more enthusiastic about co-operation, and on 21 December, a formal "alliance" was concluded. On 25 January 1942, Thailand declared war on the United States and the United Kingdom. Some Thais disapproved, and formed the Free Thai Movement

to resist. Eventually, when the war turned against the Japanese, Phibun was forced to resign, and Thailand renounced its alliance with Japan.

Tonga

Salote Tupou III inspects her troops. The Tonga Defense Service would see battle in the Solomon Islands campaign

, which became a staging point for shipping.

By 1939, Tonga was a

Salote Tupou III accepted the outcome and put her island country's resources at the disposal of Britain and supported the Allied cause throughout the war. ^{[citation needed]} The Tonga Defense Service (TDS) came into existence in 1939. New Zealand trained two Tongan contingents of about 2000 troops, who saw action in the Solomon Islands and Guadalcanal.^[287]^[288] In addition, New Zealand and US troops were stationed on Tongatapu

Transjordan

The Emirate of Transjordan was a British mandate territory, and the Transjordanian forces were under British command during the war.

Trinidad and Tobago

Tunisia

Tunisia was a

Muhammad VII al-Munsif (Moncef Bey) declared neutrality and attempted to protect Tunisian Jews from persecution.^[291]^[292]

Allied forces landed in Algeria with Operation Torch on 8 November 1942. Beginning on 10 November, the British First Army under Kenneth Anderson began to advance toward Tunis. For the next six months, Tunisia was a battlefield as Axis and Allied forces fought on northern and southern fronts. In February 1943 the Axis won a victory at the Battle of Kasserine Pass, the first major engagement involving American troops, but the Operation Ochsenkopf offensive at the end of the month failed to stop the Allied advance. The Battle of Longstop Hill cleared the road to Tunis, which fell on 7 May. All Axis forces in Tunisia surrendered in the following days.

Following the recapture of Tunis, Free France took control of the country. Charles Mast served as the Resident General for the remainder of the war. The Free French accused Moncef Bey of collaborating with the Vichy Government and deposed him.^[293] From Tunisia, the Allies launched Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily, in July 1943.

Turkey

Greece, Turkey signed a treaty of friendship with Germany.^{[citation needed}

, and Germany had limited access to it. The key issue in Turkey's negotiations with both sides was the sale of chromite to Germany or to the Allies. The Allies had access to other sources and mainly bought the chromite in order to preclude its sale to Germany. Turkey halted its sales to Germany in April 1944 and broke off relations in August. Turkey declared war on the Axis powers in February 1945, after the Allies made its invitation to the inaugural meeting of the United Nations (along with the invitations of several other nations) conditional on full belligerency. There is no record that Turkish troops ever saw combat.

Turkey was an important producer of

refractory brick

The main theme of

spy thriller Journey Into Fear

is the efforts of Britain and Germany to get Turkey to join them - or at least prevent it from joining the other. At the time of writing, it was far from clear what Turkey's role in the war would be.

It is noteworthy that in the March 8, 1943 entry in the

Diary of Anne Frank, Anne is recording the jubilation felt by herself and her family at the news that Turkey had joined the war on the side of the Allies, replaced on the following day by disappointment when hearing that in fact Turkey had not actually joined the war, all that happened was a Turkish minister saying that Turkey might end its neutrality at some future time. This phenomenon of a jubilation followed by disappointment was not limited to the hidden Jews alone. In the March 19, 1943 entry is recounted that a newsboy on Amsterdam's Dam Square had been calling out "Turkey stands with England! Read all about it!" and that a sizeable crowd turned out to buy the paper.^[294]

Tuva

The

Tuva Autonomous Oblast

. From that moment on, the Tuvans participated in hostilities until the end of the war as citizens of the Soviet Union.

United Kingdom

The

Western Desert

campaigns.

While Nazi Germany never attacked Britain with ground forces, it subjected the country to heavy air attacks in the Battle of Britain of 1940, which was won by the Royal Air Force. Nightly attacks of the Blitz continued until mid-1941, which killed 40,000 people^[297] and prompted evacuations of major urban centres, but achieved none of Germany's strategic objectives.^[298] The economy of Britain was re-oriented to military production.^[299] Initiatives such as the Women's Land Army boosted food production, while a rationing program regulated consumption.

Britain entered the

Big Three, Prime Minister Winston Churchill participated in conferences with the US and USSR to plan the war and the postwar world. After the war, Britain became one of the Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council

and the end of World War II.

Channel Islands

The Channel Islands are self-governing Crown dependencies off the coast of France, and were the only British territory to be occupied by Germany during the War. The islands are dependent on the United Kingdom for their defence and foreign relations. In 1940, the British government demilitarised the islands, and they were subsequently occupied by German forces. Strong German defences were set up, but the Islands were not assaulted except by occasional hit-and-run commando raids. German forces surrendered at the end of the war. Almost all the Jewish people fled the islands before the German occupation; some who remained were deported to extermination camps.^[301]

Isle of Man

The Isle of Man is a self-governing Crown dependency external to the United Kingdom. Its foreign relations and defence, however, are the responsibility of the government of the UK. During the Second World War, the Isle of Man had a detention camp for Axis citizens and suspected sympathisers, including members of the British Union of Fascists and the Irish Republican Army.^{[citation needed]} A naval base, radar network and training stations were also established on the island.

"The Captain", a 1967 WWII novel by Dutch writer Jan de Hartog, features a Royal Navy captain originating from the Isle of Man who takes great pride in his island, and who eventually goes down, heroically defending a naval convoy under his charge against an overwhelming attack by a U-boat "wolf pack".

United States

Nashville

, 1943.

A sense of having been tricked into World War I led Congress, with strong public opinion backing, to pass the

Pacific Theater. The U.S. led the Manhattan Project to develop atomic weapons, which it deployed in August 1945 in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This attack led to the surrender of Japan

Inside the United States, every aspect of life from politics to personal savings was put on a wartime footing. The country directed its massive industrial production to the war effort as what President Roosevelt called "the

Security Council.^[107]

American Samoa

U.S. Navy base, and was used during the war. See also Pacific Islands

Native American nations

4th Signal Company

25,000 Native Americans in World War II fought actively: 21,767 in the Army, 1,910 in the Navy, 874 in the Marines, 121 in the Coast Guard, and several hundred Native American women as nurses. As sovereign nations, the tribes joined the war alongside the United States with their citizens enlisting in the U.S. Armed Forces.^[303]

The

Iroquois Confederacy was the only Native American nation to have officially declared war on the Axis powers separately from the United States. The Iroquois representative to the U.S. stated: "We represent the oldest, though smallest, democracy in the world today. It is the unanimous sentiment among Indian people that the atrocities of the Axis nations are violently repulsive to all sense of righteousness of our people, and that this merciless slaughter of mankind can no longer be tolerated. Now we do resolve that it is the sentiment of this council that the Six Nations of Indians declare that a state of war exists between our Confederacy of Six Nations on the one part and Germany, Italy, Japan and their allies against whom the United States has declared war, on the other part."^[304]^[305]

Puerto Rico

More than 65,000 Puerto Ricans served in the United States armed forces during World War II. Some guarded American installations in the

European and Pacific theatres. Many of the soldiers from the island served in the 65th Infantry Regiment or the Puerto Rico National Guard. As recruitment increased many were assigned to units in the Panama Canal Zone and the British West Indies to replace the continental troops serving in regular Army units. Puerto Ricans residing on the mainland were assigned to regular units of the military. They were often subject to the racial discrimination that was widespread in the United States at the time.^[306]

Borinquen Army Airfield (Ramey Air Force Base), was established in Puerto Rico in 1939.^[307] In 1940, President Roosevelt ordered the construction of a major naval base to serve as "the Pearl Harbor of the Atlantic." Roosevelt Roads Naval Station grew into a major facility but was scaled back after the defeat of Germany. The naval station remained in use until 2003, when it was shut down.^[308]^[309]

Uruguay

Declaration of Panama.^[310]

Neither side of the conflict acknowledged the exclusion zone, and in December, British warships and the German warship Admiral Graf Spee fought the Battle of the River Plate in the zone. This prompted a joint protest from several Latin American nations to both sides. (Admiral Graf Spee took refuge in Uruguay's capital, Montevideo, claiming sanctuary in a neutral port, but was later ordered out.) In early 1942, President Baldomir broke off diplomatic relations with the Axis Powers. On 15 February 1945, near the end of the war, Uruguay dropped its neutrality and joined the Allies, and declaring war on Germany and Japan.

Vatican City

Vatican City, the smallest autonomous country in the world at 0.44 km² (0.16 sq mi, little more than 100 acres), remained unoccupied throughout the war and its small military did not engage in combat. Pope Pius XII allegedly supported resistance efforts in secret, issued public statements against racism, and attempted to broker peace before the outbreak of total war. However, as Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, he signed the very first treaty negotiated by Nazi Germany when it came to power in 1933, the Reichskonkordat, on behalf of Pope Pius XI (a treaty that remains in force).^{[citation needed]} The Vatican City was also bound by the Lateran Treaty with Italy, requiring the Vatican and the Holy See to remain politically neutral, which Pius XII successfully maintained throughout the war.

Venezuela

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Venezuela severed diplomatic relations with Italy, Germany, and Japan, and produced vast oil supplies for the Allies. It maintained a relative neutrality until the last years of war, when it finally declared war on Germany and the rest of the Axis countries.^{[citation needed]}

Yemen

The

Italian Conquest of Ehiopia, directly across the Red Sea from Yemen. Yet Yemen had no intention of actually involving itself in Italy's wars, and it remained neutral for the duration of the war. The southern portion of modern Yemen, known as the Aden Protectorate, was under British control.^{[citation needed}

Yugoslavia

The Axis Powers occupied

Tito-Šubašić Agreement in June 1944. However, the Communist Party ruled the post-war state. After heavy bloodshed in a complex war, Yugoslavia was reestablished in 1945, including areas previously ruled by Kingdom of Italy (Istria and parts of Dalmatia). General Mihailović and many other royalists were rounded-up and executed by the Partisans. Mihailović was posthumously awarded the Legion of Merit by President Harry S. Truman for his resistance efforts throughout the war and for his role in Operation Halyard.^[313]

Independent State of Croatia

The

Armed Forces of the Independent State of Croatia remained engaged in battle a week after the capitulation of Germany on 8 May 1945 in an attempt to surrender to Allied forces rather than the Yugoslav Partisans