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World War II [b] or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war .
The following events played a significant role in setting the stage for the involvement of Asia and the Pacific in World War II: 1839: Outbreak of the First Opium War in Qing China against the British Empire, forcing China to import British opium from India. Britain won the war and as a result gained control over Hong Kong.
The world powers in 1939, before the start of World War II. January 25 A uranium atom is split for the first time at Columbia University in the United States. [49] January 27 Hitler orders Plan Z, a 5-year naval expansion programme intended to provide for a huge German fleet capable of defeating the British Royal Navy by 1944.
[24] [25] It is considered part of World War II, and often regarded as the beginning of World War II in Asia. It was the largest Asian war in the 20th century [26] and has been described as "the Asian Holocaust", in reference to the scale of Japanese war crimes against Chinese civilians.
In Allied countries during the war, the "Pacific War" was not usually distinguished from World War II, or was known simply as the War against Japan. In the United States, the term Pacific theater was widely used. The US Armed Forces considered the China Burma India theater to be distinct from the Asiatic-Pacific theater during the conflict.
This is a timeline of events of World War II in 1939 from the start of the war on 1 September 1939. For events preceding September 1, 1939, see the timeline of events preceding World War II. Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 brought many countries into the war. This event, and the declaration of war by France and Britain two days ...
The causes of World War II have been given considerable attention by historians. The immediate precipitating event was the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany on September 1, 1939, and the subsequent declarations of war on Germany made by Britain and France , but many other prior events have been suggested as ultimate causes.
Timeline of the United Kingdom home front during World War II (1939–1945) Timeline of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact (1918–1941) Timeline of Sweden during World War II (1939–1945) Timeline of the Netherlands during World War II (1939–1945) Chronology of the liberation of Dutch cities and towns during World War II