The Second World War was the armed conflict that broke out in 1939, between the Axis powers (Germany, Italy and Japan) and the Allies (England, France and Soviet Union). On the first of September, Hitler's troops invaded Poland. This forced Britain, France and other countries to declare war on Germany.
There is no single cause or reason for the political, economic and social conditions that unfolded in World War II, but rather a combination of all of them.
The beginning can be located in the distribution of powers and areas of influence made by the Allies in establishing the Treaty of Versailles and the inability of Britain, the dominant power at that time, to establish a new order.
The main political leaders were: Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany, Benito Mussolini of Italy, and Emperor Hirohito of Japan.
Great landmarks of the Second World War:
1939: September 1: Germany invades Poland; September 3: England and France (allies) declare war on Germany.
1940: April 9: Germany invades Norway and Denmark; May 10: Germany invades Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg; June 22: Germany takes Paris (France); August 24: Germany bombs London; October 28: Italy invades Greece.
1941: February 12: Germany disembarks troops in Libya to invade Egypt; April 6: Germany invades Yugoslavia and Greece; June 22: Germany invades the Soviet Union; 7 of December: Japan bombs the base Pearl Harbor (Hawaii) of the United States (the USA); December 8: USA declares war Japan.
1942: June 7: USA defeat Japan at the Battle of Midway; July 27: England stops the German advance in Africa at the First Battle of El Alamein: August 23: The battle of Stalingrad between Germany and the Soviet Union begins; November 3: England defeats Germany in the Second Battle of El Alamein.
1943: January 14: Conference of the allies (England, France, USA) in Casablanca (Morocco); February 2: Soviet Union defeats Germany at the Battle of Stalingrad; September 3: Allies invade Italy and 8 Italy surrenders
1944: June 6: The allies begin the Normandy landings; August 10: USA defeat Japan in the Battle of Guam; August 25: The Allies defeat Germany at the Battle of Normandy; October 20: Yugoslavians and Soviets liberate Belgrade and December 29: Hungarians and Soviets liberate Budapest.
1945: January 25: The Allies defeat Germany at the Battle of The Bulge and on March 26 US. defeat Japan in the battle of Iwo Jima; April 25: Soviet Union troops take Berlin and on April 30 Adolf Hitler commits suicide in the same city. On May 9, Germany surrenders to the allies and on June 21, the US defeat Japan in the battle of Okinawa. August 6, USA launches a nuclear bomb in Hiroshima and the 9 a nuclear bomb in Nagasaki. Japan finally surrenders on September 2: Japan surrenders to the US
Human cost of war: It had the highest number of military deaths: 8.7 million Soviet soldiers died. But in total it is believed that there were 70 million lives that were taken.
Economic consequences: Europe was devastated. The massive bombing, executed both by the Axis powers (during the first phase of the conflict) and by the allies (in the second) aggravated the problem.
End: Japan accepted the unconditional surrender in accordance with the conditions imposed by the main allied countries. Many historians believed that this was the symbolic end of the conflict.
