Participants of the Second World War. List of countries that participated in the war

The Second World War was not only the most terrible tragedy in the history of mankind, but also was the largest geopolitical conflict during the development of civilization. Dozens of countries were involved in this bloody confrontation, each of which pursued its goals: territorial expansion, expansion of influence, economic gain, protection of its borders and population.

To achieve these goals, the participants of the Second World War were forced to unite in a coalition. The union groups included countries in which interests and goals were most closely intertwined with each other. But sometimes even countries that have seen the postwar world structure in quite different ways were united into similar blocks for the solution of the highest task.

Who were the main and secondary participants of the Second World War? The list of countries officially speaking as a party to the conflict is presented below.

The Axis countries

First of all, let us consider the states that are considered to be the direct aggressors who unleashed World War II. They are conventionally called the Axis countries.

Countries of the Tripartite Pact

The countries of the Triple or Berlin Pact were the participants in the Second World War who played a leading role among the Axis states. They concluded a treaty of alliance on September 27, 1940 in Berlin, directed against their rivals and determining the post-war division of the world in case of victory.

Germany - the most powerful military and economic state from the Axis countries, which acted as the main binding force of this association. It was this power that carried the greatest threat and caused the heaviest damage to the troops of the anti-Hitler coalition. She began the Second World War in 1939.

Italy is Germany's strongest ally in Europe. Unleashed the fighting in 1940.

Japan is the third member of the Tripartite Pact. Pretended to have exceptional influence in the Asia-Pacific region, the fighting within which she led. Entered the war in 1941.

Secondary members of the "Axis"

The minor members of the Axis include the World War II participants from the allies of Germany, Japan and Italy, who did not play the leading roles on the battlefields, but nevertheless took part in hostilities on the side of the Nazi bloc or declared war on the countries of the Anti-Hitler Coalition. To them belong:

• Hungary;
• Bulgaria;
• Romania;
• Slovakia;
• The Kingdom of Thailand;
• Finland;
• Iraq;
• The Republic of San Marino.

States governed by collaborationist governments

This category of countries includes states that were occupied in the course of hostilities by Germany or its allies, in which governments loyal to the Axis bloc were established. These forces came to power precisely World War II. Participants of the Tripartite Pact, thus, wanted to position themselves in these countries as liberators, not conquerors. These countries include:

• Croatia;
• Serbia;
• Burma (this country and all of the following states were occupied by Japan);
• Philippines;
• Laos;
• Vietnam;
• Cambodia.

The Anti-Hitler Coalition

Under the symbol "Anti-Hitler Coalition" is understood as the union of countries that opposed the "Axis" states. The formation of this union bloc took place during almost the entire period during which the Second World War was going on. The countries participating in the anti-Hitler coalition were able to withstand the struggle against Nazism and win.

Big Three

The Big Three are the participants in the Second World War from among the countries of the Anti-Hitler Coalition, who made the greatest contribution to the victory over Germany and other Axis states. Possessing the highest military potential, they were able to reverse the course of military operations, which initially did not work for them. First of all, thanks to these countries, the Second World War ended with the triumph over Nazism. Participants in the battles of other states of the anti-Hitler coalition, of course, also deserved the gratitude of all the free peoples of the world for getting rid of the "brown plague," but without the concerted actions of these three powers, victory would be impossible.

Britain - the state, was the first to enter into an open confrontation with Hitler Germany in 1939 after the latter attacked Poland. Throughout the war created the greatest problems for the Third Reich in Western Europe.

The USSR is the state that suffered the greatest human losses during the Second World War. According to some estimates, they exceeded 27 million people. It was at the cost of the blood and incredible efforts of the Soviet people that the victorious march of the Reich's divisions was stopped and the war wheel turned back. The USSR entered the war after the Nazi Germany attack in June 1941.

USA - later all of the Big Three states took part in hostilities (from the end of 1941). But it was the United States' entry into the war that allowed the formation of the Anti-Hitler Coalition to be completed, and successful actions in the battles with Japan prevented it from opening a front in the Far East against the USSR.

Secondary members of the Anti-Hitler Coalition

Of course, in such an important matter as the fight against Nazism, there can not be any secondary roles, but the countries represented below have still had less influence on the course of hostilities than the members of the Big Three. At the same time, they made their own contribution to the completion of such a grandiose military conflict as the Second World War. The countries participating in the Anti-Hitler Coalition, each due to their capabilities, gave battle to Nazism. Some of them directly confronted the military forces of the Axis states on the battlefields, others organized a movement against the occupants, and others helped supply.

Here you can name such countries:

• France (one of the first to enter the war with Germany (1939) and was defeated);
• The states of the British Commonwealth ;
• Poland;
• Czechoslovakia (at the time of the beginning of hostilities in fact no longer existed as a single state);
• Netherlands;
• Belgium;
• Luxembourg;
• Denmark;
• Norway;
• Greece;
• Monaco (despite neutrality, was alternately occupied by Italy and Germany);
• Albania;
• Argentina;
• Chile;
• Brazil;
• Bolivia;
• Venezuela;
• Colombia;
• Peru;
• Ecuador;
• Dominican Republic;
• Guatemala;
• Salvador;
• Costa Rica;
• Panama;
• Mexico;
• Honduras;
• Nicaragua;
• Haiti;
• Cuba;
• Uruguay;
• Paraguay;
• Turkey;
• Bahrain;
• Saudi Arabia;
• Iran;
• Iraq;
• Nepal;
• China;
• Mongolia;
• Egypt;
• Liberia;
• Ethiopia;
• Tuva.

It is difficult to underestimate the breadth of the scope of such a grandiose tragedy as World War II. The number of participants in the largest armed conflict of the XX century was 62 countries. This is a very high figure, considering that at that time there were only 72 independent states. In principle, there were no countries that this grandiose event did not touch at all, although ten of them declared their neutrality. The entire scale of the tragedy is not capable of conveying either the memoirs of World War II participants or the victims of concentration camps, let alone historical textbooks. But the present generation should remember the mistakes of the past well, so as not to repeat them in the future.