World War Ii Wiki

The Second World War (abbreviated "WWII" or "WW2") was a major worldwide war that was first set off by the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and then officially began when Nazi Germany attacked Poland on September 1st of 1939 and ended after Japan surrendered on August 15th of 1945. It is considered a result of the outcome of World War I.

The belligerents formed two major factions, the Allied Powers (or "Allies") and the Axis Powers (or "Axis").

World War II is considered the deadliest military conflict in human history. Over 60 million people died as a result of the fighting and/or resulting resource shortages, as well as deliberate mass killings throughout the war, and hundreds of millions were displaced or left destitute in the aftermath. WW2 can also be considered the deathblow to the old European empires which had dominated history up to that point; the war left them financially, militarily, and culturally even more exhausted than they had been after WW1 and saw the rise of two new super-powers with a rather anti-colonial bent to them: the USSR and the USA, thus kickstarting the Cold War.

Technologically, WW2 saw the first usage of the many trends that still dominate warfare to this day: the first modern missiles and rockets were used during WW2, aircraft carriers replaced battleships as the dominant surface warfare vessels, unmanned radio controlled vehicles saw limited use during the war, and StG 44, the world's first assault rifle, entered service during the later half of the war. The most important and influential technology used, however, is the first (and only) usage of a nuclear weapon in the history of warfare: when the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed by the atomic bombs dropped by the USA.

This tag can be applied if the image is related to World War 2, such as featuring technology (tanks, aircraft, warships or weapons) of the era, uniforms & troops, or battle scenes.