The most bloody and terrible massacre not only of the 20th century, but of the whole history of mankind can be safely called the Second World War. It covered to varying degrees 62 of the 73 states that existed in those years.
The confrontation between the powers lasted 6 years, it covered a third of the entire planet, not only land but also the sea. Only 11 states maintained complete neutrality throughout the war, but they somehow supported and sympathized with the countries participating in the armed conflict. The states that fought on the fronts were part of two huge coalitions, these were the Axis Countries (axis: Rome-Berlin-Tokyo), and the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, which eventually included 59 states.
Axis Countries
The Axis Countries coalition was made up of the states: Germany, Italy, Japan. It was they who unleashed the most terrible war. Germany was the initiator of the battles, its policies and tactics allowed the fascist troops to occupy Austria and the Czech Republic with virtually no fighting. With the German attack on Poland on September 1, 1939, the Second World War was counted down.
Italy sided with Germany for one reason: its leader, Duce Mussolini, sympathized with the Nazi regime, but the country did not take an active part in the theater of war, so it did not pose a threat. Japan participated in the hostilities, but it was a Sino-Japanese war for the resources of China. When two atomic bombs fell on Japan on August 6 and 9, 1945, she quickly surrendered, realizing the futility of further resistance. The Second World War is over.
Anti-Hitler coalition
The contribution of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition to the victory is uneven, some states conducted active hostilities on the fronts, others helped with food and supplied military products. Some countries took part in a purely nominal way, in fact - in no way. The maximum contribution to the defeat of the Nazis was made by the USSR, along with it the USA and Great Britain.
The USSR was drawn into the war at the time of the German attack on its territory, June 22, 1941. And from this date, until May 9, 1945, a special period begins in the framework of the Second World War - the Great Patriotic War. The most terrible battles of this period took place on the territory of the USSR. The most terrible of them was the blockade of Leningrad. However, the country withstood and since 1943 launched an offensive on all fronts.
When the Nazis were thrown out of the territory of the USSR in 1944, the United States opened a second front in Europe. But this was done not so much to help the USSR, since the outcome of the war was already a foregone conclusion, but rather to exclude the spread of communist ideas in Western Europe.
