INTRODUCTIO N PACEC ome 20 years after the end of World War I lin gering disputes erupted in an even larger and bloodier conflict World War II The war began in Europe in 1939 but by its end in 1945 it had involved nearly every part of the world The opposing sides were the Axis Powers consisting mainly of Germany Italy and Japan and the Allies primarily France Great Britain the United States the Soviet Union and to a lesser extent China Estimates of the number of casualties vary widely but by any measure the war s human cost was enormous35 million to 60 million deaths with mil lions more wounded or left
INTRODUCTION 7 G G British Prime Minister Winston Churchill U S President Franklin Roosevelt and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin meet at the Yalta Conference in February 1945 to discuss the final stages of the war
KEY FIGURES OF 8 WORLD WAR II The political consequences of World War II like those of World War I altered the course of 20th century world history The war resulted in the Soviet Union's dominance of the countries of eastern Europe and eventually enabled a communist move ment to take power in China It also marked a deci sive shift of power away from the countries of west ern Europe and toward the United States and the Soviet Union The tense rivalry between those two countries and their allies known as the Cold War would influence events throughout the world for the next 50 years As is the case with all wars the political and military leaders of the countries involved helped determine the outcome of World War II The first chapters of this book offer a year by year account of the major events in the war while the following ones contain profiles of some of the most important fig ures from both sides of the war However it is worth remembering that the war s outcome also depended on the action of many less well known leaders as well as countless soldiers politicians and
CHAPTER ONE EARLY STAGES OF THE WAR the outbreak of World War II followed a series of warlike acts between 1931 and 1939 by Japan Italy and Germany The League of Nations proved ineffective in halting the aggression of Japan in China the Italian invasion of Ethiopia and the German takeover of Austria Britain and France agreed to let the German dictator Adolf Hitler and the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini take the territories they wanted The British and French hoped this policy of appeasement would prevent another war On September 30 1938 Britain and France agreed in Munich to let Germany have a part of Czechoslovakia called the Sudeten land Hitler said this would be his last territorial demand in Europe In March 1939 Hitler broke this pact taking over the rest of Czechoslova kia This ended the British and French policy of appeasement Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain of Great Britain and Premier Edouard Daladier of France promised aid to Poland in case of a Nazi
