War is an extremely stressful situation for any country to be in. It affects every aspect of human life, be it political, economic, or social. It is difficult to cope with, no matter the strength of its defense forces or financial strength. Even after knowing the destruction caused by wars, humankind has faced two very deadly and devastating wars, namely World War I and World War II. You might be asked in the world war 2 quiz about the participants, here we will discuss the same.

There were two main groups in this war. They were the Allies and the Axis.

• The Axis group of World War II:
• It was founded by three countries namely Germany, Italy, and Japan. They came together to form the Axis group of World War II. This alliance was formed mainly to support Germany’s expansionist plan. These countries fought against the Allies in this war.
• In October 1936, Germany and Italy came together to sign a treaty wherein all other European countries would rotate around the ‘Rome-Berlin’ axis, hence the term ‘Axis’ group.
• Consecutively, in November 1936, Germany signed a pact with Japan. It was known as the Anti-Comintern Pact which was an anti-communist treaty. Italy and Spain joined this pact in 1937. The Italo-German alliance was reinforced with the ‘Pact of Steel’ in 1939.
• Leaders of the Alliance: Germany – Adolf Hitler

                                           Italy – Benito Mussolini

                                           Japan – Emperor Hirohito

• This group became a military alliance with the signing of the Tripartite Pact, which was later on joined by many countries like Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Slovakia.
• The Axis group occupied many territories in Europe, North Africa, and East Asia. The group did not have any three-way meetings and operations were mainly carried out by Italy and Germany.
• Eventually, the Axis group was defeated and resulted in the dissolution of their alliance.

• The Allies of World War II:
• The Allies group of nations was formed as a response to the Axis group and to control the aggression from Germany, Italy, and Japan.
• The Allies was formed by France, the United Kingdom (along with its dependent state of British India), and Poland. They were joined by the semi-dependent British colonies of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa.
• As the war progressed, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Greece joined the Allies, after Germany invaded Northern Europe.
• The Soviet Union was neutral in the Axis-Allies conflict. It joined the Allies after Germany invaded its territory in 1941.
• The United States was a silent participant, providing war materiel and money all along. It actively joined the Allies in December 1941 after it was attacked by Japan at Pearl Harbour.
• China was already involved in a prolonged war with Japan due to the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in 1937, and officially joined the Allies in 1941.
• The alliance was solidified with the Declaration by the United Nations in 1942, although the group was rarely referred to as the United Nations. The ‘Big Three’ leaders of the group- the Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom, controlled the strategy of the alliance. Later, China joined them and formed the ‘Big Four’ which was also known as ‘trusteeship of the powerful’, and later the group of four nations was known as the ‘Four Policemen’ of the Allies.
• The Allies formed the basis of the modern-day United Nations.

James Montano