The
Allies of World War II were the countries that
opposed the
Axis powers during the
Second World War (
1939-
1945). The Allies became
involved in World War II either because they had already been
invaded or were directly threatened with invasion by the Axis or
because they were concerned that the Axis powers would come to
control the world.
After 1941, the leaders
of the United
Kingdom
, the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics
, and the United States of America
, known as "The Big Three", held leadership of the
Allied powers. France
, before its
defeat in 1940 and after Operation Overlord in 1944, as well as
China
were also
major Allies.Other Allies included Australia, Belgium
, Brazil
, Canada
, Czechoslovakia
, Ethiopia, Greece, India,
Mexico
, the Netherlands
, New
Zealand
, Norway
, the
Philippine Commonwealth,
Poland, the
Union of South Africa, and
Yugoslavia.
During December, 1941, U.S. President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt devised the
name "
United Nations
" for the Allies. He referred to The Big Three and China as a
"
trusteeship of the powerful", and then
later "
the Four Policemen". The
Declaration by United
Nations, on 1 January 1942, was the basis of the modern
UN. At the
Potsdam Conference of
July-August 1945, Roosevelt's successor,
Harry S. Truman, proposed that the foreign ministers
of China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the
United States "should draft the peace treaties and boundary
settlements of Europe", which led to the creation of the
Council of Foreign
Ministers.
History
China
During the 1920s, the
Kuomintang (KMT)
government led by Generalissimo
Chiang
Kai-shek was aided by the Soviet Union, which helped to
reorganise the party, superficially at least, along
Leninist lines: a unification of party, state, and
army. However, following the nominal unification of China in 1928,
Chiang Kai-shek purged leftists from his party and fought against
the
Chinese Communist Party,
former warlords, and other militarist factions. A fragmented China
provided easy opportunities for Japan to gain territories piece by
piece without engaging in total war. Following the 1931
Mukden Incident, the puppet state of
Manchukuo was established. Throughout the
early to mid 1930s, Chiang's anti-communist and anti-militarist
campaigns continued while he fought small, incessant conflicts
against Japan, usually followed by unfavorable settlements and
concessions.
In the early 1930s,
Germany and
China became close partners in military and industrial matters.
Nazi Germany provided the largest
proportion of Chinese arms imports and technical expertise.
Following
the Marco Polo
Bridge Incident
of 7 July 1937, China and Japan became embroiled in
a full-scale war which continued until 1945. The Soviet
Union, wishing to keep China in the fight against Japan, supplied
China with some military assistance until 1941, until it
signed friendship with
Japan.
Even though China had been fighting the longest among all the
Allied powers, it only officially joined the Allies after the
attack on Pearl Harbor, on 7 December 1941. Chiang Kai-shek felt
Allied victory was assured with the entrance of the United States
into the war, and he declared war on Germany and the other Axis
nations. However, Allied aid remained low because the
Burma Road was closed and the Allies suffered a
series of military defeats against Japan early on in the campaign.
The bulk of military aid did not arrive until the spring of 1945.
More than 1.5 million Japanese troops were trapped in the China
Theatre; troops that otherwise could have been deployed elsewhere
if China had collapsed and made a separate peace with Japan.
Invasion of Poland
The
original Allies were those countries that linked themselves in a
military defence pact in August 1939, following explicit Adolf Hitler threats against Poland
around the
problem of the German-speaking city of Danzig
.
These countries were allied to each other by a net of common
defence pacts and military alliance pacts signed before the war.
The Franco-British Alliance dated back to the
Entente cordiale of 1904 and the
Triple Entente of 1907, active during the
World War I. The
Franco-Polish Alliance was signed in
1921 and then amended in 1927 and 1939. The
Polish-British Common Defence
Pact, signed on 25 August 1939, contained promises of mutual
military assistance between the nations in the event either was
attacked by Nazi Germany.
The
invasion of Poland started
the war in Europe, when Britain and France declared war on Germany
on September 3, 1939. Poland fielded the third biggest army among
the European Allies, after the Soviet Union and Britain, but before
France. The country never officially surrendered to the
Third Reich and continued the war effort under
the
Polish government in
exile.
However, the Soviet Union
unilaterally considered the flight to Romania of
President Ignacy Mościcki and
Marshal Edward
Rydz-Śmigły on September 17 as an evidence of debellatio causing the extinction of Polish
State, and consequently declared itself allowed to occupy
(according to Soviet position: to protect) Eastern Poland
starting from the same day.
Home Army, the biggest underground force
in Europe, and other resistance organizations in occupied Poland
provided intelligence that enabled successful operations later in
the war and led to uncovering the Nazi war crimes (i.e.,
death camps) to the Western Allies. Notable
Polish units fought in every campaign in Europe and North Africa
(outside the Balkans).
Polish Armed Forces in the
West were created in France and, after its fall, in the United
Kingdom.
The Soviet Union recognized the London-based
government but broke diplomatic
relations after the revelation of the Katyn massacre
. In 1943, the Soviet Union organized the
Polish People's Army under
Zygmunt Berling, around which it
constructed the post-war
successor
state People's Republic
of Poland. The Polish People's Army took part in the
Battle of Berlin, the closing battle of the
European theater of war.
British Commonwealth
The United Kingdom and other independent members of the
British Commonwealth, known as the
Dominions, declared war on Germany
separately, either on the same day, or soon afterwards; these
countries were Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
However,
Newfoundland had
given up self-rule and was at the time under effective rule from
the UK; it did not become part of Canada until 1949.
Southern
Rhodesia
, while self-governing did not have
independence in foreign policy or military matters.
Following the
Statute of
Westminster in 1931, the Dominions of the
British Commonwealth had
independence in foreign policy. Australia and New Zealand accepted
and reiterated the British declaration of war on Germany. The South
African Prime Minister,
Barry
Hertzog, refused to declare war, leading to the collapse of his
coalition government on 6
September; the new Prime Minister,
Jan
Smuts, declared war that same day. Canada declared war on
Germany on 10 September; this was necessary as Canada had ratified
the Statute.
The
Indian Empire (including the areas and
peoples covered by the later Republic of India
, Bangladesh
and Pakistan
) and territories controlled by the Colonial Office, namely the Crown Colonies, were controlled politically by
the UK and therefore also entered hostilities with Britain's
declaration of war. The Indian Empire contributed about
2,500,000 personnel. It suffered 1,500,000 civilian casualties
(more than the United Kingdom), mainly from the Bengal famine of
1943 caused by the fall of Burma to the Japanese, and 87,000
military casualties (more than any Commonwealth country but fewer
than the United Kingdom). The UK suffered 382,000 military
casualties.
France
France experienced several major phases of action during World War
II:
- The "Phoney War" of 1939–1940, also
called drôle de guerre in France, dziwna wojna in
Poland (both meaning "Strange War"), or the "Sitzkrieg"
("Sitting War") in Germany.
- The
Battle of France in May–June 1940,
which resulted in the defeat of the French Army, the fall of the
French Third Republic and the
creation of the rump state Vichy France
which received diplomatic recognition by the major part of the
international community, including the government of the United States
.
- The period of French
Resistance and Free French
Forces, from 1940–1944, until the June 1944 D-Day invasions part of the Battle of Normandy and the August 1944
invasion of southern France in Operation Dragoon, which led to the
Liberation of Paris on 25 August
1944 and the liberation of France by the allies. Free France was a government-in-exile recognized, between
major Allies, only by Britain.
- The political creation of the Provisional
Government of the French Republic, and the military actions
following the redesignation of "French Army B" as the First French Army, including the final
drive on Germany, which culminated in V-E Day, on 7 May 1945.
Oslo Group
The Oslo Group was an organisation of officially neutral countries.
Four
members later joined the Allies, as governments in exile: the Kingdom of Norway, the Kingdom
of the Netherlands, the
Kingdom of
Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
.
The
Republic of
Finland
was attacked by the USSR on 30 November
1939. Later Finland and the
Kingdom of
Denmark officially joined the Axis
Anti-Comintern Pact. The
Kingdom of Sweden
remained officially neutral. Following the Moscow armistice of
September 1944, Finland effectively helped the Allies and expelled
German forces. This led to a series of armed clashes called the
Lapland War.
Denmark was
invaded by Germany
on 9 April 1940. The Danish government did not declare war and it
surrendered the same day, on the understanding that it retain
control of domestic affairs, but it was disbanded by Germany in
1943. No government-in-exile was formed. Danes fought with both
Allied and Axis forces.
Iceland
, Faroe
Islands
and Greenland
, which were respectively in union with Denmark and
a Danish colony, were occupied by the Allies for most of the
war. British forces
took
control in Iceland on 10 May 1940, and it was used to
facilitate the movement of
Lend Lease
equipment. Forces from the United States, although they were
officially neutral at the time, occupied Greenland on 9 April 1941.
The U.S. also took over in Iceland on 7 July 1941. Iceland declared
full independence from Denmark in 1944, but never declared war on
any of the Axis powers. Finally, Denmark officially joined the
Allies immediately after its liberation on May 5, 1945.
Portugal
Although
Portugal remained officially neutral, and the Salazar Dictatorship
admired Fascist regimes, there was the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance — the
world's oldest military alliance (1373) — reactivated by the United
Kingdom during World War II, leading to the establishment of an
Anglo-American base in Lajes, Terceira
Island
, Azores, which Salazar
finally accepted (December 1943), though he was not in position to
refuse anyway. Since 1940, both Churchill and Roosevelt were
facing the possibility of a preventive occupation of Azores.
Portugal
also protested the occupation of Portuguese Timor
by Allied forces in 1942 but did not actively
resist. The colony was subsequently occupied by Japan.
Timorese and Portuguese civilians assisted Australian
commandos in
resisting the Japanese.
Comintern
On 17 September, 1939, Soviet Union
invaded
Poland from the East, and on November 30
Finland was attacked.
The following year
USSR annexed the Baltic states of
Estonia
, Latvia
, and
Lithuania
, together with parts of Romania
. The German-Soviet agreement was brought to
an end by the
German invasion of
the USSR on June 22, 1941.
Soviet Union so entered in alliance with the United Kingdom, which
was lasted the sole effectively fighting Power in Europe after the
capitulation of France in June 1940.
Following USSR, these
socialist, pro-Soviet or Soviet controlled
forces fought against the Axis powers during the Second
World War: the Albanian National Liberation
Front, the Chinese Red Army
(a.k.a 8th Route Army; ROC 18th Army or; New Fourth Army), the
Greek National
Liberation Front, the Hukbalahap, the
Malayan Communist Party, the
People's Republic of
Mongolia, the Polish People's
Army, the Tuvinian People's Republic
(annexed by Soviet Union in 1944), the Viet Minh and the Yugoslav Partisans.
Atlantic Charter
The
Atlantic Charter was negotiated
at the
Atlantic Conference by
British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill and
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, aboard warships in a secure
anchorage at NS Argentia
, Newfoundland (located on Placentia Bay
) and was issued as a joint declaration on 14 August
1941.
The Atlantic Charter established a vision for a post-World War II
world, despite the fact the United States had yet to enter the
war.
In brief, the nine points were:
- no territorial gains sought by the United States or the United
Kingdom;
- territorial adjustments must be in accord with wishes of the
people;
- the right to self-determination of peoples;
- trade barriers lowered;
- global economic cooperation and advancement of social
welfare;
- freedom from want and fear;
- freedom of the seas;
- disarmament of aggressor nations, postwar common
disarmament;
- defeat of Germany and other Axis powers.
The Atlantic Charter proved to be one of the first steps towards
the formation of the
United
Nations.
The United States of America joined the Allies following the attack
on Pearl Harbor, on 7 December 1941. The Declaration by United
Nations, on 1 January 1942, officially united 26 nations as Allies.
The informal
Big 3 alliance of the United Kingdom, the
Soviet Union, and the United States emerged in the later half of
the war, and their decisions determined Allied strategy around the
world.
Pan American Union
The
members of the Pan
American Union
, who were all neutral between 1939 and 1941, formed
a mutual defense pact at a conference of foreign ministers at
Havana
, on 21 July
1940 – 30 July 1940. The "Declaration on Reciprocal
Assistance and Cooperation for the Defense of the Nations of the
Americas" was part of the
Final Act of the Second Meeting of
the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the American Republics at
Havana, Cuba, July 30, 1940. There were twenty-one
signatories:
From this group, three countries contributed military forces to the
Allied war effort:
The other 18 countries from this group contributed given support in
many ways on lesser degrees or limited to war declaration.
United Nations
Declaration by United Nations
The alliance was formalised in the
Declaration by United
Nations on 1 January 1942. There were 26 signatories, as
follows:
- Australia
- Belgium
- Republic of China
- Canada
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Czechoslovakia
- Dominican Republic
- El Salvador
- Greece
- Guatemala
- Haiti
- Honduras
 India- Luxembourg
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Norway
- Panama
- Poland
- South Africa
- United Kingdom
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
- United States of America
- Yugoslavia
|
Alliance growing
The United Nations began growing immediately after their formation.
In 1942, Mexico, Philippines and Ethiopia adhered to the
declaration.
The African nation had been restored in its
independence by British forces after the Italian defeat on Amba Alagi
in 1941, while Philippines, still dependent by
Washington but granted of international diplomatic recognition, was
allowed joining on June 10, despite their occupation by
Japan.
During 1943, the Declaration was signed by Iraq, Iran, Brazil,
Bolivia and Colombia.
A Tripartite Treaty of Alliance with Britain
and USSR formalised Iran
's
assistance to the Allies. In Rio de Janeiro
, Brazilian dictator Getúlio Vargas was considered near to
fascist ideas, but realisticly joined the United Nations after
their evident successes.
In 1944, Liberia and France signed. French situation was very
confused.
Free France forces were
recognized only by Britain, while United States considered
Vichy France as the legal government of the
country until
Operation Overlord,
also preparing
US occupation
francs. Wiston Churchill urged Roosevelt restoring France in
its status of a major Power after the liberation of Paris in August
1944: the Prime Minister feared that after the war, Britain could
remain the sole great Power in Europe facing Communist threat, as
it was happened in 1941 against nazism.
During the early part of 1945, Peru, Chile, Paraguay, Venezuela,
Uruguay, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria (these latter
two ancient French colonies had been declared independent nations
by British occupation troops, despite big protests by Petain
before, and De Gaulle after) and Ecuador became signatories.
Ukraine
and Belarus
, although not being independent nations but only
members of Soviet Union, were accepted between the United Nations,
as a form of reassurance by US and UK to Stalin who had Yugoslavia
as the sole official communist partner into the
alliance.
Charter of the United Nations
The Charter of the United Nations was agreed to during the war at
the
United
Nations Conference on International Organization, held between
April and July 1945. The Charter was signed by 50 nations on 26
June (Poland had its place reserved and later became the 51st
"original" signatory), and was
formally
ratified shortly after the war on 24 October 1945.
The four leading
Allied nations, namely China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom,
and the United States met repeatedly during the war, such as at the
1944 conference at
Dumbarton
Oaks
where the formation and permanent seats of the
United Nations Security
Council were decided. The Security Council met for the
first time in the immediate aftermath of war on 17 January
1946.United Nations Security Council: Official Records: First Year,
First Series, First Meeting
.svg/225px-Flag_of_the_United_Nations_(1945-1947).svg)
The first version of the UN flag,
introduced in April 1945.
These are the original 51 signatories (Security Council Permanent
members are asterisked).:
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