Allies of World War II

The **Allies**, (formally referred to as the **United Nations** from 1942-1945) were a group of nations that fought against the Axis countries in World War II. They were successful in defeating the Axis nations. The war ended in 1945. The group of nations was later named the United Nations by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt. The main great powers, sometimes called "The Big Three", were the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Sometimes China was added to the list, making a "Big Four".

## 1939-1941 
Poland was invaded by Germany on 1 September 1939, so Britain and France declared war two days later.

Many more countries joined the alliance after Germany invaded them. France fell after a German invasion from May - June 1940 and a puppet state was put in place, so the British and the remaining forces of the exiled governments later invaded the Vichy french territories.  These freed lands were called Free France

Germany invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 and the Soviets allied with the British and the other allies.

The United States joined the war after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.

## Declaration by the United Nations 
The alliance was formalised in the Declaration by United Nations signed on 1 January 1942. There were the 26 original signatories of the declaration; the Big Four were listed first:

*  United States
*  United Kingdom
*  Soviet Union
*  China
*  Australia
*  Belgium
*  Canada
*  Costa Rica
*  Cuba
*  Czechoslovakia
*  Dominican Republic
*  El Salvador
*  Greece
*  Guatemala
*  Haiti
*  Honduras
*  India
*  Luxembourg
*  Netherlands
*  New Zealand
*  Nicaragua
*  Norway
*  Panama
*  Poland
*  South Africa
*  Yugoslavia

## Major Allied Powers 
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## Other Allied Powers 
*  Albania
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## Client and occupied states 
### British 
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### Soviet sphere 
*  Bulgaria
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## Co-belligerent states 
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## 1942-1945 
Advances in Eastern Europe and North Africa in late 1942 changed the course of the war and continued on other fronts until the war ended. (there were also slow advances in the pacific)

The allies invaded italy in 1943, after driving the axis out of Africa. And so Italy changed sides on 8 September 1943. and with German forces staying, a civil war began.

The Soviet Red Army continued advances against the axis, ending the siege of Leningrad, liberating Crimea, and invading Romania. On June 22 1944, operation Bargration was launched advancing to the Hungarian border and to Warsaw.

Meanwhile in Western Europe, D-Day was launched on June 6 1944 and the allies started advancing rapidly in august.

Romania changed sides in August after the Soviets were advancing. Bulgaria changed sides in September with the Soviets invading. Finland also changed sides in September.

The allies had advances in the Pacific. In the Solomon Islands, in Burma, and other Pacific islands.

On May 7 1945, Germany surrendered after 5 years and 8 months of fighting. In the Pacific, the allied liberated Burma and advanced in China, the Philippines, and Borneo. Atomic bombs were dropped on Japan and around the same time, the Soviets invaded Manchuria (a Japanese puppet state) and Japan surrendered on September 2 1945, ending World War II.

## United Nations 
The United Nations was formed on 24 October 1945, with France, China, The United Kingdom, The United States, and The USSR as the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (which met for the first time on 17 January 1946).

### Members 
These are the original 51 signatories (UNSC permanent members are asterisked):

*  Argentine Republic
*  Commonwealth of Australia
*  Kingdom of Belgium
*  Republic of Bolivia
*  United States of Brazil
*  Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
*  Dominion of Canada
*  Republic of Chile
*  Republic of China*
*  Republic of Colombia
*  Republic of Costa Rica
*  Republic of Cuba
*  Czechoslovak Republic
*  Kingdom of Denmark
*  Dominican Republic
*  Republic of Ecuador
*  Kingdom of Egypt
*  Republic of El Salvador
*  Ethiopian Empire
*  French Republic*
*  Kingdom of Greece
*  Republic of Guatemala
*  Republic of Haiti
*  Republic of Honduras
*  British Raj
*  Imperial State of Iran
*  Kingdom of Iraq
*  Lebanese Republic
*  Republic of Liberia
*  Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
*  United Mexican States
*  Kingdom of the Netherlands
*  Dominion of New Zealand
*  Republic of Nicaragua
*  Kingdom of Norway
*  Republic of Panama
*  Republic of Paraguay
*  Republic of Peru
*  Commonwealth of the Philippines
*  Republic of Poland
*  Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
*  Union of South Africa
*  Syrian Republic
*  Republic of Turkey
*  Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
*  Union of Soviet Socialist Republics*
*  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland*
*  United States of America*
*  Oriental Republic of Uruguay
*  United States of Venezuela
*  Democratic Federal Yugoslavia

## Summary table
### The Big Four
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### Allied combatants with governments-in-exile
*  Free France
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*  Czechoslovakia
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*  Luxembourg
*  Netherlands
*  Norway
*  Greece
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*  Ethiopia
*  Philippines

### Other Allied combatant states
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*  Nigeria
*  Malta
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*  Costa Rica
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*  Oman
*  French Indochina
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### Former Axis powers
*  (from January 1943)
*  (from September 1943)
*  (from August 1944)
*  (from September 1944)
*  (from September 1944)
*  (, 1945)

## Cold War 
Despite the successful creation of the United Nations, the alliance of the Soviet Union with the United States and with the United Kingdom ultimately broke down and evolved into the Cold War, which took place over the following half-century.

## Timeline of allied nations entering the war 
The following list denotes dates on which states declared war on the Axis powers, or on which an Axis power declared war on them. The Indian Empire had a status less independent than the Dominions.

### 1939 
*  (September 1 1939)
*  (September 3 1939)
*  (September 3 1939)
** 
*  (September 3 1939)
*  (September 3 1939)
*  (September 4 1939)
*  (September 6 1939)
*  (September 10 1939)
*  Oman (September 10 1939)

### 1940 
*  (April 8 1940)
*  (April 9 1940)
*  (May 10 1940)
*  (May 10 1940)
*  (May 10 1940)
*  (October 28 1940)

### 1941 
*  (April 6 1941)
*  (June 22 1941)
*  (December 7 1941)
*  (December 8 1941)
** 
*  (December 8 1941)
*  (December 8 1941)
*  (December 8 1941)
*  (December 8 1941)
*  (December 8 1941)
*  (December 8 1941)
*  China (December 9 1941)
*  (December 9 1941)
*  (December 9 1941)
Provisional governments or governments-in exile that declared war against the Axis in 1941

*   Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (December 10 1941)
*  Czechoslovakia (government-in-exile) (December 16 1941)

### 1942 
*  (May 22 1942)
*  (August 22 1942)
*  ( December 14 1942)

### 1943 
*  (January 16 1943) - former axis power
*  (April 7 1943)
*  (July 26 1943)
*  (September 9 1943)
*  (October 10 1943) - former axis power

### 1944 
*  (January 27 1944)
*  (August 25 1944) - former axis power
*  (September 9 1944) - former axis power
*  (December 30 1944) - former axis power

### 1945 
*  (February 2 1945)
*  (February 7 1945)
*  (February 12 1945)
*  (February 15 1945)
*  (February 15 1945)
*  (February 23 1945)
*  (February 24 1945)
*  (February 26 1945)
*  (February 27 1945)
*  (March 1 1945)
*  (March 3 1945) - former ally of Germany in the Continuation War. Finland retroactively declared war on Germany from 15 September 1944.
*  (March 27 1945)
*  (April 11 1945)
*  (August 10 1945)

## References