World War II

World War II (1939—1945) was the largest and deadliest armed conflict in history. The Allies (USSR, USA, Britain, China, France) faced the Axis (Germany, Japan, Italy). It destroyed the Nazi project, ended Japanese militarism, redrew borders, produced the Holocaust, and ushered the world into the nuclear age. Casualties reached 70—85 million people, more than half civilians. The victory of the USSR and the USA shaped the bipolar world order for the next half-century.