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Allies of World War II

Allies of World War II: Encyclopedia - Allies of World War II

The group of countries known as the Allies of World War II came together as World War II unfolded and progressed. Allies of World War II - Dates of joining the Allies. Allies of World War II - Formal alliances during the war. Allies of World War II - Original allies. French Third Republic Republic of Poland United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland These countries were allied to each other by a net of ...

Including:

Allies of World War II - Dates of joining the Allies

Allies of World War II - Formal alliances during the war

Allies of World War II - Original allies

Allies of World War II - The Commonwealth

Allies of World War II - The Oslo Group

Allies of World War II - Atlantic Charter

Allies of World War II - Comintern

Allies of World War II - Declaration by United Nations

Allies of World War II - Tripartite Treaty of Alliance

Allies of World War II - Pan American Union

Allies of World War II - External links

Allies of World War II: Encyclopedia - Allies of World War II

Allies of World War II

The group of countries known as the Allies of World War II came together as World War II unfolded and progressed.

Allies of World War II - Dates of joining the Allies

Allies of World War II - Formal alliances during the war

Allies of World War II - Original allies

French Third Republic
Republic of Poland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

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 original allies were the states that declared war on Nazi Germany in September of 1939, thus starting World War II.

Allies of World War II - The Commonwealth

In addition to Britain, several independent members of the Commonwealth of Nations, known as the Dominions, declared war on Germany separately, either on the same day, or soon afterwards.

Commonwealth of Australia (from September 3, 1939)
Dominion of New Zealand (from September 3, 1939)
Union of South Africa (from September 6, 1939)
Dominion of Canada (from September 10, 1939)

India and many other crown colonies were under direct rule by the United Kingdom, and were therefore considered to be at war from the same date as the UK.

Éire (later known as the Republic of Ireland), which was both a Dominion and a member of the Commonwealth at the time, was an exception, as it remained officially neutral throughout the war. However, pro-Allied and anti-Axis sentiment in the population enabled the government to covertly favor the Allies in some matters including supplies, shipping, and use of ports and airfields, though it denied the British use of ports that would have been helpful in the Battle of the Atlantic. It is estimated that 70,000 people from Ireland served in various Allied armed forces, whereas almost none served with Axis forces. As a result of anti-British sentiment, some members of Irish nationalist organisations actively supported Germany.

Allies of World War II - The 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 invaded by the USSR on November 30, 1939 [1]. Later Finland and the Kingdom of Denmark officially joined the Axis Anti-Comintern Pact. The Kingdom of Sweden remained officially neutral.

Iceland and Greenland, over which Denmark had exercised varying degrees of political control, were occupied by the Allies for most of the war. British forces took control in Iceland in 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 April 9, 1941. The US also took over in Iceland on July 7, 1941. Iceland declared full independence from Denmark in 1944.

Allies of World War II - Atlantic Charter

The Atlantic Conference: Resolution of September 24, 1941

The dates given below are for entry into the war.

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (from September 3, 1939)
United States of America (from December 8, 1941)
Kingdom of Belgium (invaded by Germany, May 10, 1940)
Czechoslovak Republic (seized by Germany, September 29, 1938 as part of the Munich Agreement)
Kingdom of Greece (invaded by Italy, October 28, 1940)
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (invaded by Germany, May 10, 1940)
Kingdom of the Netherlands (invaded by Germany, May 10, 1940)
Kingdom of Norway (invaded by Germany, April 9, 1940)
Republic of Poland (invaded by Germany September 1 and USSR September 17, 1939)
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (from June 22, 1941, but see also the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact)
Kingdom of Yugoslavia (invaded by Germany, Italy, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, April 6, 1941)
Free France (from Charles De Gaulle's the Appeal of June 18, 1940)

The Polish government in exile after 1939 continued the Polish contribution to World War II on several fronts with hundreds of thousand of members in the Polish Army in France and UK, as well as the Home Army in occupied Poland. The Soviet Union however, did not recognize the government and in 1943 organized the Polish People's Army under Rokossovsky, around which eventually it constructed the post-war successor state.

British, Dutch and French colonies fought alongside their metropolitan countries, and many continued their contribution also when the mother countries were occupied.

Allies of World War II - Comintern

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
International Brigades
Popular Front
Albanian National Liberation Army
Chinese People's Liberation Army
Moldova [2] & Bukovina
Communist Party of Yugoslavia
Greek National Liberation Front
Malayan Communist Party
Tudeh Party of Iran
Mongolian People's Republic
Polish People's Army
Viet Minh
People's Republic of Azerbaijan [3]
Kurdish People's Republic

Allies of World War II - Declaration by United Nations

Declaration by United Nations, January 1, 1942
(26 signatories)

United States of America
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Republic of China
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Commonwealth of Australia
Kingdom of Belgium
Canada
Republic of Costa Rica
Republic of Cuba
Czechoslovak Republic
Dominican Republic
Republic of El Salvador
Kingdom of Greece
Republic of Guatemala
La Republique d' Haiti
Republic of Honduras
India
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Dominion of New Zealand
Republic of Nicaragua
Kingdom of Norway
Republic of Panama
Republic of Poland
Union of South Africa
Kingdom of Yugoslavia

(Note: During 1942 the declaration was adhered to by Mexico, the Commonwealth of the Philippines, and Ethiopia; in the first four months of 1943, it was adhered to by Iraq, Brazil, and Bolivia.

Allies of World War II - Tripartite Treaty of Alliance

29 January 1942

United Kingdom
Soviet Union
Iran [4]

Allies of World War II - Pan American Union

[5] (21 members)

Havana Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the American Republics, July 21-30, 1940

(Final Act of the Second Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the American Republics at Habana, Cuba, July 30, 1940)

United States of America
Bolivia
Brazil (25 August 1942)
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Guatemala
Haiti
Honduras
Mexico (1 June 1942)
Nicaragua
Panama

From July 1944, a Brazilian Expeditionary Force of 25,000 personnel joined the Allies in the Italian campaign. The other countries in this group contributed support units, small combat forces, or to lesser degrees.