What is World War II?
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}} {{Infobox military conflict | conflict = World War&nbsp;II | image = Infobox collage for WWII.PNG | image_size = 300px | caption = (clockwise from top left){{flatlist| * Chinese forces in the [[Battle of Wanjialing]] * Australian [[25-pounder]] guns during the [[First Battle of El Alamein]] * German [[Junkers Ju 87|Stuka]] dive bombers on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]] in December 1943 * US naval force in the [[Invasion of Lingayen Gulf|Lingayen Gulf]] * [[Wilhelm Keitel]] signing the [[German Instrument of Surrender]] * Soviet troops in the [[Battle of Stalingrad]] }} | date = {{Unbulleted list|{{start and end dates|1939|9|1|1945|9|2}} |({{Age in years and days|1 September 1939|2 September 1945|sep=and}}){{efn| While various other dates have been proposed as the date on which World War II began or ended, this is the time span that is most frequently cited.}}}}{{efn| The war in China began on 7 July 1937, while the war in the Pacific began on 7 December 1941, with 1 September 1939 being the start of the war in Europe.}} | place = Major [[Theater (warfare)|theaters]]: {{flatlist| * [[European theatre of World War II|Europe]] * [[Pacific War|Pacific]] * [[Battle of the Atlantic|Atlantic]] * [[Indian Ocean in World War II|Indian Ocean]] * [[South-East Asian theatre of World War II|South-East Asia]] * [[Second Sino-Japanese War|China]] * [[Air raids on Japan|Japan]] * [[Middle East Theatre of World War II|Middle East]] * [[Mediterranean Theatre of World War II|Mediterranean]] * [[North African Campaign|North Africa]] * [[East African campaign (World War II)|Horn of Africa]] * [[Battle of Gabon|Central Africa]] * [[Attacks on Australia during World War II|Australia]] * [[Battle of the Caribbean|Caribbean]] * [[American Theater (World War II)|North and South America]] }} | result = {{Unbulleted list|[[Allies of World War II|Allied]] victory}} <!--This fixes label and data text alignment by locking it in place--> * Collapse of [[Nazi Ge