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.
After Nazi Germany had occupied the remains of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, the British ambassador was recalled from Berlin and Neville Chamberlain declared that if Hitler attacked Poland, considered next in turn for an assault by the Third Reich, then the UK and France would give Poland "all support in their power", a promise soon also given to Greece and the later Axis member Romania after Italy's conquest of Albania on April 7, 1939.
A formal military alliance was concluded between the UK, France and Poland on April 6, 1939, after which the Soviet Union initiated alliance negotiations, without success, as France and Britain were wary of its motives, including demands for Soviet bases in Poland. The USSR instead signed the German-Soviet non-aggression pact, on August 23, 1939, prior to the German invasion of Poland that began the Second World War. The Soviets invaded Poland three weeks later; they annexed the Baltic states, attacked Finland and invaded Romania the following year. Less then two years later the German-Soviet agreement came to an end by the German invasion of the USSR on June 22, 1941.
The United States of America joined the Allies following the attack on Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941. The Declaration by United Nations of January 1, 1942, officially united 26 of the Allied nations. (This Declaration later formed part of the basis for today's United Nations, formed in 1945.) The informal "Big 3" alliance of the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and the United States emerged in the latter half of the war, and their decisions determined Allied strategy around the world.
Original Allies
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.
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. The exception was Éire, which was both a Dominion and a member of the Commonwealth at the time.
- 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 was sometimes referred to as "a neutral ally". While theoretically a neutral country, pro-Allied and anti-Axis sentiment in the population enabled the government to covertly favor the Allies in matters including supplies, shipping, and use of ports and airfields. However, a few elements of the IRA actively supported Germany due to hostility towards Britain. Public opinion favoured the Allies. It is estimated that 70,000 people from Éire served in various Allied armed forces, whereas almost none served with Axis forces.
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, over which Denmark had exercised some political control, was occupied by the Allies in 1940 and declared full independence in 1944.
=== 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, initially participated in Czechoslovak seizure)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (from June 22, 1941)
- 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.
- 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
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.
===Tripartite Treaty of Alliance === 29 January 1942
=== Pan American Union === [5] (21 members)
(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.