World War II (The Three-Way War)

World War II (WWII or WW2), also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1949, though related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming three opposing military alliances: the Allies, the Anti-Comintern Powers and the Communist Bloc. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 200 million people from over 30 countries. In a state of "total war", the major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust (in which approximately 11 million people were killed) and the strategic bombing of industrial and population centres (in which approximately five million were killed, and which included the atomic bombings of several cities across the world, it resulted in an estimated 100 million to 120 million fatalities. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history.