World War II

World War II, or abbreviated as WWII, was an international human conflict that occurred on Earth between 1939 and 1945.

History
World War II was the largest conflict in human history at the time. It was fought between the Axis powers and the Allies. The war started in 1939 when Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany, invaded Poland. Britain and France had allying pacts with Poland, and both nations declared war on Nazi Germany. However, in 1940, Axis forces quickly routed the Allies. The British expeditionary force and the French army retreated to a small pocket around Calais and Dunkirk and were evacuated by the Royal Navy.

In 1941 German forces invaded the Soviet Union and began an offensive toward Moscow. The Red Army was forced back into Russia, suffering heavy casualties and by the winter of 1941 the Germans had accomplished most of their goals. However the Werhmacht advance was stopped when they failed to capture Stalingrad in late 1942. The next major Wehrmacht attack, the battle of Kursk in 1943, also failed and Germany would be on the defense for the rest of the war.

Meanwhile on December 7, 1941 a Japanese carrier task force began a huge aerial assault on the US naval base of Pearl Harbor. They seriously damaged the US Navy and caused the USA to enter the war. At the same time Japan began attacking Allied colonies in Asia.

In 1942 the American and British armies pushed the German Afrika Corps out of North Africa and into Italy. Italy was invaded in 1943 and fighting would last until 1945. In 1944 Allied troops landed on five separate beaches and paratroopers dropped into three separate landing zones in Normandy. The Germans were forced back and by early 1945 the Allies had invaded Germany from the east and west.

In the Pacific American forces had successfully captured many Japanese territories. The British had also began a large offensive in Burma, and were pushing the Japanese back into China.

In April 1945, after beating back the German forces through occupied Soviet territory and Eastern Europe, the Red Army surrounded the German capital of Berlin. Hitler committed suicide and on May 8 Germany unconditionally surrendered.

In the Pacific, the Americans had managed to take control of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The Japanese Navy, now reduced to a tiny force, were launching kamikaze suicide aircraft at the US invasion fleet.

US generals knew that an invasion of Japan would be costly. The planned invasion would land millions of Allied troops onto the Japanese islands. The atomic bombs negated the need for the plan. On August 6th the city of Hiroshima was bombed and three days Nagasaki was as well. Several days later the Japanese formally surrendered aboard the battleship, USS Missouri.

The war formally ended on September 2nd, 1945.

The United Nations
As a result of the Allied victory (the United States of America, Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and others) over the Axis Nations (Nazi Germany, Italy, Japan and others), the United Nations Charter was signed on June 26, 1945, marking the replacement of the defunct League of Nations and the creation of the United Nations. The United Nations Organization was formed with a goal of international peacekeeping by means of collective security.

Miscellaneous

 * By the 26th century, several types of ammunition used during World War II are still in use. These include 7.62mm, or .30 caliber, ammunition used in a number of weapons, the 12.7x99mm ammunition used by the M41 LAAG, the 14.5x114mm caliber rounds used in the SRS99 series of sniper rifles, and the 90mm shells used by the M808B Main Battle Tank.
 * The paratroopers dropped behind enemy lines on D-Day and during Operation Market Garden may have inspired the UNSC's ODSTs, although the concept had to be rethought for Zero-G.
 * The term "frag" when used to describe a human fragmentation grenade originated in this frame of time.
 * Colonel Herzog apparently researched World War II extensively.
 * The war has been analyzed in comparison to the Human-Covenant War.
 * The translated name of a Forerunner defensive installation mentioned in the terminals was Maginot Line. The name is a reference to the Maginot Line, the French defensive fortifications along the Franco-German border stretching from the Ardennes to the Franco-Swiss border before the war.
 * John Forge's family has had a military tradition dating back to this time.

Behind the scenes

 * It may be possible that the concept for the Brute Spike Grenade was inspired by a German hand grenade known as the "the Potato Masher" or more specifically the Model 24 Stielhandgranate.

List of appearances

 * Halo: The Fall of Reach
 * Halo Graphic Novel
 * i love bees
 * Halo Legends
 * Origins
 * Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary