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 second global military conflict in human history. The war started when Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany, invaded Poland. Britain and France were sworn to protect this country, and so war broke out. At this time, World War II wasn't a World War, merely a war in Europe. But Hitler had invaded many of the bordering countries beforehand such as Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Luxembourg.

Hitler and his Third Reich had efficiently recreated a new German "Reich" (empire). Soon, the Soviet Union, which had sided with Hitler before the war, tried to invade Finland. This war quickly became another World War. Soon, other nations began helping the Nazi War effort, including Italy and the Empire of Japan. However, other countries started to join the Allied war effort as well, with the Soviet Union and the United States entering the war in 1941.

The Allies won by the skin of their teeth, for if it wasn't for the overwhelming amount of soldiers with them, Germany and Italy would control Europe, Africa, and the Americas, while Japan would control Asia and Oceania. With the help of the two atomic bombs being dropped on Japan, nicknamed "Little Boy" and "Fat Man", the world was launched into the Atomic/Nuclear Age. Over seventy-two million people died on both sides in the six-year conflict, many being civilians from the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, and the Axis Powers.

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 were formed with a goal of international peacekeeping by means of collective security.

Types of ammunition still in use in the Human-Covenant War

 * .30 caliber (confetti maker)
 * 12.7x99mm (M41 LAAG)
 * 14.5x114mm (SRS99 series)
 * 90mm gun (M808B Scorpion)

Miscellaneous

 * The paratroopers dropped behind enemy lines on D-Day and during Operation Market Garden inspired the UNSC's ODSTs, although the concept had to be rethought for Zero-G.
 * 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 "Stielhandgranate".

References in Halo

 * Colonel Herzog apparently researched World War II extensively.
 * The war has been analyzed in comparison to the Human-Covenant War.
 * The Maginot Sphere mentioned by the Forerunner in the Terminals is inspired by 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.

Related Pages

 * United Nations
 * UN Charter