World War II

Introduction

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched an attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, killing well over 2,000 Americans and causing great damage to many of the ships anchored there, including the sinking of the battleship USS Arizona.

World War II (September 1, 1939-September 2, 1945) was the largest, most destructive, and most widespread war in history. During the conflict, more than 50 million people died and hundreds of millions were wounded, physically and psychologically. The war, fought on land, sea, and air, was the epic struggle of the twentieth century and was central to the whole century. It was caused in large part by the unresolved issues of World War I (1914-1918), and its aftermath became the Cold War (1945-1991). -- Salem on History: World War II