There were several nations that were attacked or that experienced aggression from the Axis Powers before and during World War II. In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria. Japan also invaded China in 1937. Germany invaded Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938 and 1939. Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935 and Albania in 1939. These acts of aggression occurred before World War II started.

The Axis Powers continued to attack more nations. Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain were some European countries attacked by the Axis Powers. Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt were some countries in North Africa that were invaded by the Axis Powers. In Asia and the Pacific, some of the places the Axis Powers attacked included Burma, French Indo-China, Siam, the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies, New Guinea, and Hawaii. The attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into the war.

The Axis Powers attempted to impose their will throughout the world before and during World War II.