Axis

The Axis powers were the countries that unified against the Allied coalition (which included Poland, Great Britain, France, and, later, the United States and the Soviet Union) in World War II (1939–45). Germany, Japan, and Italy were the founding powers of the Axis alliance. Later it included Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary, among others. Military planning was led by German dictator Adolf Hitler (1889–1945), Italian dictator Benito Mussolini (1883–1945), and Prime Minister Hideki Tojo (1884–1948) of Japan.

The Axis powers concentrated efforts to conquer territory in two parts of the world. Germany led efforts in Europe while Japan led efforts in the Pacific. This strategy forced the Allied troops to split their resources between two areas of the world. At the height of their expansion, the Axis powers dominated large parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Ocean. In the end, however, they were completely defeated by the Allies .

The Axis alliance began to evolve in 1936 when Italy and Germany signed a pact of friendship. The term axis stems from a statement Mussolini made at the time that all of Europe would revolve around the Rome-Berlin axis resulting from the friendship. The Tripartite Treaty that officially established the Axis powers as a military threat was signed by Germany, Italy, and Japan on September 27, 1940. The three countries wanted to build empires and establish a new world order. The treaty recognized a sphere of interest for each country and contained promises that they would help each other attain their economic, political, and military goals. Other countries later joined the Axis efforts.

The Axis powers were defeated in World War II. In a twist of politics, Italy's Mussolini was imprisoned, and Italy entered into a pact with the Allies in September 1943. Germany continued to fight intensively until it was pushed back across Europe. It surrendered unconditionally on May 7, 1945. The Allies, however, continued to fight in the Pacific arena against Japan until August 1945. Japan surrendered only after the United States dropped the atomic bomb on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.