VamPyroX said:
What makes this called "World War III"? If you look at history, the whole world wasn't at war during World War I or World War II. Yet, they labeled them that way.
The biggest part of the world was at war during WWII.
Formal Participants in World War II
Axis Powers (signers of the Tripartite Treaty)
Germany
Italy
Japan
Co-signatories of the Tripartite Treaty
Hungary (November 20th, 1940)
Romania (November 23rd, 1940)
Slovakia(1) (November 24th, 1940)
Bulgaria (March 1st, 1941)
Yugoslavia (March 25th, 1941)(3)
Countries that were annexed by, or at war with, Axis Powers before World War II
Austria (annexed by Germany, "Anschluss", March 13th, 1938)
Czechoslovakia (Sudetenland annexed by Germany, October 10th, 1938)
Ethiopia (annexed by Italy in 1936, after the Abyssinia crisis, independence restored in 1941)
Republic of China (at war with Japan since 1931)
Allied Powers/Allied Forces
Australia
Brazil (from August 1942)
Canada
France (4) and her colonies(5)
New Zealand
Poland
South Africa
Soviet Union (from June 1941)
United Kingdom and the British Empire.
United States (from December 1941)
Countries that were attacked, occupied, or switched sides during the war
(Most countries below had declared their neutrality before being assaulted. Note that countries already listed above are not listed here)
Albania (occupied by Italy April 7th 1939, by Germany September 26th 1943)
Belgium (invaded by Germany May 10th 1940)
Czechoslovakia(1) (Bohemia and Moravia occupied by Germany March 15th 1939)
Denmark (occupied by Germany April 9th 1940. Greenland stayed officially under Danish souvereignity, but was under American protection since April 9th 1941. The small Greenland Army was created to repel German invaders early 1943.)
Estonia (annexed by the Soviet Union June 18th 1940, occupied by Germany September 5th 1941, re-annexed by the Soviet Union in 1944)
Finland (attacked by the Soviet Union November 30th 1939 and June 26th 1941)
Greece (invaded by Italy October 28th 1940, German occupation from April 6th 1941)
Iceland (occupied by Britain May 10th 1940, by USA from July 1941)
Iran (occupied by Britain and the Soviet Union, August 1941 to May 1946)
Iraq (started with pro-Nazi PM, refusing military transit or base (treaty) rights to Britain, invaded by Britain 1941 to 1958)
Latvia (annexed by the Soviet Union June 18th 1940, occupied by Germany June 25th 1941, re-annexed by the Soviet Union in 1944)
Lithuania (annexed by the Soviet Union June 18th 1940, occupied by Germany June 22nd 1941, re-annexed by the Soviet Union in 1944)
Luxembourg (invaded by Germany May 10th 1940)
The Netherlands (invaded by Germany May 10th 1940)
New Guinea (occupied by Japan, September 1942-August 1945)
Norway (invaded by Germany April 9th 1940)
Philippines (occupied by Japan, December 1941-June 1945)
Syria (occupied by Free French and British, June 1940-April 1946)
Thailand (Occupied by Japan, declared war on the United States and United Kingdom on January 25, 1942)
Tunisia (Used by Italian and German troops to attack Egypt. Later occupied by Allied forces)
Supporters of the Allies
Argentina
Bolivia
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt(2)
El Salvador
Guatemala
Haiti
Honduras
Lebanon
Liberia
Mexico(6)
Mongolia
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Saudi Arabia
Turkey
Venezuela
Countries that remained nominally neutral
Andorra
Ireland
Liechtenstein
Portugal
Spain
Sweden (with exception for the Winter War)
Switzerland
Uruguay
Vatican City
Notes:
Slovakia proclaimed independence of Czechoslovakia on March 14th, 1939.
Nazi German influence and Wehrmacht presence was considerable until the
German occupation in September 1944. The rest of Czechoslovakia, the
provinces Bohemia and Moravia, were occupied by Germany March 15th 1939,
and proclaimed German protectorates. Czech nationals fought extensively on
the Allied side.
Egypt was technically neutral, but Cairo soon became a major military base
for the British forces. This was because of a 1936 treaty which gave Britain
the right to station troops on Egyptian soil in order to protect the Suez
Canal.
Yugoslavia began the war as a neutral but Yugoslavia's Regent signed the
Tripartite Treaty on March 25th, 1941, and met an anti-Nazi coup d'鴡t when
he returned on March 27th. This led to German occupation from April 6th
1941.
France surrendered to Germany on June 22nd 1940, and the Vichy
government was installed, which cooperated with the Germans. However,
substantial French forces escaped the German advance or switched sides
and continued to fight on the Allied side as Free French.
French colonies initially fought alongside their parent country. When France
surrendered most recognized the Vichy government.
A relatively unknown footnote to WW2. The Mexican Republic declared war
on the axis powers after the oil tanker "Portero de Llano" was destroyed by
German submarines. Mexico's 201st Expeditionary air force (under US
command) participated in the bombing of Japanese targets in the Philippines
and served as translators between US forces and Spanish-speaking Filipinos.