Most Powerful Countries of World War II
This list is based on both axis and allied forces. Please add more if I missed something.
Germany was formally united in 1871 under the initiative of Bismarck with King Wilhelm of Prussia as emperor. The previous 'Holy Roman Empire', basically a continuation of the empire of Charlemagne/Karl der Grosse was dissolved in 1806.Some territory was lost after World War 1 and a lot more after World War 2, basically started by Hitler's Nazi dictatorship. Then the Soviets kept their zone - the 'DDR', East Germany, separate with a wall through the middle of Berlin, until 1990 when the country was reunited. ...read more.
The Germans made the first operational jet, largest European battleship ever, first ballistic missile, first radio controlled bomb, the Gustav and Dora gun, etc. The Germans were only defeated because of their terrible allies, the fact that they were basically against the world, and because Hitler made poor military and social mistakes including the holocaust which wasted manpower and money. When it comes down to it Germany had better technology and training and the allies only had sheer number. The Germans took out the 5th largest military in 20 days (Poland) and killed well over triple their casualties. The Tiger tank took out 5 Sherman tanks for every Tiger. They probably had the top 3 tanks in the war. That is why I voted Germany for the top WWII country.
Germany had the best tanks at the time by far. The tiger program was so powerful that everyone fears them and it was a good idea too to build them. Their airplanes were also really good too and they were the first ones to develop a jet aircraft. Their ground troops were the best too well because they took a drug which makes them act like superman and if they did not take the drug they would not win the war at all. There are 2 problems with the German army one they needed oil for their machines and the navy too it was not the best at all they rely on the U-boats which hunt in wolf packs.
Nazi Germany had been preparing for WW2 for a while, and once they started it they absolutely crushed multiple countries. If it wasn't for logistics and USA getting involved, Germany would've conquered all of Europe. German Army best of WW2.
Although the biggest economy of the world at this point would probably go to america the Nazi german regime was clearly the strongest. The most militarised of the allied nation in France was obliterated with ease and the soviet union basically through their entire population at the german war machine. It is obvious to say that had the Germans not invaded the soviet union they would have won but a less likely thought is that had it not been for the resources and supplies that the soviets were given then the soviets would have crumbled completely. If germany had been less arrogant and invaded moscow with more troops then they would have won. THANK GOD THEY DIDN'T.
Rankings for most powerful countries in 1943.
1.Nazi Germany
2.British Empire
3.America
4.Soviet Union
5.Japan (4 and 5 are pretty interchangeable)
6.Italy
The United States of America, or the U.S.A. for short, is a federal republic composed of 50 states, 48 of them are contiguous states. There are two other states, Alaska and Hawaii, which are north and south of the contiguous states, respectively. The United States declared its independence from the British Empire in 1776 with the Declaration of Independence. They won their independence in 1783 with the Treaty of Paris. Its capital, Washington D.C. (District of Columbia) is defined by imposing neoclassical monuments and buildings including the iconic ones that house the federal government's 3 branches: the Capitol, White House and Supreme Court. Though it has no official language, English and ...read more. USA simply had the largest production capacity of any warring country at the time. It was fighting on both sides of the world while still supplying it's allies. USA produced as many war products as the rest of the world COMBINED. Simply put, the US could build things faster then others could break them. Also bear in mind that everything the US built had to be shipped across the Atlantic meaning that it had to be able to be transported economically. A super heavy tank wouldn't have been feasible not because they lacked the technology to build one but rather lacked a way to get it there efficiently.
Although the German Reich invented the first operational jet, defeated most countries it was up against, they're problem was OIL. The U.S was the number 1 producer of oil. Since the Germans decided to fight the war of attrition, they were doomed. Germany could not win World War 2. As for the Soviets in the east, in 1941, the Soviets were disorganized and had terrible leadership after the Great Purge in the 30s. They particularly favored strength in quantity, other than quality. If the U.S were to execute 'Operation Unthinkable,' the Soviets would certainly push the Allied powers to the Rhine, and possibly to the English Channel, the United States had the resources, the manpower, the industry, quality in equipment, and the allies. The U.S would ultimately dominate the entire scene in World War 2.
Russia was incredibly disorganized, outgunned, and didn't have enough supplies to make any major push through Germany. The main reason they won the war in the North is because the Nazis had to allocate a lot of manpower to Paris, and to prepare a front by the British and Americans in Normandy. Russia also had to fight on two fronts, mainly against the Japanese and the Nazis. America fought on two fronts, while still supplying London, the majority of the Allies, and with two of their best commanders fighting in the Philippines, where the majority of Japanese assets were located. Once the Allies broke through Normandy's defenses, and made their march through Europe, the Nazis scrambled and tried to form a second defensive position just before Berlin. They pulled assets from the Northern fronts of Russia where both sides have suffered heavy losses, which allowed the Russians to finally force the Nazis to retreat. The Nazis were soon defeated, allowing Russia to attack Japan with America ...more
The US, regardless of actual military skills, had the size and scale to win over any country in the world. Her economy and most importantly oil production was leagues above any other belligerents. If she was willing, she could stand up as a third faction in the war and still manage to come out on top (assuming London and Berlin didn't corporate against America in this case). One thing that I noted was that America had just been recovering from the Great Depression, yet still managed to build a giant defence industry for herself while still supporting the British Empire and the Soviet Union
The soviet union did most of the heavy lifting against the Nazis in WW2, there is no arguing this. They moved much of their production further east as the Nazis invaded so that they could continue to produce weapons of war to fight the Germans. They produced 84000 T34s to fight the Nazis. The Americans only produced 50000 Sherman's by comparison. The USSR also suffered the highest military and civilian casualties of the war with over 20 million killed.
The Soviet Union and China did all of the heavy lifting during WW2, and I'm sorry but that's just true. 70% of all Japanese casualties were caused by the Chinese, and 7 out of every 11 German soldiers that died were killed by the Soviets. And Germany was not going to win when if they captured Moscow, Stalin would not let them take Moscow. The production capabilities and the sheer manpower of the USSR was enough to beat the Germans. And the reason they were not going to surrender if Moscow was taken is that Stalin was going to put every single person in the USSR between him and the Germans, and the Germans were not going to win WW2 even from the start. Hitler was experiencing manpower shortages as early as 1942 or 1943, this mainly being caused by the eastern front. So I guess I'm just gonna put my list here.
1. Soviet Union
2. United States
3. United Kingdom
4. Nazi Empire
5. Japan
Honorable Mentions: Canada, France, China, Italy, and the rest of the dominions of ...more
Soviet Union's only advantage was having a HUGE army and resources at their disposal, also Red Army troops weren't really well equipped but they were very tough solders because of their backgrounds and living conditions.
They did most of the work against Nazi Germany. They were the ones who drove the Germans out of Eastern Europe, and their assistance was also pivotal in the USA's effort in taking down Japan. I think the USA just likes to take all the credit in defeating the Axis because of the Cold War, which I don't think is right. I once saw a video where they interviewed a group of Americans about WWII and almost no one knew about the Soviet war effort, and I cringed so hard. And I'm saying this as an American.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly shortened to United Kingdom, UK or Britain is a Sovereign State located of the Northwestern coast of Europe. It is a Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy currently lead by Monarch Queen Elizabeth II and its current prime minister is Boris Johnson. The UK is a Unitary State consisting of Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is currently a member state of the European Union, but as of 2016 has start the withdrawal process, and is set to leave the Union in October 2019. ...read more. The US did not win the war for us, despite popular propaganda, most historians that aren't tainted by patriotism will tell you the US profited of war-bonds, while their impact is far from small it holds nothing against the 4 years of young British blood spilled fighting the Germans. We were by far the prominent force with Russia wimping out and France getting their ass kicked. The war was set to be won it was clear the population of Germany was beginning to revolt against Adolf Hitler, the US just allowed Veterans of the UK army to be moved to the front line allowing the war to be quickly finished in under half a year after that.
The United Kingdom fought the Axis in all over the world, taken part and contributed significantly in both European and Pacific theatre. Additionally they were the ones who stood up against Germany from the beginning until the end for 6 years, even at the face of the threat of loss, and even risked her Empire in the process, all while facing the Blitz by Germany. Add into that the fact that their military during the war performed quite well.
The UK had a huge empire at their disposal too and was one of the more advanced nations, but Nazi Germany and or even Japanese Empire could've occupied it, Nazi Germany was very close to until the U.S. got involved.
He means 4 physical years, 1939, 1940, 1941 and 1942 as america didn't really do much in 42 because they were mobilizing.
Britain fought bravely and for the most part kept control of the sees other than small areas in the atlantic.
They also won the battle of britain and were the only democratic resistance in europe left after france fell.
Japan is an island country in East Asia in the Pacific Ocean. It lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland (east of China, Korea, Russia) and stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and near Taiwan in the southwest.Japan has a huge capital city called Tokyo, other cities in Japan include Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Osaka, Nagoya and Sendai. It's close to South Korea, which is on the North West of it. It has a large population of 126.86 million people (Statistics Bureau of Japan. Retrieved April 27, 2016). ...read more.
Japanese nationalism was very strong, as well as their fighting spirit. Japanese military wasn't on par with Nazi Germany's or the USA's but they were still more advanced and bigger than most militaries.
So japan it took the USA out for 2 and a half years before the USA was in full power. Japan had the best navy at the time and a very powerful army on land too. The two reasons why japan lost was the war (reason 1 of midway because that took 4 out of 8 of their aircraft carriers and their highly train crews were not replaceable at all). Reason 2 Is the USA use The nuclear bomb little man and big boy on japan which was not far at all.
Japan was one of the superpowers during the war, it had a very good fighting force even though lacking in numbers, they had very good training and discipline. They went through China very fast with a lot less troops. Their airforce was ok but not that good. But what makes them so powerful is their navy. Their navy helped them take over much of south east Asia and was incredibly powerful with very well made ships such as the Yamato.
The Japanese had 3 million men against the Chinese and the Chinese had over 20 million. Took over Burma, Indonesia, New guinea, Most of the Pacific, most of the Chinese coast, threatened Australia, and even took some of Alaska! However, the naval fleet was no match for them Americans. Not to mention the Nukes that ended their fighting chances.
Canada is a country in North America that is next to the United States, and it's the 2nd largest country in the world by area (size is 9.985 million km²). This country has 10 provinces, and 3 territories. Canada became a dominion on July 1, 1867. Its 10 provinces are: Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. Its 3 territories are: Yukon, Northwest territories, and Nunavut. Toronto, Quebec City, Montreal, Vancouver, Winnipeg, St. John's, and Fredericton are major cities in the country. Canada's capital city, Ottawa, is in the southeastern province of Ontario, near the city of Montreal ...read more. Canada had the 4th largest navy and 3 largest airforce, it was the most mechanized force in the world. They protected the atlantic without US help for a big part of the war, their fighter protected Great-Britain and their troops invaded one of the 5 beach of normandy, invaded Italy, liberated Belgium and the netherlands.
Canada ended the war as the 4th largest in the world.
Canada's good in military they have the best snipers in the world
They are good
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Sea of Crete and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin, featuring thousands of islands. The country consists of nine traditional geographic regions, and has a population of approximately 10.7 million. Athens is the nation's capital and largest ...read more. They fought to defend their country from invaders (Axis). They might be lost when Germany helped Italy to took Greece, But they fought like a hero.
Greece... hmmm... ah yes. Greece held out. They demolished the italians until Germany came along, but still they were good. As a person above me or below me said, "Greeks don't fight like heroes, heroes fight like Greeks"
Greece fought off italy until Germany happened.
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country (with over 1.2 billion people), and the most populous democracy in the world. Its capital is New Delhi. Some other major cities are Mumbai, Chennai, and Ahemdabad. The most spoken languages are Hindi and English, but there are 22 official Indian languages. Actually India should be at number 4 because 80% of British troops were actually Indians. Indians also had unique tactics and tremendous strength. Had it not been for India, Britain might have lost the south Asian front
India was very powerful country even before and after of the invasion of Britain. All of the funding of WW2 was coming from only India. Indians were a huge part in British Army.
India had a huge population even today plus india was supported by the british.
Love you india...proud to be indian
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe, bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine and Belarus to the east; and the Baltic Sea, Kaliningrad Oblast (a Russian exclave) and Lithuania to the north. With a population of approximately 38.5 million people, Poland is the sixth most populous member state of the European Union. Poland's capital and largest metropolis is Warsaw. Other major cities include Kraków, Łódź, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Szczecin. It is currently led by President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. ...read more. Poland's military was decent before the war and when Germany's invasion started, the Polish military were able to mobilize thousands of troops quickly, Poles fought hard but they did not stand a chance against the superior German technology and then a invasion by the Soviets.
Notable for their refusal to roll over and die, they always fought the occupation, not the most powerful, but one of the most determined.
Poland held off invaders for hundreds of years until the Germans took them out them in 20 days.
I like Poland. It has a solid Army when comes to war. They have good troops and the forces
Italy, (Italian: Repubblica Italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe.Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2. With almost 62 million inhabitants, it is the 3rd most populous EU member state. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino and Vatican City. The Capital and largest city is Rome. Other major cities are Milano, Naples, Turino, Venice, Florence. Italy's official language is Italian. ...read more.
Weakest major participant of WW2. Germany did all the fighting for them. Couldn't even take on the lone British alone. Even Greece was beating them by themselves until the Germans came to help Italy. The only country Italy took by itself was Albania, which virtually had No military, same with Ethiopia at the time.
Great Bully in African countries, Weak in defending themselves neither invading others.
Very weak but had cool ships and planes.
Very underrated army
China, officially the People's Republic of China, is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of more than 1.4 billion. China spans five geographical time zones and borders 14 countries, the second most of any country in the world after Russia. Covering an area of approximately 9.6 million square kilometers (3,700,000 sq mi), it is the world's third or fourth largest country. The country consists of 23 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities, and two Special Administrative Regions (Hong Kong and Macau). The national capital is Beijing, and the most populous city and financial center is Shanghai. Chinese (Mandarin) is the only official ...read more. Nationalist China was very big in both land size and army size. Their downside was all the warlords they had to fight and a civil war with Commie Chinese then a Japanese invasion.
During the battle with Japanese dickheads China had pinned 90% Japanese infantry, 50% airforce and 20% Japanese navy with most of them being captured or eliminated! Despite a colossal number of casualties of 20 million composing of mostly civilians and soldiers, the most populated country has never given up on fighting against Japanese. With large disparity between the production levels and quality of the weapons, on average, the death of 3 Chinese soldiers could exchange one death of Japanese solider, massive respect
It was still the real China, the republic of China by that time. So the flag is wrong. The ROC National revolution army at that time uses German military equipments, its ranking should be much higher. At least higher than Japan.
Notable for their losses... of 20 million men. They also kinda halted the Japanese advance in China.
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in southwestern Europe with parts of territory in the Atlantic Ocean and across the Mediterranean Sea. The largest part of Spain is situated on the Iberian Peninsula; its territory also includes the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, and several minor overseas territories also scattered along the Moroccan coast of the Alboran Sea. The country's mainland is bordered to the south by Gibraltar; to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea; to the north by France, Andorra and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. Franco is considered Spain's best leader. He had almost all of Spain's support he also had German and italian support but even without these powers he still had the power and support to unite Spain.
Powerful enough to mind their own country (civil war) during the bloodiest war happeninged around them.
Vatican City, officially Vatican City State or the State of Vatican City, is a walled enclave within the city of Rome. It is the smallest nation on Earth, and is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. The Pope is the leader of Catholics today he controls 1.2 billion people he could annex italy in days or weeks he also controls part of every countries military including the USA and most people are loyal to The Pope.
Vatican City, officially Vatican City State or the State of Vatican City, is a walled enclave within the city of Rome. And they never got annexed by Italy.
They had 1 billion manpower and wiped out Italy in an hour. They conquered earth after the invasion of Italy.
They destroyed italy
Ethiopia, officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a sovereign state located in the Horn of Africa. This country was only african country that successfully resisted colonial domination and maintained her independence. The battle of Adwa speak it all.
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At 8.5 million square kilometers (3,300,000 sq mi) and with over 214 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area and the sixth most populous. Its capital is Brasília, and its most populous city is São Paulo. The federation is composed of the union of the 26 states and the Federal District. It is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language and the only one in the Americas; it is also one of the most multicultural and ethnically diverse nations, due to over a century of mass immigration from around the world; as well as the most populous ...read more. Brazil is powerful in only one way it's population but this country could have built a powerful extremly huge army in days.
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of 7,617,930 square kilometres (2,941,300 sq mi), Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country. Australia is the oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils. It is a megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, with deserts in the centre, tropical rainforests in the north-east, and mountain ranges in the south-east. They did their best
My favorite animal
They are some of the only ones are able to stop the Japanese from invading their mainland
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It is situated in the western Pacific Ocean and consists of around 7,641 islands that are broadly categorized under three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The Philippines is bounded by the South China Sea to the west, the Philippine Sea to the east, and the Celebes Sea to the southwest. It shares maritime borders with Taiwan to the north, Japan to the northeast, Palau to the east and southeast, Indonesia to the south, Malaysia to the southwest, Vietnam to the west, and China to the northwest. The Philippines covers an area of 300,000 km2 (120,000 ...read more. I love my country.. Nationalism is in my heart and mind.
He defeat america
The Philippines is actually considered strong, as their Nationalism is very strong
Philippines will better again because of our new president Bong Bong Marcos
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,100 nautical miles northeast of New Zealand's North Island. If Fiji really had these many missles my mind would be blown as of today Fiji doesn't even have a offical military.
Nae nae'd Japan and then went on to fight a duel front war between the US and the USSR. They won of course
Fiji was able to destroy the Japanese at the Battle of Midway and destroyed japan with 2 nukes
France, officially the French Republic, is a sovereign state comprising territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European part of France, called metropolitan France, extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. France spans 675,000 km2 (251,000 mi2) and has a total population of 67 million (data from 2017). ...read more. France had a strong military and lots of resources at their disposal because of their empire, but because of poor leadership they were defeated easily.
France lost against the Germans so it wasn't tru- SIKE! they knew a surrender would come predicted by De Gaullie and took over a Vichy French colony helped with the invasion of Iraq and Syria (Free France) and the French Resistance exploded in 1944 fought in Operation Dragoon took Southern Germany, helped in D-day (Resistance) and occupied paris by itself and helped with germany but not No.1 but No.5 at least in my opinion
France was more powerful than Nazi Germany, they only lost due to incompetence in their leadership.
France was able to stand up to a combined Nazi Germany and Italy for almost a week.
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of 30,689 km2 (11,849 sq mi) and ...read more.
Russia, or the Russian Federation (RF), is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world by area, covering over 17,125,191 square kilometres (6,612,073 sq mi), and encompassing one-eighth of Earth's inhabitable landmass. Russia extends across eleven time zones and borders sixteen sovereign nations, the most of any country in the world. It is the ninth-most populous country and the most populous country in Europe, with a population of 145.5 million. The country's capital and largest city is Moscow, the largest city entirely within Europe. Saint Petersburg is Russia's cultural centre and second-largest city. Other major urban areas ...read more. Should be higher. Germany invaded Russia, but then Russia got it's land back!
No need to explain
A now-defunct country in Southeastern and Central Europe, Yugoslavia was established in 1918 and dissolved in 1992. Composed of several ethnic groups, the country faced significant political and social challenges, culminating in its breakup into several independent states. The capital was Belgrade, and the official language was Serbo-Croatian. Yugoslavia military was good but political instability was their downfall.
It was one of the strongest country in Europe. Remove kebab.
Romania is a sovereign state located in Southeastern Europe It borders the Black Sea, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, and Moldova. It has an area of 238,391 square kilometres and a temperate-continental climate. With over 19 million inhabitants, the country is the seventh-most-populous member state of the European Union. Its capital and largest city, Bucharest, is the sixth-largest city in the EU, with 1,883,425 inhabitants as of 2011. Romania derives from the Latin romanus, meaning "citizen of Rome". The first known use of the appellation was attested in the 16th century by Italian humanists travelling in Transylvania, Moldavia, and Wallachia Romania shortened the war with 6 months by switching the sides. That prevented Hitler from finishing the nuclear bomb.
San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino, is an enclaved microstate surrounded by Italy, situated on the Italian Peninsula on the northeastern side of the Apennine Mountains. San Marino covers a land area of just over 61 km2 (24 sq mi), and has a population of 33,562 The country's capital city, City of San Marino, is located atop Mount Titan, while its largest settlement is Dogana. San Marino's official language is Italian. ...read more. They did nothing.
Malta, officially known as the Republic of Malta, is a Southern European island country consisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea.