1941 also saw Japan invading much of Southeast Asia, which made Australia and New Zealand understandably nervous. As part of the British Commonwealth, they were already involved in the war, but now they could fight the Japanese closer to home. And shut up about how I never talk about you Australians, I just gave you 1.5 sentences. But by the time the Americans and Australians started fighting the Japanese, it was already a world war. Sometimes this meant fighting or starving or being bombed, other times it meant production for the war. You don't think of Argentina as being a World War II powerhouse, for instance, but they were vital to the Allies, supplying 40% of British meat during World War II. Thanks, Thought Bubble.