World War II by country World War II by country Nearly every country and territory in the world participated in World War II, with the exception of only a few nations which remained neutral. The Second World War pitted two alliances against each other, the Axis powers and the Allied powers. The leading Axis powers were Nazi Germany, the Kingdom of Italy and the Empire of Japan; while the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union and China were the "Big Four" Allied powers. The countries involved in or affected by World War II are listed here alphabetically, with a description of their role
Allies of World War II first with operation "Weserübung" on 9 April 1940, resulting in the two-month-long Norwegian Campaign, which ended in a German victory and their war-long occupation of Norway. Units of the Norwegian Armed Forces evacuated from Norway or raised abroad continued participating in the war from exile. The Norwegian merchant fleet, then the fourth largest in the world, was organized into Nortraship to support the Allied cause. Nortraship was the world's largest shipping company, and at its height operated more than 1000 ships. Norway was neutral when Germany invaded, and it is not clear when Norway became an Allied country. Great Britain,