World War II marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war. Japan, which aimed to dominate Asia and the Pacific, was at war with China by 1937, though neither side had declared war on the other. World War II is generally said to have begun on 1 September 1939, with the invasion of Poland by Germany and subsequent declarations on Germany by France and the United Kingdom. From
Oh! What a Lovely War a self-contained dramatic entity." The film presently has a score of 77% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 13 reviews, with an average grade of 8.2 out of 10. It was the 16th most popular film at the UK box office in 1969. Oh! What a Lovely War Oh! What a Lovely War is a 1969 British comedy musical film directed by Richard Attenborough (in his directorial debut), with an ensemble cast including Maggie Smith, Dirk Bogarde, John Gielgud, John Mills, Kenneth More, Laurence Olivier, Jack Hawkins, Corin Redgrave, Michael Redgrave, Vanessa Redgrave, Ralph Richardson, Ian Holm, Paul Shelley, Malcolm McFee,