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
Black Hawk War warriors completely routed the much larger militia force. Twelve Illinois militiamen were killed in the humiliating defeat; the British Band suffered only three fatalities. The Battle of Stillman's run was a turning point. Prior to this battle, Black Hawk had not been committed to war. Now he determined to avenge what he saw as the treacherous killing of his warriors under a flag of truce. After Stillman's defeat, American leaders like President Jackson and Secretary of War Lewis Cass would not consider a diplomatic solution; they wanted a resounding victory over Black Hawk to serve as an example to other