Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declare war on Germany after the Nazi invasion of Poland.
Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declare war on Germany after the Nazi invasion of Poland. These four nations formed the original wartime Allies but Poland was beyond their help. The declarations officially globalised the deadliest war in history. By its conclusion in 1945, the conflict had directly involved over 30 countries and resulted in the estimated deaths of 50-85 million people. The fatalities were caused by a grim combination of battles, massacres, strategic bombings, disease, starvation and-most chillingly-the genocide of the Holocaust and the only use of nuclear weapons in war. The war formed the world we live in today and serves as the starkest warning from history of the inhumane depths that humanity is capable of. Nevertheless, the war also produced countless heroic participants who fought against the evil times that they lived in. The free world owes a great debt to those who perished and survived in that pursuit. For their sake, and the war's innoc...