With reference to the Rise of Dictatorships and the Second World War, answer the following:
Name the two rival blocs that fought against each other during World War II and state its signatory countries.
Topic: The rival blocs of the Second World War
Answer
(1) THE AXIS POWERS — Germany, Italy and Japan. Their alliance was formalised by the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis and the Tripartite Pact of 1940; Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria later joined them.
(2) THE ALLIED POWERS — Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, the United States of America and China, together with the Commonwealth countries. (France fell in 1940; the USSR joined after Germany invaded it in June 1941, and the USA after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in December 1941.)
Four marks: two for naming the blocs and two for their members. The three Axis powers must be exact — Germany, Italy, Japan — and the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis is the phrase to use. For the Allies, noting WHEN the USSR and the USA entered shows real command of the war: neither was in it at the start, and both were brought in by attacks upon them. Note also that Italy had been on the ALLIED side in the First World War — she changed camps between the wars.