Start Date of World War 2?

Answer 1

The 'critical mass' where the major powers were delcaring war against each other is generally agreed to be Sept. 1, 1939. Some claim the regional conflicts in the Far East or the 'poor' ending to WWI as the start dates.

At any given time in the world, there are 40 +/- conflicts and regional wars going on in the world, but the 'world war' status is only given with the 'critical mass' of nations/super powers/continents/oceans are involved....until then, just think regional wars, proxy wars and conflicts between rump states.

Answer 2

There isn't one universally recognized date. The USSR and the US generally view 'their' war as having started when they were attacked (June 22, 1941 and Dec. 7, 1941 respectively). Some want to look 'back' to Japanese involvement in Manchuria. Still others view WWII as being a 'continuation' of WWI with a 20 year (or so) 'armistice' in the middle. However, the most generally recognized 'date' is the beginning of Sept. 1939. The Germans attacked Poland on Sept. 1, while France and Britain didn't actually declare war until Sept. 3. So even if one agrees on 'Sept. 1939', there's still the matter of a couple days one way or the other.

Answer 3

Depending on how you look at it ... some people could say WW2 was really the result of WW1 not being settled correctly ... so to pick a "Start Date" is kind of subjective.

However, as to when everyone started declaring war on each other. Sept '39

Answer 4

the war went thru a few phases before it really got going,there was the Spanish Civil war where they tested their weapons in a battlefield,the takeover of the Sudatenland,the invasion of Poland and it really got going with the entry of the USA in Dec '41

Answer 5

The Second Sino-Japanese War started July 7th, 1937 which was the beginning of World War Two in Asia, WWII started in Europe on September 1st, 1939 when germany invaded poland.

Answer 6

September 1939, is generally the accepted date for the commencement of hostilities. However, the Wehrmacht had already annexed and invaded other states prior to this.

Answer 7

September 1, 1939, when Hitler invaded Poland, though U.S. involvement in the war began following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941.

I don't think Mukden really qualifies as anything but one of a series of scattered preludes to the War. It was only between Japan and China and well before either Hitler's rise to power or the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis. It was a connecting event, like the Spanish Civil War, but hardly qualifies as an early episode of World War II.

Why do so many folks on here cite Wikipedia anyway? It's hardly ever a reliable source.

Answer 8

There isn't one. "World War 2" is an umbrella term for a series of conflicts which eventually involved most of the world.

Many historians cite the Mukden Incident as the first event in the conflicts that eventually come under the umbrella term. It occured 18 Sept 1931.

Answer 9

WWII officially began when the Germans invaded and bombed Poland on September 1, 1939. U.S. involvement in WWII began after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Answer 10

1939