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The global war

The Second World War of 1939–45 involved almost every part of the world. What was the impact of the conflict in countries such as Japan, Canada, New Zealand, India, America and China?

The destroyer USS Shaw explodes in a massive fireball at Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941. The attack led almost immediately to Germany declaring war on America, and so brought Stalin an unexpected ally of colossal potential power, says Laurence Rees. (Bettmann/Getty Images)
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Soldiers standing on the western front during WW2
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Atomic bomb damage in the city of Hiroshima, 1945. The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 “razed and burnt around 70 per cent of all buildings”, according to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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Japanese troops celebrate the capture of a British artillery position, Hong Kong, December 1941 (Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)
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El Alamein battle in the Libyan desert, c1942. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)
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A member of a Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) patrol
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The USS Arizona burning in Pearl Harbor following the Japanese attack. To the left of her are USS Tennessee and the sunken USS West Virginia. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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