Allies of World War II

This article is about the independent states that comprised the Allies. For information about other countries that took part in World War II, see Participants in World War II.

A representation of the changes in territory controlled by Allies and Axis powers over the course of the war. Allied-controlled areas are shown in blue and red and the Axis in black. Click on the map for more information.

The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers during the Second World War. Within the ranks of the Allied powers, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom were known as "The Big Three." U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt referred to the Big Three and China as the "Four Policemen". France, before its defeat in 1940 and after its liberation in 1944, was also considered a major Ally.

During December 1941, Roosevelt devised the name "United Nations" for the Allies, and the Declaration by United Nations, on 1 January 1942, was the basis of the modern UN.^[1] At the Potsdam Conference of July-August 1945, Roosevelt's successor, Harry S. Truman, proposed that the foreign ministers of China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States "should draft the peace treaties and boundary settlements of Europe," which led to the creation of the Council of Foreign Ministers.^[2]