In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance. When spelt with a capital A, Allies usually denotes the countries that fought together against the Central Powers in World War I and against the Axis powers in World War II.

Table of contents
1 World War I
1.1 WW1 Major Allies
1.2 WW1 Minor Allies
2 World War II
2.3 WW2 Major Allies
2.4 WW2 Minor Allies
2.5 WW2 Non-fighting ("moral support") Allies


World War I

Major Allies
France
United Kingdom
Russia (until 1917)
United States (from April 6, 1917)

(US President Woodrow Wilson and his administration was however keen not to define USA as an allied. America entered the war as an "associated power" rather than as an ally of France and Britain, and maintained that distance through the war and the Paris Peace Conference, 1919.)

Minor Allies
Australia
Belgium
Canada
Japan
Greece
Italy (from May 23, 1915)
Montenegro
Newfoundland
New Zealand
Romania
Serbia
South Africa

World War II
After Nazi-Germany in March 1939 had occupied the remains of Czechoslovakia, the British ambassador was recalled from Berlin and Neville Chamberlain declared that if Hitler attacked Poland, considered next in turn for an assault by the Third Reich, then the UK and France would give Poland "all support in their power", a promise soon also given to Greece and Romania after Italy's conquest of Albania on April 7, 1939.
A formal military alliance was concluded between the UK, France and Poland on April 6th, 1939, whereafter also the Soviet Union initiated alliance negotiations, although unsuccessfully. The Soviet Union would instead agree with Nazi-Germany in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939.

The dates given below are for entry into the war.


Major Allies
(later: permanent members of the UN Security Council)
China
France (3 September 1939) - then (after 1940) Free France
United Kingdom (3 September 1939)
Soviet Union (from 22 June 1941)
United States (from 7 December 1941)
Minor Allies
Australia
Belgium (invaded May 10, 1940)
Brazil
Canada (10 September 1939)
Greece (invaded October 28, 1940)
Holland (invaded May 10, 1940)
Luxembourg
New Zealand
Norway (invaded April 9, 1940)
Poland (invaded 1 September 1939)
South Africa
Yugoslavia

British, Dutch and French colonies fought alongside their parent countries. Most countries occupied by Nazi Germany continued to fight as governments in exile.

Non-fighting ("moral support") Allies
The regions of South America and Latin America

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