Map of participants in World War Two by Svenskbygderna – Wikipedia “World War” licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

(1) SECOND WORLD WAR

(1 SEPTEMBER 1939 – 2 SEPTEMBER 1945)

Well, obviously.

In any Top Ten Second World Wars list, the Second World War has to be the top entry – alternatively you can think of it as the baseline for all other entries or the surface of the Second World War continuity iceberg.

So I define that baseline according to the conventional historical frame and timeline of the Second World War – the war against Germany and its allies, subsequent to its invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, outlasting the surrender of Germany itself for a few months against Germany’s last ally standing, Japan, until the formal surrender of Japan on 2 September 1945.

Otherwise, the narrative of the Second World War is worthy of its own top ten – indeed several top tens – and is well known, even in popular culture and imagination, albeit often distorted or sensationalized. It featured almost every aspect of modern warfare, while remaining unique in others – not least being fought to a conclusive result and destruction of enemy states rarely paralleled in modern history.

RATING: 5 STARS*****

S-TIER (GOD TIER)