<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><ins class="ice-ins ice-cts-1" data-changedata="" data-cid="3" data-last-change-time="1524855199950" data-time="1524855199950" data-userid="162" data-username="Author"><mark class="mark" data-markjs="true"><mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">The</mark></mark> start <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">of</mark> <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true"><mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">the</mark></mark> war <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">in</mark> Europe is generally held <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">to</mark> be 1 September 1939,<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWeinberg20056_11-0"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWeinberg20056-11">[9]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-12"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II#cite_note-12">[10]</a></sup>&nbsp;beginning with <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true"><mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">the</mark></mark>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Poland" title="Invasion of Poland">German invasion <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">of</mark> Poland</a>; Britain <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">and</mark> France declared war on Germany two days later. <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true"><mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">The</mark></mark> dates <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">for</mark> <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true"><mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">the</mark></mark> beginning <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">of</mark> war <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">in</mark> <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true"><mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">the</mark></mark> Pacific include <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true"><mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">the</mark></mark> start <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">of</mark> <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true"><mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">the</mark></mark>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Sino-Japanese_War" title="Second Sino-Japanese War">Second Sino-Japanese War</a>&nbsp;on 7 July 1937,<sup id="cite_ref-13"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II#cite_note-13">[11]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEFörsterGessler200564_14-0"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II#cite_note-FOOTNOTEF%C3%B6rsterGessler200564-14">[12]</a></sup>&nbsp;or even <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true"><mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">the</mark></mark>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_invasion_of_Manchuria" title="">Japanese invasion <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">of</mark> Manchuria</a>&nbsp;on 19 September 1931.<sup id="cite_ref-15"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II#cite_note-15">[13]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-16"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II#cite_note-16">[14]</a></sup></ins></p>

<p><ins class="ice-ins ice-cts-1" data-changedata="" data-cid="3" data-last-change-time="1524855199950" data-time="1524855199950" data-userid="162" data-username="Author">Others follow <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true"><mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">the</mark></mark> British historian&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._J._P._Taylor" title="A. J. P. Taylor">A. J. P. Taylor</a>, who held that <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true"><mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">the</mark></mark> Sino-Japanese War <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">and</mark> war <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">in</mark> Europe <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">and</mark> its colonies occurred simultaneously <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">and</mark> <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true"><mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">the</mark></mark> two wars merged <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">in</mark> 1941. This article uses <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true"><mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">the</mark></mark> conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">for</mark> <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">World</mark> <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">War&nbsp;II</mark> include <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true"><mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">the</mark></mark>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Italo-Ethiopian_War" title="Second Italo-Ethiopian War">Italian invasion <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">of</mark> Abyssinia</a>&nbsp;on 3 October 1935.<sup id="cite_ref-17"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II#cite_note-17">[15]</a></sup>&nbsp;<mark class="mark" data-markjs="true"><mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">The</mark></mark> British historian&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antony_Beevor" title="Antony Beevor">Antony Beevor</a>&nbsp;views <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true"><mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">the</mark></mark> beginning <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">of</mark> <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">World</mark> <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">War II</mark> <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">as</mark> <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true"><mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">the</mark></mark>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_Khalkhin_Gol" title="Battles of Khalkhin Gol">Battles <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">of</mark> Khalkhin Gol</a>&nbsp;fought between&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan" title="Japan">Japan</a>&nbsp;<mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">and</mark> <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true"><mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">the</mark></mark> forces <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">of</mark>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolia" title="Mongolia">Mongolia</a>&nbsp;<mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">and</mark> <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true"><mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">the</mark></mark>&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union"><mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">Soviet</mark> <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">Union</mark></a>&nbsp;from May <mark class="mark" data-markjs="true">to</mark> September 1939</ins></p>

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