Editing Axis powers (section)

== Anti-Comintern Pact signatories ==
Some countries signed the Anti-Comintern Pact but not the Tripartite Pact. As such their adherence to the Axis may have been less than that of Tripartite Pact signatories. Some of these states were officially at war with members of the Allied powers, others remained neutral in the war and sent only volunteers. Signing the Anti-Comintern Pact was seen as "a [[Litmus test (politics)|litmus test]] of loyalty" by the Nazi leadership.<ref name="Goda1">{{cite journal|last1=Goda|first1=Norman J. W.|date=2015|title=The diplomacy of the Axis, 1940–1945.|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-the-second-world-war/diplomacy-of-the-axis-19401945/393C46700DD97A5A369609202C1A7572|journal=The Cambridge History of the Second World War|pages=276–300|doi=10.1017/CHO9781139524377.015|isbn=9781139524377|access-date=25 October 2020|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

===China (Reorganized National Government of China)===
{{Main|Wang Jingwei regime}}
During the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]], Japan advanced from its bases in Manchuria to occupy much of East and Central China. Several Japanese puppet states were organized in areas occupied by the [[Imperial Japanese Armed Forces]], including the [[Provisional Government of the Republic of China (1937–1940)|Provisional Government of the Republic of China]] at [[Beijing]], which was formed in 1937, and the [[Reformed Government of the Republic of China]] at Nanjing, which was formed in 1938. These governments were merged into the [[Reorganized National Government of China]] at Nanjing on 29 March 1940. [[Wang Jingwei]] became head of state. The government was to be run along the same lines as the Nationalist regime and adopted its symbols.

The Nanjing Government had no real power; its main role was to act as a propaganda tool for the Japanese. The Nanjing Government concluded agreements with Japan and Manchukuo, authorising Japanese occupation of China and recognising the independence of Manchukuo under Japanese protection. The Nanjing Government signed the Anti-Comintern Pact of 1941 and declared war on the United States and the United Kingdom on 9 January 1943.

The government had a strained relationship with the Japanese from the beginning. Wang's insistence on his regime being the true Nationalist government of China and in replicating all the symbols of the [[Kuomintang]] led to frequent conflicts with the Japanese, the most prominent being the issue of the regime's flag, which was identical to that of the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]].

The worsening situation for Japan from 1943 onwards meant that the Nanjing Army was given a more substantial role in the defence of occupied China than the Japanese had initially envisaged. The army was almost continuously employed against the communist [[New Fourth Army]]. Wang Jingwei died on 10 November 1944, and was succeeded by his deputy, [[Chen Gongbo]]. Chen had little influence; the real power behind the regime was [[Zhou Fohai]], the mayor of Shanghai. Wang's death dispelled what little legitimacy the regime had. On 9 September 1945, following the defeat of Japan, the area was surrendered to General [[He Yingqin]], a nationalist general loyal to [[Chiang Kai-shek]]. Chen Gongbo was tried and executed in 1946.

===Denmark===
{{Main|Denmark in World War II}}
[[File:Frikorps danmarks afrejse til oestfronten hellerup station 1941 (1).jpg|thumb|Members of [[Free Corps Denmark]] leaving for the Eastern Front from [[Hellerup railway station]] in Copenhagen (1941).]]
Denmark was occupied by Germany after April 1940 and never joined the Axis. On 31 May 1939, Denmark and Germany signed a treaty of non-aggression, which did not contain any military obligations for either party.<ref>[http://www.navalhistory.dk/Danish/Historien/1939_1945/IkkeAngrebsPagt.htm "Den Dansk-Tyske Ikke-Angrebstraktat af 1939"]. Flådens Historie. {{in lang|da}}</ref> On April 9, Germany [[Operation Weserübung|attacked Scandinavia]], and the speed of the [[German invasion of Denmark (1940)|German invasion of Denmark]] prevented King [[Christian X of Denmark|Christian X]] and the Danish government from going into exile. They had to accept "protection by the Reich" and the stationing of German forces in exchange for nominal independence. Denmark coordinated its foreign policy with Germany, extending diplomatic recognition to Axis collaborator and puppet regimes, and breaking diplomatic relations with the Allied governments-in-exile. Denmark broke diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and signed the Anti-Comintern Pact in 1941.<ref name="Trommer">{{cite web| first=Trommer |last= Aage | title='Denmark'. The Occupation 1940–45 | publisher=[[Foreign Ministry of Denmark]] | url=http://www.um.dk/Publikationer/UM/English/Denmark/kap6/6-15.asp| access-date=2006-09-20 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060618002436/http://www.um.dk/Publikationer/UM/English/Denmark/kap6/6-15.asp |archive-date = 2006-06-18}}</ref> However the United States and Britain ignored Denmark and worked with [[Henrik Kauffmann]] Denmark's ambassador in the US when it came to dealings about using [[Iceland in World War II|Iceland]], [[Greenland in World War II|Greenland]], and the Danish merchant fleet against Germany.<ref>William L. Langer and S. Everett Gleason, ''The Undeclared War, 1940–1941'' (1953), pp. 172–173, 424–431, 575–578</ref>{{sfn|Petrow|1974|p=165}}

In 1941 Danish Nazis set up the ''[[Frikorps Danmark]]''. Thousands of volunteers fought and many died as part of the German Army on the Eastern Front. Denmark sold agricultural and industrial products to Germany and made loans for armaments and fortifications. The German presence in Denmark included the construction of part of the [[Atlantic Wall]] fortifications which Denmark paid for and was never reimbursed.

The Danish protectorate government lasted until 29 August 1943, when the cabinet resigned after the [[Danish Folketing election, 1943|regularly scheduled and largely free election]] concluding the [[Folketing]]'s current term. The Germans imposed [[martial law]] following [[Operation Safari]], and Danish collaboration continued on an administrative level, with the Danish bureaucracy functioning under German command. The [[Royal Danish Navy]] scuttled 32 of its larger ships; Germany seized 64 ships and later raised and refitted 15 of the sunken vessels.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005449 |title=Jasenovac |date=11 July 2003 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030711191159/http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005449 |archive-date=11 July 2003 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.navalhistory.dk/danish/Historien/1939_1945/dk_efter29august.htm |title=Flåden efter 29 August 1943 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070816205702/http://navalhistory.dk/Danish/Historien/1939_1945/dk_efter29august.htm |archive-date=16 August 2007 }}</ref> 13 warships escaped to Sweden and formed a Danish naval flotilla in exile. Sweden allowed formation of a [[Danish Brigade in Sweden|Danish military brigade in exile]]; it did not see combat.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.danforce.dk/article/articleview/2/1/1 |title=Den Danske Brigade "DANFORCE" Sverige 1943–45 |date=12 August 2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020812000535/http://www.danforce.dk/article/articleview/2/1/1 |archive-date=12 August 2002 }}</ref> The [[Danish resistance movement]] was active in sabotage and issuing underground newspapers and blacklists of collaborators.{{sfn|Petrow|1974|pp=185–195}}

===Finland===
{{Main|Finland in World War II}}
[[File:Axis attaches at the Finnish front2.jpg|thumb|The visit of German, Italian, Japanese, Hungarian and Romanian military delegates in the [[Uhtua]] sector of the front on 5 April 1943]]
Although Finland never signed the Tripartite Pact, it fought against the Soviet Union alongside Germany in the 1941–44 [[Continuation War]], during which the official position of the wartime Finnish government was that Finland was a co-belligerent of the Germans whom they described as "brothers-in-arms".{{sfn|Kirby|1979|p=134}} Finland did sign the revived Anti-Comintern Pact of November 1941.<ref>Kent Forster, "Finland's Foreign Policy 1940–1941: An Ongoing Historiographic Controversy," ''Scandinavian Studies'' (1979) 51#2 pp. 109–123</ref> Finland signed a [[Paris Peace Treaties, 1947|peace treaty]] with the Allied powers in 1947 which described Finland as having been "an ally of Hitlerite Germany" during the continuation war.<ref>{{cite web |title=Treaty of Peace With Finland |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435066406612&view=1up&seq=229&q1=Finland |access-date=23 October 2020 |page=229 |year=1947}}</ref> As such, Finland was the only democracy to join the Axis.<ref name="Wagner et al. p. 39">{{cite book |last1=Wagner |first1=Margaret E. |last2=Osbourne |first2=Linda Barrett |last3=Reyburn |first3=Susan |title=The Library of Congress World War II companion |date=2007 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=9780743252195 |page=39 |url=https://archive.org/details/libraryofcongres0000wagn/page/38/mode/2up?q=Finland |access-date=29 April 2021}}</ref><ref name="Jukes & O'Neill">{{cite book |last1=Jukes |first1=Geoffrey |last2=O'Neill |first2=Robert |title=World War II: The Eastern Front 1941–1945 |year=2010 |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |isbn=978-1435891340 |page=52 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ALd6AcDEuBEC&q=%22Axis+Finland%22&pg=PA52 |access-date=7 February 2021}}</ref> Finland's relative independence from Germany put it in the most advantageous position of all the minor Axis powers.<ref name="DiNardo1">{{cite book |last1=DiNardo |first1=R.L. |title=Germany and the Axis Powers from Coalition to Collapse |year=2005 |publisher=University Press of Kansas |isbn=9780700614127 |page=95 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZypnAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Minor%20Axis%20countries%22 |access-date=9 February 2021}}</ref> Finland was unusual in the Axis in its relative lack of participation in [[the Holocaust]], and its lack of a fascist regime.{{sfn|Piehler|Grant|2023|pp=109–110}}

Whilst Finland's relationship with Nazi Germany during the Continuation War remains controversial within Finland,<ref name="Tallgren1">{{cite journal |last1=Tallgren |first1=Immi |title=Martyrs and Scapegoats of the Nation? The Finnish War-Responsibility Trial, 1945–1946 |journal=Historical Origins of International Criminal Law |year=2014 |volume=2 |issue=21 |page=512 |url=https://www.legal-tools.org/doc/50a462/pdf/ |access-date=25 October 2020}}</ref> in a 2008 {{lang|fi|[[Helsingin Sanomat]]}} survey of 28 Finnish historians, 16 agreed that Finland had been an ally of Nazi Germany, with only 6 disagreeing.<ref name="Mäkinen1">{{cite news |last1=Mäkinen |first1=Esa |title=Historian professorit hautaavat pitkät kiistat |url=https://www.hs.fi/kulttuuri/art-2000004606365.html |access-date=7 February 2021 |work=Helsingin Sanomat |date=19 October 2008}}</ref>

The August 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union contained a secret protocol dividing much of eastern Europe and assigning Finland to the Soviet sphere of influence.{{sfn|Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact|1939}}{{sfn|Kirby|1979|p=120}} After unsuccessfully attempting to force territorial and other concessions on the Finns, the Soviet Union invaded Finland in November 1939, launching the [[Winter War]], intending to [[Finnish Democratic Republic|establish a communist puppet government]] in Finland.{{sfn|Kirby|1979|pp=120–121}}{{sfn|Kennedy-Pipe|1995|p={{page needed|date=March 2012}}}} The conflict threatened [[Swedish iron-ore industry during World War II|Germany's iron-ore supplies]] and offered the prospect of Allied interference in the region.{{sfn|Kirby|1979|p=123}} Despite Finnish resistance, a peace treaty was signed in March 1940, wherein Finland ceded some key territory to the Soviet Union, including the [[Karelian Isthmus]], containing Finland's second-largest city, [[Viipuri]], and the critical defensive structure of the [[Mannerheim Line]]. After this war, Finland sought protection and support from the United Kingdom{{sfn|Seppinen|1983|p={{page needed|date=March 2012}}}}<ref name="FOFinland">British Foreign Office Archive, 371/24809/461–556.</ref> and non-aligned Sweden,{{sfn|Jokipii|1987|p={{page needed|date=March 2012}}}} but was thwarted by Soviet and German actions. This resulted in Finland being drawn closer to Germany, first with the intent of enlisting German support as a counterweight to thwart continuing Soviet pressure, and later to help regain lost territories.

In the opening days of Operation Barbarossa, Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, Finland permitted German planes returning from mine dropping runs over [[Kronstadt]] and [[Neva River]] to refuel at Finnish airfields before returning to bases in [[East Prussia]]. In retaliation, the Soviet Union launched a major air offensive against [[Finnish Air Force]] bases and towns, which resulted in a Finnish declaration of war against the Soviet Union on 25 June 1941. The Finnish conflict with the Soviet Union is generally referred to as the [[Continuation War]].

[[File:Hitler Mannerheim 2.jpg|upright|thumb| [[Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim|Mannerheim]] with Hitler]]
Finland's main objective was to regain territory lost to the Soviet Union in the Winter War. However, on 10 July 1941, Field Marshal [[Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim]] issued an [[Order of the Day]] that contained a formulation understood internationally as a Finnish territorial interest in Russian [[Karelia]].

Diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Finland were severed on 1 August 1941, after the British [[Royal Air Force]] bombed German forces in the Finnish village and port of [[Pechenga (urban-type settlement), Murmansk Oblast|Petsamo]]. The United Kingdom repeatedly called on Finland to cease its offensive against the Soviet Union, and declared war on Finland on 6 December 1941, although no other military operations followed. War was never declared between Finland and the United States, though relations were severed between the two countries in 1944 as a result of the [[Ryti-Ribbentrop Agreement]].
[[File:Tali-Ihantala.jpg|left|thumb|Finnish troops passing by the remains of a destroyed Soviet T-34 at the [[battle of Tali-Ihantala]]]]
Finland maintained command of [[Finnish Defence Forces|its armed forces]] and pursued war objectives independently of Germany. Germans and Finns did work closely together during [[Operation Silver Fox]], a joint offensive against Murmansk. Finland took part in the [[Siege of Leningrad]]. Finland was one of Germany's most important allies in its war with the USSR.<ref name="Goda1" />

The relationship between Finland and Germany was also affected by the [[Ryti-Ribbentrop Agreement]], which was presented as a German condition for help with munitions and air support, as the [[Fourth strategic offensive|Soviet offensive coordinated with D-Day]] threatened Finland with complete occupation. The agreement, signed by President [[Risto Ryti]] but never ratified by the Finnish Parliament, bound Finland not to seek a separate peace.

After Soviet offensives were fought to a standstill, Ryti's successor as president, Marshal [[Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim]], dismissed the agreement and opened secret negotiations with the Soviets, which resulted in a ceasefire on 4 September and the [[Moscow Armistice]] on 19 September 1944. Under the terms of the armistice, Finland was obliged to expel German troops from Finnish territory, which resulted in the [[Lapland War]].

===Manchuria (Manchukuo)===
{{Main|Manchukuo}}
[[File:Military exercise of Manchukuo Imperial Army.JPG|thumb|Manchurian soldiers training in a military exercise]]
[[File:Manchukuo Air Force.JPG|thumb|Manchurian pilots of the Manchukuo Air Force]]

Manchukuo, in the [[Northeast China|northeast region of China]], had been a Japanese puppet state in [[Manchuria]] since the 1930s. It was nominally ruled by [[Puyi]], the last [[Emperor of China|Chinese Emperor]] of the [[Qing Dynasty]], but was in fact controlled by the Japanese military, in particular the [[Kwantung Army]]. While Manchukuo ostensibly was a state for ethnic [[Manchu people|Manchus]], the region had a [[Han Chinese]] majority.

Following the [[Mukden Incident|Japanese invasion of Manchuria]] in 1931, the independence of Manchukuo was proclaimed on 18 February 1932, with Puyi as head of state. He was proclaimed the Emperor of Manchukuo a year later. The new Manchu nation was recognized by 23 of the [[League of Nations]]' 80 members. Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union were among the major powers who recognised Manchukuo. Other countries who recognized the State were the [[Dominican Republic]], [[Costa Rica]], and [[El Salvador]]. Manchukuo was also recognised by the other Japanese allies and puppet states, including Mengjiang, the Burmese government of [[Ba Maw]], [[Thailand]], the Wang Jingwei regime, and the Indian government of [[Subhas Chandra Bose]]. The League of Nations later declared in 1934 that Manchuria lawfully remained a part of China. This precipitated Japanese withdrawal from the League. The Manchukuoan state ceased to exist after the [[Soviet invasion of Manchuria]] in 1945.

Manchukuo signed the Anti-Comintern Pact in 1939, but never signed the Tripartite Pact.

===Spain===
{{Main|Spain during World War II}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-L15327, Spanien, Heinrich Himmler bei Franco.jpg|thumb|Front row in order from left to right: [[Karl Wolff]], [[Heinrich Himmler]], [[Francisco Franco]] and Spain's Foreign Minister [[Ramón Serrano Súñer|Serrano Súñer]] in Madrid, October 1940]]
[[File:Franco-Mussolini-Serrano-1941.jpg|thumb|[[Francisco Franco]] (centre) and Serrano Súñer (left) meeting with Mussolini (right) in [[Bordighera]], Italy in 1941. At Bordighera, Franco and Mussolini discussed the creation of a Latin Bloc.<ref name="John Lukacs"/>]]

[[Francisco Franco|''Caudillo'' Francisco Franco's]] [[Spain under Franco|Spanish State]] gave moral, economic, and military assistance to the Axis powers, while nominally maintaining neutrality. Franco described Spain as a member of the Axis and signed the [[Anti-Comintern Pact]] in 1941 with Hitler and Mussolini. Members of the ruling [[Falange Española y de las JONS|Falange]] party in Spain held irredentist designs on [[Gibraltar]].{{sfn|Wylie|2002|p=275}} Falangists also supported Spanish colonial acquisition of the [[Tangier International Zone]], [[French Morocco]] and northwestern [[French Algeria]].{{sfn|Rohr|2007|p=99}} In addition, Spain held ambitions on former [[Spanish America|Spanish colonies in Latin America]].{{sfn|Bowen|2000|p=59}} In June 1940 the Spanish government approached Germany to propose an alliance in exchange for Germany recognizing Spain's territorial aims: the annexation of the [[Oran Province]] of [[Algeria]], the incorporation of all [[Morocco]], the extension of [[Spanish Sahara]] southward to the twentieth parallel, and the incorporation of [[French Cameroons]] into [[Spanish Guinea]].{{sfn|Payne|1987|p=269}} Spain invaded and occupied the Tangier International Zone, maintaining its occupation until 1945.{{sfn|Payne|1987|p=269}} The occupation caused a dispute between Britain and Spain in November 1940; Spain conceded to protect British rights in the area and promised not to fortify the area.{{sfn|Payne|1987|p=269}} The Spanish government secretly held expansionist plans towards Portugal that it made known to the German government. In a communiqué with Germany on 26 May 1942, Franco declared that Portugal should be annexed into Spain.{{sfn|Preston|1994|p=857}}

Franco had previously won the [[Spanish Civil War]] with the help of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Both were eager to establish another fascist state in Europe. Spain owed Germany over $212&nbsp;million<ref>{{cite book|last1=Reginbogin|first1=Herbert|title=Faces of Neutrality: A Comparative Analysis of the Neutrality of Switzerland and other Neutral Nations during WW II|year=2009|publisher=LIT Verlag|page=120|edition=First}}</ref> for supplies of [[matériel]] during the Spanish Civil War, and Italian [[Corpo Truppe Volontarie]] combat troops had actually fought in Spain on the side of Franco's Nationalists.

When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, Franco immediately offered to form a unit of military volunteers to join the invasion. This was accepted by Hitler and, within two weeks, there were more than enough volunteers to form a division – the [[Blue Division]] (''División Azul'') under General [[Agustín Muñoz Grandes]].

The possibility of Spanish intervention in World War II was of concern to the United States, which investigated the activities of Spain's ruling [[Falange Espanola Tradicionalista y de las JONS]] in [[Latin America]], especially [[Puerto Rico]], where pro-Falange and pro-Franco sentiment was high, even amongst the ruling upper classes.{{sfn|Leonard|Bratzel|2007|p=96}} The Falangists promoted the idea of supporting Spain's former colonies in fighting against American domination.{{sfn|Bowen|2000|p=59}} Prior to the outbreak of war, support for Franco and the Falange was high in the Philippines.{{sfn|Steinberg|2000|p=122}} The [[Falange Exterior]], the international department of the Falange, collaborated with Japanese forces against the [[United States Armed Forces]] and the [[Philippine Commonwealth Army]] in the [[Philippines]] through the [[Philippine Falange]].{{sfn|Payne|1999|p=538}}