During World War II, Great Britain, France, the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R., known as the "Allies," fought against Germany, Italy, and Japan, which were called what?

The powerful military coalition of Germany, Italy, and Japan was formally known as the Axis powers. The name originated with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. In 1936, after Italy and Germany signed a treaty of friendship, Mussolini declared that their two nations had formed a "Rome-Berlin (Review) axis" around which the other countries of Europe would be forced to revolve. The term was intended to suggest that world power was shifting, with this new alliance at its center.

This partnership was solidified through a series of agreements. The initial understanding between Germany and Italy was formalized by the military "Pact of Steel" in 1939. The alliance expanded significantly in 1940 with the signing of the Tripartite Pact, which officially brought Imperial Japan into the fold. These three nations shared aggressive expansionist goals and a common opposition to the Allied powers, seeking to establish their own spheres of influence across Europe, Africa, and Asia and fundamentally reshape the global order.