History Main / AmericaWonWorldWarII

When this trope is in play the efforts and contributions of the other Allies are downplayed. Egregiously, the Soviet-German war is considered a ''sideshow'' - if it's even mentioned at all. Approximately [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_II)#Forces 80% of the deployable German Army]] was engaged against the Soviets on three/four Fronts in 1941-1942, dropping down to "merely" 60% in 1943-1945 when the partisan war (in the occupied USSR, Balkans, and elsewhere) intensified and Americans and Commonwealth forces opened up three new fronts in Italy, Western Europe, and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_of_the_Reich over Germany]], making the Eastern Front by far the largest land combat theater of the war. The Germans lost [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_casualties_in_World_War_II#Statistical_study_by_R.C3.BCdiger_Overmans about 75% of their total dead]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_casualties_in_World_War_II#OKW_War_Diary and wounded there]], with about 1 million dead in France+Italy+Benelux+West Germany vs 4 million dead in the USSR+Poland+Romania+East Germany (and a couple hundred thousand dead in every other area). On the other hand, prisoner numbers before the final collapse of German forces in April 1945 (before which the Germans were still resisting as hard as they could) and surrender upon the 7th of May were more balanced owing to the massive encirclements (most famously during Operation Overlord, but also at the Ruhr Pocket, in Operation Dragoon, and elsewhere) made by the Americans and Commonwealth forces in France, with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_prisoners_of_war_in_northwest_Europe the Western Allies taking 1.3 million]] soldiers prisoner in France/Benelux, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Campaign_(World_War_II) 0.85 million]] in Italy, and 0.15 million in North Africa (total 2.3 million troops) before April 1945 and the Soviets [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_prisoners_of_war_in_the_Soviet_Union#German_POWs_in_the_USSR only taking about 2 million]] in the East. Thus, the number of irrecoverable losses, not counting April/May surrenders, were 3.3 million against the American-led Western Allies (1 million killed, 2.3 million captured) and 5.9 million against the Soviets (4 million dead, 1.9 million captured). Thereafter the numbers were swelled by the last combat troops and the bulk of the Army logistics troops, policemen, paramilitaries, Volkssturm, Luftwaffe, and Kriegsmarine personnel (many of whom fled West) surrendering en masse in most of April, for final prisoner totals of 5.2 million versus 3.1 million before the formal surrender, and final irrecoverable losses of 6.2 million against the Western Allies (1 million killed, 5.2 million captured) and 7.1 million against the USSR [[AndZoidberg and Poland]] (4 million killed, 3.1 million captured). And while the Soviet Union caused the most casualties the main way did so by callously throwing their own soldiers lives away in human wave attacks to overrun German positions by sheer force of numbers alone. And the Soviet Union would often summarily execute German soldiers who surrendered, which led to the similar POW numbers.

Another point: As the MostTriumphantExample (so far) of modern, mechanized, industrialized warfare between peer powers, World War II was won and lost on the margins. The Americans, British, Chinese, French, and Russians may have collectively been the heavy lifters of the conflict, but ''every'' extra man, gun, vehicle, bullet, and bean mattered in the long run, even those from the so-called "lesser powers." A hundred infantrymen and a few extra crates of rations may not sound like a lot in the broader picture of a war where ''millions'' died, but on the operational scale, having those extra guns and calories in the right place at the right time could mean the difference between victory and defeat, and every little extra bit of pressure the Allies could put on the Axis made the war (and the suffering of millions under it) that much shorter.

The D-Day landings are another good example[[note]]Out of five divisions present, two were American, two British, and one Canadian[[/note]]. Many American-made productions will focus solely on Omaha Beach, the most heavily fortified of the five landing sites as well as the best-defended--both facts which Allied intelligence failed to realize prior to the operation. The carnage that ensued is a favourite among producers, since it emphasizes the sacrifice Americans made during the war--but doing so gives the impression that Omaha Beach was ''the'' decisive turning point that led to the Allied victory in Europe, rather than the dual blows by the their allies at Stalingrad and El Alamein a two years earlier.[[note]]Hardly anyone in the West knows about Operation Bagration, the Red Army's summer offensive in 1944 that was loosely timed to coincide with Allied landings in the West and their breakthrough in Italy. By the autumn of 1944, the Russians had completely annihilated a whole German Army corps and thrown the germans almost completely out of the USSR, and were well inside Poland, Romania and northern Yugoslavia.[[/note]] The focus on Omaha Beach is also partially because ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'' did it, [[FollowTheLeader other games/movies/TV shows want to replicate its success]], and because it's more exciting to show a strongly opposed landing than an unopposed one -- not that the other landings were exactly unopposed (for instance, Canadian troops landing at Juno Beach on that day faced opposition almost as formidable, with a ''full-blown tank battle'' raging right on the beach, but punched through quickly and made the best progress of any Allied force towards their objectives on that Longest Day in spite of it[[note]]Due to better small-unit communication and leadership, something the military training of smaller nation-states tends to emphasize given their lesser material resources. Not to mention that the Canadians accepted Britain's "Hobart's Funnies" line of specialized-function tanks to give the landing troops armor support.[[/note]]), but still.

Cases of this trope are not limited to the European Theater. Most films featuring the Pacific theater only focus on the naval and air battles fought by the U.S., appearing as though they were the sole force fighting in the Pacific. In reality Chinese, Soviet, Indian, British, and Australian forces played significant roles against overwhelming forces in atrocious conditions, and many other countries contributed as well. Indeed, the [[UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar brutally violent war in China]] is probably the most ignored battlefront of the war (except, of course, by Chinese media, which has its [[WrittenByTheWinners own problems]]). This neglect is strange given that it was the longest conflict (starting in 1937) of World War II and believed to be the second-bloodiest theater of war in human history after the Eastern European theater.

The D-Day landings are another good example. Many American-made productions will focus solely on Omaha Beach, the most heavily fortified of the five landing sites as well as the best-defended--both facts which Allied intelligence failed to realize prior to the operation. The carnage that ensued is a favourite among producers, since it emphasizes the sacrifice Americans made during the war--but doing so gives the impression that Omaha Beach was ''the'' decisive turning point that led to the Allied victory in Europe, rather than the dual blows by the Soviets at Stalingrad and Kursk a year earlier.[[note]]Hardly anyone in the West knows about Operation Bagration, the Red Army's summer offensive in 1944 that was loosely timed to coincide with Allied landings in the West and their breakthrough in Italy. By the autumn of 1944, the Russians had completely annihilated a whole German Army corps and thrown the germans almost completely out of the USSR, and were well inside Poland, Romania and northern Yugoslavia.[[/note]] The focus on Omaha Beach is also partially because ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'' did it, [[FollowTheLeader other games/movies/TV shows want to replicate its success]], and because it's more exciting to show a strongly opposed landing than an unopposed one -- not that the other landings were exactly unopposed (for instance, Canadian troops landing at Juno Beach on that day faced opposition almost as formidable, with a ''full-blown tank battle'' raging right on the beach, but punched through quickly and made the best progress of any Allied force towards their objectives on that Longest Day in spite of it[[note]]Due to better small-unit communication and leadership, something the military training of smaller nation-states tends to emphasize given their lesser material resources. Not to mention that the Canadians accepted Britain's "Hobart's Funnies" line of specialized-function tanks to give the landing troops armor support.[[/note]]), but still.

When this trope is in play the efforts and contributions of the other Allies are downplayed. Egregiously, the Soviet-German war is considered a ''sideshow'' - if it's even mentioned at all. Approximately [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_II)#Forces 80% of the deployable German Army]] was engaged against the Soviets on three/four Fronts in 1941-1942, dropping down to "merely" 60% in 1943-1945 when the partisan war (in the occupied USSR, Balkans, and elsewhere) intensified and Americans and Commonwealth forces opened up three new fronts in Italy, Western Europe, and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_of_the_Reich over Germany]], making the Eastern Front by far the largest land combat theater of the war. The Germans lost [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_casualties_in_World_War_II#Statistical_study_by_R.C3.BCdiger_Overmans about 75% of their total dead]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_casualties_in_World_War_II#OKW_War_Diary and wounded there]], with about 1 million dead in France+Italy+Benelux+West Germany vs 4 million dead in the USSR+Poland+Romania+East Germany (and a couple hundred thousand dead in every other area). On the other hand, prisoner numbers before the final collapse of German forces in April 1945 (before which the Germans were still resisting as hard as they could) and surrender upon the 7th of May were more balanced owing to the massive encirclements (most famously during Operation Overlord, but also at the Ruhr Pocket, in Operation Dragoon, and elsewhere) made by the Americans and Commonwealth forces in France, with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_prisoners_of_war_in_northwest_Europe the Western Allies taking 1.3 million]] soldiers prisoner in France/Benelux, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Campaign_(World_War_II) 0.85 million]] in Italy, and 0.15 million in North Africa (total 2.3 million troops) before April 1945 and the Soviets [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_prisoners_of_war_in_the_Soviet_Union#German_POWs_in_the_USSR only taking about 2 million]] in the East. Thus, the number of irrecoverable losses, not counting April/May surrenders, were 3.3 million against the American-led Western Allies (1 million killed, 2.3 million captured) and 5.9 million against the Soviets (4 million dead, 1.9 million captured). Thereafter the numbers were swelled by the last combat troops and the bulk of the Army logistics troops, policemen, paramilitaries, Volkssturm, Luftwaffe, and Kriegsmarine personnel (many of whom fled West) surrendering en masse in most of April, for final prisoner totals of 5.2 million versus 3.1 million before the formal surrender, and final irrecoverable losses of 6.2 million against the Western Allies (1 million killed, 5.2 million captured) and 7.1 million against the USSR [[AndZoidberg and Poland]] (4 million killed, 3.1 million captured). And while the Soviet Union caused the most casualties the main way did so by callously throwing their own soldiers lives away in human wave attacks to overrun German positions by sheer force of numbers alone. And the Soviet Union would often summarily execute German soldiers who surrendered, which led to the similar POW numbers

Lastly, winning a war means nothing unless one also [[StrategyVersusTactics "wins the peace,"]] as was the case [[UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars in Vienna in 1815]] and infamously not [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI at Versailles in 1918]]. In the aftermath of World War II, the USA and Britain and the USSR all deserve recognition for demarking and respecting crystal-clear 'spheres of influence' that kept the peace despite the outbreak of the Yugoslavian, Greek, and [[UsefulNotes/NoMoreEmperors Chinese]] civil wars. When the CCP gained the upper hand in the Chinese Civil War, and the USA began to [[RedScare see the USSR as a threat]], the USA also began to funnel a great deal of money into reconstructing Western European economies[[note]]Britain got a lot less than France or Germany, as conservative American opinion was appalled that they had the temerity to elect a socialist government; Britain were still repaying US loans, written off for other countries, well into the 1980s. This, perhaps not surprisingly, didn't exactly help endear Americans to the British, especially with regards to this trope.[[/note]] so that they [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar could sustain larger militaries and thus avoid the need for committing US troops to Western Europe in its defense]]. The membership of the USSR and USA in the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations also gave it a lot more clout than its predecessor the League of Nations.

Often it is portrayed as if the only other Allied nation-state that actually did anything to fight Germany was the UK, which (after the Poles and [[CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys French got their asses handed to them]]) kept the hopeless fight alive until the USA joined in and saved the day. The non-European Allies have it even worse. When was the last time you saw an American film about the Sino-Japanese War, or Filipino guerrillas [[note]]who in some ways have the underrepresentation ''even worse'', since during this war they were part of the U.S. colonial empire, and thus, technically, Americans by extension[[/note]]? All these oversights are at least partly a result of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar making American educators and filmmakers cautious to glorify [[DirtyCommunists the Soviet Union]] or [[UsefulNotes/NoMoreEmperors China]] (especially [[RedChina Maoist]] [[DirtyCommunists China]]), since this kind of stuff was virtually illegal in the United States lest one be put on the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_blacklist Hollywood blacklist]]. Producers and directors even got in trouble for making films that portrayed the Soviet and Chinese communists favorably as part of the war effort later during the anti-communist fervor.

* The 1945 Creator/ErrolFlynn film ''Film/ObjectiveBurma'' caused a minor uproar in the UK for supposedly suggesting that British involvement in the Burmese campaign was minimal, when in fact the Indian Army had (under British leadership and with the aid of some ethnically British units) been the primary combatants in the campaign. [[UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill Churchill]] himself was said to have been incensed by the film, and it was denounced in the ''Times''. Creator/WarnerBros withdrew the film from circulation in the UK, and it did not appear there until 1952. Interestingly author/screenwriter Creator/GeorgeMacDonaldFraser, who had been an infantryman in Burma during the war, said in his book ''Hollywood History'' that he rather liked ''Objective, Burma!' and that at least American troops had fought in that theatre. Even if the vast majority of the "American" troops on that front were, in fact, on-loan from Generalissimo UsefulNotes/ChiangKaiShek.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' episode, "The Savage Time," the immortal supervillain, Vandal Savage, manages to send a laptop full of technical information for superweapons to himself during World War II. There was also a video recording message telling himself what to do with the info, such as usurp Hitler and a specific warning to ready the Third Reich for a massive US/UK/Canada seaborne invasion of Normandy on June 6th, 1944. While the success of Operation Overlord in 1944 was definitely very bad news for Germany, why no mention of the Soviet Union's offensive at the same time in the East?

However, there is a grain of truth to this trope, as almost all the the Soviet Union's heavy industry was located in the area Germany invaded. The Soviets had to relocate all their factories east, which left a massive gap in their production. Without American Lend-Lease aid, the Soviets would not have bee able to hold back the Germans long enough to get their own production back online.

-->-- '''Homer Simpson''' to some British citizens, ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E4TheReginaMonologues "The Regina Monologues"]]

When this trope is in play the efforts and contributions of the other Allies are downplayed. Egregiously, the Soviet-German war is considered a ''sideshow'' - if it's even mentioned at all. Approximately [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_II)#Forces 80% of the deployable German Army]] was engaged against the Soviets on three/four Fronts in 1941-1942, dropping down to "merely" 60% in 1943-1945 when the partisan war (in the occupied USSR, Balkans, and elsewhere) intensified and Americans and Commonwealth forces opened up three new fronts in Italy, Western Europe, and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_of_the_Reich over Germany]], making the Eastern Front by far the largest land combat theater of the war. The Germans lost [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_casualties_in_World_War_II#Statistical_study_by_R.C3.BCdiger_Overmans about 75% of their total dead]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_casualties_in_World_War_II#OKW_War_Diary and wounded there]], with about 1 million dead in France+Italy+Benelux+West Germany vs 4 million dead in the USSR+Poland+Romania+East Germany (and a couple hundred thousand dead in every other area). On the other hand, prisoner numbers before the final collapse of German forces in April 1945 (before which the Germans were still resisting as hard as they could) and surrender upon the 7th of May were more balanced owing to the massive encirclements (most famously during Operation Overlord, but also at the Ruhr Pocket, in Operation Dragoon, and elsewhere) made by the Americans and Commonwealth forces in France, with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_prisoners_of_war_in_northwest_Europe the Western Allies taking 1.3 million]] soldiers prisoner in France/Benelux, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Campaign_(World_War_II) 0.85 million]] in Italy, and 0.15 million in North Africa (total 2.3 million troops) before April 1945 and the Soviets [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_prisoners_of_war_in_the_Soviet_Union#German_POWs_in_the_USSR only taking about 2 million]] in the East. Thus, the number of irrecoverable losses, not counting April/May surrenders, were 3.3 million against the American-led Western Allies (1 million killed, 2.3 million captured) and 5.9 million against the Soviets (4 million dead, 1.9 million captured). Thereafter the numbers were swelled by the last combat troops and the bulk of the Army logistics troops, policemen, paramilitaries, Volkssturm, Luftwaffe, and Kriegsmarine personnel (many of whom fled West) surrendering en masse in most of April, for final prisoner totals of 5.2 million versus 3.1 million before the formal surrender, and final irrecoverable losses of 6.2 million against the Western Allies (1 million killed, 5.2 million captured) and 7.1 million against the USSR [[AndZoidberg and Poland]] (4 million killed, 3.1 million captured).

Cases of this trope are not limited to the European Theater. Most films featuring the Pacific theater only focus on the naval and air battles fought by the U.S., appearing as though they were the sole force fighting in the Pacific. In reality Chinese, Soviet, Indian, British, and Australian forces played significant roles against overwhelming forces in atrocious conditions, and many other countries contributed as well. Indeed, the [[UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar brutally violent war in China]] is probably the most ignored battlefront of the war (except, of course, by Chinese media, which has its [[WrittenByTheWinners own problems]]). This neglect is strange given that it was the longest conflict (starting in 1937) and believed to be the second-bloodiest theater of war in human history after the Eastern European theater.

It may not be a strictly American trope. The British may exaggerate ''their'' role in the war as well, with an additional jab that the Americans were not only late to the party but also stole all the credit, and additionally only joined in when they knew who was going to win (technically true as the Americans knew the allies would win if America joined them in the war). Though the US joined the war in Europe after the European armies had been defeated and were being mopped up in many places by the Axis Powers. Russia also gets this to an extent (despite doing most of the fighting); there, you'll find claims that WWII lasted from June 22, 1941 to May 9, 1945 -- when this was actually just the duration of the war between the USSR and Germany.[[note]]More specifically, in a classic Russian history course, it is mentioned that the war was fought elsewhere for quite some time, but only the Great Patriotic War is studied in detail - which still gives this impression.[[/note]] Which, ironically, sells the Soviet Union short, because their successful campaigns against Japan in 1939 and late 1945 aren't included in that time frame. Russian history also omits their own war of agression against Finland, and doesn't mention the fact that between 1939-41, the USSR and Germany were actually allies under the terms of the Moloty=ov Pact. Even the specific belief that America was the most important nation in defeating Germany isn't a purely American trope- [[https://yougov.co.uk/news/2015/05/01/Britain-America-disagree-who-did-more-beat-nazis/ polling has showed]] most Western and Northern Europeans countries (including Germany itself) think that the USA did the most to defeat Germany in the Second World War, with the notable exception of the UK itself, whose people of course believes it did the most, to every other polled country's disagreement ([[AndZoidberg except Norway]]). [[LifeImitatesArt Likely because of this trope]]; American movies and shows dominate the global entertainment market, and of course American filmmakers usually prefer to make movies about American soldiers and battles.

It may not be a strictly American trope. The British may exaggerate ''their'' role in the war as well, with an additional jab that the Americans were not only late to the party but also stole all the credit, and additionally only joined in when they knew who was going to win (technically true as the Americans knew the allies would win if America joined them in the war). Though the US joined the war in Europe after the European armies had been defeated and were being mopped up in many places by the Axis Powers. Russia also gets this to an extent (despite doing most of the fighting); there, you'll find claims that WWII lasted from June 22, 1941 to May 9, 1945 -- when this was actually just the duration of the war between the USSR and Germany.[[note]]More specifically, in a classic Russian history course, it is mentioned that the war was fought elsewhere for quite some time, but only the Great Patriotic War is studied in detail - which still gives this impression.[[/note]] Which, ironically, sells the Soviet Union short, because their successful campaigns against Japan in 1939 and late 1945 aren't included in that time frame. Even the specific belief that America was the most important nation in defeating Germany isn't a purely American trope- [[https://yougov.co.uk/news/2015/05/01/Britain-America-disagree-who-did-more-beat-nazis/ polling has showed]] most Western and Northern Europeans countries (including Germany itself) think that the USA did the most to defeat Germany in the Second World War, with the notable exception of the UK itself, whose people of course believes it did the most, to every other polled country's disagreement ([[AndZoidberg except Norway]]). [[LifeImitatesArt Likely because of this trope]]; American movies and shows dominate the global entertainment market, and of course American filmmakers usually prefer to make movies about American soldiers and battles.

* ''Film/{{Patton}}'' averts this, despite focusing on one of America's most famous generals. His rivalry with Montgomery is prominently featured, with British troops getting plenty of screentime, and there are frequent mentions of the Eastern Front.

* The 1945 Creator/ErrolFlynn film ''Film/ObjectiveBurma'' caused a minor uproar in the UK for supposedly suggesting that British involvement in the Burmese campaign was minimal, when in fact the Indian Army had (under British leadership and with the aid of some ethnically British units) been the primary combatants in the campaign. [[UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill Churchill]] himself was said to have been incensed by the film, and it was denounced in the ''Times''. Creator/WarnerBros withdrew the film from circulation in the UK, and it did not appear there until 1952. Interestingly author/screenwriter Creator/GeorgeMacDonaldFraser, who had been an infantryman in Burma during the war, said in his book ''Hollywood History'' that he rather liked ''Objective, Burma!' and that at least American troops had fought in that theater. Even if the vast majority of the "American" troops on that front were, in fact, on-loan from Generalissimo UsefulNotes/ChiangKaiShek.

The D-Day landings are another good example. Many American-made productions will focus solely on Omaha Beach, the most heavily fortified of the five landing sites as well as the best-defended--both facts which Allied intelligence failed to realize prior to the operation. The carnage that ensued is a favourite among producers, since it emphasizes the sacrifice Americans made during the war--but doing so gives the impression that Omaha Beach was ''the'' decisive turning point that led to the Allied victory in Europe, rather than the dual blows by the Soviets at Stalingrad and Kursk a year earlier. The focus on Omaha Beach is also partially because ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'' did it, [[FollowTheLeader other games/movies/TV shows want to replicate its success]], and because it's more exciting to show a strongly opposed landing than an unopposed one -- not that the other landings were exactly unopposed (for instance, Canadian troops landing at Juno Beach on that day faced opposition almost as formidable, with a ''full-blown tank battle'' raging right on the beach, but punched through quickly and made the best progress of any Allied force towards their objectives on that Longest Day in spite of it[[note]]Due to better small-unit communication and leadership, something the military training of smaller nation-states tends to emphasize given their lesser material resources. Not to mention that the Canadians accepted Britain's "Hobart's Funnies" line of specialized-function tanks to give the landing troops armor support.[[/note]]), but still.

When this trope is in play the efforts and contributions of the other Allies are downplayed. Egregiously, the Soviet-German war is considered a ''sideshow'' - if it's even mentioned at all. Approximately [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_II)#Forces 80% of the deployable German Army]] was engaged against the Soviets on three/four Fronts in 1941-1942, dropping down to "merely" 60% in 1943-1945 when the partisan war (in the occupied USSR, Balkans, and elsewhere) intensified and Americans and Commonwealth forces opened up three new fronts in Italy, Western Europe, and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_of_the_Reich over Germany,]] making the Eastern Front by far the largest land combat theater of the war. The Germans lost [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_casualties_in_World_War_II#Statistical_study_by_R.C3.BCdiger_Overmans about 75% of their total dead]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_casualties_in_World_War_II#OKW_War_Diary and wounded there,]] with about 1 million dead in France+Italy+Benelux+West Germany vs 4 million dead in the USSR+Poland+Romania+East Germany (and a couple hundred thousand dead in every other area). On the other hand, prisoner numbers before the final collapse of German forces in April 1945 (before which the Germans were still resisting as hard as they could) and surrender upon the 7th of May were more balanced owing to the massive encirclements (most famously during Operation Overlord, but also at the Ruhr Pocket, in Operation Dragoon, and elsewhere) made by the Americans and Commonwealth forces in France, with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_prisoners_of_war_in_northwest_Europe the Western Allies taking 1.3 million]] soldiers prisoner in France/Benelux,[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Campaign_(World_War_II) 0.85 million]] in Italy, and 0.15 million in North Africa (total 2.3 million troops) before April 1945 and the Soviets [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_prisoners_of_war_in_the_Soviet_Union#German_POWs_in_the_USSR only taking about 2 million]] in the East. Thus, the number of irrecoverable losses, not counting April/May surrenders, were 3.3 million against the American-led Western Allies (1 million killed, 2.3 million captured) and 5.9 million against the Soviets (4 million dead, 1.9 million captured). Thereafter the numbers were swelled by the last combat troops and the bulk of the Army logistics troops, policemen, paramilitaries, Volkssturm, Luftwaffe, and Kriegsmarine personnel (many of whom fled West) surrendering en masse in most of April, for final prisoner totals of 5.2 million versus 3.1 million before the formal surrender, and final irrecoverable losses of 6.2 million against the Western Allies (1 million killed, 5.2 million captured) and 7.1 million against the USSR [[AndZoidberg and Poland]] (4 million killed, 3.1 million captured).

'''Frank''': [[WithDueRespect No sir]], the Russians stopped Hitler.

** Las was in "Twilight (Dusk) Watch", and [[{{Bowdlerization}} (in the original Russian version, at least)]] he wears t-shirt with a picture of Russian paratrooper knifing "negro in American uniform". And the text was something like "We can ''help to recall'' who won the Second World War".

** Parodied indirectly in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E19LisasWedding Lisa's Wedding]]"; in an episode set TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, Moe tells Lisa's British fiancé that "We saved your ass in World War II." The fiancé replies "Well, we saved ''your'' [America's] arse in World War ''[[WorldWarIII III]]''", and Moe [[{{Touche}} concedes the point.]]

Some see this general 'limited scope' thing as extending to the "official" date of the war's beginning, September 1st, 1939, the date of Germany's invasion of Poland. Most, however, accept that the moniker of 'World War' denotes merely the geography of a war (the British Empire alone spanned three continents at the time), rather than implying the conflict wasn't 'serious' or something ([[UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan the Japan of the time]], and many Japanese ultranationalists since, call it [[InsistentTerminology 'The China Incident']]). Though bloody and horrific in its own right,[[note]]With war-dead to the tune of at least 10 and as many as 20 million (the Chinese Civil War that followed has to account for another 10 million or so, but Communist China, in [[ImplausibleDeniability classic form, likes to pretend that no one died in it]]), as well as an impressive gamut of war-crimes like mass-rape (e.g. Nanjing) and live-human-experimentation[[/note]] [[UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar the war]] that [[UsefulNotes/ChiangKaiShek Chiang Kai-Shek's]] [[UsefulNotes/NoMoreEmperors Guomindang]] waged against UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan wasn't part of the 'World War' until the Imperial Navy lashed out to take Malaya and the Philippines.[[note]]Surprisingly, it wasn't until then that the Republic of China got around to formally declaring war on Japan, which further complicates the matter of when World War II started.[[/note]]

* Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers: Set in WWII. America's plan to defeat Germany? All the other Allies support him while he wins the war. "I'm the Hero!"
** Hetalia lampshades, but mostly averts this trope. China, England, France, Russia and America are all members of the Allies, and spend more time discussing with each other than actually fighting the Axis. Canada also appears - well, sometimes. On the side of the Axis, we see not only Germany, but also Italy and Japan, even though Germany trains them and Italy is not so helpful in battle. Bulgaria also makes a brief appearance, and so does Prussia. The only fight that is actually shown is China beating up Japan and Germany with a wok. Might be a reason why Hetalia is not banned in China.

[[folder:Comicbooks]]

* Given a head nod in ''ComicBook/ThePunisher: Comicbook/CivilWar'', when Frank is having a tense disagreement over tactics with ComicBook/CaptainAmerica.

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
* Subverted in ''FanFic/WorldwarWarOfEquals''. America's military is considered the biggest threat to Race domination of Earth and they provide assistance to Mexico, Iraq, and Australia. However, many operations in the American homeland succeed with the help of Canadian forces and they help fight The Race's advance in the north west United States.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''. "[[{{Recap/StarTrekS1E28TheCityOnTheEdgeOfForever}} The City on the Edge of Forever]]". Due to a pacifist movement, the USA did not enter WWII, and Hitler won precisely because of it, causing humanity to be enslaved and never reaching the stars.
* [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in the Creator/KenBurns documentary, ''Literature/TheWar'', as its format was specifically created to show, compare, and contrast WWII's impacts on four American towns and people from them. Since obviously few if any people from those towns would have been with the British, Russian or any other military, by default it focuses on the American parts of the war (although the British and Russians do get the occasional nod).

* Whenever the French were mentioned in front of [[Series/EverybodyLovesRaymond Raymond's dad]], his automatic response was "Pulled their ass out of two world wars!" Which was deeply ironic, coming from a [[NationalStereotypes Italian-American]].

[[folder:Web Comics]]

** Later still, a Nazi super is stopped in a gigantic WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic beatdown continuously narrated and lampshaded by Billy (Brit), who along with Mother's Milk (American) and the Frenchman (... French) beat the crap out of Stormfront until Vas (very, ''very'' big Russian) shows up and deals the killing blow.

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