Changes

{{merge|Axis Powers}}

{{merge|Axis Powers}}

There were three major '''Axis''' countries in World War II: [[Germany]], [[Italy]], and [[Japan]]. [[Germany]] and [[Italy]] started the war when Germany made invasions into eastern [[Europe]]. Italy invaded North Africa, having a strategic place in the world for making an African conquest. Japan invaded [[China]] and most of the south [[Asian]] countries. This stirred the world in many different moods. Then on December 7, 1941, the [[Japanese]] launched one of the most damaging ambushes of all time on the [[United States of America]]; forcing a sleeping giant to awake. The Americans lost about 3,000 sailors in the [[Attack of Pearl Harbor]]. The minor Axis powers were [[Hungary]], [[Romania]],[[Slovakia]],[[Bulgaria]],[[Yugoslavia]], and [[Croatia]].

There were three major '''Axis''' countries in World War II: [[Germany]], [[Italy]], and [[Japan]]. [[Germany]] and [[Italy]] started the war when Germany made invasions into eastern [[Europe]]. Italy invaded North Africa, having a strategic place in the world for making an African conquest. Japan invaded [[China]] and most of the south [[Asian]] countries. This stirred the world in many different moods. Then on December 7, 1941, the [[Japanese]] launched one of the most damaging ambushes of all time on the [[United States of America]]; forcing a sleeping giant to awake. The Americans lost about 3,000 sailors in the [[Attack on Pearl Harbor]]. The minor Axis powers were [[Hungary]], [[Romania]], [[Slovakia]], [[Bulgaria]],[[Yugoslavia]], and [[Croatia]].

The term was a reference to a 1936 speech by Mussolini, celebrating a treaty with Germany, in which he said:

The term was a reference to a 1936 speech by Mussolini, celebrating a treaty with Germany, in which he said: