The final leaders of the Allies at thePotsdam Conference in 1945:Clement Attlee,Harry S. Truman, andJoseph Stalin.

US PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime MinisterWinston Churchill during theCasablanca Conference, January 1943.

Chiang Kai-shek, Roosevelt, and Churchill at theCairo Conference, 25 November 1943.

TheAllied leaders of World War II listed below comprise theimportant political and military figures whofought for or supported the Allies duringWorld War II. Engaged intotal war, they had to adapt to new types ofmodern warfare, on themilitary,psychological andeconomic fronts.

• Enver Hoxha was the leader of theCommunist Party of Albania, which led theAlbanian National Liberation Movement to a struggle inAlbania under Italy andGermany.

• Leopold III of Belgium reigned as King of the Belgians from 1934 until 1951. Prior to the war Leopold had made extensive preparations against such an invasion of his country. After Belgium's surrender Leopold stayed to face the invaders, while his entire government had fled to Great Britain but, although he rejected cooperation with the German occupiers he also refused to actively resist many of their policies. He was held under house-arrest in Belgium for much of the war. Because the refusal to follow the orders of his government violated theConstitution, he was declared "unable to rule" and the issue sparked apost-war political crisis.
• Hubert Pierlot was theprime minister of Belgium from 1939 until 1945. Pierlot became the leader of the government during thePhoney War until the German invasion. Pierlot fled to Britain where he led theBelgian government in exile and presided over the formation of theFree Belgian forces. Despite his conservative politics, Pierlot denounced the surrender of Leopold III and officially suspended his reign in 1940 by invoking a clause in theBelgian Constitution. The disagreement created a lasting animosity between the Royalist faction in Belgium and the exiled government inLondon.
• Pierre Ryckmans wasGovernor-General of Belgium's principal African colony, theBelgian Congo, for the duration of the war. Along with the Minister of the Colonies,Albert de Vleeschauwer, Ryckmans brought the Congo into the war on the Allied side, amid worries that the colony might follow the lead of Leopold III in Belgium and attempt to remain neutral. During Ryckmans' period in office, Congolese troops were sent to support British forces in East Africa and the Congomade a substantial economic contribution to the Allied war effort.
• Victor van Strydonck de Burkel was a general of theBelgian Army who commanded the 1st Military Zone during the invasion of Belgium. After Belgium's surrender in 1940, he became the Commander of Belgian forces in Great Britain, and presided over the formation of theFree Belgian forces. After the liberation of Belgium he became the Chief of the Belgian Military Mission toSupreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force.

• Getúlio Vargas was thepresident of Brazil for two periods, first from 1930 to 1945. Between 1937 and 1945 he ruled as dictator under theEstado Novo regime. Despite Brazil's strong economic ties with Nazi Germany, Vargas sided with the Allies after the sinking of Brazilian merchant ships by German U-boats, and declared war against Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy in August 1942. Vargas gave economic and military support (Brazilian Expeditionary Force) to the Allies.
• João Baptista Mascarenhas de Morais was the commander of theBrazilian Expeditionary Force. He arrived in Italy with the first Brazilian troops in 1944 and commanded the Brazilian forces until the surrender of theAxis forces in Italy. After the end of the war he was given the rank ofField Marshal.
• Euclides Zenóbio da Costa was the Commander of the first contingent of Brazilian troops to arrive at Italy, the 6th infantryRCT.

• King George VI was the reigning monarch of theBritish Commonwealth during the war, and thus acted asCommander-in-Chief of a number of states within that organisation, including theUnited Kingdom,Canada,Australia, andNew Zealand. The King was, further, a symbol of national and Commonwealth unity during the war, he and his family visiting bomb sites, munitions factories, and with Commonwealth soldiers.^[1] Several members of the Royal Family, including thePrincess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II), served inthe forces.

• Robert Menzies was theprime minister ofAustralia from 26 April 1939 until 29 August 1941. He served a second term as prime minister between 1949 and 1966.^[2]
• Arthur Fadden replaced Menzies as prime minister but was forced from office when his government collapsed on 7 October 1941. He had previously served as acting prime minister for long periods while Menzies was out of the country.^[3]
• John Curtin was prime minister from 7 October 1941 until his death on 5 July 1945. In January 1942, facing Japanese attacks, he wrote in a historic New Year message that Australia looked to the US for its security, rather than the UK. Curtin also formed a close working relationship with General MacArthur and directed theAustralian military to follow MacArthur's orders as if they were his own. Curtin had several disagreements over defense policy with British prime minister Winston Churchill.^[4]
• Frank Forde was appointed prime minister after Curtin's death, but lost the position on 12 July to a leadership challenge. He had served as acting prime minister during periods when Curtin was out of the country or unwell during 1944 and 1945.^[5]
• Ben Chifley replaced Forde and served as prime minister until 1949.^[6]
• Sir Thomas Blamey (Field Marshal) was the Commander-in-Chief of theAustralian Military Forces and Commander of Allied Land Forces in theSouth West Pacific Area during the war. Commander of Allied land forces in theSouth West Pacific, 1942–45. He became Australia's first and only Field Marshal after the war. In 1945 he signed theJapanese surrender document on behalf of Australia.
• Ernest Squires (Lieutenant General) was the 14thChief of the General Staff from 1939 to 1940.
• John Northcott (Lieutenant General) was the 15th & 18thChief of the General Staff from 1940 to 1940 and 1942 to 1945.
• Sir Brudenell White (General) was the 9th & 16thChief of the General Staff from 1920 to 1923 and 1940 to 1940 (Killed during the1940 Canberra air disaster).
• Vernon Sturdee (Lieutenant General) was the 17thChief of the General Staff from 1940 to 1942.
• Sir Ragnar Colvin (Admiral) was the 8thFirst Naval Member, Australian Commonwealth Naval Board from 1937 to 1941.
• Sir Guy Royle (Admiral) was the 9thFirst Naval Member, Australian Commonwealth Naval Board from 1941 to 1945.
• Sir Louis Hamilton (Admiral) was the 10thFirst Naval Member, Australian Commonwealth Naval Board from 1941 to 1945.

• William Lyon Mackenzie King was theprime minister ofCanada during the war. After helping to secure nearly fulllegislative autonomy for theDominions, Canada was free to enter the war on its own accord. Despite initially favouringappeasement ofAdolf Hitler, King asked the opinion of theCanadian parliament beforeadvising George VI, asKing of Canada, to declare war on Germany after theInvasion of Poland.
• Harry Crerar was a general and thede facto commander of theCanadian military during the war. Crerar led theCanadian military during theInvasion of Normandy. He was described as an able administrator and politically astute.^[7]
• Guy Simonds was an army officer who commanded theII Canadian Corps. He served as acting commander of theFirst Canadian Army, leading the Allied forces to victory in theBattle of the Scheldt. After the war he was appointed Chief of the General Staff. He was the youngest officer in the Canadian army to be promoted to the rank of General.
• E. L. M. Burns andCharles Foulkes successively commanded theI Canadian Corps during the war on the Western Front.
• Andrew McNaughton was the original commanding officer of theCanadian Expeditionary Forces at the beginning of the war, but was recalled toCanada to serve asMinister of National Defence. He was often attributed responsibility for theDieppe Raid and he was one of the inventors ofradar.

• Michael Joseph Savage was Prime Minister of New Zealand from 6 December 1935 until his death on 27 March 1940. His government joined Britain in declaring war against Germany in 1939.
• Peter Fraser became prime minister (27 March 1940 until 13 December 1949) after the death of Michael Savage. He led the country during the Second World War when he mobilised New Zealand supplies and volunteers to support Britain while boosting the economy and maintaining home front morale. He formed a war cabinet which included several erstwhile political opponents.
• Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg (Lieutenant General), a veteran of the First World War where he won the Victoria Cross and three Distinguished Service Orders, he led the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Battle of Crete, the North African Campaign and the Italian Campaign.

• The Marquess of Linlithgow was theViceroy of India from 1936 until 1943. During the war he made an appeal for unity among the people ofIndia.
• Muhammad Ali Jinnah, laterFounder of Pakistan, was a major political Muslim leader of theAll India Muslim League. When the world war broke out he asked all Indians to join the British Army against Nazi Germany.
• Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell at the start of the war was in charge of theMiddle East Command. The Italian forces in North Africa greatly outnumbered the Allies. Wavell, however, was able not only to repel Italian attacks, but to defeat them and occupy their colonies. Wavell was replaced byClaude Auchinleck in 1941 and becameCommander-in-Chief, India, heading theBritish Indian Army. During early 1942, he led the short-livedAmerican-British-Dutch-Australian Command in South East Asia and the Pacific, before resuming his previous position. In 1943 Wavell succeeded Linlithgow asViceroy of India.^[8]
• Claude Auchinleck nicknamed "The Auk" was appointedCommander-in-Chief, India in January 1941 after commanding the Allied forces during the fall of Norway. He had previously in 1938, when a Major-General, chaired a committee the recommendations of which formed the basis of the 1939Chatfield Report on the modernisation, re-equipment and expansion of theBritish Indian Army (which by the end of the war had grown to 2,250,000 men from 183,000 in 1939). In 1941 he replacedArchibald Wavell as Commander-in-ChiefMiddle East Command but returned as C-in-C India in 1943 when Wavell became Viceroy.
• Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, leader ofHindu Mahasabha, recruited over 100,000 Hindus and Sikhs for helping the British in the world war.^[9]

• Jan Smuts was theprime minister of theUnion of South Africa from 1939 till 1948. He had served in theImperial War Cabinet in the First World War and did so again as the most senior South African in favor of war and became South Africa's firstField Marshal in 1941. After the war he represented South Africa at the drafting of theUnited Nations Charter.
• George Brink was a lieutenant-general in theSouth African military who commanded the1st Infantry Division during the war. Brink successfully led the1st Infantry Division during theEast African Campaign. After the war he was responsible for the demobilization.
• Isaac Pierre de Villiers was a major-general in theSouth African military who commanded the2nd Infantry Division. Prior to the war,de Villiers served as a lieutenant in theSouth African Police and so the 2nd Infantry Division was responsible for internal security operations at the beginning of the war.

• Neville Chamberlain, who had formerly led apolicy of appeasement towards Nazi Germany, was prime minister during the first stages of the war, taking office in 1937 and resigning on 10 May 1940 after the failedNorwegian campaign. Chamberlain, who remained Conservative Party leader, then becameLord President of the Council. He died of cancer on 9 November 1940, half a year after resigning.
• Winston Churchill wasPrime Minister of theUnited Kingdom during most of the war, from 1940 to 1945. An early opponent of Hitler, he opposedappeasement of Germany. He wasFirst Lord of the Admiralty at the outbreak of war, then came into power at the start of theNazi invasion of France. During theBattle of Britain, Churchill's speeches boosted the British morale during the darkest moments.
• Clement Attlee was the Labour Party leader during the war, and was generally responsible for domestic politics throughout the war as a member of Churchill's War Cabinet. He served asdeputy prime minister under Churchill. After the end of the war in Europe, he was appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following his party's victory in the1945 general elections and served from 1945 to 1951. He attended the second half of thePotsdam Conference and announced the Defeat of Japan.
• Dudley Pound wasFirst Sea Lord and as such the professional head of the Royal Navy from June 1939 to September 1943, shortly before his death. He chaired theChiefs of Staff Committee, which was responsible to Winston Churchill for the British military's conduct of the war, until March 1942.
• Alan Brooke wasChief of the Imperial General Staff (head of Britain's army) from December 1941 and from March 1942 also chaired the BritishChiefs of Staff Committee. He held the posts until the war's end and was as such Churchill's foremost military advisor. He was promoted Field Marshal in January 1944.
• Andrew Cunningham succeeded Dudley Pound as First Sea Lord and naval member of the British Chiefs of Staff Committee in 1943. He remained in the post for the rest of the war.
• James Somerville was commander-in-chief of theEastern Fleet who was defeated by the Japanese in theIndian Ocean raid. Prior to this he commanded the Atlantic-Mediterranean squadron Force H based at Gibraltar and led them at theBattle of Cape Spartivento and also during thehunt for the Bismarck.
• Charles Portal in October 1940 succeededCyril Newall asChief of the Air Staff, the head of the Royal Air Force, and member of the British Chiefs of Staff Committee. He continued in this role for the rest of the war. He was promotedMarshal of the Royal Air Force in June 1944.
• Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis at the end of the War was a Field Marshal and Commander-in-Chief ofAFHQ responsible for the direction of Allied troops in the Mediterranean theatre. Previously he had commanded15th Army Group which conducted theAllied invasion of Sicily and theItalian Campaign. Prior to this he commanded18th Army Group which directed the Allied forces during the culmination of theTunisia Campaign leading to the surrender of Axis forces in North Africa. Before that was Commander-in Chief BritishMiddle East Command, overseeing Montgomery's Eighth Army successful campaign to defeat the Axis forces in theWestern Desert Campaign.
• Viscount Gort relinquished the role of Chief of the Imperial General Staff on the outbreak of war to command the British Expeditionary Force in France from 1939 to 1940. He later served in a variety of less prominent posts, including Governor of Gibraltar and of Malta.
• Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein was a General (laterField Marshal) who led the Allied forces in North Africa. Under his command the Allies were able to defeat theAfrika Korps and their Italian allies. He later commanded the21st Army Group and all Allied ground forces duringOperation Overlord. He was also the primary mind behind the failedOperation Market Garden. He accepted the surrender of German forces on the 4 May 1945.
• Hugh Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding was anAir Chief Marshal who commandedRAF Fighter Command during theBattle of Britain. He ended the sacrifice of aircraft and pilots in the attempt to aid troops during theBattle of France, which was weakening the home defence. He developed the "Dowding System" – an integrated air defence system of radar, raid plotting and radio control of aircraft. He introduced modern aircraft into service such as theSupermarine Spitfire andHawker Hurricane. During the battle he led resources behind the scenes and maintained a significant fighter reserve, while leaving his subordinate commanders' hands free to run the battle.
• Keith Park was anAir Chief Marshal who commanded 11 GroupRAF, the fighter formation tasked with the defence of London during theBattle of Britain. Later he was in charge of the defence of Malta.
• Arthur Harris was anAir Chief Marshal commonly known as "Bomber" Harris by the press. He was Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief ofRAF Bomber Command and later aMarshal of the Royal Air Force during the latter half of World War II.
• LordLouis Mountbatten,Admiral of the Fleet, was Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in South East Asia, 1943–1945.
• William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim was a General who led theBritish Fourteenth Army (often referred to as the "Forgotten Army") during theBurma Campaign from 1942 to 1945.

• Shenton Thomas was theGovernor of Straits Settlements and theBritish High Commissioner inMalaya from 1934 until 1942. After thefall of Singapore he was taken as a POW and imprisoned in Cell 24 ofChangi Prison.
• Arthur Percival was theGeneral Officer Commanding Malaya at the start of the Pacific War. After thefall of Singapore he was taken as a prisoner-of-war. Percival's surrender to the invading Japanese forces was the largest capitulation inBritish military history.^[10]

• Sir Humphrey Walwyn was governor ofNewfoundland and chairman of the Commission of Government from 1936 to 1946. A former Royal Navy Admiral, during World War II he was active in encouraging Newfoundlanders to join the war effort.

• Harold MacMichael was a British colonial administrator who was appointed as theHigh Commissioner of theBritish Mandate of Palestine from 1937 until 1944 year. During this era he attempted to suppressZionist and Arab nationalists but had to change this policy during the war.
• Henry Maitland Wilson, 1st Baron Wilson was aField Marshal and commander of theNinth Army in the British Mandate of Palestine. During theSyria-Lebanon campaign he led theAllied Forces in Syria and Lebanon againstVichy France. For his actions he was promoted to full General.

• Sir Godfrey Huggins was prime minister of theself-governing colony ofSouthern Rhodesia (which had autonomy in many respects, but not in foreign affairs) from 1933 to 1953. An English-born physician, he was a veteran of World War I. He was knighted in 1941.

• Chiang Kai-shek was the Generalissimo of theNational Revolutionary Army and the chairman of theNational Military Council, the highest political organ of the nation at the time. He was also the Director-General of theChinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) and, from 1943,Chairman of the National Government. He took the nation into thefull-scale war with Japan after theMarco Polo Bridge Incident on 7 July 1937. AfterChina joined the Allies in 1942, he was the Supreme Commander of the China Theatre, which also includedBurma.
• Soong Mei-ling wasFirst Lady of the Republic of China and the wife of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. During the Second Sino-Japanese War she rallied her people against the Japanese invasion. Educated in the United States and speaking in eloquent English, she played an instrumental role in the formation of the Sino-American co-operation and conducted a speaking tour in the United States to gain international support.
• Lin Sen, asChairman (or President) of the National Government, was China's titular head of state but had no real power. Lin died in 1943, after which Chiang Kai-Shek assumed the role himself.
• He Yingqin was theChief of the General Staff of the National Military Council. He was also the Commander of the Fourth Military Region and led in the victoriousBattle of West Hunan in 1945. He became the representative of both the Chinese Government and the Southeast Asia Allied Forces at the September 9th ceremony in Nanjing to accept the statement of surrender from Japan in 1945.
• Chen Cheng was a General of the National Revolutionary Army and political figure in the National Military Council. He was one of Chiang's most trusted allies. He led in the Battle of Wuhan and he went on to command during the Battle of Changsha,Battle of Yichang andBattle of West Hubei in the latter years. In 1943, he was appointed the commander of theChinese Expeditionary Force inBurma campaign. After thewar, he became the Chief of the General Staff.
• Bai Chongxi was a close ally ofGuangxi warlordLi Zongren and the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the National Military Council. He was a key strategist who convinced Chiang to adopt a "Total War" strategy. He was also involved in many key campaigns including the first major victory at theBattle of Tai'erzhuang and also theBattle of Wuhan in 1938. He also commanded another victoriousFirst Battle of Changsha in 1939. Bai also directed theBattle of South Guangxi andBattle of Kunlun Pass to retake South Guangxi in the later stage.
• Li Zongren was a former Guangxi warlord who fought in alliance with Chiang Kai-shek in the war against Japan. He was the commander of theBattle of Xuzhou and famously won the Battle of Tai'erzhuang, the first major Chinese victory in the war, and commanded one of the largest and relatively better equipped regional armies that comprised the bulk of the Chinese armed forces during the war.
• Yan Xishan was a formerShanxi warlord who fought in alliance with Chiang Kai-shek. During the early stage of the Japanese invasion, he invited Communist military forces to enter Shanxi to fight with the Japanese anddefended Taiyuan in 1937. He was a member of the National Military Council and the Commander of the Second Military Region.
• Wei Lihuang was a General of the National Revolutionary Army and the Commander of the Chinese Expeditionary Force in 1943 and 1944 which was responsible for the major ground operations in support of U.S. GeneralJoseph W. Stilwell'soffensive in Northern Burma and Western Yunnan and the construction ofLedo Road.
• Xue Yue was a General of the National Revolutionary Army and the Commander of the Ninth Military Region. He was known for defendingChangsha from Japanese offensives for three times in1939,1941 and1942.
• Claire Lee Chennault was the commander of theFlying Tigers. Originally a military advisor toChiang Kai-shek, Chennault was asked to establish American squadrons to aid the Republic of China. Chennault spent the winter of 1940–1941 in Washington, helping to negotiate the establishment of theAmerican Volunteer Group. The AVG began their service with theChinese Air Force in 1941 until it was disbanded in 1942.^[11]
• Mao Zedong was theChairman of the Chinese Communist Party who formed the "United Front" with the Nationalist Government against Japanese aggression. The Red Army was reorganized into theNew Fourth Army and theEighth Route Army, which were placed under the nominal command of the National Revolutionary Army despite the Communist Party remained full control of the armies. The cooperation between the Nationalists and the Communists began to break down by 1939 as the two forces clashed and effectively ended after theNew Fourth Army Incident in 1941.
• Zhu De was commander-in-chief of theEighth Route Army and a top military leader within the Chinese Communist Party.
• Peng Dehuai commanded theHundred Regiments Offensive, the largest Communist offensive during the war.

• Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was electedPresident of Cuba in 1940 and had effectively run the country since the 1933Sergeants' Revolt as army chief of staff. Cuba declared war on Germany and Italy on December 11, 1941. Batista committed Cuba's navy to fight in theBattle of the Caribbean.
• Ramón Grau San Martín was elected to the presidency at the end of Batista's term in 1944.
• José Águila Ruíz served as chief of the Cuban Navy for the later part of the war years.

• Edvard Beneš wasPresident ofCzechoslovakia and later head of theCzechoslovak Government-in-Exile.
• Klement Gottwald was leader of the Czechoslovak communist resistance.
• Ludvík Svoboda ledCzechoslovak military units on Eastern front against Germany.
• Karel Klapálek led Czechoslovak units in thedefense of Tobruk and oneastern front (since April 1945).
• Alois Liška ledCzechoslovak military units on Western front in 1944–1945.
• Karel Janoušek led the Czechoslovak air force inGreat Britain.
• Karel Kutlvašr was the military leader of thePrague uprising.

• Christian X of Denmark Danish king from 1912 to 1947.
• Thorvald Stauning Prime minister of Denmark from 1929 to his death in 1942.
• Vilhelm Buhl Prime minister of Denmark in 1942. Adolf Hitler personally ordered him removed in 1942.
• Erik Scavenius Prime minister of Denmark from 1942 to 1943. Dissolved the Danish government in 1943, and the government was then replaced by total German military rule in Denmark.
• William Wain Prior Commander-in-chief of theDanish Army before 1941.
• Ebbe Gørtz Commander-in-chief of theDanish Army after 1941.

• Farouk of Egypt was the King ofEgypt.
• Ahmad Mahir Pasha was theprime minister of Egypt from 10 October 1944 to 24 February 1945.

• Haile Selassie was theEmperor of Ethiopia from 1930 until 1974. Prior to thewar, Italyinvaded Ethiopia.
• Makonnen Endelkachew wasPrime Minister of Ethiopia.
• Imru Haile Selassie
• Kassa Haile Darge
• Orde Wingate was a British Army Officer and commander of theGideon Force during theEast African Campaign. Under Wingate command, the Gideon Force was successful in aiding the British indefeating Fascist Italian forces and liberating Ethiopia.

• Albert Lebrun was the lastPresident of theThird Republic. In 1940, he was forced to accept the German terms of surrender of France and was replaced by Philippe Pétain as head the French state (seeVichy France). In 1944, Lebrun acknowledged de Gaulle's leadership of the restored French, provisional, government. In 1945, since he had not resigned from his presidential office, and that Pétain was not president, Lebrun thought he could be able to return to power after the liberation.^[12]
• Édouard Daladier wasprime minister from 1938 to 1940. He led his country during the opening stages of the war. Daladier resigned on 9 May 1940, the day before the German invasion of France, because of his failure to aid Finland's defence in theWinter War.
• Paul Reynaud succeeded Daladier as prime minister in 1940 and led France during theBattle of France. After Germany had occupied large parts of France, Reynaud was advised by his newly appointed Minister of State Philippe Pétain to come to separate peace with Germany. Reynaud refused to do so, and resigned.
• Philippe Pétain wasprime minister in 1940.
• Maurice Gamelin commanded the French military during the critical days of May 1940, before being removed from his position after failing to defend France from the Germans.
• Maxime Weygand replaced Gamelin as commander of the French army in May 1940. He eventually favoured an armistice with Germany.

• Charles de Gaulle was the leader of theFree French and as such head of the French government-in-exile following theFall of France. A vehement opponent of collaboration, he eventually took nominal command of the French resistance and headed the French Army of Liberation from its foundation to the war's end.
• Henri Giraud was de Gaulle's rival and the Western Allies' favourite. He escaped from Germany where he was aprisoner of war and co-founded the Free French movement with de Gaulle, though soon found himself relegated to second in command of the Free French Forces after theCasablanca Conference of 1943. He was the chief of staff of the French Army of Liberation from 1943 to July 1944.
• Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque was a leader of the Free French forces, and commanded forces both in Africa and in France. After the war ended, he commanded theFrench Far East Expeditionary Corps in theFirst Indochina War. He signed the armistice with Japan on behalf of France on September 2, 1945.
• Alphonse Juin became chief of staff of the French Army in July 1944 after being the commander of the French Expeditionary Corps (130,000 men) in Italy.
• Marie-Pierre Kœnig became commander in chief of theFrench Forces of the Interior which effectively helped the Allies in the invasion of France.
• Félix Éboué, governor ofFrench Chad at the start of the war, was instrumental in building support for Free France inFrench Equatorial Africa; he served as actingGovernor-General of French Equatorial Africa until 1944.
• Jean de Lattre de Tassigny was the commander of theFirst French Army which invaded southern France with 260,000 men. His army numbered more than 320,000 men when he entered in Germany with the integration of the FFI.
• Georges Catroux was the main French military leader in Syria and Lebanon before entering De Gaulle's government.
• André Lemonnier was a French Admiral who served as the French Navy chief of staff in 1943 and led the French Navy's participation inOperation Dragoon (34 warships including one battleship and eight cruisers).

• George II of Greece wasKing of Greece from 1922 to 1924 and from 1935 until his death in 1947. King George was pro-British, and this stance greatly influenced the country's policy. WhenGermany invaded Greece, the King and the government fled theGreek mainland forCrete but after theBattle of Crete he was evacuated to Egypt and went to Great Britain. During the war he remained the internationally recognized head of state, backed by theexiled government and Greek armed forces serving in the Middle East.
• Ioannis Metaxas was the dictator and from 1936 until his death in 1941. Despite his quasi-fascist tendencies and strong economic ties with Nazi Germany, he pursued a policy of pro-British neutrality. On 28 October 1940 herejected an Italian ultimatum, and ordered the Greek Army to repel theItalian invasion of the country.
• Emmanouil Tsouderos was the lastprime minister of Greece during theGerman invasion. He also was the first and longest-servingprime minister of theGreek government-in-exile, which represented theFree Greek Forces, also connected with theGreek Resistance, during theAxis occupation of Greece.
• Georgios Papandreou was the lastprime minister of theGreek government-in-exile. He also served as the firstPrime Minister of Greece, after itsliberation from the Axis powers, during the reestablishment of theexiled free government.
• Alexandros Papagos was a Greek general who led theGreek Army in theGreco-Italian War and theBattle of Greece. As head of the Army from 1935, he played an active role in the attempts at its reorganization and modernization. When war was declared he was named Commander-in-Chief and led Greek forces againstItaly along the Albanian border and later against the invading German army. When the Greek government fled to Crete, Papagos remained behind and with other generals. During the years of occupation he established a resistance organization, but he was arrested by the occupation authorities and sent to concentration camps in Germany. In 1945, after the Allied Victory, he was liberated, repatriated and rejoined the Army.
• Georgios Siantos was the main leader of theNational Liberation Front (EAM), the country's largest resistance organization.
• Napoleon Zervas was the leader of theNational Republican Greek League (EDES), the country's second largest resistance organization.
• Aris Velouchiotis was the creator and chief leader of theGreek People's Liberation Army (ELAS), the country's largest guerrilla force, aligned to the leftistNational Liberation Front.
• Archbishop Damaskinos served as Regent of Greece between the end of the German occupation in 1944 and the return of King George II to Greece in 1946.

• Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was theShah (King) of Iran which came to power after the abdication of his father,Reza Pahlavi. Reza Shah was forced to abdicated power to his son afterAnglo-Soviet invasion of Iran.
• Mohammad-Ali Foroughi was theprime minister of Iran during the abdication of Reza Shah. He remained in office and assisted to new Shah. He retired from politics on 9 March 1942.
• Ali Soheili was theForeign Minister of Iran and thenPrime Minister of Iran from 9 March to 9 August 1942 and again from 15 February 1943 until his resignation on 6 April 1944.
• Ahmad Qavam was theprime minister of Iran from 9 August 1942 from 15 February 1943. He resolved the Soviet inspired rebellion of the occupied Azerbaijan province. He ordered the Iranian delegation to the UN to negotiate issues pending before the Security Council directly with the Soviet delegation. He then flew to Moscow to discuss the issues personally with Stalin.
• Ali Razmara was Chief commander ofImperial Army of Iran.

• Kim Koo was thePresident ofProvisional Government of the Republic of Korea from 1940 until 1947.
• Ryu Dong-yeol was the Chief of Staff of theKorean Liberation Army
• Ji Cheong-cheon was the Supreme Commander of theKorean Liberation Army

• Edwin Barclay was thePresident ofLiberia from 1930 until 1944.
• William Tubman was the President of Liberia from 1944 until 1971.

• Grand Duchess Charlotte was head of state ofLuxembourg.
• Pierre Dupong wasPrime Minister of Luxembourg and later led the government in exile after the country wasoccupied.
• Émile Speller was Major-Commandant of theCorps des Gendarmes et Volontaires during theGerman invasion of Luxembourg. He was briefly held prisoner.
• Guillaume Konsbruck was a captain who fled Luxembourg following invasion and served asaide-de-camp to Grand Duchess Charlotte during her exile. He was promoted to major and returned to Luxembourg in 1944 and helped establish a new army for the country.

• Manuel Ávila Camacho was Brigade General andPresident ofMexico from 1940 till 1946. Ávila declared war against the Axis powers in 1942 after two of Mexico's ships were destroyed by German submarines. Ávila Camacho cooperated in the war effort, providing theUnited States with 15,000 soldiers and 300,000 workers under theBracero Program.
• Antonio Cárdenas Rodríguez was Colonel and Commander of the Mexican Expeditionary Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Expedicionaria Mexicana (FAEM)) since January 1, 1945. He and 300 elements from the FAEM arrived on May 1 in Manila, in Luzon, principal island of Philippines, and established in Clark Field under the 5th Air Force of the USAAF, commanded by General Douglas MacArthur. He represented Mexico at the signing of the Japanese surrender document on theUSS Missouri on September 1.
• Radamés Gaxiola Andrade was Captain and Commander of the 201st Squadron (Escuadrón 201) of the FAEM, under the 58th Group of the 5th Air Force of the USAAF. He commanded Mexican air operations on Luzon and recognition flies on Formosa from June 7 to August 26, 1945. In total, the FAEM performed 59 combat missions.^[13]

• Khorloogiin Choibalsan wasPrime Minister of Mongolia during World War II. He was also the general chief commander of the Mongolian armed forces. Troops under his command defendedKhalkhiin Gol from Japan in 1939 and liberated Inner Mongolia in 1945.

• Wilhelmina of the Netherlands was the rulingQueen of theNetherlands. She led theDutch government in exile after escaping to Britain.
• Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld was the son in law of Queen Wilhelmina andCommander-in-chief of theArmed forces of the Netherlands from 1944 until 1945, served as aWing commander for theRoyal Air Force from 1941 until 1944.
• Dirk Jan de Geer was theprime minister of the Netherlands from 1939 until 1940. WhenNazi Germany invaded the Netherlands he fled to London. As he wanted to make peace with Nazi Germany, he was forced to resign.
• Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy was Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1940 until 1945. After theFall of France and Dirk Jan de Geer's resignation, Gerbrandy was appointed the office of prime minister by Queen Wilhelmina in London. After the liberation, he returned to form a new cabinet but ended up resigning.
• Henri Winkelman wasCommander-in-chief of theArmed forces of the Netherlands during theBattle of the Netherlands. Winkelman was responsible for defending the Netherlands the Nazi invasion. He was captured and interned for the rest of the war.
• Alidius Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer wasGovernor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1936 to 1942 when the colony wasoccupied by Japan.
• Conrad Helfrich wasVice Admiral of theRoyal Netherlands Navy during theNetherlands East Indies campaign. At the outbreak of the war in the Pacific Helfrich assumed command of all Dutch naval units in theDutch East Indies. On September 2, 1945, he signed theJapanese Instrument of Surrender aboard the battleshipUSS Missouri on behalf of the Dutch government.^[14]

• Haakon VII of Norway wasKing of Norway and the formal head of state from 1905 to his death in 1957. Following the German invasion of Norway in 1940, Haakon refused to meet the demands of the attackers, and went into exile inLondon, where he stayed for the rest of the war.
• Johan Nygaardsvold wasprime minister during the war. His government agreed with the King not to meet the German demands, and went into exile in London. Nygaardsvold resigned shortly after the war.
• Otto Ruge wasChief of Defence of Norway from May to June 1940, leading the Norwegian forces in theNorwegian Campaign. After the Germans had conquered Norway, Ruge was arrested and sent to Germany. He resumed his position for a short time after the war.
• Crown Prince Olav wasChief of Defence, leading the Norwegian forces in exile from 1 July 1944.
• Carl Gustav Fleischer was the commander of theNorwegian 6th Division during the Norwegian Campaign. He led the allied recapture ofNarvik on May 28, 1940, later heading into exile in theUnited Kingdom, where he was named commander of the Norwegian Army in exile. He was the first commander to win a major victory against the Germans.

• Ignacy Mościcki wasPresident of Poland from 1926 until 1939. After theInvasion of Poland he was forced to resign and went into exile in Switzerland.
• Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski was a Polish physician, general and politician who served as Polish Minister of Internal Affairs from 1936 to 1939 and was the last Prime Minister of Poland before World War II. After the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, he fled to Romania and was interned there. After the German occupation of Romania in 1940, he went to Turkey and thence to Palestine. In 1947, he went to London, where he died in 1962.
• Edward Rydz-Śmigły wasMarshal of Poland and commander of thePolish armed forces during theinvasion of Poland. After the invasion; Śmigły-Rydz took complete responsibility for Poland's military defeat. He later resigned and joined the resistance movement as a common underground soldier.
• Henryk Sucharski was a major in thePolish Army. At the outbreak of World War II, he was the commander of theWesterplatte position. Troops under his command defendedWesterplatte for seven days against overwhelming odds. Sucharski survived the war and was posthumously promoted to the rank of General. Despite his efforts to improve the defences, he later tried to persuade his fellow officers to surrender and suffered a nervous breakdown which required his deputy to assume command.

• Władysław Raczkiewicz was the President of thePolish Government in Exile from 1939 until his death in 1947. When the Nazisinvaded Poland, Raczkiewicz fled to London where he established the government in exile.
• Władysław Sikorski was Prime Minister of thePolish Government in Exile and commander of thePolish Armed Forces. A staunch advocate of the Polish cause on the diplomatic scene, he supported the reestablishment ofdiplomatic relations between Poland and the Soviet Union, which had been severed after the Soviet alliance with Germany. In July 1943, Sikorski was killed when his plane crashed into the sea 16 seconds after takeoff fromGibraltar.
• Stanisław Mikołajczyk succeeded Sikorski as prime minister, serving in this post from 1943 to 1944.
• Tomasz Arciszewski succeeded Mikołajczyk as prime minister, serving in this post from 1944 to 1947.
• Kazimierz Sosnkowski succeeded Sikorski as Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Armed Forces, serving in this capacity from 1943 to 1944.
• Władysław Anders was a Polish General and commander of theII Corps during the war. WhenGermany invaded Poland, Anders fled east and was captured by theRed Army. After the Nazi invasion of the USSR, he was released and placed in commanded of thePolish Armed Forces in the East until 1942.
• Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski was commander of theHome Army during theWarsaw Uprising.
• Stanisław Maczek was the Polish commander who had never been defeated in battle, and who fought as a commander during thePolish Soviet War, theInvasion of Poland in 1939, and from just after the initial landing inNormandy to the end of war as the commander of the1st Armoured Division (Poland) (Hill 262,Breda,Wilhelmshaven)
• Stanisław Sosabowski was commander of thePolish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade, which fought with distinction atArnhem.
• Marian Kukiel commander of the I Polish Corps from their formation in 1940 until 1942. He was Minister of War in exile from 1943 to 1944.
• Jan Zumbach was theSquadron Leader of theNo. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron from 1942 until 1943. Zumbach never fought during theInvasion of Poland but fought during theBattle of Britain. Zumbach was awarded theCross of Valor for his service during the war.

• Joseph Stalin wasGeneral Secretary of the Communist Party of theSoviet Union during World War II. From 1941 onwards, he was also Chairman of the Committee of the People's Comissars (Premier) of the Soviet Union. It was during Stalin's reign that the USSR emerged as a superpower that rivaled the United States. As the supreme commander of the Red Army, Stalin led theRed Army to liberate the Soviet Union from Nazi occupation. After the war Stalin put communist leaders in power in Eastern Europe, setting up theEastern Bloc and leading to theCold War.
• Kliment Voroshilov was the leader of the Soviet Army during WW2.
• Georgy Zhukov was a Soviet Field Marshal who led the Red Army to liberate the Soviet Union from Nazi occupation. He also led the Soviets to overrun much ofEastern Europe and to conquer and capture Germany's capital, Berlin. After the war Zhukov was the supreme Military Commander of the Soviet Occupation Zone in Germany.
• Ivan Isakov Chief of Staff of the Soviet Navy, Deputy USSR Navy Minister, and held the rank ofAdmiral. He played a crucial role in shaping theSoviet Navy, particularly the Baltic andBlack Sea flotillas.
• Nikolay Gerasimovich Kuznetsov wasAdmiral of theSoviet Navy, which was primarily responsible for keeping the Nazis out of theBlack Sea and theCaucasus. Despite orders to the contrary, he placed his navy on high alert hours before the commencement ofOperation Barbarossa resulting in the Navy being the only branch of the Soviet armed forces that was prepared for the invasion.
• Vyacheslav Molotov was Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union from 1939 to 1949. He was responsible for theMolotov–Ribbentrop Pact which governed Soviet-German relations until June 1941 when Hitler attacked the Soviet Union. Molotov conducted urgent negotiations with Britain and, later, the United States for wartime alliances. He secured Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill's agreement to create a "second front" in Europe.
• Mikhail Kalinin was during the whole war period the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, the nominal Head of State of the Soviet Union. Although he was the Head of State, he remained mostly in the background, while Stalin was the undisputed war leader with supreme authority over the Soviet Union. A Communist Party elder, Kalinin was a key member of Stalin's inner circle of power until his death. He signed the order authorizing theKatyn massacre.
• Ivan Bagramyan commander of the1st Baltic Front. He orchestrated theoffensives which pushedGerman forces out of the Baltic republics.
• Vasily Chuikov commanded the 64th Army and later the 62nd Army, which defendedStalingrad during the crucialBattle of Stalingrad.
• Leonid Govorov became Soviet commander inLeningrad in 1942, and commanded Leningrad's forces inOperation Spark. In 1944, he was promoted toMarshal of the Soviet Union.
• Ivan Konev was commander of the 19th Army during the early days of theNazi invasion. He led the Red Army on theEastern Front and liberated much of Eastern Europe. He helped in the capture ofBerlin.
• Kirill Meretskov commanded the7th Army during theWinter War. He was responsible for breaking theMannerheim Line.
• Sergei KhudyakovMarshal of the aviation and commander of the 1st Air Army.
• Konstantin Rokossovsky was made Marshal of the Soviet Union for his planning ofOperation Bagration.
• Boris Shaposhnikov
• Semyon Timoshenko
• Fyodor Tolbukhin
• Aleksandr Vasilevsky served as a career Russian Army office who was awardedMarshall of the Soviet Union in 1943.
• Matvei Zakharov
• Nikita Khrushchev

• Franklin D. Roosevelt was the32ndPresident of the United States, from 1933 until his death in 1945. Roosevelt had come into power during theGreat Depression on a promise to heal the country. Prior to theattack on Pearl Harbor, he attempted toaid the Allies without declaring war. He died in office two weeks before thesurrender of Germany.
• Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States from 1945 until 1953. Truman took office after the death of Roosevelt. President Truman ordered theatomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. After the war he oversaw postwar recovery efforts.
• William D. Leahy was theChief of Staff to the Commander in Chief and an American naval officer who served as the senior-most United States military officer on active duty during World War II. Leahy was recalled to active duty as the personal Chief of Staff to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942 and served in that position throughout World War II. He chaired the Chiefs of Staff and was a major decision-maker during the war.
• George Marshall wasGeneral of the Army and theChief of Staff during the war. As Chief of Staff, Marshall oversaw the largest military expansion in American history. Marshall coordinated Allied operations in Europe and the Pacific. After the war Marshall becameSecretary of State and led the post-war reconstruction effort in Europe, which became known as theMarshall Plan. For his role in the recovery he received theNobel Peace Prize.
• Henry H. Arnold was an American general officer holding the grades ofGeneral of the Army and laterGeneral of the Air Force. He was the Commanding General of theU.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.
• Ernest King was Commander in Chief of theUnited States Fleet (1941–45) as well asChief of Naval Operations (1942–45) andFleet Admiral (from 1944).
• Henry L. Stimson wasSecretary of War from 1940 until 1945. He was an early proponent for war against Germany. As secretary of war Stimson was in charge of much of the organizational and logistical aspects of America's war effort. He oversaw the raising and training 13 million soldiers and airmen, supervised the spending of a third of the nation'sGDP on the Army and the Air Forces, helped formulate military strategy, and took personal control of building and using theatomic bomb.
• Cordell Hull wasSecretary of State from 1933 until 1944. Hull was responsible for foreign relations before the attack on Pearl Harbor. He sent theHull note to Japan prior to the attack, which was part of the United States attempt to open Chinese markets to U.S. goods against Japanese interests there. After the war he was the key architect for establishing theUnited Nations and was awarded theNobel Peace Prize.
• James F. Byrnes led theOffice of Economic Stabilization and theOffice of War Mobilization.
• William J. Donovan was the director of theOffice of Strategic Services from 1942 until it was disbanded in 1945. Donovan and the OSS was responsible for collecting intelligence by the Army, Navy, andState Department. For his actions he was awarded theDistinguished Service Medal.
• J. Edgar Hoover was the director of theFederal Bureau of Investigation from 1935 until 1972. Hoover and the FBI were responsible for the intelligence in the United States and South America during the war. Hoover had success in shutting down aNazi spy network in the United States.

• Dwight D. Eisenhower nicknamed "Ike", was theSupreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe. He was responsible for planning and supervising the liberation of France and Europe with the invasion of Nazi Germany. Following the Germanunconditional surrender, Eisenhower was appointed Military Governor of theU.S. Occupation Zone. Seven years after the war, he was elected aspresident of the United States.
• Omar Bradley was General of the Army inNorth Africa andEurope during World War II. He led theFirst United States Army duringOperation Overlord and the invasion of Europe. He was informally known as "the soldier's general."
• Mark W. Clark was the allied commander in theItalian Campaign. He led allied forces through theinvasion of Italy, the battles ofAnzio andMonte Cassino and the subsequent capture ofRome in 1944, the first of the three major axis capitals to fall.
• Jacob L. Devers was the commander of the6th Army Group in Europe. He oversaw theinvasion of southern France in 1944. With his American and French forces, Devers clearedAlsace, reduced theColmar Pocket, crossed theRhine River and accepted the surrender of German forces inAustria. Initially the CG of the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, in the late summer of 1942 he "swapped jobs" with Gen. Eisenhower, becoming Commanding General European Theater of Operations, freeing up Ike to command theOperation Torch invasion of North Africa in November 1942. In early 1943 he returned to command the MTO for the Sicily, Italy and Southern France Campaigns.
• John C. H. Lee was the commanding general of all supply and service forces in the ETO, beginning in May 1942. His logistics command was responsible for theOperation Bolero buildup of over 3 million men and women, and 37,000,000 tons of materiel in the UK, and delivering a total of 41,000,000 tons to support the fighting forces in the entire Theater. He was Deputy Theater Commander for Supply and Administration to Gen. Eisenhower, and he led the largest single unit in World War II. The Communications Zone, or COM-Z as it was known after D-Day numbered some 435,000 soldiers at its peak.
• George S. Patton was one of the United States' leading generals during the campaigns inNorth Africa,Sicily,France andGermany. He was known as "Old Blood and Guts".
• Carl Andrew Spaatz was commander of theAir Forces Combat Command with the rank ofmajor general and in overall command of theUSAAF in the European Theater of Operations.
• Royal E. Ingersoll was the commander in chief of theU.S. Atlantic Fleet from 1942 to late 1944. He commanded the American forces during thebattle of the Atlantic and was employed in running troop convoys and transporting stores, munitions, and fuel to theUnited Kingdom and theMediterranean.

• Douglas MacArthur,General of the Army was Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in theSouth West Pacific Area, 1942–45. He was commander ofUS and Filipino forces in the Philippines, before relocating to Australia. He accepted the surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945, and then becameSupreme Commander Allied Powers.
• Chester W. Nimitz,fleet admiral and commander of theUnited States Pacific Fleet in 1941–42 and became supreme commander of Allied forces in thePacific Ocean Area, 1942–45.
• Holland Smith was a general in theUnited States Marine Corps during World War II. He is sometimes called the "father" of modern U.S.amphibious warfare. He led American forces in several major campaigns, among others those in theAleutians,Gilberts-Marshalls islands,Saipan, andIwo Jima.
• Joseph Stilwell, was a general who wasChiang Kai-shek's chief of staff and commander of all US forces inChina,Burma andIndia as well as deputy commander ofSouth East Asia Command
• William Halsey Jr.fleet admiral who commanded theThird Fleet, formed in 1943, and appeared in theGuadalcanal campaign and theBattle of Leyte Gulf.
• Raymond A. Spruance commandedUnited States Navy forces at both theBattle of Midway and theBattle of the Philippine Sea.
• Frank Jack Fletcher was commander of the Allied Naval forces at theBattle of the Coral Sea.
• Curtis LeMay was a general in theUnited States Air Force. He is credited with designing and implementing an effective, but also controversial, systematicstrategic bombing campaign in thePacific theater of World War II.
• Husband E. Kimmel was commander-in-chief of theUnited States Pacific Fleet when theJapanese attacked the naval base at Pearl Harbor. After the attack, he was relieved of his command.
• Walter Short was commander-in-chief of the Army forces at Pearl Harbor.
• William S. Parsons was an American admiral. He was the weaponeer of the aircraftEnola Gay, which dropped the atomic bomb onHiroshima in 1945. He worked on theManhattan Project.
• Paul Tibbets was aUnited States Air Force general who flew the Enola Gay, along with Parsons, over Hiroshima.
• Alexander Vandegrift wasUnited States Marine Corps four star general who commanded forces at theBattle for Henderson Field.

• Rexford Tugwell, Tugwell served as the last appointed American Governor of Puerto Rico, from 1941 to 1946. He worked with the legislature to create the Puerto Rico Planning, Urbanization, and Zoning Board in 1942. Tugwell supported Puerto Rican self-government through amendment to the Organic Act in 1948. He publicly supportedLuis Muñoz Marín's Popular Democratic Party, the PPD, which wanted a Commonwealth status. As he prepared to retire from the Governorship, Tugwell was instrumental in getting the first Puerto Rican appointed to the job, Jesús T. Piñero, then serving as Resident Commissioner in Washington, D.C. Tugwell also served as Chancellor of theUniversity of Puerto Rico.
• Virgil R. Miller, Colonel, U.S. Army, was the Regimental Commander of the442d Regimental Combat Team (RCT), a unit which was composed of "Nisei" (second generation Americans of Japanese descent), duringWorld War II. He led the 442nd in its rescue of theLost Texas Battalion of the36th Infantry Division, in the forests of the Vosges Mountains in northeasternFrance.^[15]

• Pedro del Valle, was a highly decorated Marine lieutenant general who played a key role in the Guadalcanal Campaign and theBattle of Guam and became the Commanding General of the First Marine Division. Del Valle played an instrumental role in the defeat of the Japanese forces in Okinawa and was in charge of the reorganization ofOkinawa.^[16][17][18]
• Juan César Cordero Dávila, was a brigadier general who in World War II commanded the65th Infantry Regiment (United States), a Puerto Rican unit, in Europe.

• Manuel L. Quezon was the firstFilipino president of theCommonwealth of the Philippines under U.S. rule in the early period of the 20th century. After the Japanese invasion, he was evacuated to Washington, D.C. Still in exile, he died of tuberculosis inSaranac Lake, New York in 1944.^[19][20]
• Sergio Osmeña was the second Filipino president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. As Vice President, he ascended to the presidency after Quezon's death in 1944. He returned to the Philippines the same year with General Douglas MacArthur and the liberation forces.
• Basilio J. Valdes was the commanding general of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Valdes was given the rank of Major General of the Commonwealth Army. After the Japanese Invasion, he was evacuated to Washington, D.C., and he was returned to the Philippines the same year with General Douglas MacArthur and the liberation forces.
• Vicente Lim commanded the Philippine Commonwealth Army during the early days of the war. Lim was given the rank of Brigadier General and became the top ranking Filipino under General MacArthur. He was placed in command of the 41st Infantry Division, Philippine Commonwealth Army, USAFFE tasked with the defense ofBataan. After the fall of the Philippines, he led resistance against Japanese occupation.

• Peter II was the lastKing of Yugoslavia reigning from 1934 till 1945. An opponent of Nazi Germany, he participated in a British-supported coup d'état opposing the Prince Regent,Prince Paul. Peter was forced to leave the country following the Axis invasion. In 1944, he signed theTreaty of Vis which was an agreement to share power withJosip Broz Tito. But, after the war, Peter was deposed in a referendum held by theCommunist government.
• Draža Mihailović was the leader ofChetniks, the royalist resistance movement, supported by theexiled royal government until August 1944, when the government switched support toJosip Broz Tito'sPartisans under British pressure. Mihailović was decorated with the highest war medals by France and the United States (Legion of Merit). After the war, he was executed by the newly formed Communist government of Tito in 1945 for high treason, war crimes and crimes against humanity. In 2015, he was rehabilitated by the High Court of Serbia.
• Josip Broz Tito was a leader ofYugoslav Partisans resistance movement, which was the largest in Europe. Communist by political orientation, Tito was nevertheless able to gather nationwide support for anti-fascist cause, and to persuade Allied governments that only his forces were mounting credible resistance to Axis powers inYugoslavia. By the end of war, occupied Yugoslavia had drawn attention of no less than 20 German divisions alone, prompting several major operations in the 1942–1944 period, which were futile. Finally, with help from advancing Soviet forces, the Partisans liberated Yugoslavia, reaching at the final days of operations a respectable size of 800,000 soldiers.
• Dušan Simović was the Chief of the General Staff of theRoyal Yugoslav Army and prime minister.
• Slobodan Jovanović was theprime minister of the Yugoslav government in exile during World War II from January 11, 1942, to June 26, 1943.
• Ivan Šubašić was the prime minister of the Yugoslav government in exile when theTreaty of Vis (orTito-Šubašić Agreement) was signed on June 14, 1944.

• Ho Chi Minh was the leader ofViet Minh and theIndochinese Communist Party who served as the founder and first president of theDemocratic Republic of Vietnam from 1945.
• Võ Nguyên Giáp was the military commander ofPeople’s Army of Vietnam. Viet Minh troops under his command liberated Vietnam in 1945.
• Trường Chinh was theGeneral Secretary of the Indochinese Communist Party from 1941 to 1951.
• Nguyễn Lương Bằng was the Director of the General Department of Việt Minh from 1941 to 1945.

• Phạm Ngọc Thạch [vi] was a Vietnamese revolutionary who served as the chairman of theVanguard Youth.

• Thaddeus Lê Hữu Từ was a Vietnamese Catholic prelate, was an ardent opponent of French colonialism and Vietnamese communism and Japanese imperialism.

• Dương Văn Dương was a Vietnamese military leader who served as the first Supreme commander ofBình Xuyên forces. Under his command, Binh Xuyen cooperated with the communist Việt Minh to against the Japanese and French.
• Lê Văn Viễn was the deputy commander of Binh Xuyen and successor of Dương Văn Dương.

• Allies of World War II
• Axis leaders of World War II
• Commanders of World War II
• Neutral powers during World War II
• Opposition to World War II

• L, Klemen (2000)."Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942".

• Military leaders of World War II
• Allies of World War II

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