Census When do you think WWII started?

The fighting during the "fairly local affair" stretched roughly between those five points:
- The coasts of Greenland
- Cape Magellan
- The middle of the Indian Ocean
- Eastern Persia
- Laponia

Of course, beyond that perimeter, there were countries involved in the war but not actually involved in the fighting, on all five continents. Actual fighting occurred on three continents, with a continuous conflict zone in 1941 that stretched from Northern Russia to Libya, passing by way of Persia, Iraq, Syria, the Mediterranean and Egypt.

Japan, despite not being at war with the Soviet Union, matters to that conflict, as until Soviet intelligence could confirm the Japanese intended to attack elsewhere, the Soviets had to keep several high quality armies ready to resume the fighting that had already occurred in two incidents (in 1938 and 1939) on a full scale. The release of those armies played an instrumental role in saving Moscow, which would have effectively taken the USSR out of the fight.

 

Sure but they started on Indochina in 1940 after they joined the Axis.

 

The problem is that the Second Sino-Japanese War doesn't even itself have a clear start date. I think 1939 is the best date, as part of a larger conflict that either began in 1914 or 1870.

 

There was indeed fighting in Indochina in 1940 between the 22nd and 26th of September 1940 - the local Japanese commander in chief grew too impatient and wanted to deploy troops without waiting for the signing of a formal agreement between the Vichy regime and Japan to allow their passage and use of naval bases. It led to the rare occurrence of Japan tendering an official apology on October 5th. The incident delayed the deployment in large numbers of Japanese troops in Indochina, which occurred late in July 1941, along with what was essentially the placement of the French administration under Japanese control (said administration stayed in place until a Japanese coup in early 1945, when the Japanese worried the local French authorities would cooperate with De Gaulle's government and fight them locally - there were about 50,000 French troops in the region at the time).

It doesn't, as there was no formal declaration of war until July 28th, 1937, but continuous fighting begins after the Marco Polo bridge incident on July 7th, 1937, mostly on a skirmish scale until the 25th, with army-sized troop movements from both sides as they prepared for outright war.

 

I voted for 1939 because the Axis Alliance had already been formed by that point.

 

The thread reminds me of this:

Spoiler

 

I'mma vote for Isengard troops laying siege on Helm's Deep in Rohan.