Real cartographic data

World War II Map

Two free printable World War II maps. The first shows Europe and North Africa in November 1942, when the Axis held the most land, with the Allies, the Axis, the countries the Axis occupied and the furthest German front in the Soviet Union. The second shows the war in the Pacific, with Japan and the lands it held in mid-1942. Numbered dots mark key battles on both. Each comes in color, black and white, and blank.

Choose your version

Black and white, color or blank.

All three are free PDFs sized for US Letter paper.

World War II Map, black and white — Black and white
Everything named on a plain outline map with no terrain. No color ink needed.
downloadBlack and white PDF

World War II Map, blank — Blank
The black-and-white map with its numbered dots and lines to name each battle.
downloadBlank PDF

World War II, 1939 to 1945

World War II was fought from 1939 to 1945 and was the largest war in history. It began in Europe on September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland; Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The main Axis powers were Germany, Italy and Japan. The main Allies were Britain and its empire, the Soviet Union, the United States and China, along with France and many other countries. By the end of 1942 Germany and Italy controlled most of Europe: Germany had occupied France, Poland, Norway, Denmark, the Low Countries, Yugoslavia and Greece, and its armies stood deep inside the Soviet Union, from the siege lines around Leningrad to Stalingrad and the Caucasus Mountains. That winter the tide turned. The Soviet army won at Stalingrad, the British won at El Alamein in Egypt, and American and British troops landed in North Africa. Allied armies landed in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, the Soviet army pushed west, and Germany surrendered in May 1945.

Battles on the Europe map

1 Germany invades Poland, September 1939
2 Battle of Britain, 1940
3 Moscow, 1941
4 Siege of Leningrad, 1941 to 1944
5 Stalingrad, 1942 to 1943
6 El Alamein, 1942
7 D-Day, Normandy, June 6, 1944
8 Battle of the Bulge, 1944 to 1945
9 Berlin, 1945

Find it on the map

The front line deep inside the Soviet Union in November 1942
France, all of it occupied by Germany after November 1942
The neutral countries: Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden, Ireland and Turkey

The Europe map shows November 1942. Countries are colored at the country level. Finland fought the Soviet Union alongside Germany without formally joining the Axis. Germany occupied the rest of France on November 11, 1942, and Axis troops held Tunisia from November 9; Morocco and Algeria came under Allied control after American and British landings on November 8. Egypt was officially neutral but held by British forces. The front line in the Soviet Union is approximate, and the land shaded west of it was under Axis control. Borders are as they were in 1938, adapted from the historical-basemaps dataset by A. Ourednik (GPL-3.0). Coastlines and rivers are shown as they are today.

Second map

World War II in the Pacific

Black and white, color or blank, free PDFs sized for US Letter paper.

World War II in the Pacific, labeled — Color
Japan, its empire and the lands it held in 1942, with seven numbered battles and events.
downloadColor PDF

World War II in the Pacific, blank — Blank
The black-and-white map with its numbered dots and lines to name each battle or event.
downloadBlank PDF

The war in the Pacific

In Asia, Japan had been at war with China since 1937, and it already ruled Korea, Taiwan and Manchuria, where it set up the state of Manchukuo. On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, bringing the United States into the war, and within six months it had taken French Indochina, the Philippines, Malaya and Singapore, the Dutch East Indies, Burma and many Pacific islands, with Thailand as its ally. The tide turned at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. American, Australian and other Allied forces then fought their way back, island by island, from Guadalcanal to Iwo Jima and Okinawa. In August 1945 the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, and Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945.

Battles on the Pacific map

1 Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941
2 Midway, June 1942
3 Guadalcanal, 1942 to 1943
4 Iwo Jima, February to March 1945
5 Okinawa, April to June 1945
6 Hiroshima, August 6, 1945
7 Nagasaki, August 9, 1945

The Pacific map shows mid-1942. Country outlines are today’s (Natural Earth), and Manchukuo follows the historical-basemaps 1938 outline. Japan held only the cities, railways and coast of eastern China and parts of New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, so those are hatched, and the occupied part of China is an approximate outline. The Soviet Union and Mongolia were not at war with Japan until August 1945.

Frequently asked questions

Who were the Allies and the Axis in World War II?

The main Axis powers were Germany, Italy and Japan, joined by Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Thailand. The main Allies were Britain and its empire, the Soviet Union, the United States and China, along with France and many other countries.

When did World War II start and end?

It began on September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland, and ended on September 2, 1945, when Japan formally surrendered. Germany had surrendered in May 1945.

When did the Axis control the most land?

In Europe, in late 1942, just before the battles of Stalingrad and El Alamein. In the Pacific, in mid-1942, just before the Battle of Midway. The two maps show those moments.

What was the Pacific theater?

The war between Japan and the Allies in East Asia and the Pacific Ocean, from Pearl Harbor in December 1941 to Japan’s surrender in September 1945. The second map shows it.

Which countries stayed neutral in World War II?

In Europe, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden and Ireland stayed neutral, and Turkey did until early 1945.

World War II Timeline arrow_forward All printable maps