What were the war aims of the major participants in World War II?

The war
aims were different for each of the
participants. Even nations allied with each other had
different reasons for
fighting in the war.

Britain, the United States, and
the
Soviet Union fought on the side of the Allied Powers. Britain's goal was to avoid
invasion
and to break the German stranglehold on Europe; it had been a
longstanding British foreign
policy not to allow any European country gain
too much power.

The United
States's goal was to avoid
future encirclement by both Germany and Japan that would either
affect
national security or trade. The United States's initial strategy was to supply the
Allies
with money and supplies, but after Japan's attacks on Pearl Harbor
(December 7, 1941), the
United States became a full combatant in this
war.

The Soviet Union's goal
was also survival; out of
the three major Allies, its fight against Germany was the most acute,
as it
was invaded. The Soviet Union also desired to create its own sphere of influence after
the
war by creating...