Lists about life for soldiers and civilians alike during the Second Great War, which raged around the world from 1939-1945.

WWII

Few things invite a good historical debate quite like the merits of the tanks of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/pivotal-moments-world-war-two/michael-muir?ref=profile_own">World War II</a>. Because such a broad array of machines took to battle - and often against one another, it’s easy (and fun) to compare their strengths and weaknesses.&nbsp;What makes a good tank? Is it the quality of armor or the firepower? How important are cost and ease of maintenance? Is it better to have a few excellent tanks or many, many decent ones? Because every nation operated under different constraints, it’s a debate that goes beyond just the raw numbers. It’s also interesting to see how these machines often reflect the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/what-everyday-life-was-like-under-mussolini/melissa-sartore">societies that built them</a>.This collection looks at 10 of the most effective tanks of WWII and invites you to decide which is the best. For the purposes of this list, the featured tanks need to have either been built in significant numbers or made a significant impact on the conflict. Very late-war tanks such as the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/us/m26_pershing.php">M26 Pershing</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.historyisnowmagazine.com/blog/2020/9/13/the-british-comet-tank-just-how-did-it-impact-world-war-two#.YxeqE3bMKUk=">A34 Comet</a> arrived too late to make much of a difference or to be included here. To keep things fair, dedicated tank destroyers are for another list.&nbsp;

Ranking The Top Tanks Of World War II

General

M. Muir

Watchworthy

Memorable villains can oftentimes remain in our minds for longer and more vividly than the films they actually appear in. Hans Landa, the Nazi Colonel who delights in the cat-and-mouse scenarios he creates while hunting down Jews across France, is most certainly <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/small-details-villains-war-movies/tpetersccc">one of these characters</a>. Played by Christoph Waltz, Landa is devious and cruel, but with a cadence and affectation that <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/most-polite-movie-and-tv-villains/jacob-shelton">comes off as courteous and civil</a>. Beyond these enigmatic characteristics, fans have spotted some subtle details about Landa's word choices, mannerisms, and interrogation techniques that make him even more vile and mesmerizing than we already thought him to be.Make sure to vote up the most interesting subtle details as you comb through this list!

15 Subtle Details Fans Noticed About Hans Landa From 'Inglourious Basterds'

T.J. Peters

Making an effective battle tank is no small undertaking, even in the best of times. Between the complexity of the machines, high costs, and stress of combat, it’s a wonder any of them worked at all, let alone worked well. For all the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/top-tanks-ww2/michael-muir?ref=profile_own">tip-top tanks</a> that rolled out during WWII, there were also a fair number of duds. Some proved to be wholly inadequate for combat, while others didn’t even make it that far.&nbsp;From the laughably weak Italian tanks to the blind Russian bear to the asbestos-coated Japanese deathtrap, this collection looks at the worst tank designs of the international conflict.

Ranking The Worst Tanks Of World War II

People have been living all around the world for literally thousands of years. Here are some of the most interesting things human beings have ever done (that we know about).

Fascinating Ancient History

World History

The practice pillaging perceived treasures from conquered territories and destroying what remains is nothing new. Throughout history, communities, religious groups, and entire cultures have been victims of barbaric destruction, mostly in the name of primitive intolerance for any number of ideologies&mdash;race, ethnicity, religion, etc. While lovers of culture may lament the loss, there&#39;s nothing particularly radical about art destroyed by bad people&nbsp;in the name of a cause.&nbsp;

In the 2010s, the Middle East lead&nbsp;the way in the loss&nbsp;of art and artifacts, most&nbsp;of them ancient; the&nbsp;number of historical sites lost because of ISIS increases each year. The <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/brutal-21st-century-rebellions-and-uprisings/peterdugre" target="_blank">collective power vacuum</a> that came in the wake of the Arab Spring&nbsp;allowed swaths of land to fall under ISIS control. ISIS fighters come from all over the world, <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/american-citizens-who-joined-isis-092315/mike-rothschild" target="_blank">including the United States</a>. For the purposes of this article, the group will be refered to as &quot;Daesh,&quot; it&#39;s other name.

Daesh&#39;s isolated interpretation of religion fuels an incendiary agenda to violently rid the world of non-Islamic symbols of faith. The organization seems intent on having&nbsp;history erased by demagogues. This list purposely focuses on historical sites and beautiful artifacts destroyed by these individuals&nbsp;in lieu of the additionally loss of life that accompanies such extreme iconoclasm.

The Most Beautiful Historical Artifacts Destroyed By Terrorists Around The World

12 Historical Artifacts Destroyed By Terrorists Around The World

Jim Jacobi

Looking closer at some of the best, most realistic, most brutal depictions of war in the history of entertainment.

Wars on Screen

Entertainment

Pre-modern war movies feature epic battles and hand-to-hand combat to create some of the bloodiest wars ever <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/horrific-explosions-caught-on-tape/jacob-shelton?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">caught on film</a>. The top ancient war movies feature classic heroes motivating the masses to fight against oppression. This is a list of historical war movies featuring everything from The Last of the Mohicans to 300 to <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/the-best-the-last-samurai-quotes-v1/movie-and-tv-quotes?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">The Last Samurai</a>.What historical war films will you find on this list? You might vote&nbsp;Braveheart to the top of the pack. Directed by and starring Mel Gibson, this hit film's unforgettable battle scenes&nbsp;helped it to take home five Academy Awards. Gladiator is another fantastic ancient war movie about one man's quest for justice. Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus featured Kirk Douglas in the title role of a slave rising up against his Roman masters. Other good movies featured on this roundup of the&nbsp;best pre-modern war films&nbsp;include Willow, First Knight, and Kingdom of Heaven.Do you have a favorite historical war film? Give the best movies a thumbs up and get in on the conversation in the comments section.

Kingdom of Heaven

25+ Fantastic Pre-Modern War Movies That Take Place a Long Time Ago

Film

Pre-Modern War Movies | Films About Historical Battles

Ranker Film

Despicable Me

Lists of movies to turn on for the whole family on sick days, snow days, bad days, and good days—because a little screentime never hurt anybody.

What the Kids Are Watching

Adventure Entertainment

Minion fans, we are&nbsp;ranking the greatest characters in the Despicable Me franchise. From&nbsp;2010's Despicable Me to the 2017's Despicable Me 3, the best Despicable Me series characters are also known to be some of the&nbsp;best movie characters of all time.&nbsp;Who is the best Despicable Me character?Featuring the Minions (Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud, Jermaine Clement), Lucy Wilde&nbsp;(Kristen Wiig), and of course, Felonious Gru&nbsp;himself (Steve Carell), this list of Despicable Me movie characters includes memorable villains, funny sidekicks, and goofy heroes.Vote up the best characters in the Despicable Me movies. Feel free to add any popular Despicable Me characters missing from the list.

The Best Despicable Me Characters in the Whole Franchise, Ranked

Film character

Best Despicable Me Series Characters in the Franchise

Disney

Looking for more shows like Star Wars: The Bad Batch? We&rsquo;ve compiled this list of movies and TV <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/what-to-watch-if-you-love-high-fidelity/watchworthy?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">shows similar to</a> Star Wars: The Bad Batch, the 2021 Disney Plus original centered on a squad of elite clone troopers AKA Clone Force 99.

With lots of options, including Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a show with events that proceeded the Bad Batch plot, and even movies like Attack of the Clones, a film that takes place in a galaxy far far away, deciding <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/what-to-watch-if-you-love-the-chi/watchworthy?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">what to watch after</a> Star Wars: The Bad Batch will really just depend on your mood.

Vote up the best movies and shows like Star Wars: The Bad Batch, so other fans know what to watch next. Thanks to streaming services, like Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney Plus, and Prime Video, you can start streaming these movies and shows right now.

With more than 40 million people visiting Ranker every month, we are able to offer you data-driven recommendations based on voting across thousands of film &amp; TV polls.

What To Watch If You Love 'Star Wars: The Bad Batch'

25+ Best Movies & Shows Like 'Star Wars: The Bad Batch'

watchworthy

Top Gun: Maverick

It took only 36 years, one global pandemic, and 60 hours of flight training for all the actors, but here we are with a sequel to Top Gun. Whether you've been a fan since 1986 or you're just now hopping on the bandwagon, there is one thing we can all agree on: Top Gun: Maverick was worth the wait!Tom Cruise and the cast of the film have spilled all about the making of the movie, from Cruise's Flight Academy to the amount of times the actors puked in the cockpit. Vote up the interview moments that made you go, “That's ‘Top Gun,’ baby!”

‘Great Balls Of Fire!’ Tom Cruise & The Cast Spill All About The Making Of 'Top Gun: Maverick'

lucirose

History

It was the war that pitted brother against brother&nbsp;and threatened to collapse the great American experiment a mere century after its founding. The bloodiest conflict in US history, the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/civil-war-hygiene/setareh-janda" target="_blank">Civil War</a> is a fascinating and tragic chapter in the nation&#39;s&nbsp;story.

Facts about the Civil War are easy to come by, at least for students who were schooled in America. But there are still plenty of weird Civil War facts that slide under the general radar, such as the naval duel fought off the coast of France, Lincoln&#39;s heartfelt letter to the people of Manchester, or the science behind the mysterious &quot;Angel&#39;s Glow&quot; at the Battle of Shiloh. Vote up the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/civil-war-battlefield-surgery/nida-sea" target="_blank">Civil War facts</a> you just learned today.

Facts About The US Civil War That Made Us Say 'Really?'

Pierce Nahigyan

In many ways, WWII was the beginning&nbsp;of unbridled mechanized combat &mdash; and the development of <a href="http://gizmodo.com/5821389/the-largest-gun-ever-built" target="_blank">Hitler&#39;s Gustav gun </a>only added to that legacy. The Gustav was like nothing else anyone had ever seen before: At a whopping four-stories high and weighing in at over 1,350 tons, the giant tank-like machine had destructive abilities that put it in a class of its own. But it did&nbsp;have&nbsp;its downsides.

The giant device&nbsp;was hugely impractical and was not at all subtle in the&nbsp;German countryside, leaving&nbsp;its operators incredibly vulnerable to storm from Allied planes overhead &mdash; not to mention the fact that the arm could only <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hitler-created-the-largest-gun-ever-2015-4" target="_blank">be fired 14 times</a> a day based on the tedious nature of its operation.

Despite the fact that only<a href="http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/hitlers-superweapon-nazi-germany-built-the-largest-gun-ever-19049" target="_blank"> two of these&nbsp;</a>were ever manufactured, and that they were&nbsp;sent to the junk yard within a year, the Gustav remains one of the most devastatingly impressive methods of firepower ever developed, and without a doubt one of the largest.

This Isn't A Tank - It's The Single Largest Gun Ever Used In Military History

The Nazi Gustav Gun Was The Biggest Gun Ever Used In Combat

Kellie Kreiss

In October&nbsp;1941, a German submarine attacked and sank&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href="https://scubadiverlife.com/the-sinking-of-the-ss-thistlegorm/" target="_blank">SS Thistlegorm</a>,&nbsp;a&nbsp;British freighter ship.&nbsp;It was a huge loss to the Allied forces: the Thistlegorm&nbsp;was carrying a full load of supplies that would have helped relieve troops fighting in Northern Africa.&nbsp;In retaliation, under the&nbsp;cover from US Naval bombs dropping from above, another British&nbsp;ship swept in and sank the U-boat, creating a massive wreck that&nbsp;has since&nbsp;become one of the most famous shipwreck dives in the world. However, it could only be accessed by experienced divers &mdash; that is, until Project Thistlegorm&nbsp;began. On the 76th anniversary of the big boat&#39;s&nbsp;sinking,&nbsp;the Project Thistlegorm website went live, opening a whole world of treasures <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/things-found-underwater/ashley-reign" target="_blank">underwater</a>&nbsp;to those of us without the SCUBA tanks and wetsuits.

The underwater world informs much of what humans know and can learn&nbsp;about history as well as the natural environment, but these&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/artist-makes-detailed-warfare-miniatures/nicky-benson" target="_blank">treasures</a> are often hidden from the general public, only available to those willing to dive to the deepest depths to view and sometimes retrieve them. However, Project Thistlegorm changed the game when it brought virtual reality and a decades-old sunken war ship together. Thanks to an insane amount of photographs and 360 videos taken by divers, everyone can access a <a href="https://www.livescience.com/60720-wwii-shipwreck-thistlegorm-virtual-reality-dive.html" target="_blank">virtual reality tour</a> of the fascinating shipwreck.&nbsp;

This Virtual Reality Program Lets You Experience A Real WWII Shipwreck From Your Couch

This Virtual Reality Program Lets You Experience A Real WW2 Shipwreck

Cleo Egnal

The Tragic Story Of The Photographer Who Documented The Renegotiations Of German Reparations

The Tragic Story Of The Photographer Who Documented The Treaty That Ended WWI

Melissa Sartore

The Vietnam War - known in Vietnam as the Resistance War Against America - lasted from November 1, 1955, until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.

The War in Vietnam

Vietnam War

It&#39;s hard to imagine that a global catastrophe could be the inspiration for great music, but in the case of the Vietnam conflict, that&#39;s just what happened. The soundtrack to the conflict&nbsp;reflected not only what was going on in Vietnam, but also the unrest back home, where&nbsp;anti-war sentiment reached a fever pitch as the 1960s came to a close. The songs capture the spirit of the time; some, released years later, deal with the lingering effects of the conflict. But for those in battle, many of these songs were simply a link to a home they missed and longed for. Some of the songs <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/secretly-unpatriotic-songs-about-america/brandon-michaels" target="_blank">vigorously skewer patriotism</a>, while others express&nbsp;a wistful yearning for a more peaceful world. Here are the most well-known -&nbsp;and a few that may surprise you.

16 Songs About The Vietnam War

Song

Michelle Nati

Movies are always searching for a way to make their fights more intense. From the clich&eacute; traintop engagement to brawls on top of speeding cars, a simple fist fight isn&#39;t always enough. No, if you&#39;re going to have an all-out clash as one of the climactic moments of your film, you better make it as nail-biting as possible.

So how do you up the danger for the main characters? Stage their battle on top of a moving vehicle, of course. Now the characters don&#39;t just have to worry about dodging blows from their opponent, they also have to avoid the many obstacles that suddenly appear as the vehicle zooms along. Ducking under signs and tunnels, struggling against the momentum of the car, and fighting to maintain&nbsp;balance on a moving medium all add an extra layer to the stakes.

While these <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/practical-stunts-action-movies/jason-robbins" target="_blank">wild stunts</a>&nbsp;are sure to get one&#39;s blood pumping, they&#39;re also completely ridiculous. Could anyone actually accomplish anything while trying to balance themselves on top of a moving train? Probably not. Vote up the most ridiculous movie battles that took place on top of moving vehicles.

The Most Ridiculous Movie Battles That Take Place On Top Of A Moving Vehicle

The Most Ridiculous Battles Fought On Top Of A Moving Vehicle In Movies

Jessica Bedewi

Throughout the 13th&nbsp;century, the group of nomadic tribes known as the Mongols unified under a single ruler and proceeded to <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/how-did-the-mongol-empire-change-the-world/genevieve-carlton" target="_blank">carve out the largest empire</a> the world had ever seen. From the Danube River in Europe to all the way across Asia up to the Pacific Ocean, the highly mobile warriors overcame empires, kingdoms, and states they encountered until they eventually ruled over an enormous number of people.

The formidable ruler, <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/savage-genghis-khan-stories/jason-f-collins" target="_blank">Genghis Khan</a>, started the impressive conquest, but it did not end with him. After his demise, the khan&rsquo;s heirs successfully continued to subdue adversaries on their borders and then managed to maintain their control over the gigantic empire for 100 years. To achieve this, the Mongols not only relied on their revolutionary military tactics, but also established very effective methods to rule over so many different cultures.

How The Mongols Actually Conquered The World

How The Mongols Conquered The World

Erich B. Anderson

Two Women Found Dozens Of WW2-Era Love Letters And Decided To Track Down The Writers

Two Women Found Dozens Of WW2 Love Letters & Tracked Down The Writers

Erin McCann

War lists at Ranker - The ultimate source for hundreds of war lists and rankings

War lists on Ranker

Lists about the period between July 28, 1914, and November 11, 1918, during which the Allied Forces fought the Central Powers for control of the developed world.

Looking closer at films, TV shows, docs, and miniseries that explore, recreate, and occasionally flub up real historical events.

Watching History

Best Movies

This is a list of <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/ranking-the-best-logos-in-the-world?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">the best World</a> War 1 movies ever made with new and classic movies. The following WW1 films list can be sorted by cast, year, director, or more. The list of movies about World War 1 films includes American and foreign titles, and ranges from All Quiet on the Western Front&nbsp;to Lawrence of Arabia. Think your favorite WWI should be higher on the list? Be sure to vote to them up and help your favorite movies get to the top. This list also has WW1 movie titles you can click on for more information on the films. You can even rerank this World War 1 films list in order to start your own. There are some good action WW1&nbsp;movies on this list as well.

The list might not have all the World War 1 movies, but they are considered the best.

The Best World War 1 Movies

The 100+ Best WW1 Movies Ever Made, Ranked

Historical Entertainment

From classics like Saving Private Ryan to newer entries like Dunkirk and 1917, this list ranks the <a href="/crowdranked-list/the-best-movies-of-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">best movies</a> about war, battles, and military conflicts. These films recreate some of the most <a href="/list/most-important-historical-events-of-the-20th-century/mwahahahaha?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">significant events</a> in world history from a variety of perspectives and with a variety of purposes and intentions. Some top war films attempt to recreate as realistically as possible the events they depict, either from an omniscient perspective permitted by historical study or from the point of view of the soldiers and civilians involved in the conflict itself. Ridley Scott&#39;s Black Hawk Down, for example, was both praised in its time and heavily criticized for bringing a &quot;you are there&quot; sense of realism - and little outside or cultural perspective - to a recreation of the Battle of Mogadishu. The best war movies of all time differ widely in their handling of the subject matter, but they all strike a chord with viewers now and in the time when they came out.

Some of the <a href="/list/best-war-movies-on-netflix/reference">greatest war films</a> use <a href="/list/historical-movies-made-before-event-ended/melissa-sartore" target="_blank">war as a backdrop</a> to look at larger issues - such as man&#39;s inhumanity to man or the crippling impact of post-traumatic stress - or just as a meditation on war itself. Still other films like Glory and Band of Brothers&nbsp;examine the personal drama of a few individuals, and mine it for larger insights about the meaning of war and the impact that violence has on individual human lives.

Finally, some war films - particularly those made during the classic Hollywood era - are simply adventure films with war providing a compelling setting and situation. The Great Escape, for example, remains a classic not because of its grand ideas about the nature of war, but because it is a ceaselessly entertaining spectacle. No matter what type of film, there&#39;s no denying that these are certainly the best war movies ever.

Vote up your favorite war films to move them up the list, and if <a href="/list/the-ultimate-favorites-list/stevo200?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">your favorites</a> are not yet represented, make your own version of the list and add them! Then check out the <a href="/list/best-war-movies-on-netflix/ranker-streaming" target="_blank">best war movies on Netflix</a>.

Patton

The 50+ Best War Movies Ever Made, Ranked

The 100+ Best War Movies of All Time - Platoon, Dunkirk, 1917 & More

Ranker Community

Lists about armed forces and military tactics around the world.

Military Men

Good military films give civilians a taste of what our troops go through on the battlefield and throughout their daily lives. While not all of these films feature war, they are all based on&nbsp;military service as a central theme. All branches of the United States&nbsp;military are represented, although admittedly, fewer films have been made about the Coast Guard. Most of these Hollywood films focus on the Army, Navy, and Air Force. All time periods have been included from recent, modern militaries to the armies of the past. A few movies about armed forces from other countries, as well as fictional guerilla forces, are also on this list. If you are interested in the military, then these are the movies for you.

What are the best movies about soldiers, sailors, marines, and military pilots? We&#39;re pretty sure that all of the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-army-movies/ranker-film?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">top military movies</a> are on this list but feel free to rerank&nbsp;it so all your favorites are on top.

Full Metal Jacket

The Best Military Movies Ever Made

The Best Military Movies Of All Time

Did you read that article that linked so-and-so to that guy from the thing? Or see the video about how this is the same as that? Come on, let's weave some tangled webs!

It's a Conspiracy

Weird History

Conspiracy theorists: Call them birthers, deathers or&nbsp;conspiracists. There are many, people who buy into these <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/the-conspiracy-theories-you-believe-are-true/desertrat89?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">popular conspiracy theories</a>, which is why they are the most believed conspiracy theories in US history. Many conspiracy theorists have argued that&nbsp;NASA never landed on the moon, the 9/11 and&nbsp;Pearl Harbor attacks were allowed to happen by the US Government, and that President Barack Obama is actually from Kenya. There are a number of other conspiracy theories, but these are the most accepted among theorists.

If these US conspiracy theories sound outlandish, they are only the tip of the iceberg. When it comes to the wildest conspiracy theories presented in modern times, these ones top the list. Hours of time and thousands of dollars have been spent to publicize, prove and debunk these <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/19th-century-conspiracy-theories/mike-rothschild?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">conspiracy theories in American history</a> that deal with everything from alien autopsies at Area 51 to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

What are some of the most widely believed conspiracy theories in US history? Look here and see for yourself.