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==War in Europe 1944==

==Eastern Europe 1944-45==

"The time of liberation is at hand. Poles, to arms! There is not a moment to lose!"  This was broadcast on the Polish language radio station from Moscow on July 29, 1944, at 8:15 in the evening. A force of 40,000 responded. <ref>''Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World in Our Time'', Carroll Quigley, Collier-Macmillan, 1966, pg. 795. ISBN 0-945001-10-X</ref> But the Red Army, for sixty-three days, denying they knew anything about it, refused to drop weapons and food to assist the Polish fighters for whose liberty the British government had gone to war in September 1939. The Polish resistance fighters were massacred methodically by the Germans. At the very time at which Prime Minister Mikolajczyk from the legitimate [[Republic of Poland|Polish Government in exile]] in London flew to Moscow, the Kremlin "recognized" the [[Comintern]] puppet regime, the [[Lublin Committee]], as the new Polish "people's government." <ref>Stanislaw Mikolajczyk, ''The Rape of Poland; Pattern of Soviet Aggression'', (NY: Whittlesey House, 1948), p. 70.</ref>

Next, Zhukov turned south and advanced on Chernovtsy, aiming to cut the last rail line between the German armies based in Poland and the forces still remaining in Ukraine. By late March he had crossed the Dniester and occupied the city. By that time, Konev's right flank had crossed the Bug River and moved up to the Prut; German resistance had ended, and the remaining Germans south and west of Kiev were trying to escape to the south.  

While Romania was frantically imploring the West for assistance,  the U.S. [[Office of War Information]] (OWI) praised the Soviet Unions’ "new democracy" and the "innocent nature of Communism." <ref>Reuben M. Markham, ''Rumania Under the Soviet Yoke'' (Boston: Meader, 1949), p.

Zhukov and Konev had moved generally on a southwest axis. In so doing, they had isolated the German forces remaining in Ukraine. By April the liberation of Ukraine was complete.

169.</ref>  By November, [[Andrey Vyshinsky]], the legal mastermind who presided at the major show trials of Stalin's [[Great Purge]], arrived to "restore internal order."

Hitler committed suicide and on May 2 1945, Soviet forces finally took full control of Berlin. On May 7, 1945, General Alfried Jodl signed the unconditional German nation surrender document at Rheims, France, in order of the new Government Doenitz.  

==Far East==

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stalin went on to declare that at Yalta it had been agreed that the three powers would sit on the Reparation Commission.  Now the United States Government was insisting that France should be represented on the same basis as the Soviet Union. This, Stalin said, was an insult to the Soviet Union in view of the fact that France had concluded a separate peace with Germany and had opened the frontier to the Germans. To attempt to place France on the same footing as the Soviet Union looked like an attempt to humiliate the Russians. <ref>''Roosevelt and Hopkins : An Intimate History'', Robert E. Sherwood, New York Harper and Brothers, 1948. Full record of meeting, [http://americandeception.com/index.php?action=downloadpdf&photo=/PDFsml_AD/Roosevelt_and_Hopkins-An_Intimate_History-Robert_E_Sherwood-1948-1034pgs-GOV-POL.sml.pdf&id=252&PHPSESSID=03d3557b41f249f71349e6d730cc8498 pgs. 920 - 934] pdf. Those in attendance were Stalin, Molotov and Pavlov and Hopkins, Harriman and Bohlen. </ref>

 

At May 2 1945, Soviet forces capture Berlin, Germany. German forces in Berlin surrender to the Red Army. German surrender at Italy, the Italian campaign ended;

 

At May 7, 1945, General Alfried Jodl signs the unconditional German nation surrender document at Rheims, France, in order of the new Government Doenitz. <ref> [http://www.euronet.nl/users/wilfried/ww2/ww2.htm The inevitability of War.] </ref>

 

==Far Eastern Theater==

After Pearl Harbor, the Japanese juggernaut seemed unstoppable.  In the south, they conquered the [[Philippines]], the oil-rich Dutch East Indies, Malaysia, and extended their reach as far as the Solomon Islands.  In the west, they seized [[Burma]] and the vital port at [[Rangoon]], and even attacked British forces at [[Ceylon]].  The Japanese empire now reached as far as [[Wake Island]] in the east and the [[Aleutian Islands]] to the north.  Attacks on Japanese targets, including the Doolittle raid, boasted American morale, but did little material damage.  In May 1942, Japanese forces were finally halted at the [[Battle of the Coral Sea]], which cost the Americans a precious [[aircraft carrier]], but saved southern [[New Guinea]].  At the [[Battle of Midway]] a month later, the Japanese lost four of their best carriers, suffering a blow to their sea power from which they never recovered.

After Pearl Harbor, the Japanese juggernaut seemed unstoppable.  In the south, they conquered the [[Philippines]], the oil-rich Dutch East Indies, Malaysia, and extended their reach as far as the Solomon Islands.  In the west, they seized [[Burma]] and the vital port at [[Rangoon]], and even attacked British forces at [[Ceylon]].  The Japanese empire now reached as far as [[Wake Island]] in the east and the [[Aleutian Islands]] to the north.  Attacks on Japanese targets, including the Doolittle raid, boasted American morale, but did little material damage.  In May 1942, Japanese forces were finally halted at the [[Battle of the Coral Sea]], which cost the Americans a precious [[aircraft carrier]], but saved southern [[New Guinea]].  At the [[Battle of Midway]] a month later, the Japanese lost four of their best carriers, suffering a blow to their sea power from which they never recovered.

The American invasion of the Philippines took place in late October of 1944 when Marines landed on Leyte Island.  A few days later, the US Navy shattered what was left of Japanese naval power in the [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]].  The Japanese fought hard, however, and Leyte took two months to secure.  When the Americans landed on the other islands, they found the troops there equally unwilling to retreat, but with American superiority in almost every area, the outcome was never really in doubt.  [[Manila]] was captured by March, and the American position had become solid enough that leaders could start preparing for the final stage: [[Operation Downfall|the invasion of Japan]].  The first step was taken when the island of [[Okinawa]] was captured in June after two months of heavy fighting.  Operation Olympic, the invasion of [[Kyushu]], was scheduled for November 1945, followed by Operation Coronet, the invasion of [[Honshu]], in March of 1946.

The American invasion of the Philippines took place in late October of 1944 when Marines landed on Leyte Island.  A few days later, the US Navy shattered what was left of Japanese naval power in the [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]].  The Japanese fought hard, however, and Leyte took two months to secure.  When the Americans landed on the other islands, they found the troops there equally unwilling to retreat, but with American superiority in almost every area, the outcome was never really in doubt.  [[Manila]] was captured by March, and the American position had become solid enough that leaders could start preparing for the final stage: [[Operation Downfall|the invasion of Japan]].  The first step was taken when the island of [[Okinawa]] was captured in June after two months of heavy fighting.  Operation Olympic, the invasion of [[Kyushu]], was scheduled for November 1945, followed by Operation Coronet, the invasion of [[Honshu]], in March of 1946.

The Japanese, soldiers and civilians alike, were expected to put up a fierce defense.  Army Chief of Staff [[George C. Marshall]] believed that Japan would fight to the last man, and insisted on preparing for a land invasion of Japan with an army of 2,000,000 men anticipating a tremendous number of casualties.  Some analysts estimated the number of projected casualties from Operation Olympic alone at 250,000 dead and wounded.<ref>Historical Atlas of the U.S. Navy, by Craig L. Symonds, the Naval Institute, 1995</ref>  For this reason, many considered Soviet assistance necessary to the success of the invasion.

The Japanese, soldiers and civilians alike, were expected to put up a fierce defense.  Army Chief of Staff [[George C. Marshall]] believed that Japan would fight to the last man, and insisted on preparing for a land invasion of Japan with an army of 2,000,000 men anticipating a tremendous number of casualties.  Some analysts estimated the number of projected casualties from Operation Olympic alone at 250,000 dead and wounded.<ref>Historical Atlas of the U.S. Navy, by Craig L. Symonds, the Naval Institute, 1995</ref>  For this reason, Washington begged the Soviet to invade Japanese possessions on the mainland.  

[[Image:Ww2-asia usma.edu pic.gif|thumb|300px|left|Time Line of Pacific War]]

[[Image:Ww2-asia usma.edu pic.gif|thumb|300px|left|Time Line of Pacific War]]

==Japanese capitulation==

==Japanese capitulation==

On August 6, 1945, a B-29 Superfortress, the Enola Gay piloted by Paul Tibbet, dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima. Then, on August 9, Bocks Car, a B-29 piloted by Frederick C. Bock dropped the second atomic bomb. On August 20 the Japanese government told the United States it was ready to accept the terms which the Allies proposed. The next day, the Allies replied, saying the authority of the emperor would be "subject to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers." On August 14 the Japanese government agreed to this.

The Soviet Union declared war on Japan on August 8, 1945, in reponse to urgent American requests.  It invaded Manchuria and Korea; the Japanese army disintegrated. It was no longer possible for the Imprial Army to defend the Emperor. On August 20 the Japanese government told Washington it was ready to accept the proposed terms, with the understanding the Emperor would remain on the throne and would not be hung as a war criminal. Washington agreed, saying the authority of the emperor would be "subject to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers." On September 2, 1945, the Japanese Emperor formally surrendered all Japanese forces to the Allies in a famous ceremony aboard the battleship ''Missouri'' in Tokyo Bay. This was the ending of World War II, after six years almost to the day.

 

 

Then, September 2, 1945, the Japanese Emperor formally surrendered all Japanese forces to the Allies. Japanese delegates signed the [[Japanese Instrument of Surrender]] in a famous ceremony aboard the battleship ''Missouri'' in [[Tokyo Bay]]. This was the ending of World War II, after six years almost to the day.

 

 

==Effects of war on empires==

==Effects of war on empires==