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-==== The War ====
+===== 1939 =====
-Nationalist Spain, led by Francisco Franco watched the Nazi victory over Poland and France, and was highly impressed to say the least. Franco met with Hitler and though he makes some pretty outrageous demands from the Fuhrer, Hitler agrees to meet his demands. Franco demanded oil for the Spanish Army, German tech, food stuffs, French Morocco to be turned over to Spain, the return of Gibraltar, and to have a free hand against Portugal. Like Hitler, Franco believed if the Straights of Gibraltar were closed to the Royal Navy, the United Kingdom would sue for peace. With the British out of the way, it would give Hitler the chance to concentrate his full efforts against the Soviet Union.
+August: Nazi-Soviet Pact
-The fall of Gibraltar on the 5 February 1941 did not have the desired effect Hitler and Franco had hoped. The United Kingdom rallied behind the heroes of Gibraltar, and quickly took control of the Canary Islands, launching a campaign against the Spanish in Morocco and supporting Portugal in their struggles against the Germans and Spanish aggressors. Unfortunately the United Kingdom could not provide the full support the Portuguese needed.
+September: Germany invades Poland, beginning of the war in Europe
-Undeterred by the stubbornness of the British, and against the advice of his Commanders, Adolph Hitler ordered the invasion of the USSR. Like the campaigns in Poland, France, Portugal and Gibraltar the Nazi’s made amazing progress through the Soviet Union. In many cases the Germans were greeted as liberators, especially in the Ukraine. The Germans progressed fighting the Soviets in Leningrad and Moscow. By all appearances it seemed as if the Soviet Union was on the brink of defeat. The Nazi’s broke through Soviet defenses, capturing the capital.
+September: The United Kingdom and France declare war on Germany
-Unable to trust any commander in the Red Army, Stalin took control of the defenses of Moscow. Not the experienced General that Zhukov is, Stalin pulled troops to defend positions he felt was critical, leaving gaping holes in Soviet defenses. No commander in the Red Army had the guts to tell Stalin of his error. Stalin attempted to flee Moscow, but was ambushed by German tanks. The Soviet Union was without its leader, but like the British remained determined to see the war through to the bloody end. Without Stalin the Soviet Union was led by the Big Three Andrei Zhdanov, Lavrenty Beria, and Vyacheslav Molotov.
+September: Soviet Union invades Poland, Baltic Republics and Finland
-Across the Atlantic, President Roosevelt was hoping to drum up support for a war against Adolph Hitler. Like the British, Americans had grown to admire the defenders of Gibraltar. Americans overwhelmingly supported the British, but wanted to remain neutral in the war. Roosevelt was willing to do what no other President had done before, request a declaration of war from Congress without being attacked. Roosevelt and his advisors decided to ask for Congress to declare war on Germany in the spring of 1942. Although the move would be unpopular, Roosevelt knew it would be necessary to keep Germany from over running the world. The US Navy began preparing for war against Germany, moving parts of the Pacific fleet to bases in the Atlantic.
+September: Fall of Warsaw after 20 days of German bombardment
-December 11, 1941 hoping to take advantage of the United States preparing for war against Germany, Naval and Air Forces from the Empire of Japan attacked the rump of the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. Japan had hoped to expose America’s vulnerability, and force the US to recognize Japanese strength and supremacy in the Pacific. An outraged American public demanded vengeance, the following day Roosevelt requested a declaration of war against the Empire of Japan and Nazi Germany. In spite of Americans support for Britain, the declaration of war against Germany was passed by a narrow margin in Congress; the United States was now fighting a two war front. Hitler issued a declaration of war against the US in response; the war was now a global conflict.
+September: German-Soviet Partition of Poland
-Leningrad fell to the Germans on Christmas Eve 1941, convincing Hitler the war in the east was all but won. Hitler made his plans to attack Stalingrad the city baring the name of the fallen Soviet leader. Armed only with a fierce determination, and the fear of being shot for retreating; Soviet soldiers made their greatest stand and ultimately failed. In response the Royal Air Force bombed the rich oil fields of the Caucasus regions to keep them from falling into German hands. With the Soviet Union all but defeated, Hitler grew even more over confident. The bombing of the oil fields in Russia was the final humiliation the British would inflict upon him, against the advice of his Generals, Hitler ordered the invasion of Turkey. If the Turks wouldn’t let him pass to supply Iraqi rebels, he was going to run over them. German soldiers fresh from the Soviet Union were used to attack the Turks, Edirne fell to the Nazi’s with very little resistance, the Battle of Istanbul however proved to be one of the bloodiest German victories of the war. After the fall of Istanbul, the city was occupied by Nazi soldiers. Hitler agreed upon the end of hostilities to turn Istanbul over to the Italians and his ally Benito Mussolini. The status of Constantinople was a huge propaganda coup in Italy, Mussolini had promised to rebuild the Roman Empire, and it appeared now more than ever that he was correct with the capitals of both the Eastern and Western Roman Empires under his control.
+November: President Roosevelt signs Neutrality Act of 1939
-The German invasion of Anatolia was met by heavy resistance from locals and the Turkish military. Unfortunately the Germans were far too powerful, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine. Hitler traveled to Jerusalem, like his triumph of Paris, and Moscow, pictures showing the Fuhrer visiting the great land marks of Jerusalem were shown to the German people. Perhaps the most popular photograph of Hitler’s conquest is the photograph of him standing in front of the Temple of the Rock. The British doubled their security of the Suez Canal, as it was ultimately Hitler’s next goal.
+===== 1940 =====
-In the west, the United States took the lead in Operation Torch, the allied invasion of the Iberian Peninsula. American troops were joined by their Canadian allies to gain a permanent foothold in mainland Europe. With the British diverting troops intended for use in Torch to fight in Iraq and the Sinai, Hitler became convinced the green Americans could not withstand the fight for long, and the allies would realize they bit off more than they could chew.
+March: Paul Reynaud becomes Prime Minister of France
-The Canadians secured the first major allied victory in the Iberian Front by defeating Spanish and German troops in the war devastated city of Lisbon. The United States did show their green in the Andalusia campaign, but also showed great competence and determination. German observers realized the western allies were going to be far too strong to wish away. In response to the allies’ success in Spain, German troops occupied Vichy France.
+May: War on western front begins with Operation Yellow, the invasion of Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg; Prime Minister Chamberlain resigns, replaced by Winston Churchill
-In the Pacific, the United States had its hands full fighting the Empire of Japan. Joined by the ANZAC, the US Navy and Marine Corps began an island hopping campaign, fighting Japan over any piece of land that could be used as an air field. The US stationed troops in the Soviet Far East hoping to prevent Japan from using the beleaguered Soviet Union as a jumping point to invade Alaska. Japan had long invaded the northern half Sakhalin Island and occupied the Soviet city of Vladivostok.
+May: Germans break through Ardennnes into France
-The Western Allies once again took the offensive launching Operation Lionheart into Algeria, the French defenders put up minimal resistance against the allies. With all of France occupied by Germany, the defenders no longer felt as if they were defending their Empire, but were merely pawns of Adolph Hitler. Almost immediately the allies began having problems, particularly between President Roosevelt and General de Gaulle. The US insisted on Admiral Darlan as commander of the Free French forces, this was however rejected by the French, who wanted Charles de Gaulle. With Darlan’s assassination, de Gaulle was accepted by most to be the leader of the Free French, in spite of Roosevelt touting General Giraud.
+May: Dutch government is forced into exile in London
-The Free French forces began swelling in number after Darlan’s death. Recognizing the need for their assistance General Eisenhower armed the Free French Army with American equipment ranging from the common soldier armed with the Colt 1911 to the M1, and Thompson sub machine gun to the heavy equipment such as the M4 Sherman, and P-51 Mustangs. The Free French started forming small tank battalions and fighter squadrons to fight along side the US Army. Charles de Gaulle loathed the Free French from being an American expedition force, wanted his forces to fight as an independent unit as the Canadians and British were, but with his men fighting with American equipment, even the uniforms wore by the Free French resembled the Americans with only a difference in color.
+June: 338,000 allied troops evacuated from Dunkirk
-The Soviets clung on for survival after suffering a defeat at Stalingrad, the Nazis advanced to the de facto Soviet capital Kuybyshev. Fearing defeat and certain death, Communist leaders fled east to Omsk. Again the Red Army was defeated, only this time after defeat the Russian military began to break apart into factions. Rumors persisted the Communist leaders were dead and leaving many Generals to believe they were the next ruler of Russia. Where some accepted defeat and surrendered, others continued to fight the Germans and in some cases each other.
+June: French government leaves Paris for Tours
-The western allies continued the long bloody fight in Spain throughout the winter of 1942 and into the spring of 1943. Troops from Russia were being filtered into the Iberian campaign, but were unable to stop the allied jaugernaught from pushing them into the Pyrenees in May 1943. The campaign was long and bloody, German troops remained in the mountains, cutting off roads and supply routes from France to Spain. For the first time the world saw the true brutality of Hitler’s regime, hundreds of thousands of Jews, slave labor to the German forces were rescued by the allies. Most of the Jewish slaves were malnourished and living in horrible conditions, illness and starvation killed thousands after their liberation.
+June: Germans enter Paris; French government leaves Tours for Bordeaux
-General de Gaulle got his wish to show what the Free French could do in the North African campaign; many German troops were called from Libya to participate in the Sinai campaign, including Erwin Rommel. Libya’s defenses were left to a few loyal Spanish battalions refusing to recognize the allied occupation of Spain, and the Italians. With support from the US Navy and the Free French Air Force the axis powers in Libya were eventually overrun by the French. To de Gaulle and his troops the victory his men achieved in North Africa restored French honor and respectability.
+June: French-German Armistice negotiations begin
-Unfortunately for de Gaulle his victory in Libya was overshadowed by the much larger conflict in the Sinai. The Americans and British fought a determined Rommel to a standstill. Hitler’s promise of more troops and equipment never arrived thanks to the domination of the Royal Navy and the US Navy. An allied beachhead was established in Ghaza, fearing being cut off from his supply lines, Rommel ordered a retreat of his forces to Jerusalem.
+June: All acts of war between the French and German armed forces officially cease. Prime Minister Churchill says France is not freed of her obligations.
-The British continued to be bogged down in Iraq fighting the Arab rebels and their German allies. Franklin Roosevelt ordered Omar Bradley to lead the US Forces in Mesopotamia. Shortly after arriving in Basra, Bradley was given command of all allied forces in the region.
+June: German troops reach the French-Spanish border
-In September 1943 the allies launched the invasion of Sicily; it wasn’t until late November that Eisenhower gave the green light to launch the invasion of mainland Italy. Upset by Italy’s disastrous performance, Benito Mussolini replaced several key ministers in the Italian government and army with those loyal to him and not King Victor Emmanuel III. This led to hostilities between the King and Mussolini, in which Victor Emmanuel III was arrested, tried for treason and executed by Mussolini loyalists. Mussolini declared the nation to now be the Italian Social Republic, with himself as the nations Premier. Prince Umberto escaped the arrest of his family and murder of his father, fleeing south toward the allied invasion. On October 1, 1943 he surrendered to the British and signed Italy’s surrender to the allies, immediately declaring war on Nazi Germany and the Italian Social Republic. Italy had become a nation divided among itself, with many Italian soldiers recognizing the Kingdom of Italy as opposed to the Italian Social Republic as the legitimate government.
+July: Marshal Petain replaces President Lebrun and proclaims himself ‘Chief of French State’ of the French Republic. Admiral Raeder, C-in-C of the German Navy expresses his reservations about any invasion of Britain
-The allies slowly began progressing up the Italian Peninsula; Winston Churchill suggested opening yet another front in the Balkans. The Americans rejected the idea, feeling it would take away resources from the Italian front, and even delay the ultimate invasion of France. During the ensuing debate between the allies, the British convinced its American ally that if successful, the loss of the Balkans would cut the Germans in the Middle East off from their supply lines in Germany, allowing the allied forces in Mesopotamia to gain the upper hand, and close yet another front. Ike reluctantly agreed, committing mostly USCT troops to be placed under British command in the Balkans campaign.
+July: Hitler issues Directive No. 15 outlining the details of 'Operation Sea Lion', the German invasion of the British Isles. In advance of the landings, the Luftwaffe is to begin operations against British defensive positions, airfields and radar installations along the southern coast of England on the 15th August with 2.600 aircraft having been earmarked for this purpose
-Attempts to unite all Russian factions to rally together against the Germans often failed with disastrous consequences. However the Russian resistance was particularly effective in psychological warfare. Germans feared assignments in Russia. The winter was bitterly cold, and the Russians were known for ambushing and destroying entire German patrols, leaving the mangled corpses of the dead in humiliating positions. In response German commanders began shooting groups of Russian civilians to scare them into submission, although most Russians tried to cooperate with the Germans, the resistance was unwilling to stop their tactics.
+July: Hitler issues Directive No.16, orders for the planning of 'Operation Sealion', the invasion of Britain. Twenty divisions are earmarked for the invasion, but the Luftwaffe must gain air superiority first. All plans are to be ready by mid-August
-In spite of the splits within the Red Army, those loyal to the surviving communist party made up the largest percentage of the Russian defenders. Supplied with equipment from Siberian factories, and from the US lend lease program, the Soviet Army continued to hound the Germans in the Urals and in the Volga region.
+July: A German memorandum issued by the OKM states that an invasion of Great Britain will not be possible until the second half of September 1940 and that the prospects for such an invasion seem doubtful
-On July 13, 1944 the city of Rome came under American occupation, a week later the British took yet another ancient city, the Greek capital of Athens. A Greco-Turkish uprising, supported by the RAF forced the Germans out of Istanbul. Rommel managed to escape being cut off when he was recalled to Germany to prepare for the defense of France from the allied invasion Hitler was sure was coming.
+ July: Hitler appraised the Army plan for the invasion of Britain at a conference of his top Military chiefs. The Navy criticize the plan for being on a too broad a front, requiring 2,500 barges in order to transport the invading forces, which cant be concentrated before the 15th of September at the earliest. The Army refute these arguments, saying that too narrow a front would allow the British to concentrate what forces they possess.
-The allies finally made their landings at the beaches of Normandy in late August 1944. For the allies the landings were successful but at a terrible cost of human lives and military equipment. Dwight Eisenhower resigned his post, unable to cope with the belief he was responsible for the deaths of so many young men. Before his death in 1954, Ike told a friend he believed if he would have given the go signal the day before or day after; the allies would have had better success. General Montgomery was handed command of the allied efforts in France.
+ August: Hitler signs Directive No.17, requiring the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine to increase their attacks against Britain and her shipping, in preparation for 'Operation Sealion'
-Montgomery was criticized by his allies for his slowness in particular Charles de Gaulle and General Patton. After a heated argument Patton refused to continue to take orders from Montgomery, requesting a transfer to the Pacific Front. Charles de Gaulle blasted Montgomery after the British Commander refused to give the order for the allies to advance into Paris after hearing of an uprising. Like Patton, de Gaulle refused to follow Montgomery’s orders and spearheaded the assault into Paris. De Gaulle and his men were ambushed by Rommel’s forces; the leader of the Free French was killed in the attack. Giraud took command of the Free French forces upon de Gaulle’s death.
+October: Hitler postpones invasion of Britain until spring 1941
-US Army Chief of Staff George C Marshall was given command of allied forces in Europe shortly after the controversial death of de Gaulle. Montgomery resented being removed from his position as Supreme Allied Commander to the Commander of the Ground Forces in Europe. It was under Marshall that Paris was finally liberated. Paris became headquarters for the allied military command, Marshall knew all too well there was still plenty of fight left in the Germans, and the victory at Paris was only a drop in the bucket.
+October: Hitler meets with Francisco Franco at Hendaye, encouraging the Spanish leader to join him in the war
-German commanders grew tired of Hitler's control over military strategy planted a bomb in the Fuhrers war room. The explosion killed Adolph Hitler and many of his loyal commanders. A power struggle between Himmler, Göring, and Goebbels followed Hitler’s death. Göring was recognized by most as Hitler’s successor; however the others were less than interested in his leadership abilities.
+October: Spain declares war on the United Kingdom; Italy invades Greece
-Göring proved more like Hitler than the military liked, as Germany’s new Fuhrer Göring, had his rivals murdered as enemies of the state. The incompetence of the Fuhrer allowed the allies to gain momentum in the west. In December 1944 the western allies finally made into Germany, standing at the western shore of the Rhine. Göring was murdered in January 1945 and replaced by the popular Erwin Rommel as head of the Nazi state.
+November: Franklin D. Roosevelt elected to an unprecedented third term
-As a military commander, Rommel was smart enough to realize Germany’s defeat in the west. The allies were far to powerful for the Germans to continue a long term conflict with, however in the east there was no way the allies could oust the entrenched Germans. Unlike his predecessors, Rommel did not have a burning hatred for the Russians, and Poles. The new German commander believed he could bring peace back to the German people and save the nation from another humiliating defeat by claiming victory in the east.
+November: The Italian fleet is crippled by a British bomber torpedo raid
-Rommel sent word to Churchill he wished to negotiate an end to the war in which Germany would withdraw from Italy, the Balkans, Norway and the Lowlands. In return he wished for the western allies to recognize the newly formed Republic of Poland and the National Socialist Republic of Russia, pointing to the puppet governments he was setting up in Warsaw and St Petersburg (formerly Leningrad). Perhaps wisely, the allies refused to negotiate any peace with Nazi Germany, Churchill replied to Rommel peace can only come to Germany when Germany’s capabilities to make war are reduced to rubble, the military is disbanded, Nazi leaders are brought to the Hague to face trial for war crimes, and allied forces are allowed to enter Germany, Poland and the Soviet Union.
+December: German-Spanish siege begins on Gibraltar
-As expected the war continued with Rommel ordering his forces into a defensive posture he dubbed Fortress Germania. His puppet governments in Poland and Russia were forming militia’s to help Germany fight its prolonged war against the west.
+/31 December: Massive German air raid on London
-On February 22, 1945 the allies received the sad news that President Franklin Roosevelt had passed away in the White House. Vice President James Byrnes was sworn in as the Thirty-third President of the United States that evening. The President that had led the nation through the woes of the Great Depression and the bitterness of World War was gone, leaving only his grand legacy behind.
+===== 1941 =====
-For seven long months the west and Germany fought in a near stalemate, Fortress Germania had nearly grounded allied advances to a halt. The western allies clearly had the advantage in the air, and had Germany blockaded at sea, Rommel knew for certain it was only a matter of time before starvation set in and the German people would die of hunger. Desperate to force the allies to make a peace, Rommel changed his tactics from purely defensive to offensive. Canadian and French forces were attacked in Westphalia in what became the bloodiest defensive stand the allies suffered, but together the French and Canadians held out and forced the Germans back to their defensive posture.
+January: Royal Marines occupy the Canary Islands
-On August 6, 1945 the US Air Force dropped its ultimate weapon on Hiroshima in Japan. Three days later the Royal Air Force dropped leaflets showing the destruction of Hiroshima by the American bomb on Germany giving Rommel 48 hours to surrender. Controversy remains if Rommel thought the allies were bluffing or if he was trying to wrap up loose ends to surrender, but on August 12, 1945 the city of Leipzig suffered the same fate as Hiroshima. Rommel surrendered to the allies on August 14 ending the war in Europe.
+January: Large scale British invasion of Morocco, includes troops from South Africa, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and India
+February: After holding out for almost two months, Gibraltar falls to the German-Spanish alliance
+March: Spain invades Portugal
+April: Greece surrenders
+June: Pro-Allied government installed in Iraq
+June: Allies invade Syria and Lebanon
+June: Germany launches a surprise attack on the Soviet Union
+June: Germans capture Minsk
+July: Mutual Assistance agreement between Soviet Union and United Kingdom; Germans cross the Dnieper in the Ukraine where they are greeted as liberators.
+July: British occupy Syria
+July: Göring instructs Heydrich to prepare for the Final Solution.
+August: Leningrad comes under siege
+September: Kiev occupied by the Germans
+September: Germans turn attention toward Moscow
+October: Germans reach Moscow, Stalin assumes control of the cities defenses
+November: Germans break through Soviet defenses, Stalin is killed attempting to flee the city, Moscow falls into German hands
+November: Hitler proclaims victory in the East is near; Soviet leadership split between Andrei Zhdanov, Lavrenty Beria, and Vyacheslav Molotov in the town of Kuybyshev.
+November: The RAF bombs Soviet oil fields in the Caucasus Region to prevent them from falling to the Nazis.
+November: Outraged by the bombing of the oil fields, Hitler pressures Turkey to allow German troops access through Anatolia and into Iraq.
+December: The Empire of Japan launches a surprise attack on the United States Naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Japan declares war on the US, and British Commonwealth.
+December: The United States declares war on the Empire of Japan
+December: Germany, Italy and Spain declare war on the United States
+December: Hitler takes complete control of the German military
+====== 1942 ======
+January: First American forces arrive in the United Kingdom
+April: Japanese-Americans sent to relocation centers
+May: Rommel begins offensive against the Gazala Line
+June: Mass murder of the Jews begin in Auschwitz
+June: Japan invades northern Sakhalin island
+June: Japan lays siege to Vladivostok
+June: Vladivostok falls to Japanese occupation
+June: The United States Marines occupies the Soviet Far East
+June: Japanese troops easily conquers Mongolia, establishing a puppet Khanate
+June: Rommel captures Tobruk
+June: German advance to Baghdad stopped by allies at Samarra
+July: Rommel reaches El Alamein near Cairo, Egypt, Battle of El Alamein begins
+July: Germans take Leningrad and Sevastopol
+July: Germans begin drive towards Stalingrad
+July: Battle of El Alamein ends with German victory
+July: Germans take control of the Nile River
+August: General Montgomery takes command of Eight Army in North Africa
+August: Germany offers Turkey an ultimatum for allowing Germany to pass through its territory
+August: Turkey rejects the German ultimatum, Germany responds with a declaration of war
+August: German air raids on Stalingrad begins
+ August: Civilians from Istanbul begin fleeing to Anatolia
+August: First all-American Air Attack in Europe
+August: Germany invades Turkey, Edirne falls with in the first two hours
+August: Istanbul comes within sight of the Wehrmacht, several small skirmishes between the Germans and Turks result in a high loss of life for the Turks
+August: Following France's lead, the Republic of Turkey declares Istanbul an open city
+August: German troops enter Istanbul
+September: Battle of Stalingrad begins, Soviet remnant appeals to the western allies to open a new front in Europe.
+September: German troops invade the Levant and Mesopotamia.
+September: Omar Bradley arrives in Iraq to take command of the Allied Forces
+November: US forces are defeated by Rommel at the Battle of the Nile; US General Fredendall is replaced by Patton
+December: British Foreign Secretary Eden tells the British House of Commons of mass executions of Jews by Nazis; U.S. declares those crimes will be avenged
+December: 250,000 strong Red Army leads a surprise attack on Stalingrad
+December: Caught off-guard the 75,000 German defenders are defeated with 40k being taken prisoner, the others KIA or wounded
+December: Patton flanks Rommel, surrounding the German Army
+December: Hitler calls for an additional 500,000 men to occupy the Soviet Union
+December: Battle of Barents Sea beween German and British Navy
+===== 1943 ======
+January 1943: Rommel surrenders his army and is taken captive
+January: Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill hold a war conference at Havanna
+January: Montgomery leads his Army to victory at Tripoli
+February: Free French forces, armed with American equipment and supported by the US Army and Royal Navy launch Operation Guillotine, the invasion of Algeria. Vichy French forces at first resisted, later joined the allied cause
+March: The war in the Middle East and North Africa ends
+April: Germans launch a major assault on the Soviet Union
+ April: The Germans attack Zhukov's forces at Stalingrad
+April: Germany assaults the de facto Soviet capital of Kuibyshev; the Soviet leadership abandons the city and flees to Omsk in Siberia
+April: The 85,000 Allied troops launch an invasion of the Iberian Peninsula at Alemia beach
+April: Germans forced to divert troops intended for the Soviet offensive to Iberia
+May: Soviet-Japanese Treaty ends hostilities between the Empire of Japan and Soviet Union, the USSR surrenders the Far East and Sakhalin Island
+May: Gibraltar liberated by US Army
+May-June: Major Allied Air raids on Spain from Morocco and Algeria
+June: The Canadian Army liberates Lisbon
+July: US Army captures Madrid
+July: Portugal completely liberated by the Allies, Portuguese Provisional Government sides with the allies giving whatever assistance it can.
-The allies turned their full attention to the Pacific, where the war was expected to end. Emperor Hirohito had lost his sons during the American bombings earlier that year, the allies had blockaded Japan keeping badly needed supplies from reaching his people, and with the destruction of Hiroshima, the surrender of his German ally, and the eventual loss of the war became too much for the Emperor. Believing the suffering brought upon Japan was his fault, as was the deaths of his sons, Hirohito ordered his commanders to surrender, then to keep what honor that remained committed suicide in the Imperial Palace. Prince Nobuhito became Emperor upon his brother’s death and oversaw Japan’s surrender.
-To the allies surprise the war did not end with Nobuhito’s surrender, rogue Japanese commanders in Manchuria and Korea refused to recognize Japan’s defeat vowed to continue fighting. General Patton led the American forces in the invasion of Korea, while the Kuomintang with their western allies support attacked Manchuria. The fighting finally ended in October 1945 when the last Japanese stronghold was destroyed by American bombers.
-Word War II the bloodiest and costliest war in the history of humanity was finally over. The allies had won the war, and now struggled to win the peace. The holocaust had cost the lives of over 4 million Jews, China resumed its Civil War, and another Civil War seemed likely in Russia and Yugoslavia. Europe and Japan was left in ruins, and the worlds two greatest Empires were showing signs of unraveling with an outbreak of hostilities between France and Indochina, and civil unrest in India between natives and the British.