World War II

====Axis collapse and Allied victory (1944–1945)====
[[File:Yalta Conference (Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin) (B&W).jpg|thumb|[[Yalta Conference]] held in February 1945, with [[Winston Churchill]], [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], and [[Joseph Stalin]]]]

On 16 December 1944, Germany made a last attempt to split the Allies on the Western Front by using most of its remaining reserves to launch [[Battle of the Bulge|a massive counter-offensive in the Ardennes]] and [[Operation Northwind (1944)|along the French-German border]], hoping to encircle large portions of Western Allied troops and prompt a political settlement after capturing their primary supply port at [[Antwerp]]. By 16 January 1945, this offensive had been repulsed with no strategic objectives fulfilled.<ref name="parkerxiii">{{Harvnb|Parker|2004|pp=xiii–xiv, 6–8, 68–70, 329–330}}</ref> In Italy, the Western Allies remained stalemated at the German defensive line. In mid-January 1945, the Red Army attacked in Poland, [[Vistula–Oder offensive|pushing from the Vistula to the Oder]] river in Germany, and [[East Prussian offensive|overran East Prussia]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Glantz|2001|p=85}}.</ref> On 4 February Soviet, British, and U.S. leaders met for the [[Yalta Conference]]. They agreed on the occupation of post-war Germany, and on when the Soviet Union would join the war against Japan.<ref>{{Harvnb|Beevor|2012|pp=709–722}}.</ref>

In February, the Soviets [[Silesian offensives|entered Silesia]] and [[East Pomeranian offensive|Pomerania]], while the [[Western Allied invasion of Germany|Western Allies entered western Germany]] and closed to the [[Rhine]] river. By March, the Western Allies crossed the Rhine [[Operation Plunder|north]] and [[Remagen|south]] of the [[Ruhr (river)|Ruhr]], [[Ruhr pocket|encircling the German Army Group B]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Buchanan|2006|p=21}}.</ref> In early March, in an attempt to protect its last oil reserves in Hungary and retake Budapest, Germany launched [[Operation Spring Awakening|its last major offensive]] against Soviet troops near [[Lake Balaton]]. In two weeks, the offensive had been repulsed, the Soviets advanced to [[Vienna offensive|Vienna]], and captured the city. In early April, Soviet troops [[Battle of Königsberg|captured Königsberg]], while the Western Allies finally [[Spring 1945 offensive in Italy|pushed forward in Italy]] and swept across western Germany capturing [[Capture of Hamburg|Hamburg]] and [[Battle of Nuremberg (1945)|Nuremberg]]. [[Elbe Day|American and Soviet forces met at the Elbe river]] on 25 April, leaving unoccupied pockets in southern Germany and around Berlin.

Soviet troops [[Battle of Berlin|stormed and captured Berlin]] in late April.{{sfn|Kershaw|2001|pp=793–829}} In Italy, [[Surrender of Caserta|German forces surrendered]] on 29 April, while the [[Italian Social Republic]] capitulated two days later. On 30 April, the [[Reichstag building|Reichstag]] was captured, signalling the military defeat of Nazi Germany.<ref name="Shepardson 1998">{{Harvnb|Shepardson|1998}}</ref>

Major changes in leadership occurred on both sides during this period. On 12 April, President Roosevelt died and was succeeded by his vice president, [[Harry S. Truman]]. Benito Mussolini [[Death of Benito Mussolini|was killed]] by [[Italian resistance movement|Italian partisans]] on 28 April.<ref name="O'Reilly 2001 244">{{Harvnb|O'Reilly|2001|p=244}}.</ref> On 30 April, [[Death of Adolf Hitler|Hitler committed suicide]] in his [[Führerbunker|headquarters]], and was succeeded by [[Grand Admiral]] [[Karl Dönitz]] (as [[President of Germany (1919–1945)|President of the Reich]]) and [[Joseph Goebbels]] (as [[Chancellor of the Reich]]); Goebbels also committed suicide on the following day and was replaced by [[Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk]], in what would later be known as the [[Flensburg Government]]. [[German Instrument of Surrender|Total and unconditional surrender]] in Europe was signed [[Victory in Europe Day|on 7{{nbsp}}and 8{{nbsp}}May]], to be effective by the end of [[Victory Day (9 May)|8 May]].<ref name="Evans 2008 737">{{Harvnb|Evans|2008|p=737}}.</ref> German Army Group Centre [[Prague offensive|resisted in Prague]] until 11 May.<ref name="Glantz 1998 34">{{Harvnb|Glantz|1998|p=24}}.</ref> On 23 May all remaining members of the German government were arrested by the Allied Forces in [[Flensburg]], while on 5 June all German political and military institutions were transferred under the control of the Allies through the [[Berlin Declaration (1945)|Berlin Declaration]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Selby |first1=Scott A. |title=The Axmann Conspiracy: The Nazi Plan for a Fourth Reich and How the U.S. Army Defeated It |date=28 July 2021 |page=8 |publisher=Scott Andrew Selby |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7SQ_EAAAQBAJ |access-date=4 March 2024 |language=en}}</ref>

In the Pacific theatre, American forces accompanied by the forces of the [[Commonwealth of the Philippines|Philippine Commonwealth]] advanced [[Philippines campaign (1944–1945)|in the Philippines]], [[Battle of Leyte|clearing Leyte]] by the end of April 1945. They [[Battle of Luzon|landed on Luzon]] in January 1945 and [[Battle of Manila (1945)|recaptured Manila]] in March. Fighting continued on Luzon, [[Battle of Mindanao|Mindanao]], and other islands of the Philippines until the [[End of World War II in Asia|end of the war]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chant|first=Christopher|year=1986|title=The Encyclopedia of Codenames of World War II|publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul|page=118|isbn=978-0-7102-0718-0}}</ref> Meanwhile, the [[United States Army Air Forces]] launched [[Air raids on Japan|a massive firebombing campaign]] of strategic cities in Japan in an effort to destroy Japanese war industry and civilian morale. A devastating [[Bombing of Tokyo|bombing raid on Tokyo of 9–10 March]] was the deadliest conventional bombing raid in history.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2011/03/0309incendiary-bombs-kill-100000-tokyo/|title=March 9, 1945: Burning the Heart Out of the Enemy|last=Long|first=Tony|date=9 March 2011|magazine=Wired|publisher=Wired Magazine|access-date=22 June 2018|quote=1945: In the single deadliest air raid of World War II, 330 American B-29s rain incendiary bombs on Tokyo, touching off a firestorm that kills upwards of 100,000 people, burns a quarter of the city to the ground, and leaves a million homeless.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323180239/https://www.wired.com/2011/03/0309incendiary-bombs-kill-100000-tokyo/|archive-date=23 March 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Instrument of Surrender, officially ending the Second World War.jpg|thumb|Japanese foreign affairs minister [[Mamoru Shigemitsu]] signs the [[Japanese Instrument of Surrender]] on board {{USS|Missouri|BB-63|6}}, 2 September 1945.]]

In May 1945, Australian troops [[Borneo campaign|landed in Borneo]], overrunning the oilfields there. British, American, and Chinese forces defeated the Japanese in northern [[Burma campaign|Burma]] in March, and the British pushed on to reach [[Yangon|Rangoon]] by 3 May.<ref name="Drea 2003 57">{{Harvnb|Drea|2003|p=57}}.</ref> Chinese forces started a counterattack in the [[Battle of West Hunan]] that occurred between 6 April and 7 June 1945. American naval and amphibious forces also moved towards Japan, taking [[Battle of Iwo Jima|Iwo Jima]] by March, and [[Battle of Okinawa|Okinawa]] by the end of June.<ref>{{Harvnb|Jowett|Andrew|2002|p=6}}.</ref> At the same time, a naval blockade by [[Allied submarines in the Pacific War|submarines]] was strangling Japan's economy and drastically reducing its ability to supply overseas forces.<ref name="results of german and american submarines">{{cite web|last=Poirier |first=Michel Thomas |title=Results of the German and American Submarine Campaigns of World War II |url=https://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/history/wwii-campaigns.html |publisher=U.S. Navy |date=20 October 1999 |access-date=13 April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409052122/https://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/history/wwii-campaigns.html |archive-date=9 April 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zuberi |first1=Matin |title=Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki |journal=Strategic Analysis |date=August 2001 |volume=25 |issue=5 |pages=623–662 |doi=10.1080/09700160108458986|s2cid=154800868 }}</ref>

On 11 July, Allied leaders [[Potsdam Conference|met in Potsdam, Germany]]. They [[Potsdam Agreement|confirmed earlier agreements]] about Germany,<ref name="Williams 2006 90">{{Harvnb|Williams|2006|p=90}}.</ref> and the American, British and Chinese governments reiterated the demand for unconditional surrender of Japan, specifically stating that "[[Potsdam Declaration|the alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction]]".<ref name="Miscamble 2007 201">{{Harvnb|Miscamble|2007|p=201}}.</ref> During this conference, the United Kingdom [[1945 United Kingdom general election|held its general election]], and [[Clement Attlee]] replaced Churchill as Prime Minister.<ref name="Miscamble 2007 203_204">{{Harvnb|Miscamble|2007|pp=203–204}}.</ref>

The call for unconditional surrender was rejected by the Japanese government, which believed it would be capable of negotiating for more favourable surrender terms.<ref>Ward Wilson. "The Winning Weapon? Rethinking Nuclear Weapons in Light of Hiroshima". ''International Security'', Vol. 31, No. 4 (Spring 2007), pp. 162–79.</ref> In early August, the United States [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|dropped atomic bombs]] on the Japanese cities of [[Hiroshima]] and [[Nagasaki]]. Between the two bombings, the Soviets, pursuant to the Yalta agreement, [[Soviet–Japanese War|declared war on Japan]], [[Soviet invasion of Manchuria|invaded Japanese-held Manchuria]] and quickly defeated the [[Kwantung Army]], which was the largest Japanese fighting force.<ref>{{Harvnb|Glantz|2005}}.</ref> These two events persuaded previously adamant Imperial Army leaders to accept surrender terms.<ref name="Pape 1993">{{Harvnb|Pape|1993}} " The principal cause of Japan's surrender was the ability of the United States to increase the military vulnerability of Japan's home islands, persuading Japanese leaders that defense of the homeland was highly unlikely to succeed. The key military factor causing this effect was the sea blockade, which crippled Japan's ability to produce and equip the forces necessary to execute its strategy. The most important factor accounting for the timing of surrender was the Soviet attack against Manchuria, largely because it persuaded previously adamant Army leaders that the homeland could not be defended.".</ref> The Red Army also captured the [[Soviet invasion of South Sakhalin|southern part of Sakhalin Island]] and the [[Invasion of the Kuril Islands|Kuril Islands]]. On the night of 9–10 August 1945, Emperor [[Hirohito]] announced his decision to accept the terms demanded by the Allies in the [[Potsdam Declaration]].<ref>Bix, ''Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan'' pp. 525–526</ref> On 15 August, the Emperor communicated this decision to the Japanese people through a speech broadcast on the radio ([[Hirohito surrender broadcast|''Gyokuon-hōsō'']], literally "broadcast in the Emperor's voice").<ref>Bix ''Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan'', pp. 526–528</ref> On 15 August 1945, [[Surrender of Japan|Japan surrendered]], with the [[Japanese Instrument of Surrender|surrender documents]] finally signed at [[Tokyo Bay]] on the deck of the American battleship {{USS|Missouri|BB-63|6}} on 2 September 1945, ending the war.<ref name="Beevor 2012 776">{{Harvnb|Beevor|2012|p=776}}.</ref>