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World War II: Difference between revisions
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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> | 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, | 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 |archive-date=4 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240504072215/https://books.google.com/books?id=7SQ_EAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</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> | 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> | ||