In April 1945, the Second World War
was close to completion. In Europe, the Allied armies
advanced into the heart of Nazi Germany from west and east
and were about to reunite. For Adolf Hitler, who had been
recently the triumphant master of an empire
which stretched from the Pyrenees to the Volga, mass was said. Now recluse
in his underground bunker in Berlin, surrounded by his last followers
most loyal, each of his decisions meant
life or death for the German people, for the millions of forced laborers
and concentration camp inmates. Before the guns finally fall silent,
hundreds of thousands of innocent will perish in flames and ruins
of a dying Third Reich. On the other side of the world,
Hitler's partner in the axis, Japan, suffered
American attacks on the theater
of Pacific operations. Supported by
the most powerful economy in the world, military capabilities
and the power of the United States reached heights. Huge amphibious armies,
protected by naval forces, just as substantial,
progressed in the Pacific closer and closer to Japan,
while the giant B-29 bombers made it rain
fire on its cities. off Japan,
american submarines had practically nothing left to sink. At the same time, the Japanese population,
almost 90 million people, had to face an economic crisis
and resist deprivation. In Asia,
British troops took over Burma
to the Japanese who had occupied it since 1942. In London,
Prime Minister Winston Churchill received encouraging news,
battles on all fronts. Despite this,
after guiding his nation through the stormy waters
of the war, Churchill worried about the future. Yes, the old fighter
worried about the British Empire, exhausted by so many fights
and financially exhausted who was in danger of finding himself
on the sidelines at the end of the conflict, left behind by his allies, Americans and Russians
much more powerful. Winston Churchill
had given everything for the king and his country, and the promised Allied victory
would be his finest hour. He remained cautious and also amazing
as it may seem, his own future
as Prime Minister was far from assured. At dusk on April 1,
three weeks had passed since the American troops
had seized the Ludendorff bridge on the Rhine, at Remagen, before the Germans
are unable to destroy it. The other 46 bridges
road and rail who crossed the Rhine
had been blown up and the Ludendorff Bridge
ends up collapsing due to vibration
many shots fired in his direction by artillery
and the German air attacks, although he was not touched
directly. It happened ten days
after the first army used it to establish its bridgehead
on the east bank of the Rhine. The Rhine was
the only significant natural obstacle between armies
led by General Eisenhower, Supreme Commander
allied troops in Europe, and the rest
of German territory. Once the Rhine crossed, the rest of the territory
German was accessible. Eisenhower's Troops
could well reach Berlin before the Red Army
who stood on the Oder, 150 kilometers from the city
since the end of January. When Eisenhower received
supreme command of all operations
on the ground in September 1944, his campaign in the northwest
of Europe had been criticised. One of the fiercest detractors
was Field Marshal Montgomery, better known
under the diminutive of Monty, he was appreciated by his men
and unmanageable for his superiors. He led the 21st Army Group
during the breakthrough in Germany between March and April 45. responsible for putting
implement operation tunder, the 21st army group
included Canadians, British as well as American troops
crossing the Rhine towards Wesel. Montgomery's men had succeeded
achieve all their goals in a few hours. Only suffer small losses. In contrast,
the Varsity operation, during which
two allied airborne divisions had been dumped
beyond the east bank of the Rhine, didn't go so well, causing heavy losses. Let's watch the drama
unfold in the sky from relative safety
from the west bank of the Rhine, Winston Churchill himself. Always ready to visit
the front as soon as he could, Churchill had joined
Eisenhower's headquarters which overlooked the river. Like always, Churchill was determined
to be at the heart of the action and to amazement
tinged with Eisenhower's fear, the British Prime Minister,
already in his seventies, jumped into an American lending kraft
and crossed the Rhine. Churchill, far beyond
of his personal safety, did not miss
cause for concern, considering the prospect
of a division of Europe between two ideological blocs
and rival militaries. Churchill thought
that US President Roosevelt, very weak,
had seriously underestimated the danger posed
by Stalin and the Soviets. The British Prime Minister
wanted Eisenhower and Western allies
advance and take Berlin before
the Russians fail. Eisenhower considered the destruction
German military power as an essential mission, when Berlin was not in itself
its main priority. But in the moment,
artillery observers and the snipers being
still active on the east bank of the Rhine, Eisenhower's concern
was to persuade Churchill to return to relative safety
from the west bank before being injured. While a delicate negotiation was in progress
to bring Churchill back 200 kilometers further, the fifth infantry division
of the Third American Army had, without drum or trumpet,
crossed the Rhine at Oppenheim. There was not
enough sympathy between the commander
of the Third US Army, George Blood and
Guts Patton and Montgomery. Having a few accounts to settle, Patton was happy to cross the Rhine
ahead of Monty's troops. In fact, Patton managed
to lead five divisions on the Rhine at Oppenheim,
where the opposition was weak, thereby ensuring that the road
to Berlin was now open. German resistance to the Allies
was getting weaker day by day. Homeland defense was now
in the hands of an army made up of old people
and scared kids trying to protect
a panicked civilian population. For civilians,
the worst was yet to come. Hitler, from the shelter of his bunker
under the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, asked what the battle
be conducted without any consideration for the German population. He ordered the destruction
of all the industrial centers, power plants,
gas plants as well as shops
food and textiles to create a desert
for the allied armies. The führer declared "If the war
is lost, the German nation will perish. There is no need
to take into consideration what people need
to continue its existence. On April 1, 1945,
it was Easter Sunday, a traditional festival
for christians and a party for military reasons
for the allies. The advance of Montgomery's 21st Army, doubled by that
of the U.S. Ninth Army, formed the northern part
with a pincer around the Ruhr, the industrial heart of Germany, while the first army
constituted the southern part of this pincer. Units of the two American armies
met near "Lim stack" and 72 hours later, the encirclement of
the Ruhr pocket was finished. Inside this narrow perimeter
were the remains of 21 divisions totaling 430,000 German troops
of Army Group B, accompanying thousands
frightened German civilians, tired, hungry,
as well as forced laborers, all trapped
and at the mercy of the Allies. In the Pacific,
considerable progress was made and the Americans
were preparing for Operation Iceberg. The target was Okinawa,
some 500 kilometers south of Japan, the most important island
of the Ryukyu Range. If the landing succeeded in Okinawa, the island would become a springboard
for Americans, allowing them to start
the final invasion of Japan. Less than a week earlier, Iwo Jima,
the first island of the Japanese archipelago to have been conquered by the Americans,
had finally been declared safe after six weeks of bitter fighting. This victory was immortalized
by famous photography american flag
planted on top of Mount Souri Bachi. The fighting on Iwo Jima had cost
life to 6825 American soldiers and 21,703 Japanese. Although a victory,
the battle of Iwo Jima was mostly a disturbing prologue
for Operation Iceberg. For the invasion of Okinawa, the Americans gathered
a force of 102,000 soldiers, 88,000 marines and
18,000 sailors under command of General Simon Bolivar Buckner Junior
Commander of the 10th Army. To support Buckner's troops,
a fleet of 1600 ships was mobilized, comprising 40 aircraft carriers, 18 battleships,
32 cruisers and 200 destroyers. The warships remained offshore
and the planes were lined up at their battle station, ready to strike
Okinawa until its surrender. At 6 a.m., the bombardment
Taguchi beaches began. naval bombardment,
stopped 3 hours later and the troops of the third amphibious corps
and the 24th Army Corps landed. To the greatest surprise
Americans, the storming waves
encountered no opposition. The troops then advanced
without delay in the land and in the evening, they had achieved their goal airfields
of Cadena and [Yo ming Tang]. By nightfall, the 10th Army had
more than 60,000 men on the island. The land area conquered
was about fifteen kilometers wide. The Japanese were invisible. In fact, the Japanese troops
from Okinawa had positioned themselves far inland to avoid
the American naval bombardments, sheltered in caves
on steep terrain in the center of the island. The Japanese 32nd Army defending the island
was 120,000 strong. 70,000 of them were men
regular army troops. They were good, experienced. The other 50,000 were
navy troops and local conscripts,
poorly trained and ill-equipped. The Japanese had
abundant artillery and the land offered them
favorable defensive positions. About 100 km long
and with an average width of 15Km, Okinawa was mainly made up covered hills
of pine forests and thick undergrowth. Renowned for their construction
strong defensive position and well designed. The Japanese were ready
and waited for the enemy. When the battle
for Okinawa began on April 3, Americans
had already reached the East Bank, dividing into two
Japanese-held areas. General Buckner quickly launched
phase two of his plan of which the goal
was to take the northern half of Lille. The Sixth Marine Division
advanced towards the motobu peninsula on the west coast of the island, where she met
japanese troops defending a natural fortress
wooded cliffs and ravines. On April 18, sailors
had cleared the Motobu peninsula. Most of the land,
north of Okinawa, was now
in American hands. At the same time,
the invasion fleet cruising offshore from Okinawa suffers
a terrible aerial attack. The Japanese high command
collected more than 2000 planes on airfields
from southern Japan and Formosa to try
to break the assault on Okinawa. Despite the bombing raids
from their base by the B-29s and American carrier planes, in the weeks before
Operation Iceberg, many of these devices
were always ready for action. At the controls of airplanes
full of bombs and fuel were young pilots
charged with a suicide mission. They were suicide bombers
Japanese word meaning divine wind. In the 13th century a typhoon scattered
and sank two Chinese fleets when they came to invade Japan. The Japanese nicknamed
these storms, Divine wind. The Japanese high command
hoped that this divine wind of another type was going to crush the American fleet
in front of Okinawa. On April 6, 1945,
Japanese Operation Chrysanthemum began with massive attacks
of kamikazes against the allied fleet. Driven by fanatical devotion
to their emperor, most kamikaze pilots
were novices and allied fighters
managed to get them down by the dozen before they have the slightest chance
to cause any harm. They were very numerous and
many suicide bombers managed to get through. For two days, the anti-aircraft gunners
aboard Allied ships had the difficult task
to hit them in the sky. Thirteen American destroyers
were hit hard and some sunk. Suicide bombers became a threat
that the Allies should take it really seriously. During the following three months,
hundreds of kamikaze pilots threw themselves with their planes
on allied ships and almost all, as expected,
lost their lives. The time that fights
on Okinawa end, the suicide bombers had sunk
36 allied ships and damaged 368 others. Most of the 4,907 sailors killed and the 4874 wounded
during the Battle of Okinawa were during the suicide attacks. For the Navy,
that was terrible numbers. On Okinawa,
the battle was also raging. Several Japanese troops
was in the south of the island. On April 4, General Buckner
gave the order to the 24ᵉ army corps to move south from
the beaches taken by the Americans. While the seventh
and 96th Infantry Division pushed towards Shuri,
the ancient capital of Okinawa, they encountered resistance
by Japanese troops, defending a position that the Americans
nicknamed Cactus Ridge. There were terrible fights
melee for Cactus Ridge. On April 9,
the Japanese had been driven out of their positions
at the high price of 1500 American losses. The road to Shuri was blocked by Japanese defenders
along Kazuko Ridge. The violent fights
continued until american firepower
force the defenders of the island to cease all attacks. Even under these conditions,
Büchner's advance is unbridled. The fight for Okinawa
was far from complete. In Europe, Americans,
the British and the Canadians progressed deeper and deeper
in Germany after crossing of the Rhine succeeded in March 45. In comparison
with the bloodbath of the Pacific, their losses were light. The majority of German troops
that they met were quicker
to surrender than to fight. As they advanced, the allies discovered
the overwhelming evidence and abominable crimes
against humanity committed by the Nazis. On April 4, 1945, troops
of Patton's Third Army entered the camp
work of Ohrdruf, near the city of Gotha. In the field,
they discovered piles of bodies, some partially
covered with lime, others cremated. These unfortunates were prisoners
than the fleeing SS guard had considered
like too weak to walk. They had been executed just
before the evacuation of the camp. The horror story of Ohrdruf
spread rapidly. On April 12, General Eisenhower
visited the camp with Generals Patton
and Bradley to see it. They realized how much their fight
against the Nazis was justified. The worst was yet to come. Forward units of the Third Army
entered a camp even more important
near the city of Weimar, in Buchenwald. Despite the horror of the situation, they released
21,000 starving and sick prisoners. Americans
and the British knew of the existence
concentration camps, but were unprepared
to face this reality. After inspecting Ohrdruf, Eisenhower informed
General Marshall who was in charge
of the General Staff in Washington. The description of the situation was such
that he decided to show to the whole world the reality of what Hitler
and the Nazis had committed. On April 12, the famous journalist
from CBS, Edward Muro, visited Buchenwald and made on the airwaves
the account of those he discovered for those who had
the strength to listen to this story. Buchenwald was not
an extermination camp. For the 238,000 prisoners
from all over Europe and the Soviet Union
who passed through its doors in July 1938 to April 1945, it was a place of terror and death. There are an estimated 56,000 detainees
who perished in the camp. Eisenhower did all he could
to make public the abominable conditions of these camps. Being himself of German origin, he was determined to do
that these people are confronted to its own collective responsibilities
about his heinous crimes. The Americans forced the inhabitants
living around the camp come and see the atrocities
committed in their name. They made them wander
between piles of emaciated bodies who were waiting to be cremated
in the camp ovens. During
their visit to Buchenwald, German civilians
were able to discover atrocious and bizarre trophy collections
collected by the SS. They included human organs
stored in formalin jars, shrunken heads, lampshades
and book covers made with the skin of prisoners
chosen for their colorful tattoos. The horrors of the concentration camps
continued to be revealed to civilians. This release came too late
for many inmates. In the weeks that followed,
thousands died in the hands of their liberators,
powerless to cure them their physical condition was so decrepit. At the same time,
news was about to shake the world. On April 12, the US President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, often named by his initials FDR, the man who brought in
America in the conflict, died. Affected by poliomyelitis in 1933, he had fought to restore his country
after the Great Depression of 1929, then hired him
in the Second World War. Re-elected three times president roosevelt
did not spare his health, who was terribly
deteriorated over the years. During the conference
from Yalta in Crimea in February, Roosevelt had met Stalin
and Churchill to discuss the division of Germany after the war, but his appearance had struck
everyone who was there. He was obviously
become a very sick man. Upon his return to the United States,
the president addressed the Congress. Unable to stand,
he spoke, seated in his armchair. The main theme
of his speech was his vision of the United Nations. He declared: "The conference in Crimea
marks the end of a system resting on
unilateral actions, exclusive alliances, spheres of influence,
the balance of power and all other expedients
who were employed for centuries
and who have always failed. We propose
a substitute for all that, a universal organization
that all peace-loving nations, will have the chance
to be able to join." It's a remarkable legacy
that Roosevelt left to the world. Although very weak,
he continued to lead the Americans in their struggle
against the Third Reich and Japan. At the end of March, Roosevelt
traveled to Worms Springs, Georgia, to prepare the international conference
from San Francisco, during which the organization
of the United Nations was about to be created. On April 12, he complained
from a terrible headache. A little after, he was a victim
a severe cerebral hemorrhage and died within hours. He was 63
and within a few weeks, he did not have the satisfaction of seeing
what he had fought so hard for, the fall of berlin
and victory in Europe. In America and the allied countries,
the news of Roosevelt's death caused immense sadness. He stayed at the White House
Longer than any other American president. In twelve years, he had led the United States
and economic prosperity and victory over Nazi Germany
and the Japanese Empire. In all the countries,
the flags were lowered 30 days as a sign of national mourning. Thousands of Grateful Americans gathered along the line of
railroad between One Spring, Georgia and Washington District, to assist
passing the funeral train who brought back Roosevelt's body,
including the capital. A denser crowd
gathered in the streets of the capital to give him back
a last tribute when his coffin
was exhibited at the Capitol. These state funerals
were one of the events most emotionally charged
in all of Washington's history. There was still
a war to be won and America turned
full of hope for a new president. The former senator, in his sixties
years, Harry Truman, still relatively unknown
on an international scale. Truman took charge of operations
while World War II was about to enter
this very last and dramatic phase. In Germany,
the second british army was advancing rapidly
to the Danish border and the Baltic, while
US 12th Army Group closed the operations
around the Ruhr pocket. On April 21, the fighting was over
and 325,000 captured German soldiers. Overwhelmed by the impressive number
of men offering their surrender that would have to be fed and sheltered, the Americans created camps of
improvised prisoners along the Rhine. Unfortunately, during the days
and following weeks, due
the enormity of the task, hundreds
of these men died due to
their poor state of health even before the Allied soldiers
can take care of them properly. The tensions were
more and more vivid among the allies. Winston Churchill and the British
were in favor of a massive advance in order to take
Berlin before the Russians. But Eisenhower and the Americans
primarily favored a strategy of destruction
of the German armed resistance. Persistent rumors reported
from an important defensive position established in the Alps
between Germany and Austria, held by SS fanatics. Eisenhower baffled an important part
US military forces to the south
to neutralize this threat. On April 11, the lead units
of the U.S. Ninth Army who had reached the Elbe,
the last natural obstacle major before Berlin,
were ordered to stop. But the Russians were still advancing,
demonstrating their effectiveness, and this despite the many troops
committed by Hitler to defend the Hungarians. On April 13,
the Soviets had taken Vienna. In Berlin, where the leader
of Nazi propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, always celebrated with his Führer
the announcement of Roosevelt's death, hope remained high
that the alliance between the British, Americans
and the Soviets breaks up. Despite differing opinions
about the post-war period, the three main actors
were determined to end the Third Reich
once and for all. On April 16,
Stalin's long-awaited offensive on the Neisse a little further
of 130 kilometers from Berlin was beginning. The Red Army had
three main objectives. The first was
to take over Berlin. The second, to capture materials
and related scientists with the program
German atomic bomb. And last, but not least,
to occupy the largest part of German territory possible. The assault begins
by artillery bombardment, while 2.5 million Russians
took a stand for the final offensive. 1.5 million of its soldiers
were placed under the orders of the most experienced military leaders
of the Red Army, Zhukov and Konev. They had been ordered to take
Hitler's operational center. The balance of power
was in favor of the Russians is right
three soldiers for one, one-on-four artillery,
tanks and vehicles armored combat
six to one. Stalin was well aware
of the inevitable fierce competition between the two marshals
to take Berlin first. He actually gave
to Zhukov's first Belorussian front pole position on the Oder line
to the detriment of Konev, including the first Ukrainian front
on the Neisse was at a greater distance
of the German capital. As Yûko did not have
open road, because frontally, facing his troops
was the heights of Silov, the most strongly defended sector
from the front line, fifteen kilometers
beyond the Oder. After four hard days
and bloody battles, the heights of Silov open,
were finally cleaned up, while on April 19,
Konev's First Ukrainian Front had reached
to clean up the banks of the Neisse, advancing then
very quickly in the countryside. At dawn on April 20,
date of Hitler's 56th birthday, the Führer really didn't have much left
reasons to hope. Zhukov and his men
progressed very quickly on the heights of Silov
and already held Berlin under fire
of their long-range artillery. As the day progresses,
soviet forces surrounded the city from the north
and the south and over the next 48 hours, began to tighten
their hold on the city. The Russians had
the situation well in hand. During the night of April 21,
R.A.F Mosquitos carried out
the final raid on Berlin. At 8:30 a.m. precisely,
Soviet commanders gave the order to open fire against the capital
of fascist Germany. And on April 23, Berlin
was isolated by the Russians. For Adolf Hitler,
now trapped in his bunker, he was no longer
possible to escape. Realizing that Berlin was doomed, he declared his intention
to remain there at the risk of his own life. That said, the fighting in Berlin
were far from over. Soviet losses
continued to increase despite of the inevitability
of the fate of the battle. Some 45,000 soldiers
defended the city and despite basic equipment
and a total disorganization, they were a problem. Some depended on the Waffen-SS,
the military branch of the SS exclusively welcoming those
who were recognized as pure Aryan race according to Hitler's criteria. Others were French volunteers
of the Charlemagne division. Their ranks were strengthened
by thousands of members of the vox tourn poorly armed. Men between the ages of 16 and 60,
who had not integrated the german guard,
as well as voluntary members Hitler Youth. A special detachment
of 2000 Waffen-SS had been loaded to defend
the Führer's bunker and what was left
from the ministerial district. But there wasn't much to do
against the Russian steamroller. In addition to being understaffed
against the Red Army, the German defenders suffered
a massive artillery attack. The Russians were equipped
Katyusha rockets, self propelled
from mobile launchers. These rockets, named after
a popular war song about
of a girl named Katyusha, were devastating and Soviet troops
opened their way to the center of Berlin. Their main target was the building
of the former parliament, the Reichstag. But all over town
the fights were taking place hand to hand,
house by house. It was a succession
Red Army offensives and German counterattacks. In the heat of battle, no one was doing
prisoners on both sides. The operations
were not confined to Berlin. A hundred kilometers away
south of the capital, near the old town of Torgau,
on the Elbe, the Western allies and Soviets met. The first contact took place
between the troops of the 69ᵉ division
of the U.S. Ninth Army and the 58th Guards Division
of Konev's first Ukrainian front, April 25,
a day now inscribed in history. It was a great opportunity
for the few journalists and American and Soviet cameramen
who were brought the next day to immortalize the official meeting
between American and Russian soldiers, sharing a moment of brotherhood
and exchanging some gifts. But despite
of this facade unit, tensions between the Allies
were getting stronger. Right after
that the photos were taken, the Americans returned
on their side of the Elbe and remained there. It was against wishes
of General Bill Simpson, the commander of the ninth army,
who wanted to continue to Berlin. But Eisenhower rejected this idea, choosing to leave
the way clear to the Russians. Roosevelt, Churchill
and Stalin had agreed on the restructuring program
of post-war Europe. At the conference in Crimea. Berlin was
in the heart of the Soviet zone. There was nothing more to gain. Maintain US losses
at their minimum had obviously become
a major concern, especially after the terrible losses
of the Battle of the Bulge. The risk of increasing the number of killed
by friendly fire from the Soviets in chaos
street fights in Berlin, was not worth it
not worth it anymore. The Red Army therefore continued
progress smoothly. On April 29, the Russians found themselves
less than a mile and a half from the Führer's bunker. When the news reached Hitler, she was accompanied
another news the death of the dictator
Italian Benito Mussolini. This one after trying to escape
to Switzerland with his mistress, Clara Petacci was captured with her
and both executed. Their mutilated bodies were then exposed
to the vengeful mob. For Hitler,
there was no possible escape. Rather than undergo
the fate of Mussolini, the Führer decided to keep
control of his destiny. He put his affairs in order, signed his last wishes
and his will, then married
his mistress Eva Braun. Hitler's dream
of a millennial Reich was over. On April 30,
the newlyweds get suicidal. Their bodies were taken out of the bunker
and burned by SS guards in the gardens
of the Chancellery. 10,000 German troops
continued to defend Berlin and the district of the ministries
with the energy of despair. On May 1, the Reichstag,
traditional symbol of German power, fell into Soviet hands
and Russian soldiers raised the red flag
on its ruined roof. After Hitler, Goebbels
also took a drastic decision by killing his six children before
to commit suicide with his wife. Hitler had ordered Goebbels
to flee if Berlin was taken. And for the first time,
the most loyal of his relatives disobey man
to whom he had dedicated his life. The events
had taken a dramatic turn. May 2nd,
the commander of the Berlin garrison, General Helmut Welling,
surrendered to the Russians and in a few hours
all the guns fell silent in the city. The Soviets did
nearly 500,000 prisoners, but there is no exact number
regarding the number of soldiers and civilians who died. Eventually, Eisenhower's determination
to let American troops out of the battle for Berlin
turned out to be justified, for the Red Army had paid a heavy price. At least 80,000 troops
Soviets had been killed during the fighting around and including Berlin
and 280,000 had been injured. And when the fighting is over,
the Russians met charged with the immense task
to organize supplies for the people
remaining civilians as well as to return the city again habitable. Many Russian soldiers, motivated by revenge
and often dead drunk, plundered the city
and committed atrocities who had nothing to envy to those
committed by Nazi troops. The promise of peace
in Europe was close, but the war was
still raging in the Pacific. The situation was at an impasse. When the Germans surrendered
against the Russians, on May 2, British and Indian troops did not complete their progress
to central Burma and seized the capital Rangoon,
just a few hours before the rains
monsoon does not start. As the world would find out
in the following months, the refusal of the Japanese
to get to them slow considerably the allies. The fighting in Burma
would last another three months. But the reconquest campaign
will end de facto with the fall of Rangoon. The Japanese metropolis was
the object of repeated attacks. In the Philippines, American troops,
led by General Douglas MacArthur, managed to contain
more than 200,000 Japanese soldiers on the islands of Mindanao and Luzon. Once more,
their resistance was terrible, because they fought until death
to hold their bunker in the heart of the mountain. On June 26,
MacArthur was finally able to declare that the campaign
of the Philippines was won. It's also the end of June,
the 22nd to be precise, that the Battle of Okinawa
was officially declared complete. It had lasted 87 days. More than 100,000 Japanese soldiers
had left their life there and 7000 others, mainly local recruits,
had been taken prisoner. 100,000 civilians also had
died during the fighting. Although victorious, the Americans had paid
a heavy price in this confrontation. More than 12,000 dead
and 38,000 injured. The Japanese were
fully aware that, considering
events in Europe, concluded
the fighting in the Pacific, were going to mobilize
all the energy of the allies. But it was
an unattractive prospect for planners
american military than to consider an assault
amphibious against Japan. He had estimated
the likely rate of loss. Based on 30%
losses like those suffered by
the 10ᵉ army in Okinawa, we arrived at a figure of
300,000 soldiers killed or wounded. So we had to imagine
a new strategic approach. On the other side of the world,
in Europe, the first days of the month
of May 1945 promised to be more serene. [English spoken audio] [English spoken audio] [English spoken audio] After the end of the fighting in Berlin
and in Italy on May 2, events were about to accelerate. Barely 48 hours later,
german forces from northwestern Europe
presented their surrender to British Marshal Montgomery under a pitched tent
in the Lüneburg Heath. It was an austere moment,
without ceremony, just after May 5. Admiral Carr Donitz,
Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy and its new president, in accordance with the latest
Hitler's wishes, ordered his 350 U-Boats to cease operations
fight immediately. Everything was in place for an end point
be put to war in Europe. On the morning of May 7,
the German representatives, Generals Yodel and Keitel
signed the documents of their final surrender in the
Eisenhower's headquarters in Reims. It was specified that at 23:01 of the time zone
central european time, on May 8, all German troops
had to stop fighting. Finally, the news
that the world has been waiting for since 1939 was going to be announced. Victory in Europe
was celebrated the next day, May 9. The good news
were traveling fast. From May 8,
the rumors of the imminent end fighting in Europe triggered
celebrations in Britain, in the streets of London
and across the country. Driven by fervor
and the excitement of the crowd at 3 p.m., the Prime Minister
Winston Churchill once addressed what's more
to his people on the radio. Hostilities will end
officially one minute after midnight tonight,
but in order to save lives, the ceasefire has begun to sound
yesterday on the whole front. It was an incredible day of happiness
and contagious euphoria. Everywhere, we celebrated the news
and the people gathered together, when Winston Churchill
went to Buckingham Palace to stand
alongside the royal family, output on
the balcony to receive the ovation of the crowd
gathered massively. five years later
his taking office as Prime Minister in 1940,
this moment, symbol of victory, was for Winston Churchill
his most beautiful work, his hour of glory. The British were not
the only ones to celebrate this victory on the Third Reich
and the Nazi regime. On the other side of the Atlantic,
despite the fighting and losses incurred
against the Japanese took the time
to celebrate the event. Harry Truman dedicated
this May 8 and the victory to his predecessor
Franklin Roosevelt, who had done so much
to fight tyranny. To mark the mourning of
their recently deceased president, flags all over america
remained at half mast. By the merest chance, it happened on the day of
President Truman's 61st birthday. While the Americans
and the British celebrate Victory Day on May 8,
the Russians celebrate it on the 9th, the date that had originally been
chosen by the Allies. For the Soviet people, victory day
is a celebration of joy, but also intense memories. At least 20,000,000 Russian citizens
had perished since June 22, 1941, the day the German troops
invaded the Soviet Union, leaving behind cities
and devastated villages and countless deaths
who will never be forgotten. All of Europe was liberated. Channel Islands,
to the Greek Islands, in the Aegean Sea. Dunkirk, Saint-Nazaire and La Rochelle
finally found their freedom, just like norway
and Denmark. Even the strip of territory
stretching from the west of the Netherlands to Czechoslovakia,
still in German hands was finally free. German troops
surrendered to the allies, fleeing as much as possible to the west
to avoid being caught by the Soviets
hungry for revenge. The last act of the end
of the Nazi regime took place on May 23, when British troops
arrested Admiral Donitz, including its headquarters in Flensburg,
near the Danish border. From now on,
the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union and France
took control of old Germany
of the Third Reich. But uncertainties
hovered over the sequence of events. Always so eloquent when
his VE Day address, Churchill had expressed
what the rest of the world thought: "We can allow ourselves
a brief period of rejoicing, but it should not
make us forget the work and effort
that await us. Japan guilty of treason and expansionism
soldier remains unpunished." Harry Truman
then had the technology to force the Japanese to surrender. Only a few weeks
after taking up his new duties, the responsibility
to launch a nuclear attack against Japan,
rested on his shoulders.
