Author Description

Volume 17 covers the final naval events in the military theatres of Europe, China-Burma-India, and the Pacific. From May through September 1945, Germany surrendered to the Allies, although fighting continued in the Pacific for some months longer. The US captured Okinawa after a bloody fight and then focused all forces against the Japanese mainland. The US Third Fleet and British Pacific Fleet attacked Japan by day, while US B-29 aircraft bombed by night and day, now escorted by fighter aircraft operating from Iwo Jima. Using the new airfields on Okinawa, US aircraft began attacking Japan, Korea, and China. To finally convince Japan to surrender, the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Shortly thereafter, the Russian Army invaded Manchuria in overwhelming force. Japan finally surrendered, bringing peace to the world after many years of bloody conflict.