World War II Sea War, Volume 16 | DONALD A. BERTKE

In Volume 16, covering January through April 1945, we see the Allies' final struggles against Nazi Germany and the last major battles against Japan. EUROPEAN THEATREUS Navy and Royal Navy warships defend the Atlantic Ocean against the last German U-boat attacks. Germany stages a massive evacuation of civilians from East Prussia against Russian submarine attacks. The Allies hold a meeting at Yalta, Russia, where they decided the fate of Poland and established four occupation zones for post-war Germany. The Allies reiterate their demand that Germany and Japan surrender unconditionally. As the Allies press into Germany, Adolf Hitler commits suicide and his successor, Admiral Donitz, asks for a cease fire. German troops in Italy sign a cease fire and agree to surrender in early May. CHINA, BURMA AND INDIA THEATREBritish and Indian troops land along the Arakan Coast supported by the Royal Navy during the liberation of Burma. German U-boats attempt to return to Germany from the Indian Ocean. The Japanese make one last desperate offensive against US airfields in China. Allied troops force Japanese troops from Burma. PACIFIC THEATREThe US Third Fleet attacks Japanese shipping in the South and East China Seas. The US Seventh Fleet fights against heavy kamikaze attacks to land the US Sixth Army on Luzon. US and Filipino guerrilla forces begin liberating the smaller Philippine Islands from Japanese occupation. The British Pacific Fleet joins the US Fifth Fleet against massive Japanese kamikaze attacks off Okinawa. The US mining campaign brings Japanese ship movements to a halt and makes the situation in Japan desperate.