When the Shooting Stopped

August 1945

When the Shooting Stopped cover

Description

Victory in Japan Day (VJ Day) on August 15, 1945 officially marked the end of World War II, but in fact conflict continued throughout the month. This fascinating title from Barrett Tillman explore the final weeks of the war, until the shooting finally stopped.

In the 44 months between December 1941 and August 1945, the Pacific Theater absorbed the attention of the American nation and military longer than any other. Despite the Allied grand strategy of “Germany first,” after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. especially was committed to confronting Tokyo as a matter of urgent priority.

But from Oahu to Tokyo was a long, sanguinary slog, averaging an advance of just three miles per day. The U.S. human toll paid on that road reached some 108,000 battle deaths, more than one-third the U.S. wartime total. But by the summer of 1945 on both the American homefront and on the frontline there was hope. The stunning announcements of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9 seemed sure to force Tokyo over the tipping point since the Allies' surrender demand from Potsdam, Germany, in July. What few understood was the vast gap in the cultural ethos of East and West at that time. In fact, most of the Japanese cabinet refused to surrender and vicious dogfights were still waged in the skies above Japan.

This fascinating new history tells the dramatic story of the final weeks of the war, detailing the last brutal battles on air, land and sea with evocative first-hand accounts from pilots and sailors caught up in these extraordinary events. Barrett Tillman then expertly details the first weeks of a tenuous peace and the drawing of battle lines with the forthcoming Cold War as Soviet forces concluded their invasion of Manchuria. When the Shooting Stopped retells these dramatic events, drawing on accounts from all sides to relive the days when the war finally ended and the world was forever changed.

Table of Contents

Prologue: August 1945
List of Illustrations
Introduction

1. War or Peace?
2. August Storm
3. The Day the Shooting Stopped
4. Around the World
5. Uneasy Peace
6. Tokyo Bay
7. Downstream from VJ Day

Acknowledgments
Endnotes
Bibliography
Index

Product details

Published Apr 12 2022
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 304
ISBN 9781472848987
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Illustrations 2 x 16pp colour plate section
Dimensions 234 x 153 mm
Series General Military
Short code GNM
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Barrett Tillman

Barrett Tillman is a professional author and speak…

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