There are two general kinds of history books that I am reading. One is kind of country or region-focused and gives a long-term view of the start and development of the country or region over that stretch of time. These tend to be somewhat less analytical and more factual. Then there are histories focussed around particular events, a war, a revolution, and economic crisis. I have been reading a number of the country histories and now am reading a few that are more event-focused. The first to report on is Victory ’45, by James Holland and Al Murray. Holland has authored a number of books on WWII, including one I will be reading shortly. Victory 45 is a quick read that describes the setting and events for the multiple surrenders of Germany, Italy and Japan that ended WWII. It is quite detailed and gives you a good perspective on the various personalities involved and the allied strategies for attempting to get the war to a quick conclusion. For the usual reasons in authoritarian regimes, both Germany and Japan attempted to fight on long after they had clearly lost the war, resulting in far more damage and casualties on all sides.
Although the book doesn’t cover it, the difference in what happened post-war in Europe and in Japan is interesting to consider. The allies in Europe were clearly fatigued and just wanted to end hostilities. Despite warnings from some leaders, Churchill in particular, they allowed Russia to dominate Eastern Europe, which condemned multiple countries to decades of deprivation, government sponsored murder and constant fear, until the collapse of the Soviet Union. A more forceful insistance that the Russians withdraw to Russia would have spared these countries the agony of communism, but also would have likely resulted in fewer proxy wars in the subsequent decades and lower overall military spending during the Cold War. But the US should be greatly applauded for how it stepped up to preserve Western Europe, help it redevelop and sustain democracy and freedom.
In the Pacific, the US was able from the start to focus on creating a new Japan, democratic and free, and a country that renewed its status as an economic power. Japan has been an excellent ally for the US and if Trump had any sense he would meld Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the Phillipines and other Asian countries into an military machine that would deter Chinese aggression. Japan and Korea have stronger shipbuilding and other industrial bases than we do and we should take advantage of that. The book, as I said, is a pretty quick read and a good in-depth description of how this most deadly of wars ended.
