The Last Days of World War II - Volume 18 [17-23 June]

The Last Days of WWII is a twenty-six part historical documentary produced by the History Channel that reveals the horrific and unreal carnage during the integral months of the European front in World War II, utilizing first-hand footage and commentary from historical experts as they discuss the decisions, battles, strategies, and ultimate legacies of the war. Each episode of the series takes a week leading up to the end of the war as the Allied forces push through the German defenses and celebrate their victory, beginning with the initial assault on Berlin by the Soviet Union's Red Army and Hitler's sealed bunker and ending with the ultimate surrender by the Japanese government after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Last Days of WWII takes a deeper look at the aftermath of the Nazi threat as the Big 3 nations begin to restructure the continent while the war-devastated people start to take back their lives and the guilty were put on trial at Nuremberg.

In the Philippines, Appari, the last port held by the Japanese, falls to U.S. forces, who now make contact with Filipino guerrillas. After three months of some of the most bitter fighting of the entire war, the Japanese finally cease trying to defend Okinawa against U.S. forces. At dawn the Japanese commander, Lt. General Mitsuru Ushijima emerges from his bunker in a cave and commits ritual suicide in front of his shocked and demoralized staff officers. Victory at Okinawa places U.S. forces just 400 miles from mainland Japan. Lt. General Simon B. Buckner, commander-in-chief of the U.S. 10th Army, is killed by shrapnel as he visits front line troops.

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