Last Gasp There is truly no hope for the Nazi cause by the start of 1945. Allied bombing raids have pulverized all the big industrial centers, and killed four million civilians. Battlefield losses are being replaced by children, and Germany has sacrificed the last of its military reserves in the doomed Battle of the Bulge. The Soviets are unstoppable. Still, the Germans fight on.

	Excessive Bombing? The map above shows all targets bombed during four years of war (in ORANGE). The larger dots are the strategic industrial centers, while smaller dots indicate tactical bombing supporting combat operations. In Germany, 20 of the largest cities are at least half-destroyed. But the air war comes at a steep price. The British and Americans each lose 10,000 bombers, 10,000 fighters, and 80,000 airmen. Germany loses 60,000 aircraft, while three-quarters of its heavy artillery are tied up in anti-aircraft duties.
	Strangling Japan Japan, too, is on the ropes. All its outer island bases have been taken, and its fleet destroyed. Japan itself is under high-altitude bombing attack from Chinese bases. Japan's aircraft carriers are gone, along with almost all its planes and pilots, leaving the home island helpless to defend itself. Still, Japan clings to its nationalistic pride, with soldiers ready to fight to the death for the Emperor. In desperation, barely-trained Kamikaze pilots are instructed to crash their planes directly into American ships. It's all hopeless.