European theatre of World War II major German forces in the west were encircled and trapped in the Ruhr. On April 27, 1945, as Allied forces closed in on Milan, Mussolini was captured by Italian Partisans. He was trying to flee Italy to Switzerland and was traveling with a German anti-air battalion. On April 28, Mussolini and several of the other Fascists captured with him were taken to Dongo and executed by firing squad. The bodies were then taken to Milan and unceremoniously strung up in front of a filling station. Hitler, learning of Mussolini's death, realized that the end had finally come. He remained in
Douglas MacArthur in World War II MacArthur created two new commands, AFMIDPAC under Lieutenant General Robert C. Richardson, Jr., and AFWESPAC under Lieutenant General Wilhelm D. Styer, which absorbed USASOS and USAFFE. This reorganization, which took some months to actually accomplish, was part of preparations for Operation Downfall, the invasion of Japan. The first phase, the invasion of Kyushu, known as Operation Olympic, was scheduled to commence on November 1, 1945. The invasion was pre-empted by the surrender of Japan in August 1945. On September 2, MacArthur accepted the formal Japanese surrender aboard , thus ending hostilities in World War II. In recognition of his role