Sunday · November 15, 2026

Edited daily

American history, reported as it happened

Made for the 250th

The events of July 26 · Read the full edition → · More from July 26 →

19451776 Club

Allies warn Japan: surrender now or face prompt and utter destruction

Stalin sits out the ultimatum since Moscow is not yet at war with Tokyo, but promises to sign on once it is.

Ten days after an atomic device lit up the New Mexico desert on July 16, the Allied leaders at Potsdam turned to the war still burning in the Pacific. On July 26, 1945, Harry Truman, Winston Churchill and Chiang Kai-shek issued a proclamation demanding the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces, warning that refusal meant "prompt and utter destruction." American bombers scattered three million leaflets over Japan carrying the terms. Tokyo answered with silence…

1776 Club

This story is held for members.

Members read every story of the day — and tomorrow's, and the next.

Join the 1776 Club

$17.76 your first year · then $39.99/yr · cancel anytime

More from July 26

Washington cuts off Japan's oil; London and the Dutch follow within days

Tokyo's push into southern Indochina triggers an embargo that erases four-fifths of Japan's oil supply.

Congress cuts the cord to London's mail: Franklin named postmaster general

A line of posts is ordered from Falmouth to Savannah, and the emerging nation gets its own way to talk to itself.

Five days after Bull Run, Lincoln hands his broken army to McClellan

The thirty-four-year-old general inherits a demoralized force and calls the deference of Lincoln, the Cabinet, and Scott a 'strange operation of magic'.

Hamilton, Madison and Jay had spent months making the case in the newspapers; the Poughkeepsie convention barely came around.

Read this as a member →

Read the full July 26 edition →Everything that happened on July 26 →

More from The World Wars

American troops push into the Hürtgen Forest, aiming for a village called Schmidt

Dense conifers and steep ravines await, ground the Germans have spent weeks fortifying with bunkers and mines.

2,711 guns open fire before dawn as America's biggest offensive begins

The barrage alone cost about a million dollars a minute, before a single soldier crossed the wire.

Berlin ceremony formalizes Germany, Italy, and Japan into the Axis alliance

The three powers pledge mutual support if any is attacked, carving the world into spheres of control.

Fourteen freighters hit the water at once; Roosevelt calls them Liberty ships

At Baltimore's Bethlehem-Fairfield yard, the President borrows Patrick Henry's own words to name a fleet still unbuilt.

The Daily Record · free by email

Tomorrow's edition in your inbox — one featured story, one quote, and today's flag status. Free, every morning.

The full experience

Read every story, narrated, in the app.

Take this story with you.

The complete daily edition, the deep-cut narration, and a library that's yours — the 1776 Club lives in the app.

Your membership comes with you — every event, narrated, with flag alerts, CarPlay, and your saved library.