STARS & STRIPES, London Edition, July 18, 1945  This was the: "Daily Newspaper of U.S. Armed Forces in the European Theater of Operations" as noted in the masthead. Penciled at the top is "War Dept."
The front page reports include: "1,500 Planes, Fleets Rip Japan" "British Join U.S. In 'Pre-Invasion' Smash at Targets" "U.S. Reported Drafting Terms For Surrender" and two related photos.
Four pages, tabloid-size, nice condition.

background: This specific edition of Stars & Stripes serves as a poignant artifact of the "interregnum" period between the fall of the Third Reich and the final collapse of Imperial Japan, capturing the precise moment when the logistical and military might of the Allies shifted its full weight toward the Pacific. The headlines regarding the 1,500-plane raids and the "drafting of surrender terms" reflect the intense pressure of the final blockade, while the "War Dept." penciling suggests this copy likely occupied a place in an official archive or a high-level briefing room rather than a foxhole. Because it was printed in London months after V-E Day, it highlights the unique reality for GIs in Europe who, while surrounded by the peace they had just won, were anxiously reading about the "Pre-Invasion" strikes that signaled their potential deployment to a second, even more' grueling front.