In Occupied Germany… The Potsdam Conference (code named Terminal), informally named after the small town near Berlin in which it takes place, begins as the last of the leaders arrives. Marshal Stalin arrived in Berlin and the conference of the Big Three (Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States) began in the afternoon. President Truman is invited to preside over the meeting.

In Japan… The first Anglo-American carrier air strike on the Tokyo area is conducted by the forces of the British Pacific Fleet (Admiral Sir Bernard Rawlings), designated Task Force 37, and the US 3rd Fleet (Admiral Halsey) During the night (July 17-18), the HMS King George V and 5 US battleships bombard Hitachi on Honshu. The Allied battleships fire some 2000 tons of shells on Hitachi in fifty minutes.

In Britain… German Field Marshal Busch, the former commander of Army Group Center on the Eastern Front, dies at the military hospital in Notts at age 60. Meanwhile, the King, Queen and Princess Elizabeth visit Ulster.