World War II in real time

[lordroel]

Day 2172 of World War II, August 23rd 1945

Allied/Soviet occupied Austria

British, American and French troops enter Vienna.

Photo: General Patton riding “Favory Africa”, which Hitler had personally picked out to be presented to Emperor Hirohito. The horse formerly belonged to the riding school of Vienna. It was confiscated by the Germans and later returned by the Americans, 23 August 1945



Soviet Union

Stalin announces that Soviet forces have occupied Manchuria, southern Sakhalin Island, as well as Shimushiru and Paramushiro in the Kurile Islands.

Joseph Stalin ordered his generals to abandon the plans to land on Hokkaido, Japan.

United Kingdom

Both Houses of Parliament ratify the United Nations Charter. Meanwhile, a USAAF B-24 bomber crashes into a crowded school building in Freckelton, England, killing 76 children and the entire crew.

United States

Clarence V. Bertucci is granted a discharge from the Army and sent to a mental institution for further tests and evaluation. He is responsible for the massacre of German POWs at Camp Salina, Utah on July 8th.

Photo: Launch of the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Leyte (CV-32) at Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia (USA), on 23 August 1945



Pacific War

SOVIET-JAPANESE WAR

Soviet troops occupy Port Arthur. The port was seized by Japan from Russia in 1905.

Photo: Hoisting the banner in Port Artur, 23 August, 1945



CHINESE CIVIL WAR

The Battle of Baoying ended in communist victory with the former nationalists turned Japanese puppet regime force who rejoined the nationalists defenders being completely annihilated, with the deputy regimental commander captured alive along with most of his troops by the attacking communists. In addition, the communists also captured more than 60 machine guns and over 600 firearms, and the vast stretch of 100 km along the Grand Canal of China from Gaoyou to Huai'an had fallen to the communist hands.

CHINA

General Ho Ying-chin, supreme commander of Chinese government forces, orders Japanese generals in northern and eastern China to hold and defend all areas they occupy pending arrival of Nationalist forces.

After a comprehensive examination of the international and domestic situations, a meeting of an enlarged CCP politburo concludes that immediate civil war is unlikely. It thus adjusts its strategic slogan to ‘peace, democracy and unification’. Based on this decision, Mao soon confirms he will accept Chiang’s invitation to discuss China’s political future in Chungking.

JAPAN

Planes from TG 38.4 (Rear Admiral Arthur W. Radford) search for Japanese shipping between Hachijo Jima and the Bonins. Such movement would have been contrary to surrender instructions, but the searching aircraft report no violations.

CEYLON

A British naval squadron sets sail to occupy Singapore.

PHILIPPINES

Douglas MacArthur ordered the release of all Filipinos, most of whom Japanese collaborators, who were interned by the US Army. He noted that their fates would be tried by the Filipino government, not by the US military.

AUSTRALIA

Photo: The British aircraft carrier HMS Formidable (R67) going through the anti-submarine boom in Sydney Harbour. The blackened funnel was the result of a kamikaze aircraft which crashed on deck. The photograph was taken from George's Head and looks towards Green Point, August 23 1945



NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES (INDONESIA)

Photo: Troops from the Australian 2/15th Infantry Battalion land at Limbang, Borneo, 23 August 1945



FRENCH INDOCHINA (VIETNAM)

In the morning, Viet Minh forces took took control of Hue, Annam, French Indochina. In the afternoon, Viet Minh leadership organized a demonstration to legitimize the takeover; this was participated by minor figures in the royal family. Although the demonstrated refrained from entering the palace, they nevertheless caused Emperor Bao Dai to consider abdication. At the same time, Viet Minh personnel arrested former premier Pham Quynh and former minister Ngo Dinh Khoi and his son.

Tran Trong Kim stepped down as the Prime Minister of the Empire of Vietnam.

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS

(Eleventh Air Force): 4 B-24s fly a photo mission over Paramushiru and Shimushu.

WESTERN PACIFIC

[Far East Air Force]: HQ 310th Bombardment Wing (Medium), Fifth AF, moves from San Jose, Mindoro to Clark Field.

[lordroel]

Day 2173 of World War II, August 24th 1945

YouTube (Soviet Victory in Manchuria)



Soviet Union

The USSR and China sign a treaty of alliance.

United Kingdom

British Prime Minister Clement Attlee told Parliament that Britain was in "a very serious financial position" due to the abrupt ending of Lend-Lease and that "the initial deficit with which we start the task of re-establishing our own economy and of contracting our overseas commitments is immense."

United States

During a press conference in Washington DC, United States, Charles de Gaulle declared that "France means to recover its sovereignty over Indochina" despite Emperor Bao Dai's warning of Vietnamese anti-French fervor.

The last M-24 Chaffee light tank built by the Cadillac Division of the General Motors Corporation rolls off the assembly line. Cadillac is now free to begin building automobiles for the first time since 1942.

Photo: USS Gemini (AP-75) underway near San Francisco, CA., 24 August 1945



Pacific War

CHINESE CIVIL WAR

The battle of Wuhe begins in the Five Rivers region of eastern Anhui between communists and the former nationalists turned Japanese puppet regime force who rejoined the nationalists.

CHINA

Under Soviet pressure, Chiang Kai-shek announced that he would recognize the Outer Mongolia region as an independent country if the Mongolian people voted to secede from China.

Choibalsan spoke at a victory celebration in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Area, China after Chiang Kaishek of the Republic of China announced that China would allow a referendum for Outer Mongolia to secede if that was the people's wish. Not satisfied with Outer Mongolia, Choibalsan declared that all Mongol lands, both Outer and Inner Mongolia, would one day be unified.

(AAF, China Theater) Tenth Air Force: C-47 unit moves: 2d Troop Carrier Squadron, 443d Troop Carrier Group, from Dinjan, India to Chihkiang, China; 322d Troop Carrier Squadron, Tenth AF, from Liangshan to Chihkiang, China.

(Fourteenth Air Force): The 76th Fighter Squadron, 23d FG, moves from Luliang to Liuchow, China with P-51s.

JAPAN

Japan agreed that the first Allied troops on the homeland would be paratroopers.

Military cadets occupy broadcasting facilities in Kawaguchi, near Tokyo in Saitama Prefecture, in protest to the Japanese surrender. General Tanaka Shizuichi, Commander of the Eastern District Army, goes to the station and continues to harangue the cadets until they give up. Late that night, General Tanaka commits harakiri in his office. He takes the whole responsibility for the destruction by fire of a section of the Imperial Palace. The fire was the result of a USAAF bombing raid. His instructions to the regimental commanders of the Eastern District Army are: "I am very grateful to all of your regiments for keeping in strict order after the Imperial command to surrender. Now I have fulfilled my duty as Commanding Officer of the District Army. I am determined to lay down my life to beg His Majesty's awful pardon in place of you and all of your officers and men. I heartily hope that you and all your officers and men will strictly watch yourselves and guard against rashness and be devoted to the peaceful revival of our fatherland."

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES (INDONESIA)

The Anglo-Dutch Civil Affairs Agreement, generally agreed in 1944, was formally signed into effect. It called for the island of Sumatra to be turned over to the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration.

AUSTRALIA

Photo: Aerial photograph of HMS Formidable (R67) and HMS Implacable (R86) followed by destroyers as they passed through the boom on their return to Sydney after the defeat of Japan, 24 August 1945



NEW GUINEA

Forces of the Japanese 18th Army have been ordered to ceasefire but their commander says that he cannot order them to surrender until he receives instructions from Marshal Terauchi, the commander of the southern region.

SOLOMON ISLANDS

On Bougainville, Japanese commander, Lt. General Kanda is still awaiting instruction from Tokyo.

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS

(Eleventh Air Force): B-24s try to photograph the Soviet occupation of the Kurile Islands but are impeded by clouds.

WESTERN PACIFIC

[Far East Air Force]: HQ 317th Troop Carrier Group moves from Clark Field, Luzon to Okinawa.

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Day 2174 of World War II, August 25th 1945

Allied Occupied Germany

British forces in western Europe are redesignated the "British Army of the Rhine" (BOAR).

United States

Vice-Admiral Willis A. "Ching" Lee Jr. Dies of a heart attack at age 56.

The seven German POWs convicted of hanging a fellow German submariner in the shower room of Compound 4 at Camp Papago, 8 miles east of downtown Phoenix, Arizona, on 12 March 1944, are executed at Fort Leavenworth, Leavenworth, Kansas.

Pacific War

SOVIET-JAPANESE WAR

1,600 Soviet troops landed in Otomari (now Korsakov). The Japanese garrison of 3,400 men surrendered. The same day the remnants of the Japanese 88th Division surrendered to the 16th Army and the city of Toyohara was captured without resistance officially ending the Invasion of Sakhalin.

Map: Invasion of South Sakhalin



Soviet UKR SMERSH agents captured Cossack leader Lieutenant General D. F. Semenov at Dalian, Liaoning, China.

USN PB4Y-2 Privateers based in the Aleutian Islands continue their photographic missions over Onekotan, Shasukotan and Harumukotan Islands.

CHINESE CIVIL WAR

The liberation of China is becoming a race between the rival Nationalist and Communist forces. Troops of the Kuomintang, commanded by Generalisimo Chiang Kai-shek, enter Shanghai and Nanking, the prewar capital. The Japanese surrender at Nanking was accepted with Communist troops only 3 miles from the city. Communist forces are reported to be marching towards both cities. In Shanghai, the Communists claim workers are occupying factories and preparing to welcome the Communist forces. In the south, Communist forces are reported to be advancing in Canton and nearing Hong Kong. In the north they are closing in on Tientsin.

Newspaper: August 25th 1945



CHINA

En route to meet the former puppet leaders during Japanese occupation, Captain John Birch of United States Office of Strategic Services was killed by communists near Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. General Albert Wedemeyer immediately lodged a protest to communist officer Zhu De.

(AAF, China Theater) Tenth Air Force: C-47 units moving to Luliang, China: 3d and 4th Combat Cargo Squadrons, 1st Combat Cargo Group (under operational control of HQ 69th Composite Wing), from Myitkyina, Burma and Hathazari, India respectively.

(Fourteenth Air Force): The 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Fourteenth AF, moves from Laohwangping to Liuchow, China with F-6s.

BURMA

Mountbatten’s chief of staff, General ‘Boy’ Browning, advises his commander to urgently renegotiate the troop integration issue with Aung San and other PBF commanders. Few soldiers of the Patriotic Burmese Forces are currently being selected for the Burmese Army, most being discharged. SACSEA in Kandy is alarmed that PBF/resistance troops might go underground as many soldiers have not surrendered their weapons.

JAPAN

There are reports of large numbers of people "committing hara-kiri before the Imperial Palace."

Carrier-based USN aircraft begin daily patrols over airfields and attempt to locate and supply POW camps. This operation continues until 2 September.

Two USAAF 7th Fighter Squadron P-38s, one flown by Lieutenant Colonel Clay Tice, Jr., Commanding Officer of the 49th FG based at Motuba Airfield on Okinawa, lands at Nittagahara on Kyushu at 1205 hours local. The second aircraft was low on fuel and could not return to Okinawa. The two had been part of a six-plane element flying over Japan. At 1305 hours, the American were contacted by officers and men of the Imperial Japanese Army and although conversation was difficult, they were greeted in a friendly manner. Prior to landing, Colonel Tice had contacted an SB-17 Flying Fortress of the of the 6th Air Sea Rescue Squadron and advised him of the situation. The SB-17 landed at approximately 1315 hours and with a fuel pump and hose furnished by the Japanese, the Americans transferred approximately US 260 gallons of fuel from the SB-17 to the P-38. The SB-17 and two P-38s took off at 1445 hours and landed on Okinawa at 1645 hours.

FRENCH INDOCHINA (VIETNAM)

Emperor Bao Dai abdicated, ending Nguyen Dynasty Vietnam.

A small French commando force under Colonel Hans Imfeld entered Luang Prabang, Laos, French Indochina with support from King Sisavang Phoulivong.

In Tonkin, French Indochina, the Viet Minh announced all war-time armed anti-Japanese resistance groups must join the Vietnam Libration Army. In Saigon, Cochinchina, French Indochina, the Viet Minh took control of the city after arresting the Imperial Delegate Nguyen Van Sam.

A large pro-independence demonstration took place in Cochinchina, French Indochina.

BRITISH MALAYA

The Japanese military announced that it would cease all operations in British Malaya at midnight on this date, leaving the Allies to deal with the communist forces of the Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army.

PHILIPPINES

General Yamashita Tomoyoki, Commander of the 14th Area Army, informs the commander of the US 32d Infantry Division that he has ordered all Japanese troops in the Philippines to lay down their arms.

ULITHI ATOLL

Photo: The U.S. Navy attack transport USS Alpine (APA-92) at Ulithi atoll on 25 August 1945. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 21, 25 August 1945



WESTERN PACIFIC

[Far East Air Force]: Unit moves: 68th and 69th Troop Carrier Squadrons, 433d Troop Carrier Group, from Clark Field, Luzon to Iwo Jima with C-46s and C-47s respectively; 318th Troop Carrier Squadron (Commando), 3d Air Commando Group, from Laoag, Luzon to Ie Shima with C-47s.

[lordroel]

Day 2175 of World War II, August 26th 1945

United Kingdom

Sir Arthur Harris, the Commander in Chief of RAF Bomber Command since February 1942, announces his resignation. He will relinquish his command next month and retire from the RAF shortly afterwards.

Pacific War

SOVIET-JAPANESE WAR

Soviet troops begin occupying the Kurile Islands; Onnekotan, Shasikotan and Matsewa have been occupied. Rutaka, in the south of Sakhalin Island has been occupied as well.

Soviet 25th Army arrived in Pyongyang and met with Cho Man-sik and other communist leaders. Soviets appointed Cho as leader of the interim administration of the five northern Korean provinces.

Photo: Soviet troops in Korea, 26 August, 1945



CHINESE CIVIL WAR

The Huaiyin–Huai'an Campaign begins when the communist 10th brigade of the 3rd Division of the New Fourth Army begun pushed toward Huaiyin, from regions of Gaoliang Ravine and Jiang's Dam, while five communist local regiments coordinated their attacks from other directions: the communist Sheyang Independent regiment, Huaiyin Garrison regiment and Lianshui Garrison regiment attacked Huaiyin from the east and north, while Huai'an was attacked by the communist Huai'an Independent regiment and the Eastern Lianshui Independent regiment.

The Battle of Yinji begins when the 13th Brigade of the 5th Division of the communist New Fourth Army decided to take Yin Village County in southern Henan by force after the local defenders consisted of former nationalists turned Japanese puppet regime force who rejoined the nationalists refused to surrender. The 38th Regiment, 2 battalions of 39th Regiment, and 4 companies of the 4th Marching-on Regiment of the 13th Brigade of the 5th Division of the communist New Fourth Army attacked the village from both the east and the west. The communist 38th Regiment first annihilated a regiment of defenders at the outskirt of the village while at night, the two battalions of the communist 39th Regiment annihilated another regiment of defenders at Cypress Village Camp. After losing two regiments and all of strongholds outside the village, the remaining defenders lost the will to fight and escaped to Wuyang.

JAPAN

Vice Admiral Sadayoshi Yamada was named the commanding officer of the Japanese Navy 3rd Air Fleet, with Captain Chihaya Takahashi as his chief of staff. 

Aircraft from carrier task groups begin daily flights over Japan to patrol airfields, shipping movements, and to locate and supply prisoner of war camps.

The posts of Minister of Greater East Asia, Minister of Agriculture and Commerce and Minister of Munitions in the Cabinet of Prime Minister, Prince HIGASHIKUNI Naruhiko are abolished.

Photo: A sea plane soars overhead as GIs watch the last rays of the afternoon sun shine upon the Iowa (foremost) & the Missouri (beyond), 26 August, 1945



BURMA

Japanese envoys, led by Lt. General Numato, Chief of Staff to Field Marshal Terauchi, Commander in Chief, Japanese Southern Army, arrives at an airfield outside Rangoon this morning to carry out surrender arrangements in southeast Asia.

Photo: Lieutenant General Takazo Numata and Rear Admiral Kaigye Chudo arrive at Mingladon airfield, Rangoon, to discuss arrangements for the surrender of the Japanese Army, 26 August, 1945



Photo: Lieutenant General Takazo Numata (left) and Rear Admiral Kaigye Chudo walk from their plane at Mingladon airfield, Rangoon, to meet British commanders, 26 August, 1945



Photo: Lieutenant General Takazo Numato salutes Lieutenant General F S Tucker at Mingaladon airfield, Rangoon, 26 August, 1945



Photo: In the Throne Room, Government House, Rangoon, which was used for the surrender negotiations, Lieutenant General Takazo Numata with Lieutenant Colonel Morio Tomura (left) and Rear Admiral Kaigye Chudo (right) faces the Allied commanders (front row, l to r): Brigadier E G Gibbons, Captain F S Habecker, Major General Feng Yee, Mr M E Dening, Rear Admiral W R Patterson, Lieutenant General Browning, Air Marshal Sounders, Major General Denning, Brigadier M S K Maunsell, Air Vice Marshal A T Cole and Captain J P H Perks. In the rear row, seated to General Browning's left is Lieutenant General Sir Montagu Stopford, 26 August, 1945



FRENCH INDOCHINA (VIETNAM)

Ho Chi Minh arrived in Hanoi, Tonkin, French Indochina for the first time. He invited US OSS Major Archimedes Patti to lunch in an attempt to court US support for Vietnamese independence.

Photo: Quasi-parade for OSS Maj. Archimedes Patti (left foreground), organized by Vo Nguyen Giap (right foreground). "Standing behind Patti was Robert Knapp, the Harvard psychologist who openly sympathized with the Viet Minh cause," 26 August 1945



Photo: Quasi-parade for OSS Maj. Archimedes Patti (left foreground), organized by Vo Nguyen Giap (right foreground), 26 August 1945



Photo: Commander of the Liberation Army of Vietnam Vo Nguyen Giap held the first military parade in Hanoi after taking power, August 26, 1945



RYUKYU ISLANDS

TG 95.4 (Captain Henry J. Armstrong, Jr.) returns to Buckner Bay having completed its mine clearance work in the East China Sea and destroyed 578 mines during eleven days of sweeping.

HONG KONG

Instructions have been given to the Japanese garrison to surrender to British Rear Admiral Cecil H. J. Harcourt, Commander of the 11th Aircraft Carrier Squadron.

PACIFIC

The 70th Troop Carrier Squadron, 433d Troop Carrier Group, moves from Clark Field to Iwo Jima with C-46s.

Carrier Wasp (CV-18) and destroyer Chauncey (DD-667) are damaged by typhoon.

Photo: The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Wasp (CV-18) showing her damage received during a typhoon off Japan on 26 August 1945. Note that the "X" identification letter of her air group is painted on her flight deck and not her hull number "18"



Chief of Naval Operations accords Navy Petroleum Reserve 4 Expedition a "well done" for accomplishing its mission "in an expeditious and seamanlike manner in spite of fog and ice."

[lordroel]

Day 2176 of World War II, August 27th 1945

Soviet occupied Germany

Major-General E. P. Nares arrives in Berlin to take over command of the British troops and to act as the British representative on the Allied Control Commission in succession to Major-General L. O. Lyne.

France

France announced that it would not let the United Nations arbitrate the Indochina-Thai border dispute, and it demanded the return of all territories taken by Thailand in May 1941.

Soviet Union

Lavrentiy Beria added more names to the list of possible German leaders to be sent to Nuremberg, Germany to stand trials; the previous list had been prepared by Vyacheslav Molotov's foreign ministry several days prior. Beria's additions included Erich Raeder, Martin Mutschmann, Friedrich Gustav Bernhardt, Hilmar Moser, Johann Georg Richert, Wilhelm Robert Oksmann, Hans Julius Traut, Günther Walter Klammt, and Friedrich Jeckeln.

United States

President Truman says that the situation in the Pacific continues to have many elements of danger and urges Congress to continue conscription for a further two years.

Pacific War

CHINESE CIVIL WAR

The Battle of Yinji ended with the communists managing to capture more than 800 defenders alive and over 300 guns in their victory.

CHINA

He Yingqin began an inspection tour of several Chinese cities including Xi'an, Shaanxi Province and Nancheng, Jiangxi Province to oversee the Japanese surrender process.

Photo: Conference at Yenan Communist Headquarters before Mao Tze Tung, chairman, left for Chungking meeting. Central figures are U.S. Ambassador Patrick J. Hurley, Colonel I. V. Yeaton, U.S. Army Observer, and Mao Tze Tung, 27 August 1945



BURMA

Photo: Commander S Kusumi (with sword) a naval officer on the staff of Field Marshal Terauchi, Supreme Commander of Japanese Forces (Southern Region), arrives at Mingaladon airfield, Rangoon, to take part in the surrender negotiations, 27 August 1945



JAPAN

The Allied fleets anchor in Sagami (Tokyo) Bay within sight of Mount Fujiyama. Admiral Halsey, commander of the US 3rd Fleet, is present for what is probably the greatest display of naval might in history. The armada includes 23 aircraft carriers, 12 battleships, 26 cruisers, 116 destroyers and escorts, 12 submarines and 185 other vessels. In addition to the American and British ships, there are ships from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the Netherlands represented.

Photo: U.S. and British Warships in Sagami Wan, Japan. The battleship HMS King George V (41) is in the center, closest to the camera. Other ships visible in the background, include, from left to right: two Idaho-class battleships; the anti-aircraft cruiser USS San Juan (CL-54); the battleship USS Missouri (BB-63); the light cruiser USS Pasadena (CL-65); the battleship USS South Dakota (BB-57); a Fletcher-class destroyer underway; the battleship USS Iowa (BB-61) and the British battleship HMS Duke of York (17), 27 August 1945



A USN PB4Y-2 Privateer of Patrol Bombing Squadron One Hundred Sixteen based on Iwo Jima, lands at Atsugi Airfield because of mechanical problems. The Japanese do not approach the aircraft and the plane returns to Iwo Jima the same day. Actually there was no mechanical problem. The squadron commander had rounded up an all-volunteer crew and planned the whole thing.

USS Nicholas rendezvoused with Japanese destroyer Hatuzakura to take aboard Japanese emissaries, interpreters, and harbor pilots. Nicholas then delivered US press and Japanese personnel to USS Missouri, USS Stockham, USS Waldron, HMS Whelp, and USS Gosselin. Missouri and her group then anchored in Sagami Wan just outside Tokyo Bay, Japan.

Photo: The Japanese destroyer Hatsuzakura meets USS Nicholas (DD-449) off the coast of Japan to transfer Japanese officers for discussions concerning the entry of U.S. and British warships into Sagami Wan and Tokyo Bay. A whaleboat from Nicholas is alongside the Japanese ship, 27 August 1945



Photo: Sailors on the bow of USS Nicholas (DD-449) watch the Japanese destroyer Hatsuzakura steaming in company off Tokyo Bay. The Japanese ship had brought out several naval officers and harbor pilots for a conference on USS Missouri concerning the entry of the Third fleet into Sagami Wan and Tokyo Bay. Note radars, depressed gun barrels, Japanese naval ensign and other details of this Tachibana class destroyer, 27 August 1945



Photo: Japanese officers coming aboard USS Missouri (BB 63) for conferences with Admiral William F. Halsey’s staff prior to entry of the Third Fleet into Sagami and Tokyo Bay. Shown: A Japanese harbor pilot is in Admiral William F. Halsey’s be tasseled bos’n chair 27 August 27, 1945



Photo: Japanese officers coming aboard USS Missouri (BB 63) for conferences with Admiral William F. Halsey’s staff prior to entry of the Third Fleet into Sagami and Tokyo Bay. Shown: U.S. Marines “frisk” Japanese officer, 27 August 27, 1945



Photo: Japanese officers coming aboard USS Missouri (BB 63) for conferences with Admiral William F. Halsey’s staff prior to entry of the Third Fleet into Sagami and Tokyo Bay. Shown: Captain Yoshihiko Wakasaki, Chief Staff Officer of the Yokosuka Japanese Naval Base, 27  August 1945



FRENCH INDOCHINA (LAOS)

Laotian Prince Ratanavongsa Phetsarath, the head of government, took over Vientiane and announced the creation of the Lao Issara Army out of the previously Japanese-sponsored civic guard.

FRENCH INDOCHINA (VIETNAM)

Ho Chi Minh convened his first cabinet meeting in Hanoi, Tonkin, French Indochina. The group agreed that they would declare Vietnamese independence on 2 Sep 1945.

BISMARK ARCHIPELAGO

An armed truce has been declared throughout New Britain.

HONG KONG

Japanese military leadership announced to its troops that all forces in Hong Kong were to surrender to the British.

NEW GUINEA

An armed truce has been declared.

SOLOMON ISLANDS

Isolated Japanese garrisons are reported to be ignorant of the ceasefire.

CENTRAL PACIFIC

(Twentieth Air Force): B-29s begin supplying prisoners-of-war and internee camps in Japan, China, and Korea with medical supplies, food, and clothing. The first supply drop (to Weihsien Camp near Peking, China) is followed by a concentrated effort of 900 sorties in a period of less than a month. 4,470 tons of supplies are dropped to about 63,500 prisoners in 154 camps.

WESTERN PACIFIC

Unit moves: HQ XIII Bomber Command from Morotai to Clark Field; and 67th Troop Carrier Squadron, 433d Troop Carrier Group, from Clark Field to Iwo Jima with C-46s.

PACIFIC

I-400 was spotted in the Pacific Ocean by US Navy pilot Lieutenant Robert Mahoney flying a TBM Avenger aircraft. Commander Toshio Kusaka attempted to speed up to escape, but ultimately was ordered by his superiors to cooperate.

I-14 was detected by an aircraft from US Task Force 38.

Photo: The U.S. Navy rescue and salvage ship USS Conserver (ARS-39) comes alongside of the escort carrier USS Card (CVE-11), not visible, to exchange movies, in the Pacific Ocean, 27 August 1945

[lordroel]

Day 2177 of World War II, August 28th 1945

Allied occupied Germany

Goring, Ribbentrop, and 22 others former Nazi government officials are indicted as war criminals. Hermann Goring heads the list of 24. Rudolf Hess, formerly deputy to Hitler, who has been a prisoner in Britain since May 1941, is next on the list, followed by Martin Bormann, the secretary of the NSDAP, who disappeared from the Berlin bunker. Others include Konstantin von Neurath, the first foreign minister to Hitler; Gustav Krupp von Bohlen, the industrialist; Franz von Papen, the vice-chancellor in 1933-34; and, Hjalmar Schacht, who served as the minister of finance in the Nazi government until falling out of favor with Hitler.

Canada

French General Charles de Gaulle arrives in Ottawa, Ontario, for talks with Canadian Prime Minister W.L. Mackenzie King.

United States

Photo: USS The Sullivans (DD-537) at Mare Island Navy Yard, 28 August 1945



Pacific War

SOVIET-JAPANESE WAR

Soviet troops landed at Rubetzu Bay on Iturup, Kurile Islands, Japan, as well as nearby islands of Kunashir, Shikotan, Sibotzu, Taraku-Shima, Uri-Shima, Akiuri, and Suiseto.

CHINESE CIVIL WAR

The Southern Jiangsu Campaign ended in communist victory.

CHINA

Chinese communists Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Wang Jofei traveled to Chongqing, China aboard US Ambassador Patrick Hurley's personal aircraft.

Photo: Mao Zedong went to Chongqing for negotiations. This is Mao Zedong taking a group photo with Hurley, Zhou Enlai, Zhang Zhizhong and others at Yan'an Airport when he left Yan'an. From left: Zhang Zhizhong, Mao Zedong, Hurley, Zhou Enlai, Wang Ruofei, August 28 1945



Photo: Mao-Tse Tung (Máo Zédōng) and Chiang Kai-shek (Jiǎng Jièshí) in Chang-dong, Sichuan Province, China, at their last meeting, 28 August 1945



HQ 443d Troop Carrier Group and 1st Troop Carrier Squadron move from Dinjan, India to Chihkiang, China with C-47s.

MONGOLIA

Mongolian propaganda chief Lkham Suren called for the inclusion of the former Manchukuo region of Hulunbuir into the nation of Mongolia.

BURMA

In Rangoon, Burma, Japanese delegates signed a preliminary agreement ordering local Japanese commanders to assist and obey British commanders of reoccupation forces.

Photo: General Numata Takazo leads the Japanese delegation to sign the surrender of the Japanese Southern Army at Rangoon, 28 August 1945



Photo: General Numata Takazo signs the surrender agreement, 28 August 1945



Photo: Lieutenant General F A M Browning, Chief of Staff to South East Asia Command signs the surrender agreement at Rangoon, 28 August 1945



YouTube (Manila And Rangoon - Japanese Surrender (1945)



ALLIED OCCUPIED JAPAN

The occupation of Japan officially begins as an advance party arrives in the Home Islands. When the news of the Japanese proposal for surrender came on 15 Aug, the 68th Army Airways Communications System (AACS) Group, 7th AACS Wing, received orders to fly into Atsugi Airfield and set up the communications equipment necessary to guide in the first contingent of occupation troops. AACSs mission was to provide navigational aids, point-to-point communications with Okinawa, air-to-ground communications for planes in flight, weather data, and air traffic control. Colonel Gordon Blake quickly assembled a special unit of 5 hand-picked men. Colonel Blake and his AACS men, part of a 150 man task force, flew from Okinawa to Atsugi with 24 C-47 aircraft laden with equipment. In order to carry as much equipment as possible, the load was lightened by carrying only enough fuel to reach Atsugi. Although the Japanese had surrendered unconditionally, Blake and his communicators still did not know whether some might still be hostile. The sight of hundreds of Japanese Navy guards lined up along the airfield was not encouraging to the occupants of the first aircraft to land, but they were met by a group of courteous, English-speaking Japanese military personnel. The navy guards were in their honor. The AACS-men lost no time in getting operations into full swing, and by 29 Aug, the Atsugi control tower was completed. The first planes to arrive on 30 Aug were 5 additional C-47s carrying components to set up the first airborne radio station in Air Force history. Within a few hours, the first C-54 aircraft of the official occupation forces landed at Atsugi and by mid-afternoon Blake's AACS crews had directed 340+ takeoffs and landings at the rate of 1 every 2 minutes. On 30 Aug, Atsugi was the busiest airport in the world.

Photo: Japanese Navy pilot onboard USS Cumberland Sound (AV 17) checking charts with Captain E. Grant and Lieutenant Rogers. The ship is entering Tokyo Bay, Japan, August 28, 1945



Photo: Japanese Navy pilot and AMMF3/C T. Treis as USS Cumberland Sound (AV 17) enters Tokyo Bay, Japan, August 28 1945



USN underwater demolition teams (UDT) land to check prospective Tokyo Bay landing beaches and ensure that fortification are neutralized. Minesweepers begin clearing mines from Tokyo Bay.

Photo: Commanding Officer of Underwater Demolition Team 21, receiving the first sword surrendered to an American force in the Japanese Home islands. The surrender was made by a Japanese Army Coast Artillery Major (standing opposite LCdr. Clayton) at Futtsu-misaki, across Tokyo Bay from Yokosuka Navy Base. Members of UDT-21 had landed from USS Begor (APD-127), whose boats are beached in this view, 28 August 1945



In the air, the 386th Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy), based on Okinawa, flies its last combat mission, a photo reconnaissance mission, with the Consolidated B-32 Dominator.

Destroyers of the Royal Australian Navy joined Royal Navy and United States Navy ships in Tokyo Bay to receive the main Japanese surrender on 2 September.

Photo: Warships of the U.S. Third Fleet and the British Pacific Fleet in Sagami Wan, 28 August 1945, preparing for the the formal Japanese surrender a few days later. Mount Fuji is in the background. Nearest ship is USS Missouri (BB-63), flying Admiral William F. Halsey's four-star flag. The British battleship HMS Duke of York is just beyond her, with HMS King George V further in. USS Colorado (BB-45) is in the far center distance. Also present are U.S. and British cruisers and U.S. destroyers



Photo: Surrender of Japan, 1945: Two U.S. Third Fleet heavy cruisers anchored in Sagami Wan, outside of Tokyo Bay, Japan, 28 August 1945. The closest ship is USS Quincy (CA-71), the other is USS Boston (CA-69)



Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Twining (DD-540) steams in Sagami Wan, outside of Tokyo Bay, in company with other Third Fleet warships, to support the occupation of Yokosuka naval base, 28 August 1945. Mount Fuji is in the left center distance



Photo: The U.S. Navy high-speed transport USS Runels (APD-85) underway off the coast of Japan. Note the dock landing ship in the background, 28 August 1945



KOREA

Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence declared itself the temporary government of Korea. Its main opposition was the Korean Provisional Government based in Chongqing, China.

FRENCH INDOCHINA (LAOS)

Prime Minister Prince Phetsarath wires provincial governors notifying them of the Japanese surrender. The Prince further declares that the proclamation of independence is unaffected and that the governors should resist any attempts at foreign intervention in their administration. The French Resident Superieur is released from prison but Phetsarath refuses to recognize his authority.

FRENCH INDOCHINA (VIETNAM)

Louis Mountbatten named General Douglas Gracey as the commander of Allied forces being sent to Saigon, Cochinchina, French Indochina.

The Viet Minh issued an order that required permits for all outdoor meetings or armed training exercises.

Ho Chi Minh announces his provisional government for Vietnam (part of French Indochina), with all the main posts held by communists.

The Viet Minh form a provisional government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam with Ho Chi Minh as president, Vo Nguyen Giap, as interior minister and Pham Van Dong, as finance minister.

HONG KONG

Hong Kong Colonial Secretary Franklin Gimson announced that restoration of British rule in Hong Kong.

PACIFIC

Destroyers USS Blue and USS Mansfield intercepted I-400, which was discovered on the previous day, in the Pacific Ocean. USS Blue sent a 37-man boarding party and secured the submarine. Destroyer USS Weaver of US 20th Submarine Squadron arrived on the scene later, however, and forcibly took over the situation, claiming authority due to the personnel's submarine expertise.

Photo: Japanese Submarine I-400 with Japanese crew aboard after the Surrender, on 28 August 1945



I-14 was boarded by a prize crew under the command of Commander Clyde Stevens, which was delivered by USS Bangust. 40 Japanese sailors were transferred to US vessels to make room for Stevens' crew.

[lordroel]

Day 2178 of World War II, August 29th 1945

United States

Secret Army and Navy reports of official enquiries into the raid on Pearl Harbor are made public. The blame is placed on a lack of preparedness, confusion and a breakdown of inter-service coordination. Former Secretary of State Hull, General Marshall and Admiral Stark are criticized. President Truman objects to the findings on Hull and Marshall.

Photo: The U.S. Navy light cruiser USS Vincennes (CL-64) steaming in San Francisco Bay, California (USA), on 29 August 1945. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 22



Photo: Amidships looking aft plan view of the U.S. Navy destroyers USS Owen (DD-536) with USS Miller (DD-535) to the right and USS Ellet (DD-398) to the left at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California (USA), on 29 August 1945



United Kingdom

The Four Power Commission of Prosecutors in London, England, United Kingdom presented the first list of German war criminals to be tried at Nürnberg, Germany.

Pacific War

SOVIET-JAPANESE WAR

Soviet forces occupy Etorofu Island in the Kurile Islands.

CHINESE CIVIL WAR

The Xinghua Campaign began in China between the Communist New Fourth Army and the nationalist forces of the Kuomintang.

CHINA

Mao Tse-tung and Chiang Kai-shek meet for talks to avert civil war between the Communists and the Nationalists.

US Army Air Forces returned the control of Xinjin Airfield in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China to the Chinese Air Force.

Chiang Kaishek appointed Chen Yi as the Governor General of Taiwan Province, Republic of China.

ALLIED OCCUPIED JAPAN

Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief Pacific Fleet, arrives in Tokyo Bay on board PB2Y, and breaks his flag in battleship South Dakota (BB-57).

Photo: Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, U.S. Navy, Commander in Chief, Pacific, and Pacific Ocean Areas arrives at Tokyo Bay in a Consolidated PB2Y-5R Coronado seaplane, 29 August 1945. The battleship USS Missouri (BB-63), Third Fleet Flagship, is in the center background



TG 30.6 (Commodore Rodger W. Simpson) arrives in Tokyo Bay to undertake emergency evacuation of Allied POWs in waterfront areas. Guided by TBMs from small carrier Cowpens (CVL-25) and taken to the scene by LCVPs from high speed transport Gosselin (APD-126), Commodore Simpson carries out his orders.

Photo: Landing party aboard the U.S. Navy light cruiser USS San Juan (CL-54), 29 August 1945. She had embarked unit commander, Commodore Rodger W. Simpson, was assigned responsibility for freeing, caring for, and evacuating Allied prisoners of war in Japan. On 29 August, the ship entered Tokyo Bay and landed parties which liberated prisoners at camps at Omori and Ofuna and the Shanagawa hospital



The appearance of the LCVPs off the camp at Omori (the first liberated) triggers "an indescribable scene of jubilation and emotion" by the former captives, some of whom swim out to the approaching landing craft.

Photo: Gaunt Allied prisoners of war at Aomori camp near Yokohama cheer rescuers from the U.S. Navy, 29 August 1945



YouTube (Tokyo Bay (1945)



Submarine Segundo (SS-398) encounters Japanese submarine I 401 off northeast coast of Honshu, and "after considerable negotiation," places prize crew on board.

Douglas MacArthur was ordered to exercise authority through the Japanese government, thus giving him authority over Emperor Showa. In this capacity, he would oversee the drafting a new constitution, redistribution of land, disbanding monopolistic Zaibatsu firms, among other major initiatives.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES (INDONESIA)

The constitution that had been drafted by the PPKI preparatory committee, and announced on the 18th, is adopted (UUD 45). Sukarno is declared President, Hatta is declared Vice-President. PPKI (originally BPUPKI, founded under the Japanese occupation the previous March) is remade into KNIP (Central Indonesian National Committee). KNIP is the temporary governing body until elections can be held. The new government is installed on August 31.

The Patih (chief advisor) of Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX of Yogya dies. No successor is chosen; the Sultan takes charge of his own affairs, and begins to institute reforms in Yogya

Tan Malaka reappears in Jakarta.

The Japanese garrisons on Halmahera and Morotai Islands in the Netherlands East Indies surrender.

THAILAND

Eight C-47 transport aircraft took off from Don Muang Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, carrying 150 former American prisoners of war.

[lordroel]

Day 2179 of World War II, August 30th 1945

Allied/Soviet occupied Germany

A proclamation to the German people is signed today formally announcing the establishment of the Allied Control Council and its assumption of supreme authority in Germany.

United States

In Detroit, Michigan, a pale green Super Six coupe rolls off the Hudson Motor Car Company's assembly line, the first post-World War II car to be produced by the auto manufacturer. The Super Six boasted the first modern, high-compression L-head engine, though it garnered its name from the original Hudson-manufactured engine produced in 1916.

Photo: The U.S. Navy attack transport USS Leedstown (APA-56) underway off the California coast, 30 August 1945. The photo was taken from an aircraft based at Naval Air Station San Pedro, California (USA)



Photo: The U.S. Navy escort carrier USS Admiralty Islands (CVE-99) off the California coast, 30 August 1945



Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyers USS Tingey (DD-539), left, and USS Roe (DD-418) at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California (USA), on 30 August 1945



Mexico

The government of Mexico recognizes the Spanish Republican government as the legitimate government of Spain.

Pacific War

CHINA

(Tenth Air Force): HQ 1st Combat Cargo Group moves from Myitkyina, Burma to Liuchow, China.

In Chongqing, China, US General Albert Wedemeyer warned Chinese communist leaders Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai to restrain the communists from further attacks on American personnel in China.

MONGOLIA

Pressured by the Soviets during a meeting at the Soviet embassy in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Area, China, secessionist leaders Choibalsan and Bumtsend reluctantly agreed to abandon the goal of including the Inner Mongolia region of China in their movement.

BURMA

Japanese forces based at Abya surrender to the Allies.

ALLIED OCCUPIED JAPAN

YouTube (MacArthur In Japan)



American and British forces land in the Tokyo area. The US 11th Airborne Division flies in to Atsugi airfield, while the US 4th Marine Regiment of the US 6th Marine Division lands in the naval base at Yokosuka. General MacArthur flies from Manila to organize the US occupation. Meanwhile, the American cruiser USS San Juan starts to evacuate Allied prisoners of war detained in the Japanese home islands.

Photo: U.S. Navy landing craft at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Japan, 30 August 1945. The troops were from the 4th Marine Regiment, 6th Marine Division



Photo: U.S. Marines of the 4th Regiment, 6th Division, come ashore at Yokosuka during initial landings in the Tokyo Bay area, 30 August 1945. They are in full battle gear in preparation for any treachery from the Japanese. Their LCVP is from the U.S. Navy attack cargo ship USS Waukesha (AKA-84), and they appear to be pulling a 75mm pack howitzer. In the distance are the Japanese battleship Nagato (in the center) and Yokosuka dockyard facilities (at right)



Photo: USS Missouri leading USS Iowa into Tokyo Bay, Japan, Note destroyer USS Nicholas in escort, 30 August 1945



Photo: Yokosuka Navy Base, Japan: USS San Diego (CL-53) docks at Yokosuka on 30 August 1945, to take part in the U.S. occupation of that facility



Photo: Aerial view of abandoned Japanese aircraft at the Yokosuka Naval district air station on Natsu island, 30 August 1945



I-14 departed Sagami Bay near Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan at 0820 hours. At 1458 hours, she laid anchor in Tokyo Bay.

Photo: The Maru Special No.13 Japanese submarines I-13 class and I-400 class, 30 August 1945



I-503 was surrendered to Allied authorities at Kobe, Japan.

I-504 officially surrendered at Kobe, Japan.

Photo: The U.S. Navy high-speed transport USS Horace A. Bass (APD-124) alongside the Japanese battleship Nagato at Nagaura-ko, Yokosuka, Japan, 30 August 1945



NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES (INDONESIA)

Four motor torpedo boats transport 50 Japanese troops from Miti Island to Morotai, to contact scattered units there to effect a complete surrender.

FRENCH INDOCHINA (LAOS)

French Commissioner Colonel Hans Imfeld convinced Laotian King Sisavang Vong to retract the declaration of Laotian independence he had made with Japanese support four months prior.

FRENCH INDOCHINA (VIETNAM)

Former Emperor Bao Dai of Nguyen Dynasty Vietnam spoke to a crowd at the Ngo Mon gate of the Imperial City in Hue, Annam, French Indochina, announcing his abdication of 25 Aug 1945. He voiced support for the anti-French independence movement during the speech.

SINGAPORE

The first of the 6,000 Japanese civilians in Singapore began to move into the newly completed Jurong Interment Camp.

HONG KONG

A British battle squadron led by the aircraft carrier Indomitable entered Hong Kong to reoccupy the Crown Colony.

Photo: The Royal Navy cruiser HMS Swiftsure (08), entering Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong, through North Point, 30 August 1945



Photo: HMS Swiftsure, flying the flag of Rear Admiral Harcourt, steams into Victoria Harbour, 30 August 1945



Photo: Liberation of Hong Kong in 1945. Picture taken at the Cenotaph in Central, Hong Kong, 30 August 1945



YouTube (Surrender of Japan at Government House in Hong Kong (1945)



CHUUK LAGOON (TRUK ATOLL)

Conference is held on board destroyer Stack (DD-406) at Truk to discuss the surrender of that Japanese base. Brigadier General Leo D. Hermle, USMC, is the leader of U.S. representatives.

RYUKYU ISLANDS

The 159th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 3d Air Commando Group [attached to 5th Air Liaison Group (Provisional)] moves from Mangaldan to Okinawa with UC-64s and L-5s.

AUSTRALIA

At a meeting of the Australian Advisory War Council, it is decided that the Council should be dissolved immediately after representatives of the Opposition state that the necessity for its existence has disappeared in view of the end of the war.

[lordroel]

Day 2180 of World War II, August 31st 1945

YouTube (Can Chiang and Mao Unite China)



Allied occupied Germany

Field Marshal Brauchitsch and Field Marshal von Manstein are arrested by Allied authorities. Meanwhile, the civilian population is in flux. Germans who fled the bombing of their cities are going home to stake their claim on whatever remains of their property. One in five persons in the western zone of Germany is a refugee. There are also Germans driven out of Poland and Silesia as well as other parts of eastern Europe.

United States

The government of the USA reestablishes diplomatic relations with Finland.

Truman wrote Attlee, requesting the United Kingdom to accept the immigration of 100,000 European Jews into Palestine.

153 Soviets who had been captured by Americans among German ranks were deported from Fort Dix, New Jersey, United States for the Soviet Union, via Hof in southern Germany.

Soviet Union

The government of the USSR reestablishes diplomatic relations with Finland.

France

France ratified the United Nations Charter.

Pacific War

SOVIET-JAPANESE WAR

Soviet forces occupy Utruppu Island in the Kurile Islands after fierce fighting with Japanese troops.

CHINA

From Chongqing, China, Chiang Kaishek ordered General Zhang Fakui to begin moving his troops toward Hong Kong and Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China for the occupation of the two regions.

ALLIED OCCUPIED JAPAN

In Yokohama, General MacArthur establishes the supreme allied command at the main port of Tokyo, as the first foreigner to take charge of Japan in 1000 years. In discussing the preparations for the formal surrender ceremony, scheduled for September 2nd, he said: "The surrender plan has been going splendidly. There is every indication that the occupation will continue without bloodshed or friction." The American occupation is continuing at a rate of 300 troop planes per day.

Photo: Aerial view of U.S. Navy ships at anchor off Yokosuka, Japan, as seen from an aircraft from the carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10), flight altitude 300 meters, 31 August 1945



Photo: The U.S. Navy battleship USS West Virginia (BB-48) anchored in Sagami Wan, Japan, outside of Tokyo Bay. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 7D. Mount Fuji is in the background. 31 August 1945



Photo: The U.S. Navy battleship USS New Mexico (BB-40) anchored in the Tokyo Bay area, Mount Fuji is in the background,  31 August 1945



Shokaku was removed from the Japanese Navy List.

Battleship Yamato was removed from the Japanese Navy list.

Photo: The Japanese battleship Nagato pictured at anchor, probably at Yokosuka Naval Base, 31 August 1945



YouTube (Damaged Japanese battleship Nagato in Yokosuka - 1945)



At 0500 hours, Japanese submarine I-401 lowered its naval ensign while in Sagami Wan, Japan. Nobukiyo Nambu, the submarine's commanding officer, secretly ordered his signal officer to burn the flag to prevent US capture. The US naval ensign was soon hoisted.

Around 1,000 Allied prisoners of war from camps in the Tokyo, Japan area were transferred to hospital ships offshore.

Photo: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur and Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright greet each other at the New Grand Hotel, Yokohama, Japan on August 31, 1945, in their first meeting since they parted on Corregidor more than three years before



THAILAND

Thai Prime Minister Khuang Aphaiwong resigned; he was succeeded by war time resistance movement leader Thawi Bunyaket.

PHILIPPINES

The remaining Japanese troops formally surrender.

HONG KONG

The RCN armed merchant cruiser HMCS Prince Robert enters the Crown Colony where her commanding officer represents Canada at the surrender ceremonies of Japanese forces.

Photo: HMCS Prince Robert in Hong Kong, 31 August 1945



Photo: Landing party disembarking from HMCS Prince Robert during the liberation of Hong Kong, 31 August 1945



MARCUS ISLAND

The Japanese garrison surrenders to the American Admiral Whiting.

AUSTRALIA

The Liberal Party of Australia was founded to replace the United Australia Party.

[lordroel]

Day 2181 of World War II, September 1st 1945

United States

The US Department of War Information releases a report dealing with an expected world-wide coal shortage which is "of such proportions as to leave untouched no home or industry in any country" -- with particular reference to the situation in Europe. It notes that the "destruction and disruption of the coal-producing areas of Europe during the war, the military coal needs of the Allied armies during the war, through the succeeding liberation period, and continuing during the occupation and redeployment" have created a situation in which if "no outside imports are forthcoming, the liberated countries -- principally France, Holland, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Italy and Greece" will be "some 30,000,000 tons below the figure set as their essential requirements for existence during the winter."

Italy

The Polish cemetery at Monte Cassino is dedicated.

Poland

The Polish government announces Polish-Danish and Polish-Norwegian trade agreements have been concluded providing for the supply of Polish coal and coke. Poland has also contracted to provide coal and coke to the USSR, Sweden and Romania.

Mozambique

Photo: Angola departed Mozambique for Timor on September 1, 1945 with the Expeditionary Forces



Pacific War

SOVIET-JAPANESE WAR

Soviet forces occupy Kunashiri and Shikotan Islands in the Kurile Islands.

CHINESE CIVIL WAR

The Xinghua Campaign ended in communist victory with the entire nationalist garrison of Xinghua being decimated. Out of the 7,000 defenders, around 2,000 were killed. The remaining 5,000, were captured alive, including the commander of the city's defense and of the Kuomintang's 22nd division. Also captured were 64 artillery units, 122 machine guns, and 3,324 repeating rifles, in addition to other weaponry and provisions. The communists' loss was extremely light in comparison: only 49 killed, and 325 wounded, including 40 officers wounded.

The Battle of Dazhongji began between the nationalists and the communists in Jiangsu.

CHINA

(AAF, China Theater) Fourteenth Air Force: The flights of the 35th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, Fourteenth AF, at Chihkiang and Nanning, China with F-5s, return to base at Chanyi.

Photo: Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek in Chongqing, China, toasting the victory over Japan, 1 September 1945



ALLIED OCCUPIED JAPAN

Two civilian internment camps are located in the Tokyo area and the captives are freed and transferred to the American hospital ship USS Benevolence (AH-13).

Photo: A Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka at the Yokosuka naval district, 1 September 1945



Photo: A group portrait taken a few minutes after the RAAF's Chief of the Air Staff, Air Vice-Marshal (AVM) George Jones had set foot on Japanese soil at Yokohama, with the USS warship General Sturgis in the background. AVM Jones is second from the right, while second from the left is Lieutenant General Berryman, Chief of Staff to General Blamey. They attended the signing of the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay. Photographed by Wing Commander Robin Laurie, who accompanied AVM Jones as his staff officer." On 26 August 1945, USS General S. D. Sturgis (AP-137) sailed out of Manila, Philippines, with officers and officials of the United States, Australia, Canada, Netherlands East Indies, China, and the Philippines. The ship reached Tokyo Bay on 31 August and got underway again on 26 September bound for Seattle, Washington (USA), 1 September 1945



FRENCH INDOCHINA (LAOS)

Prince Ratanavongsa Phetsarath again announced his rejection of the resumption of the French protectorate in Laos, calling for the United Nations to acknowledge Laotian independence.

HONG KONG

British colonial secretary Franklin Charles Gimson established a temporary government in Hong Kong.

Photo: Kamikaze: Naval Weapons: Japanese fast motor boats, packed with high explosive and intended for use against allied shipping, found abandoned in Picnic Bay, Hong Kong after the surrender. These light wooden craft are about 25ft in length, painted green, and are ready in their launching trolleys, 1 September 1945



BRITISH MALAYA

Onn bin Ja'afar negotiated an end to Malay-Chinese fighting in northern Johor, British Malaya.

PHILIPPINES

General MacArthur ends military rule, which has been in force since the American landings on Leyte, because the Philippine government has been re-established and is functioning normally. Control of all areas reverts to the Philippine commonwealth.

AUSTRALIA

Photo: The U.S. Navy submarine tender USS Clytie (AS-26) passing through the submarine boom defense netting at Fremantle, Australia, 1 September 1945



MARSHALL ISLANDS

Two US Marine Corps aircraft dropped surrender terms to the Japanese garrisons on Wotje and Maloelap Atolls in the Marshall Islands.

WESTERN PACIFIC

[Far East Air Force]: The 371st and 372d Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy), 307th BG (Heavy), move from Morotai Island to Clark Field, Luzon with B-24s.

[lordroel]

Day 2182 of World War II, September 2nd 1945

YouTube (The End of World War Two)



United Kingdom

Kingdom The government ends press censorship.

Norway

A meeting of the Norwegian Labor Party decides to reject Communist proposals for a merger with the Norwegian Communist Party.

Pacific War

ALLIED OCCUPIED JAPAN

The Japanese surrender is signed aboard the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Foreign Minister Shigemitsu leads the Japanese delegation. MacArthur accepts the surrender on behalf of all the Allies. Admiral Nimitz signs for the United States and Admiral Fraser for Britain. There are representatives of all the other Allied nations. Also present are Generals Percival and Wainright who have been Japanese prisoner since they surrendered at Corregidor and Singapore, respectively.

Photo: Representatives of the Empire of Japan on board USS Missouri (BB-63) during the surrender ceremonies.

Standing in front are:

Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu (wearing top hat) and General Yoshijirō Umezu, Chief of the Army General Staff.

Behind them are three representatives each of the Foreign Ministry, the Army and the Navy. They include, in middle row, left to right:

Lieutenant General Shūichi Miyakazi, Army;
Katsuo Okazaki, Foreign Ministry;
Rear Admiral Tadatoshi Tomioka, Navy;
Toshikazu Kase, Foreign Ministry, and
Major General Yatsuji Nagai, Army.
In the back row, left to right (not all are visible):

Rear Admiral Ichirō Yokoyama, Navy;
Saburo Ōta, Foreign Ministry;
Katsuo Shiba, Navy, and
Kazushi Sugita, Army.



Photo: General of the Army, Douglas MacArthur reads the surrender terms to the Japanese representatives on board USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, 2 September 1945



Photo: General Douglas MacArthur signs as Supreme Allied Commander during formal surrender ceremonies on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Behind General MacArthur are Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright and Lieutenant General A. E. Percival, 2 September 1945



Photo: Luitenant-Admiraal C.E.L. Helfrich, representing the Netherlands, signs the instrument of surrender. He is being watched by a compatriot and by General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander, at the microphone, 2 September 1945



Photo: Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser, commanding British Pacific fleet, signs the instrument of surrender on behalf of the United Kingdom. Other British representatives stand alongside General Douglas MacArthur at the microphone, 2 September 1945



Photo: Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Instrument of Surrender, officially ending the Second World War, 2 September 1945



Photo: General Umezu Yoshijiro signs the surrender on behalf of the Imperial Japanese Army on board USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, 2 September 1945



YouTube (Japan Formal Surrender - 1945)



Instrument of surrender for Japan, World War II.

Mamoru Shigemitsu By Command and in behalf of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese Government

Yoshijiro Umezu By Command and in behalf of the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters

Accepted at TOKYO BAY, JAPAN at 0908 on the SECOND day of SEPTEMBER, 1945, for the United States, Republic of China, United Kingdom and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and in the interests of the other United Nations at war with Japan.

Douglas MacArthur
Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers

After MacArthur's signature as Supreme Commander, the following representatives signed the instrument of surrender on behalf of each of the Allied Powers:

Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz for the United States (9:12 a.m.).
General Hsu Yung-Ch'ang for the Republic of China (9:13 a.m.).
Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser for the United Kingdom (9:14 a.m.).
Lieutenant General Kuzma Derevyanko for the Soviet Union (9:16 a.m.).
General Sir Thomas Blamey for Australia (9:17 a.m.).
Colonel Lawrence Moore Cosgrave for Canada (9:18 a.m.).
Général d'Armée Philippe Leclerc de Hautecloque for France (9:20 a.m.).
Luitenant-Admiraal C.E.L. Helfrich for the Netherlands (9:21 a.m.).
Air Vice-Marshal Leonard M. Isitt for New Zealand (9:22 a.m.).

TF 33 (Rear Admiral John L. Hall) lands army forces at Yokohama.



Photo: carrier planes fly in formation over the U.S. and British fleets in Tokyo Bay during surrender ceremonies. USS Missouri , where the ceremonies took place, is at left. USS Detroit is in the right distance. Aircraft include TBM, F6F, SB2C and F4U types, 2 September 1945



BRITISH MALAYA

Imperial Japanese Navy Rear Admiral Jisaku Uozomi, accompanied by his officers and the Japanese Governor of Penang at the time, Lieutenant General Shinohara Seiichiro, board HMS Nelson. Inside the battleship, Vice Admiral Harold Walker, Rear Admiral Uozomi and Lieutenant General Seiichiro signed the surrender of the Japanese garrison stationed in Penang. Soon afterwards, Rear Admiral Uozomi reportedly fainted and was rushed to hospital.

Photo: The Japanese surrender delegation boarding HMS Nelson on 2 September 1945


Photo: Rear Admiral Bazudi, Flag Officer Commanding Jap Forces, Penang, waits while Allied representatives examine surrender document, 2 September 1945



Photo: Imperial Japanese Navy Rear Admiral Jisaku Uozumi signs the surrender of Penang aboard HMS Nelson. He fainted shortly afterwards and was rushed to hospital, 2 September 1945



A British Royal Marines contingent recaptured Penang Island on the following day, making George Town the first city in Malaya to be liberated at the end of the war.

YouTube (Penang Reoccupied (1945)



CAROLINE ISLANDS

At Truk Atoll, Caroline Islands, USS Portland (with USS Ralph Talbot as escort) received aboard Lieutenant General Shunzaburo Magikura of the Japanese Imperial Army, Vice Admiral Chuichi Hara of the Japanese Imperial Navy, Rear Admiral Aritaka Aihara of the Japanese Imperial Navy and head of the Eastern Branch of the Japanese South Seas Government and their aides. Together, they surrendered all islands and territories under their commands to Vice Admiral George Murray, acting on behalf of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. Immediately following the signing of the surrender documents, Portland departed Truk bound for Guam.

Photo: Japanese Vice Admiral Chuichi Hara (center) surrenders Japanese forces on Truk aboard USS Portland, September 2, 1945




NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES (INDONESIA)

The Anglo-Dutch Civil Affairs Agreement, signed in late Aug 1945, was expanded so that all Japanese-held territories previously belonging to Dutch East Indies, which were now held by the British, to be turned over to the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration. The earlier agreement had only specified the island of Sumatra to be returned to the Dutch.

President Sukarno swore in his cabinet members during the first session of the Central Indonesian National Committee. ww2dbase

FRENCH INDOCHINA (LAOS)

Pro-independence Prince Ratanavongsa Phetsarath attempted, but failed, to convince French-leaning Laotian King Sisavang Vong to endorse an unified Laos regardless of their differing views on the independence issue.

FRENCH INDOCHINA (VIETNAM)

Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam at the Botanic Gardens in Hanoi, Tonkin, French Indochina. In the speech, he called on the Allies to recognize the new country. He also noted that, with or without Allied recognition, he would fight against French colonialism. ww2dbase [Hanoi, Tonkin | AC, CPC]

A large pro-independence demonstration, consisted largely of communists of various factions including the Indochinese Communist Party and the Vanguard Youth, took place in Cochinchina, French Indochina; it was estimated that 300,000 to 1,000,000 people participated. The demonstration was largely peaceful, although a number of violent acts were carried out against French civilians and Vietnamese who had worked with the French. By the day's end, the armed forces of the demonstrating coalition would take control of the city.

CEYLON

In Kandy, a Siamese military mission arrives, headed by Lt.-Gen. Narong, deputy commander in chief of the Siamese Army, to discuss the Japanese surrender in Siam, the disposal of the Siamese forces and the release of Allied prisoners.

AUSTRALIA

The Australian Minister of Defence announces that the South-West Pacific Command has come to an end. All the area south of the Philippines have been assigned to British Commonwealth control and operational control of Australian forces, vested in General MacArthur in 1942, has reverted to the Australian government.

PACIFIC

Japanese surrender Palau Islands in ceremony on board destroyer escort Amick (DE-168).

Japanese surrender Pagan Island northern Marianas, on board destroyer Rhind (DD-404).

Japanese surrender Rota, Marianas, in ceremony on board destroyer escort Heyliger (DE-510).