Heroes of the Pacific : History

1945

January
3^rd	Gen. MacArthur is placed in command of all U.S. ground forces and Adm. Nimitz in command of all naval forces in preparation for planned assaults against Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Japan itself
4^th	British occupy Akyab in Burma
9^th	U.S. Sixth Army invades Lingayen Gulf on Luzon in the Philippines
11^th	Air raid against Japanese bases in Indochina by U.S. carrier-based planes
28^th	The Burma road is re-opened

February
3^rd	U.S. Sixth Army attacks Japanese in Manila
16^th	U.S. troops recapture Bataan in the Philippines
19^th	U.S. Marines invade Iwo Jima

March
1^st	A U.S. submarine sinks a Japanese merchant ship loaded with supplies for Allied POWs, resulting in a court martial for the captain of the submarine, since the ship had been granted safe passage by the U.S. government
2^nd	U.S. airborne troops recapture Corregidor in the Philippines
3^rd	U.S. and Filipino troops take Manila
9^th – 10^th	Fifteen square miles of Tokyo erupts in flames after it is fire bombed by 279 B29s
10^th	U.S. Eighth Army invades Zamboanga Peninsula on Mindanao in the Philippines
20^th	British troops liberate Mandalay, Burma
27^th	B-29s lay mines in Japan's Shimonoseki Strait to interrupt shipping

April
1^st	The final amphibious landing of the war occurs as the U.S. Tenth Army invades Okinawa
7^th	B-29s fly their first fighter-escorted mission against Japan with P-51 Mustangs based on Iwo Jima; U.S. carrier-based fighters sink the super battleship YAMATO and several escort vessels which planned to attack U.S. forces at Okinawa
12^th	President Roosevelt dies, succeeded by Harry S. Truman

May
8^th	Victory in Europe Day
20^th	Japanese begin withdrawal from China
25^th	U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff approve Operation Olympic, the invasion of Japan, scheduled for November 1

June
9^th	Japanese Premier Suzuki announces Japan will fight to the very end rather than accept unconditional surrender
18^th	Japanese resistance ends on Mindanao in the Philippines
22^nd	Japanese resistance ends on Okinawa as the U.S. Tenth Army completes its capture
28^th	MacArthur's headquarters announces the end of all Japanese resistance in the Philippines

July
5^th	Liberation of Philippines declared
10^th	1000 bomber raids against Japan begin
14^th	The first U.S. Naval bombardment of Japanese home islands
16^th	First Atomic Bomb is successfully tested in the U.S.
26^th	Components of the Atomic Bomb "Little Boy" are unloaded at Tinian Island in the South Pacific
29^th	A Japanese submarine sinks the Cruiser INDIANAPOLIS resulting in the loss of 881 crewmen. The ship sinks before a radio message can be sent out leaving survivors adrift for two days

August
6^th	First Atomic Bomb dropped on Hiroshima from a B-29 flown by Col. Paul Tibbets
8^th	U.S.S.R. declares war on Japan then invades Manchuria
9^th	Second Atomic Bomb is dropped on Nagasaki from a B-29 flown by Maj. Charles Sweeney -- Emperor Hirohito and Japanese Prime Minister Suzuki then decide to seek an immediate peace with the Allies
14^th	Japanese accept unconditional surrender; Gen. MacArthur is appointed to head the occupation forces in Japan
16^th	Gen. Wainwright, a POW since May 6, 1942, is released from a POW camp in Manchuria
27^th	B29s drop supplies to Allied POWs in China
29^th	The Soviets shoot down a B29 dropping supplies to POWs in Korea; U.S. troops land near Tokyo to begin the occupation of Japan
30^th	The British re-occupy Hong Kong

September
2^nd	Formal Japanese surrender ceremony on board the MISSOURI in Tokyo Bay as 1000 carrier-based planes fly overhead; President Truman declares VJ Day
3^rd	The Japanese commander in the Philippines, Gen. Yamashita, surrenders to Gen. Wainwright at Baguio
4^th	Japanese troops on Wake Island surrender
5^th	British land in Singapore
8^th	MacArthur enters Tokyo
9^th	Japanese in Korea surrender
13^th	Japanese in Burma surrender

October
24^th	United Nations is born