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Douglas MacArthur
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1941
December
08
The attack on Clark Field
On 8 December 1941 Japanese bombers from Formosa destroyed half of the US air force in the Philippines at Clark Field and Iba, hours after news of Pearl Harbor.
22
The landing at Lingayen Gulf
On 22 December 1941 the main body of General Homma's 14th Army landed at Lingayen Gulf on Luzon. Next day MacArthur decided to fall back to Bataan.
1942
January
07
The siege of Bataan begins
On 7 January 1942 Luzon's defenders manned the Abucay–Mauban line on Bataan. Hungry, they beat off the first attack but fell back to the Orion–Bagac line.
February
22
Roosevelt orders MacArthur out of the Philippines
On 22 February 1942 Roosevelt told MacArthur to leave Corregidor and take command in Australia. The general delayed and left the defenders to Wainwright.
March
11
MacArthur leaves Corregidor
On 11 March 1942 MacArthur left Corregidor by PT boat for Mindanao. Wainwright took over command in the Philippines, and Bataan fought on.
17
MacArthur in Australia
On 17 March 1942 MacArthur landed near Darwin. Hailed as a saviour, he found no army to relieve the Philippines. At Terowie he vowed: “I shall return”.
July
03
The Japanese on Guadalcanal
In early July 1942 the Japanese began building an airfield on Guadalcanal. On 2 July Washington ordered an offensive in the Solomons to forestall them.
20
The Japanese land at Buna and Gona
On 20 July 1942 a convoy carrying Colonel Yokoyama's force sailed from Rabaul. On the evening of 21 July it landed near Gona to march overland on Port Moresby.
August
26
The Battle of Milne Bay
On the night of 25–26 August 1942 Japanese naval infantry landed at Milne Bay. The Australians held the airfields, and after 12 days the Japanese withdrew.
September
05
The end of the Battle of Milne Bay
On 5 September 1942 the Japanese ordered their shattered landing force evacuated from Milne Bay – the first such complete defeat of Japanese land forces.
14
The Japanese at Ioribaiwa
On 14 September 1942 the Japanese attacked at Ioribaiwa, in the mountains above Port Moresby. The Australians fell back to Imita, but the enemy got no further.
15
Americans in Port Moresby
On 15 September 1942 the first company of the US 32nd Division flew into Port Moresby. Two regiments followed – one by air, the other by sea.
November
17
The fighting for Buna and Gona begins
In mid-November 1942 the Japanese reinforced their beachheads at Buna, Gona and Sanananda in New Guinea. The first American and Australian attacks stalled.
26
The Battle of Brisbane
On 26 and 27 November 1942 Australian soldiers and civilians clashed with American military police in Brisbane. One Australian was killed and dozens were hurt.
December
15
The fall of Gona and Buna
On 9 December 1942 the Australians took Gona, and on 14 December the Americans took Buna village. The Japanese fought on at Buna Station and Sanananda.
1943
January
02
The capture of Buna
On 2 January 1943 Americans and Australians took Buna Government Station – the last Japanese stronghold on the eastern flank of the beachheads in Papua.
07
Japanese reinforcements at Lae
On 7 January 1943 a convoy from Rabaul landed some 4,000 men of the Okabe Detachment at Lae. Losing Papua, Japan resolved to defend northern New Guinea.
22
The end of the fighting at Sanananda
On 22 January 1943 organised Japanese resistance at Sanananda ceased, ending the six-month Papuan campaign – a costly Allied victory.
March
02
Key event
The Battle of the Bismarck Sea
On 2–4 March 1943 Allied aircraft destroyed a convoy from Rabaul to Lae. Eight transports and four destroyers were sunk and nearly 3,000 Japanese killed.
June
21
The landing at Segi Point
On 21 June 1943 marines of the 4th Raider Battalion landed at Segi Point, New Georgia, to save coastwatcher Donald Kennedy and the site for an airfield.
23
The landings on Woodlark and Kiriwina
On 23 June 1943 US advance parties landed on undefended Woodlark, and that night on Kiriwina. The main landings of 30 June gave airfields against Rabaul.
September
04
The landing at Lae and the drop on Nadzab
On 4 September 1943 the Australian 9th Division landed east of Lae, and on 5 September American paratroopers seized Nadzab. Lae fell on 16 September.
22
The landing at Finschhafen
On 22 September 1943 the Australian 20th Brigade landed near Finschhafen on the Huon Peninsula. The town fell on 2 October, but fighting went on until December.
October
12
Air raids on Rabaul
On 12 October 1943 nearly 350 of General Kenney's aircraft struck Rabaul, opening the air offensive meant to neutralise the Japanese fortress.
December
26
The landing at Cape Gloucester
On 26 December 1943 the US 1st Marine Division landed at Cape Gloucester on New Britain. On 30 December the Marines took the Japanese airfield.
1944
February
29
Key event
The landing on Los Negros
On 29 February 1944 a thousand US cavalrymen landed on Los Negros in the Admiralty Islands. MacArthur came ashore and ordered the airstrip held at any cost.
March
15
The capture of Manus
On 15 March 1944 US cavalry landed on Manus. Lorengau fell on 18 March, and Seeadler Harbour became one of the largest fleet bases in the Pacific.
16
XI Corps in the Pacific
In March 1944 the headquarters of Major General Charles P. Hall's US XI Corps sailed for the South West Pacific. Aitape, Morotai, Bataan and Luzon lay ahead.
April
22
Key event
The landings at Hollandia and Aitape
On 22 April 1944 US troops landed at Hollandia and Aitape in New Guinea, hundreds of kilometres behind the front, cutting off the Japanese 18th Army at Wewak.
May
18
The end of the fighting in the Admiralty Islands
On 18 May 1944 General Krueger declared the Admiralty Islands operation over. Japanese stragglers still hid in the jungle; Seeadler Harbour became a fleet base.
27
The landing on Biak
On 27 May 1944 the US 41st Division landed on Biak off Dutch New Guinea. The Japanese let the landing through and defended the airfields from caves.
July
10
The Battle of the Driniumor River
On the night of 10–11 July 1944 the starving Japanese 18th Army struck across the Driniumor at the Americans near Aitape, New Guinea, and broke their line.
August
09
The dispute over the road to Japan
In summer 1944 the Americans argued over whether to strike Luzon or Formosa. Roosevelt favoured MacArthur, but the Joint Chiefs decided on 3 October.
October
20
Key event
The landing on Leyte
On 20 October 1944 the US Sixth Army landed on Leyte. General MacArthur waded ashore and told the Filipinos by radio: “I have returned”.
1945
January
09
Key event
Americans in Lingayen Gulf
On 9 January 1945 Krueger’s Sixth Army landed almost unopposed in Lingayen Gulf on Luzon. Kamikazes kept attacking the ships of the invasion fleet.
31
The landings at Zambales and Nasugbu
On 29 January 1945 XI Corps landed unopposed in Zambales to seal off Bataan; on 31 January the 11th Airborne Division came ashore at Nasugbu, south of Manila.
February
16
The landing on Corregidor
On 16 February 1945 US paratroopers dropped on Topside and infantry landed below Malinta Hill. The battle for the fortress lost in 1942 had begun.
26
The recapture of Corregidor
On 26 February 1945 the Japanese blew up an arsenal at Monkey Point and the Americans reached the island's eastern tip. The fight for Corregidor was over.
27
The restoration of the Philippine Commonwealth government
On 27 February 1945 at Malacañang Palace MacArthur handed civil authority to President Sergio Osmeña. The Commonwealth government returned to a ruined Manila.
May
11
The capture of Wewak
On 11 May 1945 the Australian 6th Division took Wewak, the Japanese 18th Army's last major base on New Guinea. Its remnants fought on in the hills until August.
14
Fighting in the southern Philippines
In mid-May 1945 the US Eighth Army and Filipino guerrillas fought the Japanese on Mindanao, Negros and Cebu. The heaviest fighting was around Davao.
July
05
MacArthur announces the liberation of the Philippines
On 5 July 1945 MacArthur announced the liberation of the whole Philippines, yet on Luzon and Mindanao the Japanese held out until Japan's surrender.
August
31
MacArthur in Japan
On 30 August 1945 MacArthur landed at Atsugi and settled in Yokohama. On 31 August he welcomed there Generals Wainwright and Percival, freed from captivity.
September
02
Key event
The Japanese surrender on the “Missouri”
On 2 September 1945, in Tokyo Bay, Japan signed the instrument of unconditional surrender aboard USS Missouri. The Second World War was over.