Japan
Tag
(371)1945
January
- 02
- The B-29 raid on BangkokOn 2–3 January 1945 B-29s from India attacked the Rama VI Bridge in Bangkok – the only rail crossing of the Chao Phraya – and put it out of action for a time.
- Kamikaze on the road to LuzonFrom early January 1945 kamikaze struck the fleet bound for Lingayen Gulf. Ommaney Bay was sunk; New Mexico, California and HMAS Australia were hit.
February
- 16
- The landing on CorregidorOn 16 February 1945 US paratroopers dropped on Topside and infantry landed below Malinta Hill. The battle for the fortress lost in 1942 had begun.
- Carriers over TokyoOn 16–17 February 1945 aircraft from Mitscher’s carriers struck airfields and aircraft plants around Tokyo – the first carrier attack on Japan’s capital.
- 23
- The flag on SuribachiOn 23 February 1945 Marines raised the US flag on the summit of Suribachi on Iwo Jima. Joe Rosenthal’s photograph of the second flag became a symbol of the war.
- Turkey declares war on GermanyOn 23 February 1945 the Turkish Grand National Assembly unanimously declared war on Germany and Japan to secure a place among the founders of the UN.
- The raid on Los BañosOn 23 February 1945 US paratroopers, amphibious tractors and Filipino guerrillas freed 2,147 internees from the Japanese camp at Los Baños.
- 27
- The restoration of the Philippine Commonwealth governmentOn 27 February 1945 at Malacañang Palace MacArthur handed civil authority to President Sergio Osmeña. The Commonwealth government returned to a ruined Manila.
- Syria and Lebanon declare war on the AxisOn 26 and 27 February 1945 Syria and Lebanon, formally independent since 1941, declared war on Germany and Japan in order to become founders of the UN.
March
- 03
- The end of the Battle of ManilaOn 3 March 1945 the Americans took the Finance Building, the last centre of resistance in Manila. A month of fighting cost the lives of some 100,000 civilians.
- The capture of MeiktilaOn 3 March 1945 the 17th Indian Division and 255th Tank Brigade took Meiktila, the Japanese supply hub in Burma. Fighting for it went on until late March.
- 09
- Key eventThe Tokyo raid of 9–10 MarchOn the night of 9–10 March 1945, 279 B-29s firebombed eastern Tokyo. The firestorm killed 80,000–100,000 people – the deadliest air raid in history.
- The Japanese coup in IndochinaOn 9 March 1945 the Japanese overthrew the French administration of Indochina and disarmed its army. On 11 March Emperor Bảo Đại proclaimed Vietnam independent.
April
- 01
- Key eventThe landing on OkinawaOn 1 April 1945 General Buckner's Tenth Army landed on Okinawa almost unopposed. The Japanese were waiting in fortifications in the south of the island.
- The capture of LegazpiOn 1 April 1945 the US 158th Infantry took the port and airfield of Legazpi on the Bicol Peninsula unopposed, opening the way to the San Bernardino Strait.
May
- 05
- Kamikaze off Okinawa in MayOn 3–4 May 1945 the fifth Kikusui operation sank the destroyers Luce, Morrison and Little off Okinawa. On 11 May kamikaze hit the carrier Bunker Hill.
- The balloon victims at BlyOn 5 May 1945 near Bly, Oregon, a bomb from a Japanese fu-go balloon killed pregnant Elsie Mitchell and five children – the only enemy victims on US soil.
- 14
- The Nagoya raid of 14 MayOn 14 May 1945, 472 B-29s burned northern Nagoya and its castle by day. On 16/17 May the south burned; the two raids killed some 3,900 people.
- Fighting in the southern PhilippinesIn mid-May 1945 the US Eighth Army and Filipino guerrillas fought the Japanese on Mindanao, Negros and Cebu. The heaviest fighting was around Davao.
June
July
- 30
- Attacks on Kobe and NagoyaBy late July 1945 Kobe and Nagoya were attacked only by fighters and carrier aircraft – B-29s had already burned both cities in the spring.
- The sinking of the “Indianapolis”On 30 July 1945 the Japanese submarine I-58 sank the cruiser Indianapolis, which had delivered atomic bomb parts to Tinian. 316 of 1,195 men survived.
August
- 14
- The Kyūjō incidentOn the night of 14–15 August 1945 War Ministry officers seized the Imperial Palace to stop the surrender broadcast. The coup collapsed by morning.
- The last raids on JapanOn 14 August 1945 over a thousand US aircraft struck Japan in the last great B-29 operation; air combat still went on on 15 and 18 August.
- 17
- The proclamation of Indonesian independenceOn 17 August 1945 in Jakarta Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaimed Indonesia’s independence, forestalling the return of Dutch colonial rule.
- General Order No. 1On 17 August 1945 Truman approved General Order No. 1: to whom Japanese forces were to surrender, including the division of Korea at the 38th parallel.
September
- 02
- Key eventThe 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.
- The surrender of YamashitaOn 2 September 1945 General Tomoyuki Yamashita came down from the mountains near Kiangan and surrendered; on 3 September he signed the surrender at Baguio.