- January 16
- Carl Karcher opens his first restaurant, Carl's Drive-In Barbeque in Los Angeles, California. [313.18]
- US 1st and 3rd army meet at Houffalise. [1]
- January 20
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt sworn-in for an unprecedented fourth term as US President. [1]
- January 22
- Heavy US air raid on Okinawa, Japan. [1]
- January 25
- Grand Rapids, Michigan, becomes first US city to fluoridate its water. [1]
- January 26
- 2nd Lieutenant Audie L. Murphy exhibits conspicuous gallantry for which he later receives the Medal of Honor. [473.58]
- January 28
- General "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell and truck convoy reopen Burma Road to China. [1]
- American troops regain the front lines against the Germans held on December 16. Allied armies suffered about 83,000 casualties, and lost about 800 tanks. Germany lost over 100,000 men, 800 tanks, and 1000 aircraft. [10]
- January 30
- In Malta, British and American representatives meet over five days to discuss military strategy, Italy, China, and occupation zones in Germany. [10]
- January 31
- American Private Edward Donald Slovik, age 25, is executed by firing squad for desertion, the first such execution since the US Civil War. [1] [10]
- US 4th Infantry division occupies Elcherrath. [1]
- February 1
- US Army arrives at Siegfriedlinie. [1]
- February 3
- About 1000 American B-17 bombers of the US 8th Air Force attack Berlin, Germany. A reported 25,000 civilians are killed. [10]
- February 4
- The Yalta Conference takes place, over eight days, to discuss post-war policies. Russia asks for an Allied air bombing of Berlin and Leipzig. [10]
- February 5
- US troops under General Douglas MacArthur enter Manilla, Philippines. [1]
- February 6
- US 8th Air Force bombs Magdeburg/Chemnitz. [1]
- February 7
- General Douglas MacArthur returns to Manila, Philippines. [1]
- US President Harry Truman appoints Irwin C Mollison judge of US Customs Court. [1]
- US 76th/5th Infantry divisions begin crossing Sauer. [1]
- February 11
- First gas turbine propeller-driven airplane flight tested, in Downey, California. [1]
- At Yalta, representatives of Great Britain, the USA, and the Soviet Union sign a secret agreement on certain post-war issues. After victory over Japan, the Soviet Union is to receive the Kurile Islands, and southern Sakhalin and adjacent islands. [10]
- February 12
- San Francisco, California, selected for site of United Nations Conference. [1]
- February 16
- US forces land on Corregidor, in the Philippines. [1]
- February 19
- 450 ships with 30,000 men of the US 4th and 5th Marine divisions begin landing on Iwo Jima to attack Japanese forces. [10] [129]
- By the end of the day, 30,000 U.S. Marines have established a solid beachhead in Iwo Jima. [129]
- February 21
- US 10th Armour division overthrows Orscholz line. [1]
- The US 503rd Parachute Regimental Combat Team liberates Corregidor, Philippines. [10]
- February 23
- During the Battle for Iwo Jima, U.S. Marines take the crest of Mount Suribachi, the island's highest peak and most strategic position, and raise the U.S. flag. Marine photographer Louis Lowery records the event. Several hours later, more Marines head up to the crest with a larger flag. Joe Rosenthal, a photographer with the Associated Press, records the raising of the second flag. [1] [129] [705.36]
- February 25
- US aircraft carriers attack Tokyo, Japan. [1]
- February 26
- Very heavy bombing on Berlin by 8th US Air Force. [1]
- March 1
- US President Franklin Roosevelt announces success of Yalta Conference. [1]
- US infantry regiment captures Mönchengladbach. [1]
- March 2
- US 8th Air Force bombs Dresden. [1]
- March 3
- US and Philippine forces recaptures Corregidor. [1]
- US 7th Army occupies last part of Westwall. [1]
- U.S. forces gain control of all three airfields on Iwo Jima. [129]
- March 5
- US 7th Army Corps captures Cologne. [1]
- March 7
- US 9th Armoured Division attacks Remagen, Germany, crosses Rhine. [1]
- March 9
- 279 American B-29 bombers attack Tokyo, Japan, destroying sixteen square miles of the city, killing 83,700, injuring 40,000, making over one million homeless. [10]
- March 10
- George Patton's 3rd Army makes contact with Hodge's 1st Army. [1]
- Tokyo on fire after night time B-29 bombing. [1]
- US troops lands on Mindanao. [1]
- March 12
- New York is first to prohibit discrimination by race and creed in employment. [1]
- March 15
- 17th Academy Awards: Going my Way, Bing Cosby and Ingrid Bergman win. [1]
- March 17
- American forces complete the capture of Iwo Jima. Americans suffer 26,038 casualties, include 6821 dead. Of the 21,000 Japanese defenders, only 1083 survive. [10]
- March 18
- 1,250 US bombers attack Berlin. [1]
- US Task Force 58 attacks targets on Kiushu. [1]
- March 19
- 800 killed as Kamikaze attack USS Franklin off Japan. [1]
- US Task Force 58 attacks ships near Kobe/Kure. [1]
- March 20
- US 70th Infantry division/7th Armour division attack Saar. [1]
- March 22
- US third Army crosses Rhine at Nierstein. [1]
- March 23
- Largest operation in Pacific war, 1,500 US Navy ships bomb Okinawa. [1]
- March 24
- (1000 hours) Operation Varsity begins, as 134 American and British gliders cross the Rhine River, landing paratroops in Wesel, Germany. [10]
- US minesweepers reach Kerama Retto, South coast of Okinawa. [1]
- March 25
- US first army breaks out bridgehead near Remagen. [1]
- US 4th Armored division arrives at Hanau and Aschaffenburg. [1]
- US Northern Tractor Flotilla departs Ulithi to Okinawa. [1]
- March 26
- Generals Eisenhower/Bradley/Patton attack at Remagen on the Rhine. [1]
- The last Japanese defenders on Iwo Jima are wiped out. Only 200 of the original 22,000 Japanese defenders were captured alive. More than 6,000 Americans died taking Iwo Jima, and some 17,000 were wounded. [1] [5] [129]
- Kamikazes attack US battle fleet near Kerama Retto. [1]
- US 7th Army crosses Rhine at Worms. [1]
- March 27
- General Dwight Eisenhower declares German defenses on Western Front broken. [1]
- Iwo Jima is occupied, after 22,000 Japanese and 6,000 US killed. [1]
- US 20th Army corps captures Wiesbaden. [1]
- March 31
- Maurice Rose, first US General in Germany, killed in action at age 45. [1]
- US artillery lands on Keise Shima; begins firing on Okinawa. [1]
- April 1
- American 1st and 9th Armies complete an encirclement of the Ruhr area of Germany, isolating 325,000 German soldiers of Army Group B. [10]
- 50,000 American 10th Army troops land on Okinawa, Japan. [10]
- April 2
- First US units reach east coast of Okinawa, Japan. [1]
- April 3
- US first army conquers Hofgeismar. [1]
- April 4
- US forces liberated the German death camp Ohrdruf in Germany. [1]
- US tanks/infantry conquer Bielefeld. [1]
- April 6
- Massive kamikaze-attack on US battle fleet near Okinawa. [1]
- US marines explore Tsugen Shima near Okinawa. [1]
- April 7
- First and last assault of German Rammkommando on US bombers. [1]
- US B-17s bombs range at Lüneburg. [1]
- April 9
- The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission is formed. [5]
- April 10
- US troops land on Tsugen Shima, Okinawa, Japan. [1]
- April 11
- American forces liberate the Buchenwald concentration camp. [10]
- US captures Tsugen Shima. [1]
- US troops conquers Mülheim, Oberhausen, Bochum, Unna, Essen. [1]
- April 12
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd US President (1933-1945, Democrat), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Georgia, USA, at age 63. [1] [10]
- Harry Truman sworn in as 33rd US President. [1]
- April 13
- US marines conquer Minna Shima off Okinawa. [1]
- April 14
- American B-29 make incendiary raids on Tokyo, Japan, and damage the Imperial Palace. [1]
- US forces conquer Motobu peninsula on Okinawa. [1]
- US marines attack Yae Take on Okinawa, Japan. [1]
- April 15
- Franklin Roosevelt buried on grounds of Hyde Park home. [1]
- US troops occupy concentration camp Colditz. [1]
- April 16
- US troops land on He Shima, Okinawa. [1]
- April 17
- 8th Air Force bombs Dresden, Germany. [1]
- US troops lands in Mindanao. [1]
- April 19
- US aircraft carrier Franklin is heavily damaged in Japanese air raid. [1]
- April 20
- US 7th Army and Allied forces capture Nuremberg and Stuttgart in Germany. [1]
- US forces conquer Motobu peninsula on Okinawa. [1]
- April 21
- US 7th Army occupies Neurenberg, Germany. [1]
- April 23
- US troops in Italy cross river Po. [1]
- April 25
- 46 countries convene United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco, California. [1]
- Last Boeing B-17 attack against Germany. [1]
- British and American troops meet Soviet forces at Torgau on the Elbe river. By order of General Dwight Eisenhower, the US 9th Army halts at the Elbe, allowing Russian forces to capture Berlin. [10]
- April 27
- US 5th army enters Genua. [1]
- April 28
- US 5th army reaches Swiss border. [1]
- April 29
- Operation Manna begins, as British Bomber Command begins dropping food in four pre-approved drop zones in western Holland. By the end of the day, 239 Lancaster bombers have dropped 500+ tons of food. (The operation continues for ten days, delivering 7,000 tons of food. US Army Air Force joins in, with Operation Chowhound, delivering 4000+ tons of food supplies.) [10]
- (about 1300 hours) American 42nd and 45th Divisions capture Dachau concentration camp in Germany, liberating 32,000. [10]
- April 30
- US troops attack the Elbe. [1]
- May 5
- (1430 hours) German Army Group G of 200-400,000 men surrenders to General Jacob Devers and the US 6th Army Group. Lieutenant General Foertsch signs for Germany. The official cease-fire and surrender is to take effect at noon May 6. [10]
- May 7
- (0241 hours French time) At Rheims, France, German armed forces sign unconditional surrender, effective from 0001 hours on May 9. Signing for Germany is Chief of Staff of German Army Colonel General Gustaf Jodl. Signing for the Supreme Allied Commander is Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Walter Smith. Signing for France is General François Sevez. Signing for the Soviet Union is General Ivan Susloparoff. [10]
- May 8
- Chinese counter-attack at Tsjangte, supports by US 14th air fleet. [1]
- US Secretary of Treasury announces the US cost of the war so far is US$275 billion. [10]
- (0900 hours US Eastern War Time) In Washington, D.C., US President Harry Truman officially announces the unconditional surrender of Germany. He then calls on Japan to surrender unconditionally, or face "utter destruction". [10] [129]
- May 9
- (0015 hours Central European Time) In Karlshorst, Berlin, Germany, a second signing of the military surrender of Germany is held. Surrender is signed by Field Marshal General Wilhelm Keitel, General Admiral Hans Georg von Friedeburg, General Hans Juergen Stumpff, commanders in chief of the German Army, Navy, and Air Force, respectively. Signing on behalf of the Soviet Commander in Chief of the Red Army is General Marshal Zhukov. Signing on behalf of General Eisenhower is Air Chief Marshal Arthur Tedder. [10]
- May 10
- Allies capture Rangoon from the Japanese. [1]
- May 11
- US marines conquer Awatsha Draw, Okinawa, Japan. [1]
- May 13
- US troops conquer Dakeshi, Okinawa, Japan. [1]
- May 14
- Kamikaze-Zero strikes US aircraft carrier Enterprise. [1]
- US offensive on Okinawa; Sugar Loaf conquered. [1]
- May 17
- Two US P-47 Thunderbolts bomb Kiushu, Japan. [1]
- May 22
- US 6th Marine division reaches suburbs of Naha, Okinawa, Japan. [1]
- May 26
- American bomber planes drop fire bombs on Tokyo, Japan. [1]
- May 29
- US 1st Marine Division conquors Shuri-castle Okinawa, Japan. [1]
- June 2
- Audie Murphy is awarded the Medal of Honor. [411.46] [498.66]
- June 5
- The European Advisory Committee announces the unconditional political capitulation of Germany. Control of the country is divided into four occupation zones, controlled by the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. [10]
- June 26
- United Nations Charter signed by 50 nations in San Francisco, California, USA. [1]
- July 2
- The Okinawa campaign is declared over. Total US casualties are 80,000 (dead, wounded, missing, non-combat sickness). Total Japanese casualties are 120,000. [10]
- July 5
- American General Douglas MacArthur announces the liberation of the Philippines. [10]
- July 6
- US President Harry S. Truman issues an executive order establishing the Medal of Freedom. [1] [417.56] [450.46] [512.36]
- July 16
- The United States successfully tests the first plutonium atomic bomb, at the Alamo-gordo airbase in New Mexico. [10]
- July 17
- American President Harry Truman, Soviet leader Josef Stalin, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill meet at Schloss Cecilienhof in Potsdam near Berlin, Germany, beginning a 17-day conference. Partway through the conference, Chruchill is replaced by the newly elected British Prime Minister Clement Attlee. Peace terms are drafted, and discussions are held on Germany, Poland, and Japan. [10]
- July 28
- US Army bomber crashes into 79th floor of Empire State Building, 14 die. [1]
- US Senate ratifies United Nations charter 89-2. [1]
- August 6
- American Colonel Paul Tibbets and the crew of the Enola Gay, flying at 31,600 feet altitude, drop a 4400kg uranium-based atomic bomb over Hiroshima, Japan, set to detonate at 1850 feet above the city. The blast has the impact of a 500-mph wind, leveling almost everything within a two-mile radius, destroying 70,000 buildings, sixty percent of the city. 70,000 people are killed, and 80,000 wounded. The atomic bomb becomes the largest man-made explosion in history, and largest single killer in history. (By the end of the year, a further 60,000 have died from burns, wounds, and radiation sickness.) [10]
- August 8
- US President Harry Truman signs United Nations Charter. [1]
- August 9
- (1102 hours) An American plane drops a plutonium-atomic bomb over the Urakami suburb of Nagasaki, Japan, off-target by three miles. Estimated dead are 38-70,000. (Preferred targets were Kokura and Nigata, which were passed over due to poor weather conditions.) [10]
- August 10
- The Japanese government requests peace with the United States, but insists on retaining the Emperor. [10]
- August 11
- Allies refuse Japan's surrender offer to retain Emperor Hirohito. [1]
- August 14
- (evening) US President Harry Truman announces the end of the Second World War. [10]
- August 15
- US wartime rationing of gasoline and fuel oil ends. [1]
- August 21
- US President Harry Truman ends Lend-Lease program. [1]
- August 27
- US troops land in Japan after Japanese surrender. [1]
- September 2
- Japan signs official surrender, accepted by General Douglas MacArthur on the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, off Yokohama. Allied nations participating in the ceremony are USA, China, Great Britain, Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, Netherlands, New Zealand. This is the first time in recorded history for Japan to host a successful military invasion from a foreign power. [10]
- Total deaths in various countries due to World War II: Soviet Union 20 million, Poland 4.32 million, Germany 4.2 million, China 2.2 million, Yugoslavia 1.7 million, Japan 1.219 million, France 600,000, Romania 460,000, Hungary 420,000, Italy 410,000, USA 406,000, Great Britain 388,000, Czechoslovakia 365,000, Austria 334,000, Netherlands 210,000, Greece 160,000, Belgium 88,000. [10]
- September 3
- Japanese forces in the Philippines surrender to Allies. [1]
- September 4
- US regains possession of Wake Island from Japan. [1]
- September 5
- (2030 hours) Igor Gouzenko, a cipher clerk at the Soviet embassy in Ottawa, Canada, leaves the embassy with 109 top secret documents, seeking political asylum rather than return to the Soviet Union. (After several days, he is given protective custody, and tells his story to William Stephenson, head of British secret service operations in North America. The documents detail Soviet espionage in Canada and the United States, including atomic bomb secrets, and possible preparations for war with the United States. His evidence leads to the arrest of 12 Soviet spies, and the start of the "Cold War" between East and West.) [10]
- September 8
- US invades Japanese-held Korea. [1]
- September 18
- 1000 whites walk out of Gary, Indiana, schools to protest integration. [1]
- September 20
- German rocket engineers begin work in US. [1]
- October 3
- World Federation of Trade Unions formed; CIO a member. [1]
- The President signs Executive Order 9637, creating the Presidential Medal of Merit. [408.17]
- October 8
- US President Harry Truman announces atomic bomb secret shared with Britain and Canada. [1]
- October 29
- First ball-point pen goes on sale in USA, at Gumbel's of New York, for US$12.50. Nearly 10,000 are sold on the first day. [1] [55.22]
- October 30
- US government announces end of shoe rationing. [1]
- November 6
- House Un-American Committee begins investigation of seven radio commentators. [1]
- November 16
- Yeshiva College (University), chartered in New York, first US Jewish College. [1]
- November 21
- General Motors' workers go on strike. [1]
- November 26
- During snow storm, school bus crashes, killing 15 (Washington). [1]
- November 27
- General George C Marshall named special US envoy to China. [1]
- December 4
- US Senate approves US participation in United Nations. [1]
- December 5
- Five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo-bombers with 14 crew from Fort Lauderdale Naval Air Station in Florida disappear over the Atlantic Ocean, in what becomes known as The Bermuda Triangle. A search and rescue Mariner aircraft with a 13-man crew also disappears. [1] [129]
- December 20
- Rationing of auto tires ends in US. [1]
- December 28
- US Congress officially recognizes "Pledge of Allegiance". [1]
|
