1937
28 July
Japan Invades Chinese Capital
Chinese and Japanese troops skirmish in Peking (Beijing). Japan bombs three Chinese cities and “terror bombs” Shanghai in August.
12 December
The Sinking of the USS Panay
A U.S. gunboat and three other ships evacuating Chinese citizens of Nanking are attacked by Japanese planes. A U.S. sailor on the Panay, Charles Ensminger, becomes the first American to die in the Pacific War.
13 December
Nanking, China, Captured by the Japanese
Over the next six weeks 300,000 civilians are brutally killed, mostly elderly, women, and children. The event is captured on newsreels and is dubbed “the rape of Nanking.”
1938
4 February
Japan Continues Its War with China
The Japanese subdue the eastern third of the nation.
20 February
Roosevelt Revises the Pacific War Plan
The U.S. War Plan (Plan Orange) transfers part of the American fleet to the Pacific, and uses the 1933 “Trading with the Enemy Act” to develop a plan to freeze Japanese assets in the event of war.
20 February
Hitler Supports Japan in Its Plans for Asian Conquest
Nazi leader Adolf Hitler proclaims his unilateral support for Japan in its war for Asia.
March–June
Japanese Launch Total War in Asia
They claim their military aggression is to “free Asia from colonial rule and communism.” Public opinion in the U.S. opposes Japanese aggression and is determined not to permit the kind of appeasement that America had condoned in its dealings with Germany. The U.S. indicates that its citizens will not permit Japan’s war efforts to continue unchecked.
17 May
The Vinson-Trammel Naval Expansion Act
This bill is passed, authorizing $1 billion for building a “two ocean” U.S. Navy of sixty-nine new ships and 3,000 airplanes.
August
U.S. Fortifies Its Pacific Possessions
The U.S. takes steps to protect its possessions in the Pacific (Midway, Wake, and Guam Islands) by constructing strong defenses. Earlier, U.S. politician William Borak decried the expense of such efforts as “decoration of a useless sand dune.”
16 August
Birth of the Atomic Era
Enrico Fermi receives the 1938 Nobel Prize in physics for identifying new elements and discovering nuclear reactions by his method of nuclear irradiation and bombardment. It is one of the precursors to creating the atom bomb.
23 August
Flying Tigers Created
U.S. retired Army Air Corps general Claire Lee Chennault begins a “secret” air war in China using funds covertly approved by President Roosevelt. He recruits and organizes volunteer pilots, calling his air force the “Flying Tigers.” He uses American P-40 fighters, which perform better in dogfights with the Japanese Zero.
1939
7–15 April
Congress Cuts Off Trade with Japan
The U.S. Congress introduces a resolution to cut off trade with Japan.
1940
9 April
Nazis Occupy Denmark, Invade Norway
Continuing their run across northern Europe, the Germans storm into Denmark and Norway. They will also take Belgium and Holland, and march into Paris in May.
May
U.S. Pacific Fleet Ordered to Pearl Harbor
The Pacific Fleet makes Hawaii its base instead of San Diego, California.
3 June
Dunkirk
British and other Allied troops send thousands of ships to evacuate the retreating army at Dunkirk, and 350,000 are rescued from the Nazis, although the next day 40,000 are captured by the Germans.
30 June
British Appeasement for Asia
Great Britain continues its policy of Japanese appeasement and Churchill agrees to a Japanese demand to close the Burma Road, a key China army supply route. Churchill acquiesces in order to avoid war with Japan.
5 July
Nazi U-Boats Extend Their Range
German submarines extend their range ever closer to the United States and Canada in their attempt to blockade British shipping.
10 July
Battle of Britain Begins
Winston Churchill becomes the new prime minister after Chamberlain resigned on 10 May. Germans attack British shipping and their Luftwaffe begins bombing raids that will later come to be called the “Blitz” by Britons.
17 July
Japanese Troops Occupy Hong Kong
Part of the Hong Kong territory is seized by the Japanese and they blockade the British colony. The governor general of Hong Kong issues an evacuation order for women and children to be moved to the Philippines.
3–7 September
Hitler Plans to Invade Britain
The Nazis are committed to invading Great Britain and extinguishing the opposition to German conquest. The plan, Operation Sea Lion, is unveiled on the third, and the “Blitz” begins on the seventh. In October Hitler decides to postpone Operation Sea Lion until spring 1941.
16 September
America Introduces the Draft
Military conscription starts in the U.S.
22 September
Japanese Troops Invade Indochina
French Indochina (present-day Vietnam) is taken by Japanese troops crossing the border. The Axis-controlled French Vichy government accedes to their action.
25 September
Japanese Secrets Stolen
The Japanese seek a way to improve the security of their signals. Their solution to the security problem is radical: They decide to abandon using codebooks and began instead to encrypt their most confidential and secret messages on a machine. Ironically, this decision eventually enables the U.S. to read Japanese diplomatic messages with great ease once the Americans break their new code.
27 September
Axis Powers Formed
Japan, Germany, and Italy announce the Tripartite Pact and become known as the Axis Powers.
30 November
Flying Tigers Group Gets Funding Help
China’s leader, Chiang Kai-shek, gets a $100 million loan from President Roosevelt to purchase fifty more war planes for Claire Chennault’s Flying Tigers.
1941
January
British Victories in the Mediterranean
British and Australian troops capture Bardia, take 48,000 German prisoners, then take Tobruk and another 25,000 Germans.
7 January
Yamamoto Plans Pearl Harbor Attack
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto outlines his war plans, and suggests that an air attack of Pearl Harbor and other American bases, along with raids against British colonies and bases in the Pacific, will convince the Americans and British to abandon their interests in the Pacific and concentrate on the war in Europe.
27 January
U.S. Ambassador Warns of Attack
Ambassador Joseph Grew warns his government that the Japanese intend to attack Pearl Harbor, but U.S. naval intelligence believe that the threat is not credible.
2 February
The “Desert Fox” Prowls
General Erwin Rommel, Hitler’s brilliant tactician for desert warfare, arrives in North Africa to oppose the British and Australians.
14 February
Ultimatum to Japan
Eugene Dooman delivers FDR’s ultimatum to Foreign Minister Ohashi in Tokyo that if Japan attacks Singapore, it would mean war with the United States.
15 February
Discovering “Magic”
“Magic” (the nickname for American code-breakers’ ability to read Japanese signals communications) intercepts a “shopping list” for spies in Hawaii, but Pearl Harbor is not informed.
3 April
Ships for the Atlantic
Admiral Harold Stark, chief of naval operations, orders three battleships, one carrier (Yorktown), and four cruisers transferred from the Pacific to the Atlantic due to emerging “Europe-first” strategy and the need to send war matériel to Britain as part of the Lend-Lease convoys.
10 April
Start of the Air War
Admiral Yamamoto creates the Japanese First Air Fleet, with four aircraft carriers and 200 carrier-based aircraft. Starting with Pearl Harbor, carrier-based aircraft will play an increasing role and ultimately end traditional ship-to-ship warfare.
13 April
Japan and Russia Sign Neutrality Pact
The USSR and Japan sign a five-year neutrality pact, allowing the Soviet Union to concentrate on imminent war with the Nazis.
22 June
Hitler’s Armies Invade Russia
Hitler breaks his neutrality pact with the Soviets and declares war. Nazis invade Russia and destroy Stalin’s air force.
11 July
Coming of the Spooks
William Donovan is named as the “coordinator of information” for President Roosevelt. This service is the forerunner of the OSS (Office of Strategic Services), a U.S. government agency, which in World War II eventually evolves into the CIA.
26 July
FDR Names Pacific Commander
President Roosevelt appoints General MacArthur as commander of the Philippine Islands; he officially commits Claire Chennault’s Flying Tigers as the “Chinese Air Force” using 100 pilots of the American Volunteer Group; he freezes Japanese assets in the U.S.; and he offers Japan a proposal for a neutral Indochina.
31 July
Hitler Gives “Final Solution” Order
Hitler issues an order for a “final solution” to deal with “Jews, gypsies, communists, and homosexuals” but which is primarily aimed at eliminating the Jewish race. A little more than a month later, the gas chambers at Auschwitz are used for the first time.
4 September
FDR Closes Panama Canal to Japan
President Roosevelt closes the Panama Canal to all Japanese shipping.
11 September
Hitler’s U-Boats Test U.S. Neutrality
The U.S. Navy is given orders to “shoot on sight” any U-Boats close to U.S. coasts or ships.
24 September
“Magic” Intercepts Attack Plan
Picked up this day, but not translated until 9 October, the message reveals ship berths, location of torpedo nets, and the harbor layout for an air attack on Pearl Harbor—but the warning is ignored by Washington.
16 October
Tojo Takes Over Japanese Government
Extremist Japanese army commander Hideki Tojo takes over as prime minister when former prime minister Fumimaro Konoye is dumped. Described as a dictator, Tojo becomes principal director of Japanese war operations.
3 November
Yamamoto’s Attack Plan Approved
The Japanese government approves Admiral Yamamoto’s War Plan, and decides to implement the plan by December. Yamamoto’s primary strategy lists the priorities of attacks: the First Air Fleet is to attack Pearl Harbor; the Second Air Fleet is to attack the Philippines, Malaya, and the East Indies; the Fourth Air Fleet is to attack the island of Guam. The Northern Force is to stay behind in Japanese waters to guard their national interests, along with the Main Force. U.S. Ambassador Joseph Grew says that war between the U.S. and Japan is not only likely but imminent.
10 November
Churchill Warns Japan
In a tone that departs from the usual British diplomacy of appeasement, Churchill warns Japan that a war with the United States will also mean war with Great Britain.
20 November
Final Plans for Pearl Harbor Attack
Japan’s impending attack of Pearl Harbor is made official and attack orders are issued, but military commanders are told to wait until diplomatic negotiations are completed before these orders are carried out.
26 November
Japanese Carrier Force “On the Move”
The Japanese First Air Fleet sets sail from the north coast of Japan with an armada of six aircraft carriers carrying 423 aircraft, twenty-eight submarines (including six SPS “midget” subs), eleven destroyers, two battleships, and two cruisers. The fleet is ordered to maintain strict radio silence. The next day, Secretary of War Henry Stimson sends a “hostile action possible” warning to U.S. Pacific bases. Pearl Harbor issues only sabotage alert; no anti-torpedo nets, ammo for AA guns, etc. It seems no one is seriously concerned about what the Japanese might do.
1 December
Heading for War
The Japanese set 7 December as the date to attack Pearl Harbor. Their diplomats are told not to end negotiations so the Americans won’t get suspicious.
7 December
The “Day of Infamy”
Pearl Harbor is attacked by two waves of Japanese dive-bombers and torpedo bombers led by Mitsuo Fuchida. The air attack on Pearl Harbor devastated the American fleet and killed 2,388, and 1,200 were wounded. Of the ninety-six ships in the harbor, eighteen are sunk, including the Arizona and Oklahoma, or suffer serious damage. Of 394 aircraft at Hickam, Wheeler, and Bellows airfields, the air attack destroys 188 and damages 159.
7 December
More Japanese Attacks
The Japanese Combined Fleet Order No. 1 also includes the invasion of Malaya. This invasion began twenty-five minutes before the first wave hit Pearl Harbor. An attack on Hong Kong begins six hours after Pearl Harbor. Another air attack, on the Philippine Islands, six hours after Pearl Harbor, destroys all the P-40s at Clark Field and pits 108 Japanese bombers and 84 Zeros against 107 P-40s and 35 B-17s, but most U.S. planes were caught on the ground and destroyed.
8 December
America At War
The U.S. and Allies (except Soviets) declare war on Japan. Japan promptly declares war on the U.S. and Britain; a Japanese air attack hits Wake Island. On tiny Wake Island, a small U.S. Marine detachment commanded by Major James Devereaux heroically fends off the aggressors and gives the only real opposition that the Japanese run into during their substantial attacks.
10 December
Japanese Troops Invade Philippines
General Masaharu Homma lands Japanese troops on Luzon and quickly moves south to Manila. Guam surrenders. On 22 December Homma will bring in another 43,000 troops, landing at Lingayen Bay.
11 December
Hitler Declares War on America
Nazi Germany declares war on U.S. The U.S. declares war against Germany and Italy.
23 December
Manila Evacuated
U.S. troops evacuate Manila and then fall back to Bataan. Japanese troops also take the American possession of Wake Island, which then surrenders.
24 December
MacArthur Forced to Flee to Corregidor
General MacArthur moves his headquarters to Corregidor, leaving General Jonathan Wainwright to defend Bataan.
1942
9 January
Manila Captured by Japanese
Enemy troops enter Manila, while nearly 80,000 U.S. and Filipino troops try to defend Luzon despite critical food and supply shortages and crippling diseases.
26 January
Japanese Troops Take Solomons
After a month-long swing through the South Pacific, the Japanese invade the Solomon Islands, after having captured the Dutch East Indies and Rabaul in New Britain. They also cause the American and Filipino armies to retreat into the Bataan Peninsula on Luzon, and capture the Manila naval base.
15 February
Singapore Falls Into Japanese Hands
The British possession is lost, due in part to improper dispersion of forces by the British army.
19 February
U.S. Internment Camps Begin
Executive Order 9066 signed by FDR orders internment of all Japanese-Americans. U.S. locks up 110,000 Japanese-Americans, mostly in California.
22 February
MacArthur Flees the Philippines
President Roosevelt orders General MacArthur to leave the Philippines and set up his command headquarters in Australia.
23 February
America Under Fire
A Japanese submarine shells Ellwood Beach, twelve miles west of Santa Barbara. The sixteen shells fired by the sub cause no injuries and only $500 damage along Goleta Beach, yet the appearance of the enemy so near creates fear.
25 February
U.S. Navy Raid on Rabaul
The USS Lexington tries to raid the Japanese supply port of Rabaul, but is driven off. Admiral Halsey and USS Enterprise raid Wake and Marcus Islands with only minimal success.
27 February
Battle of Java Sea
Results in the loss of USS Houston and HMS Perth.
10 March
Fall of Rangoon
The British close the Burma Road, giving way to the fear that invading Japanese troops may result in the Brits “losing India.”
2 April
Surrender of Bataan and Philippines
Japan begins final bombardment of Bataan. A Japanese offensive breaks through U.S. and Filipino lines on 9 April. General Ernest King surrenders Bataan against MacArthur’s orders. Two thousand escape in small boats, and 78,000 (66,000 Filipinos and 12,000 U.S.) troops surrender. It is the largest contingent of U.S. Army troops ever to surrender in history.
April–May
Bataan Death March
This horrible ordeal of atrocities is kept secret until 28 January 1944. Of the 80,000 Filipino and U.S. troops, along with 26,000 civilians who had surrendered, there are thousands who die during the Death March, and then 5,000 more Americans die in POW camps. Japan is not a signatory of 1929 Geneva agreement on treatment of POWs.
5 April
Indian Ocean Raid
Admiral Chiuchi Nagumo’s First Air Fleet attacks twenty-nine British warships, sinking seven, including two cruisers. Japanese plane losses are high. British are able to keep Japanese navy out of the Indian Ocean.
18 April
The Doolittle Raid
Eighty American fliers in sixteen B-25 two-engine bombers from USS Hornet, led by Colonel Jimmy Doolittle, fly over 700 miles to Tokyo in a daring bombing raid designed to create fear in the Japanese. The B-25s take off from a 470-foot carrier deck, drop their bombs in broad daylight, then escape to the coast of China. The mission’s success lifts Americans’ spirits when most war news is bad.
29 April
Station Hypo Breaks Japanese Codes
Lt. Commander Joseph Rochefort puts together “Station Hypo” code-breaking operation to break Japanese codes before the war. Rochefort and colleague Commander Edwin Layton work night and day on the codes, and in particular on a code called “JN-25.” The men ingeniously find a way to test their results in breaking the code and successfully learn intelligence about the Battle of Midway in time to give Americans an edge going in.
5 May
Luring the Americans Into a Trap
Imperial Japanese General HQ Order No. 18 expands their defensive perimeter to Midway and Samoa, forcing a decisive battle with the U.S. fleet. Japan is overconfident as they’ve had no losses of any of their eleven battleships, ten carriers, eighteen heavy cruisers, and twenty light cruisers. Their plan is to entice the U.S. fleet to areas near Midway where the ships and carriers can be picked off.
6 May
Wainwright Surrenders Corregidor
General Jonathan Wainwright and 15,000 troops have no choice but surrender after heavy Japanese bombardment and invasion that overwhelms the garrison on Corregidor.
7–8 May
Battle of the Coral Sea
This is the first naval battle fought without either party seeing the other. The enemy was beyond gun and torpedo range—but not beyond aircraft range. Admiral Nimitz sends the carriers Lexington and Yorktown under Admiral Jack Fletcher for the first naval action fought entirely with aircraft. U.S. loses thirty-three planes but shoots down forty-three Japanese planes. The Lexington sinks 8 May when an overheated motor ignites gasoline.
15 May
Women in the Military
President Roosevelt signs a bill creating WACs. The bill, opposed by the military, leads to WAVEs, WASPs, SPARs, and Women Marines. Some 300,000 women will eventually serve in the military during World War II.
23 May
Costs of A-Bomb Research Soar
On 6 December 1941 the government approved $2 billion for the Manhattan Project to build a secret bomb. J. Robert Oppenheimer’s physicists and scientists have spent much of this fund by this date.
1 June
Germans Work to Test “Flying Bomb”
At a site in Peenemünde, the Nazis are working to test their V-2 rocket to be used as a “flying bomb” by giving it a payload of explosives. The first fire test on 13 June fails, but the Germans will perfect the rockets to be used to rain terror bombs over London.
3–4 June
Battle of Midway
This is a turning point of the Pacific war. Before Midway, Japan’s legendary First Air Fleet was considered the strongest air unit in the world. After Midway the core carriers of the First Air Fleet are sunk and Japan’s offensive capabilities are severely weakened. Many American planes miss their targets completely, but enough are successful that in less than five minutes they sink three Japanese carriers (Akagi, Kaga, Soryu). U.S. bombers also sink a fourth carrier, Hiryu. However, Japanese planes sink the Yorktown in a counterstrike. U.S. loses 147 planes and 307 men while Japan loses 322 planes and 3,500 men—many are their best pilots. Japan failed to entice the U.S. Navy to engage them. The U.S. didn’t take the bait, and Japan never recovers from loss of its carriers and pilots at Midway.
7–9 August
Invasion of Guadalcanal
The 1st Marine Division and Allied units go ashore from eighty ships and are mainly unopposed on the beaches, but the U.S. Navy ships providing cover are routed by the Imperial Navy. Fierce fighting will be a sign of the overall Battle of Guadalcanal. Americans killed number 1,600 while 25,000 Japanese lose their lives. The Japanese also lose two dozen ships and 600 aircraft. The Japanese defeat at Guadalcanal marks the end of their efforts to take New Guinea.
11 October
Battle of Cape Esperance (Part of the Battle of Guadalcanal)
The U.S., unable to stop the Tokyo Express—troop transports making nightly trips through “the slot” between the islands—prompts Americans to attack and destroy two Japanese ships. U.S. loses two of its own ships by friendly fire. It was a victory for the Americans, but a bittersweet win. FDR is determined to hold Guadalcanal—the first “toehold in the South Pacific.”
24–25 October
Battle of Bloody Ridge (Part of the Battle of Guadalcanal)
Americans use new weapons—the flame-thrower and Garand M1 rifle—for the first time at Guadalcanal. Outgunned and outnumbered, the Americans hold their own in a Japanese suicide charge, where the enemy loses a fifth of their troops against Marines at the line protecting Henderson Field.
25–27 October
Battle of Santa Cruz Island
The two great naval forces meet near the 165° latitude near Santa Cruz Island and engage each other in another sea battle. It was fought south of the New Hebrides, 1,000 miles from Guadalcanal. U.S. carriers Hornet and Enterprise, along with their escort ships, take on the Japanese. The battle ends in a draw, but the Americans damage two Japanese carriers, two battleships, and three cruisers. They also shoot down a hundred enemy aircraft.
November
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
This is actually a series of five naval battles in which the U.S. loses nine ships, but prevents Japanese reinforcements from getting through, guaranteeing America’s eventual triumph in the battle for the island. New radar warns Americans of enemy approach fifteen minutes before they arrive, proving the worth of radar.
2 December
Manhattan Project
Enrico Fermi’s lab in Chicago makes an important stride in an effort to produce an A-bomb. Elements go “critical” for four-plus minutes, and produce neutrons.
1943
14 January
Casablanca Conference
The ten-day Allied conference regarding World War II in both theaters changes the allocation of resources for the Pacific from 15 percent to 30 percent.
February–December
Plan 9 Glider Operation
General Hap Arnold picks two brilliant young aviators, Phil Cochran and John Alison, to head a new risky operation called “Plan 9.” That proposal calls for using American-built CG-4A Waco gliders to ferry men, mules, supplies, and matériel behind enemy lines in Burma to attack Japanese and build jungle airstrips.
1–17 February
Japanese Evacuate Guadalcanal Troops
In between naval and air skirmishes with the Americans, Japanese commanders evacuate troops from Guadalcanal—a lost cause for them.
28 February
Nazi A-Bomb Research Setback
German scientists thought to be working on a nuclear bomb receive a major setback when commandos destroy their “heavy water” facility.
March
Japanese Occupation of Alaska Islands
Japan invades and occupies Attu and Kiska, the two westernmost islands of the Aleutian Islands, as the northern anchor of their “ribbon defense.”
2–4 March
Battle of Bismarck Sea
U.S. bombers destroy eight Japanese transport ships and four destroyer escorts while evading Zeros. It is a major defeat for Japan and ends the “Tokyo Express” means of bringing in supplies. Now they have to be brought in by subs.
12 March
South Pacific Strategy
The conference in Washington offers a plan called “Operation Cartwheel” to continue a dual advance against the Japanese in the Solomons and New Guinea.
18 April
Yamamoto Killed
American intelligence learns of a secret flight that includes Admiral Yamamoto. A squadron of P-38s shoots Yamamoto down, ending his illustrious military career.
8 May
Joint Strategic Plan
An Allied meeting in Cairo approves a plan putting MacArthur in charge of an area from the South Pacific to the Philippines; Chiang Kai-shek is named top military leader from China to Hong Kong (including the B-29 air bases in his area); Nimitz is to oversee the central Pacific area to Formosa (and the B-29 bases there). The goal is to retake Luzon, strategically located near China, Formosa, and Japan.
11–29 May
Recovery of Attu Island
Landings by the 7th Infantry Division are successful. Japanese troops fight desperately, and on 29 May, launch a futile 1,000-man suicide charge.
30 May
The New Fast Carriers Arrive
The USS Essex, the first of twenty-four “fast carriers,” arrives in the central Pacific. These new ships will have a huge impact on the war.
30 June
“Operation Cartwheel” Begins
American troops land at Rendova Island; the 43rd Division engages the enemy but Munda on New Georgia is not taken until August.
22 July
Black Sheep Squadron Formed
A U.S. Marine fighter pilot is chosen to head a new squadron to provide air protection for Admiral Halsey’s task force. Major Gregory Boyington is the new leader. He is nicknamed “Pappy” by his squadron because at age thirty-one he’s the oldest man in the unit. The Black Sheep Squadron has many pilots who become “aces” in shooting down Japanese bombers and fighter planes.
6–7 August
“Island-Hopping” Begins
Halsey skips Kolombangara for Vella Lavella en route to Bougainville. “Island-Hopping” strategy takes advantage of Pacific geography and lets American troops bypass the strongest Japanese garrisons, sealing them off by air and sea from getting supplies and reinforcements, while U.S. troops take more strategic islands.
15–16 August
U.S. Retakes Kiska Island
American soldiers land at Kiska Island in the Aleutian chain and discover that the Japanese have evacuated their 5,000-man garrison.
3 September
Italy Surrenders
After Fascist leader Mussolini is ousted and a new Italian government is formed, Italy surrenders to the Allies. A month later, Italy will declare war on Germany as the Allies occupy most of the country, except for Rome, which the Nazis still hold.
1–2 November
Invasion of Bougainville
One “hop” in the “Island-Hopping” toward Rabaul lands U.S. troops on Bougainville.
5 November
U.S. Navy Hits Four Enemy Ships
Task Force 38 air strikes against four Japanese heavy cruisers, with ninety-seven carrier aircraft in attack; the U.S. loses only eight. All four Japanese cruisers are heavily damaged. It will mark the last time heavy Japanese warships come to Rabaul.
11 November
Battle at Truk
The Japanese fleet is crippled at this battle in the Pacific. The Japanese lose all their cruisers and half their fighter planes. It will require at least six months for Japan to train fresh pilots.
20–24 November
Battle of Tarawa
Landings for this battle start with fighting that becomes so intense that the four-day battle is called “Bloody Tarawa.” U.S. Marine total casualties are 3,301, including more than 1,000 who are killed. In contrast, nearly 5,000 Japanese are killed; only thirteen surrender.
1944
29 January–23 February
U.S. Attacks Marshall Islands
Landings are made on Majuro Island, which is captured by U.S. Marines—the first Japanese territory to be taken by the United States. Kwajalein and Eniwetok islands are also taken. The invasion task force includes 297 ships with 84,000 troops. U.S. Navy ships and planes shoot down some 200 enemy aircraft and sink 15 enemy ships.
17 February
U.S. Task Force Attacks Truk
American navy destroys 250 Japanese planes and sinks fifteen warships in a battle to isolate the Japanese supply port at Truk Island, dubbed “the Gibraltar of the East” because of its impregnability. But the U.S. raids leave the Japanese base vulnerable, isolated, and increasingly impotent as a source of supplies.
6 June
Allied Invasion of Europe
After months of secret, intensive planning, the U.S. and its Allies launch a “D-Day” invasion of Normandy with thousands of naval ships and even more conscripted vessels to ferry the troops and matériel. There are terrific losses, yet it marks the turning point in the European theater.
19–21 June
Battle of the Philippine Sea
This three-day battle, nicknamed the “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot,” is one of the biggest battles of World War II. This “greatest carrier battle of the war” costs the U.S. only thirty planes. But Japan loses a total of 346 planes plus two carriers. Japanese naval air forces can never again engage the U.S. in the Pacific on “any terms other than suicidal.”
15 June–9 July
Battle of Saipan
Saipan is “taken at a high price,” and as many as 3,000 Americans are killed. Lt. General Saito commits suicide after convincing his army and civilians (men, women, and children could push the total to as many as 22,000) to make one last suicidal charge at advancing Americans. Enemy troops and civilians jump off cliffs when American lines do not break. Nimitz sees the carnage, including thousands of civilian suicides, and believes that similar problems will face the U.S. if it invades Japan.
18 July
Japanese Retreat from Northeast India
After heavy losses in the China-Burma-India theater, Japanese troops withdraw from the northeast India cities of Imphal and Kohima, and a month later all Japanese resistance is ended.
21 July–8 August
Battle of Guam
Guam, largest of the three Mariana Islands, is liberated by U.S.Marines after nearly three years of Japanese occupation. Guam becomes Nimitz’s headquarters for the central Pacific offensive. More than 18,500 enemy soldiers are killed or captured. The Marines’ casualties are in the 1,000 range but only about 200 are killed.
24 July–1 August
Battle of Tinian
The majority of 13,000 Japanese troops on the island are killed in the battle to take Tinian. Saipan is the staging area for taking the nearby island with its prized airfields. These airfields put our B-29s within striking range of the Japanese Home Islands. With a range of 1,500 miles they are a genuine threat. They could fly from Saipan to Tokyo and back in about 1,300 miles, and the Japanese know and fear this.
26 July
FDR Meets with MacArthur and Nimitz
President Roosevelt schedules a meeting in Hawaii with Admiral Nimitz and General MacArthur to finalize objectives for taking the war to the main islands of Japan. It is at this meeting that the U.S. decides to retake the Philippine Islands rather than isolating them and going to islands closer to Japan, such as Formosa.
11–16 September
Quebec Conference
FDR and Churchill meet to discuss war strategy. Miscalculations render many plans a waste of time and they delay a number of postwar strategies, including the plan to invade and occupy Iwo Jima and Okinawa, primarily to provide air bases and staging areas for the bombings and invasion of Japan. Churchill insists that the Royal Navy be “in at the death” of Japan, alongside the U.S. Navy.
15–21 September
Operation Stalemate
The invasion of Peleliu Island is part of a larger exercise dubbed Operation Stalemate as a component of an overall plan to take all of the Palau Islands. On 10–11 September the U.S. 3rd Fleet attacks the Palaus prior to the invasion. Marines suffer 6,500 casualties and the Army loses another 3,000. But for the Japanese it is even more terrible. Of the 10,000 troops of the original garrison, fewer than a hundred are alive at the end. Nearly 600 men of the 1st Marine Division and 81st Army Division receive awards for their heroism.
15 September
U.S. Invasion of Leyte Set
The Joint Chiefs of Staff approve MacArthur’s plan for landings at Leyte on 20 October using the 7th Fleet and Admiral Halsey’s Navy Task Force 38. As a prelude to the invasion, Marine Rangers are to invade nearby islands. Japan is wary about the U.S. efforts to retake part of the Philippines. Weakened by the loss of most of their warships and two-thirds of their tankers, they fear a U.S. invasion. Japan starts to maintain a “Home Fleet” with nine battleships and five carriers to patrol Japanese waters.
10 October
“Beginning of the End” for Japan
As air raids by planes from 3rd Fleet carriers start on Formosa, Okinawa, and Luzon, Americans destroy at least 500 Japanese aircraft in a week. Despite heavy losses, the Japanese government reports instead that they sank fifteen American ships. Imperial General Headquarters, which invents the myth, actually believes its own propaganda.
15–27 October
Battle of Leyte Gulf
U.S. Marine Rangers invade Suluan and Dinagat Islands near Leyte in preparation for the Leyte invasion. Three Japanese naval forces try to oppose the landings and engage the U.S. fleets. When it ends on 27 October, the Japanese naval forces are repulsed and the U.S. Navy is undisputed victor. No longer will the Imperial Navy be able to make any significant challenge against the U.S. fleet.
25 October
Kamikaze Attacks Begin
The first “organized” kamikaze attack on U.S. escort carriers Santee and Swanee occurs during a battle off Samar. These frantic suicidal missions accelerate, as the Japanese grow more and more desperate.
14 December
Palawan Massacre
On the island of Palawan, American POWs are burned alive by their Japanese guards. Japanese soldiers armed with guns, bayonets, grenades, and dynamite attack the POWs. They toss gasoline onto the American POWs and incinerate them while they are still alive. Altogether 151 prisoners are slaughtered.
16–25 December
Battle of the Bulge
The U.S. and Germany go toe to toe in combat in the Ardennes in the Battle of the Bulge. On 17 December the Nazi SS massacres U.S. prisoners of war in Malmédy. On 26 December General George Patton and the U.S. 3rd Army come to the rescue of beleaguered troops in Bastogne. Germans finally withdraw in January.
1945
2–7 January
“Burma Road” Reopened
Chinese forces join to reopen the Burma Road, now renamed “Stilwell Road.”
9 January
Americans Return to Luzon
General Walter Krueger’s 6th Army begins landings on Luzon at the same location that Japanese forces had landed in December 1941. The only resistance to the American invasion is continuing attacks from kamikaze pilots. They are also effective. Suicidal Japanese pilots damage more than forty U.S. ships, almost half of them seriously, and they sink five U.S. ships. Nearly 800 Americans are killed in kamikaze attacks, and 1,400 are wounded.
13 January
MacArthur Returns
General MacArthur wades ashore on Leyte beachhead to fulfill his promise to the Filipino people, “I shall return.”
29–31 January
Rescue of Bataan POWs
In a daring raid behind enemy lines, Colonel Horton Smith, Lt. Colonel Henry Mucci, Major Robert Lapham (a Bataan Death March survivor), Captain Robert Prince, and 121 volunteers execute a risky plan—the greatest prison escape ever attempted—rescuing 500 American POWs from a Japanese prison camp on Luzon.
19 February–26 March
Battle of Iwo Jima
The battle for Iwo Jima is one of the most terrible of the Pacific war. It costs the Marines casualties of nearly 7,000 killed in action and 21,000 wounded. Japanese dead total 20,000 and only 1,000 survive to surrender or be captured.
10 March
Tokyo Firebombed
In the start of “1,000 bombing runs” on Tokyo, some 334 American B-29s drop 2,000 tons of incendiary bombs, resulting in 100,000 deaths and a million homeless.
26 March–2 July
Battle of Okinawa
Okinawa, an island that has been in Japanese control for 5,000 years, is invaded when 458 American ships land almost 200,000 U.S. troops. American casualties total 68,000, including 16,000 soldiers, sailors, and Marines killed or missing in action and nearly 50,000 wounded. More than 131,000 Japanese troops die, along with some 150,000 Okinawan civilians. The battle is called “an awful warning” of what it will take to invade Japan’s homeland. Many push to drop the A-bomb.
11 April
Allies Liberate German Concentration Camps
American forces liberate two of the most notorious German concentration camps of World War II—Belsen and Buchenwald. On 29 April they also liberate Dachau, another infamous prison camp.
13 April
FDR Dies of a Stroke
Franklin D. Roosevelt dies during his fourth term as president. Some call it “Black Friday.” The new president, Harry Truman, keeps pushing FDR’s policies and war efforts.
18 April
Correspondent Ernie Pyle Killed in Action
Veteran war correspondent Ernie Pyle heads to the Pacific theater after the war in Europe ends. He steps ashore on a small island just west of Okinawa. Traveling with a group of infantrymen, Pyle is killed by a sniper’s bullet. Saddened, the soldiers pay tribute to their fallen friend with a simple plaque reading: “At this spot, the 77th Infantry Division lost a buddy, Ernie Pyle, 18 April 1945.”
28 April
Mussolini Killed
Italy’s deposed fascist dictator, who was originally freed from an Allied prison by Germans, is captured by Italian partisans and killed. His body is hung upside down in a city square.
2–4 May
German Armies Surrender
As the infamous Third Reich begins to crumble, German forces begin to see the futility of trying to stop the inevitable. In Italy, German armies surrender to the Allied forces, and two days later all German troops in Holland, Denmark, and northwest Germany also surrender. On 7 May the German High Command signs an unconditional surrender and the next day is proclaimed “V-E Day,” for Victory in Europe.
15 June
American Bombers Destroy Japanese Cities
American B-29s begin destruction of sixty mid-sized cities in Japan. These attacks kill at least 250,000, more than will be killed at Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. Japanese militarists are not persuaded to surrender.
18 June
Truman Plans to Use A-Bomb
President Truman approves “Operation Downfall,” the code name for dropping the atomic bomb. No one knows exactly what will happen, although the Joint Chiefs predict some 200,000 casualties.
16 July
First Successful A-Bomb Test
American scientists working at the “Trinity” site near Alamogordo, New Mexico, conduct a successful test of a twenty-kiloton atomic bomb. Word is sent to Truman, who is on his way to attend the Potsdam Conference the next day.
6 August
First Fiery Destruction from A-Bomb
Over the city of Hiroshima in Japan, the B-29 named Enola Gay drops the first atomic bomb to be used in war. “Little Boy” explodes with the destructive energy of fifteen kilotons and kills 140,000 and injures another 70,000.
9 August
A-Bomb Explodes at Nagasaki
A twenty-two-kiloton “Fat Man” atomic bomb falls on Nagasaki after its B-29 crew is prevented from striking the primary target at another Japanese city. This blast kills 70,000 and leaves hundreds of thousands homeless. Russia, which had been discussing the possibility of joining Japan in the war, instead declares war on Japan.
15 August
War’s Over!
Emperor Hirohito surrenders on a radio broadcast. The message is recorded the day before for broadcast the next day. During the night a military plot to unseat the emperor and seize the surrender recording is narrowly averted. A Japanese general, determined to defend his homeland to the last man, still has at least 5,000 kamikaze planes and men to fly them. They have more than a million men under arms throughout the island but the general suggests calling on twenty million Japanese to become kamikazes to kill American invaders with sticks, stones, spears, and pitchforks.
2 September
Japan Formally Surrenders
Surrender documents are signed on the deck of the U.S. battleship Missouri anchored in the Pacific just outside Tokyo, as over a thousand carrier-based American planes fly overhead. The Stars and Stripes that fly that day on the mast of the Missouri is the same flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol on the day that Pearl Harbor was attacked.