Wednesday, July 4, 1945. MacArthur declares things wrapped up while additional mopping up occurs in the Philippines.

"With the 6th Inf. Div. in the Cagayan Valley, Luzon, P.I., about 9 miles north of Bagabag along Highway 4. Scene showing a reinforcing patrol of A Co., 1st Bn. of the 63rd Regt. on road at the frontlines just prior to moving ahead. 4 July, 1945. Company A, 1st Battalion, 63rd Infantry Regiment, 6th Infantry Division. Photographer: Pfc. Murray Schneiweiss."

General Douglas MacArthur announced that the Philippines had been completely liberated while the 24th Infantry Division organized an amphibious expeditionary force to liberate Sarangani Bay, south of Davao. 

Hmmm. . . . 

President Truman released a short statement for the Fourth of July.

Statement by the President: The Fourth of July.

July 04, 1945

AGAIN THIS YEAR we celebrate July 4 as the anniversary of the day one hundred and sixty-nine years ago on which we declared our independence as a sovereign people.

In this year of 1945, we have pride in the combined might of this nation which has contributed signally to the defeat of the enemy in Europe. We have confidence that, under Providence, we soon may crush the enemy in the Pacific. We have humility for the guidance that has been given us of God in serving His will as a leader of freedom for the world.

This year, the men and women of our armed forces, and many civilians as well, are celebrating the anniversary of American Independence in other countries throughout the world. Citizens of these other lands will understand what we celebrate and why, for freedom is dear to the hearts of all men everywhere. In other lands, others will join us in honoring our declaration that all men are created equal and are endowed with certain inalienable rights--life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Here at home, on this July 4, 1945, let us honor our Nation's creed of liberty, and the men and women of our armed forces who are carrying this creed with them throughout the world.

Canadian troops in Aldershot rioted about the delay in returning them home to Canada.

Rumors started circulating in Berlin that Hitler was alive and well.

The British Occupation force arrived in the city.

Last edition:  

Tuesday, July 3, 1945. Don't use the Bomb.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Automobiles, Berlin Germany, Germany (Berlin), Harry S. Truman, Japan, Joseph Goebbels, Manhattan Project, Nazi Germany, Post WWII Occupation of Germany, War Crimes, World War Two

Thursday, June 28, 1945. Moving in new directions.

Stricken plane landing on aircraft carrier, June 28, 1945.

While 23,000 Japanese troops remained in the field, in isolated areas, MacArthur announced that operations on Luzon were complete.

They weren't, really.  The 8th Army and the Filipinos would remain to mop the remainder up.

The Soviet backed Provisional Government of National Unity in Poland, made up of  the PPR: 7 ministers, Socialist Party: 6 ministers, People's Party: 3 ministers, PSL: 3 ministers and  Democratic Party: 2 ministers, was formed.

The Polish Government in Exile did not recognize it, although several of its members were from the Government in Exile.

The last B-24 to be produced at Ford's Michigan Willow Run plant was completed.

Last edition:

Wednesday, June 27, 1945. Giving Japan a warning.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Army, boats and ships, Collaborators, Czechoslovakia, Imperial Japanese Navy, Japan, Kamikaze, Manhattan Project, Nuclear power, U.S. Navy, United Nations, United States, Weapons, World War Two

Friday, June 22, 1945. The Battle of Okinawa ends.

The Battle of Okinawa ended. It was the last major ground battle of World War Two.

Today in World War II History—June 22, 1940 & 1945: 80 Years Ago—June 22, 1945: Battle for Okinawa officially ends at a high cost—12,520 Americans and 110,000 Japanese were killed, plus 42,000 civilians.

June 22, 1945: The Battle of Okinawa

Operation Ten-Go, the last major Japanese naval operation, concluded.

Gen. MacArthur announced that Gen. Joseph Stilwell would replace Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. as commander of the U.S. Tenth Army.

Emperor Hirohito directed his government to find a way to peace talks.

Japanese generals Isamu Chō, 50, and Mitsuru Ushijima, 57,  committed suicide on Okinawa.

The Japanese withdrew from Liuchow.

Last edition:

Thursday, June 21, 1945. Fall of Hill 89.

Labels: 1940, 1940s, 1945, Australian Army, boats and ships, Borneo, Kamikaze, Luzon, Okinawa, Operation Iceberg, Operation Ten-Go, Polish Home Army, USSR, World War Two

Thursday, June 14, 1945. Slogging.

The Chinese Army captured Ishan.

"Riflemen of the 2nd Bn., 381st Regiment of the Tenth Army's 96th Div. peer cautiously ahead as they advance across the summit of Yaeju-Dake escarpment (Big Apple Ridge) on Okinawa. 14 June 1945. 2nd Battalion, 381st Infantry Regiment, 96th Infantry Division."

Action continued on Okinawa, but the battle was finally winding down.

Likewise, action continued in the Philippines, and Bouganville.

The British arrested Joachim von Ribbentrop in Hamburg.

The Northern Ireland general election returned a Ulster Unionist Party majority.

A victory parade was held in Rangoon.

Gen. Eisenhower was awarded the French Order of Liberation by Gen. de Gaulle.

The US Joint Chiefs of Staff issue a directive to General MacArthur, General Arnold and Admiral Nimitz to prepare plans for the immediate occupation of the Japanese islands in the event of a sudden capitulation. 

Today In Wyoming's History: June 14--Flag Day: 1945  Shoshone and Washakie National Forests consolidated.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

Last edition:

Wednesday, June 13, 1945. Taking the Oruku Peninsula.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Australian Army, Borneo, Germany, Imperial Japanese Navy, Okinawa, Projekt Amerika, Rocketry, United States Marine Corps, Weapons, World War Two

Thursday, April 5, 1945. Rebellion of the Georgian Legion.

The Soviet Union renounced the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact of April 1941.

The Georgian Legion, a German foreign legion, rose up against the Germans on the Dutch island of Texel.  The battle would result in large-scale casualties incurred until the end of the war by both sides.

The uprising is regarded as heroic, but the late war uprising was naive.  It counted on an Allied landing which did not occur, and it presumed favorable post war treatment by the Allies.

Arrested officers.

African American members of the 477th Bombardment Group attempted to integrate an all-white officers' club at Freeman Field, Indiana, resulting in the predictable scuffles and arrests although the ultimate punishment was minor.

Gen. MacArthur was appointed control of all Army forces in the Pacific and Adm. Nimitz all naval forces.  The move was made in anticipation of the Invasion of Japan.

Japanese Prime Minister Kuniaki Koiso (小磯 國昭), frustrated in his attempts to be involved in military decisions, resigned.

The U-242 sank in St. George's Channel after hitting a mine.

Last edition

Wednesday, April 4, 1945. The Third Army liberates the Ohrdruf Subcamp.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Army, Battle of Buchhof, Battle of Kassel, British Army, Buchenwald, Canadian Army, Conentration Camps, Okinawa, Red Army, The Holocaust, World War Two

Tuesday, February 6, 1945. False hopes at Manila.

While the siege of Manila had only just begun, MacArthur announced that the city had been taken.

Yugoslav Partisans, who were well equipped and a (communist) army in their own right, launched the Mostar operation.

SS general Wilhelm Mohnke was put in command of government district, the Zitadelle, of Berlin.

Gee, what a nifty promotion. . . 

He survived the war, surprisingly, and was imprisoned by the Soviets until 1955.  After his release he became a dealer is small trucks and trailers, and died at age 90 in 2001.

35th Division infantrymen in Unterbruch, Germany.  February 6, 1945

The US 4th Corps took Gallicano, Italy.

More bombing raids occurred on Iwo Jima.

Last edition:

Monday, February 5, 1945. French SOE agents Denise Bloch, Lilian Rolfe, and Violette Szabo were executed at Ravensbrück concentration camp.

Labels: 1940, 1945, Army, Artillery, Battle of Manila, boats and ships, British Army, Ecuador, Espionage, French Army, Heroes, Imperial Japanese Navy, Iwo Jima, Japan, Philippines, Poland, press, SOE, World War Two

Monday, December 18, 1944. Typhoon Cobra.

Typhoon Cobra struck the Pacific Fleet doing severe damage to the ships of Task Force 28.  The destroyers Hull, Monaghan and Spence all foundered in the storm.  Other ships were damaged.

USS Langley during the storm.

Douglas MacArthur was promoted to five star rank.

The Third Army ceased operations in Lorraine to redeploy to Belgium.

British troops in Greece opened an offensive against the ELAS.

1944  The Governor of Oklahoma predicted that Mississippi and Wyoming had the brightest oil related futures in the nation.  Attribution.  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1944  U.S. Supreme Court upholds the wartime internment of U.S. Citizens of Japanese extraction, which would of course include those interned at Heart Mountain, Wyoming.

Last edition:

Sunday, December 17, 1944. SS murders in Belgium.

Labels: "Wacht am Rhein", 1940s, 1944, Battle of the Bulge, Belgium, Internment of Japanese, Malmedy Massacre, Prisoners of War, Royal Air Force, War Crimes, Wereth Massacre, World War Two

Friday, October 20, 1944. "This is the Voice of Freedom, General MacArthur speaking. People of the Philippines: I have returned."

So stated a radio address from Douglas MacArthur, on this the opening day of the Battle of Leyte.

A Japanese task force was launched to address the situation in the Philippines.

Members of E Troop, 2nd Squadron, 7th Cav. Regt., engaging the Japs at close range, 100 yards inland from White Beach, Leyte Island, P.I. 20 October, 1944.

The Red Army and Bulgarian partisans took Belgrade.

The Western Allies commenced Operation Pheasant in the Netherlands.

The Guatemalan Revolution began with the overthrow of the government.

From the turret of a medium tank, Cpl. Eugene McKay, Calumet City, Ill., searches for Germans in Aachen, Germany, while a tank destroyer, in the background, moves on German positions. 20 October, 1944. 745th Tank Battalion and 634th Tank Destroyer Battalion attached to 1st Infantry Division.

Last edition:

Thursday, October 19, 1944. Airbase disaster.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Casper Air Base, Casper Wyoming, Disaster, U.S. Air Force, World War Two, Wyoming (Casper)

Today in World War II History—October 20, 1939 & 1944

Today in World War II History—October 20, 1939 & 1944: 80 Years Ago—Oct. 20, 1944: US Sixth Army lands on Leyte in the Philippines, led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who declares, "I have returned."

Wednesday, August 9, 1944. Finns battle Soviets to a draw, Horror at the Łódź Ghetto, Yes to MacArthur and the Philippines, Third Army at Le Mans, Smokey the Bear and Sam Elliot arrive on the scene.

Soviet IS2 moving through forest near Vyborg past wounded Red Army troops.

The outnumbered Finns fought the Red Army to a draw in the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive, which concluded on this day.

The Battle of Studzianki began in Poland as a German counter offensive.

The Germans began the liquidation of the Łódź Ghetto, which would result in 60,000 Jews and some Roma being deported to Auschwitz.

MacArthur received a letter from Roosevelt endorsing MacArthur's plan to make the Philippines the next priority for the Allies in the Pacific.

Sgt. Robert Becker and Sgt. Joe Flores, members of an armored unit, and both from New York City, bring in their first German prisoner in the battle around Brest, France, August 9, 1944.

The 3d Army liberated Le Mans.

The French Provisional Government ordered the Republic restored and Vichy laws nullified.

120th FA in New Guinea, August 9, 1944.

The very first Smokey the Bear poster appeared.

Actor Sam Elliot was born in Sacramento, California.

Last edition:

Tuesday, August 8, 1944. Hengyang falls, Wittmann killed, Falaise noticed.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Battle of Hengyang, British Army, Canadian Army, Falaise Pocket, Imperial Japanese Army, Nationalist Chinese Army, Operation Ichi-Go, Operation Totalize, Second Sino-Japanese War, World War Two

Thursday, July 27, 1944. Eastern advances.

The Lwów Uprising ended in Polish victory.  The combatants would shortly be arrested by the Soviets, with the 1st Ukrainian Front entering that day.  It also took Stanislav.

Identity document from occupied Bialystok District.

The Belostock Offensive ended in Soviet victory.  The Bialystok District had been a notable region of Polish Jewish settlements before the war.  The Germans had by and large murdered the Jewish population there by this day.  Film fans may recognize the name as that of the producer portrayed by Zero Mostel in Mel Brook's comedy, The Producers.

The Red Army took Daugavpils in the north, and Siauliai.

The 8th Corps of the 1st Army broke through at Lessy and Periers.

The jet fighter the Gloster Meteor entered active service with No. 616 Squadron RAF.  It would be the only jet aircraft to see active service during the war for the Allies.

The Soviet submarine V-1, formerly the HMS Sunfish, was sunk by the RAF when it dove upon the airplane arriving, rather than fire a recognition signal.

Nimitz, MacArthur and Roosevelt were still meeting.

Last edition:

Wednesday, July 26, 1944. Cobra advances.

Labels: 1940s, 1944, Armor, Battle of Narva Bridgehead, boats and ships, Chester Nimitz, Continuation War, Douglas MacArthur, Franklin Roosevelt, New Guinea, Normandy, Operation Cobra, Prisoners of War, World War Two

Wednesday, July 26, 1944. Cobra advances.

U.S. infantrymen advancing beyond St. Lo, July 26, 1944.

The 1st Army took Marigny and St. Gilles, and crossed the Lessay-Perieres Road.

A really remarkable photograph of US troops near Saint Giles ,with editing marks, July 26, 1944.  The armored vehicle appears to be a M3 Lee/Grant, which according to all sources had been fully replaced by the Sherman by this time.  It might be a M31 tank retriever, however, which was based on the same vehicle and retained the 75mm gun and the turret.  From this angle, the crane would not be visible.  The edits clearly intended to cut out evidence of the 75mm gun, which would make the vehicle appear to be a Sherman.

After six months of combat, the Red Army took Narva, ending the Battle for Narva Bridgehead.

The Battle of Ilomantsi began between the Finns and the Red Army.

The 1st Ukrainian Front took Deblin.

President Roosevelt began a two day conference at Pearl Harbor on strategy in the Pacific.  At the conference MacArthur urged an advance on the Philippines while Nimitz argued for making Taiwan the first priority and bypassing the Philippines.  Roosevelt listened, but did not decide.

Fighting raged on around Aitape.

Japanese forces on Guam launched a banzai charge against Marines fighting for control of the island

The USS Robalo hit a mine sinking the sub off of Palawan Island.  There were four survivors who disappeared forever into Japanese captivity.

The I-29 was sunk by the USS Sawfish in a submarine on submarine action.

The U-214 was sunk by the HMS Cooke in the English Channel.  The U-2323 hit a mine off Kiel and sank.

A pilot with family in Merriam, Kansas, decided to buzz the family home with disastrous results.

The Merriam Bomber Crash of 1944

Oklahoma State Highway 89 was officially designated.

Last edition

Tuesday, July 25, 1944. Operation Cobra commences. Operation Spring does as well.

Labels: Army, Canadian Army, German Wehrmacht, Home Front, Nazi Germany, Operation Cobra, Operation Gaff, Operation Spring, Polish Resistance, Special Air Service, U.S. Air Force, Weapons, Women, World War Two