Defeat of Japan 1945
 "Honorable War Plants"
from Time 1945 |
 Ledo Road Opens from Burma,
Universal Newsreel 18-372 1945/02/12 |
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 "Old Glory Flies Over Iwo Jima,"
Universal Newsreel 18-382 1945/03/19 |
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 B-29s From Saipan,
Universal Newsreel 17-356 1944/12/18 |
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 Alsos mission - jeep photo from Haigerloch/span>
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 op. DOWNFALL
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 Jumbo atomic device being positioned for Trinity test at Alamogordo, New Mexico, 1945 (NWDNS-434-N-61(6380) ) from NA
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Jan. 9 - Gen. Walter Krueger's Sixth Army began landings on Luzon
- Luzon 15 December 1944-4 July 1945 from CMH
- Cabanatuan Raid Jan. 30 rescued POWs in the Philippines - The Great Raid
- MacArthur's attack on 20,000 Japanese in Manila led by Gen. Yamashita began Jan. 30
- 3 directions: 1st Cav Div "flying column" from north, 37th Inf. Div. from west, 11th Airborne from south.
- 1st Cav. liberated POWs at Santo Tomas University Feb. 3
- Adm Iwabushi ordered fires set, drove refugees into the city
- U. S. artillery fired 10,000 shells into the city, like Russians did at Berlin
- Navy in Manila Bay Feb. 13 cleared mines, bombarded shore, 11th Airborne took Cavite
- Japanese defense of Manila Feb. 23 pulled back to the Intramuros walled section.
- Corregidor liberated by Feb. 26; 5000 Japanese dead.
- Pres. Osmena began governing Feb. 27, MacArthur unable to finish his speech.
- Manila liberated by Mar. 3; 20,000 Japanese dead, 100,000 Filipinos.
- Corregidor taken by parachute troops, fought in the caves, ammo exploded
- "First Pictures of Manila Conquest," Universal 18-376 newsreel 2/26/45 on DVD55
Jan. 20 - Gen. Curtis LeMay replaced Hansell
Feb. 4-11 - Yalta conference
Feb. 14 - Quincy conference
Feb. 19 - Iwo Jima
- new Japan strategy of defense-in-depth
- 6821 U.S. killed and 21,868 wounded
- of 60,000 troops landed in 36-day battle
- FDR vetoed use of poison gas artillery
- 20,000 Japanese killed and 1,083 captured
- B-29 route to Japan now safe
- 2251 emergency landings and 24,751 crewmen saved
Mar. 10 - Tokyo firebombed
- 334 B-29s with 2 kilotons of incindiaries at 6000 ft.
- 182 oil-gel M47 100lb; 1520 gelled gas M69 6lb
- 15 sq. mi. burned, 267,171 buildings, 100,000 killed,
- 1 million homeless, in 6 hours
Apr. 1 - Okinawa
- 458 ships land 193,852 U.S. troops
- 7374 killed, 31,807 wounded
- 107,539 Japanese and Okinawans killed
- "an awful warning" for op. DOWNFALL
- "Suicide for Glory" episode 25 from Victory at Sea
Apr. 17 - Alsos group under Gen. Pash seized 1100 tons uranium at Stassfurt, pile at Haigerloch
- this would prevent Russians from getting a-bomb
May - B-29's mine Japanese harbors and ship channels
- Nimitz: "phenomenal results"
May 5 - Balloon bomb, one of Japan's secret weapons, killed 5 hikers in Oregon
May 8 - Keitel's formal surrender in Berlin - VE Day
May 9 - Stimson's Interim Committee met to recommend use of the A-bomb
May 25 - last Tokyo raid north and west of Imperial Palace
June 1 - Byrnes and Committee advised dropping A-bomb when ready
June 15 - B-29s began destruction of 60 mid-sized cities - killed 250,000
June 18 - Truman approved Op. DOWNFALL
- JCS predicted 200,000 casualties
July 16 - Trinity test - 18.6 kiloton
- "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds"
July 17 - Potsdam conference
July 26 - Groves issues directive to 509 group - bg
Aug. 6 - Hiroshima - 20 kiloton Little Boy killed 80,000
Aug. 8 - Russia declared war on Japan - map
Aug. 9 - Nagasaki - 22 kiloton Fat Man killed 70,000
Aug. 15 - Emperor surrender broadcast - VJ Day
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