World War II in real time

Day 2071 of World War II, May 12th 1945

Allied occupied Germany

US Major General Lowell W. Rooks and his British deputy, Brigadier E. J. Foord, arrive in Flensburg and established their quarters in the passenger ship Patria, docked in Flensburg harbour, displacing the administrative offices of the Flensburg government that had been housed there. Their mission is to liaise with the Dönitz "acting government" (as it is referred to by the SHAEF) and to impose the will of the victorious Allied Powers on the OKW.

Elements of US 7th Army capture the Japanese ambassador to Germany, General Oshima, and 130 members of his staff.

Photo: Type XXIII prefabricated U-boats in the floating dock at the German Naval Port at the southern end of Kiel Bay, 12 May 1945



Denmark

Photo: British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery is saluted by the Danish people as he is driven through the streets of Copenhagen one week after his troops had liberated Denmark from German occupation, 12 May 1945



YouTube (Field Marshal Montgomery arrives in Copenhagen, 1945)



Czechoslovakia

American forces transfer General Vlasov, former commander of the Russian Army of Liberation and chairman of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia, to Soviet custody.

Greece

The German garrison on Crete surrenders.

United Kingdom

The last Artic convoys JW-67 (eastbound) and RA-67 (westbound) assemble.

British Channel Islands

The ships comprising Booty anchored off St Helier at 07.00 hrs, Agent off St Peter Port at 07.15 hrs. German troops were confined to barracks.[2]: 193 

Guernsey's Operation Prophet envisaged landings at L’Ancresse bay and in St Peter Port. At 08.30 the first LCA, docked on Baker Red the Castle Cornet breakwater, their objective to secure Castle Cornet, a fortified German strongpoint, commanding the harbour approaches. Thereafter a stream of LCAs came ashore to Baker Green, the White Rock pier and Baker Red; their jobs were to secure the German defences in the harbour area. There were not many civilians to be seen, but within a short time, people began flocking into town, shouting and cheering. British military police kept them clear of the harbour piers.

People were astonished to see LST-516 enter the harbour at 09.00 hrs and nose between the Old Harbour entrance, to await the fall of the tide. Troops moved through the town securing buildings that had been German HQs, including the Crown Hotel, the Grange Lodge and telephone exchanges.

Phase III started at 09.20 hrs landing a further 257 men, followed at 09.40 hrs with another load of men, including MI5 officers, the press, signals and engineers. The soldiers landing were ignoring the civilians and concentrating on the set military objectives, moving further away from the town, securing Fort George, the waterworks at Kings Mills and L’Ancresse common, bicycles helping troops to move quickly.

Yet another official surrender took place at 11.00 hrs when Brigadier Snow accepted the formal surrender of the German garrison at the Crown Hotel. Meanwhile, at L’Ancresse bay access to the beach was achieved. In town the audience was amazed to see DUKW amphibious vehicles swim ashore and drive onto the land, then at 13.40 the doors of LST-516 swung open and pre-loaded lorries drove out over steel slats laid over the mud and up the slipway to the enthusiastic crowd.

Brigadier Snow, accompanied by various dignitaries and with the band of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) paraded through town, collecting a civilian following went to Elizabeth College at 14.00 where some 2,500 people witnessed the raising of the Union Flag and an official address including a message from King George VI, the Duke, was read out.

The majority of LSTs sailed for L’Ancresse bay, LST-516 withdrew when the tide had risen to be replaced in the old harbour by LST-295. Unloading would continue at night to suit the tide.

In Jersey, Operation Moselm followed a similar theme, securing Elizabeth Castle then creating a bridgehead in St Helier, securing casemates containing 10.5cm cannons and Pak 38(t) anti tank guns. Mines designed to destroy the harbour piers were made safe, aircraft kept watch overhead, phase II had newly landed troops moving to secure the town of St Helier and German headquarters. Phase III started at 10.15 hrs bringing troops ashore to move inland and secure electricity and water facilities.

DUKWs began to swim ashore and land, bringing supplies, LCIs started docking. St Aubin's bay was cleared for LSTs, numerous beach obstacles were destroyed and a gap created in the anti-tank beach wall. Jersey Scouts made themselves useful acting as messengers. A nine-year-old girl was killed when she stepped into the road and was hit by a motorcycle.

Brigadier Snow had left Guernsey and sailed to Jersey where at 18.00 hrs he participated in an historic proclamation reading in the Royal Square, where in 1781 a battle had taken place, resulting in the defeat of a French invasion force. Speeches and the message from the King were read out. Snow had been accompanied by the DCLI band who played the National Anthem and marches, resulted in much audience singing.

proclamation of the military governor



United States

The United States government orders a suspension of Lend-Lease shipments to the USSR.

Photo: The U.S. Navy light aircraft carrier USS Cowpens (CVL-25) off the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California (USA), on 12 May 1945, following an overhaul. An SP-radar was installed on her mast and she was repainted in Camouflage Measure 22



Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Fogg (DE-57) off Boston, Massachusetts (USA), on 12 May 1945. The ship had been badly damaged by a torpedo from the GErman submarine U-870 and arrived at the Boston Naval Shipyard on 9 March 1945. The hull from Frame 115 aft was replaced. The torpedoes were replaced by 40mm guns and the 7.6cm guns were replaced by 12.7cm gun in turrets (5in/38)



Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Fred T. Berry (DD-858) off Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, San Pedro, California (USA), on the day of her commissioning, 12 May 1945. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 21



The United Nations War Crimes Commission indicted Hermann Göring, Joseph Goebbels and Fritz Sauckel on eight counts.

The Security Committee at the United Nations Conference on International Organization agreed on an eleven-member security council, with non-permanent members chosen by the General Assembly.

Pacific War

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 17 B-25s and 8 P-51s bomb the barracks and storage area at Loyang and hit railroad targets around Sinsiang and Sinyang, from Hankow to Sinyang, from Chenghsien to Szeshui, from Kioshan to Lohochai, and between Hengshan and Yoyang and knock out a bridge N of Hengyang; 150+ fighter-bombers again hit scattered targets in S and E China, concentrating on road, rail, and river traffic and supply lines.

INDIA-BURMA

(Tenth Air Force): Unit moves in India: 12th Combat Cargo Squadron, 3d Combat Cargo Group, from Tulihal to Ledo with C-47s; 71st Liaison Squadron, Tenth AF, from Dinjan to Piardoba with UC-64s, L-1s, L-4s and L-5s.

GUAM

Seventh Air Force: 9 Guam Island-based B-24s bomb the airfield on Marcus while 12 more hit the airfield on Param. VII Fighter Command: The 6th Night Fighter Squadron, 7th Fighter Wing, arrives at Kipapa, Hawaii from Saipan Island with P-61s.

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): HQ 331st Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) and 355th, 356th and 357th Bombardment Squadrons (Very Heavy) and HQ 502d Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) and 402d, 411th and 430th Bombardment Squadrons (Very Heavy) arrive at Northwest Field, Guam Island from the US with B-29s.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force): In French Indochina, B-24s pound several railroad and road bridges at Binh Dinh, Phu My, Bong Son, Lai Ha, Tuy Hoa, and Phu Hiep and attack the railroad yard at An Trach and other railroad targets.

BORNEO CAMPAIGN (1945)

In Borneo, B-24s, B-25s, and P-38s hit targets in the Brunei Bay area including Labuan Island, Brooketon, and Jesselton Airfields and troops on Tarakan. On Celebes Island, B-24s bomb Makassar shipyards and Limboeng Airfield.

PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1945)

On Luzon, elements of the US 43rd Division, part of US 11th Corps, converge on Ipo, capturing several hill occupied by the Japanese. On Mindanao, Del Monte airfield is reached by elements of the US 40th Division. Other elements advance southwest of Tankulan. The US 123th Infantry Regiment eliminates the Japanese strongpoint in the Colgan woods after a lengthy air and artillery bombardment. American aircraft and artillery strike at suspected Japanese gun emplacements on Samar Island.

A-20s and fighter- bombers support ground forces on Luzon and Negros Islands.

HQ 345th BG (Medium) and 499th and 501st Bombardment Squadrons (Medium) move from San Marcelinto to Clark Field, Luzon with B-25s.

VOLCANO AND RYUKYU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

On Okinawa, Japanese forces repulse an attack by elements of US 3rd Amphibious Corps at Sugar Loaf Hill, southeast of Amike. The position is an important point in the Japanese held Shuri Line. The US 1st Marine Division suffers heavy losses but captures most of Dakeshi Ridge. The US 77th Division advances slowly toward Shuri. The Japanese held Conical Hill position is fought over by US 96th Division. At sea, a Kamikaze plane strikes the USS New Mexico, causing considerable damage.

Photo: Two M7 self-propelled howitzers of the 1st Marine Division in action on Okinawa, 12 May 1945



Off Okinawa, a kamikaze damages battleship New Mexico (BB-40), 26°22'N, 127°43'E; heavy cruiser Wichita (CA-45) is damaged by friendly fire, 26°22'N, 127°43'E.

Photo: A.A. fire from New Mexico (BB-40) as the first kamikaze, a “George II” begins its dive on 12 May 1945. A five-inch shell burst underneath of it during descent and caused it to narrowly miss



Photo: The U.S. Navy battleship USS New Mexico (BB-40) is hit by a kamikaze off Okinawa, Japan, 12 May 1945. She was set on fire and 54 members of New Mexico's crew were killed, while a further 119 were wounded



Photo: The U.S. Navy hospital ship USS Bountiful (AH-9) taking casualties on board from the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) on 12 May 1945, one day after the carrier was devastated by a kamikaze attack. The destroyer USS The Sullivans (DD-537) is in the foreground



UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPOA COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 360, MAY 12, 1945

Cruisers and destroyers of the U. S. Pacific Fleet covered by aircraft from fast carriers, bombarded shore installations on Minami Daito Island, east of the Ryukyus on May 10 (East Longitude Date). On the following day, air groups and ships' guns of the fast carrier task forces destroyed 72 enemy aircraft over the Ryukyus including 40 over Okinawa. Carrier planes made low level attacks on May 11 on airfields and shipping in the Amami group destroying four planes on the ground and damaging warehouse Installations and a number of luggers. One of our major Fleet Units suffered damage during an air attack on that date.

A total of 93 enemy planes were destroyed over our forces around Okinawa on May 11 including 19 planes shot down by one of our destroyers. Several surface ships were damaged during these attacks.

On May 12, the Tenth Army continued the general attack of the preced­ing day supported by heavy gunfire from ships and sustained bombing by carrier planes and by aircraft of the Second Marine Aircraft Wing. Apprecia­ble gains were made on each flank of the Army line.

Elements of the Sixth Marine Division entered the suburbs of Naha on the west coast of Okinawa. Progress of the center of the line against the positions of the enemy in the hilly central portions of the Island was slow. The Seventy‑Seventh and Ninety‑Sixth Infantry Divisions captured important enemy strong points and made local advances against stiff resistance in their respective zones of action.

Tori Island, approximately 55 miles west of Okinawa, was occupied by Tenth Army Troops without opposition on May 12.

In waters south of Korea on May 11, search aircraft of Fleet Air Wing One including Privateers, Coronados and Mariners, inflicted the following damage on the enemy:

One coastal cargo ship sunk
Two coastal cargo ships set afire.
One large coastal cargo ship set afire and listing

Mitchells and Liberators of the Eleventh Army Air Force sank a small largo ship and damaged two others in Kataoka Harbor on Shimushu in the Northern Kuriles on May 11. A Mitchell was shot down during the attack. On the same date, Eleventh Air Force Mitchells attacked targets at Kashiwabara on Paramushiru and planes of Fleet Air Wing Four made rocket attacks on radar installations on Minami Cape on Shimushu.

Liberators of the Seventh Army Air Force bombed Truk in the Carolines and Marcus Island oh May 12.

Planes of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing struck targets in the Palaus and at Yap on the same date.

Search Privateers of Fleet Air Wing Two bombed workshops and air installations on Wake Island on May 11.

PACIFIC

Submarine Raton (SS-270) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Rekizan Maru in the Yellow Sea off the Shantung Peninsula, 37°25'N, 123°42'E.

Mines sink Japanese army cargo ship Brazil Maru off Kobe, Japan; mine laid by USAAF B-29s on 3 May 1945 sink merchant cargo ship Manbo Maru off Osaka, 34°30'N, 135°10'E; cargo ship No.1 Nissho Maru is sunk by USAAF mine (laid by 20th Air Force B-29s) off Futaoi Light, Shimonoseki, 34°06'N, 130°47'E; and No.1 Nisshin Maru in Shimonoseki channel; and damage merchant cargo ship Hokusei Maru (northwest of Mutsure Jima).

Japanese merchant tanker No.13 Takasago Maru is damaged by aircraft, Kogunsan-Kundo.

Navy patrol bombers (TU 50.5.5) damage Japanese merchant ship Chile Maru, which is run aground to permit salvage on the north coast of Iki Jima, 34°16'N, 129°40'E. Chile Maru is written off, however, as a total loss.

Day 2073 of World War II, May 14th 1945

Allied occupied Germany

US Army announced the discovery of millions of dollars worth of art looted by the Nazis from all over Europe well as 100 tons of gold bars and currency hidden in a salt mine located on the Losa Plateau in Austria. Meanwhile, the concentration camp at Ebensee is liberated and described as "more horrible than Buchenwald."

Heligoland Island, Germany was occupied by British troops.

Soviet occupied Latvia

The estimated 150,000-strong German forces of Army Group Kurland, cut off in East Prussia and Latvia, surrender to the forces of the Soviet 3rd Army, 2nd Belorussian Front.

Yugoslavia

Elements of German Army Group E continue to resist, in spite of the general surrender.

Austria

The provisional government of Austria nullified the 1938 Anschluss, declared the country to be once more independent and abolished the Nazi Party and all Nazi-era laws.

Norway

The Norwegian resistance group Milorg was formally dissolved.

Soviet Union

The Soviet government claims to have taken 180,000 German prisoners in northern Latvia.

North Africa 

Photo: U.S. Navy Lockheed PV-1 Ventura patrol planes taxi to the staring position on the runway at Naval Air Station Port Lyautey, French Morocco, guided by the plane director's red flag and yellow jeep, 14 May 1945



Egypt

Photo: British service personnel attending a thanksgiving service at the El Alamein Club in Cairo to commemorate the end of the war in Europe, 14 May 1945



United Kingdom

British Admiral Sir Max Horton (Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches) formally accepted the surrender of a token force of eight U-boats at Londonderry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The U-boats which had been escorted from Loch Alsh, Scotland, United Kingdom by destroyer HMS Hesperus, Canadian Frigate Thetford Mines, and USS Paine had their torpedoes and two-thirds of their crew removed before their journey up the Foyle. The German crews were mostly very young men. Some were sullen and many were arrogant but the morale among the officers was unbroken. They were convinced that Hitler had died in action and their first question was "When do we start fighting the Russians?" One or two were so convinced that war with Russia was imminent that they had retained their confidential books and secret equipment to be ready when the war faced east.

(YouTube) U-Boats surrender in Ireland (1945)



British Channel Islands

Unloading continued at St Aubin's bay. Road traffic reverted to driving on the left. Postal services opened for business with free postcards made available for people to send messages to relatives overseas. Clocks changed to British time.

Germans were working well with the British forces. Locals watched German soldiers being taken off the island in silence. It was estimated that around 10,000 PoWs would be taken off by the returning vessels from the first lift.

The British Home Secretary, Herbert Morrison arrived in Jersey on the destroyer HMS Impulsive in the early evening, accompanied by other government ministers and a Guernseyman, Wallace Le Patourel VC.

United States

US sailors aboard the surrendered kriegsmarine U-858 submarine (type IX-C / 40), North Atlantic near Cape May. In the bow of the submarine, German submariners are screened , 14 May 1945



Photo: U.S. Colors fly proudly at her flagstaff as U-858, first German submarine to surrender to the U.S. in American waters, is brought to anchor behind the breakwater at Cape Henlopen, Delaware, May 14, 1945. Shown: Standing high on the conning tower with megaphone is Commander Williard D. Michael, USN, head of the charge party which brought the U-boat from a U.S. Navy patrol craft stands in the background as Sikorski HNS-1 helicopter hovers overhead, 14 May 1945



Photo: The surrendered German Type IXC/40 submarine U-805 is escorted to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, New Hampshire (USA), 14 May 1945



Photo: The surrendered German submarine U-805 off Portsmouth, New Hampshire (USA), on 14 May 1945. The ships present are (l-r): USS Guinivere (IX-67), USS Migrant (IX-66), U-805, and a U.S. destroyer escort. U-805 was escorted by USS Otter (DE-210) and USS Varian (DE-798). As Varian escorted U-805 on the port side, the ship visible is probalby Varian and not Otter



Pacific War

CHINA

Chinese guerrilla fighters (who had been trained by the staff of Sino-American Special Technical Cooperative Organization (SACO) Camp Four) under the tactical command of US Navy officer Donald Wilcox attacked a Japanese armored force 130 miles south of Xamba, Suiyuan Province, China. The attackers made use of a unusual weapon, a horse-mounted bazooka. They killed 60 Japanese soldiers and destroyed 2 tanks, while suffering 2 killed.

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, B-24s mine the Yangtze River; 15 B-25s and 6 fighter-bombers hit river shipping near Hengshan and pound bridges and other railroad targets around Chushihtien, Sinyang, Kioshan, Kuanshuishih, Hengyang, Chuchou, Changsha, Yoyang, Sintien, Hsuchang, Saiping, and Hengshan; 120+ fighter-bombers over S and E China hit numerous targets of opportunity at several locations concentrating on the Liping and Tungkow areas; Fourteenth AF unit moves in China: 11th Combat Cargo Squadron from Dinjan, India to Yunnani with C-47s; 21st Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron from Kunming to Shwangliu with F-5s (flights operating from Hanchung, Hsian and Laifeng); 35th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron based at Chanyi with F-5s sends a detachment to operate from Kunming.

INDIA-BURMA

(Tenth Air Force): Unit moves in India: 2d Fighter Squadron (Commando), 2d Air Commando Group, from Cox's Bazar to Kalaikunda with P-51s; 166th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 1st Air Commando Group, from Toungoo Airfield to Asansol with UC-64s and L-5s.

JAPAN

The Japanese Supreme Council for the Direction of the War, agrees to enlist the USSR to assist with obtaining peace. The SCDW is known as the Big 6 of the Japanese Cabinet. PM, FM, War Minister, Navy Minister, Army CofS, Navy CofS.

(Twentieth Air Force): Mission 174: 472 B-29s blast the urban area of northern Nagoya; 8 others hit targets of opportunity; they claim about 20 Japanese fighters; 11 B-29s are lost. Lost are B-29 44-70017, B-29 42-24492, B-29 44-69966, B-29 44-69926, B-29 "Country Gentelman" 42-24793. This is the XXI Bomber Command's first 4-wing raid as B-29s of the 58th Bombardment Wing (Very Heavy) join bombers from the 73d, 313th, and 314th Bombardment Wings (Very Heavy) in a single mission.

ULITHI ATOLL

Photo: The U.S. Navy repair ship USS Jason (ARH-1) at anchor in Ulithi Atoll on 14 May 1945. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 4Ax. The photo was taken from the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10)



SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force]: B-24s bomb Hozan, the largest military and air supply center on Formosa.

BORNEO CAMPAIGN (1945)

In Borneo, B-24s attack Jesselton and Sepinggang Airfields and B-25s hit Jesselton, Kudat, and Bintula Airfields and support ground forces on Tarakan. On Celebes Island, B-24s lightly raid Makassar harbor, Sidate Airfield, and Parepare warehouses and bomb Bima Airfield on Soembawa Island, Lesser Sunda Islands.

Photo: D Company of the Australian 2/3rd Pioneer Battalion on John's Track, Tarakan, 14 May 1945



PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1945)

On Luzon, units of the US 25th Division, part of US 1st Corps, advance north of the Balete Pass. Elements of the the US 43rd Division, part of US 11th Corps, reach the Ipoh dam, which has been fortified by the Japanese.

Photo: Advance guard of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 132nd Infantry Regiment, Americal Division, passes one of several tank traps constructed by Japanese forces on the road north of Tabogon, Northern Cebu, Philippines. The trap is approximately 30 feet deep and 15 feet wide. A Japanese millimeter gun was found in a cave across a ravine covering a road block. The town was not defended by Japanese troops. They had pulled out the night before, 14 May 1945



Photo: U.S. troops of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 132nd Infantry, Americal Division return to the rear after securing the city of Tabogon, Northern Cebu, Philippine Islands, from Japanese resistance, 14 May 1945



A-20s and fighter- bombers support ground forces on Luzon and Negros Islands.

VOLCANO AND RYUKYU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

On Okinawa, 20 American Marines reach the summit of Sugar Loaf Hill. The airfield at Yonabaru is captured.

Off Okinawa, a kamikaze damages the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6). The suicide plane destroys the ship's forward elevator, killing 14 and wounding 34 men, forcing Enterprise to retire to the U.S. for repairs.

Photo: The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) being hit by a Japanese bomb-laden kamikaze on 14 May 1945. The ship's forward elevator was blown approximately 400 feet into the air from the force of the explosion six decks below



Photo: The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) in flames after the ship was hit by a kamikaze off Kyushu. The forward elevator is blown up by the blast. The photo was taken from USS Essex (CV-9). Vought F4U-1 Corsairs of Fighting Boming Squadron 83 (VBF-83) are visible in the foreground



Photo: A U.S. Navy Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer rescues sailors standing on a section of an aircraft elevator blown off the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) after the ship was hit by a kamikaze off Kyushu, Japan, 14 May 1945



Photo: Firefighting and the remains of a Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat on 14 May 1945 aboard the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) after a kamikaze suicide plane hit the forward elevator



Photo: USS Enterprise (CV-6) after being hit by a Mitsubishi A6M Zero Kamikaze, 14 May 1945




Off Okinawa, operational casualties account for damage to tank landing ship LST-137 and medium landing ship LSM-137.

(Seventh Air Force): A detachment of the 28th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, Seventh AF, based on Okinawa with F-5Es, begins operating from Ie Shima.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPOA COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 362, MAY 14, 1945

About 35 enemy aircraft in three groups attacked our ships off the coast of Okinawa on the evening of May 13 (East Longitude Date) causing some damage to two light units. Twenty‑five of the planes were shot down, one of our destroyers accounting for eight aircraft. Early in the morning of May 14, a few planes dropped bombs ashore on Okinawa but failed to damage any installations.

On the afternoon of May 13, two rifle companies of the Ninety‑Sixth Infantry Division reached the summit of Conical Hill, 2,500 yards east of Shuri, holding the position despite a Japanese counterattack. The 383rd Infantry Regiment of the Ninety‑Sixth Division completed capture of the hill on May 14. Domination of this high ground permitted our left flank to advance 2,400 yards southward along the East Coast bringing Yonabaru airstrip into our possession. In other sectors of the line, advances were limited generally to 100 to 200 yards as troops of the Tenth Army met stiff opposition. The ground forces were supported by heavy gunfire from ships of the Pacific Fleet and by bombing and strafing attacks on enemy positions by carrier aircraft and planes of the Second Marine Aircraft Wing.

Since April 1, our forces on Okinawa have captured or destroyed 388 enemy guns of 70 millimeter caliber or larger.

Several groups of enemy aircraft made a series of attacks on the Fast Carrier Task Forces of the U. S. Pacific Fleet during the morning of May 14, causing some damage to one major unit. Preliminary reports show that 21 enemy planes were shot down by combat air patrols and ships' gunfire.

Carrier aircraft of the British Pacific Fleet bombed the airfields on Miyako in the Sakishima Group on May 12 and 13, and struck buildings, dumps and barges at Hirara Town where a large oil fire and a number of smaller fires were started. Two aircraft were destroyed on the ground dur­ing these attacks.

Search Privateers of Fleet Air Wing One sank a small oiler, a medium freighter, and a small freighter transport in the waters around Korea on May 13. A medium freighter transport was damaged and left burning. From the beginning of operations in the Okinawa Area to May 13, inclusive, search planes of this Wing have sunk 71,900 tons of enemy shipping, damaged 70,160 tons and destroyed six aircraft. The unit has suffered combat losses of three aircraft from which all personnel were rescued.

Fleet Air Wing Eighteen aircraft damaged five small cargo ships, a lugger and a fishing craft south of Honshu on May 13. In low level attacks along the coast of Southwestern Honshu our search planes halted two trains with strafing and rocket attacks and damaged a number of buildings.

Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing planes bombed targets in the Marshalls on May 13 and attacked military installations in the Palaus and on Yap on the following day. Search planes of Fleet Air Wing Two continued neutralizing attacks in the Marshalls and bombed Ponape in the Carolines on May 13.

PACIFIC

Submarine Cobia (SS-245) is damaged by depth charges, Gulf of Siam, 09°35'N, 101°44'E, but remains on patrol.

Submarine Sand Lance (SS-381) sinks Japanese auxiliary minesweeper Yoshino Maru off Erimosaki, Hokkaido, 32°00'N, 146°36'E.

Navy aircraft (TU 50.5.5) on sweeps over the South China Sea, sink Japanese merchant cargo ship Kurokamisan Maru west of Kuche Island 34°27'N, 127°30'E, and Samukaze Maru, 33°00'N, 129°20'E.

Mine laid by USAAF B-29 (20th Air Force) damages Japanese merchant ship Miyajima Maru at Awaji, Japan, 34°28'N, 134°30'E (see 15 May). Mines sink Japanese transport Anko Maru off Shimonoseki and merchant tug No.13 Uwajima Maru off Hiraiso light buoy, 34°30'N, 134°30'E; sink/damage merchant cargo ship Tatsukei Maru, 34°28'N, 134°45'E, and damage merchant cargo ship No.6 Kaiyo Maru off Hesaki light.

Japanese merchant cargo ship Keishin Maru is sunk by aircraft off Inchon, Korea.

Japanese merchant vessel Kanpu Maru is sunk by aircraft, 33°02'N, 129°27'E.

Japanese merchant cargo ship Kainan Maru is damaged by aircraft three miles off Ioshima light.

Japanese merchant cargo ship Chofuku Maru is damaged by aircraft near Hakata Bay.

Day 2075 of World War II, May 16th 1945

Allied occupied Germany

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, May 16th 1945



Czechoslovakia

Exiled Czechoslovakian President Eduard Beneš returned to Prague, Czechoslovakia to a rapturous welcome.

United Kingdom

Convoy escorts accept the surrender of 14 German U-boats and escort the submarines to Loch Eriboll in Scotland.

British forces liberate Alderney.

United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Canfield (DE-262) off the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California (USA), on 16 May 1945. She was in overhaul at the yard from 12 April until 22 May 1945



Photo: The U.S. Navy heavy cruiser USS Chester (CA-27) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, San Francisco, California (USA), on 16 May 1945, following her last wartime overhaul



Photo: The U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat USCGC Argo (WPC-100) and a tug escort the surrendered German Type IXD2 submarine U-873 to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, New Hampshire (USA), 16 May 1945



Photo: German Prisoners from U-873 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in New Hampshire. This item consists of a photo showing German officers and their crew from the surrendered U-Boat 873 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in New Hampshire. German officers, with their backs to the camera and crew, stand on the deck of the tug which brought in their surrendered sub U-873 - the Marine guards stand ready to take the prisoners ashore at Portsmouth. The man in the white cap with his hands behind his back is Captain Steinhoff, 16 May 1945



British Channel Islands

German troops in Alderney surrendered on this date to Force 135, the Channel Island Relief Force.(The German prisoners of war were not removed until 20 May and the population was not allowed to return until December when the island had been cleared up.)

The Surrender - the scene in the German Officers' Mess on Alderney May 1945, when the Commandant of the island surrendered to the Colonel in charge of the British landing party. image: Five German officers in uniform sit around a table within the interior of an Officers' Mess. One of the German officers signs a document on the table in front of him, watched by a British naval officer who is sitting on the same side of the table



On the islands, special police took over the tasks of guards on supply dumps, loudspeakers were erected through St Helier creating a public address system. Distributions of tea, chocolate, soap powder, lard, sugar, biscuits, cereals and rice etc. were made to civilians as the weekly rations were reorganised, increasing the daily calorie intake from the previous low of around 1,000. Red Cross parcels continued to be issued.

Houses used by Germans and Organisation Todt (OT) workers were inspected and many were found to be in a terrible state with holes knocked through walls, wood ripped up for fuel and all needing disinfecting. German and OT hospitals were cleared and the buildings disinfected.

Police courts opened for business, with a few civilians charged with theft, even of German equipment. Newspapers which had been desperate for newsprint, continued printing as supplies would shortly arrive.

Mines were being lifted and made safe; this process would go on until August, with 65,982 removed. This dangerous work would result in a number of German deaths and injuries. Over 5,689 beach obstacles and one hundred thousand metres (330,000 feet) of barbed wire were also removed. Weapons and shells needed to be collected and disposed of safely.

Operation Merit started when an armed trawler sailed for Alderney,carrying Brigadier Snow, officers and the press, accompanied by two LCI with support troops the coaster Beale, with supplies. Landing at Braye Harbour and met by the island commandant, the parties moved to a house later called Peacehaven to discuss the surrender details. Civil Affairs officers began interrogating OT workers, guards, prison officials and the few civilians present about the four camps on Alderney about which stories of brutality abounded, with the object of holding an enquiry.

Pacific War

CHINA

In China, B-24s continue to lay mines in the Yangtze River; 33 B-25s and 16 P-47s and P-51s attack railroad targets, barracks, HQ, bridges, town areas, river shipping, and targets of opportunity at or near Kaifeng, Sinyang, Chungsiang, Chienyangi, Ichang, Chingmen, Yanglowtung, Kiyang, Loyang, Szeshui, Hsihhsiassuchi, Shanhsien, Neihsiang, Liuchow, Kweiping, Nanyo, Shihlipu, Hojung, Mingkiang, and Kioshan; 100+ fighter-bombers attack river, road, and rail traffic, troops, gun positions, and generally harass Japanese movement and supply lines in S and E China hitting especially targets of opportunity in Yangchi.

INDIA-BURMA

Tenth Air Force): The 2d Combat Cargo Squadron, 1st Combat Cargo Group, moves from Dohazari to Hathazari, India with C-47s.

GUAM

13 Guam based B-24s bomb the airfield on Marcus in the N Pacific; 11 others sent against Marcus abort because of bad weather.

TINIAN

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 175: During the night of 16/17 May, 25 B-29s mine Shimonsoeki Strait and 2 others hit targets of opportunity. Lost is B-29 "Country Gentleman" 42-24801

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

On Formosa, B-24s bomb Taichu and B-25s hit alcohol plants and railroad yards.

BORNEO CAMPAIGN (1945)

B-24s hit Balikpapan and Manggar, and Tondano on Celebes Island while B-25s and P-38s hit Miri, Brookton, Bintula, Ft Brook, and a flak ship near Labuan Island Borneo; and P-38s also support ground forces on Tarakan.

PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1945)

On Luzon, the US 152nd Division, part of US 11th Corps, attacks Woodpecker Ridge with heavy artillery support and entrenches on the summit. The capture of the Bicol peninsula by forces of the US 14th Corps is declared to be completed. On Mindanao, Japanese forces hold the American advance along the Talomo River.

Nearly 100 P-38s pound targets in the Ipo Dam area with napalm.

VOLCANO AND RYUKYU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

On Okinawa, the US 6th Marine Division (part of US 3rd Amphibious Corps) reports heavy casualties in continuing attacks on Sugar Loaf Hill. Japanese antitank guns knock out a number of American tanks supporting an advance, by US 1st Marine Division, along the valley of the Wana River. Attacks by the US 77th Division to the north of Shuri continue to be unsuccessful. The US 96th Division reaches the edge of the village of Yonabaru. Love Hill, to the west of Conical Hill, continues to be held by Japanese forces.

Photo: On a ridge north of Naha, Marines get ready to take the town, Okinawa, Japan, 16 May 1945



Off Okinawa, Escort carrier Shipley Bay (CVE-85) is damaged in collision with oiler Cache (AO-67), 25°00'N, 130°00'E.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPOA COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 364, MAY 16, 1945

During the early evening of May 15 (East Longitude Date) about 12 enemy aircraft approached our ships off Okinawa but were intercepted by escort carrier and Second Marine Aircraft Wing planes which shot down nine and forced the others to retire without causing damage. A single enemy plane was shot down early in the morning on May 16 when a few enemy aircraft attacked Yontan and Kadena airfields causing minor damage.

Marine and Army Infantrymen supported by tanks, aircraft, field artillery and Naval gunfire continued to carry the attack to the enemy on Okinawa on May 16 but the lines remained substantially unchanged. Shuri Town was sub­jected to heavy bombardment by artillery and Naval guns. Local gains were made on the West Coast by The Sixth Marine Division. The Seventy‑Seventh Infantry Division was engaged in an uphill drive against stubbornly defended tombs and caves. On the east the Ninety‑Sixth Infantry Division attacked westward through the rugged country around Conical Hill.

At the end of May 15, the enemy had lost 46,505 killed in action at Okinawa. Our forces on that date had captured 1,038 prisoners.

Reports through May 14 show that 2,771 soldiers and 1,010 Marines have been killed in action in the Okinawa operations. In the same period 11,675 soldiers and 5,329 Marines have been wounded and 129 soldiers and 36 Marines are missing.

In operations against Ishigaki and Miyako in the Sakishima group on May 14‑15, escort carrier aircraft of the U. S. Pacific Fleet shot down three enemy planes and destroyed two on the ground.

Search Privateers of Fleet Air Wing One sank two medium freighters and heavily damaged a medium freighter transport south of the Korean Coast on May 15. On the following day planes of the same wing damaged a small cargo ship in the same area.

Search Venturas and Liberators of Fleet Air Wing Eighteen attacked shipping and installations along the southern coast of Honshu on May 16 sinking a small oiler, a small cargo ship and five fishing craft and damaging a fuel barge. Search planes of this wing damaged the entrances to three rail­road tunnels along the coast with rocket and bomb hits.

Helldiver bombers of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing struck storage areas on Yap in the Carolines and fighter aircraft attacked targets in the Palaus on May 15.

Fleet Air Wing Two search planes made neutralizing attacks on Wake Island and on enemy installations in the Marshalls on May 15.

Search aircraft of Fleet Air Wing Four made rocket and machine gun attacks on trawlers and fishing craft off Kokutan Cape on Shimushu in the northern Kuriles on May 15.

PACIFIC

Avengers from British escort carrier HMS Emperor sight and attack Japanese heavy cruiser Haguro heading into Malacca Strait; subsequently, British destroyers HMS Saumarez, HMS Venus, HMS Verulam, HMS Vigilant, and HMS Virago sink Haguro 55 nautical miles west-southwest of Penang, Malaya, 04°49'N, 99°42'E, as the enemy ship, in company with destroyer Kamikaze (which is damaged in the engagement) is evacuating troops from Port Blair to Singapore.

YouTube (Last Stand of Japanese Heavy Cruiser - Battle of the Malacca Strait)



Submarine Hawkbill (SS-366) sinks Japanese minelayer Hatsutaka off east coast of Malaya, 04°49'N, 103°31'E.

Submarine Raton (SS-270) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Eiju Maru in Yellow Sea off west coast of Korea, 37°34'N, 124°13'E.

Japanese merchant cargo ship No.5 Yamanami Maru is sunk by mine laid by USAAF B-29s (20th Bomber Command) off Wadanomisaki, 34°36'N, 135°08'E.

Day 2077 of World War II, May 18th 1945

YouTube (Kamikazes versus Admirals)



Allied occupied Germany

In Flensburg, Admiral Donitz, nominally the Fuhrer of the Third Reich, issues an order of the day to the Wehrmacht in which he expresses horror at revelations about the Nazi concentration camps and distances the military from the atrocities.

Allied occupied Austria

German Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner was captured by Americans in Austria.

Ferdinand Schörner surrendered to the Americans in Austria.

Photo: A Polish family registering at No.17 Displaced Persons Assembly Centre in Hamburg Zoological Gardens, 18 May 1945



Ireland

In Dublin, the Irish Prime Minister, De Velera, announces a $12 million food and clothing aid program for Europe.

Yugoslavia

Marshal Tito, in negotiations with British and US representatives over disputed territory, claimed to have the right to add Trieste to Yugoslav territory, and refused to leave the area.

Denmark

Photo: German sailors under RN supervision unload ammunition from the German Cruiser Prinz Eugen in Copenhagen, Denmark, May 18 1945



United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Cabana (DE-260) off the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California (USA), on 18 May 1945



Photo: The U.S. Navy attack transport USS Barnstable (APA-93) anchored in San Francisco Bay, California (USA), on 18 May 1945. The troop transports USS General William Mitchell (AP-114)‎ and USS General C. H. Muir (AP-142) are visible in the background. Note the paint worn away near Barnstable's stern, showing remnant of Camouflage Measure 32, Design 3D



Photo: The U.S. Navy attack transport USS Latimer (APA-152) off San Francisco, California (USA), 18 May 1945



United Kingdom

Photo: Admiral Horton inspects the surrendered U-532 in Liverpool, 18 May 1945



Pacific War

CHINA

Chinese forces reoccupy Foochow, in Fukien province. Reinforcements from Burma (3 divisions) are about to return.

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 9 B-25s blast the Siangtan supply areas; 8 B-25s, supported by 7 P-51s, hit railroad targets and other targets of opportunity around Sinyang, Kiaotow, Sintsiang, and Chenghsien; about 75 fighter-bomber and reconnaissance aircraft continue the harassment of enemy movement and supply lines throughout S and E China, escort of C-47 transports, and surveillance of enemy forces.

IWO JIMA

(VII Fighter Command): In the Ryukus Islands, 8 P-47s from Ie Shima make bombing, strafing, and rocket attacks on radar and ground installations on Kume Jima; other P-47s fly heckler strikes against Kyushu, Japan during the night of 18/19 May.

TINIAN

(Twentieth Air Force): Mission 177: During the night of 18/19 May, 30 B-29s mine Shimonoseki Strait and Tsuruga Harbor in Japan. The advance air echelon of the 509th Composite Group arrives at North Field; the 509th is scheduled to deliver atomic bomb attacks on Japan; its Commanding Officer is Colonel Paul W Tibbets Jr, a pilot with a distinguished record in the 97th Bombardment Group in Europe and N Africa.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force]: On Formosa, B-24s bomb Taichu Airfield and Tainan Airfield; B-25s and fighter-bombers fly sweeps hitting numerous targets.

BORNEO CAMPAIGN (1945)

In Borneo, B-24s and B-25s hit Ft Brook and Sarawak while B-24s and P-38s attack defenses on Tarakan

PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1945)

On Luzon, American units make some progress toward Woodpecker Ridge.

B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers support ground forces on N Luzon Island and pound concentrations in S Luzon. Fighter-bombers also support ground forces on Negros Island.

VOLCANO AND RYUKYU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

On Okinawa, the US 6th Marine Division, part of US 3rd Amphibious Corps, captures most of the Sugar Loaf Hill, as well as parts of the Half Moon and the Horseshoe positions that overlook it, after several days of bitter fighting. The US 1st Marine Division continues to battle for the Wana river valley and Wana Ridge but fails to eliminate Japanese resistance, even with flame-throwers and tanks in support. Meanwhile, the US 77th and 96th Divisions, parts of US 24th Corps, attack Japanese positions on Flat Peak without success.

Off Okinawa, Destroyer Longshaw (DD-559) is damaged by shore battery off Naha,, 26°11'N, 127°37'E, explodes; wreck is demolished by destroyers Heywood L. Edwards (DD-663) and Picking (DD-685). Also off Okinawa, high speed transport Sims (APD-50) is damaged by kamikaze, 26°00'N, 127°00'E, and tank landing ship LST-808 by aerial torpedo, 26°42'N, 127°47'E. U.S. freighter Cornelius Vanderbilt (carrying gasoline and explosives, as well as general cargo) is bombed by Japanese plane and set afire off Ie Shima, but the 38-man merchant crew, 27-man Armed Guard and the 108 stevedores on board working cargo assemble firefighting parties and put out the blaze in short order.

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Longshaw burning on 18 May 1945. On the morning of 18 May 1945, following a four-day period of fire support, Longshaw, en route to her patrol area, ran aground on a coral reef just south of Naha airfield, Okinawa, at 0719 hrs. At circa 1100 hrs Japanese shore batteries hit Longshaw´s forward magazine, which exploded. About an hour later, the landing craft LCI(L)-356 came alongside to remove the crew. 86 crewmen were killed, 95 were wounded. Later in the afternoon, Longshaw, battered beyond salvaging, was destroyed by gunfire and torpedoes from U.S. ships



Photo: The U.S. Navy gasoline tanker USS Wabash (AOG-4) crosses astern of the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill (LSD-7) after delivering diesel fuel to her, 18 May 1945. Both ships operated off Okinawa at that time. Wabash is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 2AO. Note her large hull number



ALASKA

(Eleventh Air Force): 8 B-24s bomb naval, harbor, and airfield targets at Kataoka on Shimushu Island; another B-24 searches for enemy radar along the Kurile Islands.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPOA COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 366, MAY 18, 1945

During the period May 16‑17 (East Longitude Dates) troops of the Tenth Army penetrated sectors of the enemy's line on Okinawa which are being defended with the greatest tenacity of the entire operation. On the evening of May 16, "G" Company of the 383rd Regiment, Ninety‑Sixth Infantry Division, at the crest of Conical Hill engaged in a one‑hour grenade battle with a force of counter‑attacking Japanese before driving the enemy oft the peak. On the same day in the Seventy‑Seventh Infantry Division zone of action, the 307th Regiment captured a small hill twice, were forced to retire on both occasions, recaptured the Hill on the morning of May 17 and again were forced to retire due to heavy artillery and mortar fire later in the day.

The First Marine Division captured a Japanese command post on top of a small hill between Dakeshi and Wana on the afternoon of May 17 after over­coming intense opposition from caves. The Sixth Marine Division which cap­tured "Sugar Loaf Hill" on the same day retained possession of it only after losing it twice to heavy counterattack. During this Division's advance from the Asa to the Asato River, it is estimated that two battalions of Japanese troops were destroyed.

Ground troops were supported on May 17 and 18 by heavy gunfire from ships of the U. S. Pacific Fleet and by aircraft from escort carriers of the fleet and from the Second Marine Aircraft Wing and 318th Army Fighter Group. A few enemy planes were over the Okinawa Area late in the day on May 17 and during the early morning hours of May 18.

Search Aircraft of Fleet Air Wing One sank a small freighter south of Korea and damaged two freighter transports and an oiler in the same area on May 18.

PACIFIC

Thirty-four USAAF B-29s mine Shimonoseki Straits and the waters off Tsuruya, Japan.

Submarine Shad (SS-235) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Chosan Maru in the Yellow Sea off Gunzan, Korea, 35°41'N, 126°17'E.

Navy land-based aircraft sink Japanese cargo vessel Enkyo Maru off western Korea, 33°14'N, 120°50'E.

Japanese submarine chaser Ch 57 is damaged by mine [laid by British submarine HMS Porpoise on 9 January 1945], south channel into Penang, Malaya, 05°20'N, 100°08'E.

Japanese landing ship T.137 is damaged by aircraft, 12 miles off Daiosaki.

Japanese transport No.18 Nissho Maru is damaged by mine, 34°33'N, 134°47'E.

Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser No.3 Takunan Maru is damaged by aircraft, 32°05'N, 124°40'E.

Japanese merchant cargo ship No.5 Nissen Maru is damaged by aircraft, 34°43'N, 137°50'E.

Day 2079 of World War II, May 20th 1945

Allied occupied Germany

Photo: Pipers of the 51st Highland Division play during the ceremony to mark the handover of Bremerhaven in Germany to American forces, 20 May 1945



Photo: Lieutenant General B G Horrocks (Commanding 30th Corps), Major General Gordon Holmes Alexander MacMillan (Commanding 51st Highland Division) and Major General C H Gerhardt (Commanding US 29th Infantry Division) on the saluting base during the ceremony to mark the handover of Bremerhaven by British to American forces, 20 May 1945



Soviet occupied Germany

In Berlin, Soviet authorities appoint Dr. Arthur Werner as the Oberbergermeister (mayor) of the city.

Netherlands

The Georgian uprising on Texel ended when Canadian forces arrived to enforce the German surrender and disarmed the remaining German troops.

Belgium

Photo: Sherman tanks inside a building at 1st Canadian Advanced Base Workshops, Belgium, 20 May 1945



Soviet Union

Allied convoy JW-67 arrived at the Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia.

United Kingdom

Claude Auchinleck had lunch with Winston Churchill, during which Auchinleck noted to Churchill that William Slim was among the best generals in the British Army and recommended the appointment of Slim to succeed him as Commander-in-Chief, India.

Pacific War

CHINA

Japanese troops evacuate Hochih, in Kwangsi province. The Japanese Imperial General Staff has decided to redistribute available forces closer to the home islands.

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 55 P-51s and P-40s pound truck concentrations, fuel dumps, gun positions, supply areas, troops, bridges, rail, road, and river traffic, and various targets of opportunity around Liping, Yangchi, Siangtan, Yoyang, Yungfengshih, Paoching, Taohwaping, Hengyang, Tungkow, and Changsha.

INDIA-BURMA

(Tenth Air Force): In India, the detachment of the 317th Troop Carrier Squadron (Commando), 2d Air Commando Group, operating from Comilla with C-47s, returns to base at Kalaikunda.

GUAM

(Seventh Air Force): 10 Guam Island-based B-24s hit air operations buildings on Marcus Island in the N Pacific. The 396th and 820th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium), 41st Bombardment Group (Medium), begin a movement from Wheeler Field to Okinawa with B-25s. VII Fighter Command: 16 Saipan based P-47s strafe on Moen Airfield and Eten Airfield and seaplane base and barges off Dublon Island, all in Truk Atoll. In Japan, 9 P-47s from Ie Shima hit a hangar and 2 boats at Fukue-Shima and 32 others hit airfields, railroads, buildings, and radar facilities on Kyushu.

TINIAN

(Twentieth Air Force): Mission 179: During the night of 20/21 May, 30 B-29s mine Shimonoseki Strait, Maizuru harbor, and He-Saki anchorage; 1 B-29 is lost.

JAPAN

Thirty USAAF B-29s mine Shimonoseki Straits and the waters off Maizuru and Miyazu, Japan.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force]: Despite bad weather B-25s over Formosa bomb various communications targets and an alcohol plant at Meiji. HQ 375th Troop Carrier Group moves from San Jose to Porac.

SOLOMON ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

Photo: A Matilda tank from the 2/4th Armoured Regiment, Australian Army, crossing the Hongorai River on Bougainville, 20 May 1945



BORNEO CAMPAIGN (1945)

In Borneo, P-38s hit Sandakan, Keningau, and Tarakan while B-25s hit shipping at Balikpapan harbor and a nearby barracks area and sawmill.

Photo: A Matilda II tank of the Australian 2/9th Armoured Regiment firing its three inch howitzer at Japanese positions during the Battle of Tarakan, 20 May 1945



PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1945)

On Mindanao, the US 31st Division, part of US 10th Corps, advances northward and occupies positions near the town of Malaybalay and encounter Japanese artillery fire. Other units advance north of Davao and resist nighttime counterattacks.

B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers pound the Cagayan Valley targets on Luzon Island. On Mindanao Island, B-24s bomb Piso Point, and fighter- bombers support ground action in the Bukidnon area.

VOLCANO AND RYUKYU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

On Okinawa, American troops secure Chocolate Drop Hill after fighting in the interconnecting tunnels. Elements of the 1st Marine Division, part of US 3rd Amphibious Corps, capture Wana Ridge. Elements of the US 6th Marine Division, part of the same corps, begin mopping up operations in the Japanese held caves of the Horseshoe and Half Moon positions. They use flame-throwers and hollow-charge weapons and seal off some Japanese troops. Japanese forces counterattack on the Horseshoe position suffering an estimated 200 killed. To the east, the US 7th and 96th Divisions, of US 24th Corps, continue to be engaged in the capture of Yonabaru.

Off Okinawa, kamikazes damage destroyer Thatcher (DD-514), 26°33'N, 127°29'E; destroyer escort John C. Butler (DE-339), 26°47'N, 127°52'E; high speed transports Chase (APD-54), 26°18'N, 127°14'E and Register (APD-92), 26°25'N, 127°21'E; and tank landing ship LST-808, 26°42'N, 127°47'E; high speed transport Tattnall (APD-19) is damaged by horizontal bomber, 26°00'N, 128°00'E.

TBF/TBMs from TG 58.3 provide close air support for efforts to take Japanese position holding up the advance of U.S. ground forces northeast of Shuri castle, Okinawa.

Photo: The U.S. navy aircraft carrier USS Essex (CV-9) underway at sea during the Okinawa Campaign, 20 May 1945. Note that her Carrier Air Group 83 (CVG-83) contains both Vought F4U-1 Corsair and Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat fighters of VBF-83 and VF-83



UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPOA COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 368, MAY 20, 1945

The Tenth Army in Southern Okinawa gained ground slowly against the heaviest kind of resistance in the central and western sectors as it enveloped the enemy citadel of Shuri on May 20 (East Longitude Date). The First Marine Division established its forward elements at a point about 800 yards south of Dakeshi Town and the Seventy‑Seventh Infantry Division, after re­pulsing three enemy counterattacks, captured a strong point 900 yards north­east of Shuri. In the Sixth Marine Division zone on the west coast, local progress was made east of Takamotoji. Moving against intense fire the Ninety-Sixth Infantry Division reached an elevation about 1,600 yards east of Ishimmi Town. Throughout the day our troops in all sectors met strong re­sistance from caves, pillboxes and intense small arms fire. Ships' gunfire and aircraft continued to support the troops.

A few enemy planes were over the area of Okinawa early on May 20, but no activity was reported during daylight hours when adverse weather prevailed.

On the night of May 18‑19, Thunderbolts of the 318th Army Fighters Group struck targets among the Amami Islands. Thunderbolts of the same force strafed air installations in the Northern Ryukyus and joined a Navy search Privateer to sink a picket craft west of Kyushu on May 20.

Search Privateers of Fleet Air Wing One sank a medium freighter, prob­ably sank two small freighters and damaged a number of landing craft in the waters around Korea on May 20.

Thunderbolt fighters of the Seventh Army Air Force strafed sir installa­tions and barges at Truk on May 20. On the same date, Seventh Air Force Liberators bombed Marcus Island.

Mopping up operations continued on Iwo Island, the Islands of the Marianas and the Palau Islands during the week May 6 through 12. In this period, 141 of the enemy were killed and 167 were captured.

Search aircraft of Fleet Air Wing Four struck installations at Kokutan on Shimushu in the Northern Kuriles with bombs and rockets on May 18. On the same date, Liberators of the Eleventh Army Air Force bombed Kataoka naval base on the same island.

PACIFIC

Submarine Cero (SS-225) sinks Japanese merchant whaler No.5 Seki Maru east-southeast of Kinkazan, 38°06'N, 142°24'E.

Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 244 is sunk by aircraft, 22°35'N, 128°51'E.

Japanese army cargo vessel No.1 Konan Maru is sunk by aircraft off Hong Kong.

USAAF B-24s (Fifth Air Force) sink Japanese army cargo vessel Torai Maru off Keelung, Formosa, 26°00'N, 122°00'E.

Japanese merchant cargo ship Nikkan Maru is sunk by aircraft off Pusan, Korea; merchant refrigerated stores ship Kanagawa Maru is sunk by aircraft off south coast of Korea.

Japanese merchant tanker No.11 Horai Maru is damaged by aircraft, location unspecified.

Day 2081 of World War II, May 22nd 1945

Allied occupied Germany

Field Marshall Montgomery was designated as commander of British occupation troops, as well as a British member of the Allied Control Commission in Germany.

Heinrich Himmler, the Reichsfuhrer SS, is captured by a British patrol at Bremervorde, near Hamburg. He initially claimed to be a rural policeman named Heinrich Hitzinger but under interrogation he removed the black eye patch he was wearing and put on his familiar glasses before admitting his true identity.

The Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) acceded to Soviet proposals that the Flensburg Government be dissolved and its members arrested as POWs.

Soviet occupied Latvia

Soviet SMERSH captured German SS Lieutenant General Bruno Streckenbach in Latvia. He would remain imprisoned in Russia until Oct 1955.

Soviet Union

Viktor Abakumov complained to Lavrentiy Beria of NKVD official Ivan Serov's interference with the SMERSH investigation of Adolf Hitler's final days. Lavrentiy Beria received a report from Soviet NKVD official Ivan Serov regarding Adolf Hitler's final days.

United Kingdom

A group of 25 German POWs is put to work in the suburbs of London to assist in rebuilding. They are visited by the British minister of works, Duncan Sandys, who later commented: "We hope to get a lot of good work out of these chaps."

The British Government announced further reductions in rations. Bacon was reduced to three ounces per person per week, cooking fat to one ounce and meat to 106-lb per person per year, and the soap ration was also reduced for all but babies and young children.

YouTube (U-Boat surrenders in the Thames (1945)



United States

President Truman reports to Congress on the Lend-Lease program. He announces that up to March 1945, Britain had received supplies worth $12,775,000,000 and the Soviets $8,409,000,000. Reverse Lend-Lease, mostly from Britain has been worth almost $5,000,000,000 in the same period.

Following the deaths of six people in Oregon including five children, the United States Department of Censorship lifted the blackout of press coverage about the Japanese balloon bombs. In its place, a safety warning was widely publicized describing the balloons and cautioning people, especially children, to avoid contact with any strange objects found in open country. News editors were still encouraged to keep any reporting of specific balloon activities out of their reports in order to deny the Japanese that intelligence.

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Gurke (DD-783) in Puget Sound, Washington (USA), on 22 May 1945



Pacific War

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 15 B-25s and 7 fighter- bombers knock out a rail bridge at Hei-Shih Kuan, damage a bridge approach at Hwayuan, and hit a variety of targets S of Kuo-lueh-chen; 10 P-51s drop napalm on trucks, barracks, storage, trains, and town areas at Sinyang, and Shanyangchen; 45 other fighter-bombers and photo reconnaissance aircraft attack railroad targets, bridges, troops, and other targets at several S and E China points and survey enemy movements.

INDIA-BURMA

(Tenth Air Force): The flight of the 20th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, operating from Akyab Airfield with F-6s, returns to base at Nagaghuli.

TINIAN

(Twentieth Air Force): Mission 180: During the night of 22/23 May, 30 B-29s mine Shimonoseki Strait and approaches; 1 B-29 is lost.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

On Formosa, B-24s bomb Toshien and Okayama while B-25s hit an oil plant west of Kagi and several targets of opportunity.

BORNEO CAMPAIGN (1945)

In Borneo, B-24s, B-25s, and fighter-bombers attack Jesselton, Kudat, Bintula, and Tarakan.

PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1945)

Elements of the US 24th Division reach Tambongan on Mindanao.

B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers attack the Santa Fe, Fula, and Casambalangan areas in the N part of Luzon Island and support ground forces in the Ipo Dam and Marikina areas in the S.

VOLCANO AND RYUKYU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

On Okinawa, American forces enter Yonabaru and capture Conical Hill. Heavy rains begin that hamper offensive operations for the coming weeks.

Photo: The caption on this photograph reads "Watching Their Troops-As the Marines drive toward the capital city of Naha, leaders watch the action from an observation post on a rocky ledge. They are, (left to right): Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr., commanding the Tenth Army; Major General Lemuel C. Shepherd, commanding general of the Sixth Marine Division, and his assistant commander, Marine Brigadier General William T. Clement," 22 May 1945



UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPOA COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 370, MAY 22, 1945

At dusk on May 21 (East Longitude Date) about 12 to 15 enemy aircraft attacked U. S. ships in the Okinawa area. Eight of these planes were de­stroyed by our forces and the remainder retired from the area without caus­ing damage.

Heavy rains and resulting mud limited the movement of armored vehicles and restricted operations in the central and western sectors of the front in Southern Okinawa on May 22. On the eastern end of the lines the advances made in the previous week by the Ninety‑Sixth Infantry Division permitted the Seventh Infantry Division to launch a night attack which carried their forward elements into Yonabaru on the left flank and around the city into the high ground overlooking Rioj Town and Itarashiku Town to the south. Reports at this time indicate that the enemy has chosen not to defend Yona­baru which has been thoroughly reduced by our gunfire and bombing. Mean­while the Ninety Sixth Infantry Division continued to attack enemy defenses southwest of Conical Hill. During early morning darkness of May 22, the Marine Division in the west repulsed a Japanese counterattack killing about 80 of the enemy. The Sixth Marine Division continued to consolidate its posi­tion along the Asato River and the Seventy Seventh Infantry Division con­ducted mopping up operations.

Carrier based aircraft of the British Pacific Fleet bombed airfields, bar­racks, port installations, and buildings in the Sakishima group on May 20 and 21. One enemy plane was shot down.

Search Mariners of Fleet Air Wing One damaged two small cargo ships in the East China Sea on May 22. One the same date a search Privateer of this wing strafed a small cargo ship and left it burning south of Korea.

A small group of enemy bombers made a low level attack on installations on Iwo Island during the night of May 21, causing a few casualties. Two enemy planes were shot down.

Liberators and Privateers of Fleet Air Wing Eighteen shot down a glider, probably destroyed an enemy plane and sank two small cargo ships south of Honshu on May 21. On the following day aircraft of this wing destroyed three fishing craft and damaged a small cargo ship in the same area.

Corsair and Hellcat fighters of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing bombed enemy installations !n the Palaus and on Yap on May 21 and 22. On May 21 and during the night of May 21‑22, Mustangs of the Seventh Fighter Com­mand bombed and strafed a radio station on Chichi Jima !n the Bonins. Marine bombers continued neutralizing raids on the Marshalls on May 21. In mopping up operations on Iwo Island and the Island of the Marianas from May 13 through May 19, U. S. forces killed 94 of the enemy and captured 134.

PACIFIC

Thirty-two USAAF B-29s mine Shimonoseki Straits.

Planes from carriers Bennington (CV-20) and Hornet (CV-12) sink Japanese submarine chasers Ch 37 and Ch 58, and landing ship T.173 southwest of Kyushu between Sasebo and Oshima, 29°45'N, 129°10'E.

Mines sink Japanese merchant cargo ships No.25 Uwajima Maru off Moji, 34°20'N, 134°20'E, and Sagami Maru off Wakamatsu, and damage auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 157 eight miles off Niigata harbor.

Japanese auxiliary patrol vessel Pa 25 is damaged by aircraft one kilometer off Omaesaki.