World War II in real time

Day 2100 of World War II, June 10th 1945

Allied occupied Germany

In Frankfurt, Marshal Zhukov confers the Soviet Order of Victory on Field Marshal Montgomery and General Eisenhower. During the evening, in a message broadcast by Hamburg radio, Field Marshal Montgomery says that the German people must be taught that not only have they been defeated, but that they are guilty of beginning the war as they were guilty in 1914. He suggests parents read the message to their children and ensure that they understand it.

Photo: Marshal Zhukov decorates Field Marshal Montgomery with the Russian Order of Victory. Allied chiefs who attended the ceremony at Gen. Eisenhower's Headquarters at Frankfurt are about to drink a toast, 10 June 1945



Norway

Photo: Panzer-Brigade 'Norwegen' handing over their tanks and assault guns to British army and Norwegian MILORG personnel in the Akershus district outside Oslo,10 June 1945



Photo: Panzer-Brigade 'Norwegen' handing over their tanks and assault guns to British army and Norwegian MILORG personnel in the Akershus district outside Oslo, 10 June 1945



YouTube (The surrender of German panzers to British and Norwegian troops in Norway)

Mute edited footage originally shot by US Signal Corps cameramen showing men serving with Panzer-Brigade-Norwegen handing over their tanks and assault guns to British army and Norwegian MILORG personnel in the Akershus district outside Oslo circa 10 June 1945 following the unconditional surrender of all German forces. The location is Trandum, the site of a former Norwegian Army training camp. The British officer seen taking the surrender of the commanding officer of Panzer-Brigade-Norwegen (and his adjutant) has been identified as Lt-Colonel O J O'Connor. The tanks seen in this film are late-mark Panzer III medium tanks armed with either short-barrelled 7.5cm L/24 cannon or the long-barrelled 5cm L/60 cannon and have been fitted with "Schuezen" 8mm armour plates as protection for their turrets and also in several instances seen here to their hull sides against anti-tank rifle rounds. By 1945, the Panzer III was regarded as obsolete by German panzer commanders but no doubt the German garrison in Norway, denied access to more powerful tanks by the Nazi high command on the grounds they were needed on war fronts where fierce combat was taking place, found their presence in its order of battle reassuring.



Pacific War

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 14 P-51s damage a bridge near Singtai and attack barracks, river-craft, fuel dumps, trucks and other targets of opportunity around Taohsien, Lingling, Liuchow, and Kaifeng.

Chinese forces capture the port of Wenchow (I-shan) and pursue the Japanese forces toward Liuchow.

INDIA-BURMA

(Tenth Air Force): HQ 4th Combat Cargo Group and the 13th, 14th and 15th Combat Cargo Squadrons move from Chittagong to Namponmao, Burma with C-46s.

BURMA

Burmese guerrillas led by British officers retake Loilem, in the Shan Mountains area.

JAPAN

Prime Minister Suzuki is granted dictatorial powers by the Imperial Diet.

TINIAN

(Twentieth Air Force): 6 missions are flown. Mission 195: 23 B-29s attack the seaplane base at Kasumigaura; 2 others hit alternate targets. Mission 196: 32 B-29s bomb and the Japan Aircraft Company plant at Tomioka; 1 other hits an alternate target. Mission 197: 118 B-29s are dispatched to hit the Nakajima Aircraft plant at Musashi; clouds cover the target and they hit the Hitachi engineering works at Kaigan; 2 others hit alternate targets. Mission 198: 26 B-29s attack the Hitachi plant at Chiba. Mission 199: 52 B-29s hit the Nakajima plants at Ogikubu and Omiya; 4 others hit alternate targets; 1 B-29 is lost. Mission 200: 29 B-29s attack the Tachikawa Army Air Arsenal and 3 others hit alternate targets. The VII Fighter Commands sends 107 P-51s to escort the B-29s; 27-7-10 Japanese aircraft are claimed without loss. 39 Ie Shima based P-47s sweeping Kyushu strafe numerous ground targets of opportunity, and claim 17 aircraft shot down.

BORNEO CAMPAIGN (1945)

On Borneo, almost 30,000 men of the Australian 9th Division make an unopposed landing in Brunei Bay (Operation Oboe VI). Small contingents also make assault landings on the islands of Labuan and Muara nearby. Naval support forces are under the command of Admiral Royal. A naval bombardment in support of the landings was conducted by a force of cruisers and destroyers under the command of Admiral Berkey.

Photo: The U.S. Navy landing craft repair ship USS Proserpine (ARL-21) underway on 10 June 1945, wearing this as yet unidentified camouflage pattern, probably in greens



Photo: USS LCI(R)-74 firing rockets at the landing beaches prior to waves coming in, at Brunei Bay, Borneo, on 10 June 1945. Other LCI(R ) and LCS are in the background



Photo: Crowded US Navy LCIs approaching Labuan on 10 June 1945



Photo: Troops of 2/17 Infantry Battalion approaching Green Beach in Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVP). They are part of the second wave landing during the Oboe 6 Operation, 10 June 1945



Photo: Australian troops land from USS LST-560, at Labuan Island in Brunei Bay, 10 June 1945



Photo: Australian troops from the 24th Brigade landing on Labuan on 10 June 1945



Photo: A soldier from the Australian 2/43rd Battalion armed with an Owen Gun in a bomber dispersal bay at Labuan airstrip on the day of the Australian landing there, 10 June 1945



Photo: Matilda II tanks from the Australian 2/9th Armoured Regiment moving east soon after landing on Labuan during Operation Oboe 6, 10 June 1945



Photo: Australian infantrymen taking cover behind a Matilda II tank while it fires on Japanese positions, 10 June 1945



PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1945)

On Luzon, Japanese forces halt the advance of the US 37th Division near Orioung Pass.

On Luzon, fighter-bombers again pound the Cagayan Valley area and support ground forces E of Manila.

VOLCANO AND RYUKYU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

On Okinawa, fighting continues on the Oroku Peninsula, where the forces of the US 6th Marine Division have reduced the Japanese pocket to about 2000 square yards. Heavy Japanese losses are recorded in nighttime counterattacks. Meanwhile, on the south of the island, the US 1st Marine Division suffers heavy losses in the successful capture of a hill west of the town of Yuza. The US 24th Corps forces, to the left, launches a major offensive against the last Japanese defensive line, the Yaeju-Dake Line. Japanese resistance is evidently weakening.

Photo: A patrol of the 381st Inf., 96th Div. advance against "Big Apple" hill which is visible in the background. 10 June 1945



Photo: A guncrew of the 383rd Inf. Regt. loads a shell into the new 57mm recoiless rifle to fire against Jap pillboxes and caves on Okinawa. 10 June, 1945



Photo: A three-man gun crew of the 17th Regiment, 7th Division, fires point-blank at Japanese caves in Okinawa hills. 10 June, 1945



Off Okinawa, destroyer William D. Porter (DD-579) is sunk by kamikaze, 27°06'N, 127°38'E; despite the fires and exploding ammunition, Lieutenant Richard M. McCool, Jr. unhesitatingly places his ship, large support landing craft LCS(L)(3)-122 alongside the sinking warship to take off her survivors.

Also off Okinawa, destroyer escort Gendreau (DE-639) is damaged by shore battery, 26°03'N, 127°12'E.

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS William D. Porter (DD-579) sinking after she was near-missed by a Kamikaze suicide aircraft off Okinawa, 10 June 1945. USS LCS-122 is standing by



Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS William D. Porter (DD-579) sinking after she was near-missed by a "Kamikaze" suicide aircraft off Okinawa, 10 June 1945. USS LCS-86 and another LCS are alongside, taking off her crew. Though not actually hit by the enemy plane, William D. Porter received fatal underwater damage from the near-by explosion



ALASKA

(Eleventh Air Force): Four US Navy Lockheed PV-2 Harpoons attack a Japanese "Sugar Dog" (a 70-150 ton ship with smokestack aft) off Masugawa, Paramushiru Island leaving the ship in flames with the crew abandoning it while two B-24s join USN bombers and sink the cargo ship Nichiei Maru Number 5 off southwestern Paramushiru.

Beginning at 2352 hours, US Navy Task Force 92, consisting of the light cruisers USS Concord, USS Richmond and USS Trenton and escorting destroyers, bombard Matsuwa Island.

PACIFIC

In the Admiralty Islands, British Pacific Fleet units leave Manus Island for operations against the Japanese base at Truk in the Caroline Islands.

Naval task group (Rear Admiral Joseph J. Clark) bombs and bombards enemy airfield and other installations on Minami Daito Jima, Ryukyus.

Submarine Crevalle (SS-291) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Daiki Maru in western approaches to Tsugaru Strait, 40°44'N, 139°48'E.

Submarine Dace (SS-247) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking merchant cargo ship Hakuyo Maru in Sea of Okhotsk, about 120 miles west of Shimushu Island 47°21'N, 149°07'E.

Submarine Flying Fish (SS-229) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Taga Maru off Seishin, northwestern Korea, 41°42'N, 129°34'E.

Submarine Skate (SS-305) sinks Japanese submarine I 122 in Sea of Japan, six miles off Cape Rokugo lighthouse, 37°30'N, 137°24'E.

Submarine Spadefish (SS-411), attacking Japanese shipping off Hokkaido, sinks merchant cargo ship No.2 Taigen Maru off Otaru, 43°23'N, 140°39'E; transport No.8 Unkai Maru off Shakotan Mizaki, 43°55'N, 141°13'E; and cargo ship Jintsu Maru, 43°28'N, 140°28'E.

Submarine Tench (SS-417) sinks Japanese merchant tanker No.6 Shoei Maru, 41°15'N, 141°31'E.

PB4Y-2s (VPB 118), flying from Okinawa, commence mining waters of the Korean archipelago. The intent is to drive Japanese shipping, forced by the work of PB4Ys and PBMs to carry out nocturnal operations (sheltering by day in small protected anchorages) out into the open sea to facilitate mast-head attacks. The mines thus planted could sink undiverted shipping and place an additional burden on the already overtaxed Japanese minesweeping force. On this initial mission, the first aerial mining using Privateers, however, the PB4Ys encounter intense antiaircraft fire from Japanese warships in Tsushima Strait during the run-in to the objective, Pusan harbor. The PB4Ys mine the waters along the Korean coast between Shinchi-To and Seigan-To instead (see 11 June-1 July).

Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 63 is sunk in collision west of Mokpo, Korea, 34°50'N, 126°10'E.

Mines damage Japanese escort destroyer Habuto, 2.6 kilometers north of Kannonzaki, and guardboat Choei Maru off Shinminato.

PB4Ys (VB 102°) sink Japanese merchant tanker Tado Maru off west coast of Korea, 36°00'N, 125°00'E.

Day 2102 of World War II, June 12th 1945

Netherlands

Chinese Nationalist (KMT) general, Sun Liren inspected Canadian troops and captured German weapons at General Harry Crerar's headquarters in the Netherlands.

Italy

Yugoslavian forces withdraw from the disputed port of Trieste. The Yugoslavs urge the New Zealander and Indian troops to also pull out.

United Kingdom

Dwight D. Eisenhower received the Freedom of the City of London and the Order of Merit.

Photo: The British Royal Navy destroyer HMS Camperdown (D32) at a buoy on the River Clyde on 12 June 1945



Photo: A mass of surrendered German U-boats at their mooring at Lisahally, Northern Ireland. There are nine of the 21 class (1600 tons carrying 23 torpedoes), four of the 9 class (500 tons) and thirty nine of the 7 class (also 500 tons), a total of fifty two U-boats, 12 June 1945



Pacific War

YouTube (Japan News No. 253- 21 June 1945 - English translation available)



CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 2 B-25s knock out a bridge S of Yutze while 4 escorting P-47s hit nearby AA positions and afterwards pound railroad targets at Linfen; 9 P-51s and 2 P-61s damage a bridge N of Hengyang, hit a storage area at Yunganshih, and attack railroad targets, troops, horses, AA positions, and road traffic in Neikiuhsien and Hengyang.

GUAM

(Seventh Air Force): 12 Guam Island-based B-24s pound the airfield on Marcus Island in the N Pacific.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

B-24s inflict heavy destruction on the navy yard and dock area at Hong Kong and railroad yards at Saigon, French Indochina. 2 B-32s bomb the airstrip on Batan Island.

BORNEO CAMPAIGN (1945)

Borneo, numerous strikes on Tarakan the Brunei Bay area, and coastal routes in N Borneo.

Photo: Troops from the Australian 2/43rd Infantry Battalion advance with a Matilda tank on Labuan. The soldier on the far right is carrying an Owen submachine gun, 12 June 1945



PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1945)

On Luzon, the US 145th Infantry Regiment breaks Japanese resistance at Orioung Pass, occupies the town of Orioung and advances as far as positions overlooking the town of Balite. The Visayan Islands (including Samar, Negros, Panay, Leyte, Cebu, and Bohol), between Luzon and Mindanao, are secured by American forces. American casualties in the campaign have amounted to 835 dead and 2300 wounded. Japanese casualties are estimated to be 10,000 dead.

Numerous fighter-bombers and B-25s hit Cagayan Valley targets while other fighter-bombers support ground forces N of Baguio and Balete Pass and E of Manila, all on Luzon Island.

VOLCANO AND RYUKYU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

On Okinawa, many of the Japanese naval infantry cut off in the Oruku peninsula, reduced to a pocket of about 1000 square yards, begin to commit mass suicide to avoid surrender. The US 1st Marine Division captures the west end of Kunishi Ridge during a night attack. The US 96th Division attacks Japanese positions around Mount Yuza and Mount Yaeju.

Off Okinawa, light cruiser Vicksburg (CL-86) is damaged when own shell bursts as it leaves muzzle, 26°10'N, 127°20'E.

Okinawa-based PB4Y-2s (VPB 118), using radar, mine the waters off Chin-To, Korean Archipelago. The same waters are mined again the following day.

ALASKA

(Eleventh Air Force): 4 B-25s strafe shipping off Paramushiru Island, near Arahata Cape, damaging 4 freighters and 2 barges; one of the B-25s is shot down.

PACIFIC

Submarine Sea Dog (SS-401) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ships Shinsen Maru and Kaiwa Maru, 40°11'N, 139°46'E.

Submarine Skate (SS-305) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ships Yozan Maru, Kenjo Maru, and Zuiko Maru, and damages Kankyo Maru in Togi harbor, northern Honshu, 37°08'N, 136°42'E.

Submarine Spadefish (SS-411) sinks Japanese guardboat Daido Maru west of Wakkanai, Hokkaido, 45°08'N, 141°10'E.

Submarine Tinosa (SS-283) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Keito Maru, 37°30'N, 129°20'E.

Japanese submarine chaser Ch 57 and passenger ferry No.2 Kuroshio (ex-landing ship T.149) are sunk by British destroyers HMS Tartar, HMS Eskimo, and HMS Nubian (10th Destroyer Flotilla), 20 miles north ofSabang, Sumatra, 06°20'N, 94°45'E, as the enemy is engaged in withdrawing his troops from the Andamans.

Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Myoken Maru is sunk by aircraft, Atsuta dockyard.

Mines laid by USAAF B-29s sink Japanese army cargo ship Aizan Maru in Hakata Bay, 33°38'N, 130°22'E, merchant cargo ships Sagami Maru, 25 miles off Kaburazaki, and Fumitsuki Maru off Shirasu, 33°57'N, 130°44'E, and liaison ship Shimonoseki Maru at 36°30'N, 130°19'E, and damage army tanker Yamadono Maru, 2.5 kilometers off Manabe Island.

Day 2104 of World War II, June 14th 1945

Allied occupied Germany

In Hamburg, British troops capture the former Nazi foreign minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop, in a boardinghouse.

France

Gen. of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower was decorated by Gen. Charles De Gaulle with the French Order of Liberation at the Arc de Triomphe. Ike later gave a speech at the Hotel de Ville, Paris attended by all senior military and civilian officials in the city.

United States

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. This order may have been given in light of recent progress on the production of an atomic bomb but this is not stated.

Sweden

Photo: Soviet POWs before boarding at Fredriksskans, Gävle to return back to the Soviet Union, 14 June 1945



Pacific War

CHINA

Otozo Yamada met with his top Kwangtung Army officers in Xinjing (Changchun), China to plan defenses against a potential Soviet invasion.

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 42 P-51s attack bridges, shipping, AA positions, railroad targets, trucks, and communications around Hengyang, Hankow, Yoyang, Lingling, Anyang, Szeshui, Hohsien, Shihkiachwang, Neikiuhsien and Puchou.

Chinese forces capture the city of Ishan from Japanese forces after a five-day battle. The Chinese forces pursue the Japanese towards Liuchow.

CAROLINE ISLANDS

British TG 111.2 (Rear Admiral Eric J.P. Brind, RN), comprising fleet carrier HMS Implacable, escort carrier HMS Ruler, four light cruisers and five destroyers, attacks Truk atoll to neutralize Japanese air bases there.

BORNEO CAMPAIGN (1945)

B-24s bomb AA positions at Balikpapan, Borneo.

Photo: Private B K F Collyer, B Company 2/17 Infantry Battalion, moving along the main road on the outskirt of the town, In the foreground is a Japanese 20MM Twin Barrel Dual Purpose Gun, 14 June 1945



PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1945)

On Luzon, American forces dislodge the Japanese blocking the Orioung Pass. Elements of the US 37th Division, formed into an armored column, advance as far as Echague. From Santiago, other units advance toward Cabanatuan and Cauayan.

On Luzon Island, B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers pound areas around the Cagayan Valley, Cervantes and N of Baguio and E of Manila. On Celebes Island, B-24s bomb warehouses at Parepare and a personnel area at Sidate.

The air echelon of the 25th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 6th Reconnaissance Group, begins operating from Clark Field, Luzon with F-5s (squadron is based at San Jose, Mindoro Island).

VOLCANO AND RYUKYU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

On Okinawa, mopping up operations proceed on the Oroku peninsula. The troops of the US 3rd Amphibious Corps and the US 24th Corps continue to eliminate fortified caves held by Japanese forces on Kunishi Ridge and on Mount Yuza and Mount Yaegu. An American regiment of the US 96th Division reaches the summit of Mount Yaegu, while the US th Division extends its control of Hills 153 and 115.

Photo: 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



PACIFIC

Motor gunboat PGM-24 is damaged when accidentally rammed by light minelayer Thomas E. Fraser (DM-24) off Okinawa, 25°30'N, 126°00'E.

Submarine Sea Devil (SS-400), despite presence of two escorts, sinks Japanese transport Wakamiyasan Maru in the northern Yellow Sea, 37°35'N, 123°30'E.

Submarine Spadefish (SS-411) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Seizan Maru off western Sakhalin, 47°03'N, 142°01'E.

PB4Y-2s (VPB 118), flying from Okinawa, mine waters between Gyuji-To, Toso-To and Jobai-To, Korean Archipelago, encountering antiaircraft fire from nearby anchored shipping. The same waters are mined each day over the next three days, but the Privateers encounter no further antiaircraft fire on those occasions.

Mine laid by USAAF B-29s sinks Japanese army cargo ship No.18 Umajima Maru at 33°39'N, 130°15'E.

PB4Y bombs Japanese shipping off Bandjermasin, sinking No.470 Shuttle Vessel.

Day 2106 of World War II, June 16th 1945

Allied occupied Germany

American troops captured the former Hungarian Prime Minister Béla Imrédy.

Belgium

Belgian Premier Achille van Acker and his cabinet resign in protest against the contemplated return of King Leopold III.

Pacific War

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 2 B-25s hit supply movements on the Paoching-Hengyang road; 41 P-51s attack bridges, shipping, road transport, power facilities, and railroad traffic, knocking out bridges near Siangtan, Changsha, and Suchow; rail, road and river traffic is attacked near Yoyang, Hengyang, Kuanyang, Shou-yang, Peking, and Linfen. A power plant at Uong Bi, French Indochina is heavily damaged.

IWO JIMA

(Twentieth Air Force): P-61s arrive on Ie Shima and take over night heckler missions against Kyushu Island, Japan from the P-47s; other P-61s fly night intruder missions over Amami Gunto Island, Japan, bombing various targets of opportunity; 38 P-47s from Ie Shima dive-bomb boats, AA positions, runways, and buildings on Kikai Island, Japan.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force]: On Formosa, 90+ B-24s pound Kiirun harbor and the town of Takao and 3 B-32s bomb Taito. HQ 308th Bombardment Wing moves from Luzon to Okinawa Island.

CAROLINE ISLANDS

British naval units bombard the Japanese base at Truk.

BORNEO CAMPAIGN (1945)

In Borneo, B-24s bomb Balikpapan gun emplacements, Tawau, and Samarinda, while B-25s hit the Brunei Bay area and fighter-bombers attack Miri, Jesselton, and Keningau Airfields and N Borneo targets of opportunity.

PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1945)

On Luzon Island, B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers hit personnel and supply targets in the Cagayan Valley and E of Manila, and support ground forces in the Cervantes sector.

VOLCANO AND RYUKYU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

On Okinawa, Mount Yuza is captured by the US 381st Infantry Regiment. Fighting continues on the south of the island.

Photo: Soldiers of the 32nd Regt., 7th Inf. Div., advancing to Hill 115 against moderate resistance. 16 June, 1945



Off Okinawa at 2030 hours local, a single, low-flying Japanese aircraft drops a torpedo which hits the destroyer USS Twiggs on her port side, exploding her number 2 magazine. The plane then circles and completes its kamikaze mission in a suicide crash. The explosion enveloped the destroyer in flame; and, within an hour, she sinks. Despite the hazard of exploding ammunition, 188 survivors are rescued from the oily waters; among the 162 dead and missing is her commanding officer.

Photo: The crew of one of the port forward 20 mm guns aboard the U.S. Navy destroyer minelayer USS Lindsey (DM-32) pose by their weapon, at Guam, circa 16 June 1945. They had stuck to their post until knocked off their feet by the force of a second explosion, when Lindsey was struck by two Kamikaze planes off Okinawa on 12 April 1945. Note the severely damaged plating in the vicinity



Photo: The U.S. Navy escort carrier USS Kula Gulf (CVE-108) launches a Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat. This was the first catapult launch of the newly commissioned carrier, 16 June 1945



ALASKA

(Eleventh Air Force): In the Kurile Islands, 4 B-24s bomb and strafe shipping off Suribachi Bay, Paramushiru Island and a radar site on Minami Cape, Shimushu Island; one of the B-24s crashes into the water; 4 B-25s on a shipping strike score near misses on a freighter in Asahi Bay and bomb targets along the Torishima Chain; mechanical failures force 2 of the B-25s to fly to Petropavlovsk, USSR.

PACIFIC

Submarine Piranha (SS-389) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Eiso Maru, 41°57'N, 140°56'E.

British submarine HMS Taciturn sinks Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 105 and unnamed air warning picket hulk (ex-Dutch submarine K-XVIII) off Surabaya, Java, N.E.I.

Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Wakatake Maru is sunk by aircraft, Keelung harbor.

Japanese army cargo ship Taikyu Maru is sunk by mine west of the mouth of Kammon channel.

Japanese merchant cargo ship Takeshima Maru is sunk by aircraft, 34°35'N, 125°58'E.

Japanese merchant cargo ship Kinsho Maru is sunk, agentand location unspecified.

Japanese merchant cargo ship No.35 Banshu Maru is sunk by mine, 33°57'N, 130°43'E.

Japanese destroyer Natsuzuki is damaged 3.1 kilometers off Mutsure Island.

Day 2108 of World War II, June 18th 1945

Soviet occupied Germany

General Nikolai Berzarin, the Soviet commander in Berlin, Germany, was killed in a car crash in the city.

Soviet Union

Sixteen officers of the Polish Home Army are put on trial for fighting the Red Army.

Photo: The show trial of 16 leaders of Polish wartime underground movement (including Home Army and civil authorities) convicted of "drawing up plans for military action against the U.S.S.R.", Moscow, June 1945. They had been invited to help organize the new "Polish Government of National Unity" in March 1945 and captured by NKWD. Despite the court's conspicuous leniency, only two were still alive six years later



United States

General Eisenhower addresses a joint session of Congress as he begins a series of victory celebrations in his honor.

United Kingdom

William Joyce, Lord Haw Haw, is put on trial for treason in London, for broadcasting propaganda from Germany. The armed services begin demobilizing at a rate of 30,000 people per week.

The British demobilization began.

Photo: "demob" (Females) Farewell at Royal Naval Air Station, Henstridge, Somerset, 18 June 1945



Photo: "demob" (Males) Farewell at Royal Naval Air Station, Henstridge, Somerset, 18 June 1945



Pacific War

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): 70+ P-51s, P-61s, and P-47s continue to disrupt the Japanese withdrawal from S and E China, attacking bridges, villages and town areas, barracks, troop concentrations, motor transport, shipping and rail traffic, and targets of opportunity throughout wide areas.

Chinese forces capture the port of Wenchow.

JAPAN

On instructions from Emperor Hirohito, Prime Minister Suzuki tells the Japanese Supreme Council that it is the intention of Hirohito to seek peace with the Allies as soon as possible.

American bombers begin a series of 23 raids against major Japanese cities, all with populations between 100,000 and 350,000 people.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

In Formosa, B-24s destroy a block of buildings and several warehouses and small vessels in Kiirun harbor area, P-51s hit Taien and Toyohara Airfields and targets of opportunity while P-38s start numerous fires in the town of Kari.

BORNEO CAMPAIGN (1945)

On Borneo, Australians reach Tutong in Brunei.

In Borneo, B-24s blast troop concentrations in Balikpapan and S of Miri, Manggar Airfield and Sepinggang defenses and B-25s support ground forces on Labuan Island.

PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1945)

On Luzon, elements of the US 37th Division, supported by an armored column, advance in the Caygayan valley, capturing Ilagan airfield and crossing the Ilagan River. On Mindanao, organized Japanese resistance comes to an end. Forces of the Japanese 35th Army have been cut off and dependent on roots and tree bark for food for some time now. Nonetheless, some small units of Japanese continue to resist.

On Luzon Island, B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers continue to attack targets in the Cagayan Valley, Balete Pass, and Cervantes areas, and other locations.

VOLCANO AND RYUKYU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

On Okinawa, the remnants of the Japanese 32nd Army continue to offer determined resistance to attacks of the US 3rd Amphibious Corps and the US 24th Corps.

Photo: US forces hiding behind a Tomori Stone Lion, 18 June 1945



Lt. General Simon Bolivar Buckner, commanding US 10th Army, is killed by Japanese artillery fire while he is on a visit to the front line, inspecting troops of the US 8th Marine Division. He is temporarily replaced by General Geiger, commanding the US 3rd Amphibious Corps.

Photo: This is the last photograph taken of Lt. Gen. Simon B. Buckner, Jr., USA, right, just before he was killed on 18 June, observing the 8th Marines in action on Okinawa for the first time since the regiment entered the lines in the drive to the south. Note the rock and coral outcropping to his left. The shell that exploded hit that outcropping, dispersing fragments into the general, killing him within a few minutes. The other two staff officers were not seriously hurt



ALASKA

(Eleventh Air Force): 6 B-24s join US Navy aircraft in attacking Kataoka, Shimushu and Tomari Cape, Paramushiru Island; cloud cover prevents observation of effects; 1 B-24 flies a radar-ferret mission over the Kurile Islands.

PACIFIC

Battleship Nevada (BB-36) and two destroyers (Captain Homer L. Grosskopf), en route from Pearl Harbor to Saipan, bombards shore installations on Emidj Island, Jaluit Atoll, Marshalls, coordinated with bombing by land-based planes from U.S. bases in the Marshalls.

Rear Admiral Forrest B. Royal, Commander, Amphibious Group 6, dies on board amphibious force flagship Rocky Mount (AGC-3) of coronary thrombosis.

Motor minesweeper YMS-50, damaged by mine off Balikpapan, Borneo, 01°18'S, 116°49'E, is scuttled by light cruiser Denver (CL-58).

Submarine Apogon (SS-308), attacking Japanese convoy RU, sinks transport Hakuai Maru and guardboat No.2 Kusonoki Maru southwest of Paramushiro, Kurils, 50°30'N, 155°01'E (see 19 June).

Submarine Bonefish (SS-223), after conferring with Tunny (SS-282) at 37°02'N, 135°32'E, off western coast of Honshu, sinks Japanese cargo ship Konzan Maru, 37°13'N, 137°18'E. Bonefish, however, is later sunk by escort destroyer Okinawa, Coast Defense Vessel No.63, Coast Defense Vessel No.75, Coast Defense Vessel No.158 and Coast Defense Vessel No.207 in Sea of Japan, 37°18'N, 137°55'E.16

Submarine Bullhead (SS-332) sinks Japanese auxiliary sailing vessel No.58 Sakura Maru in Sunda Strait, off Merak, 05°35'S, 106°02'E.

Submarine Dentuda (SS-335) sinks Japanese guardboats Reiko Maru and Heiwa Maru in East China Sea, 30°45'N, 126°00'E.

Submarine Tinosa (SS-283) sinks Japanese ship Wakae Maru at 38°25'N, 128°34'E.

PB4Y-2s (VPB 118) continue aerial mining of waters in Korean archipelago, sowing mines in the waters north of Roka-To.

Mines sink Japanese transport Shintai Maru west of Noto-Hanto, 36°50'N, 134°36'E, auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 197, 1.48 kilometers southwest of Mojizaki light, and merchant cargo ships Nissho Maru off Moji, and Bizan Maru at 33°58'N, 130°44'E, and damage naval vessel Shintai Maru at 36°59'N, 136°43'.

Marine aircraft damage Japanese merchant cargo ships No.1 Oshima Maru east of Tachang Shan Island, Shinko Maru one kilometer off Nisshin, and Hazuki Maru off Kuzuiwa.

Japanese Motor Gunboat No.54 is sunk by aircraft off Port Arthur.

Day 2110 of World War II, June 20th 1945

United States

The United Nations conference settled its last controversy when the Big Five agreed to let the General Assembly have the right to discuss "any matters within the scope of the charter."

Photo: The famous British liner, QUEEN MARY, arrives in New York Harbor, June 20, 1945, with thousands of U.S. troops from European battles



Photo: Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation, 20 June 1945



United Kingdom

The Polish government in exile denies the right of the Soviets to try the Polish ministers who had flown to Moscow and were arrested.

Pacific War

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In French Indochina, 8 B-25s and 6 P-51s knock out 2 bridges near Quang Tri and My Chanh and blast surrounding AA positions while 8 fighter-bombers sink at least 3 river steamers in a canal at Haiphong. In China, 37 P-51s hit rail, road, and river traffic, bridges, and general targets of opportunity around Liuchow, Kweilin, Juchai, Hankow, Siangtan, Changsha, Hengshan, Sintsiang, Kweiyi, Kueiyangshih, and Ft Bayard; a bridge at Hankow is destroyed and several others damaged. The 11th Combat Cargo Squadron, Fourteenth AF, move from Yunnani to Luliang, China with C-47s.

The Allies agree on a plan to capture Fort Bayard (now Zhanijang), on the South China Sea, by August 1st. The area is intended to serve as a base for operations against Japanese held Hong Kong and Canton.

IWO JIMA

(Twentieth Air Force): 14 P-47s from Ie Shima bomb and strafe vessels, buildings, a lighthouse, and a village on Amami Gunto Island and the airfield on Tokuno Island; 38 others bomb the airfield at Omura and hit Tokuno on the return trip.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force]: B-24s bomb Shinchiku Airfield. The 419th Night Fighter Squadron, XIII Fighter Command, based at Puerto Princesa, Palawan Island with P-61s, sends a detachment to operate from Sanga Sanga (another detachment is at Zamboanga).

JAPANESE OCCUPIED WAKE ISLAND

US TG 12.4, Lexington, Hancock and Cowpens send air strikes against Japanese positions on Wake Island. This practice will assist them when they join the 3rd Fleet.
The USN's Task Group 12.4 launches five strikes against Japanese positions on Wake Island while enroute from Pearl Harbor to Leyte in the Philippine Islands; this is the fifth Wake Raid. TG 12.4 consists of the light aircraft carrier USS Cowpens with Light Carrier Air Group Fifty, and the aircraft carriers USS Hancock with Carrier Air Group Six and USS Lexington with CVG-94 plus escorting vessels.

BORNEO CAMPAIGN (1945)

On Borneo, Australian forces land at Lutong in eastern Sarawak.

B-24s again pound AA positions in the Balikpapan, Borneo area.

Tank landing ship LST-562 is damaged when accidentally rammed by tank landing craft LCT-1310, Brunei Bay, Borneo, 04°29'N, 114°01'E.

Motor minesweeper YMS-368 is damaged by mine off Balikpapan, Borneo, 01°19'S, 116°58'E.

PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1945)

On Luzon, Filipino guerrillas advance up the Cagayan valley from Aparri and liberate the town of Tuguegarao. The American regimental task force enters Aparri while elements of the US 37th Division advances 2.5 miles north of Ilagan. Meanwhile, the US 8th Army headquarters announces that operations to recapture the islands of Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol and Palawan, as well as the western part of Mindanao, are completed.

A-20s and fighter- bombers blast resistance on Luzon Island and directly support a guerilla offensive in the C Cayagan Valley.

VOLCANO AND RYUKYU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

On Okinawa, Japanese resistance along the center of the line, held by the US 24th Corps, continues to be strong. The US 32nd Infantry Regiment (US 7th Division) reaches Height 89, near Mabuni, where the Japanese headquarters have been identified. On the flanks, the American Marines on the right and the infantry on the left advance virtually unopposed, capturing over 1000 Japanese and reaching the southern coast of the island at several points. The scale of surrenders is unprecedented for the forces of the Imperial Army.

Minesweepers Device (AM-220) and Dour (AM-223) are damaged in collision off Okinawa, 26°00'N, 127°00'E.

Tank landing ship LST-288 is damaged by operational casualty off Okinawa.

PACIFIC

Submarine Kraken (SS-370) sinks Japanese auxiliary sailing vessel No.58 Tachibana Maru in Sunda Strait, off Merak, 05°56'S, 106°00'E.

Submarine Tinosa (SS-283), on patrol off the east coast of Korea, sinks Japanese army cargo ship Taito Maru, 36°04'N, 130°26'E, and merchant cargo ship Kaisei Maru, 35°39'N, 130°29'E.

Japanese merchant tanker Nanshin Maru is sunk by mine, possibly laid by submarine Ray (SS-271) on 22 February 1944, off Cape St. Jacques, French Indochina.

Mine sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Kenan Maru in north Kyushu channel, 33°59'N, 130°48'E, mine laid by USAAF B-29 (20th Air Force) sinks merchant tanker No.1 Nanki Maru off Aki-Nada, 33°58'N, 131°01'E, and damage merchant cargo ships Nitto Maru 5.7 kilometers off Tateishi light, and Keizan Maru seven kilometers southeast of Motoyamazaki. Cargo ship Huashan Maru is sunk by B-29-laid mine near Fukuoka, Kyushu, 33°38'N, 130°22'E.

Japanese merchant cargo ship Kamome Maru is sunk by aircraft between Pusan, Korea, and Yosu.

USAAF B-24s (Fifth Air Force) on shipping sweep off coast of Korea sink cargo ship Keijo Maru off Mokpo, 34°47'N, 126°23'E.

PB4Y-2s (VPB 118) continue aerial mining of waters of Korean archipelago in a repeat of the mission of the previous day, but on this occasion encounter heavy antiaircraft fire from Japanese warships in the vicinity.

Day 2112 of World War II, June 22nd 1945

YouTube (Okinawa Taken)



Allied occupied Germany

Otto Skorzeny was transferred from a makeshift prison cell to the city jail of Wiesbaden, Germany.

Soviet Union

Viktor Abakumov wrote to Lavrentiy Beria complaining of Ivan Serov's interference with Soviet SMERSH business. Beria, with Joseph Stalin's approval, instead made Serov the plenipotentiary of all Soviet counterintelligence in Germany, thus expanding NKVD's control over SMERSH in the occupied country. Abakumov refused to allow his subordinates to follow Serov's command, however, thus Serov's authority would only be nominal. ww2dbase

United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain (CV-39) underway at sea on 22 June 1945. She had been commissioned on 3 June 1945. Several Grumman TBM Avenger and a Curtiss SB2C Helldiver are near the island, a Vought F4U Corsair is parked on the lowered port elevator



Pacific War

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): 23 B-25s and 4 P-47s pound trucks, trains, and gun positions in the Hanoi, French Indochina area, and in China, bomb railroad yards and barracks area at Sinsiang, hit rail and road targets, buildings, and radar station in the Showyang area, knock out a bridge S of Saiping, and damage a bridge N of Hsuchang; 40+ fighters hit rail, road, and river traffic, artillery emplacements, line positions, and other targets in French Indochina and S and E China.

Japanese troops evacuate Liuchow, setting it on fire before the approaching Chinese forces.

INDIA-BURMA

(Tenth Air Force): The 5th and 6th Fighter Squadrons (Commando), 1st Air Commando Group, moves from Kalaikunda to Asansol, India with P-47s.

JAPANESE OCCUPIED KOREA

PB4Y-2s (VPB 118), flying from Okinawa, continue aerial mining of waters of Korean archipelago, sowing mines in waters in channel north of Iion-To and Gantai-To, and off Ninshi-To and Chi-To.

JAPAN

Request by Emperor Hirohito for peace talks. "I desire that concrete plans to end the war, unhampered by existing policy, be speedily studied and that efforts made to implement them."

American B-29 Superfortress bombers drop about 3000 tons of bombs on Japanese munitions plants in Kobe, Osaka, Nagoya and Okayama.

Twenty-six USAAF B-29s mine the waters off Karatsu, Fukuoka, Sakai, and Niigata, Japan.

OKINAWA

The battle ends. American forces have lost 12,500 dead and 35,500 wounded. The US navy has had 36 ships sunk and 368 damaged. In the air, the American forces have lost 763 planes. The Japanese losses include 120,000 military and 42,000 civilian dead. For the first time in the war, there are a relatively large number of Japanese prisoners: 10,755. American reports claim the Japanese have lost 7,830 planes.

General Douglas MacArthur announced that Joseph Stilwell had been made the new commander of the U.S. Tenth Army, replacing Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. who had been killed in action four days earlier.

TINIAN

(Twentieth Air Force): 446 B-29s are dispatched in 6 missions to targets on S Honshu Island, Japan during the day.

Mission 215: 162 B-29s attack the Kure Naval Arsenal and 12 others hit alternate targets; 72% of the roof area of the arsenal is damaged; 2 B-29s are lost.
Mission 216: 108 B-29s hit the Mitsubishi aircraft plant at Tamashima destroying 135 of 231 machine tools and almost half the roof area; 10 others hit alternate targets; 2 B-29s are lost. Mission 217: 52 B-29s attack the Kawanishi aircraft plant at Himeji causing great destruction among the buildings and total destruction of machine tools; 4 others hit alternate targets. Missions 218 and 219: 34 B-29s hit the Mitsubishi and Kawasaki aircraft plants at Kagamigahara and 10 others hit alternate targets; 1 B-29 is lost.
Mission 220: 25 B-29s hit the Kawasaki aircraft factory at Akashi and 1 hits an alternate target. 40+ P-47s from Ie Shima fly combat patrols over Amami Gunto Island, Japan, claiming 11 Japanese aircraft downed.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force]: On Formosa, B-24s hit Toshien oil facilities and P-38s attack Mato while 2 B-32s blast gun positions and barracks at Heito. The 25th Liaison Squadron, 13th AF, moves from Malabang to Del Monte, Mindanao Island with UC-78s and L-5s.

BORNEO CAMPAIGN (1945)

On Tarakan, off the northeast coast of Borneo, Australian forces have eliminated all Japanese resistance. On Borneo, the city of Sarawak is captured.

Photo: A oil well burning furiously, one of 35 set on fire by the retreating Japanese, Seria Area, 22 June 1945



Photo: Battalion headquarters, 2/17 Infantry Battalion at Seria. Army vehicles in foreground; smoke from burning oil well in background, 22 June 1945



Photo: Jeep waiting to go on the Tutong ferry which is operated by members of the 2/3 Field Company, Royal Australian Engineers, 22 June 1945



In Borneo, B-24s pound Balikpapan area gun and defensive positions while B-25s hit nearby warehouses and numerous other buildings and P-38s dive-bomb and score direct hits on pillboxes.

Motor minesweeper YMS-364 is damaged by shore battery, Balikpapan, Borneo, 01°19'S, 116°52'E.

PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1945)

Fighter-bombers supporting ground action continue to hit concentrations and positions in the Cagayan Valley on Luzon Island.

ALASKA

(Eleventh Air Force): Major General John B Brooks relieves Brigadier General Isaiah Davies as Commanding General, Eleventh AF.

PACIFIC

Submarine Hardhead (SS-365) sinks Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 42 in Java Sea, 05°44'S, 114°16'E, and after undergoing counterattack by auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 113, sinks Cha 113 and No. 833 Shuttle Boat, 05°45'S, 114°16'E.

Submarine Tirante (SS-420) sinks Japanese merchant sailing junk No.293 Antung Maru, 37°54'N, 125°34'E.

Mines sink Japanese merchant cargo ship Goshu Maru off Mutsure light, and damage merchant cargo ship Kocho Maru 1.5 kilometers off Takenoko light.

Japanese merchant cargo ship Shingishu Maru is damaged by aircraft off Pusan, Korea.