TF-17 (RAdm Fletcher) formed on Yorktown (CV-5) newly returned from the Atlantic.

Army troops land on Fais Island, Caroline Islands, to capture and destroy Japanese radio station. B-25's and FBs make low-level attacks on Negros airfields. B-24's, with P-38 cover, bomb Clark Field.
19 B-24's from Saipan bomb Iwo Jima. 9 more make random snooper raids.

Manila and U.S. Naval base at Cavite captured by the Japanese.

Allies take Buna in New Guinea.

Gen. MacArthur is placed in command of all U.S. ground forces and Adm. Nimitz in command of all naval forces in preparation for planned assaults against Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Japan itself.

TF 38 (VAdm McCain) begins operations against Japanese airfields and shipping near Formosa. Leading groups of U.S. fleet bound for Lingayen Gulf make daylight passage of Surigao Strait.
57 Marianas based B-29's bomb docks and urban areas of Nagoya. 21 others bomb alternates.

British occupy Akyab in Burma.

A kamikaze irreparably damages Ommaney Bay (CVE-79), sunk by USN.

USAAF B-17's and B-24's bomb Japanese shipping at Rabaul, New Britain.

Kamikazes damage Louisville (CA-28) , Helm (DD-388) , Manila Bay (CVE-61), and Savo Island (CVE-78), Stafford (DE-411) , and 3 smaller ships. Suiciders also damage HMAS Australia (CA) and destroyer HMAS Arunta (DD).

Yorktown (CV-5) sails from San Diego to escoret Second Marine Brigade to American Samoa.

Planes from Truk attack Rabaul in the Bismarcks.

Kamikazes damage battleships New Mexico (BB-40) (killing members of an observing British military mission) and California (BB-44), Columbia (CL-56) and Newcomb (DD-586) (also hit by friendly fire) and Richard P. Leary (DD-664), Louisville (CA-28), Allen M. Sumner (DD-692), and O'Brien (DD-725).

Japanese attack Bataan in the Philippines.

USAAF B-17's, B-24's, B-25's and A-20's, supported by P-38's, attack Japanese convoy unloading off Lae, New Guinea.

Japanese aerial onslaught on Lingayen Gulf invasion force, kamikazes damage escort carriers Kitkun Bay (CVE-71) and Kadashan Bay (CVE-76) A suicider damages HMAS Australia (CA) again.

British and Indian troops recapture Maungdaw in Burma.

U.S. Sixth Army invades Lingayen Gulf on Luzon in the Philippines.

Transport submarine Argonaut (APS-1) attacks convoy SE of New Britain, is sunk by Japanese aircraft and destroyers.

Demolition boats infiltrate the transport areas off Lingayen, sinking two gunboats and damaging Robinson (DD-562) and Philip (DD-498), War Hawk (AP-168) and LST-610. Japanese air attacks damage Wickes (DD-578); kamikazes damage Leray Wilson (DE-414), and Dupage (APA-41).

Japanese invade Dutch East Indies and Dutch Borneo.

Enterprise (CV-6, TF 8, VAdm Halsey) departs Pearl to join escort of Marines to Samoa.

Air raid against Japanese bases in Indochina by U.S. Carrier-based planes.

Saratoga (CV-3, TF 11, VAdm Fitch) torpedoed 500 miles SE Hawaii. She is able to return to Pearl and is sent to West Coast for repairs until June 1.

Captives shipped from Wake Island to Japan; 5 beheaded to assure good behavior.

Nine motor torpedo boats operating from Tulagi attack 8 DD Japanese Reinforcement Unit off Cape Esperance, Guadalcanal.

Kamikaze attacks against Lingayen Gulf invasion shipping culminate in suicide plane crashing and damaging Salamaua (CVE-96).

Casablanca Conference begins. Roosevelt, Churchill, and staffs meet to plan future operations against the Axis.

ABDA (American, British, Dutch and Australian) force formed in Western Pacific.

Marines arrive Pago Pago covered by Enterprise and Yorktown.

SBD's from Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, and USAAF B-17's, escorted by F4F's and USAAF P-39's, attack nine Japanese destroyers northeast of New Georgia, Solomons, damaging 4.

Japanese begin an advance into Burma.

Section B of Japanese Solomons reinforcement convoy sails from Truk, bound for the Shortlands.

German-Japanese-Italian military agreement signed in Berlin.

USAAF B-17's and P-39's sink Japanese cargo vessel Yamafuku Maru off Shortland Island.

Japanese take North Borneo.

Japanese land at Wewak, New Guinea.

Silversides (SS-236) encounters Section C of Japanese Solomons reinforcement convoy, and sinks army transport Meiu Maru and irreparably damages another.

First destroyer escort type ship, Brennan (DE-13), is commissioned at Mare Island, Cal.

Enterprise and Yorktown task forces set course for the Japanese-held Marshalls and Gilberts.

Lexington departs to raid Wake Island.

Allies defeat Japanese at Sanananda on New Guinea.

Japanese take Rabaul on New Britain in the Solomon Islands and also invade Bougainville, the largest island.

Neches (AO-5), fleet oiler, torpedoed and sunk. Lexington has to cancel raid on Wake Island.

Japanese take Rabaul, good harbor, becomes major Japanese base.

Battle of Makassar Strait off Balikpapan sinks four Japanese transports

Almost daily, 10 to 20 B-24 attack Iwo Jima to suppress enemy fighters intercepting B-29's.

70-plus B-29's mine the 6 approaches to Singapore harbor and at Saigon, Camranh Bay, Pakchan R, Penang harbor, Koh Si Chang Channel, and Phan Rang Bay.

Wahoo (SS-238) attacks Japanese convoy about 270 miles north of Dutch New Guinea, sinks four ships.

First Japanese warship sunk by a U.S. submarine.

Australians warn New Caledonia could be captured before US troop ships. then underway. arrive.

Submarine Gudgeon sinks Japanese submarine I-73.

The Burma road is reopened.

Inter-island army transport, General Royal T. Frank sunk with all hands by I-71, 2-miles W of Maui.

Battle of Rennell Island begins as Japanese land planes attack TF 18 cruisers and destroyers covering the movement of transport force toward Guadalcanal ; damage heavy cruiser Chicago (CA 29) taken under tow.

The British withdraw into Singapore. The siege of Singapore then begins.

Lexington sent to south to cover return of E and Y from the attack on the Gilberts and Marshalls.

U.S. Troops invade Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands.

First U.S. aircraft carrier offensive of the war as YORKTOWN and ENTERPRISE conduct air raids on Japanese bases in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands.

PT boats and P-40's repulse Japanese landing attempt on southwest Bataan.

Japanese begin evacuation of Guadalcanal.

U.S. Troops started to capture Kwajalein and Majura Atolls in the Marshall Islands.

Japanese invade Java in the Dutch East Indies.

RAdm Fletcher is officer in tactical command; force consists of three carriers, seven heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, 16 destroyers.

Japanese naval land attack planes bomb ABDA operating base at Surabaya;

U.S. Sixth Army attacks Japanese in Manila.

Japanese naval land attack planes bomb ABDA ships, damaging Houston (CA-30) and light cruiser Marblehead (CL-12).

Japanese planes bomb Allied shipping off Soembawa Island, N.E.I.

Hammondsport delivered 120 P-40 fighters to Brisbane.

Japanese artillery on Cavite coast shell Corregidor.

U.S. Troops finally captured Kwajalein and Majura Atolls in the Marshall Islands.

Japanese invade Singapore.

Japanese troops land on New Britain.

British-Indian forces begin guerrilla operations against Japanese in Burma.

Japanese resistance on Guadalcanal ends.

General Instructions for Refueling, tech bulletin 2-42

First large troop convoy to garrison S. Pacific Islands.

Passenger ship President Taylor, transporting 900 troops to occupy Canton Island, runs aground.

Japanese invade Sumatra in the Dutch East Indies.

Enterprise (Halsey) leaves Pearl Harbor for Wake Island.

British surrender at Singapore.

Japanese army paratroops secure vital oil refineries at Palembang, Sumatra, N.E.I.

Yorktown (Fletcher) left Pearl Harbor to patrol South Pacific.

Japanese planes bomb U.S. Timor-bound convoy ; convoy recalled.

Lexington TF 11 (VAdm Brown) heads for an attack on Rabaul, New Britain.

U.S. Troops recapture Bataan in the Philippines.

Seabees (First Naval Construction Battalion) arrive at Bora Bora, Society Islands.

U.S. Carrier-based planes destroy the Japanese naval base at Truk in the Caroline Islands.

4 BB and other ships join up from European theater. American forces enter Corregidor.

Largest Japanese air raid since Pearl Harbor occurs against Darwin, Australia; Japanese invade Bali.

Battle of Badoeng Strait begins; ABDA force attacks retiring Japanese Bali occupation force with 1 Dutch DD sunk, 2 CL and 1 DD damaged.

U.S. Marines invade Iwo Jima.

First U.S. fighter ace of the war, Lt. Edward O'Hare from the LEXINGTON in action off Rabaul.

Philippine government evacuated by submarine Swordfish (SS-193)

U.S. Carrier-based and land-based planes destroy the Japanese base at Rabaul.

Adm King presents plan for SoPac campaign followed for next 18 months.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders General MacArthur out of the Philippines.

First Japanese attack on the U.S. mainland as a submarine shells an oil refinery near Santa Barbara, California.

U.S. Carrier-based planes attack the Mariana Islands.

ENTERPRISE attacks Japanese on Wake Island.

Merrill's Marauders begin a ground campaign in northern Burma.

Japanese force lands north of Surabaya, Java.

Jap carriers depart Kendari for sweeps between Java and Australia.

Storms and collisions damage 2 cruisers and 6 destroyers off Iwo Jima.

Japanese naval victory in the Battle of the Java Sea as the largest U.S. warship in the Far East, the HOUSTON, is sunk.

Seaplane tender Langley (AV-3), carrying 32 P-40's for the defense of Java, is sunk by Japanese naval land attack planes.

Battle of Sunda Strait begins shortly before midnight as heavy cruiser Houston (CA-30) and Australian light cruiser HMAS Perth, attempting to retire from Java, accidentally encounter Japanese transport force and escorting ships in Banten Bay, Java, and engage them.

Perth and Houston sunk during raid on Banter Bay

Exeter, Encounter and Pope sunk S. of Borneo.

A U.S. submarine sinks a Japanese merchant ship loaded with supplies for Allied POWs, resulting in a court martial for the captain of the submarine, since the ship had been granted safe passage by the U.S. Government.

Battle of Bismarck Sea started.

U.S. airborne troops recapture Corregidor in the Philippines.

U.S. And Filipino troops take Manila.

Two Japanese flying boats bomb Pearl Harbor; ENTERPRISE attacks Marcus Island, just 1000 miles from Japan.

Enterprise (CV-6,TF 8, Halsey) raids Marcus Island.

U.S. victory over Japanese in the Battle of Bismarck Sea.

King-FDR "We cannot in honor let Australia and New Zealand down".

Bashaw (SS-241) sinks 2 tankers off Indochina. Subs, B-24's, B-25's sink 6 subchasers.

Lexington (Fitch) and Yorktown (Fletcher) join up intending to raid Rabaul.

British evacuate Rangoon in Burma; Japanese invade Salamaua and Lae on New Guinea.

The Dutch on Java surrender to Japanese.

Japanese invade New Guinea at Lae and Salamaua.

AAF B-24, B-25 bombers sink 8 ships is various areas.

Fifteen square miles of Tokyo erupts in flames after it is fire bombed by 279 B-29s.

Lexington and Yorktown attack Japanese invasion force at New Guinea.

U.S. Eighth Army invades Zamboanga Peninsula on Mindanao in the Philippines.

279 B-29's, of 325 airborne from Guam, Tinian, and Saipan, blast Tokyo urban area with incendiaries, destroying more than 267,000 buildings about one-fourth in the city and killing more than 83,000 people. This death total is the highest of any single day's action during the war, (exceeding the deaths caused by each atomic bomb). 20 other B-29's bomb alternates. 14 B-29's are lost.

Gen. MacArthur leaves Corregidor and is flown to Australia. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright becomes the new U.S. commander.

Enterprise (Halsey) returns to Pearl after Marcus Island raid.

US Army lands on New Caledonia (French) to establish base at Noumea.

Fall of Netherlands East Indies.

MacArthur's PT boats arrive Cagayan, PI.

Japanese land in Solomon Islands from Rabaul

274 B-29's bombs Osaka with incendiaries.

Carrier TF 58 heads for Okinawa with 88 warships.

MacArthur's party depart in B-17 for Darwin.

Japanese begin offensive toward Imphal and Kohima.

Submarine Permit (SS-178) delivers ammunition to Corregidor, evacuates code breakers.

United States assumes strategic defense of the Pacific Ocean.

MacArthur arrives Australia by B-17 during Japanese attack.

Gen. MacArthur appointed commander of the Southwest Pacific Theater by President Roosevelt.

War Relocation Authority established in the U.S. which eventually will round up 120,000 Japanese-Americans and transport them to barb-wired relocation centers. Despite the internment, over 17,000 Japanese-Americans sign up and fight for the U.S. in World War II in Europe, including the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the most decorated unit in U.S. history.

TF 58 pounds airfields on Kyushu, shipping at Kure and Kobe, Honshu, damage IJN ships at dock at Kure and Osaka.

Japanese planes bomb Wasp (CV-18) off Shikoku, while friendly fire hits Essex (CV-9) ; Kamikaze damages Franklin (CV-13) off Kyushu, 800 killed.
16 P-51's from Iwo Jima and 12 Guam-based B-24's bomb and strafe Chichi Jima
Minesweepers head for Okinawa.

Hornet (CV-8), new carrier, arrives at San Francisco. Yorktown patrols Coral Sea, Lexington enroute to Pearl from New Guinea raid.

British troops liberate Mandalay, Burma.

Enterprise (CV-6) is damaged by friendly fire off Japan.

MacArthur & family arrive Kooringa by train; discovers no Army waiting.

MacArthur arrives Melbourne, greeted by 360 American troops.

Japanese invade the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal.

Japanese occupy Andaman Islands, Bay of Bengal.

Submarine Gato (SS-212) bombed by blimp off San Francisco Bay.

Carrier TF 58 begins daily strikes against Japanese shipping and installations in the Okinawa area.

Admiral Chester Nimitz appointed as Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific theater.

Japanese naval planes begin daily bombings of Corregidor.

British Far East Fleet assembles at Ceylon : 5 BB,3 CV,2 CA,6 CL,15 DD,5 SS.

TF 59 bombards Okinawa.

Adm King diverts forces to establish base at Efate, New Hebrides, leaving Noumea, N.Caledonia, for Army.

Washington (BB-56), Wasp (CV-7), Wichita (CA-45), Tuscaloosa (CA-37), and 8 DD, sail from Portland, Maine, to reinforce the British Home Fleet.

Japanese fleet departs Celebes for Ceylon: 4 BB,5 CV,2 CA,1 CL,8 DD,5 SS

Lexington arrives Pearl from Coral Sea for dry dock overhaul.

Enemy makes final banzai on Iwo Jima in early morning. Capture phase of Iwo Jima ends at 0800.

22,082 US casualties, 21,300 enemy killed and 212 taken prisoner.
Army force lands on Kerama Retto, 30-miles from Okinawa. to be used as replenishment anchorage.
Kamikazes and bombers damage 9 ships from battleships to minesweepers.
Army lands on Cebu, P.I.
British Pacific Fleet (TF-57) arrives to help protect left flank, Sakishima Group of islands.

B-29s lay mines in Japan's Shimonoseki Strait to interrupt shipping.

94 B-29's mine the Shimonoseki Straits and the waters of Suo Nada, Japan. This operation and 6 that follow, support the coming Okinawa campaign.

Another Japanese fleet departs for Bay of Bengal: 4 CA, 1 CVL, 8 DD

The forward echelon of Marine Fighter Squadron 212 arrived at Efate to construct an air strip; initiated operations New Hebrides 27May'42.

Joint Chiefs divide Pacific Ocean (Nimitz) and SW Pacific (MacArthur).

Japanese forces occupy Christmas Island, Indian Ocean

87 B-29's mine the Shimonoseki Straits and the waters off Kure, Hiroshima, and Sasebo, Japan.
31 Iwo Jima-based P-51's bomb and strafe Haha Jima
Indianapolis (CA-35) is damaged by kamikaze off Okinawa - retires to Kerama Retto for temp repairs then steams stateside.
Keise Shima taken, 6 miles from Okinawa, as artillery position.

Colorado (BB-45) sails from W.Coast, in overhaul since Jun'41.

Japanese land on Buka and Santa Isabel, Solomons.

The final amphibious landing of the war occurs as the U.S. Tenth Army invades Okinawa.

Massive air defense damages West Virginia (BB-48), Tennessee (BB-43), carrier HMS Indefatigable and lessor ships.

Queenfish (SS-393) sinks Japanese relief ship in foggy weather in Formosa Straits. Awa Maru carries Red Cross supplies for Allied POWs in Singapore. Guaranteed safe conduct and properly marked, CO is court-martialed.

100 B-29's bomb Nakajima aircraft factory at Tokyo. 15 B-29's mine waters off Kure and Hiroshima.

Japanese attack U.S. and Filipino troops at Bataan.

Midway-based B-17's attack Japanese transports 600 miles west of Midway Island; inflict no damage. Four PBYs set out to attack the approaching Occupation Force.

Hornet leaves San Francisco with Doolittle and 16 B-25's.

Jap fleet w/5 carriers attack Ceylon base; 2 British heavy cruisers sunk.

Imperial Japanese Navy battle plan for Midway accepted.

Advanced Air Base, Iwo Jima, is established.

USSR notifies Japan to abrogate 5-year Russo-Japanese neutrality pact signed in 1941.

First U.S. troops arrive in Australia.

Japanese Malaya fleet sinks 23 merchantmen off Eastern India

Japanese subs off western India sink 5 merchantmen this week.

400 kamikaze onslaught against U.S. ships off Okinawa begins: 38 ships damaged or sunk.

B-29s fly their first fighter-escorted mission against Japan with P-51 Mustangs based on Iwo Jima; U.S. Carrier-based fighters sink the super battleship YAMATO and several escort vessels which planned to attack U.S. Forces at Okinawa.

Kamikazes damage Hancock (CV-19), Maryland (BB-46), and 4 DDs.

280 B-29's bomb aircraft factories. 91 P-51's escort them to Japan for the first time.

Force from Rabaul lands in Western New Britain.

Enterprise departs Pearl to rendezvous with Hornet.

U.S. forces on Bataan surrender unconditionally to the Japanese.

British warships sunk off Ceylon : CV, 2 CA, DD, 2 others.

Bataan Death March begins as 76,000 Allied POWs including 12,000 Americans are forced to walk 60 miles under a blazing sun without food or water toward a new POW camp, resulting in over 5,000 American deaths.

Japanese start to take southern Philippines, Cebu

Navy and Air Force bomb Kurils north of Japan.

Massive kamikaze attacks damage Missouri (BB-63), Enterprise (CV-6), Essex (CV-9) and 6 DD.

Victorious Japanese fleet starts its return to home waters having lost no surface warships in war to date.

President Roosevelt dies, succeeded by Harry S. Truman.

Off Okinawa, destroyer Mannert L. Abele (DD-733) is sunk by Baka. Other Baka, kamikazes, and bombers damage 2 BB and 9 DD. Friendly fire and collisions damage other ships.

Lexington (TF 11, RAdm Fitch) leaves Pearl to join Yorktown (TF 17, Fletcher) for raid on Rabaul.

Adm Nimitz assigned to South Pacific. Sends Yorktown (CV-5, RAdm Fletcher) to Tongatabu, south of Samoa, to replenish for anticipated defense of New Guinea and Solomon Islands at the end of the month.

Tirante (SS-420) attacks Japanese convoy sinking transport and two escorts. Kamikazes damage BB, 2 DD.

Carrier aircraft attack airfields and aircraft in S. Kyushu, Japan; 300 B-29's strike Kawasaki and Tokyo.

Japanese land on Panay and Negros, Philippine Islands.

Kamikaze sink DD and damage CV, BB, DD², DE, 2 DMS, AO.

Japanese army takes central Burma.

Submarine Searaven (SS-196) begins rescue of stranded Australian servicemen from occupied Timor.

Doolittle Raid on Tokyo with 16 Army B-25 bombers from Hornet, escorted by Enterprise.

Japanese begin their last offensive in China, attacking U.S. air bases in eastern China.

Surprise U.S. 'Doolittle' B-25 air raid from the HORNET against Tokyo boosts Allied morale.

Lexington (CV-2, TF 11, RAdm Fitch), ferries USMC F2A Buffalos to Palmyra Island.

U.S. code breakers pinpoint the location of Japanese Admiral Yamamoto flying in a Japanese bomber near Bougainville in the Solomon Islands. Eighteen P-38 fighters then locate and shoot down Yamamoto.

Japanese land in Dutch New Guinea.

Major attack on Japanese fortifications on Okinawa.

Lexington arrives S Pacific.

Entire Japanese fleet searches for the Doolittle carriers.

President Roosevelt announces the Japanese have executed several airmen from the Doolittle Raid.

Lexington joins Yorktown at Tongutabu to prepare for expected battle.

Dutch submarine O 19 torpedoes Japanese heavy cruiser Ashigara (CA) steaming toward Batavia, Java.

Japan announces captured Allied pilots will be given "one way tickets to hell."

Allies invade Aitape and Hollandia in New Guinea.

Code breakers harvest intel from massive Japanese pursuit of Doolittle carriers.

Submarine Besugo (SS-321) sinks German submarine U-183 in Java Sea.

Japanese fleet elements start to return to refuel.

Allied army forces begin retreat from Burma.

Enterprise and Hornet arrive Pearl from Doolittle's Tokyo raid.

USAAF B-24's bomb Japanese shipping at Saigon, French Indochina, sinking transport.

Nimitz flies San Francisco. to brief Adm King on South Pacific plan.

Yorktown departs for Coral Sea.

Seven battleships remain based on West Coast to conserve fuel.

Coast watchers report Japanese flying-boat base established in upper Solomons.

Off Okinawa, kamikazes damage 5 destroyers, 2 hospital ships. Suicide boat causes extensive damage to U.S. freighter Bozeman Victor

Japanese take central Burma.

Japanese land on Mindanao, southern Philippine Islands

Japanese naval landing force occupies former RAAF seaplane base at Tulagi, Solomons

Japanese KATEs flying from Truk attack Manus, Admiralty Is, torpedoing floating docks, thinking they are aircraft carriers.

Zuikaku and Shokaku sortie Truk to support Port Moresby invasion leading to the Battle of Coral Sea.

Enterprise and Hornet speed towards Coral Sea; too far to reach in time.

11 Japanese transports set sail from Rabaul for Port Moresby invasion escorted by 7 cruisers and an escort carrier, Shoho .

Australian seaplane base at Tulagi evacuated.

Japanese take Tulagi, Florida Island, Solomons.

97 USAAF B-29's sow mines blockading shippiing of Japan's industrial centers, continues for days.
Kamikazes sink DD, damage 4, suicide boat damages transport, friendly fire kills soldiers on troop ship.
Premier Suzuki statement "Although changing situation in Europe . . . our faith in certain victory."

Yorktown (TF 17, Fletcher) attacks Tulagi, forcing temporary Japanese withdrawal.

Japanese land 2000 troops on Corregidor, P.I.

Another big day for Kamikazes at Okinawa -- sink 2 DD; damage CL, CVE, 3 DD, 3 DM, HMS Formidable; collisions, groundings and friendly fire also result in losses.

Yorktown and Lexington join up south of Tulagi.

Corregidor surrenders - last of the Philippine defenses.

IJN Junyo commissioned - Dutch Harbor, Kiska, Santa Cruz, Guadalcanal, Philippine Sea.

US carriers meet-up with Australian cruisers, set up ambush for Jomard Passage.

Off Okinawa, South Dakota (BB-57) is damaged by explosion of five 16-inch powder tanks in magazine.

Japanese carriers attack US oiler Neosho and destroyer Sims thinking they are a carrier and cruiser.

US carriers attack escort carrier Shoho thinking it was the main force.

Battle of Coral Sea is fought with Japanese in squalls and USN in sunlight. Shokaku damaged and retires. Both US carriers hit. Later, gas explodes in Lexington and abandoned. Carrier groups of both sides retire.

The Battle of Coral Sea is the first time the Japanese Navy is stopped from an objective. Japs fare better in the battle, but lost the opportunity to take Port Moresby on south coast of New Guinea and to raid Australia. US convoy route to Australia remains open. Both Japanese carriers will miss Battle of Midway next month, whereas Yorktown will participate in that victory.

Germany surrenders. General Alfred Jodl signs unconditional surrender terms at Reims, France, ending Germany's participation in the war.
At noon, every gun on Okinawa fires one round at the enemy in celebration.
In surrounding waters, every ship fires a salvo.

Zuikaku ordered to pursue any remaining of American fleet.

Kamikazes damage 2 DE off Okinawa ; and British carriers Victorious and Formidable off Formosa.

Invasion force departs Rabaul for Ocean & Nauru Islands.

U.S. Troops invade Attu in the Aleutian Islands.

Invasion flagship Okinoshima sunk by S-42. Jap force retires.

Yorktown heads for Tongatabu and temporary repair. Enterprise and Hornet arrive near New Hebrides.

Bunker Hill ( CV-17) hit by 2 kamikaze, 373 killed; also crash Evans (DD-552), and LCS-88 ; Hugh W. Hadley (DD-774) is damaged by Baka.

New Mexico (BB-40) damaged by kamikaze ; Wichita (CA-45) by friendly fire.

Fast carrier task force begin two-day attack on Kyushu airfields

Tangier (AV-8) sets up at Noumea with flying boats, release carriers from scouting duty.

A Japanese submarine sinks the Australian hospital ship CENTAUR resulting in 299 dead.

Enterprise (CV-6) hit by Kamikaze.

472 B-29's blast urban area of N. Nagoya.

Enterprise & Hornet (Halsey) scare off invasion force for Ocean & Nauru, Phosphate Islands.

Enterprise & Hornet ordered back to Pearl.

British escort carrier HMS Emperor (CVE) sight and attack Haguro (CA) heading into Malacca Strait; subsequently sunk by British destroyers.

Japanese plans to invade Midway include 200 ships: 11 BB, 8 CV, 23 CA, 65 DD, 20 SS

Halsey ordered expedite return as Japanese troops mass at Saipan for invasion of Midway

British refuse to send 1 of 3 carriers from Madagascar to SWPac.

B-29 atomic bomb air group arrives on Tinian.

Midway Island told to claim water shortage by insecure code.

Japanese sub-based seaplanes scout Fiji and Zanzibar.

Japanese report "AF" short on water; confirms Midway is site of attack.

5 I-class submarines with 4 minisubs and 1 airplane enroute to Sydney.

Plan of attack on Midway and Aleutians known, extent of forces not known.

525 B-29's sent against Tokyo in the largest B-29 mission during World War II.

All warships from Coral Sea recalled to Pearl Harbor.

Carlson's Raiders arrive Midway on St. Louis.

464 B-29's pound Tokyo, 26 planes are lost, highest single-day loss.

Kittyhawk (APV-1) delivers 23 Marine aircraft, 5 light tanks to Midway.

Enterprise & Hornet arrive Pearl Harbor. VAdm Halsey ill, replaced by RAdm Spruance.

Yorktown arrives Pearl drydock. 1,400 dockworkers perform 3 months of repair in 2 days.

Allies invade Biak Island, New Guinea.

Enterprise & Hornet sail for Midway.

15 transports depart Saipan for invasion of Midway.

454 B-29's, escorted by 101 P-51's fire-bomb Yokohama.

10th Army capture Shusi Castle, Okinawa.

8 transports depart Honshu for Aleutians.

Yorktown, hull watertight and replenished, sails for waters north of Midway.

Japan's main body fleet, including largest battleship in the world, depart Hiroshima for Midway.

Japanese Midget sub attack in Madagascar ; ferry sunk at Sydney.

Japanese end their occupation of the Aleutian Islands as the U.S. completes the capture of Attu.

Saratoga (CV-3) sorties San Diego for Pearl Harbor.

458 B-29's attack city of Osaka. 148 P-51's escorts encounter severe weather, many of the fighters collide; 27 are lost. Miness own by B-29's sink 6 and damage 6 ships.

Yorktown (CV-5, TF 17, RAdm Fletcher) and Enterprise (CV-6 TF 16, RAdm Spruance) with Hornet (CV-8) rendezvous 350 miles NE of Midway;

U.S. deploys 25 fleet submarines west of Midway.

Carrier TF 38 bombs airfields in southern Kyushu, Japan. Mines sown by B-29's sink or damage 12 more ships.

Japanese forces bearing down on Midway with five fleets and 200 ships: Strike Force is lead by 4 carriers, 2 battleships.

Attempting to divert forces from Midway, a 2nd carrier force, Ryujo and Junyo, bomb Dutch Harbor, Alaska.

Task force of 5 cruisers and 4 destroyers leave Pearl for Alaska.

Japanese submarine cordon arrives Hawaii, but the two US task forces have already passed.

Battle of Midway

• PBYs attack Occupation Force northwest of Midway; one PBY torpedoes fleet tanker Akebono Maru.
• Japanese carrier fleet - Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu - sends its aircraft against defensive installations on Midway. Although defending USMC F2A's and F4F's suffer disastrous losses, damage to facilities on Midway is comparatively slight.
• Japanese carrier fighters and antiaircraft fire annihilates the USMC SBD's and SB2U's, Navy's new TBF's, and USAAF torpedo-carrying B-26's sent from Midway Island to attack the Japanese carriers. USAAF B-17's likewise bomb the Japanese carrier force without success.
• Concentrating on the destruction of Midway air forces, the Japanese carriers were caught unprepared for the U.S. carrier air attack.
• Torpedo bombers (TBD's) from American carrier striking force Hornet (CV-8), Enterprise (CV-6), and Yorktown (CV-5) attack the enemy carriers. Although mauled by the defending combat air patrol and antiaircraft fire, they draw off the former and leave the skies open for dive bombers (SBD's) from Enterprise and Yorktown.
• SBD's from Enterprise sink carrier Kaga and bomb Akagi (flagship) SBD's; SBD's from Yorktown bomb and sink carrier Soryu.
• Submarine Nautilus (SS-168) torpedoes carrier Kaga but her "fish" do not explode.
• Hiryu escapes destruction that morning, launches dive bombers that temporarily disable Yorktown. Fletcher transfers flag to Astoria (CA-34) .
• A second Japanese counter attack 2 hours later, damages Yorktown with bombs and torpedoes so severely that she was abandoned.
• In the late afternoon, SBD's from Enterprise, including Yorktown planes, hit the Japanese Force again, striking Hiryu, the fourth and last of the Japanese carriers.
• TF-16 (Spruance) released at dusk.
• With control of the air irretrievably lost, the Japanese are compelled to abandon Midway invasion plans and the invasion force retires westward.

Battle of Midway continues as U.S. seeks retiring Japanese fleets.

• Salvage underway on crippled carrier Yorktown
• Japanese carriers Akagi and Hiryu are scuttled. Heavy cruisers Mogami and Mikuma are damaged in collision while avoiding submarine Tambor (SS-198).
• Planes from Japanese carriers Ryujo and Junyo again attack Dutch Harbor, Alaska.
• Japanese troops occupy Attu, Aleutians, without opposition.
• U.S. Task Force 1 of 6 battleships link up west of San Francisco.
• Long Island (AVG-1) arrives San Francisco, joints TF 1 of battleships as scout.
• FDR promises in-kind retrobution if Japan continues to use poison gas in China.

The first mission by B-29 Superfortress bombers occurs as 77 planes bomb Japanese railway facilities at Bangkok, Thailand.

473 B-29's pound city of Kobe with incendiaries. Typhoon off Okinawa damages 36 ships. Kamikazes damage Mississippi (BB-41) and Louisville (CA-28).

Battle of Midway concludes as carrier planes sink damaged heavy cruiser Mikuma.

• Meanwhile, Japanese submarine I-168 finds Yorktown (CV-5) under tow, torpedoes Yorktown and destroyer Hammann (DD-412) alongside.
• Carrier TF 16 changes course to eastward to refuel and breaks contact with the enemy.
• The Battle of Midway, one of the most decisive battles in naval history, marks the turning point of the Pacific War. The decisive defeat administered to the Japanese put an end to their successful offensive and effectively turned the tide of the Pacific War.   Japanese losses totaled four fleet carriers, one heavy cruiser, 258 aircraft, and a large percentage of their experienced carrier pilots.   United States losses were 40 shore-based and 92 carrier aircraft, and the destroyer Hammann and the carrier Yorktown, the result of a single submarine attack.   The significance of the victory was not completely recognized at the time.

Japanese government begins 3-day conference with Emperor to discuss the war.

Carrier Yorktown (CV-5) sinks as the result of heavy damage incurred on 4 and 6 June.

Japanese troops occupy Kiska, Aleutians, without opposition.

Saratoga replenishes Enterprise and Hornet with aircraft to go intercept Japanese Alaska task force.

Part of Japanese Midway force is sent to reinforce Alaska force : 2 BB, 1 CVE, 2 CA.

FarEast AirForce makes daily raids on Formosa, Hong Kong, and Borneo. Submarine HMS Trenchant sinks Japanese heavy cruiser Ashigara (CA) N. of Borneo. TF 38 planes attack Kanoya Airfield, Kyushu, Japan. Imperial Conference with Emperor : "the nation will fight to the bitter end."

USAAF claims victory at Midway ; in fact, no land-based aircraft hit any warships.

Navy surface and air forces attacking in the Kurils² supported by 6 B-24's and 8 B-25's. B-25 shot down by Soviet AA. Keeper of Privy Seal, Kido, begins search for "peace with honor" within civil government.

Wasp (CV-7), North Carolina (BB-55), Quincy (CA-39), San Juan (CL-54 ) and 6 destroyers transit the Panama Canal became TF 18 (RAdm Noyes).

Patrol planes discovered the presence of the enemy on Kiska and Attu -- the first news of Japanese landings that had taken place on the 7th.

Australians invade Borneo, seize oil fields. PB4Y Privateers from Okinawa, commence mining waters off Korea. Six submarines sink 8 Japanese ships.

PBY Catalinas, operating from the seaplane tender Gillis in Nazan Bay, Atka Island, hit ships and enemy positions on Kiska in an intense 48-hour attack which exhausted the gasoline and bomb supply aboard the Gillis but was not successful in driving the Japanese from the Island.

Cruisers and DDs bombard installations on Matsuwa, Kurils.

Japanese Alaska force further reinforced with fleet carrier Zuikaku, and 2 heavy cruisers in a last attempt to trap the U.S. carriers which has withdrawn.

B-17's and B-24's raid Kiska, damaging Japanese destroyer Hibiki.

Four US subs sink 7 ships.

Saratoga, Enterprise, Hornet return to Pearl.

750 aircraft are stationed on Okinawa. Most of Third Fleet arrived Leyte after 3-months of continuous operations and kamakaze attack.

First echelon of 1st Marine Division (MGen Vandegrift), 5th Reg arrives at Wellington, New Zealand.

British task group make air and surface attacks on Truk.

U.S. Marines invade Saipan in the Mariana Islands.

Court of Inquiry about ship losses in typhoon.

The first bombing raid on Japan since the Doolittle raid of April 1942, as 47 B-29s based in Bengel, India, target the steel works at Yawata.

P-61's arrive on Ie Shima to take on night heckler missions against Kyushu.

FDR approves Bush report on construction of an atomic weapon.

Breach final defenses on Okinawa.

B-17's, B-24's, and an LB-30 (Navy B-24) bomb Japanese shipping in Kiska harbor, sinking fleet tanker Nissan Maru

Having burned out major cities, B-29's begin on smaller ones. President Truman authorized invasion of Kyushu.

Ballard (AVD-10) rescues 35 survivors (found by PBY) from Japanese carrier Hiryu scuttled 5 June. They had been left below for dead.

The "Marianas Turkey Shoot" occurs as U.S. Carrier-based fighters shoot down 220 Japanese planes, while only 20 American planes are lost.

Alaskan B-24 flies longest mission, a 2,700-mi roundtrip lasting 15-1/2 hrs in N.Pacific. British troops enter Thailand.

Japanese submarine I-26 shells Estevan Point, Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

PB4Y-2s from Okinawa daily sow mines in waters of Korean archipelago.

PBY recovers two-man crew from TBD; these are the last survivors recovered from the Battle of Midway.

Japanese submarine I-25 shells Fort Stevens, Oregon.

Allies advance to New Georgia, Solomon Islands.

10th Army reachs south end of Okinawa. Conquest completed.

Carrier Saratoga (CV-3) departs Pearl to ferry planes to Midway.

Gen Ushijima suicide.

US casualties for Okinawa : 79,849

• Troops : 7,613 killed ; 31,807 wounded ; 26,000 non-combat.
• Sailors : 4,900 killed ; 4,824 wounded .
• 191 ships sunk or irrepairably damaged, 250 ships damaged, mostly by kamikaze.

Saratoga delivers 25 P-40's and 18 SBD's to Midway to replace heavy losses of 4 June.

PBYs bomb Japanese base at Tulagi, Solomon Islands

Japan asks Soviets to extend Neutrality Pact. Australian forces capture Sarawak, N.W. part of Borneo.

Japanese continue pullback in China.

Marines land on Kume Jima.

Luzon declared captured - 5-1/2 months.

Japan offers Soviets fishing concessions for oil.

A group of 15 U.S. PT-boats attempt to block Japanese convoys south of Kolombangra Island in the Solomon Islands. PT-109, commanded by Lt. John F. Kennedy, is rammed and sunk by the Japanese Cruiser AMAGIRI, killing two and badly injuring others. The crew survives as Kennedy aids one badly injured man by towing him to a nearby atoll.

A group of 15 U.S. PT-boats attempt to block Japanese convoys south of Kolombangra Island in the Solomon Islands. PT-109, commanded by Lt. John F. Kennedy, is rammed and sunk by the Japanese Cruiser AMAGIRI, killing two and badly injuring others. The crew survives as Kennedy aids one badly injured man by towing him to a nearby atoll.

U.S. And Chinese troops take Myitkyina after a two month siege.

Battle of Vella Gulf in the Solomon Islands. Day first.

First Atomic Bomb dropped on Hiroshima from a B-29 flown by Col. Paul Tibbets.

The first U.S. amphibious landing of the Pacific War occurs as 1st Marine Division invades Tulagi and Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.

Battle of Vella Gulf in the Solomon Islands. Second day.

U.S. Marines take the unfinished airfield on Guadalcanal and name it Henderson Field after Maj. Lofton Henderson, a hero of Midway.

American troops complete the capture of the Mariana Islands.

U.S.S.R. declares war on Japan then invades Manchuria.

A major U.S. naval disaster off Savo Island, north of Guadalcanal, as eight Japanese warships wage a night attack and sink three U.S. heavy cruisers, an Australian cruiser, and one U.S. destroyer, all in less than an hour. Another U.S. cruiser and two destroyers are damaged. Over 1,500 Allied crewmen are lost.

Second Atomic Bomb is dropped on Nagasaki from a B-29 flown by Maj. Charles Sweeney -- Emperor Hirohito and Japanese Prime Minister Suzuki then decide to seek an immediate peace with the Allies.

Japanese accept unconditional surrender; Gen. MacArthur is appointed to head the occupation forces in Japan.

Gen. Wainwright, a POW since May 6, 1942, is released from a POW camp in Manchuria.

122 U.S. Marine raiders, transported by submarine, attack Makin Atoll in the Gilbert Islands.

U.S. Marines repulse first major Japanese ground attack on Guadalcanal.

U.S. And Japanese carriers meet in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons resulting in a Japanese defeat.

Allies complete the occupation of New Georgia.

B-29s drop supplies to Allied POWs in China.

The Red Cross announces Japan refuses to allow safe passage of ships containing supplies for U.S. POWs.

The Soviets shoot down a B-29 dropping supplies to POWs in Korea; U.S. Troops land near Tokyo to begin the occupation of Japan.

U.S. Troops invade Adak Island in the Aleutian Islands.

The British reoccupy Hong Kong.

Formal Japanese surrender ceremony on board the MISSOURI in Tokyo Bay as 1,000 carrier-based planes fly overhead; President Truman declares VJ Day.

The Japanese commander in the Philippines, Gen. Yamashita, surrenders to Gen. Wainwright at Baguio.

Allies recapture Lae-Salamaua, New Guinea.

Japanese troops on Wake Island surrender.

British land in Singapore.

MacArthur enters Tokyo.

Japanese in Korea surrender.

A Japanese floatplane flies first mission dropping incendiary bombs on U.S. forests in the state of Oregon - the only bombing of the continental U.S. during the war. Newspapers in the U.S. voluntarily withhold this information.

A Japanese floatplane flies second mission dropping incendiary bombs on U.S. forests in the state of Oregon - the only bombing of the continental U.S. during the war. Newspapers in the U.S. voluntarily withhold this information.

Battle of Bloody Ridge on Guadalcanal (first day).

Battle of Bloody Ridge on Guadalcanal (second day).

Japanese in Burma surrender.

Battle of Bloody Ridge on Guadalcanal (last day).

A Japanese submarine torpedo attack near the Solomon Islands results in the sinking of the carrier Wasp, destroyer O'Brien and damage to the battleship North Carolina.

U.S. Troops invade Morotai and the Paulaus.

Japanese overland assault stopped at Ioribaiwa, within sight of Port Moresby, New Guinea.

7th Marines, 4,180 men, land on Guadalcanal bringing total to 22,500.

Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru demand that British troops leave India.

Marines start move through interior to Matanikau River

Japanese land on Maiana, Gilberts.

Japanese land on Beru, Gilberts.

Rebellion against French in Indo-China

British offensive in Burma.

Minesweeping continues in Ulithi lagoon.

U.S. Defensive Battalion occupied Funafuti, Ellice Islands.

USAAF B-17s bomb Rabaul harbor, damaging Japanese light cruiser Tenryu.

SBDs and TBFs from Henderson Field attack Japanese supply convoy en route to Guadalcanal, damaging seaplane carrier Nisshin.

Planes from Hornet (CV-8) bomb Bougainville, Solomons.

Dutch submarine Zwaardvisch sinks German submarine U-168 in Java Sea.

Japanese execute approximately 100 American POWs on Wake Island.

Diversionary bombardment of Japanese installations on Marcus Island by TG 30.2.

U.S. cruisers and destroyers defeat a Japanese task force in the Battle of Cape Esperance off Guadalcanal.

U.S. Air raids against Okinawa.

Two task groups attack Japanese airfields and other facilities on the north coast of Luzon in preparation for operations against Formosa

U.S. cruisers and destroyers dU.S. cruisers and destroyers defeat a Japanese task force in the Battle of Cape Esperance off Guadalcanal.

TF 38 hurls heavy air strikes against Japanese shipping, aerodromes, and industrial plants on Formosa, regarded as the strongest and best-developed base south of the homeland proper.

The first U.S. Army troops, the 164th Infantry Regiment, land on Guadalcanal.

Japanese bombard Henderson Field at night from warships.

Japanese bombard Henderson Field at night from warships then send troops ashore onto Guadalcanal in the morning as U.S. planes attack.

Japanese bombard Henderson Field at night again from warships.

Japanese bombard Henderson Field at night again from warships.

Vice Admiral William F. Halsey named as the new commander of the South Pacific Area, in charge of the Solomons-New Guinea campaign.

Fourteen B-29s based on the Marianas attack the Japanese base at Truk.

Two TG attack principal Japanese airfields near Manila and shipping in the harbor. Bombardment begins against Japanese installations on Leyte.

Continue carrier attacks around Manila.

U.S. Sixth Army invades Leyte in the Philippines.

Leyte landings continue.

Japanese warships detected northwest of Borneo.

Battle of Leyte Gulf beguns.

Dace (SS-247) sinks heavy cruiser Maya, while Darter (SS-227) sinks heavy cruiser Atago

Battle of Leyte Gulf - second day. Battle of Surigao Strait - Jap southern battle forces destroyed. Attacks on Jap central force in Sibuyan Sea force an apparent withdrawal.

Battle of Samar -- Jap central force attacks US escort carriers and successfully withdraws.
Technique of Kamakazi introduced at Samar; first by a few fliers who were sucessfull against CVEs. Battle Off Cape Engano -- Jap northern decoy carrier fleet destroyed. The first suicide air (Kamikaze) attacks occur against U.S. warships in Leyte Gulf. By the end of the war, Japan will have sent an estimated 2,257 aircraft. "The only weapon I feared in the war," Adm. Halsey will say later.

Battle of Santa Cruz off Guadalcanal between U.S. And Japanese warships results in the loss of the Carrier HORNET.

Emperor Hirohito states his country's situation is now "truly grave."

Battle of Leyte Gulf results in a decisive U.S. Naval victory.

South Dakota damaged avoiding torpedo.

Minesweeping ended in Ulithi lagoon which will supplant Eniwetok as the Pacific Fleet's foremost advanced base in the Pacific.

Kamakaze attacks become the rule.

Carrier aircraft again attacks Japanese airfields and shipping in the Manila area.

U.S. Marines invade Bougainville in the Solomon Islands.

Battle of Empress Augustusta Bay.

Kokumbona offensive on Guadalcanal.

US troops land at Aola Bay escorted by Callegham's cruisers.

Carrier strikes on Luzon, targeting Japanese aircraft, airfields, and shipping. IJN Nachi (CA) sunk

Battle with Japanese landing at Koli Point.

Japanese mass an invasion force at Truk.

Transports depart Noumea with 152nd Infantry for Guadalcanal.

Scott's cruiser force departs Noumea to escort 3 cargo ships.

Callegham's cruiser force sails for Guadalcanal with 4 more transports.

Ammunition ship Mount Hood (AE-11) is destroyed by accidental ammunition explosion in Seeadler Harbor, Manus, Admiralty Islands. Mount Hood has an estimated 3,000 tons of explosives on board. Every ship in the harbor, including two CVE, is damaged and many craft sunk.

Damaged Enterprise departs repair yard at Noumea with welders still aboard.

Iwo Jima bombarded by the U.S. Navy.

Naval Battle of Guadalcanal begins. Japanese 2 BB, 1CL, and 9 DD attempt to bombard Henderson Field. Meet 5 US cruisers and 8 DD. Light US forces walloped: Atlanta, Juneau, 5 DD sunk. But Japanese withdraw losing 2 DD.

Hiei damaged the night before is attacked by aircraft and scuttled.

Three carrier task groups target Manila harbor sinking Japanese CL, four DD, ten freighters and oilers.

U.S. and Japanese warships clash again off Guadalcanal resulting in the sinking of the U.S. Cruiser JUNEAU and the deaths of the five Sullivan brothers.

Enterprise and Henderson aircraft attack cruisers, Kingasa sunk. Enterprise planes land at Henderson as she withdraws.

Battleship and destroyer fight end the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Japan lost battleship Hiei and 2 DDs. US lost 3 destroyers.

Allies move in New Guinea towards Buna and Gona.

Marines advance to Poho, Guadalcanal.

Marines advance to Poho, Guadalcanal.

U.S. Troops invade Makin and Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands.

Two CL and nine DD from Alaska bombard Japanese naval air installations on Matsuwa Island, Kurils.

Carrier aircraft bomb Japanese air facilities on Yap, Carolines.

Japanese planes raid U.S. air facility at Morotai, destroying 15 bombers and damaging 31.

Japanese air raid on Darwin, Australia. Day one.

Japanese end resistance on Makin and Tarawa.

Japanese air raid on Darwin, Australia. Day two.

Twenty four B-29s bomb the Nakajima aircraft factory near Tokyo.

Planes from two task groups attack convoy on west coast of Philippines sink CA Kumano, six landing ships, damage more.

Kamikazes damage carriers Essex (CV-9), Intrepid (CV-11) and Hancock (CV-19), and Cabot (CVL-28).

Lieutenant Commander Edward Henry "Butch" O'Hare - naval aviator of the United States Navy who on February 20, 1942 became the U.S. Navy's first flying ace and Medal of Honor recipient in World War II - missing in action. O'Hare's final action took place on the night, while he was leading the U.S. Navy's first-ever nighttime fighter attack launched from an aircraft carrier.

President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin met in Tehran during World War II

Colorado (BB-45) and light cruisers St. Louis (CL-49) and Montpelier (CL-57) damaged by kamikazes.

Archerfish (SS-311) sinks Japanese supercarrier Shinano 160 NM SE of Cape Muroto, Japan.

Battle of Tasafaronga off Guadalcanal.

LtGen Eichelberger ordered to Papau, New Guinea, to take Buna.

Enrico Fermi conducts the worlds first nuclear chain reaction test at the University of Chicago.

Almost 70 B-29's based in the Marianas bomb Musashino aircraft plant in Tokyo; 6 are lost.

B-24's from Guam and Saipan daily bomb Iwo Jima, plus random harassment attacks.

Japanese planes attack Leyte bound convoy - US freighter sunk.

US subs attack convoys.

Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; also attack the Philippines, Wake Island, Guam, Malaya, Thailand, Shanghai and Midway.

U.S. and Britain declare war on Japan. Japanese land near Singapore and enter Thailand.

China declares war on Japan.

Japanese invade the Philippines and also seize Guam.

Attack on Force Z (also known as Battle of Kuantan). British battleship Prince of Wales and battlecruiser Repulse sinks off Singapore;   Japanese troops overrun Guam

Japanese invade Burma.

Germany & Italy declare war on US;   Japanese attack Wake Island (only failed WWII-landing)

European reservists on Java mobilizes

Buna, New Guinea, falls to Americans.

Gona, New Guinea, falls to Australians. It takes another month to end resistance in Papua campaign and it is August 1944 before all of New Guinea is secured.

First Japanese merchant ship sunk by a U.S. submarine.

U.S. Troops land on the Arawe Peninsula of New Britain in the Solomon Islands.

U.S. Troops invade Mindoro in the Philippines.

Japanese invade British Borneo.

The U.S. Army Air Force begins preparations for dropping the Atomic Bomb by establishing the 509th Composite Group to operate the B-29s that will deliver the bomb.

Japanese invade Hong Kong.

Carrier Unryu (CVL) sunk by Redfish (SS-395) in East China Sea.

Samar liberated.

Organized Japanese resistance ends on Leyte.

27 Guam-based B-24's hit Iwo Jima.

Japanese invade Luzon in the Philippines.

26 B-24's flown 4,300 miles to attack Wake Island.

General Douglas MacArthur begins a withdrawal from Manila to Bataan; Japanese take Wake Island.

USAAF bombers raid Iwo Jima, Navy shells.

British surrender at Hong Kong.

Manila declared an open city.

Full Allied assault on New Britain as 1st Division Marines invade Cape Gloucester.

Japanese Force of Ashigara (CA), Oyodo (CL), three destroyers and three escort destroyers, approaches Mindoro to bombard the beachhead. USAAF B-25's, P-38's, P-40's, and P-47's and Navy PB4Y's and PBM's successively attack the force. One DD sunk.

Japanese bomb Manila.

USAAF plus cruiser and destroyer bombard Japanese installations on Iwo Jima and shipping offshore.

52 B-29's from the Marianas bomb Tokyo's Nakajima and Musashino aircraft plants.

Japanese air attacks commence against Mindoro-bound task group - 3 ships destroyed.

Japanese air attacks continue on Mindoro-bound convoy; - 2 more ships lost.
5th Air Force attack Japanese shipping in approaches to Lingayen Gulf - 4 ships sunk.

Emperor Hirohito of Japan gives permission to his troops to withdraw from Guadalcanal after five months of bloody fighting against U.S. Forces

Japanese high command decides to withdraw from Guadalcanal.