15th August, 1945. Emperor Hirohito broadcast a message to his people asking (? commanding) them to accept his decision to surrender to the Allies.
Following on from Gerry's. Bonfires are lit and church bells ring the length of the country as VJ Day begins at 1 minute past midnight.
However, it is according to the dictate of time and fate that We have resolved to pave the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come by enduring the unendurable and suffering what is insufferable. Full text here
17-8-1943 British and US troops conquer Sicily. 17-8-1945 The last operational U-boat surrenders in the River Plate. 17-8-1987 Top Nazi Rudolf Hess commits suicide in Spandau prison, aged 93.
August 17th 1945 Indonesia (Dutch E Indies) declares independence from Netherlands 1945 Koreas divided on 38th parallel with U.S. occupying the southern area 1944 4th Canadian Armour division occupiers Trun Normandy 1944 Canadian 2nd division conquerors Falaise Normandy 1944 German fieldmarshal Model replaces von Kluge in Normandy 1944 Russian troops arrive at Austria-Prussia border 1944 U.S. 12 Army corp occupies Orleans 1944 U.S. 320th regiment infantry occupies Chateaudun 1943 498 British bombers attack Peenemunde 1943 Gen Patton enters Messina, completing conquest of Sicily by Allies 1943 U.S. 8th Air Force loses 60 B-17O at attack on Regensburg/Schweinfurt 1942 1st European bombing run undertaken by U.S. forces 1942 1st US/8th Air Force bombs Europe 1942 Task Force 17 leaves Pearl Harbor under adm George Murray on Hornet 1942 Transport nr 20 departs with French Jews to nazi-German 1942 U.S. bombers staged 1st independent raid on Europe attack Rouen, France 1941 German raider attacks Dutch SS Kota Nopan 1940 Franklin D. Roosevelt and Canadian PM William M King agree to joint defense commission 1940 Hitler orders total blockade of Great-Britain
19-8-1942 Allied troops, mainly Canadians, pull back after nine hours of heavy fighting on the French coast at Dieppe, North West of Paris.
24-8-1942 The Duke of Kent, brother of George VI, dies when his flying boat crashed en route to Iceland.
The Liberation of Paris. On this day, 25 August 1944 French General Jacques Leclerc enters the free French capital triumphantly. Pockets of German intransigence remained, but Paris was free from German control.
25th August 1941 British and Soviet forces begin occupying Iran following fears that the Germans were operating in the country. The Allied troops seized vital oil installations meeting little resistance while so doing.
1 September 1939 On this day German forces bombarded Poland on land and in the air, as Hitler seeks to regain lost territory and ultimately rule Poland. World War 2 had begun.
I forgot to do this the last two days, so here goes. 30-8-1939 Operation Pied Piper, the evacuation of children from Britain's cities, begins. 31-8-1941 The first Arctic convoy, Codenamed 'Dervish', arrives in Archangel with crucial supplies including 15 Hurricane fighters. Over the next 4 years 40 convoys will deliver 13,000 tanks, 22,000 aircraft and 417,000 vehicles. Nearly 3,000 sailors will die on the 2,000 mile route.
3 September 1939. On this day, in response to Hitlers invasion of Poland, Britain and France declare war on Germany.
4th September 1939: The RAF Bomber Command launches its first attack on german warships in the Heligoland Bight. 1941: U-boat attacks USS Greer in international waters. The US responds by ordering their warships to "shoot on sight" in waters considered to be vital to the country's defence. 1943: Allies launch an offensive against Japanese facilities on Papua New Guinea. 1944: Antwerp is liberated. 1945: The last remnants of the Japanese 28th Army in Burma are killed.
15-9-1935 At the Nuremburg rally Hitler issues new decrees which relegates Jews to sub-human status and the Swastika is adopted as the nation’s official flag.
5th September 1939: South Africa declares war on Germany. The US declares its neutrality. 1944: US 3rd Army spearheads cross the Meuse river. Hitler promotes General Karl von Runstedt to be Commander-in-Chief West.
A follow up to Kitty's post: Of interest to the Sea Dogs, here's information on the surrender of the Italian fleet which took place 8-10 September: Order of Battle - Surrender of the Italian Fleet to the Allies - 8-10 September 1943 Cheers, Gerry
