World War II Chronicles

General Douglas MacArthur aboard his military ship, the USS Missouri sits down the Japanese in Tokyo Bay as they sign the surrender. He later goes on to give a speech that is based on the idea that the future is now filled with hope and that people can live in peace.

President Truman put out an announcement that the United States had officially received the unconditional surrender of Japan. As many people throughout the world celebrated that WWII was over, the Japanese Emperor spoke out for the first time about their tragic loss.

By the beginning of August The Big Three had settled on what would happen to Japan if they did not head President Trumans warning and surrender. After the Japanese did not stand down, two atomic bombs were dropped killing a devastating number of Japanese people.

At this point in time, General Douglas MacArthur was still leading U.S. forces against the Japanese empire. He was successful in his advances and was able to establish territory several miles long on a beachhead.

On the week of July 24th, 1945 Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and President Truman meet along with several other affiliates to discuss political issues. Because all three of these men were seen as having some of the greatest power in the world at the time the meeting became known as the Big Three Conference.

In mid July, 1945 people in America weren't worried about the usage of fuel because it wasn't affecting them directly. The Deputy Solid Fuel Administrator for War, C.J. Potter wanted people to realize the affect that fuel consumption had on the military at the time so he put out a broadcast.

By mid July, 1945 the U.S. 10th Army began to move quickly in an attempt to take down the last pocket of the Japanese resistance on the Southern part of the Island. The pace and diligence of the U.S. military scared many soldiers in the Japanese resistance. This lead to many of them committing suicide instead of honorably surrendering.

In Spring of 1945, the detailed horror of what the Nazi's did in Germany and inside the concentration camps was revealed to the public. Before this period many people didn't know the extent of situation. The concentration camps became referred to as "Murder Mills" and even war veterans like General Eisenhower and Patton who saw thousands of deaths said they could barely stomach the site of what had taken place.

By the end of June, 1945 delegates from all over the world had spent weeks drafting and debating over the finalized version of the United Nation Charter. On June 26th, 1945 the last session and signing of the UN Charter was held in San Francisco. President Truman attended the conference and gave a speech where he addressed the positivity that would come from the signing and referred to it as a "great instrument for peace".

After finishing his service as a Supreme Commander in World War II, Dwight D. Eisenhower was given many notable awards and was greeted by millions of people who wanted to show their gratitude for his service. In London millions of people gathered to listen to his address to Parliament and watch as he was granted "Freedom Of The City". When he returned home to the U.S. he was greeted first in the nations capitol where he received the keys to the city and then as he went on to New York City he was greeted by an overwhelming 4 million people.

During June of 1945, U.S. forces were still out fighting Japan but many people on the home front were celebrating the victory over Germany. Millions of people gathered in Southern California to watch the victory parade that was held to honor Generals George S. Patton and James Doolittle. After the parade General Patton when on to give a speech in Boston and General Doolittle prepared to go back into battle to help his country in the fight against Japan.

Operation Pluto was an abbreviation for "Pipeline Under-water Transport of Oil. The pipe which laid under the English Channel was constructed by British engineers to be used as an asset during World War II. The pipelines were meant to deliver a substantial amount of fuel to Europe, specifically during the allied invasion of Normandy.

By the end of May and the beginning of June, 1945 thousands of U.S. soldiers were dead and injured in the battle against Japan. In a final effort to take down the Japanese resistance the U.S. Army and Marine forces teamed up to storm the beach of Okinawa. The Japanese were resilient until U.S. soldiers pushed them south to retreat to the city of Naha. As the battle continued President Truman broadcasted a warning to the Japanese telling them to surrender or face the same consequences as Germany.

By the 27th of May, 1945 the U.S. air craft carrier USS Franklin had been struggling for almost a week to stay afloat after being hit on the 19th by a Japanese dive bomber. The bomb left the ship in pieces and took many American lives. Even with all the damage the USS Franklin and what was left of its brave crewmen returned to the U.S. through the Panama Canal.

While the war in Europe had ended in May of 1945, many American soldier were still out fighting the Japanese at the Battle of Okinawa. At this stage in the battle the Japanese Kamikaze warfare tactics were greatly damaging U.S. carriers and causing many casualties. In efforts to try and stop the Japanese, the U.S. began to attack Japanese air bases on the island.

By the third week in May forty six delegates from around the world were gathered at the San Francisco Conference trying to draw up the United Nations Charter to preserve peace. The nations that were invited to this conference were nations that declared war on Germany and Japan and had subscribed to the United Nations Declaration. A great number of sessions were held through May and June of 1945 before the final draft of the UN Charter was made.

By May of 1945 America and its allied forces had finally won the war in Europe. On may 7th it became official when the German delegation signed the unconditional surrender of all German forces. The following day President Truman broadcasted the announcement and people filled the streets to celebrate the end of the 5 year long war.

On the last weeks of April, 1945 American forces had reached the Elbe River which lied only miles outside of Berlin. Alongside the river Americans ran into the Soviets Red Army who proceeded into the city of Berlin. General Eisenhower held the American Army back and allowed the Soviets to fight the battle of Berlin because he didn't want to suffer thousands of more casualties.

On April 12th, 1945 Harry S. Truman took the oath of office only hours after President Franklin D. Roosevelt's death. The week following President Truman gave a speech in which he stated that he planned to continue his predecessors commitment and the U.S. would continue to fight Germany and Japan.

On the second week of April 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died from a hemorrhagic stroke. President Roosevelt was only several weeks into his fourth term when his physical health took a turn for the worst. Thousands of people including his successor Harry S. Truman gathered in the nationals capital to honor him at his memorial.

By April 8th, 1945 U.S. and allied forces were still battling to take down Nazi Germany. On the Western front U.S. soldiers had 300,000 Nazi's trapped in a geographical pocket in Ruhr Germany. After days of resisting U.S. advances, the 1st and 9th Armies teamed up and successfully split the pocket, leaving the Germans left to crumble.

By April of 1945 the United States had thousands of troops prepared to fight in what would become the largest naval assault in the Pacific War. On the 1st of the month troops landed on the island of Okinawa and met little resistance by the Imperial Japanese Army. The battle of Okinawa would continue for weeks with U.S. troops dominating the Japanese resistance.

In the final stretch to get the entire German resistance to leave the edge of the Rhine river U.S. and British soldiers team up. Together with forces coming at the Germans by air attack and by water the German don't stand a chance and the heart of Germany becomes open to the allied forces.

March of 1945 aircrafts bombings had become a staple weapon of the war. On the week of March 15th aircrafts carriers were given permission to drop the largest bomb ever created in the war to take out enemy targets. The bomb is known as "The Grand Slam" and weighing in at about 10 tons it played a vital role in the fast paced deterioration of the Nazi Germany army.

By March 11th, 1945 the U.S. soldiers had discovered that the only bridge the Nazi's had failed to demolish was the Ludendorff Bridge leading to the town of Remagen. In a race to get to the Germans before they blew up the the last connecting piece of the Shrine river the U.S. soldiers immediately began a full-scale attach on the bridge. Military engineers from the U.S. were able to dismantle most of the bombs the Germans had left on the bridges structure. It didn't take long for the U.S. soldiers to fully secure the bridge and reach the other side.

By March of 1945 the U.S., Canadian, and British forces had done serious damage to the Nazi army. With barely any line of defense left the Nazi's began to retreat across the Rhine. As they crossed the river they attempted to blow up all the bridges. On March 3rd 1945, the U.S. 9th and Canadian 1st officially teamed in a fight along the West bank that would later lead to the Battle of Remagen.

By 1945 the U.S. had been fighting Japanese forces for almost three years over the Philippine Island of Luzon and Corregidor, located in Manila Bay. Both islands were the last allies the U.S. had in the Philippines, so they fought long and hard to capture the territories. After several defeats U.S. soldiers won the battles once and for all the week of February 26th when General Douglas MacArthur had soldiers airborne and seaborne invade the island territories.

On February 19th, of 1945 U.S. Marines made an amphibious landing on the island of Iwo Jima to continue their fight against the Japanese. Although they were well prepared for battle the beach terrain proved to be a great struggle in their capturing of the island.

The Yalta Conference was a meeting where government leaders from the allied nations of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union met up to discuss how Germany and Europe should be organized following the end of WWII.

This week American soldiers along with other allied men who were prisons of war in the Philippines are liberated by U.S. Rangers.

Russias Red Army makes colossal gains on the Eastern front. Hitler and his Nazi Army face many defeats as they seem unprepared for the strength and fast pace progression of Stalins Red Army.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Thomas E. Dewey went neck and neck during the presidential campaign. President Roosevelt came out on top and was sworn into his fourth term as Commander and Chief.

The battle of Luzon was another fight in the Philippines led by General MacArthur. The battle was land based as the Japanese moved inland to use a defensive tactic. General MacArthur went on to win this battle claiming yet another Philippine island from the Japanese.

U.S. forces attacked the islands of Formosa and Ryukyu in their ongoing efforts to take down the Japanese resistance. Two U.S. carrier planes targeted the two bases on the islands that guarded the entrance to the China sea.

The Battle of The Bugle was Hitlers final offense on the Western front against the allies. After many days of fighting the allies won the battle and could make their way through too Berlin.

The Battle for Budapest was a fight by the Soviets Red Army and Romanian army against Hungarian and German forces for the Hungarian Capital of Budapest. The battle lasted more than a month.

In hopes of recapturing the port of Antwerp and splitting the British and U.S. forces, Germany compiled several divisions to move in on the port in the West.

General Douglas MacArthur along with thousands of his soldiers landed on the Philippine island of Leyte to begin another invasion. The U.S. suffered many casualties with this battle becoming one of the bloodiest from the Pacific War.

The Port of Antwerp was the third largest port in Europe. Once the allied forces gained access to the port the difficulties of getting supplies to the front line was greatly decreased.

After the long range B29 bomber was ready to be put to use in the field the U.S. began to use air strikes to attack the Japanese Capital.

The Nazi's last big ship was the Tirpitz and after is was destroyed Germany no longer had a Navy.

While chaos was brewing throughout the world, back in the U.S. the presidential campaign went on. Thomas E. Dewey went head to head with President Franklin D. Roosevelt in one of the closet election of the 1900's.