
Appendix II
Chronology
1944 | |
2 January | U.S. Army troops land at Saidor, New Guinea. |
31 January-7 February | U.S. forces assault and capture Kwajelein and Majuro Atolls in the Marshalls. |
16-17 February | Task Force 58 strikes Truk, revealing weakness of that base. |
17-22 February | U.S. forces assault and capture Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshalls. |
29 February-28 March | U.S. forces assault and capture the main islands of the Admiralties. |
6 March | 1st Marine Division lands near Talasea on New Britain in the Bismarcks. |
22 April | U.S. Army troops land at Aitape and Hollandia in northern New Guinea, beginning drive up the coast. |
6 June | Allied troops invade the continent of Europe in Normandy. |
15 June-9 July | U.S. forces assault and capture Saipan in the Marianas. |
19-20 June | Battle of the Philippine Sea. Japanese naval air arm suffers decisive defeat. |
21 July-10 August | U.S. forces assault and capture Guam in the Marianas. |
24 July-1 August | V Marine Amphibious Corps assaults and captures Tinian in the Marianas. |
30 July | Westward drive reaches end of New Guinea at Sansapor Point. |
15 September | U.S. Army troops assault and capture Moratai, Netherlands East Indies. |
15-30 September | U.S. forces assault and capture Peleliu and Anguar in the Palaus. |
23 September | U.S. Army troops seize Ulithi Atoll in the Western Carolines. |
10 October | First carrier raid on Okinawa. |
20 October | U.S. Army troops land on Leyte in the Philippines. |
23-26 October | Battle of Leyte Gulf. Elimination of the Japanese surface fleet as a major threat. |
25 October | CinCPOA issues Joint Staff Study outlining plans for the Okinawa operation (ICEBERG). |
24 November | Saipan-based B-29’s bomb Tokyo in the first attack on the enemy capitol by land-based planes. |
15 December | U.S. Army troops invade Mindoro in the Philippines. |
25 December | Leyte declared secure. |
1945 | |
6 January | Tenth Army issues Tentative Operation Plan 1-45 for ICEBERG. |
9 January | U.S. Army troops land on Luzon in the Philippines. |
25 January | First support mission flown by Marine dive bombers in the Philippines. |
19 February-16 March | V Marine Amphibious Corps assaults and captures Iwo Jima in the Volcano-Bonins. |
11 March | General Buckner puts Tenth Army Operation Plan 1-45 into effect by dispatch. |
21 March | Western Islands Attack Group carrying assault troops of the 77th Infantry Division sorties from Leyte Gulf for the opening phase of ICEBERG. |
24 March | Southern Tractor Flotilla carrying assault troops of the XXIV Corps sorties from Leyte Gulf for ICEBERG. Planes and battleships of Task Force 58 open the preliminary bombardment of Okinawa. |
25 March | Northern Tractor Flotilla carrying assault troops of the III Amphibious Corps sorties from Ulithi for ICEBERG. |
26-31 March | 77th Infantry Division assaults and captures Kerama Retto and Keise Shima. |
27 March | Transport and covering forces of the Joint Expeditionary Force sortie from Leyte Gulf and Ulithi for ICEBERG. Demonstration Group carrying troops of the 2d Marine Division leaves Saipan. |
1 April | Tenth Army makes an unopposed landing on the Hagushi beaches of Okinawa. |
2 April | Forward elements of the 7th Infantry Division reach the eastern coast of Okinawa, severing the island. |
6-7 April | First of ten major Kamikaze attacks on ships in Okinawan waters. |
7 April | Planes of Task Force 58 sink the Japanese super-battleshipYamato, a cruiser, and four destroyers, ending all chance of a sea attack on Okinawa. |
9-10 April | 3/105 of the 27th Infantry Division assaults and captures Tsugen Shima, the only defended position in the Eastern Islands. |
10 April | 27th Infantry Division lands on Okinawa to reinforce the XXIV Corps. |
16-21 April | 77th Infantry Division assaults and captures Ie Shima. |
19 April | XXIV Corps makes an all-out attack against the outer ring of Shuri defenses. |
20 April | The end of organized resistance on Motobu Peninsula in the 6th Marine Division zone of action. |
30 April | 77th Infantry Division relieves the 96th Infantry Division in southern Okinawa. |
1 May | 1st Marine Division relieves the 27th Infantry Division in southern Okinawa. |
4 May | 27th Infantry Division relieves 6th Marine Division in northern Okinawa. |
4-6 May | XXIV Corps repulses major Japanese counterattack. |
7 May | IIIAC takes over the western sector of the Tenth Army front in southern Okinawa. |
8 May | First elements of the 6th Marine Division enter the lines on the southern front. |
9-10 May | 96th Infantry Division replaces the 7th Infantry Division on the eastern coast. |
11 May | Tenth Army all-out attack on the inner Shuri defenses. |
17 May | Admiral Turner relieved by Admiral Hill as Commander Task Force 51. General Buckner now directly responsible to Admiral Spruance for operations of Tenth Army. |
21 May | 7th Infantry Division recommitted on the east coast to encircle Shuri. |
27 May | Third Fleet relieves Fifth Fleet and General Buckner now directly responsible to CinCPOA for operations of Tenth Army. |
30 May-4 June | Bulk of the Japanese Thirty-second Army withdraws under cover of rain from the Shuri bastion to new positions in the Kiyamu Peninsula. |
31 May | 5th Marines capture Shuri Castle. |
3-4 June | 8th Marine Combat Team secures Iheya Shima. |
4 June | 6th Marine Division assaults Oroku Peninsula. |
9 June | 8th Marine Combat Team secures Aguni Shima. |
18 June | General Buckner killed watching progress of 8th Marines’ first attack on Okinawa; General Geiger assumes temporary command of Tenth Army. |
21 June | End of organized resistance on Okinawa. |
22 June | Official flag-raising at Tenth Army Headquarters marking capture of Okinawa. |
23 June | General Stilwell assumes command of Tenth Army. |
24-30 June | FMF Reconnaissance Battalion secures Kume Shima. |
30 June | Completion of the mop-up sweep of southern Okinawa. |
1 July | Task Force 31 dissolved by CinCPOA; General Stilwell assumes responsibility for defense and development of Okinawa Gunto. |
5 July | Philippines campaign declared ended. |
4 August | 27th Infantry Division reaches Hedo Misaki ending three and a half month mopping-up action in northern Okinawa. |
6 August | First atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. |
9 August | Second atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki. |
10 August | Japan sues for peace. |
14 August | End of war in the Pacific. |
2 September | Formal surrender of the Japanese Empire on board theMissouri in Tokyo harbor. |
7 September | General Stilwell accepts the surrender of Japanese Ryukyus garrisons signifying the beginning of American political hegemony in Okinawa. |