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.

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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-battleship Yamato, 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.

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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 the Missouri in Tokyo harbor.
7 September	General Stilwell accepts the surrender of Japanese Ryukyus garrisons signifying the beginning of American political hegemony in Okinawa.

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