CBI - China: Day 58 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 21 of 106 of the 2nd Battle of Shanghai.
Day 2 of 70 of the Battle of Taiyuan.
1938 — , September 2
Spain: Day 778 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 423 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 84 of 139 of the Battle of Wuhan.
1939 — , September 2
Scandinavia: German Ministers at Stockholm, Sweden, and Oslo, Norway, give a declaration saying that Germany will respect the integrity of neutrality declared by Sweden and Norway.
Germany: Hitler tells Britain and France that he will withdraw from Poland if he can keep Danzig and the Polish Corridor. They respond by giving him 12 hours to leave or else... war!
Germany: The Germans start construction of Stutthof concentration camp in which 65,000 Polish Christians will ultimately perish.
Poland: Day 2 of 36 of Germany's Invasion of Poland. Luftwaffe attacks Warsaw and a train station at Kolo, killing 111 refugees. German troops capture the Jablunka pass in the Tatra mountains. Fighting continues at the mouth of the Vistula River.
CBI - China: Day 788 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
CBI - Mongolia: Day 115 of 129 of the Battle of Khalkhin Gol.
1940 — , September 2
ETO - UK: Day 55 of 114 of the Battle of Britain. The Luftwaffe continues to bomb London in the Blitz.
East Africa: Day 85 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,154 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 293 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi, China. Results in a Chinese victory.
Day 14 of 42 of the Hundred Regiments Offensive.
1941 — , September 2
ETO: RAF daylight raids on Occupied Europe miss only 19 days during the months of August and September.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 73 of 164 of the Battle of Hanko. The Soviets continue withdrawing from the Karelian Isthmus back to Leningrad.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 66 of 142 of Operation SILVER FOX, a joint German-Finnish campaign to capture the Russian port of Murmansk in the Arctic.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 64 of 140 of Operation ARCTIC FOX, a joint German-Finnish campaign against Soviet Northern Front defenses at Salla, Finland.
Russian Front: Day 73 of 167 of Germany's Operation BARBAROSSA, the overall invasion of the USSR.
Russian Front - Center: Day 17 of 23 of the Battle of Dukhovshina, Russia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 4 of 10 of the Battle of Yelnia, Russia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 4 of 14 of the Battle of Roslavl-Novozybkov, Russia.
Russian Front - South: Day 26 of 70 of the Siege of Odessa, Ukraine.
Russian Front - South: Day 11 of 35 of the 1st Battle of Kiev, Ukraine.
MTO - Libya: Day 146 of 256 of the Siege of Tobruk.
Middle East: Day 9 of 24 of the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran.
East Africa: Day 450 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,519 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
1942 — , September 2
Russian Front - North: Day 360 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 121 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket, USSR lays siege to the Kholm Pocket but the Germans hold out for a about a year and a half.
Russian Front - Center: Day 35 of 64 of the 1st Battle of Rzhev-Sychevka, Russia. Though it will end in a stalemate, it will keep German troops from going to Stalingrad.
Russian Front - South: Day 67 of 150 of Germany's CASE BLUE, the failed offensive to take the Caucasus oil fields.
Russian Front - South: Day 11 of 165 of the Battle of Stalingrad, the bloodiest battle in human history.
MTO - Libya: US B-24s bomb the docks and jetties at Tobruk.
MTO - Egypt: US B-25s and the RAF attack German positions in the Alam-el-Halfa battle area as British troops drive the Germans back.
East Africa: Day 121 of 186 of the Battle of Madagascar.
CBI - China: Day 1,884 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 111 of 124 of Japan's Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign, launched to punish anyone suspected of aiding the Doolittle raiders in China. Roughly 250,000 Chinese will be killed.
PTO - Alaska: Day 88 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands. The US and Canada will defeat the Japanese invaders.
PTO - Malaya: Day 196 of 357 of the Battle of Timor Island, a long guerrilla war ending in Japanese victory.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 44 of 119 of the Battle of the Kokoda Track. The Japanese continue driving over the Owen Stanley Range toward Port Moresby. This will become an Allied victory.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 9 of 14 of the Battle of Milne Bay. The Australian troops are beating back the Japanese troops. The US and Australian troops will win this battle.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 27 of 187 of the Battle of Guadalcanal.
1943 — , September 2
ETO: US 8th Air Force: B-17s bomb airfields in France.
Russian Front - North: Day 725 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 486 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket, USSR lays siege to the Kholm Pocket but the Germans hold out for a about a year and a half.
Russian Front - Center: Day 27 of 57 of the 2nd Battle of Smolensk, Russia. Becomes a Soviet victory as the Axis are pushed completely away from the Moscow region.
Russian Front - Center: Day 17 of 48 of the Battle of Bryansk, Russia. Soviet victory as the Germans began retreating.
Russian Front - South: Day 10 of 122 of the Battle of the Lower Dnieper River, USSR.
MTO - Tunisia: US 1st Air Force: 1st Antisubmarine Squadron begin operating from Protville with their B-24s.
MTO - Italy: US 12th Air Force sends its B-17s and B-25s to hit marshalling yards at Bologna, Trento, Bolzano, and Cancello Arnone.
MTO - Italy: US 9th Air Force and the RAF strike various targets located on the Italian toe.
CBI - China: Day 2,249 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 134 of 148 of the 2nd Battle of Lae-Salamaua. Will become an Allied victory.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 19 of 56 of the Battle of Vella Lavella. The Allies will win this one.
1944 — , September 2
PTO - Chichi Jima: Lt George H W Bush, future US President, is shot down in his Grumman TBM Avenger during an attack on the Japanese island of Chichi Jima and is rescued by the lifeguard submarine USS FINBACK.
Spotlight...
George H W Bush in his TBM Avenger on the carrier USS SAN JACINTO in 1944
After Bush's promotion to Lieutenant (junior grade) on August 1, 1944, the SAN JACINTO commenced operations against the Japanese in the Bonin Islands. Bush piloted one of four Grumman TBM Avenger aircraft from VT-51 that attacked the Japanese installations on Chichi Jima. His crew for the mission included Radioman Second Class John Delaney and Lieutenant Junior Grade William White.
During their attack, the Avengers encountered intense anti-aircraft fire; Bush's aircraft was hit by flak and his engine caught on fire. Despite his plane being on fire, Bush completed his attack and released bombs over his target, scoring several damaging hits. With his engine ablaze, Bush flew several miles from the island, where he and one other crew member on the TBM Avenger bailed out of the aircraft; the other man's parachute did not open.
Bush waited for four hours in an inflated raft, while several fighters circled protectively overhead until he was rescued by the lifeguard submarine USS FINBACK. For the next month he remained on the FINBACK, and participated in the rescue of other pilots.
Bush subsequently returned to the SAN JACINTO in November 1944 and participated in operations in the Philippines until his squadron was replaced and sent home to the United States. Through 1944, he flew 58 combat missions for which he received the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals, and the Presidential Unit Citation awarded to the USS SAN JACINTO.
Because of his valuable combat experience, Bush was reassigned to Norfolk Navy Base and put in a training wing for new torpedo pilots. He was later assigned as a naval aviator in a new torpedo squadron, VT-153, based at Naval Air Station Grosse Ile, Michigan. Upon the Japanese surrender in 1945, Bush was honorably discharged in September of that year.
ETO - UK: Day 82 of 86 of the V-1 "Buzz Bomb" offensive on Britain.
ETO - France: Day 33 of 284 of the Battle of Brittany.
ETO - France: Day 19 of 32 of Operation DRAGOON, the Allied invasion of southern France. US and French troops continue racing up the Rhone Valley.
ETO - Belgium: Day 1 of 62 of the liberation of Belgium. German V-1 rocket bases in France cease operations as the Allies cross into Belgium.
[+] show related dates
V-1 related dates...
12 Mar 44: Swedes investigate crashed V-1 from station 40 miles away
13 Jun 44: First V-1 Flying Bomb attack on England, 4 of 11 hit targets
16 Jun 44: V-1 offensive begins in earnest as 244 flying bombs strike England
19 Jun 44: Air Ministry releases the first official V-1 details
04 Aug 44: First RAF pilot destroys a V-1 flying bomb by tipping its wing
02 Sep 44: Allied advance forces V-1 rocket bases in France to cease
06 Sep 44: Battle of London ends after 80 days of V-1 rocket attacks
V-2 related dates...
20 Aug 41: Adolf Hitler authorizes the development of the V-2 missile
18 Mar 42: First A-4 rocket explodes during combustion chamber test
23 Mar 42: Von Braun's team launches first successful test of an A-4 rocket
22 Apr 43: A British Mosquito photographs German rockets at Peenemunde
27 Jun 43: British Chiefs of Staff circulate V-2 rocket report
28 Jun 43: RAF reconnaissance plane identifies Peenemunde V-2 launch site
13 Aug 43: Factory making V-2 parts bombed, setting program back
20 May 44: Polish underground captures, dismantles V-2 intact, sends to UK
08 Sep 44: First of over 3,000 German V-2 rockets hit Paris and London
27 Mar 45: The 1,115th and last V-2 rocket reaches England
02 May 45: Wernher von Braun surrenders in Austria to US troops
Rocket Man: Robert H Goddard and the Birth of the Space Age
[–] hide related dates
ETO: US 8th Air Force: Fighters attack enemy positions in Belgium.
Russian Front - North: Day 24 of 28 of the Battle of Tartu in southeastern Estonia.
MTO: France: US 12th Air Force dispatches their fighters to hit targets in Lyon area, which is in eastern France in the middle of the Rhone River Valley.
MTO: Italy: B-25s of the US 12th Air Force knock out three bridges in the Po Valley and hit the docks at Savona, plus some ships just off shore.
MTO - Greece: The Germans begin to evacuate the Aegean Islands.
MTO - Yugoslavia: US 15th Air Force sends its B-24s to hit targets at Mitrovica, Supovac, and Nish. Their escorting P-38s and P-51s take out additional bridges and railroads.
CBI - Burma: Day 155 of 302 of the Chinese Salween Offensive.
CBI - China: Day 2,615 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 139 of 259 of Japan's Operation ICHI-GO.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 263 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain, New Guinea.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 134 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea.
1945 — , September 2
PTO: Japan formally surrenders on board the USS MISSOURI in Tokyo Bay as 1,000 carrier-based planes fly overhead. President Truman declares V-J Day (Victory over Japan), officially ending World War II.
Spotlight...
Japanese delegates aboard the USS MISSOURI for the formal ceremony of surrender ending WWII.
News that Japan had finally agreed to surrender came on 14 Aug 45, the day the iconic "Times Square Kiss" photo was taken. General Douglas MacArthur then began overseeing the surrender and occupation from the Philippines until arriving in Japan on 30 Aug 45.
Dates related to Japan's surrender...
10 Aug 45: Japan announces willingness to surrender if Emperor remains
14 Aug 45: News of Japan's surrender spreads unbridled celebrations throughout all Allied nations, including Times Square where the famous "kiss" photo is taken
15 Aug 45: Hirohito tells Japan they must now endure the unendurable
27 Aug 45: Famous photo taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt is published
02 Sep 45: Japan formally surrenders on board the USS MISSOURI
Douglas MacArthur related dates...
28 Jul 32: Ordered by Hoover to clear DC of WWI veterans' Bonus Army
24 Aug 36: Granted title of Field Marshal in the Philippine Army
26 Jul 41: Recalled into active service as commander of units in Far East
22 Feb 42: Ordered by FDR to leave the Philippines
Spotlight...
