This day in the war in the Pacific 65 years ago.

Sept 11th 1945

INDONESIA: First official broadcast of RRI (Radio Republik Indonesia).

VIETNAM: During the following days a small advance party of support personnel and infantry escort from Gracey's force arrived in Saigon to check on conditions and report back; on the 11th a brigade was flown in from Hmawbi Field, Burma via Bangkok. When these advance Allied units landed in Saigon they found themselves in a bizarre position of being welcomed and guarded by fully armed Japanese and Viet Minh soldiers. The reason these soldiers were armed was because six months earlier (March 9) they disarmed and interned the French, for the Japanese feared an American landing in Indochina after the fall of Manila and did not trust the French.

Thanks syscom, very interesting!

vikingBerserker said:

Thanks syscom, very interesting!

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It is! I dont think many people know what was happening in Sept 1945.

Sept 12th 1945

MALAYA: In Singapore, IJA General ITAGAKI Seishiro, Commander in Chief 7th Area Army and Governor of Johor State, Malaya, surrenders all Japanese forces in Southeast Asia and the Netherlands East Indies to British Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander, South East Asia Command. Approximately 585,000 Japanese troops surrendered in this agreement.

Sept 13th 1945

IRAN: In response to the Iranian government's demand for the withdrawal of American, British, and Soviet occupation forces, the Allied governments assured the Iranians that Allied forces would complete their evacuation by 2 March 1946.

NAURU ISLAND: The Australian frigate HMAS Diamantina (K 377) arrives off the island at 0700 hours local. A Japanese envoy is ordered to have the 3,200 Japanese troops and 500 Koreans ready for embarkation by 1500 hours. At 1445 hours, the commander of the Japanese garrison and five staff officers board the frigate and surrender.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, Japanese Lieutenant General ADACHI Hatazo, commander of the 18th Army, signs the surrender document at Wom Airstrip just west of Wewak.

VIETNAM: Douglas Gracey on arrival immediately realized the seriousness of the situation. Anarchy, rioting and murder were widespread, Saigon's administrative services had collapsed and a loosely-controlled Communist-led revolutionary group had seized power. In addition, being that the Japanese were still fully armed, the Allies feared the they were capable of undermining the Allied position. Furthermore, he could barely communicate with his higher headquarters in Burma, for his America signal detachment was abruptly withdrawn by the U.S. government due to political reasons.

Nothing to note for this date

Wow, in the post for the 13th you can see the seeds being sown for future problems.

Sept 15th 1945

BORNEO: In Jesselton, British North Borneo, Japanese Colonel IEMURA, commander of the 25th Mixed Regiment, surrenders to Brigadier Selwyn Porter, commander of the 24th Australian Brigade.

FRENCH INDOCHINA: In Laos, Prince Phetsarath issues a proclamation unifying the Kingdom of Louangphrabang with the four southern provinces of Laos, declaring Vientiane the capital and announcing a forthcoming meeting of a Congress of Peoples Representatives to decide the country's social, economic and political direction

Sept 16th 1945

INDONESIA: British Rear Admiral Patterson lands in Jakarta. He announces that the British mission is "to maintain law and order until the time that the lawful government of the Netherlands East Indies is once again functioning". The Dutch ask Patterson to have the leaders of the Republic arrested, but the British high command tells Patterson not to interfere in politics.

HONG KONG: The Japanese surrender to British forces.

Sept 17th 1945

INDONESIA: Mass pro-Republic rallies in Jakarta.

Sept 18th 1945

RNZAF: A group of Japanese aircraft that survived at Rabaul were painted in surrender markings and surrendered to New Zealand personnel. The group included: Ki-46 Dinah, A6M5 Zero 4043 and two other Zeros. Flown by Japanese crews, the aircraft took off from Vunakanau Airfield to Jacquinot Bay Airfield. After landing, the pilots saluted, made a report and were flown back to Rabaul aboard a RNZAF PBY Catalina.

JAPAN: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur moves his command headquarters to Tokyo from Yokohama.

Sept 19th 1945

AUSTRALIA: The Australian War Cabinet agrees to providing air, army and naval forces for the occupation of Japan. They will join forces from India, New Zealand and the U.K. in forming the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF).

KOREA: Kim Il Sung and his second wife Kim Chong Suk return to Korea from Siberia. Kim and his guerrillas, numbering about 40 (and their families), arrive at Wonsan, compliments of the Soviet warship Pukachev. The US intelligence file on Kim Il Sung states - "Faced with the threat of extinction by the Japanese, a few hundred under the leadership of Kim Il Sung, long time Communist, made their way North and into the Soviet Maritime Province. After verifying their political and military backgrounds, the Soviets established these people in a training camp at Yashki Station, in the general area of Khabarovsk. Here and later at Rararash, near the junction of the USSR-Korea and Manchurian frontiers these Koreans are trained in espionage, radio communications, sabotage and general military subjects. From 1941-45, these people are utilized by the Soviets as agents in Manchuria. In the spring of 1945, in addition to normal political training, they are briefed on Korea and Korean politics."

UNITED KINGDOM: William Joyce, aka Lord Haw Haw, is sentenced to death in London. Although Joyce was born in the USA, brought up in Ireland and took German nationality on 26 September 1939, he is charged with treason from 3 September 1939 to 2 July 1940, the date his British passport expired. He scratched a swastika on the wall of his cell and when shown the films of the concentration camps, he blamed the deaths of the inmates on starvation and disease caused by Allied bombing of Germany. His last public message reported by the BBC is "In death as in life, I defy the Jews who caused this last war, and I defy the powers of darkness they represent." He is hanged on 3 January 1946 and buried in an unmarked grave in the grounds of the prison.
The new Labour government makes a proposal to begin negotiations on Indian autonomy based on the plan offered by Sir Stafford Cripps in 1942.

UNITED STATES: Three Twentieth Air Force Boeing B-29s arrive in Chicago, Illinois, after flying nonstop from Hokkaido, Japan. One of the aircraft is commanded by Major General Curtis E. LeMay. After refueling in Chicago, the aircraft continue on to Washington, D.C.

Nothing to report

Lt. William D. Wells became an ace on that day in a P39 fighter with four (4) Japanese bombers shot down. He was awarded the Silver Star Medal for gallantry.

Interested in material confirming the above.

Robert

syscom3 said:

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force) Search aircraft report nearly 250 Japanese airplanes at Rabaul on New Britain Island in the Bismarck Archipelago and other airfields jammed with aircraft. In air action in the Solomon Islands, about 120 Japanese aircraft converging on Allied vessels off Tulagi and Guadalcanal Islands in the Solomon Islands are met by more than 100 Allied fighters (USAAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force, US Navy and US Marine Corps). The skies over Savo and Tulagi, and Cape Esperance and Koli Point on Guadalcanal Island are filled with dogfights and flak from ship and ground guns. The battle results in the largest single-day Allied aerial victory of the Solomon Islands campaign; 79 airplanes are claimed shot down by Allied fighters, and AA claims 17 more; 6 Allied fighters are lost. The Japanese succeed in damaging 3 ships (2 of which have to be beached) and cause considerable destruction on Guadalcanal. Lost is B-24D 42-40250.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force) B-25's bomb Koepang and Oeikoesi on Timor and, along with A-20's, hit barges and shore targets at several points along the coasts of NE New Guinea and New Britain Island in the Bismarck Archipelago. On a single bomber photo recon over Buka and Bougainville is B-17E "Lucy" 41-2666 two crew members earned the medal of honor.

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syscom3 said:

ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): The 406th BS (Medium), Fourth Air Force, departs Elmendorf Field, Anchorage for the US. The squadron will transition from B-25's to B-24's and arrive in England on 2 Nov 43.

BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): The 530th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 311th Fighter-Bomber Group, transfers from Nawadih to Dinjan, India with A-36's.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force): 28 B-24's and 40+ USN dive bombers, with cover of 50+ fighters including F4U Corsairs of VMF-214 and VMF-221 hit Ballale Airfield. Lost is F4U 17557. 14 P-39's join 20+ US Navy aircraft in a strike on Kakasa village and a tent area on Choiseul. The 70th Fighter Squadron, 18th Fighter Group, transfers from Guadalcanal to New Georgia with P-39's.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force): Nearly 80 B-24's and fighters are sent against Rabaul, but abort due to bad weather. The mission cost five Liberators, including B-24D "Mitsu Butcher" 41-24043, B-24D 42-40670, B-24D 42-40885, B-24D 41-41088 and B-24D "Mission Belle" 42-40389. 13 of the B-24's bomb Cape Hoskins; 7 others bomb Cape Gloucester and hit Sio. However, 50+ B-25's slip beneath low clouds and pound the town, airfields, and shipping from treetop and mast-height level; the B-25's sink 2 vessels and claim 70+ planes destroyed on the ground and in the air. Lost are B-25D "SNAFU / MFUTU" 41-30054, B-25D "Sorry Satchul" 41-30056, B-25C "Daisy May" 42-32262.
Other B-25's bomb and strafe a road at Bogadjim.

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, the Japanese 78th and 80th Regiments continue their assaults against Australian troops in the Finschhafen

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Update:
Consolidated B-24D-53-CO 42-40389 (90th BG, 400th BS, "Mission Belle") condemned Apr 30, 1945, not lost. (Baugher)

Her nose art:
ORIGINAL PHOTOS WWII WW2 AIRPLANE PIN-UP NOSE ART B-24 BOMBER - PACIFIC THEATER | eBay