istoryworld
Events relating to asia
Japanese pilots fly the first of World War II's suicide or kamikaze missions
Victory over Japan in a massive 2-day battle at Leyte Gulf assures US recovery of Philippines
American B-29 bombers take off from the newly captured Saipan on the long trip to bomb Tokyo
Allied bombs destroy the strategic bridge in Thailand over the River Kwai, built by the Japanese using prisoners of war as slave labour
Achmed Sukarno makes a unilateral declaration of Indonesian independence, and leads the subsequent struggle against the Dutch
After a four-month siege of the city Douglas MacArthur returns to Manila, from which he was ejected in 1942 by the Japanese
Napalm, used to bomb a crowded part of Tokyo, creates a firestorm in which 80,000 die
William Slim drives the Japanese from Mandalay and moves on south to take Rangoon
Aung San's army, now named the Burma National Army, changes sides in a surprise move and attacks the Japanese
US troops land on the island of Okinawa, only 300 miles from the main islands of Japan
Thousands of Japanese kamikaze pilots die in massed suicide attacks in defence of the island of Okinawa
A US destroyer is sunk by a baka, a rocket-propelled version of a kamikaze attack
After a ferocious three-month battle, Okinawa is in US hands
The Japanese emperor Hirohito argues the case for surrender but fails to persuade the military
An atom bomb is dropped on Hiroshima, destroying four square miles of the city and killing 80,000 people
The USSR declares war on Japan, two days after an atom bomb has been dropped on Hiroshima
A second atom bomb is dropped from a US plane, this time over Nagasaki
The Japanese in Korea surrender to the Russians in the north and to the Americans in the south
The emperor Hirohito, on the first occasion that his people have heard his voce, declares on radio that defeat must be accepted
With the surrender of the Japanese, Vietminh guerrillas seize the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi
Douglas MacArthur – in his role as Supreme Commander, Allied Powers – is appointed to administer postwar Japan
Ho Chi Minh proclaims the democratic republic of Vietnam, independent of the colonial power, France
World War II ends officially with the surrender of Japan, formally accepted by Douglas MacArthur
Syria becomes fully independent with the withdrawal of French forces
Aung San's party, the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League, wins a landslide victory in the Burmese election
