Chronology of World War II
Japanese surrender onboard Missouri
Sunday, September 2, 1945 www.onwar.com
In Tokyo... The Japanese surrender is signed aboard the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Foreign Minister Shigemitsu leads the Japanese delegation. MacArthur accepts the surrender on behalf of all the Allies. Admiral Nimitz signs for the United States and Admiral Fraser for Britain. There are representatives of all the other Allied nations. Also present are Generals Percival and Wainright who have been Japanese prisoner since they surrendered at Corregidor and Singapore, respectively.

In French Indochina... Nationalist resistance leader Ho Chi-Minh proclaims the existence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

From Melbourne... The Australian Minister of Defence announces that the South-West Pacific Command has come to an end. All the area south of the Philippines have been assigned to British Commonwealth control and operational control of Australian forces, vested in General MacArthur in 1942, has reverted to the Australian government.

In Ceylon... In Kandy, a Siamese military mission arrives, headed by Lt.-Gen. Narong, deputy commander in chief of the Siamese Army, to discuss the Japanese surrender in Siam, the disposal of the Siamese forces and the release of Allied prisoners.

In London... The government ends press censorship.

In Oslo... A meeting of the Norwegian Labor Party decides to reject Communist proposals for a merger with the Norwegian Communist Party.
This chronological study of the Second World War provides a comprehensive day-by-day account of WWII. While focused on the military history of the war, with an emphasis on the battles and campaigns fought, the timeline includes social and political history as well. Some Holocaust related events are already recorded and additional updates are pending. In so far as possible, the images included in this presentation are pictures from the given days. Additional information and images are welcome through the feedback form found on the index.