 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2020) |
| Timelines of World War II |
|---|
| Chronological |
| Prelude |
| By topic |
| By theatre |
This is a timeline showing surrenders of the various fighting groups of the Axis forces that also marked ending time of World War II:
| Country | Forces it applies to | Number of soldiers surrendering (if applicable) | Commanding Officer | Date surrender document signed (if applicable) | Date surrender document took effect (if applicable) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | All forces of the Italian Social Republic | 429,000 | Maresciallo d'Italia Rodolfo Graziani | April 29 | May 1[ citation needed ] | |
| Netherlands | Kampfgruppen "General Seyffardt" of the 23rd SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division Nederland in Halbe, Germany | 500 | Jürgen Wagner? | May 1 | May 1 | Destroyed in the Halbe pocket |
| Germany | Army Group C, in Italy and Western Austria | nearly 1,000,000 | Obergruppenführer Karl Wolff | April 29 | May 2, at 12:00 PM | |
| Belgium (Flemish) | 27th SS Volunteer Division Langemarck, at Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | 6,000? | Thomas Müller | May 2 | May 2 | |
| Latvia | Components of the 15th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, south of Schwerin, Germany | c. 4,500 | Karl Burk | May 2 | May 2 | |
| Germany/ France/ Other | All forces in Berlin | 480,000 (470,970 Germans, 30 French and 9,000 other foreigners) | General der Artillerie Helmuth Weidling | May 2 | May 2, at 6:00 PM | |
| Germany | XXI Army and the Third Panzer Army at Hagenow, Germany | 300,000 | General der Infanterie Kurt von Tippelskirch (XXI Army); General der Panzertruppe Hasso von Manteuffel (III Panzer Army) | Night of May 2–3 | May 3 | |
| Netherlands | Kampfgruppen "de Ruys" of the 23rd SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division Nederland, west of Parchim, Germany | 500 | Jürgen Wagner? | May 3 | May 3 | |
| Germany | 36th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS | 700 | None | May 3 | May 3 | |
| Germany | Army Group H, in Northwest Germany, Schleswig-Holstein, Heligoland, the Frisian Islands, Denmark and other islands near Northwest Germany and remnants of Army Group Vistula in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | 880,000 | Generaladmiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg and General der Infanterie Eberhard Kinzel | May 4 | May 5, at 8:00 AM | Instrument of surrender received by Field-Marshal Montgomery at Lüneburg Heath |
| Hungary | 25th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Hunyadi (1st Hungarian) and 26th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Hungarian), near Lake Attersee | c. 29,606 (19,106 in the 25th, and 10,500 in the 26th) | Józef Grassy | May 3–5 | May 5 | Part of Army Group H |
| Germany | U-291, U-779, U-883, U-1103, U-1406, U-1407, U-2341 and U-2356 | 257-306? (44-60? on U-291, 48-56? on U-779, 55-64? on U-883, 44-52? on U-1103, 19? on U-1406, 19? on U-1407, 14-18? on U-2341 and 14-18? on U-2356) | Hermann Neumeister (U-291), Johann Stegmann (U-779), Johanes Uebel (U-883), Wilhelm Eisele (U-1103), Werner Klug (U-1406), Horst Heitz (U-1407), Hermann Böhm (U-2341) and Friedrich Hartel (U-2356) | May 5 | May 5 | Surrendered in Cuxhaven |
| Germany | U-2351 | 14-18? | Werner Brückner | May 5 | May 5 | Surrendered in Flensburg |
| Germany | U-143, U-145, U-149, U-150, U-368, U-720 and U-1230 | 236-268? (25? on U-143, 25? on U-145, 25? on U-149, 25? on U-150, 44-60? on U-368, 44-60? on U-720 and 48? on U-1230) | Walter Kasparek (U-143), Friedrich-Karl Görner (U-145), Helmut Plohr (U-149), Jürgen Kriegshammer (U-150), Götz Roth (U-368), Wolf-Harald Schüer (U-720) and Hans Hilbig (U-1230) | May 5 | May 5 | Surrendered in Heligoland |
| Germany | U-155, U-680 and U-1233 | 144-168? (48-60? on U-155, 48-60? on U-680, and 48? on U-1233) | Friedrich Altmeier (U-155), Max Ulber (U-680), and Heinrich Niemeyer (U-1233) | May 5 | May 5 | Surrendered in Baring Bay off Fredericia |
| Germany | All forces in the Netherlands | 120,000 | Johannes Blaskowitz | May 4 | May 5, at 4:00 PM | Separate surrender from the surrender in Northwest Germany and Denmark |
| Germany | U-806 | 48? | Klaus Hornbostel | May 6 | May 6 | Surrendered in Aarhus |
| Other | 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen, at Rottach-Egern | 8,811 | Georg Bochmann | May 6 | May 6 | |
| Germany | Army Group G, in Bavaria | 400,000 | Hermann Foertsch | May 4, at 2:30 PM | May 6, at 12:00 PM | |
| Germany | All forces in Breslau | 45,000 | Hermann Niehoff | May 6 | May 6, at 6:00 PM | |
| Germany/ Soviet Union | Twelfth Army and remnants of the Ninth Army, at Tangermünde | c. 200,000 (195,000 German, 5,000 troops from the Soviet Union) | Walther Wenck (12 Army) | May 7 | May 7 | No commander for the 9th Army |
| Germany | All forces in La Rochelle | c. 22,000? | Ernst Schirlitz | May 9, morning | May 8, morning (antidated) | |
| Germany/ Italy | All forces on the Dodecanese Islands | c. 5,600 (more than 5,000 Germans and 600 Italians) | Otto Wagener | May 8 | May 8, at 10:00 AM | |
| Germany | U-1198 | 44-56? | Gerhard Peters | May 8 | May 8 | Surrendered in Cuxhaven |
| Hungary (Germans) | 18th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Horst Wessel, in Czechoslovakia | 4,000? | Heinrich Petersen | May 8 | May 8 | |
| Germany | 1st Naval Infantry Division, along the Oder | 2,000? | Wilhelm Bleckwenn | May 8 | May 8 | |
| Germany | 2nd Naval Infantry Division, in Schleswig-Holstein | 2,000? | Werner-Graf von Bassewitz-Levetzow | May 8 | May 8 | |
| Germany | 6th Parachute Division | Unknown | Hermann Plocher | May 8 | May 8 | |
| Germany | 7th Parachute Division, in Oldenburg | Unknown | Wolfgang Erdmann | May 8 | May 8 | |
| Germany | 1st Fallschirm-Panzer Division Hermann Göring, in Dresden | 5,000? | Max Lemke | May 8 | May 8 | |
| Germany | 32nd SS Volunteer Grenadier Division 30 Januar, in Tangermünde | 5,000? | Hans Kempin | May 8 | May 8 | |
| Germany | 38th SS Division Nibelungen, in Alpen-Donau, Germany | 6,000? | Martin Strange | May 8 | May 8 | |
| Germany | 4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Division, along the Elbe River | c. 9,000? | Walter Harzer | May 8 | May 8 | |
| Germany | 35th SS and Police Grenadier Division, along the Elbe | Unknown | None | May 8 | May 8 | Commanding officer killed on April 25 |
| Germany | 10th Parachute Division, in Austria | Unknown | Hans Kreysing | May 8 | May 8 | |
| Russia (Cossacks) | XV SS Cossack Cavalry Corps in Austria | 50,000 | Hermann von Pannwitz | May 8 | May 8 | |
| Hungary (German) | 31st SS Volunteer Grenadier Division, in Czechoslovakia | 10,000? | Wilhelm Trabandt | May 8 | May 8 | |
| Germany | 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS, in Klagenfurt, Austria | c. 14,000? | Otto Baum | May 8 | May 8 | |
| Germany | 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen, in Linz, Austria | c. 6,000? | Sylvester Stadler | May 8 | May 8 | |
| Germany | 6th SS Mountain Division Nord, in Austria | c. 2,000 | Franz Schreiber | May 8 | May 8 | |
| Germany | 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, in Enns, Austria | c. 10,000 | Hugo Kraas | May 8 | May 8 | Made up the bulk of the I SS Panzer Corps |
| India | Indian Legion, near Lake Constance | 2,000 | unknown | May 8? | May 8? | |
| Germany | 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg, in Teplice, Czechoslovakia | c. 15,000? | Franz Roestel | May 8 | May 8 | |
| Germany | All German forces | N/A | Wilhelm Keitel | May 8, at 22:43 PM | May 8, at 23:01 PM | |
| Germany | All forces in Norway | c. 400,000 | Franz Böhme | May 8, at 23:01 PM | May 8, at 23:01 PM | |
| Netherlands | Most of the 34th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Landstorm Nederland, near Oosterbeek | 5,956 | Martin Kohlroser | May 9 | May 9 | |
| Germany | U-1194 | 48-56? | Herbert Zeissler | May 9 | May 9 | Surrendered in Cuxhaven |
| Germany | U-510 | 48? | Alfred Eick | May 9 | May 9 | Surrendered in St. Nazaire |
| Germany | All forces on Jersey | 11,671 | Vice Admiral Friedrich Hüffmeier | May 9 | May 9, at 10:00 AM | |
| Hungary | 37th SS Volunteer Cavalry Division Lützow, in Steyr | 180 | Karl Gesele | May 9 | May 9 | |
| Germany | 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, in Steyr, Austria | c. 1,600 | SS-Brigadeführerund Generalmajor der Waffen-SS Otto Kumm | May 9 | May 9 | Made up part of the I SS Panzer Corps |
| Various | 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking, in Czechoslovakia | c. 14,000? | Karl Ullrich | May 9 | May 9 | |
| Germany | 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich, in Czechoslovakia | c. 2,000? | SS-Standartenführer Karl Kreutz | May 9 | May 9 | |
| Germany | 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf, in Czechoslovakia | c. 1,000 | Hellmuth Becker | May 9 | May 9 | |
| Yugoslav and Italian Germans | 24th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Karstjäger, in Yugoslavia | c. 3,000 | Adolf Wagner | May 9 | May 9 | |
| Germany | All forces in the Heiligenbeil Pocket, the Danzig beachhead, the Hel Peninsula, and in the Vistula Delta | c. 100,000 [1] | Dietrich von Saucken | May 9 | May 9, at 11:00 AM | |
| Germany | All forces in Dunkirk | 20,000 | Friedrich Frisius | May 9, at 9:20 AM | May 9, at 4:00 PM | |
| Germany | All forces in Bornholm | c. 12,000 | Gerhard von Kamptz | May 9 | May 9, at 4:30 PM | |
| Germany | U-1272 | 44-52? | Hans Schatteburg | May 10 | May 10 | Surrendered in Bergen |
| Germany/ Latvia | Army Group Courland, in the Courland Pocket | c. 180,000 (165,000 Germans, 15,000 Latvians) [1] | Carl Hilpert | May 10 | May 10 | |
| Germany | All forces in Lorient | c. 2,000? | General Wilhelm Fahrmbacher | May 8 | May 10 | |
| Germany | U-249 | 44-60? | Uwe Kock | May 10 | May 10 | Surrendered in Portland, United Kingdom |
| Germany | U-1009, U-1058, U-1105 and U-1305 | 180-216? | Dietrich Zehle (U-1009), Hermann Bruder (U-1058), Hans-Joachim Schwarz (U-1105) and Helmuth Christiansen (U-1305) | May 10 | May 10 | Surrendered in Loch Eriboll |
| Germany | U-1023 | 44-52? | Heinrich-Andreas Schroeteler | May 10 | May 10 | Surrendered in Weymouth, Dorset |
| Germany | All forces on Sark | 281 | Vice Admiral Friedrich Hüffmeier | May 9 | May 10 | |
| Galicia (Ukrainians) | 1st Ukrainian Division of the Ukrainian National Army, in Italy | 25,000? | Pavlo Shandruk | May 10 | May 10 | |
| Croatia | 373rd (Croatian) Infantry Division, west of Sisak | 2,000? | Hans Gravenstein | May 10 | May 10 | |
| Germany | All forces in Saint-Nazaire | 28,000 | Major General Werner Junck | May 8 | May 11 | |
| Estonia | Most of the 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, at Mělník, Czechoslovakia | 7,000? | Berthold Maack | May 11 | May 11 | Part of the III Panzer Corps |
| Estonia | Elements of the 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian), in Czechoslovakia | 3,000 | unknown | May 11 | May 11 | |
| Germany | Army Group Centre | c. 580,000 [1] | Ferdinand Schörner | May 11 | May 11 | Schörner himself surrendered days later. |
| Germany | U-293, U-802 and U-826 | 140-164? | Erich Steinbrink (U-293), Helmut Schmoeckel (U-802) and Olaf Lübcke | May 11 | May 11 | Surrendered in Loch Eriboll |
| Germany | U-3008 | 57? | Helmut Manseck | May 11 | May 11 | Surrendered in Kiel |
| Croatia | 369th (Croatian) Infantry Division, near Bleiburg, Austria | c. 2,000 | Fritz Neidholdt | May 11 | May 11 | |
| Germans from various areas | 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen, in Celje, Slovenia | 20,000? | August Schmidthuber | May 11 | May 11 | |
| Germany | All forces on Crete | 10,000 | General Hans-Georg Benthack | May 9 | May 10 | Surrendered at the Villa Ariadne at Knossos. https://www.bsa.ac.uk/about-us/knossos-research-centre/history-knossos/ |
| Croatia | 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian) | 12,000? | Desiderius Hampel | May 12 | May 12 | |
| Germany | All forces on Guernsey | 11,755 | Vice Admiral Friedrich Hüffmeier | May 9 | May 12, at 2:00 PM | |
| Germany | All forces under Carl Friedrich von Pückler-Burghauss | c. 6,000 [1] | Carl Friedrich von Pückler-Burghauss | May 12 | May 12 | See Battle of Slivice |
| Germany | U-1109 | 44-52? | Friedrich von Riesen | May 12 | May 12 | Surrendered in Loch Eriboll |
| Germany | U-218 | 44? | Rupprecht Stock | May 12 | May 12 | Surrendered in Bergen |
| Germany | U-485 and U-541 | 92-108? (44-60? on U-485 and 48 on U-541) | Friedrich Lutz (U-485) and Kurt Petersen (U-541) | May 12 | May 12 | Surrendered in Gibraltar |
| Germany | U-532, U-825, U-956 and U-1231 | 184-216? | Ottoheinrich Junker (U-532), Gerhard Stoelker (U-825), Hans-Dieter Mohs (U-956) and Helmut Wicke (U-1231) | May 13 | May 13 | Surrendered in Loch Eriboll |
| Germany | U-739 | 44-60? | Johannes Ney | May 13 | May 13 | Surrendered in Emden, Germany |
| Germany | U-1102 | 44-57? | Erwin Sell | May 13 | May 13 | Surrendered in Hohwacht Bay |
| Germany | U-889 | 48? | Friedrich Braeucker | May 13 | May 13 | Surrendered in Shelbourne, Canada |
| Russia | Russian Liberation Army (1st Division) | c. 20,000 [1] | Sergei Bunyachenko | May 14 | May 14 | Ordered to disband. |
| Germany | U-244, U-516, U-764 and U-1010 | 180-220? | Hans-Peter Mackeprang (U-244), Friedrich Petran (U-516), Hanskurt von Bremen (U-764) and Günther Strauch (U-1010) | May 14 | May 14 | Surrendered in Loch Eriboll |
| Germany | U-1110 | 44-52? | Joachim-Walter Bach | May 14 | May 14 | Surrendered in List auf Sylt |
| Germany | U-1005 | 44-52? | Hermann Lauth | May 14 | May 14 | Surrendered in Bergen |
| Germany | U-2326 | 14-18? | Karl Jobst | May 14 | May 14 | Surrendered in Dundee |
| Germany | U-190 | 48? | Hans-Erwin Reith | May 14 | May 14 | Surrendered in the Bay of Bulls |
| Germany | U-858 | 48? | Thilo Bode | May 14 | May 14 | Surrendered in Lewes, Delaware |
| Germany | Army Group E | c. 13,000 [1] | Alexander Löhr | May 14 | May 14 | See Bleiburg repatriations |
| Germany | U-805 | 48? | Richard Bernardelli | May 15 | May 15 | Surrendered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire |
| Germany | U-901 | 48-56? | Hans Schrenk | May 15 | May 15 | Surrendered in Stavanger |
| Germany | U-2336 | 14-18? | Emil Klusmeier | May 15 | May 15 | Surrendered in Kiel |
| Germany/ Croatia/ Slovenia/ Montenegro | A large column in Poljana, Prevalje | 29,650 (1,000? Germans, 15,250? Croatians, 11,400 Slovenes, and 2,000 Montenegrins) | N/A | May 15 | May 15, at 4 PM | See Battle of Poljana |
| Germany | All forces on Alderney | 3,202 | Vice Admiral Friedrich Hüffmeier | May 16 | May 16 | |
| Germany | U-776 | 48-56? | Lothar Martin | May 16 | May 16 | Surrendered in Portland, United Kingdom |
| Germany | U-873 | 55-64? | Friedrich Steinhoff | May 16 | May 16 | Surrendered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire |
| Germany | U-255 | 44-60? | Helmut Heinrich | May 17 | May 17 | Surrendered in Loch Eriboll |
| Germany | U-1228 | 48? | Friedrich-Wilhelm Marienfeld | May 17 | May 17 | Surrendered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire |
| Croatia | Remnants of the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian), in Austria | see previous section on this division | N/A | May 18 | May 18 | |
| Germany | U-234 | 12 | Johann-Heinrich Fehler | May 19 | May 19 | Surrendered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire |
| Georgia | Georgian Legion on Texel | 226 [1] | None (their commander, Shalva Loladze, was killed on April 23) | May 20 | May 20 | see Georgian uprising on Texel for more details |
| Germany | All German forces on Texel | 4,000 [1] | Klaus Breitner | May 20 | May 20 | Fighting against the Georgian Legion |
| Germany | A small company of soldiers on Minquiers reef [2] | 80? | N/A | May 23 | May 23 | |
| Croatia | Remnants of Croatian forces, in Odžak | c. 1,800? | N/A | May 25 | May 25 | Some soldiers became guerrillas and fought until spring 1947. Everyone else was KIA. See Battle of Odžak for more details |
| Germany | All forces on Schiermonnikoog | 730 | Thomas Wittko | June 11 | June 11 | The MS Waddenzee and MS Brakzand arrived and evacuated the Germans to Wilhelmshaven. |
| Germany | U-530 | 48? | Otto Wermuth | July 10 | July 10 | Surrendered at Mar del Plata |
| Germany | U-977 | 28-44? | Heinz Schäffer | August 17 | August 17 | Surrendered at Mar del Plata (16 left the ship) |
| Japan | All forces on Bougainville Island | 21,335 [3] | Hitoshi Imamura | August 21 | August 21 | |
| Japan | All forces in Manchuria | 1,950,479 [3] | Otozō Yamada | August 22 | August 22 | |
| Japan | All forces on Mili Atoll | c. 2,282 [4] | Navy Captain Masanori Shiga | August 22 | August 22 | |
| Japan | Air force personnel in central Bukidnon | 4,000 [3] | Unknown | August 23 | August 23 | |
| Japan | All forces on Shumshu | 8,244 | Tsutsumi Fusaki | August 23 | August 23 | |
| Japan | All forces on Sakhalin | 394,551 [3] | Lieutenant General Kiichiro Higuchi | August 25 | August 25 | |
| Japan | Personnel in the Infanta area of Southern Luzon | c, 1,500 [3] | August 30 | August 30 | ||
| Japan | All forces on Marcus Island | c. 2,542 | Unknown | August 31 | August 31 | |
| Japan | All forces on Bangka Island and Billiton Island | Unknown | Unknown | September 1 | September 1 | |
| Japan | All forces in Bataan | Unknown | Unknown | September 1 | September 1 | |
| Japan | All Japanese forces | 2,354,946 | Yoshijirō Umezu | September 2 | September 2, at 12:00 AM | Formal surrender of all Japanese forces |
| Japan | All forces on Rota Island | 2,665 | Shigeo Iwagawa | September 2 | September 2, at 1:00 AM | |
| Japan | All forces on Pagan | c. 2,494 [4] | Colonel Umehachi | September 2 | September 2 | |
| Japan | All forces in Penang | 26,000 [5] [ full citation needed ] | Jisaku Uozami | September 2 | September 2 | |
| Japan | All forces in Thailand | 114,351 [3] | Lieutenant Colonel Hamada | September 2 | September 2 | |
| Japan | Forces in the southern Cagayan Valley, in the Philippines | Unknown | Colonel Matsui | September 2 | September 2 | |
| Japan | All forces on Truk Atoll | 28,000 | Shunzaburo Mugikura | September 3 | September 3 | |
| Japan | All forces in the Palau Islands | 44,000 | Lieutenant General Sadae Inoue | September 3 | September 3 | |
| Japan | All forces in the Bonin Islands | 23,379 [3] | Lieutenant Yoshio Tachibana | September 3 | September 3 | |
| Japan | All forces in the Philippines | 151,102 [3] | Tomoyuki Yamashita | September 3, at 12:10 PM | September 3 | |
| Japan | Forces in Cebu | 2,900 [3] | Unknown | September 4? | September 4? | |
| Japan | Forces in the Negros Occidental | 1,400 [3] | Unknown | September 4? | September 4? | |
| Japan | Forces on Mindoro | 7,000 [3] | Unknown | September 4? | September 4? | |
| Japan | All forces on Wake Island | c. 4,139 [4] | Rear Admiral Shigematsu Sakaibara | September 4 | September 4 | |
| Japan | All forces on Aguigan | c. 200 | Second Lieutenant Kinichi Yamada | September 4 | September 4 | |
| Germany | Garrison on Bear Island | 11 | Lieutenant Wilhelm Dege | September 4 | September 4 | see Operation Haudegen for more details |
| Japan | All forces on Yap Island | c. 5,917 [4] | Colonel Daihachi Itoh | September 5 | September 5 | |
| Japan | All forces in the Kuril Islands | 70,136 [3] | Tsutsumi Fusaki | September 5 | September 5 | |
| Japan | All forces on Jaluit Atoll | c. 2,311 [4] | Captain Nisuke Masuda | September 5 | September 5 | |
| Japan | All forces on Ulithi | September 5 | September 5 | |||
| Japan | A small force in the Capisayan District of the Philippines | More than 2,300 [3] | Unknown | September 2 | September 6 | |
| Japan | All forces in the Bismarck Islands, Christmas Island, Wewak, the Solomon Islands and other Australian territories in the South Pacific | 139,000 (41,384 in the Bismarck Islands (including 47,000 on New Britain), [3] 29.059 in the Solomon Islands, [3] 8,000 on Wewak [3] and 13,557 in other Islands) | Hitoshi Imamura (Army), Admiral Jinichi Kusaka (Navy) | September 6, at 11:27 AM | September 6 | Unknown number of soldiers in Christmas Island |
| Japan | All forces in the Ryukyu Islands | 62,414 [3] | Lieutenant General Nomi Toshiro | September 7 | September 7 | |
| Japan | All forces on Kusaie | c. 4,511 [4] | Lieutenant General Yoshikazu Hirada | September 8 | September 8 | |
| Japan | The Japanese Northern Fleet | September 8 | September 8 | |||
| Japan | All forces on Morotai and Halmahera | 126,000 | Heitarō Kimura | September 9 | September 9 | |
| Japan | All forces in China | 1,541,973 [3] | Yasuji Okamura | Morning of September 9 | September 9 | |
| Japan | All forces in Korea south of the 38th parallel | 420,796 | Lieutenant General Yoshio Kozuki | September 9 (afternoon) | September 9 | |
| Japan | All forces in Korea, north of the 38th parallel | 595,418 | Yoshio Kozuki | September 9 | September 9 | |
| Japan | All forces in Borneo and the Dutch East Indies east of Lombok | 42,459 (in Borneo) [3] | Lieutenant General Fusataro Teshima | September 8 | September 9 | |
| Japan | A Japanese force in China [6] | c. 140,000 | N/A | September | September | Joined the Chinese Red Army |
| Japan | All forces on Wotje Atoll and Maeolap Atoll | c. 2,162 (1,066 on Wotje, 1,096 on Maeolap) [4] | September 10 | September 10 | ||
| Japan | All forces in North Borneo | 10,300 | Lieutenant General Masao Baba | September 10 | September 10 | |
| Japan | All forces in Labuan | see forces in Sarawak | see forces in Sarawak | September 10 | September 10 | |
| Japan | All forces in New Guinea | 37,658 [3] | Hatazō Adachi | September 11 | September 11 | |
| Japan | Thirty-Seventh Army, in Sarawak | c. 15,000 | Lieutenant General Masao Baba | September 11 | September 11 | |
| Japan | All forces in Timor | 3,235 | Colonel Kaida Tatsuichi | September 11 | September 11 | |
| Japan | All forces on Ponape Island | c. 7,984 [4] | Lieutenant General Masao Watanabe | September 11 | September 11 | |
| Japan | All forces in Singapore and the Dutch East Indies | c. 585,000 (76,700 on Singapore, 65,540 on Java, [3] 188,546 in the Malay Peninsula, and 254,214 on the other islands) | Hisaichi Terauchi | September 12 | September 12 | Formal ceremony for the forces in the Malay Peninsula took place on February 22, 1946. |
| Japan | All forces on Nauru | 3,745 | Captain Hisayuki Soeda | September 13 | September 13 | |
| Japan | All forces in Burma | 71,733 [3] | Hisaichi Terauchi | September 13 | September 13 | |
| Japan | All forces in Hong Kong | 19,222 | General Takashi Sakai | September 16 | September 16 | |
| Japan | All forces on Lamotrek | September 16 | September 16 | |||
| Japan | All forces on Namoluk | September 17 | September 17 | |||
| Japan | All forces on Woleai | 1,600 | September 19 | September 19 | ||
| Japan | 38th Army in Indochina | 106,184 [3] | Lieutenant General Yuitsu Tsuchihashi | September 28 | September 28 | |
| Japan | All forces in Miyako Island and on Ishigaki Island | 32,000 (in the Miyako Islands) | September 29 | September 29 | ||
| Japan | All forces on Ocean Island | c. 760 | Lieutenant Nahoomi Suzuki | October 1 | October 1 | |
| Japan | All forces on Tobi, Sonsorol, and Merir | 1,339 (439 on Tobi, 639 on Sonsoral and 269 on Merir) | October 6 | October 6 | ||
| Japan | All forces in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands | c. 600? | October 7 | October 7 | ||
| Japan | North China Area Army | Hiroshi Nemoto | October 10 | October 10 | ||
| Japan | Third Air Fleet | None | October 15 | October 15 | ||
| Japan | All forces on Puluwat | c. 1,253 [4] | Tatsuo Yasui | October 16 | October 16 | |
| Japan | All forces in Sumatra | 68,764 [3] | Moritake Tanabe | October 21 | October 21 | |
| Japan | All forces in the Nomoi Islands | c. 1,010 [4] | Unknown | October 21 | October 21 | |
| Japan | All forces in Taiwan, the Paracel Islands, and the Spratly Islands | 488,417 (in Taiwan) [3] | Rikichi Andō | September 9 (In Taiwan) | October 25 | |
| Japan | Military personnel on Lukunor [7] [ full citation needed ] | November | November | |||
| Japan | Twelfth Air Fleet | None | November 30 | November 30 |
| Ethnicity/nationality | Approximate number of soldiers surrendered |
|---|---|
| Japanese | 9,779,248 |
| Germans | 4,889,905 |
| Italians | 429,600 |
| Russians | 70,000 (including 50,000 Cossacks) |
| Foreign-born Germans (Volksdeutsche) | 37,000 |
| Croatians | 33,050 |
| Other foreigners in the SS | 31,811 |
| Hungarians | 29,786 |
| Galician Ukrainians | 25,000 |
| Latvians | 19,500 |
| Slovenes | 11,400 |
| Estonians | 10,000 |
| Dutch | 6,956 |
| Flemish | 6,000 |
| Various Soviet Union people | 5,000 |
| Indians | 2,000 |
| Montenegrins | 2,000 |
| Georgians | 226 |
| French | 30 |
| Total | 15,388,513 |
World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all the world's countries—including all the great powers—participated, with many investing all available economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities in pursuit of total war, blurring the distinction between military and civilian resources. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, with the latter enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and delivery of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, resulting in 70 to 85 million fatalities, more than half of which were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust of European Jews, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. Following the Allied powers' victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and war crimes tribunals were conducted against German and Japanese leaders.
The Potsdam Declaration, or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender, was a statement that called for the surrender of all Japanese armed forces during World War II. On July 26, 1945, United States President Harry S. Truman, United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Chairman of China Chiang Kai-shek issued the document, which outlined the terms of surrender for the Empire of Japan, as agreed upon at the Potsdam Conference. The ultimatum stated that, if Japan did not surrender, it would face "prompt and utter destruction."
Hiroo Onoda was a second lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. One of the last Japanese holdouts, he continued fighting for decades after the war's end in 1945.
The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was the written agreement that formalized the surrender of the Empire of Japan, marking the end of hostilities in World War II. It was signed by representatives from the Empire of Japan and from the Allied nations: the United States of America, the Republic of China, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of Canada, the Provisional Government of the French Republic, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Dominion of New Zealand. The signing took place on the deck of USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945.
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theater, was the theater of World War II that was fought in eastern Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the Pacific Ocean theater, the South West Pacific theater, the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the Soviet–Japanese War in the last few months of the war.
Victory over Japan Day is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on which the initial announcement of Japan's surrender was made – 15 August 1945, in Japan, and because of time zone differences, 14 August 1945 – as well as to 2 September 1945, when the surrender document was signed, officially ending World War II.
The South-East Asian Theatre of World War II consisted of the campaigns of the Pacific War in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Indochina, Burma, India, Malaya and Singapore between 1941 and 1945.
World War II officially ended in Asia on September 2, 1945, with the surrender of Japan on the USS Missouri. Before that, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, and the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, causing Emperor Hirohito to announce the acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration on August 15, 1945, which would eventually lead to the surrender ceremony on September 2.
Japanese holdouts were soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) and Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Pacific Theatre of World War II who continued fighting after the surrender of Japan at the end of the war. Japanese holdouts either doubted the veracity of the formal surrender, were not aware that the war had ended because communications had been cut off by Allied advances, feared they would be killed if they surrendered to the Allies, or felt bound by honor and loyalty to never surrender.
The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, ending the war. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was incapable of conducting major operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent. Together with the United Kingdom and China, the United States called for the unconditional surrender of Japan in the Potsdam Declaration on 26 July 1945—the alternative being "prompt and utter destruction". While publicly stating their intent to fight on to the bitter end, Japan's leaders were privately making entreaties to the publicly neutral Soviet Union to mediate peace on terms more favorable to the Japanese. While maintaining a sufficient level of diplomatic engagement with the Japanese to give them the impression they might be willing to mediate, the Soviets were covertly preparing to attack Japanese forces in Manchuria and Korea in fulfillment of promises they had secretly made to the US and the UK at the Tehran and Yalta Conferences.
Anatahan is a volcanic island in the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and has one of the most active volcanoes of the archipelago. Although formerly inhabited, the island is currently uninhabited due to the constant danger of volcanic eruptions. Anatahan is located 60 kilometers (32 nmi) northwest of Farallon de Medinilla and 120 km (65 nmi) north of Saipan. It last erupted between 2007 and 2008, and also erupted in 2003.
The Philippines campaign, Battle of the Philippines, Second Philippines campaign, or the Liberation of the Philippines, codenamed Operation Musketeer I, II, and III, was the American, Mexican, Australian and Filipino campaign to defeat and expel the Imperial Japanese forces occupying the Philippines during World War II.
The aftermath of World War II saw the rise of two superpowers, the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (US). The aftermath of World War II was also defined by the rising threat of nuclear warfare, the creation and implementation of the United Nations as an intergovernmental organization, and the decolonization of Asia, Oceania, South America and Africa by European and East Asian powers, most notably by the United Kingdom, France, and Japan.
Sakae Ōba was an officer of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. He served in both China and in the Pacific campaign. After Japanese forces were defeated in the Battle of Saipan, he led a group of soldiers and civilians deep into the jungle to evade capture by Allied forces. Under Ōba's leadership, the group survived for over a year after the battle and finally surrendered in December 1945, three months after the war had ended. Following his return to Japan, he became a successful businessman and served on the city council of Gamagōri.
The Japanese occupation of the Philippines occurred between 1942 and 1945, when the Japanese Empire occupied the Commonwealth of the Philippines during World War II.
Teruo Nakamura was a Taiwanese-Japanese soldier of the Imperial Japanese Army who fought for Japan in World War II and did not surrender until 1974. He was the last known Japanese holdout to surrender after the end of hostilities in 1945.
Takasago volunteers were volunteer soldiers in the Imperial Japanese Army, recruited from Taiwanese indigenous peoples during World War II. The Takasago volunteers are distinguished from ethnic Chinese Taiwanese volunteers.
During World War II, it was estimated that between 35,000 and 50,000 members of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces surrendered to Allied service members prior to the end of World War II in Asia in August 1945. Also, Soviet troops seized and imprisoned more than half a million Japanese troops and civilians in China and other places. The number of Japanese soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen who surrendered was limited by the Japanese military indoctrinating its personnel to fight to the death, Allied combat personnel often being unwilling to take prisoners, and many Japanese soldiers believing that those who surrendered would be killed by their captors.
Japan participated in World War II from 1939 to 1945 as a member of the Axis and encapsulates a significant period in the history of the Empire of Japan, marked by significant military campaigns and geopolitical maneuvers across the Asia-Pacific region. Spanning from the early 1930s to 1945, this tumultuous era witnessed Japan's expansionist policies and aggressive military actions, including the invasion of the Republic of China, the annexation of French Indochina, and the subsequent incursion into British India. The Pacific War, a major theater of World War II, further intensified Japan's engagements, leading to significant confrontations with Allied forces in the Pacific Ocean. Ultimately, the conflict culminated in the Surrender of Japan, a momentous event that marked the end of hostilities and reshaped the global landscape.
The Japanese occupation of the Solomon Islands was the period in the history of Solomon Islands between 1942 and 1945 when Imperial Japanese forces occupied Solomon Islands during World War II.
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