WE REMEMBER AUGUST 28th

1939:     GERMANY: During the early hours, Swedish industrialist Birger Dahlerus meets with Hermann Goering, head of the Luftwaffe, and also Sir George Ogilvie-Forbes, Counsellor of the British Embassy, before breakfasting again with Goering. (Andy Etherington)
     Rationing is imposed in Germany. (Andy Etherington)
     The  Panzerschiffe (Armored Ship or Pocket Battleship) Deutschland sails from Wilhelmshaven in readiness for raider activities in the North Atlantic, in the event of a declaration of war.  (Alex Gordon)

THE NETHERLANDS: The government orders mobilization of the army.  (Jack McKillop)

POLAND: Foreign Minister Colonel Josef Beck  refuses to go to Berlin as Poland mobilises. Colonel Beck accepts the principle of direct negotiations; but towards midnight he tells British Ambassador to Poland Sir H. Kennard that Polish mobilisation is proceeding. (Andy Etherington)

SLOVAKIA: Slovak Prime Minister Monsignor Josef Tiso invites the Germany army to occupy Slovakia. (Jack McKillop)

U.K.: Gold reaches 8 pounds sterling an ounce. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain has an audience with the King. Arthur Greenwood Deputy Leader of the Opposition, visits the residence of the prime minister four times. Britain offers to mediate between Poland and Germany but only on terms of complete parity for both sides and an international guarantee of the outcome.  (Andy Etherington)

1940:     FRANCE: The government of Vichy France breaks off relations with European governments in exile. (Andy Etherington)

FRENCH EQUATORIAL AFRICA: Free French Commandant De Lange leads his battalion in a march on the Government Palace in Brazzaville, Congo. Vichy Brigadier General Paul-Louis Husson, Governor-General of French Equatorial Africa, yields power without resistance but in protest. General RenŽ-Marie-Edgar de Larminat, Commander of the Free French Forces in Equatorial Africa, arrives by boat from Leopoldville, Belgian Congo, to take power in the name of Free France. Governor de Saint Mart in Bangui, receives a telegram reporting events in Brazzaville and declares the colony is adhesion to Free France. The local garrison threatens a coup dâetat but General de Larminat arrives by airplane and to defuses the situation with an offer to return Pro-Vichy officers to Dakar in French West Africa.  (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: RAF Whitleys of No. 4 Group bombs industrial targets at Dortmund and Dusseldorf and an airframe factory at Dessau. (Andy Etherington)

ITALIAN SOMALILAND: The South African Air Force bombs Italian bases.  (Andy Etherington)

U.K.: RAF Fighter Command: RAF Fighter Command reports airfields at Eastchurch and Rochford attacked, with Luftwaffe fighters flying in sweeps across southern Britain.Ê
     After further heavy losses the Defiant fighter will now be pulled out of the daylight battle.Ê
     At night much heavier raiding begins - around 160 bombers raid Merseyside, 180 operate elsewhere, yet in 600 sorties by night, Luftlotte 3 has lost only 7 aircraft.
     During the early hours Gillingham is dive-bombed, probably in error, hundreds of incendiaries are released, damaging 20 houses and killing 16 people.
     He-111s of II and III/KG 53 and Do17s of I/KG 3 escorted by Bf109s of I and III/JG 51 proceed north near Sandwich and are met by 501 and 615 Hurricane Squadrons along with 264 Squadrons Defiants. They were unable to prevent the Dorniers from reaching Eastchurch and Heinkels from raiding Rochford. Eastchurch was seriously damaged with two Battles destroyed and two damaged. Eight RAF fighters and six pilots were lost for five enemy aircraft brought down.
     Rochford was again attacked at 12:40 leaving some buildings damaged but failing to catch 264 Squadron on the ground. Spitfires of 54 Squadron positioned at 30,000 feet dived upon the escort, Flt. Lt. Deere claiming a Bf109, Flt. Lt. George Gribble another at the end of an 11-aircraft line, and Sqn. Ldr Leathart a Dornier. In a quite astonishing chase of a Bf109 Gribble and Norwell ended the fight so low that Gribble's shooting killed a cow. After landing he discovered pieces of a tree lodged in his Spitfire, Deere was less fortunate and had to bail out. As the raiders were approaching Rochford, Hurricanes on No.1 Squadron downed a Do17 of 6/KG 3 on Rochford aerodrome, its crew becoming PoWs.
     Afternoon fighting showed the success of a Bf109 and Bf110 seven element excursion over Kent, which resulted in a wasteful fighter-versus-fighter encounter with 16 aircraft lost on both sides. Dowding forbids further pointless fighter engagements.
     Night operations by beam-riding He-111s of KGr 100 include an attempt to pathfind to Liverpool and Sealand RAF base near Chester. The bombers went so far astray that the British thought that the Midlands and London area were the main targets. The bombers also hit London, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Derby, Manchester and Sheffield. At Avonmouth (Bristol) the Shell Mex installations and the National Smelting Co. works were hit, Coventry shops and houses were damaged and in Altrincham (Cheshire) a 50,000 gallon oil tank at the Anglo-American oil depot caught fire.
     Losses: Luftwaffe, 30; RAF, 20.  (Andy Etherington)

U.S.: The USN destroyers USS Biddle (DD-151) and USS Blakeley (DD-150) escort U.S. Army transport USAT American Legion  on the final leg of her voyage from Petsamo, Finland, to New York City. The 40 mm Bofors gun she carries is subsequently shipped to the Naval Proving Ground at Dahlgren, Virginia. (Jack McKillop)

1941:     AUSTRALIA: Prime Minister Robert Menzies resigns as the leader of the United Australia Party (UAP) and as Prime Minister. He is replaced by Country Part leader A.W. Fadden. Menzies had formed a coalition government before the war but victories by the Labor Party in the September 1940 election had severely weakened the coalition forcing him to resign. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: The decree promulgated by Nazi Gauleiter Adolf Wagner in April 1941 forbidding Catholic prayers and Crucifixes from all Bavarian schools is officially rescinded on 28 August 1941 per order of Chancellor Adolf Hitler after mass demonstrations by Bavarian mothers who threatened to remove their children from the schools, and a determined stance from the pulpit by Archbishop of Munich-Freising, Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber. The protestors are not punished. (Russ Folsom)

IRAN: Ali Furughi forms a new government in Iran.  He orders a cease fire and begins negotiations with the British and Soviets. (John Nicholas)

U.S.: President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Secretary of State Cordell Hull meet with the Japanese Ambassador, NOMURA Kichisaburo at Nomura's request. Nomura hands the President a communication from the Japanese Prime Minister, Prince KONOE Fumimaro requesting a meeting between the two. Roosevelt states that it would be difficult and time consuming for him to travel to a meeting in the Territory of Hawaii and suggests a possible alternative, Juneau, Territory of Alaska. The only point raised by Nomura is that the conversation be held as early as possible. Nomura then hands the President another note which states that Japan desires "to pursue courses of peace in harmony with the fundamental principles to which the people and Government of the United States are commuted." At the conclusion of the reading of the communication, the President said to the Ambassador that he could say to his Government that he considered this note a step forward and that he was very hopeful. He then a
dded that he would be keenly interested in having three or four days with Prince Konoye, and again he mentioned Juneau. (Jack McKillop)
     In Washington, President Roosevelt signs an executive order establishing the Office of Price Administration (OPA). The new government agency is charged with controlling consumer prices in the face of war. OPA initially imposed rent controls and a rationing program which initially targeted auto tires. Once the U.S. entered the war, the agency began issuing coupon books for sugar, coffee, meat, fats, oils, and numerous other items. Though goods were in tight supply, Americans were urged to stick to the system of rationing. The agency's record of service during the war is fairly impressive: by VJ Day, consumer prices had increased by 31 percent, a number which was noticeably better than the 62 percent bloating of prices during World War I. (Jack McKillop)

U.S.S.R.: The government announces the destruction of the dam at Zaporozhye on the River Dniepr. (John Nicholas)
     Soviet troops at Tallinn, Estonia SSR, begin evacuation by sea to Kronstadt, Russia, and suffer severe losses to mines and air attacks. (John Nicholas)
     In the Ukraine, the SS marches more than 23,000 Hungarian Jews to bomb craters at Kamenets Podolsk, orders them to undress, and then machine-guns them. Those who didn't die from the gunfire are buried alive under the weight of corpses that piled atop them. Tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews had been expelled from Hungary and had migrated to the Ukraine. The German authorities tried sending them back, but Hungary would not take them. That is when SS General Franz Jaeckeln vowed to deal with the influx of refugees by the "complete liquidation of those Jews by September 1." (Jack McKillop)

1942:     ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: Thirty eight Alaskan Scouts debark from the submarines, USS Triton (SS-201) and USS Tuna (SS-203),and land on Adak Island to reconnoiter; Adak is about 219 nautical miles (405 kilometers) east of Japanese-held Kiska Island. They find no Japanese on the island. (Jack McKillop)
     In the air, three USAAF 11th Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb Japanese-held Kiska Island, one fails to return; all available B-24 Liberators and two flights of P-38 Lightnings fly naval cover at Nazan Bay, Atka Island located about 84 nautical miles (155 kilometers) east-northeast of Adak Island; and an attack mission to Japanese-held Attu Island is cancelled due to weather.  (Jack McKillop)

AUSTRALIA: George Hargrave, a stoker from the sloop HMAS Swan (L 74), is shot in the stomach by Ernest Helton, an American Military Policeman. The incident occurred in a Townsville, Queensland, fish and chip shop in Palmer Street, South Townsville. The argument developed over the possession of a salt shaker. George Hargrave eventually died in Townsville Hospital on 9 September 1942. The official records state that George Hargrave died as the result of an accident. Ernest Helton was court martialled on 10 October 1942. The shooting was deemed as self defence. (Denis Peck)

BRAZIL: Under heavy pressure from the US, Brazil declares war on Germany. (Jack McKillop)

CARIBBEAN SEA: While tracking Convoy TAG-15 (Trinidad- Aruba- Guantanamo), German submarine U-94 is sunk about 100 nautical miles (186 kilometers) west-southwest of of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in position 17.40N, 74.30W by depth charges from a USN PBY-5A Catalina of Patrol Squadron Ninety Two (VP-92), based at NAS Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and ramming by the RCN corvette HMCS Oakville. Twenty six of the 45-man crew of the U-boat survived.  (Jack McKillop)

FINLAND: The Italian torpedo boat MAS 528 attacks two Soviet armed tugboats on Lake Ladoga near Leningrad. These tugboats are towing a very large [over 70 meters (230 feet) long and 1,300 tons !] supply barge, and escorted by another tugboat.  The barge was sunk. (Arturo Lorioli via Mike Yaklich)

FRANCE: The Germans order the arrest of all French Roman Catholic priests who shelter Jews. During the day the Germans deport 1,000 people from Paris to Auschwitz, Poland; 148 of the deportees are children under the age of 15.  (Jack McKillop)
     In the air, the USAAF 8th Air Force in England flies Mission 7: 11 B-17s bomb the Avions Potez aircraft factory at Meaulte at 1337-1344 hours.  (Jack McKillop)

FRENCH INDOCHINA: Eight USAAF Tenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells of the China Air Task Force (CATF) hit barracks and ammunition dumps at Hoang Su Phi and a fuel dump at Phu Lo; this is the largest force of B-25s used by CATF to date, and the first B-25 mission flown without escort.  (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: RAF Bomber Command attacks two targets. One hundred twenty five of the 159 aircraft dispatched bomb Nurnburg. Crews are ordered to attack the city from as low as possible. The Pathfinders find their aiming point and, for the first time, marked it with target indicators adapted from 250 pound (113 kilogram) bomb casings. Photographs show that these were placed with great accuracy and the crews of the Main Force claimed to have carried out a good attack. A report from Nurnburg does not quite confirm this. Bombs are dropped as far away as the town of Erlangen, nearly 10 miles (16 kilometers) to the north, and four people are killed there. In Nurnburg itself, the number of bombs recorded would indicate that approximately 50 aircraft hit the town killing 126 civilians and 11 foreigners. Twenty five RAF bombers are lost.  (Jack McKillop)
     The second target is Saarbrucken where 88 of the 113 aircraft dispatch attack; seven bombers are lost. This was an experimental raid by a force of oddments - Halifaxes which are being rested from major operations, Hampdens and new crews from other groups. There are no Pathfinders. The moon was four fifths full and it is judged that this relatively undefended target, just inside Germany, could be successfully attacked while the main raid on Nuremberg was taking place. The raid was not a success; bombing was scattered over a wide area. 15 houses were destroyed and 51 seriously damaged in SaarbrŸcken and one woman was killed.  (Jack McKillop)
     Four other targets are bombed by individual aircraft: four bomb Augsburg, two hit Munich and one each bomb Darmstadt and Mannheim.  (Jack McKillop)

LIBYA: Two US Army Middle East Air Force B-24 Liberator squadrons bomb docks, shipping and jetties in Tobruk harbor.  (Jack McKillop)

MEDITERRANEAN SEA: British codebreaking efforts to crack the Italian cipher C38M pay off when Malta-based RAF aircraft sink the Italian tanker Dielpi, bound for Libya with 2,200 tons of aircraft fuel. The British know the exact times of sailing, routes and cargoes of every ship bringing Rommel munitions and fuel. (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: On the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea, Japanese artillery fires from dawn until about 0800 hours local preparing for an attack on Isurava. The Japanese attack does not succeed and the Australians inflict heavy Japanese casualties. In Milne Bay, the Japanese attack at 0200 hours local supported by a tank and force the Australian defenders back to an area west of No. 3 Strip.  (Jack McKillop)
     Today, Australian Major General Alan Vasey, Deputy Chief General Staff, writes to Major General Sir Sydney Fairbairn Rowell General Officer Commanding New Guinea Force at Port Moresby, that a state of near panic prevails at General Douglas MacArthur's Headquarters in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He also writes that that morning, MacArthur has finally taken the decision at a conference to fight the Japanese in New Guinea.   (Michael Mitchell)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: On Guadalcanal, the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, returns from an attack begun yesterday, west across the Matanikau River.  This is the second of many small unit actions, over the next 2 1/2 months, that will attempt to deny this area to the Japanese. The unit returns after having its Commanding Officer, Colonel Maxwell relieved.  The Japanese units were allowed to slip away during the night, after he had requested evacuation of his unit by boat the previous afternoon.  (John Nicholas)
     In the air, two SBD Dauntlesses spot troop-laden Imperial Japanese Navy destroyers, carrying elements of the Kawaguchi Detachment, in New Georgia Sound at 1700 hours local; this is only 70 miles (113 kilometers) from Guadalcanal. The two SBDs attack the ships but do not score any hits. By 1730 hours, eleven SBD Dauntlesses of Navy Scouting Squadron Five (VS-5) and Marine Scout Bombing Squadron Two Hundred Thirty Two (VMSB-232) are airborne and attack the ships at sundown. A VS-5 pilot scores a direct hit on the destroyer HIJMS Asagiri off Santa Isabel Island; three other destroyers are damaged. The destroyers retire without landing the troops. (Jack McKillop)
     Light minelayer USS Gamble (DM-15, ex DD-123), escorting a supply convoy, sinks Japanese submarine HIJMS I-123 about 40 nautical miles (74 kilometers) east of Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, in position 09.21S, 160.43E.  The supply convoy safely reaches Guadalcanal. (Jack McKillop)
     Imperial Japanese Navy Rear Admiral JOSHIMA Takaji, at Rabaul, New Britain Island, forms a unit of float planes from various sources, known as "R Area Air Force."  These float planes will operate from bases in the Solomons, i.e.,  Shortland Islands and Rekata Bay, Santa Isabella Island, and begin regular nightly patrols over Guadalcanal. They will become known to the Marines as "Washing Machine Charlie" and "Louie The Louse". (John Nicholas)

U.S.S.R.: The Soviet Army initiates small unit actions around Leningrad.  (John Nicholas)
     Though their drive in the Caucasus is slowing, German forces are closing in on Novorossisk, a large Soviet Navy base on the Black Sea coast.  (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: One hundred twenty women, commissioned directly as USN Ensigns or Lieutenant (jg)s, report to Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, for training.  (Jack McKillop)
     In Richmond, California, the Liberty ship SS John Fitch is launched 24-days after her keel is laid at the Kaiser Shipyard. (Jack McKillop)
     President Franklin D. Roosevelt calls for a "meatless day" once per week to help the war effort.  (Jack McKillop)

1943:     ARCTIC OCEAN: German submarine U-639 is sunk at 1030hrs in the Kara Sea about 23 nautical miles (42 kilometers) southeast of Mys Zhelaniya on Archangel Island, U.S.S.R., in approximate position 76.40N, 69.40E, by torpedoes from the Soviet submarine S 101. All hands on the U-boat, 47-men, are lost.  (Jack McKillop)

BULGARIA: The King, Boris III, dies under mysterious circumstances after a meeting with German Chancellor Adolf Hitler. He joined the Axis to prevent an imminent German invasion of Bulgaria, but he refuses to send Bulgarian troops to German aid on the Eastern front and also protects Bulgarian Jews. There has been speculations that he was actually poisoned by Hitler who wanted a more obedient Bulgaria. (Jack McKillop)

DENMARK: The Danish government refuses German demands to declare a state of emergency and execute saboteurs. The Germans oust the government and King Christian X threatens to abdicate causing angry Danes to attack German units in Copenhagen and other towns. Martial Law is declared. The SS hopes to use this opportunity to deport all 7,200 of Denmark's Jews. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)

ELLICE ISLANDS: Elements of two USN Seabee battalions and the 7th Marine Defense Battalion land on Nonomea Island, only 400-miles (644 km) from the Japanese-held Gilbert Islands. Work immediately begins on an airfield.  (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: Italian Torpedo Boat Lince is sunk in Taranto by British submarine HMS Ultor (P 53).  (Jack McKillop)
     Forty B-24 Liberators of the USAAF's Ninth Air Force bomb the marshalling yard at Taranto and 76 Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb the marshalling yard at Terni. NASAF B-26 Marauders hit the Aversa marshalling yard and Sparanise; and B-25 Mitchells hit the Cancello Arnone marshalling yard. Northwest African Tactical Air Force light and medium bombers attack railroad facilities at Lamezia and Catanzaro while fighter-bombers hit road and rail junctions, and marshalling yards at Castrovillari, Cosenza, and Catanzaro.  (Jack McKillop)

NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs and B-17 Flying Fortresses bomb Japanese installations at Lae and barges in the Lae-Salamaua area while 26 B-25 Mitchells attack shipping in Hansa Bay located on the north coast between Madang and Wewak sinking two vessels.   (Jack McKillop)

SARDINIA: USAAF P-40s fly intruder missions bombing and strafing industry and town area.  (Jack McKillop)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells and P-40s, and USMC F4U Corsairs bomb and strafe barges, buildings, and personnel in the Sigolehe Island-Barora Ite Island area.  (Jack McKillop)

1944:     AUSTRIA: One hundred fifty five B-17 Flying Fortresses of the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force in Italy bomb the Moosbierbaum benzine refinery at Vienna without loss.  (Jack McKillop)

CAROLINE ISLANDS: USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators based in the Marshall Islands attack bomb Yap Atoll.  (Jack McKillop)

FRANCE: In northern France, U.S. Lieutenant General Leonard T. Gerow, Commanding General V Corps, in a letter to French General Pierre Joseph Koening, Military Governor of Paris, turns over the city to the French. The U.S. First Army crosses the Marne River at Meaux while the U.S. Third Army (Patton) rumbles 50 miles (81 kilometers) and closes in on Chalons-sur-Marne and Vitro-le-Francois. Patton's tanks and trucks are only 140 miles (225 kilometers) from the French-German border but are running out of diesel fuel and gasoline. (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)
     In southern France, French troops led by General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny eliminate German resistance in Marseilles and Toulon, France's biggest Mediterranean ports, and the German forces surrender. Marseilles's liberation is a godsend for the Allies, who badly need an undamaged French seaport. During the next three months, one-third of Allied supplies and equipment will be offloaded in Marseilles and forwarded to Eisenhower's armies. The German 11th Panzer Division is cut off, south of Montelimar in the Rhone Valley. In attacking to the north they take severe losses from artillery and air strikes.  (John Nicholas and Jack McKillop)ÊÊÊÊ
     In northern France, the USAAF Ninth Air Force dispatches B-26 Marauders and A-20 Havocs, escorted by fighters, to bomb fuel dumps at Doullens, Barisis-aux-Bois, an ammunition dump at Querrieu, an ammunition and fuel dump at Compiegne/ Foret de Laigue, and an alcohol distillery and fuel storage depot at Hamm; fighters escort about 400 C-47 Skytrains on supply and evacuation runs, attack airfields at Bourges and Peronne, support ground forces, and fly armed reconnaissance from Amiens to east of Dijon.  (Jack McKillop)
     In southeastern France, USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb railroad bridges in the Lyon area while fighter-bombers hit vehicles in the Rhone Valley.  (Jack McKillop)

HUNGARY: A new government in Hungary takes office.  Headed by Colonel-General General GŽza Lakatos, they announce their readiness to negotiate with the Russians. (John Nicholas)
     B-24 Liberators of the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force in Italy attack three targets: 105 bomb the marshalling yard at Miskolc, 103 bomb the Szony Oil Refinery at Komarom, and 84 bomb the Szajol Railroad Bridge at Szolnok. Two aircraft are lost.  (Jack McKillop)
     During the night of 28/29 August, six RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group mine the Danube River.  (Jack McKillop)

ITALY: The British Eighth Army continues to gain ground toward the Gothic Line with the Polish 2 Corps reaching the Arzilla River. During the night of 28/29 August, elements of the 8th Indian Division capture Tigliano, north of Pontassieve.  (Jack McKillop)
     USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-26 Marauders destroy several airplanes at Villafranca di Verona Airfield and a bridge at Parma; fighter-bombers bomb and strafe roads and bridges in the battle area north of the Arno River and hit shipping in Imperia and Savona harbors.  (Jack McKillop)
     B-24 Liberators of the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force attack four targets: 59 bomb the railroad bridge at Ora, 40 bomb the railroad viaduct at Aviso, ten bomb the railroad bridge at Peschiera Del Grade and nine bomb the highway bridge at Zambana. Two aircraft are lost.  (Jack McKillop)
     During the night of 28/29 August, 50 RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group bomb troop concentrations at Pesano.  (Jack McKillop)

MARSHALL ISLANDS: The USN's Task Force 38, with eight fleet carriers and eight light aircraft carriers, sorties from Eniwetok Atoll to attack Japanese bases in the western Pacific in support of the upcoming invasion of the Palau Islands. The aircraft carriers, and their assigned groups, of TF 38 are
- Task Group 38.1 (TG-38.1)
     USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) with Light Carrier Air Group Twenty One (CVLG-21)
     USS Cowpens (CVL-25) with CVLG-22
     USS Hornet (CV-12) with Carrier Air Group Two (CVG-2)
     USS Monterey (CVL-26) with CVLG-28
     USS Wasp (CV-18) with CVG-14
- TG 38.2
     USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) with CVG-8
     USS Cabot (CVL-28) with CVLG-31
     USS Independence (CVL-22) with Night Light Carrier Air Group Forty Two [CVLG(N)-42]
     USS Intrepid (CV-11) with CVG-18
- TG 38.3
     USS Essex (CV-9) with CVG-15
     USS Langley (CVL-27) with CVLG-32
     USS Lexington (CV-16) with CVG-19)
     USS Princeton (CVL-23) with CVLG-27
- TG 38.4
     USS Enterprise (CV-6) with CVG-20
     USS Franklin (CV-13) with CVG-13
     USS San Jacinto (CVL-30) with CVLG-51
    (Jack McKillop)

PALAU ISLANDS: During the day, USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators the airfield on Koror Island, and the seaplane base on Arakabesan Island. During the night of 28/29 August, USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-24s attack airfields in the islands.  (Jack McKillop)

ROMANIA: The Third Ukraine Front takes Braila on the Danube. Units of the Second Ukraine Front drive into Transylvania through the Oituz Pass in the Carpathian Mountains.
     During the night of 28/29 August, three RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group mine the Danube River.  (Jack McKillop)

U.K.: A USAAF Douglas (Model DC-4A) C-54A-1-DC, msn 10276, USAAF serial number 42-72171, crashes into a residential area at 0100 hours local in poor visibility while attempting to land at RAF Prestwick, Ayrshire, Scotland, after a trans-Atlantic flight. All 20 aboard the aircraft and five people on the ground are killed.

U.S.: Brigadier General Haywood S Hansell, Jr assumes command of the XXI Bomber Command, Twentieth Air Force, at Peterson Field, Colorado Springs, Colorado; Brigadier General Lauris Norstad succeeds Hansell as Chief of Staff of the Twentieth Air Force.  (Jack McKillop)

VOLCANO ISLANDS: USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators based in the Mariana Islands attack Iwo Jima Island by day and night.  (Jack McKillop)

YUGOSLAVIA: A B-24 LIberator of the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force in Italy bombs the marshalling yard at Subotica.  (Jack McKillop)
     During the night of 28/29 August, nine RAF Liberators of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group mine the Danube River.  (Jack McKillop)

1945:     BURMA: Japanese forces sign a formal surrender in Rangoon.   (Jack McKillop)

CANADA: French General Charles de Gaulle arrives in Ottawa, Ontario, for talks with Canadian Prime Minister W.L. Mackenzie King.  (Jack McKillop)

CHINA: Chinese communist leader Mao Tse-Tung arrives in Chunking to confer with Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek in a futile effort to avert a civil war. (Jack McKillop)

FRENCH INDOCHINA: The Viet Minh form a provisional government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam with Ho Chi Minh as president, Vo Nguyen Giap, as interior minister and Pham Van Dong, as finance minister.  (Jack McKillop)ÊÊÊÊ
     In Laos, Prime Minister Prince Phetsarath wires provincial governors notifying them of the Japanese surrender. The Prince further declares that the proclamation of independence is unaffected and that the governors should resist any attempts at foreign intervention in their administration. The French Resident Superieur is released from prison but Phetsarath refuses to recognize his authority.  (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY: Hermann Goring, Joachim von Ribbentrop, and 22 others former Nazi government officials are indicted as war criminals. Hermann Goring heads the list of 24. Rudolf Hess, formerly deputy to Hitler, who has been a prisoner in Britain since May 1941, is next on the list, followed by Martin Bormann, the secretary of the NSDAP, who disappeared from the Berlin bunker. Others include Konstantin von Neurath, the first foreign minister to Hitler; Gustav Krupp von Bohlen, the industrialist; Franz von Papen, the vice-chancellor in 1933-34; and, Hjalmar Schacht, who served as the minister of finance in the Nazi government until falling out of favor with Hitler.   (Jack McKillop)

JAPAN: A USAAF C-47 piloted by Colonel Edward Imparato lands at Atsugi airfield near Yokohama. Colonel Charles Trench, a member of General MacArthur's staff is the first man off the aircraft. He heads a mission to prepare for General MacArthur's arrival later that day. Also landing at Atsubi are 23 other C-47s bringing an advance guard of 150 American technicians.Their arrival has been delayed for 48 hours by the forecast of a typhoon. Five of the technicians are assigned to the USAAF's 68th Army Airways Communications System (AACS) Group. Their job is to provide navigational aids, point-to-point communications with Okinawa, air-to-ground communications for aircraft in flight, weather data and air traffic control. The AACS control tower at Atsugi is operating by tomorrow. Meanwhile, the southern half of Sakhalin Island is occupied by Soviet forces. (John Nicholas)
     USN underwater demolition teams (UDT) land to check prospective Tokyo Bay landing beaches and ensure that fortification are neutralized. Minesweepers begin clearing mines from Tokyo Bay. (Jack McKillop)
     In the air, the 386th Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy), based on Okinawa, flies its last combat mission, a photo reconnaissance mission, with the Consolidated B-32 Dominator. (Jack McKillop)
     Destroyers of the Royal Australian Navy joined Royal Navy and United States Navy ships in Tokyo Bay to receive the main Japanese surrender on 2 September.  (Jack McKillop)

U.S.: Major league baseball commissioner Branch Rickey and future baseball great Jackie Robinson meet and discuss the difficulties Robinson, a black athlete, will face in major league baseball. Robinson had signed a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers calling for a salary of US $600 a month (US $5,714 in year 2000 dollars) plus a US $3,500 signing bonus (US $33,333 in year 2000 dollars) to play for Montreal (Quebec, Canada) of the Triple A International League. (Jack McKillop)