TF 14—with the fleet carrier , three heavy cruisers, eight destroyers, and an oiler—was sent to attack the Marshall Islands. The goal was to take Japanese attention away from Wake Island.
At 21:00 on 22 December, after learning that two IJN carriers were near Wake Island, TF 11 was ordered to return to Pearl Harbor. The US were afraid that the US would lose ships
The second Japanese invasion force came on 23 December. It was mostly the same ships from the first attempt plus the carriers "Hiryu" and "Soryu", and 1,500 Japanese marines. The landings began at 02:35 after a preliminary bombing.
After a full night and morning of fighting, the Wake troops surrendered to the Japanese.
The U.S. Marines lost 47 killed during the 15-day battle. Japanese losses were recorded at between 700 and 900 killed, with at least 300 more wounded. Two destroyers were lost in the first invasion attempt and 28 aircraft were shot down or damaged.
The Japanese built strong defences on Wake Island. The American captives were forced to build bunkers and fortifications on Wake. The Japanese brought in an 8-inch (200 mm) naval artillery gun.
The U.S. Navy used submarines to prevent any Japanese ships from getting to Wake. The Japanese troops starved. On 24 February 1942, aircraft from the carrier attacked the Japanese troops on Wake Island.
U.S. forces bombed the island from 1942 until Japan’s surrender in 1945. On 24 July 1943, B-24 Liberators bombed Wake Island.
On 5 October 1943, American naval aircraft from raided Wake. Two days later, Rear Admiral Shigematsu Sakaibara ordered the execution of the 98 captured American workers. They were blindfolded and executed with a machine gun.
On 4 September 1945, the remaining Japanese troops surrendered to a U.S. Marines.
Admiral Sakaibara and Lieutenant-Commander Tachibana were sentenced to death for the massacre.
Barbara Branden
Barbara Branden (born Barbara Weidman, 14 May 1929 – 11 December 2013) was a Canadian writer, editor, and lecturer. She was known for her relationship and subsequent break with novelist-philosopher Ayn Rand.
Jang Sung-taek
Jang Sung-taek (alternatively Jang Song Thaek or Chang Sung-taek; 2 February 1946 - 13 December 2013) was a leading figure in the government of North Korea. He was married to Kim Kyong-hui, aunt of Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of North Korea.
On 13 December, North Korean state media announced he had been executed.
Atifete Jahjaga
Atifete Jahjaga (born 20 April 1975) is the fourth President of Kosovo. She was the first female President of the Republic of Kosovo.
Battle of Guam (1944)
The Second Battle of Guam (July 21 — August 10, 1944) was the capture of Guam by the United States from Japanese control. Guam was a U.S. territory (in the Mariana Islands). The battle was during the Pacific campaign of World War II.
Guam is the largest island of the Marianas. It is 30 miles (48 km) long and 9 miles (14 km) wide. It had been a United States island since its capture from Spain in 1898.
It was captured by the Japanese on December 10, 1941. This was after the Attack on Pearl Harbor. It was not as fortified as the other Mariana Islands, such as Saipan.
The Allied plan for the invasion of the Marianas was for heavy bombing by planes and then bombing by battleships.
Guam was chosen as a target because it was big enough to be a base for the next attacks on the Philippines, Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands. The harbor at Apra could take the largest ships. The two airfields were big enough for B-29 Superfortress bombers.
The invasion of Saipan was planned for June 15, 1944, with landings on Guam planned for June 18.
A large Japanese carrier attack and heavy fighting in Saipan led to the invasion of Guam being delayed for a month.
Guam is surrounded by reefs, cliffs, and heavy waves. This makes Guam hard to attack.
On July 21, the Americans landed on both sides on the western side of Guam. The 3rd Marine Division landed at 08:28. The 1st Provisional Marine Brigade landed to the south. Japanese artillery sank 20 Landing Ships. The Americans had many dead and wounded.
By 09:00 men and tanks were on both beaches. The 77th Infantry Division had to walk through the shallow water. Japanese guns fired at them.
By nightfall the Americans controlled the beachs about 2,000 meters deep. Japanese attacks were made throughout the first few days.
Lieutenant General Takeshi Takashina was killed on July 28, and Lieutenant General Hideyoshi Obata took over the command of the defenders.
Supply was very difficult for the Americans in the first days of the battle.
The attacks against the American beaches, as well as the violent fighting, had tired out the Japanese. At the start of August they were running out of food and ammunition and had only a few tanks left.
Obata moved to the mountainous central and northern part of the island. He could not get any more supplies or get new troops because of American control of the sea and air around Guam.
The Japanese refused to surrender, and almost all were killed. On August 10, the US captured Guam. The next day, Obata committed ritual suicide.
A few Japanese soldiers hid in the jungle. On December 8, 1945, three U.S. Marines were killed. On January 24, 1972, Sergeant Shoichi Yokoi was discovered by hunters. He had lived alone in a cave for 27 years.
After the battle, Guam was turned into a base for Allied operations. Five large airfields were built by the Seabees. B-29 bombers flew from the island to attack targets in the Western Pacific and on mainland Japan.
Four U.S. Marines were awarded the Medal of Honor for their brave actions during the Battle of Guam: PFC Luther Skaggs Jr., PFC Frank Witek (after death), PFC Leonard F. Mason (after death) and Captain (later General) Louis H. Wilson, Jr..
Liberation Day continues to be celebrated on Guam every July 21.
Robert Schwarz Strauss
Robert Schwarz Strauss (October 19, 1918 – March 19, 2014) was an American politician and diplomat. He served as the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee between 1972 and 1977 and served under President Jimmy Carter as the U.S. Trade Representative and special envoy to the Middle East.
Strauss was selected by President George H. W. Bush to be the U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union in 1991 and after the USSR's collapse, he served as the U.S. ambassador to Russia from 1991 until 1993. Strauss has advised and represented U.S. presidents over three administrations and for both major U.S. political parties.
Strauss died from natural causes in Washington, D.C., aged 95.
Western Allied invasion of Germany
The Western Allied invasion of Germany was an attack on Nazi Germany that was done by the Western Allies in the final months of the European War in World War II. The invasion started with the Allies crossing the Rhine River. Then they spread out and moved through western Germany. The Germans surrendered on 8 May 1945. This is known as the "Central Europe Campaign" in United States military histories.
By the early spring of 1945, the Allied forces in Europe were doing well. On the Western Front the Allies had been fighting in Germany since the October Battle of Aachen. By January, the Allies beat the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge. The failure of this last major German attack took the last of Germany's strength. The Germans could not do much to stop the final Allied attacks in Europe.
Additional losses in the Rhineland weakened the German Army, leaving few troops to defend the east bank of the Rhine. By mid-March, the Allies had captured an intact bridge at Remagen. They also defended the bridge on the river's east bank.
German casualties during the Allied attacks to reach the Rhine in February–March 1945 were about 400,000 men, including 280,000 men captured as prisoners of war.
On the Eastern Front, the Soviet Red Army had moved through Poland. The Russians