World War II Database

• Home
• » Events
• » WW2 Timeline
• » 20 Oct 1945

• A referendum was held in Mongolia, with participation of Chinese monitors led by Deputy Interior Minister Li Fazhang. ww2dbase [Mongolia | CPC]

• British troops arrived in Semarang, Java, Indonesia, forcing the end of a week-long conflict between Japanese troops and Indonesian nationalists which resulted in thousands of deaths, including many civilians, Japanese and local. ww2dbase [Semarang, Java | CPC]
• A detachment of Gurkha troops of the British Army took control of Ambarawa and Magelang in central Java. Local forces immediately clashed with the few Dutch personnel attached to the force. ww2dbase [Ambarawa, Java | CPC]

• The nationalist Lao Issara government deposed King Sisavangvong of Luang Phrabang. ww2dbase [Laos | CPC]

• A ceremony was held in Seoul, Korea welcoming the entry of US troops. Rhee Syngman made his first speech on Korean soil during this ceremony after his four-decade-long exile; in the speech he denounced the method in which Soviet Union employed to occupy northern Korea. ww2dbase [Seoul | CPC]

• The Soviets sentenced Captain Eberhard von Scheller to death; during the war Scheller had worked for the Soviet SMERSH counterintelligence agency but he was caught attempting to smuggle sensitive information to the Germans. Scheller would be executed about two weeks later. ww2dbase [CPC]

• USS St. Louis departed Kiirun, Formosa (now Keelung, Taiwan) bound for Guam. ww2dbase [St. Louis | Kiirun | DS]

• HMS Activity was decommissioned from service upon arriving at the Clyde, Scotland, United Kingdom with former prisoners of war from Singapore. ww2dbase [Activity | Clyde, Scotland | CPC]

• USS Gar arrived at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States. ww2dbase [Gar | Portsmouth, New Hampshire | CPC]
• USS Marlin departed New London, Connecticut, United States and arrived at Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States. ww2dbase [Marlin | New London, Connecticut | CPC]
• USS Yorktown (Essex-class) entered San Francisco Bay, California, United States after a non-stop voyage from Okinawa loaded with returning US servicemen, moored at the Alameda Naval Air Station, and began discharging passengers. ww2dbase [Yorktown (Essex-class) | San Francisco, California | DS]
• US State Department Office of Far Eastern Affairs chief John Carter Vincent declared that the United States recognized French influence over French Indochina, but would not offer direct military assistance even if the French employ such measure to regain control of the region. ww2dbase [Washington | CPC]

20 Oct 1945 Interactive Map