20 Jul 1945
![Major General Frank Parks, General George Patton, Colonel W. H. Kyle, J. J. McCloy, H. H. Bundy, and US Secretary of War Henry Stimson, reviewing US 2nd Armored Division, Berlin, Germany, 20 Jul 1945, photo 2 of 4](/images/imagemagick/tmb_person_patton9.jpg)
![UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill at Potsdam Conference, Germany, Jul 1945](/images/imagemagick/tmb_person_churchill14.jpg)
![Stalin, Truman, and Churchill in conversation, Potsdam, Germany, Jul 1945](/images/imagemagick/tmb_person_stalin29.jpg)
![Dwight Eisenhower, George Patton, Harry Truman, Henry Stimson, Omar Bradley, and others during the raising of a US flag over Berlin, Germany, 20 Jul 1945](/images/imagemagick/tmb_person_eisenhower109.jpg)
See all photos dated 20 Jul 1945
- The US Army Air Force began launching B-29 bomber raids, each with very few planes, against Japanese cities. The goal of such missions was to make such small raids a frequent occurrence to increase the success rate of the planned atomic bomb missions. ww2dbase [Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | CPC]
- Achille Van Acker recommended abdication for King Leopold III of Belgium. ww2dbase [Leopold III | CPC]
- USS Nicholas and the replenishment group she was escorting rendezvoused with carrier Task Force 38 northeast of Chichi Jima for refueling and replenishment. ww2dbase [Nicholas | Preparations for Invasion of Japan | DS]
- Canadian corvette HMCS Oakville was decommissioned off Sorel, Quebec, Canada. ww2dbase [Sorel, Quebec | CPC]
- Canadian corvette HMCS Prescott was decommissioned off Sorel, Quebec, Canada. ww2dbase [Sorel, Quebec | CPC]
- Canadian corvette HMCS St. Lambert was decommissioned off Sorel, Quebec, Canada. ww2dbase [Sorel, Quebec | CPC]
- Canadian patrol vessel HMCS Ambler was decommissioned off Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. ww2dbase [Sydney, Nova Scotia | CPC]
- Canadian patrol vessel HMCS Reindeer was decommissioned off Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. ww2dbase [Sydney, Nova Scotia | CPC]
- Canadian patrol vessel HMCS Caribou was decommissioned off Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. ww2dbase [Sydney, Nova Scotia | CPC]
- Canadian patrol vessel HMCS Moose was decommissioned off Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. ww2dbase [Sydney, Nova Scotia | CPC]
- Canadian motor launch HMC ML 078 was decommissioned off Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. ww2dbase [Sydney, Nova Scotia | CPC]
- British carrier HMS Reaper departed Cherbourg, France with a captured German Ar 234 aircraft aboard. ww2dbase [Ar 234 Blitz | Cherbourg, Basse-Normandie | CPC]
- At Potsdam, Germany, Harry Truman declared that the Allies would demand no territory upon victory. ww2dbase [Potsdam Conference | Potsdam, Mark Brandenburg | CPC]
- USS Ticonderoga re-joined Task Group 38.3; Air Group 87 aircraft struck Nagoya, Osaka, and Miko in Japan. ww2dbase [Ticonderoga | DS]
- HMS Indefatigable joined UK Task Force 37 and US Task Force 38.2 for an attack on the Japanese home islands. On the same day, an US Army B-29 bomber failed to attack the Imperial Palace in Tokyo with a large "Pumpkin" bomb. ww2dbase [Preparations for Invasion of Japan | Imperial Palace Complex | Tokyo | CPC]
- US 11th Air Force launched 8 B-24 bombers against Matsuwa Airfield, Matsuwa, Hokkaido, Japan in the Kurile Islands. Meanwhile, 94 Iwo Jima-based US P-51 fighters strafed airfields at Kamezaki, Meiji, Okazaki, Nagoya, Kagamigahara, Hamamatsu, and Komaki; 3 fighters were lost. ww2dbase [Bombing of Tokyo and Other Cities | CPC]
- USS Sea Robin fired a torpedo at a Japanese ship in the East China Sea; the torpedo missed. ww2dbase [Sea Robin | East China Sea | CPC]
- USS Baya attacked a Japanese patrol craft in the South China Sea with her deck gun. ww2dbase [Baya | South China Sea | CPC]
- Casablanca-class escort carrier USS Sargent Bay departed San Pedro Bay, Leyte Gulf, Philippines bound for Guam, Mariana Islands. ww2dbase [Sargent Bay | San Pedro, Leyte | DS]
- The US Congress ratified the Bretton Woods monetary agreement. ww2dbase [Washington | CPC]
![Major General Frank Parks, General George Patton, Colonel W. H. Kyle, J. J. McCloy, H. H. Bundy, and US Secretary of War Henry Stimson, reviewing US 2nd Armored Division, Berlin, Germany, 20 Jul 1945, photo 2 of 4](/images/imagemagick/tmb_person_patton9.jpg)
![UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill at Potsdam Conference, Germany, Jul 1945](/images/imagemagick/tmb_person_churchill14.jpg)
![Stalin, Truman, and Churchill in conversation, Potsdam, Germany, Jul 1945](/images/imagemagick/tmb_person_stalin29.jpg)
![Dwight Eisenhower, George Patton, Harry Truman, Henry Stimson, Omar Bradley, and others during the raising of a US flag over Berlin, Germany, 20 Jul 1945](/images/imagemagick/tmb_person_eisenhower109.jpg)
See all photos dated 20 Jul 1945
20 Jul 1945 Interactive Map
Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
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