Map Description

History Map of WWII: China 1945


Illustrating:

Situation at the end of World War II

:: Did World War II and the Second Sino-Japanese War end on the same day? ::

Yes.

World War II and the Second Sino-Japanese War effectively ended on the same day: with the surrender of Japan in August 1945.

The formal Japanese surrender occurred on September 2, 1945, aboard the USS Missouri, which is internationally recognized as the official end date of World War II in Asia.

The Second Sino-Japanese War, which had been ongoing since 1937 and became part of the broader conflict of World War II after 1941, is also considered to have ended with Japan’s surrender in 1945.

Thus, both wars concluded simultaneously with Japan’s capitulation, marking the end of hostilities in the Asia-Pacific region.

The dates most commonly associated with the end of both conflicts are August 15, 1945 (the date of Japan’s announcement of surrender, known as V-J Day), and September 2, 1945 (the date of the formal surrender ceremony).



:: One of the "Big Four" / Internal Fracture / Japanese Occupation ::

China emerged as one of the "Big Four" Allied powers (alongside the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom), securing a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.

The Nationalist government (Kuomintang, KMT) led by Chiang Kai-shek was internationally recognized as the legitimate government of China, but its authority was increasingly challenged by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under Mao Zedong.

While Japan’s surrender in August 1945 ended its legal claim to occupied Chinese territories, the actual removal of Japanese presence and the reassertion of Chinese control was a staged process rather than an instantaneous or automatic event.

Credits

Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Department of History.

Related Links

About the Second Sino-Japanese War
About the Second World War
WWII Timelines
About Sun Yat-sen
About Chiang Kai-shek
About Governments of China
Map of the growth of European and Japanese dominions in Asia since 1801
Map of China 1910