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WWII On This Day: May 6

What happened on May 6 during World War II? This date brings together 2 events from 1942, with period photographs and links to the full operations documented across WW2 Theatres.

1942
U.S. soldiers and sailors surrender to Japanese forces at Corregidor in May 1942. The archive record identifies the surrender but does not require an exact clock time.
U.S. soldiers and sailors surrender to Japanese forces at Corregidor in May 1942. The archive record identifies the surrender but does not require an exact clock time. Captured Japanese photograph / U.S. National Archives NAID 531354 · Public domain Source
The Fall of the Southern Empires

Corregidor Surrenders

Japanese troops landed on Corregidor during the night of 5–6 May after sustained bombardment of the fortress. Once the attackers established a foothold and further landings could not be prevented, Wainwright concluded that continued resistance would destroy the garrison and wounded without changing the campaign. He surrendered on 6 May. Corregidor had held after Bataan because the harbour forts could still defend themselves for a time even when the peninsula was gone. By May, however, the island had no field army outside it, no prospect of relief and no way…

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Joseph Stilwell's party during the walkout from Burma in May 1942. The source dates the photograph to the month, so it is used as operational attribution rather than an exact 6 May image.
Joseph Stilwell's party during the walkout from Burma in May 1942. The source dates the photograph to the month, so it is used as operational attribution rather than an exact 6 May image. U.S. federal government photograph · Public domain Source
The Fall of the Southern Empires

Stilwell Turns Toward India

Stilwell’s headquarters party began its walkout from Burma on 6 May after the loss of Lashio and the collapse of the central communications system made the planned route toward China untenable. The party turned toward India on foot through difficult country rather than attempt to remain with a front that no longer existed as one connected line. The march was a command decision about survival and future usefulness. Stilwell needed to bring his staff out so that an Allied mission to China could continue from a new base. It also…

Continue in The Fall of the Southern Empires →