# List of last occurences in WWII **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 24, 2015, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-last-occurences-in-wwii/720709 "2015-05-24T07:30:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dr\_zippermeyer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c0e974/32.png) [@dr\_zippermeyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dr_zippermeyer)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-last-occurences-in-wwii/720709/1 "2015-05-24T07:30:09Z")
Now that 70th anniversary of the end of WWII is approaching, could you tell some examples of last time when something noticeable happened in WWII? For example: Last (apparently) cavalry charge with drawn sabers > **[Charge of the Savoia Cavalleria at Izbushensky](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charge_of_the_Savoia_Cavalleria_at_Isbuscenskij)** > > The Charge of the "Savoia Cavalleria" at Izbushensky was a clash between the Italian cavalry Regiment "Savoia Cavalleria" (3rd) and the Soviet 812th Rifle Regiment (304th Rifle Division) that took place on August 24, 1942, near the hamlet (khutor) of Izbushensky (Избушенский), close to the junction between the Don and Khopyor rivers. Though a minor skirmish in the theatre of operation of the Eastern Front, the Izbushensky charge had great propaganda resonance in Italy and it is still remembered a... Last US soldier to die in combat over Japan (B-32 treacherously attacked by fighter after surrender) > **[The Last to Die](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/the-last-to-die-10099776/)** > > The war in the Pacific ended as it began, with a surprise attack by Japanese warplanes ---
**Author:** ![dr\_zippermeyer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c0e974/32.png) [@dr\_zippermeyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dr_zippermeyer)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-last-occurences-in-wwii/720709/2 "2015-05-24T08:54:12Z")
Last u-boat to surrender (escaped to Argentina) > **[German submarine U-977](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-977)** > > German submarine U-977 was a World War II Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine which escaped to Argentina after Germany's surrender. The submarine's voyage to Argentina led to legends, apocryphal stories and conspiracy theories that it and U-530 had transported escaping Nazi leaders (such as Adolf Hitler) and/or Nazi gold to South America, that it had made a secret voyage to Antarctica, and even that it sank the Brazilian cruiser Bahia as the last act of the Battle of the Atlantic. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-last-occurences-in-wwii/720709/3 "2015-05-24T09:25:43Z")
> [@dr\_zippermeyer](#): > > Now that 70th anniversary of the end of WWII is approaching, could you tell some examples of last time when something noticeable happened in WWII? > > For example: > > Last (apparently) cavalry charge with drawn sabers > [Charge of the Savoia Cavalleria at Izbushensky - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charge_of_the_Savoia_Cavalleria_at_Isbuscenskij) > > Last US soldier to die in combat over Japan (B-32 treacherously attacked by fighter after surrender) > [http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/the-last-to-die-10099776/?no-ist](http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/the-last-to-die-10099776/?no-ist) Actually I think cavalry was used in Afghanistan when the US took out the Taliban. ---
**Author:** ![dr\_zippermeyer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c0e974/32.png) [@dr\_zippermeyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dr_zippermeyer)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-last-occurences-in-wwii/720709/4 "2015-05-24T09:29:27Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Actually I think cavalry was used in Afghanistan when the US took out the Taliban. Right, I should have mentioned “last cavalry charge in Europe”. Who knows how late they have been used in other continents. ---
**Author:** ![pdunderhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4bbf92/32.png) [@pdunderhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pdunderhill)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-last-occurences-in-wwii/720709/5 "2015-05-24T10:59:57Z")
Lieutenant Colonel John Malcolm Thorpe Fleming “Jack” Churchill, used a Longbow d to kill a German Soldier during the British withdrawal to Dunkirk… > **[Jack Churchill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Churchill)** > > John Malcolm Thorpe Fleming Churchill, DSO & Bar, MC & Bar (16 September 1906 – 8 March 1996) was a British Army officer. Nicknamed "Fighting Jack Churchill" and "Mad Jack", he fought in the Second World War with a longbow, a basket-hilted Scottish broadsword, and a bagpipe. > Churchill was born in Colombo, British Ceylon, to Alec Fleming Churchill (1876–1961), later of Hove, East Sussex, and Elinor Elizabeth, daughter of John Alexander Bond Bell, of Kelnahard, County Cavan, Ireland, and of Dim... Not the kind of guy I’d like as an enemy! Peter ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-last-occurences-in-wwii/720709/6 "2015-05-24T12:02:10Z")
A lot of people mistakenly think the Battle of the Bulge (Dec 1944-Jan 1945) was the last German offensive of the war. But the real last German offensive was Operation Spring Awakening. It was an attempt to recapture some oil fields in Hungary in March 1945. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-last-occurences-in-wwii/720709/7 "2015-05-24T14:07:04Z")
> [@pdunderhill](#): > > Lieutenant Colonel John Malcolm Thorpe Fleming “Jack” Churchill, used a Longbow d to kill a German Soldier during the British withdrawal to Dunkirk… > > [Jack Churchill - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Churchill) > > Not the kind of guy I’d like as an enemy! > > Peter Bows were also used in Vietnam. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-last-occurences-in-wwii/720709/8 "2015-05-24T14:12:56Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Actually I think cavalry was used in Afghanistan when the US took out the Taliban. There were SF guys on horses yeah, but did they actually charge home with sabers and bugle ? ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-last-occurences-in-wwii/720709/9 "2015-05-24T14:33:17Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > A lot of people mistakenly think the Battle of the Bulge (Dec 1944-Jan 1945) was the last German offensive of the war. But the real last German offensive was Operation Spring Awakening. It was an attempt to recapture some oil fields in Hungary in March 1945. How are you defining “offensive”, though. They continued with division and corps sized offensives till the end. (I agree with your inclusion, just curious as to how to define it). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-last-occurences-in-wwii/720709/10 "2015-05-24T20:53:19Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > How are you defining “offensive”, though. They continued with division and corps sized offensives till the end. > > (I agree with your inclusion, just curious as to how to define it). I’d say a real offensive requires that there be some strategic advance planned as a goal. The divisional and corps offenses that occurred in the final weeks may have been tactically offensive but they were strategically defensive: their goals were just to defend the ground the unit was already holding. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-last-occurences-in-wwii/720709/11 "2015-05-24T21:36:21Z")
Have any battles since the Fall of Singapore use bicycle troops? ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-last-occurences-in-wwii/720709/12 "2015-05-24T22:09:11Z")
More GQ, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Latro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@Latro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latro)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-last-occurences-in-wwii/720709/13 "2015-05-24T22:10:04Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Have any battles since the Fall of Singapore use bicycle troops? The Hungarians, Slovaks and IIRC even the Germans used bicycle troops in Russia. ---
**Author:** ![Latro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@Latro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latro)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-last-occurences-in-wwii/720709/14 "2015-05-24T22:22:31Z")
> [@dr\_zippermeyer](#): > > Last (apparently) cavalry charge with drawn The last cavalry attack was on 23-03-1945. An ss unit of Kuban cossacks attacked a Bulgarian unit with drawn sabres. Oh, and they won. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-last-occurences-in-wwii/720709/15 "2015-05-24T22:37:50Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Have any battles since the Fall of Singapore use bicycle troops? The reconnaissance battalion of every German infantry division included a [bicycle troop](http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/ttt34/german-infantry-division.html): > [@](#): > > d. Reconnaissance Battalion > > The reconnaissance battalion of the infantry division consists of a headquarters, a communications platoon, a horse troop, a bicycle troop and a heavy weapons company. Many of the Volksgrenadier divisions organized at the end of the war included an entire bicycle battalion. > [@dr\_zippermeyer](#): > > Last US soldier to die in combat over Japan (B-32 treacherously attacked by fighter after surrender) > [http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/the-last-to-die-10099776/?no-ist](http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/the-last-to-die-10099776/?no-ist) Only true if meant 100% literally, i.e. last to die over Japan rather than the last to die in combat against Japan. Fighting continued after the war was over, [for example](http://www.wanpela.com/holdouts/list.html): > [@](#): > > February 1946 Philippines - on Lubang Island. > 70 miles southwest of Maillia Bay a seven week campaign to clear the island was begun by the Filipino 341st and American 86th Division. Intense fighting developed on February 22, 1946 when troops encountered 30 Japanese. Eight Allied troops were killed, including 2 Filipinos. The Filipino and Americans sent for an additional 20,000 rounds of small arm ammunition, but not future battles occurred of this magnitude. > > March 1946 Guam > A Japanese band of unknown size attacked and killed a six man patrol on Guam on March 1946. > > End March - early April 1947 Peleliu Island - Band of Japanese lead by Ei Yamaguchi > A band of 33 Japanese soldiers, commanded by Lt. Ei Yamaguchi renews fighting on the island by attacking a Marine patrol with hand grenades. At that time, only 150 Marines were stationed on the island, with 35 dependents. Reinforcement were called in to hunt down the hideouts. American patrols with a Japanese Admiral sent to convince the troops that the war was indeed over finally convinced the holdouts to come out peacefully. The band emerged from the jungle in two groups in late April, lead by Ei Yamaguchi who turned over his sword and unit’s battle flags. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-last-occurences-in-wwii/720709/16 "2015-05-24T23:01:02Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Have any battles since the Fall of Singapore use bicycle troops? Ho Chi Minh Trail. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-last-occurences-in-wwii/720709/17 "2015-05-24T23:19:02Z")
Probably the last construction of a full size airworthy glider in a prison camp. [The Colditz Cock](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colditz_Cock) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-last-occurences-in-wwii/720709/18 "2015-05-24T23:21:16Z")
> [@mascaroni](#): > > Probably the last construction of a full size airworthy glider in a prison camp. > > [The Colditz Cock](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colditz_Cock) Speaking of gliders, last use of gliders to deliver [infantry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glider_infantry#Post_war). ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2015, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-last-occurences-in-wwii/720709/19 "2015-05-24T23:44:14Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > Ho Chi Minh Trail. I thought of that, but were there troops going into battle on bikes, or just bikes with cargo? Has anyone fought on skis since WWII? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2015, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-last-occurences-in-wwii/720709/20 "2015-05-25T00:39:40Z")
The Soviets invaded the[Kuril Islands](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shumshu) on August 18, 1945, three days after Japan had surrendered. Of course the Japanese didn’t surrender in the [Philippines](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baguio#World_War_II) until September 3. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-of-last-occurences-in-wwii/720709.md?page=2)