Year 1945

Diary for Sunday, April 1, 1945: Sea War Pacific: US 10th ARMY LANDS ON OKINAWA (Operation Glacier); captures Kadena and Yontan airfields­. Russian Front Russians take Sopron, southeast of Vienna. […]

Diary for Saturday, March 31, 1945: Western Front French start crossing the Rhine near Speyer. Russian Front Russians take Ratibor on Upper Oder. Sea War Merchant shipping losses in March

Diary for Friday, March 30, 1945: Russian Front Danzig stormed by Rokossovksy’s 2nd Belorussian Front. Tolbukhin enters Austria. Air War Germany: 345 bombers of 8th USAAF attacking Wilhelmshaven, Hamburg and

Diary for Thursday, March 29, 1940: Western Front Tanks of 21st Army Group break out of Wesel bridgehead. US 7th Army captures Mannheim and Heidelberg. Air War Britain: 2,419th (and

Diary for Wednesday, March 28, 1945: Russian Front Poland: Rokossovsky captures Gdynia. Hungary: Malinovsky takes Gyor. Guderian replaced by Krebs as COS after row with Hitler.

Diary for Tuesday, March 27, 1945: Western Front Americans reach Lim­burg. Russian Front Poland: Russians launch final attacks on Danzig and Gdynia. Sea War Baltic: 3 German E-boats attack 9

Diary for Monday, March 26, 1945: Sea War Pacific: British Pacific Fleet (TF 57) launches first of many air strikes against airfields on Sakishima Gunto Islands between Okinawa and Formosa.

Diary for Sunday, March 25, 1945: Western Front Montgomery’s 4 bridge­heads over the Rhine merge into 48­-km-wide salient. 3rd US Army captures Darmstadt and Hanau. Russian Front Hungary: Malinovsky breaks

Diary for Saturday, March 24, 1945: Russian Front Poland: Russians capture Zoppot, between Danzig and Gdynia. Hungary: Tolbukhin’s forces sweep forward to Szekesfehervar (Stuhlweissenburg), 58 km southwest of Buda­pest. Western

Diary for Friday, March 23, 1945: Western Front MONTGOMERY’S 21st ARMY GROUP CROSSES THE RHINE AT WESEL (Operation Plunder): attack takes place in bright moonlight under cover of dense smoke

Diary for Thursday, March 22, 1945: Western Front US 3rd Army crosses the Rhine, west of Mainz. Russian Front In Silesia, Konev‘s forces break through west and south of Oppeln.

Diary for Wednesday, March 21, 1945: Air War Europe: Mosquito bombers destroy Gestapo HQ in Copenhagen; bombs acci­dentally dropped on nearby school kill 86 pupils and 17 teachers. 8th USAAF

Diary for Tuesday, March 20, 1945: Russian Front Russians eliminate German bridgehead on lower Oder at Altdamm. Burma BRITISH CAPTURE MAN­DALAY. Home Fronts Britain: Death of Lord Alfred Douglas, poet

Diary for Monday, March 19, 1945: Air War Pacific: Carriers Wasp and Franklin severely damaged by Japanese bombers (825 killed). Sea War U-boats withdrawn from Eastern Baltic. Home Fronts Germany:

Diary for Sunday, March 18, 1945: Western Front US tanks enter Bad Kreuznach and Bingen. Air War Germany: 1,221 US bombers (25 lost) and 700 escorts (5 lost) drop 4,000

Diary for Saturday, March 17, 1945: Western Front Ludendorff Bridge collapses following repeated raids by Ar 234 jet bombers; many US engineers killed. 3rd US Army enters Koblenz.

Diary for Friday, March 16, 1945: Russian Front Hungary: Tolbukhin‘s 3rd Ukrainian Front launches major counter-attack against 6th SS Panzer Army and 3rd Hungarian Army (latter collapses). Air War Germany:

Diary for Thursday, March 15, 1945: Burma Japanese counter-attack at Meiktila (they retreat March 28). Air War Germany: Wehrmacht GHQ at Zossen, south of Berlin, pounded by 576 bombers of

Diary for Wednesday, March 14, 1945: Air War Germany: Bielefeld Viaduct smashed by 22,000-lb bomb, (‘Grand Slam‘), thereby preventing movement from the Ruhr to Remagen. Russian Front Slovakia: Russians capture

Diary for Tuesday, March 13, 1945: Burma British capture Maymyo, cutting rail communications of Japanese garrison in Mandalay.