Year 1945

Diary for Saturday, April 21, 1945: Russian Front BATTLE OF BERLIN. ZHUKOV‘S TROOPS ENTER SUBURBS. Konev attacks north of Dresden. Western Front French occupy Stuttgart. Italy ALLIES CAPTURE BOLOGNA. General […]

Diary for Friday, April 20, 1945: Western Front ‘Stars and Stripes’ raised over rostrum of Nuremberg Stadium ­scene of Nazi Party rallies. Lattre de Tassigny’s French 1st Army execute rapid

Diary for Thursday, April 19, 1945: Okinawa US 24th Corps, 10th Army, launches general assault on outer defenses of ‘Shuri Line’, in the south, after preparatory bombardment by 139 planes,

Diary for Wednesday, April 18, 1945: Western Front 370,000-strong Army Group B. surrenders in Ruhr ‘Pocket’; Field Marshal Model commits suicide. Royal Engineers begin constructing Bailey Bridge over the Rhine,

Diary for Tuesday, April 17, 1945: Okinawa Americans capture Yae-Taki Hills in Motobu Peninsular. Air War Europe: Mosquito bombers attacking Gestapo HQ at Odense, Denmark. Pacific: B-29 Superfortress carry out

Diary for Monday, April 16, 1945: Russian Front ZHUKOV OPENS OFFENSIVE ON BERLIN. Western Front Canadians take Groningen; Americans enter Nuremberg. Okinawa Americans land on Ie Shima Island. Air War

Diary for Sunday, April 15, 1945: Western Front US 1st Army captures Leuna. 2nd Armored Division (US 9th Army) forced to withdraw from bridgehead over river Elbe near Magdeburg, after

Diary for Saturday, April 14, 1945: Western Front Holland: Arnhem captured by British forces. Germans offer fierce resistance and demolish bridge before retreating. Bavaria: Patton captures Bayreuth. Okinawa Americans attack

Diary for Saturday, April 13, 1945: Russian Front Austria: VIENNA CAPTURED by Tolbukhin’s 3rd Ukrainian Front. Western Front Patton captures Jena. Air War Pacific: 327 B-29 Superfortress bombers destroy arms

Diary for Thursday, April 12, 1945: Home Fronts USA – DEATH OF PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT at Warm Springs, Georgia; aged 63. Vice-President Truman takes the oath of office. Goebbels comments ‘This

Diary for Wednesday, April 11, 1945: Russian Front Russians cross Danube Canal in Vienna. Western Front US 9th Army reaches river Elbe, near Magdeburg. Canadians cross river Ijssel. Italy Operation

Diary for Tuesday, April 10, 1945: Western Front Americans capture Hanover. Okinawa After massive preparatory barrage, US 96th Division seizes part of Kakazu Ridge. Air War Britain: Last enemy sortie

Diary for Monday, April 9, 1945: Russian Front East Prussia: FALL OF KÖNIGSBERG after 59-day siege. Austria: Tolbukhin’s troops smash their way into center of Vienna. Western Front Americans occupy

Diary for Sunday, April 8, 1945: Western Front Americans enter Schweinfurt; French capture Pforzheim. Russian Front Colonel-General Schörner becomes the last Wehrmacht field marshal. Air War RAF Bomber Command sinks

Diary for Saturday, April 7, 1945: Sea War Pacific – BATTLE OF EAST CHINA SEA. Yamato (2,498 killed), cruiser Yahagi and 4 destroyers sunk by TF 58 (10 planes lost).

Diary for Friday, April 6, 1945: Sea War Pacific – Operation Kikusui (‘Floating Chrysanthemum’): first of 10 massed Kamikaze attacks on US invasion fleet off Okinawa (April 6-7 to June

Diary for Thursday, April 5, 1945: Western Front Allied forces cross river Weser. 18 US divisions begin clearance of Ruhr Pocket. Okinawa US forces, pushing south, encounter first line of

Diary for Wednesday, April 4, 1945: Russian Front Slovakia: Bratislava captured by Malinovsky. Western Front Allied forces at Kassel, Gotha, Karlsruhe and Aschaffenburg.

Diary for Tuesday, April 3, 1945: Russian Front Austria: Tolbukhin captures Wiener Neustadt. Okinawa US Artillery spotter planes begin operating from Kadena airfield. Air War Germany: RAF bombers attacking Nordhausen.

Diary for Monday, April 2, 1945: Western Front Montgomery’s forces capture Rheine Me 262 jet fighter-bomber base and Münster.