Saturday, April 28, 1945. The fate of the fascists.

From Uncle Mike:

April 28-30, 1945: The Ends of the Dictators

Mike is covering two fateful days ine one post, April 28, when Mussolini was executed by Italian Partisans, and April 30, when Hitler killed himself.  In both instances they took a "significant other" with them, in Mussolini's case, that being his current mistress, Clara Petacci, age 33.

Mussolini and Petacci had been caught trying to cross into Switzerland by partisans, who executed them the following day.  They were shot, and then their bodies hung upside down.

Mussolini had been the first of the fascist dictators to hold power.  There had always been opposition to the one time socialist turned fascist, but armed Italian opposition only came about after the Allies had landed on Italian territory.  As with France, whose resistance swelled as it became obvious that the Allies would land, Italian opposition was heavily dominated by the far left, but there were other elements in it as well.  Mussolini, as already noted, had once been a member of the far left as well, and it's probable, frankly, that amongst those who watched and cheered his death were those who had once cheered him.

Often missed, Nicola Bombacci, Alessandro Pavolini and Achille Starace were also executed at the same time. Nicola Bombacci was an Italian Marxist revolutionary and later a fascist politician.  The others were prominent fascists.

Like Eva Braun, there's little to note about Petacci, other than that she was loyal, like Braun, to her dictator until death.  In Mussolini's case, that was not true of his spouse, whom he left when he left.

The U.S. Fifth Army took Alessandria and Vicenza.

Hitler ordered Himmler to be arrested, learning of his effort to make a deal in the West.

German and Soviet troops fought on in Berlin, where the Red Army was within a mile of the Fuhrerbunker.

The eccentric Rupprecht Gerngroß lead a military uprising against the Nazis in Munich, which failed.

Teh U-56 was sunk in an RAF raid on Kiel.

Hitler's brother in law, notorious SS figure Hermann Fegelein, was executed.  He was planning on taking off with what he could.

The 8th Army took Digos in the Philippines.

Last edition: 

Friday, April 27, 1945. Mussolini captured by Partisans, Second Austrian Republic comes into being.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Allies, Army, Artillery, Austria, German SS, Heinrich Himmler, Italian partisans, Italy, Mussolini, Personalities, Philippine Resistance, Philippines, Red Army, The Holocaust, World War Two

Thursday, April 26, 1945. Petain arrested.

Philippe Pétain was arrested on the border between Switzerland and France as he entered France.

The 8th Guards Army and the 1st Guards Tank Army attacked Tempelhof Airport.

The Battle of Baguio ended in Allied victory and the Battle of Collecchio around the town of Fornovo di Taro, Italy began.

Italian partisans take Genoa and revolt in Milan.

British take Bremen, Germany.

RAF begins Operation Exodus, ferrying 75,000 British POWs home in Lancaster bombers in 469 flights through May 7.

Today In World War Two.

The Germans murdered 300 Polish POWs at Horka, Saxony.

Weird SS doctor Sigmund Rascher was executed at Dachau by the SS for fraud, amongst other things.

The war may have been winding down, but:

As demand for meat rises in liberated Europe, US rations all meats again except mutton and raises point values for most meats.

FWIW, when I was a kid I used to hear all the time "I was raised on mutton".  I've even heard it from people my own age.  It's pretty much baloney, but this may be a partial reason that people say that.

Also, I actually have had mutton, and I don't think it's bad at all.

Last edition:

Wednesday, April 25, 1945. Elbe Day.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Adolf Hitler, Aircraft, Army, Elbe River, German Luftwaffe, Hanna Reitsch, Red Army

Tuesday, April 24, 1945. Berlin surrounded.

The Red Army surrounded Berlin.

The Battle of Halbe in the Spree Forest.

The Germans began the final evacuation of Dachau.

Railyards in Nurnberg, Germany. 24 April, 1945.  Photographer: T/4 Sidney Blau, 163rd Signal Photo Co.

The U-546 sank the USS Frederick Davis and then was sunk itself.  The loss caused Admiral Dönitz to disband the wolfpack it was part of.

The RAF raided Berchtesgaden, it's last significant action in Europe in World War Two.

Ernst-Robert Grawitz, age 45, German physician and SS officer killed himself and his entire family with grenades.

Major League Baseball cancelled the 1945 All Star game due to travel restrictions.

"Pfc. Robert A. Vincent, L.I., N.Y., offers K rations to Okinawan children, found in Gusukuma during the drive to Machinato airstrip. 24 April, 1945."

Last edition:

Monday, April 23, 1945. Where's Hitler?

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Adolf Hitler, Berlin Germany, boats and ships, Ethnicities, Freeman Field Mutiny, Hermann Göring, Nazi Germany, Okinawa, Pacific, Racism, The Holocaust, Weapons, World War Two

Sunday, April 22, 1945. The Bunker.

Adolph Hitler held conference in the Führerbunker to discuss the military situation. He learned there that the Steiner attack ordered the prior day had not occured, and became enraged.

He announced his intention to remain in Berlin nad kill himself, and conceded that the war was lost.  Those wishing to leave the bunker were given permission to do so.

This scene if famously depicted in the movie Downfall.

Himmler met in secret with Count Folke Bernadotte of Sweden and asked him to act as an intermediary to offer the surrender of all German forces in the west.  The message would be delivered two days later.

The 7th Army crossed the Danube.

The Red Army liberated the Sachsenhausen concentration camp.

The U.S. Navy sank the U-518.

The British Fourteenth Army captured Taungoo and Oktwin, Burma.

Private First Class Thomas performed the actions that resulted in his winning the Medal of Honor in the Philippines..

He was a member of the leading squad of Company B, which was attacking along a narrow, wooded ridge. The enemy strongly entrenched in camouflaged emplacements on the hill beyond directed heavy fire and hurled explosive charges on the attacking riflemen. Pfc. Thomas, an automatic rifleman, was struck by 1 of these charges, which blew off both his legs below the knees. He refused medical aid and evacuation, and continued to fire at the enemy until his weapon was put out of action by an enemy bullet. Still refusing aid, he threw his last 2 grenades. He destroyed 3 of the enemy after suffering the wounds from which he died later that day. The effective fire of Pfc. Thomas prevented the repulse of his platoon and assured the capture of the hostile position. His magnificent courage and heroic devotion to duty provided a lasting inspiration for his comrades.

The US 31st Infantry Division landed at Moro Gulf.  US forces took Jolo.

German mathematician Wilhelm Cauer, 44, was executed by the Red Army, with the soldiers killing him apparently not aware that he was on a list of people to be found by the Soviets for their talents.

"As an ambulance jeep evacuates three wounded U.S. soldiers to a rear area field hospital, one is given blood plasma en route by a corpsman of 102nd Med. Bn. on Okinawa. 22 April, 1945."

Last edition:

Saturday, April 21, 1945. Steiner refuses to attack, Hitler decides on suicide, Model kills himself, May dies heroically in action.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Adolf Hitler, Battle of Bautzen, Battle of Berlin, Battle of the Ruhr, German Wehrmacht, Heinrich Himmler, Heroes, Italy, Okinawa, Personalities, Polish Army, Waffen SS, World War Two

Saturday, April 21, 1945. Steiner refuses to attack, Hitler decides on suicide, Model kills himself, May dies heroically in action.

Hitler ordered a last ditch, all out, attack by German forces in Berlin.  The Berlin forces were under the command of SS Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner., who called Gen. Heinrici and informed him that the plan could not be implemented because the 5th Jäger Division and the 25th Panzergrenadier Division were deployed defensively and could not be redeployed until the 2nd Naval Division arrived from the coast to relieve them. This left only two battalions of the 4th SS Panzergrenadier Division available, and they were poorly equipped.

Heinrici, appreciating Steiner's assessment, called General Hans Krebs, Chief of Staff of the German General Staff of the Army High Command (Oberkommando des Heeres or OKH), and told him that the plan could not be implemented and he  further asked to speak to Hitler.  He was informed that Hitler was too busy.  Hitler did become aware that Steiner had no intention of attacking, however, and fell into a rage, declared the war lost, and blamed his generals.  He expressed his intention to remain in Berlin until the defeat was final and kill himself.

What a selfish asshole.

The Battle of Bautzen, one of the last battles of the Eastern Front, began around Bautzen, Germany.

The Battle of the Ruhr Pocket ended in an Allied victory.  It was notable as German anti Nazi resistance  in Düsseldorf attempted to surrender the city to the Allied armies in the so-called "Aktion Rheinland" in order to spare Düsseldorf.

The Polish II Corps captured Bologna.  

American soldiers being greeted by civilians in Genoa. 21 April, 1945. Photographer: Leviton, 196th Signal Photo Co.

The U-636 was sunk off of Ireland by the Royal Navy.

German born Jewish representative for Sweden to the Jewish World Congress Norbert Masur met, in Germany, with Heinrich Himmler to agree the release of women from Ravensbrück concentration camp.

Diehard Nazis who weren't willing to go down with Hitler were beginning to attempt to cut their deals.

A mutual assistance treaty was concluded between the Soviet government and the Provisional Government of Poland

Field Marshall Walter Model, age 54, killed himself.

Model had not come from a military family, which is interesting in relation to his death.  Many high ranking officers who did saw no reason to take this step at all, and their post war lives showed the wisdom of their decision.  Many joined the Bundesheer, and even very high ranking officers were not really subject to much but temporary punishment.  Model would no doubt not have been able to join the post war West German Army, but he likely would not have been punished all that much.

Model's middle class background likely had much to do with his despair.  Perhaps ironically, those who came from the military class were acclimated to German and Prussian regimes failing.

Gen. Karl Decker, age 47, German panzer general killed himself.  What is noted above for Model, is even more the case for Decker.

PFC Martin O. May, agee 23,preforemd the actions that resulted in his winning the Medal of Honor.  His citation reads:

He gallantly maintained a 3-day stand in the face of terrible odds when American troops fought for possession of the rugged slopes of legusuku-Yama on Ie Shima, Ryukyu Islands. After placing his heavy machinegun in an advantageous yet vulnerable position on a ridge to support riflemen, he became the target of fierce mortar and small arms fire from counterattacking Japanese. He repulsed this assault by sweeping the enemy with accurate bursts while explosions and ricocheting bullets threw blinding dust and dirt about him. He broke up a second counterattack by hurling grenades into the midst of the enemy forces, and then refused to withdraw, volunteering to maintain his post and cover the movement of American riflemen as they reorganized to meet any further hostile action. The major effort of the enemy did not develop until the morning of 21 April. It found Pfc. May still supporting the rifle company in the face of devastating rifle, machinegun, and mortar fire. While many of the friendly troops about him became casualties, he continued to fire his machinegun until he was severely wounded and his gun rendered useless by the burst of a mortar shell. Refusing to withdraw from the violent action, he blasted fanatical Japanese troops with hand grenades until wounded again, this time mortally. By his intrepidity and the extreme tenacity with which he held firm until death against overwhelming forces, Pfc. May killed at least 16 Japanese, was largely responsible for maintaining the American lines, and inspired his comrades to efforts which later resulted in complete victory and seizure of the mountain stronghold.

Last edition:

Friday, April 20, 1945. Shelling Berlin. Departing Berlin. The Morotai Mutiny.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Adolf Hitler, Army, Battle of Berlin, Heinrich Himmler, Hermann Göring, Hitler Youth, Italian Army, Okinawa, Operation Herring, Paratroopers, Royal Australian Air Force, South Pacific, World War Two

Friday, April 20, 1945. Shelling Berlin. Departing Berlin. The Morotai Mutiny.

At 11:00 the Red Army started shelling Berlin.

It was Hitler's 56th birthday.  He left his bunker to to decorate a group of Hitler Youth combatants.  He refused an effort to evacuate to Obersalzberg.  Goering and Himmler left the bunker for good. 

SS officer Herbert Lange, age 35, commandant of Chełmno extermination camp was killed in action in the city.

The 7th Army captured Nuremberg.  Karl Holz, age 49, German Nazi Gauleiter was found dead in a barricaded police bunker. Willy Liebel, age 47, lord mayor of Nuremberg was also found there, a suicide.

Italian paratroopers boarding C-47 for Operation Herring.  It must have been comforting to board an aircraft that has a giant flak scar near the door they're entering.

U.S.aircraft dropped Italian paratroopers over northern Italy in Operation Herring.

While the Italian Army is often dissed in World War Two, it's airborne troops were good.

Mussolini gave his final interview noting that the end had been reached for him.

Members of the  Australian First Tactical Air Force based on the island of Morotai in the Dutch East Indies tendered their resignations to protest their belief that they were being assigned to missions of no military importance.  A later investigation confirmed their views.

The war had never been as widely supported in Australia as it was in the US, something the Australians shared with Canadians.  And they had a real point here I've often wondered about.  Islands in the South Pacific and targets in the Indian Ocean that had been significant early on really were not by this time, even though fighting continued on them.  The wisdom of continuing the ongoing operations actively can be questioned.

The US 3rd Amphibious Corps completed the capture of the Motobu Peninsula and the whole of the main northern part of Okinawa.

Last edition:

Thursday, April 19, 1945. Broadcasting from Belsen.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Army, Austria, Belsen Concentration Camp, Croatia, Foot Races, Nazi Party, Poland, Polish Army in the USSR, Radio, Red Army, Sports, The Press, Weapons, World War Two, Yugoslav Partisans, Yugoslavia

Monday, April 16, 1945. The final battle in the West.

The Battle of Berlin began with the launching the Battle of the Oder–Neisse and the Battle of the Seelow Heights, committing 2,000,000 men and 6,000 tanks to the effort.  German defenses were well prepared, but half the number of troops were available.

"L-R: Pfc. Gordon S. Cagle, Spring City, Tenn., Pfc. Woodrow Johnston, Phillipsburg, Pa., and Sgt. Edward Wojtalik, Detroit, Mich., three 71st Division infantrymen.of the Third U.S. Army take in the scenes at Kronach, Germany, still smouldering from U.S. shelling. 16 April, 1945. 26th Infantry Division and 71st Infantry Division. Photographer: Lt. Ken Elk, 166th Signal Photo Co. Photo Source: U.S. National Archives. Digitized by Signal Corps Archive.

The US 7th Army units reach the outskirts of Nuremberg. The special prisoner of war camp at Colditz is liberated by other Allied units during the day.

Hitler issued an address to German soldiers:

SOLDIERS ON THE GERMAN EASTERN FRONT:

The Jewish Bolshevik arch-enemy has gone over to the attack with his masses for the last time. He attempts to smash Germany and to eradicate our nation. You soldiers from the east today already know yourselves to a large extent what fate is threatening, above all, German women, girls and children. While old men and children are being murdered, women and girls are humiliated to the status of barracks prostitutes. Others are marched off to Siberia.

We have anticipated this thrust, and since January of this year everything has been done to build up a strong front. Mighty artillery is meeting the enemy. Our infantry's casualties were replenished by countless new units. Reserve units, new formations and the Volksturm reinforce our front. This time the Bolsheviks will experience Asia's old fate. That is, he must and will bleed to death in front of the capital of the German Reich.

Whosoever does not do his duty at this moment is a traitor to our nation. The regiment or division that leaves its position acts so disgracefully that it will have to be ashamed before the women and children who are withstanding the bombing terror in our towns.

Above all, look out for the treacherous few officers and soldiers who, to secure their own miserable lives, will fight against us in Russian pay, perhaps even in German uniform. Whosoever gives you a command to retreat is, unless you know him well, to be arrested immediately, and if necessary to be executed immediately, irrespective of his rank.

If in these coming days and weeks every soldier on the Eastern Front fulfills his duty, Asia's last onslaught will collapse just as in the end our enemies' penetration in the west will despite everything, come to nought. Berlin remains German, Vienna will again be German and Europe will never be Russian.

Form one community, sworn to defend not a vain conception of a fatherland, but to defend your homeland, your women, your children and thus your future.

In this hour the entire German nation looks to you, my soldiers in the east, and only hopes that by your fanaticism, by your arms and by your leadership, the Bolshevik onslaught is drowned in a blood bath.

At the moment when fate has taken the greatest war criminal of all times from this earth, the war will take a decisive turn.

ADOLF HITLER

Truman addressed Congress for the first time.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Members of the Congress:

It is with a heavy heart that I stand before you, my friends and colleagues, in the Congress of the United States.

Only yesterday, we laid to rest the mortal remains of our beloved President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. At a time like this, words are inadequate. The most eloquent tribute would be a reverent silence.

Yet, in this decisive hour, when world events are moving so rapidly, our silence might be misunderstood and might give comfort to our enemies.

In His infinite wisdom, Almighty God has seen fit to take from us a great man who loved, and was beloved by, all humanity.

No man could possibly fill the tremendous void left by the passing of that noble soul. No words can ease the aching hearts of untold millions of every race, creed and color. The world knows it has lost a heroic champion of justice and freedom.

Tragic fate has thrust upon us grave responsibilities. We must carry on. Our departed leader never looked backward. He looked forward and moved forward. That is what he would want us to do. That is what America will do.

So much blood has already been shed for the ideals which we cherish, and for which Franklin Delano Roosevelt lived and died, that we dare not permit even a momentary pause in the hard fight for victory.

Today, the entire world is looking to America for enlightened leadership to peace and progress. Such a leadership requires vision, courage and tolerance. It can be provided only by a united nation deeply devoted to the highest ideals.

With great humility I call upon all Americans to help me keep our nation united in defense of those ideals which have been so eloquently proclaimed by Franklin Roosevelt.

I want in turn to assure my fellow Americans and all of those who love peace and liberty throughout the world that I will support and defend those ideals with all my strength and all my heart. That is my duty and I shall not shirk it.

So that there can be no possible misunderstanding, both Germany and Japan can be certain, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that America will continue the fight for freedom until no vestige of resistance remains!

We are deeply conscious of the fact that much hard fighting is still ahead of us.

Having to pay such a heavy price to make complete victory certain, America will never become a party to any plan for partial victory!

To settle for merely another temporary respite would surely jeopardize the future security of all the world.

Our demand has been, and it remains—Unconditional Surrender!

We will not traffic with the breakers of the peace on the terms of the peace.

The responsibility for making of the peace--and it is a very grave responsibility—must rest with the defenders of the peace. We are not unconscious of the dictates of humanity. We do not wish to see unnecessary or unjustified suffering. But the laws of God and of man have been violated and the guilty must not go unpunished. Nothing shall shake our determination to punish the war criminals even though we must pursue them to the ends of the earth.

Lasting peace can never be secured if we permit our dangerous opponents to plot future wars with impunity at any mountain retreat—however distant.

In this shrinking world, it is futile to seek safety behind geographical barriers. Real security will be found only in law and in justice.

Here in America, we have labored long and hard to achieve a social order worthy of our great heritage. In our time, tremendous progress has been made toward a really democratic way of life. Let me assure the forward-looking people of America that there will be no relaxation in our efforts to improve the lot of the common people.

In the difficult days ahead, unquestionably we shall face problems of staggering proportions. However, with the faith of our fathers in our hearts, we do not fear the future.

On the battlefields, we have frequently faced overwhelming odds—and won! At home, Americans will not be less resolute!

We shall never cease our struggle to preserve and maintain our American way of life.

At this moment, America, along with her brave Allies, is paying again a heavy price for the defense of our freedom. With characteristic energy, we are assisting in the liberation of entire nations. Gradually, the shackles of slavery are being broken by the forces of freedom.

All of us are praying for a speedy victory. Every day peace is delayed costs a terrible toll.

The armies of liberation today are bringing to an end Hitler's ghastly threat to dominate the world. Tokyo rocks under the weight of our bombs.

The grand strategy of the United Nations' war has been determined—due in no small measure to the vision of our departed Commander in Chief. We are now carrying out our part of that strategy under the able direction of Admiral Leahy, General Marshall, Admiral King, General Arnold, General Eisenhower, Admiral Nimitz and General MacArthur.

I want the entire world to know that this direction must and will remain—unchanged and unhampered!

Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our undying gratitude. America will never forget their sacrifices. Because of these sacrifices, the dawn of justice and freedom throughout the world slowly casts its gleam across the horizon.

Our forefathers came to our rugged shores in search of religious tolerance, political freedom and economic opportunity. For those fundamental rights, they risked their lives. We well know today that such rights can be preserved only by constant vigilance, the eternal price of liberty!

Within an hour after I took the oath of office, I announced that the San Francisco Conference would proceed. We will face the problems of peace with the same courage that we have faced and mastered the problems of war.

In the memory of those who have made the supreme sacrifice—in the memory of our fallen President—we shall not fail!

It is not enough to yearn for peace. We must work, and if necessary, fight for it. The task of creating a sound international organization is complicated and difficult. Yet, without such organization, the rights of man on earth cannot be protected. Machinery for the just settlement of international differences must be found. Without such machinery, the entire world will have to remain an armed camp. The world will be doomed to deadly conflict, devoid of hope for real peace.

Fortunately, people have retained hope for a durable peace. Thoughtful people have always had faith that ultimately justice must triumph. Past experience surely indicates that, without justice, an enduring peace becomes impossible.

In bitter despair, some people have come to believe that wars are inevitable. With tragic fatalism, they insist that wars have always been, of necessity, and of necessity wars always will be. To such defeatism, men and women of good will must not and can not yield. The outlook for humanity is not so hopeless.

During the dark hours of this horrible war, entire nations were kept going by something intangible—hope! When warned that abject submission offered the only salvation against overwhelming power, hope showed the way to victory.

Hope has become the secret weapon of the forces of liberation!

Aggressors could not dominate the human mind. As long as hope remains, the spirit of man will never be crushed.

But hope alone was not and is not sufficient to avert war. We must not only have hope but we must have faith enough to work with other peace-loving nations to maintain the peace. Hope was not enough to beat back the aggressors as long as the peace-loving nations were unwilling to come to each other's defense. The aggressors were beaten back only when the peace-loving nations united to defend themselves.

If wars in the future are to be prevented the nations must be united in their determination to keep the peace under law.

Nothing is more essential to the future peace of the world than continued cooperation of the nations which had to muster the force necessary to defeat the conspiracy of the Axis powers to dominate the world.

While these great states have a special responsibility to enforce the peace, their responsibility is based upon the obligations resting upon all states, large and small, not to use force in international relations except in the defense of law. The responsibility of the great states is to serve and not to dominate the world.

To build a foundation of enduring peace we must not only work in harmony with our friends abroad, but we must have the united support of our own people.

Even the most experienced pilot cannot bring a ship safely into harbor, unless he has the full cooperation of the crew. For the benefit of all, every individual must do his duty.

I appeal to every American, regardless of party, race, creed, or color, to support our efforts to build a strong and lasting United Nations Organization.

You, the Members of the Congress, surely know how I feel. Only with your help can I hope to complete one of the greatest tasks ever assigned to a public servant. With Divine guidance, and your help, we will find the new passage to a far better world, a kindly and friendly world, with just and lasting peace.

With confidence, I am depending upon all of you.

To destroy greedy tyrants with dreams of world domination, we cannot continue in successive generations to sacrifice our finest youth.

In the name of human decency and civilization, a more rational method of deciding national differences must and will be found!

America must assist suffering humanity back along the path of peaceful progress. This will require time and tolerance. We shall need also an abiding faith in the people, the kind of faith and courage which Franklin Delano Roosevelt always had!

Today, America has become one of the most powerful forces for good on earth. We must keep it so. We have achieved a world leadership which does not depend solely upon our military and naval might.

We have learned to fight with other nations in common defense of our freedom. We must now learn to live with other nations for our mutual good. We must learn to trade more with other nations so that there may be for our mutual advantage—increased production, increased employment and better standards of living throughout the world.

May we Americans all live up to our glorious heritage.

In that way, America may well lead the world to peace and prosperity.

At this moment, I have in my heart a prayer. As I have assumed my heavy duties, I humbly pray Almighty God, in the words of King Solomon:

"Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad; for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?"

I ask only to be a good and faithful servant of my Lord and my people.

The Canadian Army took Harlingen and occupied Leeuwarden and Groningen in the Netherlands.

The German ship Goya was sunk in the Baltic by the Soviet L-3 resulting in over 6,000 deaths.

The U-78, U-880 and U-1274 were sunk.

POW camp Oflag IV-C in Colditz Castle, was captured by the U.S. 1st Army.

German Nazi philosopher Ernst Bergmann, 53, killed himself.

The US 77th Infantry Division lands on the small island of Ie Shima off of Okinawa and meets heavy resistance.

The USS Pringle was sunk by a kamikaze off of Okinawa.

Arakan, Taungup falls to the British forces in Bruma.

American forces land on Fort Frank in Mainal Bay.  It is abandoned.  The bay is therefore completely captured.

Last edition:

Sunday, April 15, 1945. Race to Berlin.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Aircraft, Battle of Arnhem, Battle of Berlin, British Army, Canadian Army, German Resistance Movements, July 20 Plot, Nazi Germany, Personalities, Race to Berlin, Red Army, The Holocaust, World War Two

Sunday, April 15, 1945. Race to Berlin.

The Zhukov-Konev Race to Berlin began.

The British 11th Armored Division liberated Bergen-Belsen under an April 12 agreement to allow the Germans to surrender the camp without resistance.

The 1st Canadian Army captured Arnhem.

A Japanese air raid destroyed many US aircraft on the ground on Okinawa.

Task Force 58 launched fighter sweeps over Kyushu, shooting down 29 Japanese aircraft and destroying 59 on the ground.

Franklin Roosevelt was interred at Hyde Park.

The F-82 Twin Mustang had its first flight.

The U-285, U-1063 and U-1235 were sunk by Allied warships in the North Atlantic.

Joachim Albrecht Eggeling,age  60, German Nazi Gauleiter committed suicide, something that was becoming something of an epidemic amongst Nazi officials.

Gen. Friedrich von Rabenau,  age 60, former German officer and Lutheran pastor was executed at Flossenbürg concentration camp for his minor role in the July 20 plot.  He had been retired due to his Christian beliefs in 1942.

Last edition:

Saturday, April 14, 1945. Operation Teardrop.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Army, Franklin Roosevelt, German Kriegsmarine, Italy, Operation Teardrop, Po Valley, technology, The Holocaust, U.S. Navy, World War Two

Tuesday, February 20, 1945. Slow advance on Iwo Jima.

The Red Army's 1st Ukrainian Front and 1st Belorussian Front begin to threaten Berlin.

Nuremberg was bombed by the USAAF.

The US lands troops on Biri, Philippines.

Progress is slow on Iwo Jima.

Marines on Iwo Jima, February 20, 1945.

Last edition:

Sunday, February 18, 1945. Off of Iwo Jima.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Army, German Wehrmacht, Iwo Jima, Personalities, Prisoners of War, Red Army, U.S. Navy, World War Two

Tuesday, February 6, 1945. False hopes at Manila.

While the siege of Manila had only just begun, MacArthur announced that the city had been taken.

Yugoslav Partisans, who were well equipped and a (communist) army in their own right, launched the Mostar operation.

SS general Wilhelm Mohnke was put in command of government district, the Zitadelle, of Berlin.

Gee, what a nifty promotion. . . 

He survived the war, surprisingly, and was imprisoned by the Soviets until 1955.  After his release he became a dealer is small trucks and trailers, and died at age 90 in 2001.

35th Division infantrymen in Unterbruch, Germany.  February 6, 1945

The US 4th Corps took Gallicano, Italy.

More bombing raids occurred on Iwo Jima.

Last edition:

Monday, February 5, 1945. French SOE agents Denise Bloch, Lilian Rolfe, and Violette Szabo were executed at Ravensbrück concentration camp.

Labels: 1940, 1945, Army, Artillery, Battle of Manila, boats and ships, British Army, Ecuador, Espionage, French Army, Heroes, Imperial Japanese Navy, Iwo Jima, Japan, Philippines, Poland, press, SOE, World War Two