Operation Varsity, part of Operation Plunder, saw British, Canadian and American airborne troops drop around Wesel, Germany.
Little remembered, and sometimes criticized, the successful operation remains the largest airborne operation ever conducted on a single day and in one location. Much of the criticism has been based on the operation perhaps being unnecessary, but it's notable that by the end of this day, Montgomery's forces of Operation Plunder, which included American, British and Canadian troops, had established a bridgehead over the Rhine five miles deep.
German troops in Hungary were retreating in disorder.
The Red Army took Spolot on the Baltic coast between Gdynia and Danzig.
Task Force 58 raided Okinawa.
The Allied Chinese New 1st Army links up with the Chinese 50th Division near Hsipaw, bringing the campaign in northern Burma to an end.
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