This day in the war in Europe 65 years ago

UNITED STATES: Submarine 'Lancetfish' (SS-296) is sunk by accidental improper operation of torpedo tube doors, Boston (Massachusetts) Navy Yard.

EASTERN FRONT: The Soviet 1st Ukrainian Front begins an offensive in the Ratibor area of Upper Silesia. Soviets begin a bombardment of besieged Breslau, and troops attack from all sides.

WESTERN FRONT: The US 7th Army launches attacks in the area around Saarbrucken and Bitche in a joint effort with US 3rd Army to eliminate German forces from the area between the Saar, Moselle and Rhine rivers.

HQ 10th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance) and the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron move from Doncourt Airfield, Conflans and Giraumont, France respectively to Evren Airfield, Trier, Germany with F-6s; the 393d and 394th Fighter Squadrons, 367th Fighter Group, move from St Dizier to Conflans, France with P-47s; and the 411th Fighter Squadron, 373d Fighter Group, moves from Le Culot, Belgium to Venlo, the Netherlands with P-47s.

MEDITTERANEAN: Destroyer 'Parker' (DD-604) and three British destroyers carry out anti-shipping sweep in the Gulf of Genoa, but encounter no enemy vessels.

(US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, B-25s attack railroad bridges and fills at Salzano, Canale d'Isonzo, Rovereto, Palazzolo sull'Oglio, Romano di Lombardia, and Mori; fighters and fighter-bombers of the XXII Tactical Air Command concentrate on communications lines in NE Italy, particularly the Brenner rail line, and also blast several supply and ammunition dumps; A-20s continue intruder missions during the night of 14/15 Mar, hitting Po River crossings and fills in the San Ambrogio di Valpolicella area.

GERMANY: 188 RAF aircraft - 150 Halifaxes, 24 Mosquitos, 14 Lancasters - of Nos 4, 6 and 8 Groups attacked oil plants at Bottrop and Castrop-Rauxel. Both raids were believed to have been successful. 1 Halifax of No 4 Group lost from the Bottrop raid.

16 RAF Lancasters of Nos 9 and 617 Squadrons attacked the viaduct at Arnsberg. Two aircraft of No 617 Squadron each carried a Grand Slam; the 14 aircraft of No 9 Squadron carried Tallboys. The viaduct was not cut. No aircraft lost.

267 RAF aircraft - 134 Lancasters, 122 Halifaxes, 11 Mosquitos - of Nos 4, 6 and 8 Groups attacked Hagen. 6 Lancasters and 4 Halifaxes lost. This area attack took place in clear visibility and caused severe damage; the local report estimated that the bomber force was 800 aircraft strong! The main attack fell in the centre and eastern districts. There were 1,439 fires, of which 124 were classified as large.

257 RAF Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 8 Groups attacked the Deurag refinery at Misburg, on the outskirts of Hannover. Visibility was good and some fires were started but the main weight of the raid fell south of the target. 4 Lancasters lost.

54 RAF Mosquitos to Berlin, 27 to Erfurt, 16 to Mannheim and 5 each to Jena and Weimar, 53 RCM sorties, 37 Mosquito patrols. 1 RCM Fortress lost.

(US Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown. Mission 889: 1,353 bombers and 833 fighters are dispatched to hit German Army HQ and a marshalling yard at Oranienburg; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 9 bombers and 4 fighters are lost: 1. 308 of 372 B-24s and 276 of 300 B-17s hit the Germany Army HQ at Zossen, near Berlin visually; targets of opportunity for the B-24s are the Gardlingen rail center (31), the rail bridge at Parey (11) and other (3) and for B-17s, the marshalling yard at Stendal (13) and other (3); 1 B-24 is lost, 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair and 32 B-24s and 20 B-17s are damaged; 4 airmen are KIA, 8 WIA and 21 MIA. Escorting are 397 P-51s and P-47s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft in the air; 3 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA). 2. 612 of 675 B-17s attack the marshalling yard at Oranienburg visually; targets of opportunity are Wittenberg (31), Havelberg (12), the marshalling yards at Durstadt (1) and Mellendorf (1), Schmarsau (1) and Dedelstorf Airfield (1) some of which are hit with H2X radar; 8 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 288 damaged; 8 airmen are WIA and 66 MIA. 320 of 352 P-51s escort; 1 is lost. 3. 6 B-17s fly a screening mission without loss. 4. 29 of 30 P-51s fly a scouting mission. 5. 9 P-51s fly a sweep of the Bonn-Koblenz area. 6. 9 of 12 P-51s escort 24 F-5s and 4 Spitfires on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany. Mission 890: 14 of 16 B-24s bomb the rail station at Munster during the night using PFF methods.

(US Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 9th Bombardment Division A-20s, A-26s, and B-26s attack communications centers at Neunkirchen and Pirmasens, marshalling yards at Turkismuhle and Erbach, 3 flak positions, and several other targets, as well as dropping leaflets on Koblenz; fighters hit the Overberge marshalling yard and other targets, escort the bombers, fly sweeps and armed reconnaissance, and support the US XII Corps crossing the Mosel River in an offensive toward the Rhine River, and the XX Corps E of Trier and Saarbrucken.

(US Fifteenth Air Force): In Germany, 109 B-17s bomb the oil refinery at Ruhland (marking the Fifteenth's deepest penetration into Germany). 103 others bomb the alternate target, the refinery at Kolin, Czechoslovakia. 470+ other bombers attack targets in Austria, including Moosbierbaum, Schwechat, and Vienna/Floridsdorf oil refineries, marshalling yards at Wiener-Neustadt, Sankt Polten, Graz, Bruck an der Mur, Klagenfurt, and Murzzuschlag, and a bridge at Klagenfurt. Supply missions to N Italy and Yugoslavia continue, along with extensive photo and weather reconnaissance. Fighters fly 300+ sorties in escort of the bombers and supply and reconnaissance flights.

The defences of Festung-Frankfürt come under the control of the 9th Armee [Gen. Busse], as part of Heeresgruppe Weichsel, [Gen.Obst.Heinrici]. The 'Stadt-Kommandant' of 'Festung-Frankfurt' was Generalmajor Biehler, who reported to higher HQ of 5.SS-Gebirgs Armeekorps, which included elements of 32.SS-Frw.Gren.Div. '30 Januar' [SS-Staf.Hans Kempin], and elements of both 337.and 286.Infanterie Divisions.

WESTERN FRONT: Allied forces make an attack along the Saar Basin. US 7th Army takes Bitche as the Siegfried Line begins to break.

Destroyer HMS 'Fandale' collided with HMS 'Wallace' off the Humber.

At 0920, the 'Inger Toft' in Convoy RU-156 was torpedoed and sunk by 'U-722' 3 miles 270° from Neirst Point, Isle of Skye. The master and 29 crewmembers were picked up by armed trawler HMS 'Grenadier' and landed at Loch Ewe.

The Coast Guard-manned destroyer escorts USS 'Lowe', 'Menges',' Pride', and 'Mosely', which comprised Task Group 22.14, located the submerged German submarine 'U-866' off the coast of Sable Island and sank it with a loss of all hands.

HQ 365th Fighter Group moves from Juzaine Airfield, Florennes, Belgium to Aachen; the 153d Liaison Squadron, IX Tactical Air Command (attached to Twelfth Army Group), moves from Duren to Euskirchen with L-5s; and the 392d Fighter Squadron, 367th Fighter Group, moves from St Dizier to Conflans, France with P-47s.

EASTERN FRONT: General der Infanterie von Krosigk 16th Army is killed at Kanden in Courland.

The Soviet forces in Hungary, of 3rd Ukrainian Front, have regrouped following the German attacks, of Army Group South, around Lake Balaton and begin an offensive against the northern flank of the recently won German salient. The Hungarian 3rd Army takes the brunt of the first assaults and is soon in great difficulty.

The German heavy vessels 'Schlesien' and 'Prinz Eugen' support the forces of Heeresgruppe Kurland in their defense against heavy Soviet attacks to break up the Kessel.

'U-367' sank in the Baltic Sea near Hela, in position 54.25N, 18.50E, after hitting a mine laid by the Soviet submarine L-21 three days earlier. 43 dead (all hands lost).

GERMANY: Rudolf Hoess, the former commandant of Auschwitz, declares that he gassed two million Jews on Himmler's orders between June 1941 and the end of 1943.

In Germany, Lieutenant Fabian von Schlabrendorff is tried in court for his role in anti-Nazi activities. He tells of his torture by the Gestapo. The court considers torture illegal, and releases him. The Gestapo immediately arrests him again, and sends him to a concentration camp.

Raid on Nuremburg by 231 RAF Lancasters of No 1 Group and 46 Lancasters and 16 Mosquitos of No 8 Group. 24 Lancasters, all from No 1 Group, lost, 8.7 per cent of the Lancaster force and 10.4 per cent of the No 1 Group aircraft involved. Most of these losses were due to German night fighters, which found the bomber stream on its way to the target. A local report states that the southern and south-western districts were hit as well as the ruins of the Altstadt which was destroyed in a previous raid. A serious fire was established in the Steinbuhl district. The main railway station was also on fire and the city's gasworks were so badly damaged that they did not resume production before the end of the war. This was the last heavy Bomber Command raid on Nuremberg.

225 RAF Lancasters and 11 Mosquitos of No 5 Group attacked Würzburg. 6 Lancasters lost. This was another dramatic and devastating blow by No 5 Group. 1,127 tons of bombs were dropped with great accuracy in 17 minutes. According to a post-war survey, the old cathedral city with its famous historic buildings suffered 89 per cent of its built-up area destroyed. Würzburg contained little industry and this was an area attack.

56 RAF Mosquitos to Berlin, 24 to Hanau and 6 each to Brunswick and Osnabrück, 32 RCM sorties, 40 Mosquito patrols, 12 Halifaxes and 12 Lancasters minelaying in the Kattegat and off Heligoland. No aircraft lost.

Gerhard Friedrich, a night-fighter with thirty victories and a former transport pilot, is killed in action. Near Nurnberg Hptm. Martin "Tino" Becker, Gruppenkommandeur of IV./NJG 6 flying a Ju 88 G-6 "2Z+MF" destroys a RAF Lancaster for his fifty-eighth night victory. It will be his last victory of the war.

(US Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 280+ A-20s, A-26s and B-26s hit the Landau barracks area and communications center, the Niederscheld town area and rail bridge, 6 other town areas, a marshalling yard, rail junction, crossroads, and also drop leaflets; fighters escort the bombers, fly patrols, sweeps, armed reconnaissance, and cover the VIII, XII, and XX Corps in an assault across the Mosel River from W of Koblenz and N of Boppard, at one point, as far E as Bad Kreuznach, and as far S as Merzig.

(US Fifteenth Air Force): 720+ B-24s and B-17s bomb the Korneuburg, Vienna/Floridsdorf, Schwechat, and Moosbierbaum, Austria oil refineries and marshalling yards at Sankt Veit an der Glan, Amstetten, and Graz, Austria and Varazdin and Pragersko, Yugoslavia; 52 P-51s strafe rail lines in the Vienna and Linz, Austria and Passau and Regensburg, Germany areas and the airfield at Mettenheim, Germany. B-17s and B-24s continue supply drops to N Italy and Yugoslavia while F-5s and P-38s fly extensive weather and photo reconnaissance missions; fighters fly 300+ sorties in escort of the bombers, supply runs, and reconnaissance operations.

MEDITTERANEAN: PBY-5As (VP 63) employ MAD gear to detect German submarine 'U-392' as the enemy boat attempts to transit the Straits of Gibraltar; the PBYs bomb the U-boat, and British frigate HMS Affleck and destroyer HMS Vanoc depth charge her. Affleck delivers the coup de grace to sink U-392 at 35°55'N, 05°41'W.

HQ 1st Fighter Group and the 27th and 94th Fighter Squadrons move from Salsola Airfield to Lesina, Italy with P-38s.

(US Twelfth Air Force): B-25s of the 57th Bombardment Wing, flying their farthest N penetration to date, bomb the Brixlegg, Austria railroad bridge. In Italy, B-25s also hit the Spilimbergo power plant, with excellent results, and lightly damage 3 bridges on the Brenner line, 1 in the C Po Valley, and 1 in NE Italy; XXII Tactical Air Command fighter-bombers continue to attack communications in the Po Valley and NE Italy, while A-20s bomb bridges and targets of opportunity on night intruder missions along the Po R and in the N Po Valley.

WESTERN FRONT: Forces of US 3rd Army capture Bingen and Bad Kreuznach as the advance to the southwest continues. To the south, the progress of US 7th Army is beginning to accelerate, with most of its forward units having now crossed the German border.

US Private First Class Frederick C. Murphy, an aid man, is wounded in the shoulder soon after his comrades have jumped off in a dawn attack against the Siegfried Line at Saarlautern. He refused to withdraw for treatment and continued forward, administering first aid under heavy machinegun, mortar, and artillery fire. When the company ran into a thickly sown antipersonnel minefield and began to suffer more and more casualties, he continued to disregard his own wound and unhesitatingly braved the danger of exploding mines, moving about through heavy fire and helping the injured until he stepped on a mine which severed one of his feet. In spite of his grievous wounds, he struggled on with his work, refusing to be evacuated and crawling from man to man administering to them while in great pain and bleeding profusely. He was killed by the blast of another mine which he had dragged himself across in an effort to reach still another casualty. (MOH)

The 415th Night Fighter Squadron, 64th Fighter Wing, moves from Ochey to St Dizier, France with Beaufighters.

GERMANY: Albert Speer, the armaments minister, tells Hitler that the war is lost and economic collapse is nigh; Hitler insists that he retracts these comments.

In the Brandenburg Prison in Germany, General Erich Fromm is shot. He was convicted of cowardice for his part in the bomb plot against Adolf Hitler in July 1944.

100 RAF Lancasters of No 3 Group carried out G-H attacks on oil plants at Hattingen and Langendreer. Both raids appeared to be accurate. No aircraft lost.

324 RAF aircraft - 259 Halifaxes, 45 Lancasters, 20 Mosquitos - of Nos 4, 6 and 8 Groups dispatched to Witten. 8 aircraft - 6 Halifaxes, 1 Lancaster, 1 Mosquito - lost. This was an area raid carried out in good visibility. 1,081 tons of bombs were dropped, destroying 129 acres, 62 per cent of the built-up area (according to the post-war British Bombing Survey Unit).

277 RAF Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 8 Groups bombed Hanau. 1 Lancaster lost. This was another accurate area raid. 0 industrial buildings and 2,240 houses were destroyed. The Altstadt was completely devastated and, says the report, all of the town's churches, hospitals, schools and historic buildings were badly hit.

Support and 70 aircraft on a sweep over France, 30 Mosquitos to Berlin, 24 to Kassel and 18 to Nuremberg, 40 RCM sorties, 53 Mosquito patrols. No aircraft lost.

(US Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown. Mission 894: 1,329 bombers and 733 fighters are dispatched to hit railway stations and tanks plants in the Berlin area; the attacks are made both visually and with H2X radar; the Luftwaffe makes it's most concentrated and successful attacks with Me 262s to date; the AAF claims 21-1-5 Luftwaffe aircraft; 13 bombers (8 to flak) and 6 fighters are lost: 1. 421 of 450 B-17s hit the Schlesischer rail station in Berlin; 13 hit the secondary target, Zehdnuk; and 1 hits Vechta, a target of opportunity; they claim 6-0-0 aircraft; 5 B-17s are lost, 8 damaged beyond repair and 268 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 18 WIA and 49 MIA. 179 of 199 P-51s escort; they claim 4-0-2 aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost. 2. 495 of 530 B-17s hit the Nord rail station in Berlin; targets of opportunity are Ludwigslust (3) and other (3); they claim 1-1-1 aircraft; 7 B-17s are lost, 6 damaged beyond repair and 319 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 12 WIA and 79 MIA. Escorting are 219 of 238 P-51s; they claim 7-0-1 aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost. 3. 347 B-24s are sent to hit the Tegel (225) and Henningsdorf (80) tank factories in Berlin; targets of opportunity are Oranienburg (9), Uelzen (9) and other (3); 1 B-24 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 127 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 1 WIA and 11 MIA. The escort is 254 P-51s; they claim 3-0-1 aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost. 4. 2 B-17s fly a scouting mission. 5. 27 of 30 P-51s fly a scouting mission. 6. 1 of 12 P-51s escort 5 F-5s on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany. Mission 895: 10 of 12 B-24s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany during the night without loss.

(US Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 660+ A-20s, A-26s and B-26s hit the marshalling yards at Wetzlar, Worms, Kreuztal, and Bad Durkheim, a communications center at Bad Durkheim, and 4 town areas with the aim of hampering enemy movement; fighters escort the bombers, attack assigned targets, fly patrols, and armed reconnaissance, and cooperate with the US III Corps at Remagen, with the XII Corps as it begins an assault towards the Mainz-Worms sector of the Rhine River, and with the XX Corps as it moves rapidly eastward through the Sankt Wendel area toward Kaiserslautern. HQ 70th Fighter Wing moves from Verviers, Belgium to Bruhl, Germany.

The jets of JG 7 for the first time use the new R4M air-to-air rocket in place of the expensive wire-guided Ruhrstahl X-4. Fifty-four of the jets receive 4 kg rockets while six aircraft from 9 Staffel are fitted with twenty-four shot armament. On missions against USAAF bombers it is reported that the rockets literally blow the bombers to pieces. But it is difficult to judge who should be credited with a kill so, kills on this day are made as group kills instead of individual scores. As a result thirteen kills are credited to JG 7 for a loss of three pilots and five jets. One of the pilots lost is Oblt Wegmenn who is hit by return fire from a B-17 over Glowen. Trying to reach his airfield at Parchim his engines fail on approach and he bales out at a height of 4000 meters. Oblt Wegmenn survives the jump but loses his leg later at hospital. He is replaced as Staffelkapitän of 9./JG 7 by Lt. Karl Schnorrer. Another pilot lost from JG 7 is Oblt. Hans-Peter Waldmann, Staffelkapitän of 3./JG 7. Taking off with a flight of four jets, the schwarm becomes lost in some cloud and Oblt Waldmann collides with Lt Hans-Dieter Weihs' aircraft. Both jets crash with Lt Weihs successfully baling out but Oblt. Waldmann is killed upon landing. While watching the rest of his Schwarm disintegrate, Obfw Schrey is attacked by P-51s and as he parachutes from his stricken jet is shot at again and killed. Lt. Weihs replaces Waldmann as Staffelkapitän of 3./JG 7.

UNITED STATES: 'U-866' (type IXC/40) is sunk north-east of Boston, in position 43.18N, 61.08W, by depth charges from the US destroyer escorts USS 'Lowe', 'Menges', 'Pride' and 'Mosley'. 55 dead (all hands lost).

EASTERN FRONT: Troops of the Polish 1st Army, part of the Soviet 1st Belorussian Front, take Kolberg on the Pomeranian coast. Other Soviet forces are closing in around Gdynia and Danzig to the east and making further inroads into the German positions in East Prussia.

(US Fifteenth Air Force): Bad weather limits operations to reconnaissance and supply missions, a fighter-bomber attack by P-38s on the Varazdin, Yugoslavia railroad bridge, after which many of the P-38s strafe railroad communications in the Zagreb, Varazdin and Maribor, Yugoslavia, and Villach, Austria areas, and a strafing mission against rail communications and airfields in the Graz and Wiener-Neustadt, Austria, Maribor, Yugoslavia, and Szombathely, Hungary areas.

MEDITERRANEAN: (US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy during the night of 17/18 Mar, A-20s and A-26s continue intruder missions in the Po Valley, concentrating on Po River crossings; B-25s bomb the railroad bridges at Bozzolo, and Palazzuolo sull' Oglio, the railroad fill at Salorno, and the causeway at Mantua; fighters and fighter-bombers hit dumps and support ground forces S of Bologna, and attack communications targets over wide areas of the Po Valley; the most devastating raid of the day is flown against the Novara marshalling yard where 14 locomotives are destroyed.

Two ex-Italian torpedo boats and a destroyer minelaying off the Gulf of Genoa were engaged by destroyers "Meteor" and "Lookout". In the last Royal Navy destroyer action of the Mediterranean, torpedo boats "TA-24" and "TA-29" were sunk.

GERMANY: Hitler orders a total scorched earth policy on all fronts. This is the "Nero Command", ordering the destruction of all industry, transport links, food supplies and agriculture. "If the war is lost, the nation will also perish". Albert Speer and some army officers do what they can to see that the orders are not carried out.

79 RAF Lancasters of No 3 Group attacked the Consolidation benzol plant at Gelsenkirchen. Smoke and dust from the bombing prevented observation of the results. No aircraft lost.

37 RAF Lancasters of No 5 Group attacked the railway viaduct at Arnsberg and the bridge at Vlotho, near Minden. The attack at Arnsberg by No 617 Squadron using 6 Grand Slams, was successful and a 40-foot gap was blown in the viaduct. No 9 Squadron's attack at Vlotho was not successful.

34 RAF Mosquitos to Berlin. No losses.

(US Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown. Mission 896: 1,273 bombers and 675 fighters are dispatched to hit airfields and industrial targets in Germany visually and with H2X radar; clouds force 2 of the 3 forces to hit secondaries; 100+ Luftwaffe fighters including 36 Me 262s in formation (largest number of jets seen as a unit) are encountered; the AAF claims 41-3-19 Luftwaffe aircraft (including 3 Me 262s); 6 bombers and 10 fighters are lost: 1. Cloud cover prevents 496 B-17s from hitting the primary targets; secondaries hit are the optical works at Jena (197) and the motor vehicle plant at Zwickau (177); targets of opportunity are Plauen (32), the marshalling yards at Fulda (44) and Saalfeld (10) and other (4); bombing is by H2X radar with some visual attacks; they claim 1-1-2 aircraft; 4 B-17s are lost, 4 damaged beyond repair and 121 damaged; 9 airmen are KIA, 5 WIA and 49 MIA. Escorting are 183 of 198 P-51s; they claim 2-0-3 aircraft; 4 P-51s are lost. 2. Cloud cover forces 404 of 436 B-17s to hit the industrial area at Plauen, the secondary target using H2X radar; targets of opportunity, bombed visually, are the Fulda marshalling yard (20) and Prissig (1); 1 B-17 is lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 4 damaged; 9 airmen are KIA, 3 WIA and 9 MIA. The escort is 141 of 153 P-51s. 3. 341 B-24s are dispatched to hit airfields at Neuburg (125) and Leipheim (84) and jet aircraft plant at Baumenheim (126) visually; 1 B-24 is lost; 11 airmen are MIA. 175 of 194 P-51s escort; they claim 5-0-0 aircraft without loss. 4. 95 of 98 P-51s fly a freelance sweep for the bombers; they claim 33-2-14 aircraft; 6 P-51s are lost. 5. 2 of 4 P-51s escort 15 F-5s and 2 Spitfires on a photo reconnaissance mission over Germany. Mission 897: 11 of 12 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany during the night.

(US Ninth Air Force): In Germany, the 9th Bombardment Division strikes 2 marshalling yards, 5 rail bridges, a communications center and several casual targets as part of the interdiction program to impede enemy movement; fighters escort the bombers, fly patrols and armed reconnaissance, support the US III Corps W of Remagen, cooperates with the XII Corps' 4th Armored Division E of Kaiserslautern as it drives toward the Rhine River; fighter- bombers of the XIX Tactical Air Command, on a special mission, bomb the HQ of Commander-in-Chief West (Field Marshall Gerd von Rundstedt) at Ziegenberg.

(US Fifteenth Air Force): 800+ B-17s and B-24s, with fighter escorts, hit marshalling yards at Landshut, Passau, Muhldorf, Plattling, Garching an der Alz and Altenmarkt an der Alz, Germany, and Sankt Veit an der Glan, Lambach, Klagenfurt, Austria and 54 P-51s strafe railroads in the target areas; 36 P-38s bomb the marshalling yard at Varazdin, Yugoslavia; B-24s drop supplies in Yugoslavia while P-38s and P-51s fly reconnaissance and escort.

Obstlt. Heinz Bär, flying the Me 262 jet fighter with the training unit III./EJG 2, scores his first victory in the fighter, an American P-51 during an emergency scramble at Lechfeld airbase.

The entire Gruppe of fighters at III./JG 7, totaling twenty-eight Me 262s, are ordered into the air to intercept B-17s from the 3rd Air Division north of Chemnitz. Four bombers are destroyed by R4M rockets of III./JG 7.

The fighters of I./JG 300 are ordered to disband but some units remain active until late April.

WESTERN FRONT: US 7th Army forces complete the capture of Saarlouis. Fighting in Saarbrucken and the towns to the east continues. US 3rd Army continues to advance east and southeast toward the Rhine River. Worms is reached, while to the left and right other units are near Mainz and Kaiserslautern.

HQ 27th Fighter Group and the 522d, 523d and 524th Fighter Squadrons move from St Dizier to Ochey Airfield, Toul, France with P-47s.

SS 'Crichtoun' (1,097t) on a voyage from Leith to London and SS 'Rogate' (2,871t) on a voyage from Sunderland to London, were probably the last two ships to be sunk by E-Boats, on the east coast route. They were both sunk off Lowestoft.

EASTERN FRONT: There are renewed attacks by 3rd Belorussian Front against the German forces in East Prussia, especially in the area south of Konigsberg. The offensive lasts for a week until most of the German forces are eliminated or evacuated. About 38,000 people, including many wounded and refugees, are evacuated by the many ships involved.

MEDITERRANEAN: (US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, XXII Tactical Air Command A-20s strike heavily against general movement in the Po Valley during the night of 18/19 Mar, and are followed during the day by fighter and fighter-bomber attacks on communications in the C Po Valley and NE Italy where numerous rail cuts are made, 3 bridges damaged, and several supply dumps hit; medium bombers damage a bridge at Muhldorf, Germany, bridges and fills at Perca, and at 7 other locations on the N Italian approaches to the Brenner Pass.

EASTERN FRONT: The German bridgehead over the Oder River at Altdawn is eliminated by the Russians. German troops of Army Group Weichsel evacuate their bridgehead across the Oder at Stettin. Elements of the 2nd Belorussian Front capture Braunsberg, 40 miles South of Königsberg.

General Heinrici is appointed to command the Army Group Vistula succeeding Himmler. Guderian had made the suggestion to Hitler. Heinrici is tasked with building up defenses along the Oder River in preparation for the expected Soviet offensive toward Berlin by 1st Belorussian Front (Zhukov). The German army group has already lost a large part of its original force in the fighting in Pomerania.

WESTERN FRONT: Troops of US 7th Army capture Saarbrucken as well as Zweibrucken a little to the east. Forces of US 3rd Army capture Ludwigshafen and Kaiserslautern. Farther north, the US 1st Army continues fighting to expand the Remagen bridgehead which is now almost 30 miles wide and 19 miles deep.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: 'U-683' listed as missing in the North Atlantic south-west of Ireland or in the English Channel. 49 dead (all hands lost). Probably sunk 12 March, 1945 in the English Channel near Land's End, in position 49.52N, 05.52W, by depth charges from the British frigate MS 'Loch Ruthwen' and the sloop 'Wild Goose'.

Frigates HMCS 'Beacon Hill', 'Sussexvale', 'New Glasgow' and 'Ribble' sailed from Londonderry for training at Loch Alsh. After the group passed the Foyle buoy it, formed up, a mile apart and zigzagging independently, making about fourteen knots with CAT gear streamed. A periscope and schnorkel were visible on 'New Glasgow's' port bow, action stations were sounded and a shallow depth-charge pattern was ordered however, it was too late. The U-boat struck 'New Glasgow' just below the bridge. Subsequent searches by EG 26, C-4 and EG 25 failed to reveal 'U-1003'.

In the afternoon, 'U-968' attacked Convoy JW-65 and reported a destroyer and a Liberty sunk and another Liberty ship torpedoed. In fact, sloop HMS 'Lapwing' of the 7th Escort Group and Liberty ship 'Thomas Donaldson' were sunk. Whilst escorting convoy JW.65 on its approach to Kola Inlet, HMS 'Lapwing' was hit amidships at 1325 and sank 20 minutes later.

GERMANY: 153 RAF aircraft - 125 Halifaxes, 16 Lancasters, 12 Mosquitos - of Nos 4 and No 6 Groups attempted to hit the railway yards at Recklinghausen but cloud and a strong wind spoiled the Pathfinder marking and the bombing was well scattered. No aircraft lost.

99 RAF Lancasters of No 3 Group attacked the railway yards at Hamm and 14 Lancasters of No 9 Squadron attacked the railway bridge at Arnsberg. Bombs were seen to explode in the target area at both targets. No aircraft lost.

224 RAF Lancasters and 11 Mosquitos of No 5 Group attacked the synthetic-oil plant near Böhlen. This accurate attack put the plant out of action and it was still inactive when captured by American troops several weeks later. 9 Lancasters lost.

166 RAF Lancasters of Nos 1, 6 and 8 Groups carried out an equally effective attack upon the oil refinery at Hemmingstedt. 1 Lancaster lost.

Support and 70 training aircraft on a diversionary sweep over France, 12 Lancasters in a feint raid on Halle, 38 Mosquitos to Berlin, 27 to Bremen and 16 to Kassel, 47 RCM sorties, 55 Mosquito patrols, 9 Lancasters minelaying off Heligoland. 3 aircraft lost - 1 Lancaster from the Halle raid and 1 Fortress and 1 Liberator RCM aircraft.

(US Eighth Air Force): 3 missions are flown. Mission 898: 451 bombers and 355 fighters are dispatched to hit the shipyard and dock area at Hamburg and an oil refinery; they claim 14-3-17 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 bombers and 2 P-51s are lost: 1. 13 of 152 B-17s hit the Blohm Voss U-boat yard at Hamburg; 133 others hit the secondary, the port area at Hamburg; bombing is visual; they claim 1-0-3 aircraft; 1 airman is KIA and 2 WIA. Escorting are 70 of 79 P-51s; they claim 0-0-2 aircraft. 2. 149 of 162 B-17s hit the secondary target, the Hamburg port area, using H2X radar; 1 other hits the Nordholz Airfield, a target of opportunity; they claim 5-3-2 aircraft; 3 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 54 damaged; 27 airmen are MIA. The escort is 72 of 75 P-51s; they claim 0-0-2 aircraft. 3. 114 of 129 B-24s attack the oil refinery at Hemmingstedt; 1 B-24 is lost and 9 damaged; 12 airmen are MIA. 75 P-51s escort; they claim 2-0-1 aircraft in the air and 1-0-2 on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA). 4. 6 B-17s fly a screening mission without loss. 5. 2 B-17s and 26 of 27 P-51s fly scouting missions. 6. 78 of 82 P-51s fly a strafing mission in the Bremen-Hannover area; they claim 2-0-3 aircraft in the air and 3-0-2 on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA). 7. 17 P-51s escort 11 F-5s and 2 Spitfires on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany. Mission 899: 1 B-17, escorted by 4 P-51s, bombs Oberursel at 1650 hours from 25,000 feet (7,620 m); this is the first operational test of Micro-H Mk II radar. Mission 900: 12 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany and 2 A-26s fly CARPETBAGGER missions (1 A-26 is lost).

(US Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 360+ A-20s, A-26s, and B-26s bomb the Geisecke marshalling yard, Sythen ammunition-filling plant, the town of Gronau (including a rail bridge), and several casual targets in or near 9 other towns; fighters escort the bombers, fly patrols and armed reconnaissance, support the US III and VII Corps just E of the Rhine River between Bad Honningen and the Sieg River, and the XII and XX Corps as they push to the Rhine River at Worms and at a point N of Mannheim.

(US Fifteenth Air Force): In Austria, 760+ B-17s and B-24s, with fighter escort, hit the Korneuburg and Kagran oil refineries, the marshalling yards at Wels, Sankt Polten, Amstetten, Wiener-Neustadt, and Klagenfurt, and the tank works at Steyr. Routine supply, reconnaissance, and escort missions continue.

Twenty-two Me 262s from JG 7 take off to intercept USAAF bombers and their escorting fighters in the Hamburg area and destroy nine B-17s for the loss of four jets including Fw Buttner, the first jet experte of JG 7.

Hptm. Martin "Tino" Becker, Gruppenkommandeur of IV./NJG 6 is awarded the Eichenlaub for achieving fifty-eight victories during night missions against the RAF.

MEDITERRANEAN: The 885th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 2641st Special Group, moves from Brindisi to Rosignano, Italy with B-17s and B-24s (the squadron transports supplies to partisans and drops leaflets).

(US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, XXII Tactical Air Command A-20s during the night of 19/20 Mar continue intruder missions into the Po Valley while fighters and fighter-bombers pound communications targets in the Valley during the day and severely damage fuel dumps near Mantua; medium bombers hit 4 bridges on the Brenner line and 2 others in NE Italy and hit other bridge approaches nearby. HQ 79th Fighter Group moves from Fano to Cesenatico, Italy.

ENGLAND: Last hostile operations by enemy manned aircraft over Britain. Ten enemy aircraft which operated over Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Suffolk and Essex, but little damage was reported.

WESTERN FRONT: Most of US 3rd Army forces are engaged in clearing German resistance on the west bank of the Rhine River, to the north of Mannheim. Other elements of US 3rd and US 7th Army units are cooperating to take Annweiler, Neunkirchen, Neustadt and Homberg. Patton's US 3rd Army captures Mainz. US 7th Army and US 3rd units met. Their pincer movement had destroyed the German Seventh Army, and left the First Army, the only German force west of the Rhine, in desperate straits. Moreover, Patton reported that all three of his corps had reached the Rhine. On 21 March a massive Allied ground force thus lay poised along the Rhine from Arnhem to Switzerland. Eisenhower's awesome armies, containing some 4.5 million personnel, included ninety divisions that anxiously awaited the final drive into the heart of the Nazi Reich.

Copenhagen: Allied airmen broke open another Gestapo prison today, but at a terrible cost. In the basement of the Shell building, Danish resistance fighters were being tortured. On the top floor another 32 prisoners were being held. RAF bombs had to destroy the remaining floors. They did. Around 100 Nazis died for the loss of six prisoners. Others escaped and the Gestapo's planned arrests of the banned Danish Freedom Council were thwarted. But one of the six aircraft that crashed set fire to a school. Other pilots bombed this, believing it to be the target. A total of 112 Danish civilians were killed, including 86 children and 17 teachers. The aircraft were Mosquito VIs of No. 464 Squadron.

'U-995' torpedoed SS 'Horace Bushnel'l in Convoy JW-65. Total loss.

'U-326' had to return to Bergen (Norway) due to severe technical difficulties.

GERMANY: Guderian fails to get Heinrich Himmler to go with him to Berlin to persuade Hitler to seek an armistice.

178 RAF aircraft - 150 Halifaxes, 16 Lancasters, 12 Mosquitos - of Nos 4, 6 and 8 Groups carried out an accurate attack upon the railway yards and the surrounding town area at Rheine. 1 Lancaster lost.

160 RAF Lancasters of No 3 Group attacked the railway yards at Münster and a nearby railway viaduct. 3 Lancasters lost. The only information available from Münster is that 17 people were killed.

133 RAF Lancasters and 6 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 8 Groups attacked the Deutsche Vacuum oil refinery at Bremen .This appeared to be an accurate raid in clear weather conditions. No aircraft lost.

20 RAF Lancasters of No 617 Squadron attacked the Arbergen railway bridge just outside Bremen. 2 piers of the bridge were destroyed. 1 Lancaster lost.

151 RAF Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of No 5 Group attacked Hamburg. 4 Lancasters lost. The target for this raid was the Deutsche Erdölwerke refinery .The attack was accurate; 20 storage tanks were destroyed and the plant was still out of action at the end of the war.

131 RAF Lancasters and 12 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 8 Groups carried out an accurate attack on the benzol plant at Bochum. 1 Lancaster lost.

142 RAF Mosquitos in 2 attacks on Berlin (with some aircraft making 2 sorties), 3 Mosquitos to Bremen, 26 RCM sorties, 56 Mosquito patrols, 7 Mosquitos of No 5 Group minelaying in Jade Bay and the River Weser. 1 Mosquito from the Berlin raid and 1 RCM Fortress lost.

(US Eighth Air Force): 5 missions are flown. Mission 901: Preparatory air operations for the forthcoming (23 Mar) crossing of the lower Rhine River by Allied ground forces begin. 1,408 bombers and 806 fighters, in conjunction with Ninth Air Force and RAF aircraft, attack jet fighter bases; with one exception, all attacks are visual; they claim 58-3-49 Luftwaffe aircraft; 7 B-17s and 9 P-51s are lost: 1. 107 of 152 B-17s hit the secondary target, the tank factory at Plauen; targets of opportunity are Reichenbach (34) and other (1); they claim 3-3-3 aircraft; 5 B-17s are lost and 48 damaged. The escort is 273 of 314 P-51s; they claim 9-0-0 aircraft in the air and 3-0-0 on the ground; 3 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair. 2. 129 of 151 B-17s attack Hardorf Airfield; 14 others hit Vorden Airfield, a target of opportunity; 1 B-17 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 71 damaged. Escorting are 94 of 98 P-51s; they claim 0-0-2 aircraft in the air. 3. 214 B-17s are sent to attack the airfields at Zwischenahn (57), Marx (77) and Wittmundhafen (74); casualties for 1., 2. and 3. above are 7 WIA and 56 MIA. 108 of 109 P-51s escort and claim 2-0-8 aircraft on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA). 4. 518 B-24s are dispatched to hit airfields at Ahlhorn (61), Hesepe (165), Achmer (180) and Mulheim Airfield at Essen (90); 21 B-24s are damaged. Escorting are 95 of 99 P-51s; they claim 35-0-30 aircraft on the ground; 3 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA). 5. 373 B-17s are sent to hit airfields at Hopsten (159 using Gee-H) and Rheine (180); targets of opportunity are the airfields at Hesepe (13) and Achmer (12); 1 B-17 is lost and 49 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 3 WIA and 9 MIA. 97 of 102 P-51s escort; they claim 6-0-0 aircraft on the ground. 6. 36 P-51s fly a sweep over Giebelstadt Airfield and claim 0-0-6 aircraft on the ground. 7. 13 P-51s escort 9 F-5s, 1 P-38 and 1 Spitfire on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany. 8. 35 P-51s fly a scouting mission. Mission 902: In a DISNEY operation, 3 B-17s attack the E-boat pens at Ijmuiden, the Netherlands with rocket bombs; 6 P-51s escort. Mission 903: 1 B-17 bombs Oberursel in a Micro-H Mk II radar test; 4 P-51s escort. Mission 904: During the afternoon, 90 of 92 B-24s attack Mulheim Airfield at Essen; 60 are damaged and 1 airman is WIA. Mission 905: 8 of 9 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany during the night.

(US Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 580+ A-20s, A-26s, and B-26s strike 6 communications centers and a marshalling yard E of the Rhine River, along with several casual targets, in the interdiction campaign to obstruct enemy movement; fighters fly patrols and armed reconnaissance, attack railroads and bridges, support the US VII Corps as its units reach the Sieg River near Siegburg, cooperate with the XII Corps as more of its elements reach the Rhine River at various points between Boppard and Worms, and support the XX Corps as additional units reach the Rhine between Worms and Mannheim.

(US Fifteenth Air Force): 660+ B-24s and B-17s, with fighter escorts, bomb the Neuburg an der Donau Airfield, Germany, marshalling yards at Villach (2 yards), Klagenfurt, Graz and Bruck and der Mur, Austria, and Pragersko, Yugoslavia, 3 oil refineries and a goods depot at Vienna, Austria, and 4 scattered targets of opportunity; supply and reconnaissance missions with escort are flown.

Obstlt. Bär downs his second kill in the Me 262, this time a B-24 Liberator four-engined bomber. Major Ehrler of JG 7 downs a B-17.

EASTERN FRONT: The Russians capture Stuhlweissenburg in Hungary, as the German 44th Infantry Division retreats from the town. The 8th Guards Army encircles the fortress city of Kustrin.

MEDITERRANEAN: (US Twelfth Air Force): A-20s continue to attack communications in the Po Valley especially the Po River crossings during the night of 20/21 Mar; during the day fighter-bombers concentrate on railroad targets (lines, trains, bridges, and viaducts) and dumps in the Po Valley and areas N of the battleline in the N Apennines; medium bombers bomb a railroad fill at Salorno, bridges at Casarsa della Delizia and Pizzighettone, marshalling yards at Vipiteno and Brennero, and bridge approaches at Campo. The 86th and 87th Fighter Squadrons, 79th Fighter Group, move from Fano to Cesenatico, Italy with P-47s.

WESTERN FRONT: The US 5th Division (an element of US 3rd Army) establishes a bridgehead over the Rhine River near Nierstein. Other US 3rd Army units are completing the mopping up west of the Rhine and preparing to make crossings of their own. In the north, British 21st Army Group (Montgomery) forces are also preparing to establish bridgeheads over the Rhine. Patton sends his troops across the Rhine at Nierstein, stealing the glory from Montgomery, who had long been planning a crossing on the next day.

HQ 69th Tactical Reconnaissance Group and the 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron arrive at Nancy, France from the US with F-6s; HQ 474th Fighter Group moves from Florennes, Belgium to Strassfeld, Germany; the 31st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Ninth AF [attached to 9th Tactical Reconnaissance Group (Provisional)], arrives at Maastricht, the Netherlands from the US with F-6s; the 72d Liaison Squadron, Ninth Air Force (attached to Sixth Army Group), moves from Buhl to Sarreguemines, France with L-5s.

EASTERN FRONT: In Silesia, troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front achieve a breakthrough in attacks over the Oder River to the south of Oppeln as well as extending an existing bridgehead to the north of the town. In the Polish Corridor, the Soviet forces continue fighting to reach the Baltic between Gdynia and Danzig.

Soviet pilot L.I. Sivko flying a Yak-9 claims to shoot down an Me262 jet but is himself swiftly thereafter shot down himself by an Me-262 jet piloted by pilot Unteroffizier Franz Schall, the wingman of Sivko's victim, and one of the leading jet aces of the war.

GERMANY: 227 RAF Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 8 Groups to Hildesheim. 4 Lancasters lost. The target was the railway yards; these were bombed but the surrounding built-up areas also suffered severely in what was virtually an area attack. This was the only major Bomber Command raid of the war on Hildesheim and the post-war British survey found that 263 acres, 70 per cent of the town, had been destroyed.

Attack on Dülmen by 130 RAF aircraft - 106 Halifaxes, 12 Lancasters, 12 Mosquitos - of Nos 4 and 8 Groups. No aircraft lost. This was an area attack and the town was soon burning after a concentrated raid in clear weather conditions. No other details are available.

124 RAF aircraft - 100 Halifaxes, 12 Lancasters, 12 Mosquitos - of Nos 6 and 8 Groups bombed Dorsten. Dorsten was a rail and canal centre and also the location of a Luftwaffe fuel dump. All these targets were believed to have been hit but the town probably suffered as well. No aircraft were lost.

100 RAF Lancasters of No 3 Group carried out a G-H attack on the town of Bocholt, probably with the intention of cutting communications. The town was seen to be on fire. No aircraft lost.

102 RAF Lancasters of No 5 Group attacked bridges at Bremen (82 aircraft) and Nienburg (20 aircraft of No 617 Squadron). The bridge at Nienburg was destroyed; the bombing at the Bremen bridge appeared to be accurate but no results were seen. No aircraft lost.

(US Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown. Mission 906: Air attacks in preparation for the lower Rhine River crossing by Allied ground forces continue; 1,331 bombers and 662 fighters attack barracks and military encampments in the Ruhr and airfields in Germany visually; they claim 27-1-12 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-17 and 3 P-51s are lost: 1. 99 of 114 B-17s hit Ahlhorn Airfield; 13 others hit the marshalling yard at Oldenburg, a target of opportunity; 1 B-17 is lost; 9 airmen are MIA. Escorting are 95 of 99 P-51s. 2. 457 B-17s are sent to hit military camps at Bottrop (36), Dorsten (74), Barningholten (111), Westerholt (116), Feldhausen N (74) and S (39); 3 B-17s are damaged beyond repair and 111 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA and 8 WIA. The escort is 95 of 99 P-51s. 3. 297 B-17s are sent to hit military camps at Hinsbeck (67), Geresheim (73), Ratingen (75) and Mulheim (74); 114 B-17s are damaged and 3 airmen are WIA. 48 P-51s escort; they claim 0-0-1 aircraft on the ground. 4. 342 B-24s are dispatched to hit airfields at Kitzingen (168), Giebelstadt (75) and Schwab Hall (82); 8 others hit Wurzburg, the secondary target; 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair and 1 damaged; 8 airmen are KIA. The escort is 138 of 153 P-51s; they claim 3-0-1 aircraft in the air and 13-0-7 on the ground. 5. 109 of 113 B-17s hit the Rhein Main Airfield at Frankfurt; 31 B-17s are damaged. Escorting are 56 P-51s. 6. 6 B-17s fly a screening mission. 7. 19 of 22 P-51s escort 19 of 22 F-5s on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany; they claim 11-1-3 aircraft in the air. 8. 2 B-17s and 31 of 32 P-51s fly a scouting mission. 9. 150 of 153 P-51s escort Fifteenth AF bombers from Italy. Mission 907: 9 of 10 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany.

(US Ninth Air Force): In Germany, nearly 800 A-20s, A-26s, and B-26s bomb 9 communications centers and a marshalling yard E of the Rhine River (plus 7 towns, flak positions, and a target of opportunity) as part of the interdiction program to impede the movement of supplies and troops; fighters escort the bombers, attack railroads and other assigned targets, fly patrols and armed reconnaissance, support the US 1st and 9th Infantry Divisions SE of Honnef and along the Wied River, cooperate with the XII Corps as it begins crossing the Rhine River in the Mainz-Oppenheim areas and with the XX Corps which begins an attack on Ludwigshafen.

(US Fifteenth Air Force): 680+ B-17s and B-24s (with Eighth and Fifteenth AF fighter escort) hit the Ruhland, Germany and Kralupy and Vltava, Czechoslovakia oil refineries (some bombers on the Ruhland raid bomb the Lauta aluminum works to the N), a railroad communications and ordnance depot, a marshalling yard, and 2 oil refineries at Vienna, Austria, marshalling yards at Graz, Wels, Zeltweg and Klagenfurt, Austria, and Neratovice, Czechoslovakia, and scattered targets of opportunity; reconnaissance and reconnaissance escort missions are also flown.

MEDITERRANEAN: (US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy during the night of 21/22 Mar, A-20s and A-26s continue intruder raids concentrating on Po River crossings in the E Po Valley; during the day P-47s blast rail lines, trains and other communications targets, especially in the E Po Valley and areas to the N. In Austria, B-25s destroy a bridge at Brixlegg, severely damage the Steinach bridge, and hit bridge approaches at Muhlberg and the town of Matrei am Brenner. Weather prevents successful attacks on 2 targets in N Italy.

WESTERN FRONT: The British 2nd Army and Canadian 1st Army begin Operation Plunder to cross the Rhine. The objective of this operation is to attack north of Wesel, holding down and diminishing the 47th Panzer Corps, preventing it from attacking the main force crossing at Wesel. There is massive artillery and air support. Two parachute divisions are also to be dropped to aid the crossing. The operation begins at 2100 hours and continues in the moonlight. Meanwhile, US 1st Army and the elements of US 3rd Army are extending their bridgeheads over the Rhine.

Speyer: An infantry unit of the US 12th Armoured Division is tasked with taking the city. As they approach a bridge over the Rhine they were ambushed by anti-tank rockets and machine gun fire. The rocket fire appeared to be coming from a nearby warehouse. Private Edward A. Carter volunteered to lead a four man squad to take out the warehouse, which was 150 yards of open terrain away. Two of Carter's men were killed almost immediately; the third was severely injured. Carter alone got within striking distance, but took five bullets and three pieces of shrapnel before he was able to take cover. Carter waited there for two hours, until the Germans, thinking he was dead, sent out an eight-man patrol to make sure. Carter engaged them single-handedly with his Thompson .45, killing six and capturing two, whom he used as human shields to get back to his company. Carter refused immediate medical treatment, and instead took his commanding officer up to an observation spot where he pointed out several German machine gun nests.

Canadian forces make first use of variable-time radar-equipped shells, allowing consistent bursts above ground.

195 RAF Lancasters and 23 Mosquitos of Nos 5 and 8 Groups carried out the last raid on the unfortunate town of Wesel. No aircraft lost. Wesel claims to have been the most intensively bombed town, for its size, in Germany. 97 per cent of the buildings in the main town area were destroyed. The population, which had numbered nearly 25,000 on the outbreak of war, was only 1,900 in May 1945.

80 RAF Lancasters of No 3 Group attacked Wesel, which was an important troop centre behind the Rhine front in an area about to be attacked by British troops. The raid was accurate and no aircraft were lost.

Support and 78 training aircraft on a sweep across France and as far as Mannheim, 65 Mosquitos to Berlin and 23 to Aschaffenburg, 41 RCM sorties, 39 Mosquito patrols. 2 Mosquitos lost from the Berlin raid.

Mosquitos of RAF Coastal Command attack shipping at Dalsfjord, Norway.

The 107th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, moves from Gosselies, Belgium to Vogelsang, Germany with F-6s.

EASTERN FRONT: Three German Gotha-242 and DFS-230 transport planes land on the Kaiserstrasse runway in Breslau, as three others are shot down by Russian flak. They provide howitzer guns and 150 mm ammunition.

MEDITTERANEAN: General Vietinghoff takes over command of German forces in Italy replacing Field Marshal Kesselring who has been withdrawn to the Western Front. Throughout March there have been small attacks by both US 2nd and 4th Corps of US 5th Army in the area around the Pistoia-Bologna road and to the west.

(US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, A-20s attack loading points and crossings along the Po River during the night of 22/23 Mar; P-47s concentrate on communications and general movement in the lower Brenner area during the day; the fighter-bombers also blast several dumps in the C Po Valley; B-25s hit bridges, railroad fills, and bridge approaches in the Brenner area at Matrei am Brenner, Austria and Pordenone, Salorno, San Michele all' Adige, Vo Sinistro, Longarone, and Perca, Italy.

GERMANY: 128 RAF Lancasters of Nos 1 and 5 Groups attacked bridges at Bremen (117 aircraft) and Bad Oeynhausen (11 aircraft). Both bridges were hit. 2 Lancasters were lost from the Bremen raid.

(US Eighth Air Force): 3 missions are flown. Mission 908: The Allied ground assault across the lower Rhine River begins; 1,276 bombers and 499 fighters visually attack rail targets in W and C Germany; they claim 1-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 7 bombers are lost: 1. 319 B-24s are sent to hit the Rheine Bridge (79) and the Osnabruck (80) and Munster (142) marshalling yards; 2 others hit Hoya Airfield, a target of opportunity; 3 B-24s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 95 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 3 WIA and 35 MIA. Escorting are 79 of 80 P-51s. 2. 519 B-17s are sent to hit marshalling yards Hengstey (113), Giesecke (91), Holzwickede (184) and the Unna yard at Dormund (38); secondary targets hit are Meschede (19) and marshalling yards at Siegen (93) and Marburg (10); targets of opportunity are Herdecke (10), Haliger (1) and Schwerte (10); 3 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 178 damaged; 6 airmen are KIA, 4 WIA and 27 MIA. 82 P-51s escort. 3. 438 B-17s are dispatched to hit marshalling yards at Coesfeld (145), Recklinghausen (120) and Gladbeck (141); targets of opportunity are Hechfeldt (12) and the marshalling yard at Westerholt (13); 1 B-17 is lost; 3 airmen are WIA and 10 MIA. The escort is 71 of 79 P-51s. 4. 125 of 131 P-51s fly a fighter sweep of the Bremen-Kassel area; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft in the air and 0-0-1 on the ground. 5. 71 of 84 P-51s fly a sweep for the Ninth AF. 6. 16 P-51s escort 15 F-5s and 4 Spitfires on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany. 7. 25 of 27 P-51s fly weather reconnaissance missions. Mission 909: 1 B-17, escorted by 4 P-51s, bombs Ettinghausen Airfield in a Micro-H Mk II radar test. Mission 910: During the night, 9 of 10 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany; and 19 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions to Denmark.

(US Ninth Air Force): In Germany, around 800 A-20s, A-26s and B-26s strike 7 communications centers, a factory, and targets of opportunity (including several flak positions); attacks on communications centers are aimed at obstructing the movement of reinforcements to the front; fighters escort the bombers, fly patrols and armed reconnaissance, attack assigned ground targets, support the US III and VII Corps SE of Honnef and E of the Wied River and the XII and XX Corps astride and on the W bank of the Rhine River between Mainz and Worms.

(US Fifteenth Air Force): 658 B-17s and B-24s, (with fighter escort) hit oil refineries at Ruhland, Germany, and at Vienna, Austria, marshalling yards at Budejovice, Czechoslovakia and Gmund, Sankt Polten and Sankt Valentin, Austria, and a tank works at Sankt Valentin, plus scattered targets of opportunity. 40+ F-5s, P-38s and P-51s fly reconnaissance.

WESTERN FRONT: Operation Varsity begins, as 134 American and British gliders cross the Rhine Rive rin support for the 9th US and 2th British Armies' crossing of the Rhine. An enormous air armada crossed the River Rhein near Wesel in Western Germany. The column, two-and-a-half hours long, consisted of more than 1,500 IX Troop Carrier Command airplanes and gliders. To their left were about 1,200 RAF airplanes and gliders, supported by 880 US and RAF fighters. Over 21,000 airborne infantry were dropped north-east of Wesel. They quickly overcame enemy resistance and linked up with the main force. Only on the extreme left wing, near Emmerich, is resistance really tough. "The enemy", say the Canadians, "are fighting like madmen." There are now three bridgeheads between Wesel in the north and Mainz in the south: Montgomery's, Patton's and the US First Army's at Remagen. General Montgomery extends the bridgehead to a depth of 5 miles. With 1,250,000 Britons, Canadians and Americans under him, Montgomery has more than 5,500 artillery pieces, anti-tanks guns and rockets. The US 9th Army, now part of Montgomery's 21st Army Group, begins to cross the Rhine south of the British and Canadians.

Montgomery's crossing of the Rhine was meticulously prepared and impatiently awaited. 100 miles to the south, Patton crossed the Rhine 24 hours ahead of Montgomery. He went across at Nierstein against light opposition and swept down on Darmstadt. The Canadian 51st Highland Div. of the British 2nd Army attacked German villages north of Reeserward. The Canadian 1st Black Watch brigade of the 51st Div. reaches the German town of Speldrop. Wesel had been reduced to rubble by Allied bombing and shelling, but the Germans clung on for the best part of 24 hours.

Cpl Frederick George Topham, Canadian Army, brought in a wounded man from the open, despite being shot himself. He later rescued three men from a crippled carrier. (Victoria Cross)

EASTERN FRONT: The Red Army is preparing with great deliberation for its last campaign, the attack on Berlin, in its long march to the west from the very gates of its own capital. Marshal Zhukov, having taken the fortress of Kustrin, the last obstacle on the road to Berlin, is now enlarging his bridgehead across the Oder to set the scene for the drama which is about to unfold. With six infantry divisions and two tank brigades he has reached the road junction at Golzow, just 33 miles from greater Berlin.

In the north, Marshal Rokossovsky is tightening his grip on Danzig and Konigsberg as the Germans continue their evacuation of East Prussia. It is General Schorner, rescued from command of the cut-off forces in Courland to take over Army Group A opposite Marshal Konev, who has felt the full weight of the Red Army. Konev has hit him hard near Oppeln in Silesia. Soviet forces capture Spolot on the Baltic coast between Gdynia and Danzig.

In Hungary Marshal Tolbukhin finished off Hitler's ill-fated Operation Spring Awakening and is about to resume his march on Vienna. Szekesfehervar falls to the attacks of troops of 2nd Ukrainian Front. Meanwhile, the front line of the Soviet offensive has already pushed farther to the west, taking Veszprem and Mor. The German and Hungarian forces of German Army Group South are retreating in disorder after sustaining heavy losses.

MEDITTERANEAN: A re-equipped and revitalized Allied army is braced for a major new campaign aimed at trapping the German army in the Po valley. Fears that Hitler is planning a fight to the death in a mountain redoubt have put pressure on Allied commanders to moce quickly. Field Marshal Alexander, supreme Allied commander, Mediterranean, is planning for the Eighth Army to attack westwards through the Argenta Gap, with the US Fifth Army attacking northwards, west of Bologna. Alexander hopes to achieve the critical element of surprise by simulating preparations for seaborne landings north of the Po.

The Eighth Army's low morale of December has been improved by the arrival of new weapons including flame-throwing tanks and 400 Fantails, tracked amphibious troops carriers. The commanders have not been cheered by the loss of the Canadian Corps to north-west Europe; nor by the universal shortage of artillery ammunition which is restricting many batteries to five rounds daily for each gun.

(US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, A-20s and A-26s pound marshalling yards, river crossings and other bridges, and a variety of other targets in the Po Valley and NE Italy where fighters and fighter-bombers during the day destroy or damage numerous rail lines and train cars; B-25s bomb bridges or bridge approaches at Piacenza, Chiari, Perea, Casarsa della Delizia and Palazzolo sull'Oglio, Italy and Muhlberg and Steinach, Austria.

GERMANY: 177 RAF aircraft - 155 Halifaxes, 16 Lancasters, 6 Mosquitos - of 4 and 8 Groups attacked the railway yards at Sterkrade so successfully that, according to Bomber Command, there was 'complete destruction of a well packed marshalling yard'. No aircraft lost.

153 RAF Halifaxes, 16 Lancasters, 6 Mosquitos - of 6 and 8 Groups attacked Gladbeck situated on the northern edge of the Ruhr and not far from the new battle area. The target was 'devastated'. 1 Halifax lost.

173 RAF Lancasters and 12 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 6 and 8 Groups attacked the Harpenerweg plant at Dortmund and the Mathias Stinnes plant at Bottrop. 3 Lancasters were lost on the Dortmund raid.

67 RAF Mosquitos to Berlin, 8 to Nordheim and 2 which bombed both Berlin and Magdeburg on nuisance flights, 38 RCM sorties, 33 Mosquito patrols. No aircraft lost.

(US Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown. Mission 911: In conjunction with the allied ground forces assault across the lower Rhine River (Operation VARSITY) the Eighth flies bombing, supply, and armed reconnaissance missions; during the day, 1,749 bomber sorties and 1,375 fighter sorties are flown to attack airfields visually in W and NW Germany in the morning and afternoon and drop supplies to US and British troops at midday; they claim 54-0-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 19 bombers and 9 fighters are lost; 1. 175 of 179 B-17s bomb Vechta Airfield in the morning; 1 hits Rheine Airfield, a target of opportunity; 1 B-17 is lost; 1 airman is WIA and 9 MIA. 2. 527 B-17s are sent to hit Steenwijk (114), Zwischenahn (74), Varel (88), Varrelbusch (113) and Plantlunne (13) Airfields in the morning; targets of opportunity are Wittmundhafen Airfield (13) and other (2); 1 B-17 is lost and 2 damaged; 1 airman is KIA and 9 MIA. 3. 294 B-17s are dispatched to hit Rheine (36), Hopsten (62), Vechtel at Furstenau (72), Achmer (73) and Hesepe (36) Airfields in the morning; 1 other hits a target of opportunity; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft; 3 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 100 damaged; 8 airmen are KIA, 5 WIA and 28 MIA. 4. All 58 B-24s hit Nordhorn Airfield without loss. 5. The 4 forces above have 1,158 P-47s and P-51s flying area support; they claim 53-0-2 aircraft in the air and 0-0-4 on the ground; 9 P-51s are lost (8 pilots MIA). 6. At midday, 240 B-24s are sent to drop supplies in the US (122) and British (118) assault areas flying at 300 to 400-feet (91 to 122 m); 14 B-24s are lost (mostly to small arms fire), 4 damaged beyond repair and 103 damaged; 5 airmen are KIA, 30 WIA and 116 MIA. 7. 182 B-24s are sent to hit Stormede (96) and Kirtorf (65) Airfields in the afternoon; 9 hit Ziegenhain Airfield, the secondary, and 11 hit the Treysa marshalling yard, a target of opportunity; 16 B-24s are damaged. 8. 114 B-17s are sent to hit Ziegenhain Airfield (104) in the afternoon; 6 others hit Siegen marshalling yard, the secondary; 2 B-17s are damaged. 9. 152 of 153 B-17s hit Enschede Airfield at Twente; 20 B-17s are damaged. 10. The 3 forces above are escorted by 95 P-47s and P-51s without loss. 11. 2 B-17s and 19 of 20 P-51s fly scouting missions; 1 P-51 is lost 12. 8 P-51s escort 4 Mosquitos that monitor operations for the bombers. 13. 17 P-51s escort 19 aircraft on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany. Mission 912: 10 of 12 B-24s drop leaflets in Germany and the Netherlands during the night and 24 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions over Scandinavia.

(US Ninth Air Force): Almost 700 A-20s, A-26s, and B-26s blast communications centers, rail bridges, flak positions, and numerous other targets in cooperation with the combined land-airborne assault across the Rhine River (Operation PLUNDER-VARSITY) by the British Second and US Ninth Armies and the US XVIII Corps of the First Allied Airborne Army; fighters attack with the bombers before the drop and carpet the landing zones with fragmentation bombs, immobilizing numerous flak batteries; fighters escort bombers and transports, cover the assaulting 30th and 79th Infantry Divisions, attack troop concentrations, flak positions, supply and ammunition dumps, airfields, defended villages, and road and rail traffic, and patrol the perimeter of the battle sector; fighters also support US First Army elements across the Rhine E of Remagen between Koblenz and the Sieg River as they prepare for the breakout assault, and the US Third Army's XII Corps as it strengthens its Rhine bridgehead E of Oppenheim and commits its armor to push through toward the Main River.

(US Fifteenth Air Force): 660 B-24s and B-17s bomb a tank factory at Berlin and airfields at Munich and Neuburg an der Donau, Germany, plus the Budejovice, Czechoslovakia marshalling yard, and alternate targets and targets of opportunity including airfields at Plattling and Erding, Germany and Udine, Italy; P-38s and P-51s escort the missions against German targets and fly reconnaissance.

Obstlt. Bär begins a series of double kills in the Me 262 when he shoots down a B-24 Liberator and a P-51 Mustang. At JG 7, Oblt Walter Schuck is appointed Staffelkapitän of 3./JG 7 and Major Ehrler downs his third B-17 flying the Me 262.

WESTERN FRONT: During the day, the various crossings of British 21st Army Group are consolidated into a single bridgehead, 30 miles wide. Further south, US 1st Army units, principally from US 3rd Corps, begin to break out of the Remagen bridgehead. The US 8th Corps (part of US 3rd Army) begins to cross the Rhine River near Boppard. To the south, Darmstadt is taken by US 12th Corps units who crossed at Nierstein. Other units have advanced farther east to the Main near Hanau and Aschaffenburg. As British and US troops link up on the east bank of the Rhine, Montgomery forbids British troops to "fraternize" with the local population. As part of Operation Varsity, the US 17th Airborne Division is dropped over the east bank of the Rhine. Canadian troops of the British 2nd Army cross the Rhine river and begin an attack on Bienen, Germany, against the German 1st Parachute Army and 47th Panzer Corps.

Field Marshal Albert Kesselring is moved from being Commander-in-Chief Armed Forces West to be Commander-in-Chief Armed Forces South.

EASTERN FRONT: The Red Army has reached the Austrian border in the Köszeg-Szombathely area. The Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front starts its attack across the Hron River and along the north bank of the Danube. Hungarian troops begin deserting their German allies in droves, while German commanders report a loss of confidence among their own men. In East Prussia, Keiligenbeil falls to units of the 3rd Belorussian Front. In Hungary, the Soviet offensive continues with the capture of Esztergom on the Danube River. Just north of the Danube, there are attacks by other elements of 3rd Ukrainian Front.

(US Fifteenth Air Force): In Czechoslovakia, 650+ B-17s and B-24s strike 2 airfields and a tank works at Prague (the patterns of the bombs also hit 2 other nearby airfields) and an airfield at Cheb. Alternate targets that are bombed include Wels, Austria and Udine Airfield, Italy. P-38s and P-47s escort the bombers, and sweep and strafe the Nurnberg- Eibelstadt-Wurzburg-Regensburg, Germany areas, and fly reconnaissance operations.

GERMANY: The Bomber Command operations on this day were directed to towns on the main reinforcement routes into the Rhine battle area. Heavy attacks were made on the railway routes through these towns and on the surrounding built-up areas.

Hannover attacked by 267 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 6 and 8 Groups. The bombing was observed to fall in the target area. 1 Lancaster lost.

175 RAF aircraft - 151 Halifaxes, 14 Lancasters, 10 Mosquitos - of Nos 4, 6 and 8 Groups raided Münster. 3 Halifaxes lost. Few results were seen by the bombers because the target area rapidly became smoke-covered. Münster reports a large number of bombs but only 2 people dead.

156 RAF aircraft - 132 Halifaxes, 14 Lancasters, 10 Mosquitos - of Nos 4 and 8 Groups to Osnabrück. No aircraft lost. Osnabrück reports extensive property damage throughout the town.

8 RAF Mosquitos to Berlin and 1 Lancaster dropping leaflets over The Hague. No losses.

(US Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown. Mission 913: 1,009 bombers and 341 fighters are dispatched to hit seven oil plants and a tank factory in Germany; they claim 6-4-13 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 B-24s and 1 P-51 are lost: 1. 272 B-24s are sent to hti the Ehmen (59), Hitzacker (127) and Bucken (57) oil depots; they claim 2-4-9 aircraft; 4 B-24s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 19 damaged; 16 airmen are KIA, 2 WIA and 39 MIA. Escorting are 223 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 4-0-3 aircraft in the air. 2. 737 B-17s are dispatched to hit oil plants but bad weather during the assembly and the increasing possibility of adverse conditions causes the mission to be cancelled; 3 B-17s are damaged beyond repair and 9 airmen are KIA. 3. 47 of 48 P-51s escort Ninth AF B-26s. 4. 24 P-51s fly a fighter-bomber mission against the Schmalge ammunition dump; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA). 5. 11 P-51s fly a scouting mission claiming 0-0-1 aircraft in the air. 6. 16 P-15s escort 8 F-5s and 3 Spitfires on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany. Mission 914: 10 B-24s drop leaflets in Germany and the Netherlands during the night.

(US Ninth Air Force): In Germany, the 9th Bombardment Division hits 4 communications centers, 3 marshalling yards, and targets of opportunity, including flak positions; fighters fly escort, armed reconnaissance, and missions against several ground targets; fighters support the US 79th Infantry Division as it pushes 2 miles (3.2 km) to the E of the Rhine River (SE of Wesel), the III and VII Corps as they begin their breakout assault toward Altenkirchen and in the Epgert and Willroth areas, and the XII Corps as it establishes bridgeheads on the Main River in the Hanau and Aschaffenburg areas.

MEDITTERANEAN: (US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy during the night of 24/25 Mar, A-20s and A-26s continue intruder missions, attacking Po River crossings and railroad and motor transport targets; P-47s, during the day, raid railroad bridges and lines, hitting targets at Lavis, Casarsa della Delizia, San Michele all'Adige, Pavia, Santa Margherita d'Adige, and other points in the Po Valley and NE Italy, and bomb fuel dumps N of the battle area; 6 medium bomber missions against bridges and fills in Italy and Austria are ineffective because of bad weather.

WESTERN FRONT: The US 7th Army begins to send units of US 15th and US 6th Corps across the Rhine River between Worms and Mannheim. To the north all the Allied armies continue to advance. Allied forces on the Western Front are now completely east of the Rhine River. British PM Churchill looks over the Rhine near Ginsberg.

'U-399' (German type VIIC) sunk in the English Channel near Land's End, an unknown depth, in position 49.56N, 05.22W, by depth charges from the British frigate HMS 'Duckworth'. 46 dead and 1 survivor self escaped with Drager gear, PoW.

Whilst patrolling off the Dutch coast in company with MTB's 764 and 758, corvette HMS 'Puffin' finds herself in very close proximity to what turned out to be a Biber miniature submarine which she rams aft of the conning tower. This causes the two G7E torpedoes to detonate and 'Puffin' is lifted out of the water by the explosion. Although 'Puffin' was able to make it to port under her own power, she is paid off and not repaired. The only casualty was the operator of the Biber.

HQ 7th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance) and the 22d Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron move from Mount Farm to Chalgrove, England with F-5s. Units moving from Belgium to Germany: HQ IX Tactical Air Command from Verviers to Bruhl; HQ 48th Fighter Group and the 492d, 493d and 494th Fighter Squadrons from St Trond to Kelz with P-47s. The 72d Liaison Squadron, Ninth AF (attached to Sixth Army Group), moves from Sarreguemines, France to Kaiserlautern, Germany with L-5s.

GERMANY: The war weary citizens of the Third Reich were today called upon by Martin Bormann, Hitler's deputy, to become "Werewolf" guerrillas in a last-ditch resistance against the Allies as they invade Germany. Bormann said: "The Werewolf has been born of National Socialism. It makes no allowances and knows no considerations as imposed on regular troops .... Hatred shall be our prayer and revenge our battle-cry ..."

86 RAF Mosquitos to Berlin, 2 each to Erfurt and Paderborn, and 2 which bombed both Berlin and Magdeburg on a 'siren tour'. No aircraft lost.

(US Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown. Mission 915: 337 B-17s and 527 P-51s are dispatched to attack oil and tank plants in Germany; targets are bombed visually despite poor weather; no aircraft are lost: 1. 185 B-17s are sent to hit the synthetic oil plant at Zeitz (12); 130 others hit the Vomag tank factory at Plauen (130), the secondary; targets of opportunity are Meiningen (25) and Wurzburg (11); 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 25 damaged; 1 airman is KIA and 5 WIA. Escorting are 194 of 238 P-51s. 2. 152 B-17s are sent to hit the Vomag tank factory at Plauen (139); targets of opportunity are Oelsnitz (12) and Markt Erlbach (1); 3 B-17s are damaged beyond repair and 1 damaged; 18 airmen are KIA. 98 of 121 P-51s escort. 3. 110 of 118 P-51s fly a freelance fighter mission for the bombers. 4. 26 of 27 P-51s escort 12 F-5s and 1 Spitfire on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany. 5. 22 of 23 P-51s fly a scouting mission.

(US Ninth Air Force): In Germany, around 300 A-20s, A-26s and B-26s hit marshalling yards at Wurzburg, Gemunden, and Flieden, the town of Ruckers, and 2 targets of opportunity; fighters escort the bombers, fly armed reconnaissance, hit special targets and support various ground forces along the front; fighter support is accorded the US 2d, 3d, 7th, and 9th Armored Divisions in the Hachenburg, Montabaur, and Limburg areas, the XII Corps along the Main River from Frankfurt/Main to Aschaffenburg, and Ninth Army elements in the bridgehead area around Gahlen.

(US Fifteenth Air Force): 500+ B-17s and B-24s, escorted by P-51s and P-38s attack marshalling yards at Wiener-Neustadt, Strasshof, Bruck an der Leitha, and Neunkirchen, Austria, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia and Szombathely, Hungary; 46 P-38s dive-bomb the bridge at Ybbs, Austria while 26 P-51s, covered by 13 others, strafe rail traffic in the Wiener-Neustadt, Austria-Vienna-Budejovice, Czechoslovakia areas; other P-38s and P-51s fly reconnaissance operations.

EASTERN FRONT: 3rd Belorrussian Front destroys German troops trapped at Frishes Haff. Russians forces capture Papa and Devecser, both German strong points covering the approaches to the Austrian border. The Reichsführer-SS is replaced by General Heinrici as Commander in Chief of Army Group Weichsel.

MEDITTERANEAN: (US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, weather grounds the medium bombers and hampers operations in general; during the night of 26/27 Mar, 3 A-20s hit bridges at Cittadella and Verona; fighter-bombers, operating on a reduced scale, hit communications targets in the W Po Valley, cutting a road bridge and several railroads, and attacking several targets of opportunity.

UNITED KINGDOM: A German V-2 rocket lands in Deptford, England, killing 52, seriously injuring 32. A German V-2 rocket hits the Hughes Mansions area in Vallance Road, Stepney, England, killing 134, seriously injuring 49. This is the second-highest British death toll by a V-2 rocket, and the second-last to hit England. A V-2 bomb kills 131 people in a London block of flats; 2,745 civilians have been killed by the bombs, and 2,900 aircrewmen have died in the campaign against them. What will be the 1115th and last V-2 rocket to land in England, lands SE of London at Orpington, Kent, killing one and injuring about 70. As well as the 1115 launched at British targets, a further 2050 were aimed at Antwerp, Brussels and Liege.

WESTERN FRONT: In the northeast sector British 21st Army Group units are advancing along the line of the River Lippe with US 9th Army beginning to penetrate south into the Ruhr industrial area. US 3rd Army has now crossed the Main both west of Frankfurt, where Wiesbaden is attacked, and to the east. After crossing the Rhine the US 1st and 3rd Armies join up near Coblenz and the 3rd and 7th Armies join up near Darmstadt.

'U-905' (type VIIC) is sunk in the Minch Canal in position 58.34N, 05.46W by depth charges from the British frigate HMS 'Conn'. 45 dead (all hands lost).

'U-722' (type VIIC) is sunk near the Hebrides, in position 57.09N, 06.55W, by depth charges from the British frigates HMS 'Fitzroy',' Redmill' and 'Byron'. 44 dead (all hands lost).

HQ XII Tactical Air Command moves from France to Germany. The 14th Liaison Squadron, XIX Tactical Air Command (attached to Twelfth Army Group), moves from Luxembourg City, Luxembourg to Oberstein, Germany with L-5s.

EASTERN FRONT: In Poland, Soviet forces have penetrated to the final German defense lines at both Gdynia and Danzig. Bitter street fighting in Danzig as the Russians force their way into the city's defenses. A counterattack by elements of the German 9th Army, from the Frankfurt bridgehead toward Küstrin, advances to within a few miles of the city's outskirts. In Hungary and Czechoslovakia, the 2nd and 3rd Ukraine Fronts continue their attacks. The heaviest fighting is along the line of the Raba River where 6th SS Panzer Army suffers heavy casualties in counterattacks.

GERMANY: 268 RAF Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos to attack Paderborn where American troops were attempting to complete the encirclement of the Ruhr. No aircraft lost. The was covered by cloud but the raid was still carried out with almost perfect accuracy and this old town was virtually destroyed in less than a quarter of an hour.

150 RAF Lancasters of No 3 Group carried out G-H raids on 2 benzol plants in the Hamm area. No results were seen, because of cloud, but dense black smoke rose through the cloud from both targets. No aircraft lost.

115 RAF Lancasters of No 5 Group attacked an oil-storage depot (95 aircraft) and a U-boat shelter (20 aircraft of No 617 Squadron) at Farge on the River Weser north of Bremen. Both attacks appeared to be successful. The results of the raid on the oil depot were not known because this target was attacked with delayed-action bombs so that clouds of smoke would not obscure the target. The U-boat shelter was a particularly interesting target. It was a huge structure with a concrete roof 23 ft thick. It was almost ready for use when No 617 Squadron attacked it on this day and penetrated the roof with 2 Grand Slams which brought down thousands of tons of concrete rubble and rendered the shelter unusable. No aircraft were lost in these attacks.

82 Mosquitos to Berlin, 7 to Bremen, 4 to Erfurt and 3 each to Hannover and Magdeburg, 46 RCM sorties, 23 Mosquito patrols, 8 Mosquitos of No 5 Group minelaying in the River Elbe. 4 Mosquitos lost - 3 from the Berlin raid and 1 from the minelaying operation.

(US Eighth Air Force): Operations during the day include: 1. 110 of 115 P-47s and P-51s escort 262 RAF Lancasters attacking Paderborn, Germany. 2. 2 F-5s, escorted by 4 P-51s, fly a photo reconnaissance mission over Brunswick and Paderborn. Mission 916: 9 of 10 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany during the night.

Weather cancels 9th Bombardment Division operations. In Germany, IX Tactical Air Command fighters patrol the US First Army front; the XIX Tactical Air Command hits marshalling yards, patrols the Third Army front, flies area cover from Koblenz to Aschaffenburg to Worms, and supports the VIII and XII Corps along the Rhine River in the Wiesbaden area and the Main River in the Frankfurt/Main-Aschaffenburg area.

Major Walter Dahl, flying a Me 262 with III./EJG 2, shoots down two USAAF P-47 Thunderbolts.

MEDITTERANEAN: The 416th Night Fighter Squadron, 62d Fighter Wing, moves from Pisa to Pontedera, Italy with Mosquitos.

WESTERN FRONT: Marburg is taken by US 3rd Corps (part of US 1st Army) which has made a rapid advance from the Remagen bridgehead. Canadian forces begin an advance on Emmerich, Germany. The Royal Canadian Engineers complete building a Bailey bridge 1814 feet long over the Rhine River, near Emmerich. This is the longest Bailey bridge built in the war.

General Eisenhower radios to Stalin in regard to future plans regarding a push south, leaving Berlin. He orders the Allied forces not to advance beyond the Elbe, thus leaving Berlin to the Soviets. As recently as last autumn Churchill and Roosevelt were contemplating a thrust to get to the city before the Russians. But western forces are still some 200 miles short, while the Russians are less than 50 miles away. Eisenhower says that he is not prepared to risk the lives of his men for the pursuit of political advantage over an ally. The critics of the supreme commander's decision argue that the British, Canadians and Americans are meeting almost no resistance and could easily be first to Berlin, while the Russians are up against the fanatical SS units ready to fight to the last. Churchill, who has just returned from a visit to the Allied forces in Germany, is filled with foreboding. He believes that Stalin will exploit the political advantage to be gained by raising the Red Flag over the Führer's capital. The British prime minister intends to appeal to Eisenhower to change his mind. "We should shake hands with the Russians as far to the east as possible," he says.

HQ 36th Fighter Group and the 22d and 23d Fighter Squadrons move from Le Culot, Belgium to Aachen, Germany with P-47s; and the 31st Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 10th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance), moves from Jarny, France to Euren, Germany with F-5s.

GERMANY: Hitler forces Guderian, his chief of the army general staff, to take six weeks' sick leave after a series of disagreements.

(US Eighth Air Force): Mission 917: 965 B-17s and 390 P-51s are dispatched to hit industrial targets in Berlin and Hannover; 10/10 cloud cover forces the B-17s to bomb using H2X radar; 2 B-17s are lost: 1. 446 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Spandau tank factory (318) and Falkensee armament plant (65) in Berlin; 6 hit Stendal, the secondary; targets of opportunity are Hannover (1) and other (21); 2 B-17s are lost, 5 damaged beyond repair and 133 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 8 WIA and 19 MIA. Escorting are 245 of 272 P-51s. 2. 519 B-17s are sent to hit the Hanomag tank factory at Hannover (34); 431 hit the secondary, the marshalling yard at Hannover; targets of opportunity are Minden (10) and other (5); 66 B-17s are damaged; 3 airmen are WIA. 86 of 99 P-51s escort. 3. 8 of 9 P-51s escort 3 F-5s on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany. 4. 6 of 10 P-51s fly scouting missions.

(US Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 215 A-20s, A-26s and B-26s hit the Neuenheerse and Erbach oil storage depots and 11 targets of opportunity; fighters escort the bombers, fly armed reconnaissance and area cover over wide expanses of German territory, and support the US XII Corps in breakout attacks across the Main River in the Dornigheim area and the 2d and 8th Armored Divisions in the Dorsten area.

EASTERN FRONT: Gdynia falls to forces of the Soviet 2nd Belorussian Front. In Hungary, just south of the Danube River, Gyor is captured by troops from the 2nd Ukrainian Front.

UNITED KINGDOM: Sittingbourne, Kent: AA gunners shoot down what is thought to be the last V1 launched against Britain.

Frigate HMS 'Teme' takes a hit from a Zaunkönig fired by 'U-246' (Kapitanleutnant Ernst Raabe) and loses her stern. She was towed to Falmouth but laid up and not repaired. Location: 6 miles N of Lands End at 50 07N 05 45W. There are 4 casualties.

WESTERN FRONT: US forces marching almost unchecked into the centre of Germany, capture Frankfurt. Armor of the British 21st Army Group breaks out of the Wesel bridgehead. The US 7th Army captures Mannheim and Heidelberg.

'U-1106' (type VIIC/41) is sunk north-east of the Faeroes, in position 61.46N, 02.16W, by depth charges from a British Liberator aircraft (Sqdn 224/O). 46 dead (all hands lost).

'U-1169' is sunk in the English Channel south of Lizard Point in position 49.58N 05.25W by depth charges dropped by frigate HMS 'Duckworth'. All 49 of the U-Boat crew are lost.

EASTERN FRONT: The Red Army enters the former Czech province of Ruthenia.

GERMANY: 130 RAF Lancasters of No 3 Group carried out a G-H raid on the Hermann Goering benzol plant at Salzgitter. No results were seen through the cloud. No aircraft were lost. 48 Mosquitos to Berlin, 7 to Harburg and 3 each to Bremen and Hannover. No aircraft lost.

MEDITERRANEAN: (US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, clear weather during the night of 28/29 Mar, permits A-20s to hit rail loading points, trains, vehicles, roads, and bridges at many places in the Po Valley as well as river crossings at Borgoforte, Lodi, San Benedetto Po, Ostiglia, and Casalmaggiore, a factory at Brescia, and motor transport movement in the Milan-Piacenza area; bad morning weather cancels medium bomber operations except for a pamphlet mission over Bologna; when the weather clears about 1200 hours, XXII Tactical Air Command fighter-bombers hit dumps at La Spezia and other points near the battle area, the Lavis viaduct, railroad bridges or approaches at Ora, Santa Margherita d' Adige, Nervesa della Battaglia, Rovereto, Ala, and other locations, and many vehicles and train cars and other targets of opportunity throughout the Po Valley and NE Italy; the 16th Troop Carrier Squadron, 64th Troop Carrier Group, based at Rosignano Airfield begins operating from Brindisi with C-47s.

EASTERN FRONT: The Soviet army begins it's invasion of Eastern AUSTRIA. (Michael Ballard) Marshal Tolbukhin has crossed the Austrian border in strength about 50 miles south of Vienna. At the same time Marshal Rokossovsky, advancing on Tolbukhin's right on a 130-mile front, has broken though the German lines to threaten Bratislava. It was Tolbukhin's Third Ukrainian Front which absorbed Hitler's Spring Awakening assault in Hungary and then, when the Germans faltered, did not counter-attack but simply resumed its march on Austria. Tolbukhin's advance has been accompanied by a sudden loss of morale among the Germans, even among the Waffen-SS troops of the 6th SS Panzer Army. The Wehrmacht is crumbling away.

The final German positions in Danzig are overrun by the Soviet Army, 10,000 German prisoners are taken along with 45 submarines in the harbour.

During their occupation the Nazis have forced thousands of Hungarian Jews, many times by torture, to deposit valuables and family heirlooms in Hungarian banks and other institutions. Many of the goods have been deposited on a train dubbed the Gold Train. It contains 29 boxcars filled with personal heirlooms and valuables, including art, gold, jewellery, diamonds, silverware, fine china, porcelain and religious items. The train has left Hungary today bound for Austria.

GERMANY: (US Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown. Mission 918: 1,402 bombers and 899 fighters are dispatched to attack targets connected with U-boat construction or operation; they claim 8-1-12 Luftwaffe aircraft; 5 bombers and 4 fighters are lost: 1. 530 B-17s are sent to hit 2 U-boat yards (64) and an oil depot (169) at Hamburg; 263 bomb the port area at Hamburg, the secondary target; 1 hits Bremen, a target of opportunity; bombing is both visual and using H2X radar; they claim 0-1-3 aircraft; 3 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 252 damaged; 14 airmen are KIA, 10 WIA and 28 MIA. Escorting are 289 of 304 P-51s; they claim 4-0-7 aircraft in the air and 1-0-1 on the ground; 3 P-51s are lost. 2. 448 B-17s are sent to hit the U-boat yard (318) and rail bridge (109) at Bremen visually and with H2X; 1 B-17 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 225 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 6 WIA and 11 MIA. The escort is 268 of 287 P-51s; they claim 2-0-1 aircraft. 3. 382 B-24s are dispatched to hit the U-boat yard (273) and Bauhaben port area (85) at Wilhelmshafen both visually and with H2X; 1 B-24 is lost and 56 damaged; 8 airmen are KIA and 1 WIA. 105 P-47s and P-51s escort. 4. 32 of 36 B-17s fly a DISNEY mission to the U-boat yard at Farge; 14 B-17s are damaged. 5. 6 B-17s fly screening missions. 6. 153 of 159 P-51s fly a freelance mission for the bombers; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft. 7. 11 P-51s escort 5 F-5s on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany. 8. 26 of 31 P-51s fly scouting missions. Mission 919: During the night, 13 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany; 19 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions to Norway; 1 B-24 is lost and 1 crashes in the Orkney Islands. The German cruiser 'Köln' is sunk by aircraft from the US 8th Air Force. 'U-429' (type VIIC) is sunk near Wilhelmshaven in 53.13N 08.40E by US bombs.' U-430' (type VIIC) is sunk near Bremen in position 53.08N 08.46E by US bombs. 'U-348' (type VIIC) is sunk near Hamburg in position 53.33N 09.57E by US bombs.

43 RAF Mosquitos to Berlin, 43 to Erfurt, 4 to Nordingen and 3 each to Hamburg and Kiel, 36 RCM sorties, 31 Mosquito patrols, 6 Mosquitos minelaying in Jade Bay and the River Weser. 1 Mosquito was lost from the Berlin raid. 'U-1167' (type VIIC/41) is sunk near the Deutsche Werke yard in Hamburg due to damage from British bombs.

Adolf Hitler issues a decree drafted by Albert Speer, calling for war production to continue until the last possible moment, then for facilities to be crippled if possible, or destroyed otherwise.

(US Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 337 A-20s, A-26s and B-26s attack the Bad Oeynhausen tank factory, the Munden ordnance depot, the Ebenhausen oil depot, 2 town areas and 6 targets of opportunity, and drop leaflets; fighters escort the bombers, fly patrols and armed reconnaissance, and support ground forces; fighter support is provided for the US 3d and 7th Armored Divisions near Paderborn and at the Edersee dam on the Eder River, the XII Corps N of Frankfurt/Main, the XX Corps in the Hersfeld and Hanau areas, and the XVI Corps in the Marl-Polsum area.

Lt. Victor Petermann, an ex-JG 52 fighter pilot flying a Me 262 with JG 7, downs his second B-17. But another Me 262 pilot with JG 7 is not so lucky. Lt. Karl "Quax" Schnorrer, formerly a wingman to Walter Nowotny of JG 54, is shot down over Hamburg. He bales out but again injures his legs similar to those injuries he suffered on 12 November, 1943. This time, one leg has to be amputated and his flying career is over.

(US Fifteenth Air Force): In Austria, 60+ B-17s and B-24s bomb the Vienna N stations and goods depot, the Graz and Klagenfurt marshalling yards, the Kapfenberg tank works, and several minor targets of opportunity; 28 P-38s and P-51s sweep the Zagreb, Yugoslavia-Graz, Austria area and others fly reconnaissance.

WESTERN FRONT: The US 1st Army advance north from Marburg and crosses the River Eder. US 3rd Army is attempting to strike east and north toward Gotha and Kassel.
Canadian forces clear Emmerich, Germany, of its defenders.

A surrendering Luftwaffe pilot delivers a Me-262A-1 fighter to allied forces when it lands at an American airbase.

'U-965' (type VIIC) is sunk north of Scotland, in position 58.19N, 05.31W by depth charges from the British frigates HMS Rupert and HMS Conn. 51 dead (all hands lost).

HQ 322d Bombardment Group (Medium) and the 449th and 452d Bombardment Squadrons (Medium) from Tille Airfield, Beauvais, France to Le Culot, Belgium with B-26s; HQ 404th Fighter Group and the 506th Fighter Squadron from St Trond, Belgium to Keltz, Germany with P-47s; the 153d Liaison Squadron, IX Tactical Air Command (attached to Twelfth Army Group), from Euskirchen to Bad Godesberg, Germany; the 428th, 429th and 430th Fighter Squadrons, 474th Fighter Group, from Florennes, Belgium to Strassfeld, Germany with P-38s.

MEDITERRANEAN: (US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy during the night of 29/30 Mar, A-20s and A-26s continue to pound Po River crossings, loading points, and other communications in the Po Valley; during the day XXII Tactical Air Command fighters and fighter-bombers fly some 400 sorties against fuel and ammunition dumps, stores, bridges, rail lines, marshalling yards, buildings, motor vehicles, trains, and a variety of targets over wide areas of N Italy; weather forces the medium bombers to attack mainly alternate targets; the B-25s bomb railroad bridges (or bridge approaches) at San Ambrogio di Valpolicella, Rovereto, Chiari, Palazzolo sull'Oglio, Legnago, Ora, and Romano di Lombardia.

WESTERN FRONT: The Allies are poised for the final attack on Germany. Armies are moving round the Ruhr to link up between Munster and Paderborn; Montgomery's 21st Army Group is heading for Germany's Baltic ports; Patton is about to link up with US First Army at Kassel; the US Seventh Army is advancing on Heidelberg while the First French Army is swinging south to the Swiss border. Allied air supremacy is total; bombing raids have left roads, railways and canal in ruins, while sunken ships clog many harbours. De Tassigny's French First Army crosses the Rhine near Speyer. Eisenhower broadcasts to the German armed forces, demanding their surrender.

German LIII A.K., commanded by GL Fritz Bayerlein, with remnants of the 176 Inf. Div., Panzer Lehr Pz. Div., and 3 Pg. Div. attack the US 4 Arm. Div. near Paderborn. They are attempting to breakout of the "Ruhr pocket" and restore freedom of movement for Army Group B which is encircled there.

The 162d Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group [attached to Reconnaissance Group (Provisional), XII Tactical Air Command], moves from Azelot to Haguenau, France with F-6s.

NORTH AMERICA: Canada's Commonwealth air training program ends. 131,500 aircrew graduated.

EASTERN FRONT: Ratibor on the upper Danube is taken by forces of the Soviet 1st Ukrainian Front.

GERMANY: Hamburg: 469 RAF aircraft - 361 Lancasters, 100 Halifaxes, 8 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 6 and 8 Groups attempted to attack the Blohm Voss shipyards, where the new types of U-boats were being assembled, but the target area was completely cloud-covered. The local report describes 'considerable damage' to houses, factories, energy supplies and communications over a wide area of southern Hamburg and Harburg. 8 Lancasters and 3 Halifaxes were lost, a number being victims of an unexpected intervention by the Luftwaffe day-fighter force. This was Bomber Command's last double-figure aircraft loss of the war from a raid on one city.

(US Eighth Air Force): Mission 920: 1,348 bombers and 889 fighters are dispatched to hit synthetic oil plants, a refinery, munitions plant and tank factory; they claim 9-3-9 Luftwaffe aircraft; 5 bombers and 4 fighters are lost: 1. 229 B-17s are sent to hit the synthetic oil refinery at Zeitz using H2X radar; secondary targets hit are the oil plant at Bad Berka (29) and Gotha (20) visually; targets of opportunity are Erfurt (25) and other (8), hit visually; 3 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 108 damaged; 1 airman is KIA; 2 WIA and 30 MIA. Escorting are 117 of 120 P-51s; 1 is lost (pilot MIA). 2. 294 B-17s are sent to hit Brandenburg (265); targets of opportunity are Stendal (9) and Salzwedel (9); they claim 0-1-0 aircraft; 1 B-17 is damaged. 207 of 221 P-51s escort claiming 5-0-0 aircraft; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA). 3. 371 of 385 B-24s hit the secondary target, the marshalling yard at Brunswick; they claim 3-2-1 aircraft; 2 B-24s are lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 3 damaged; 10 airmen are KIA, 1 WIA and 29 MIA. The escort is 253 of 266 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 0-0-7 aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA). 4. 369 of 432 B-17s attack the secondary, the marshalling yard at Halle; targets of opportunity are Leipzig (8), Weimar (36), Aschersleben (7) and other (1); 37 B-17s are damaged. Escorting are 225 of 233 P-51s. 5. 8 B-17s fly a screening mission. 6. 26 of 30 P-51s fly scouting missions; they claim 1-0-1 aircraft. 7. 19 P-51s escort 8 of 10 F-5s on photo reconnaissance missions.

(US Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 550+ A-20s, A-26s and B-26s hit storage depots at Ebrach, Wurzburg, and Marienburg, the marshalling yard at Wurzburg, the town area of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, and a target of opportunity; fighters escort the bombers, hit special targets, fly armed reconnaissance, and support the US 3d and 9th Armored Divisions near Paderborn, the XII Corps as it charges toward Eisenach, the XX Corps along the Fulda and Eder Rivers, and the XVI and XIX Corps S of Haltern and NW of Lippstadt.

(US Fifteenth Air Force): 540 B-24s and B-17s bomb the Linz main railroad station and sidings, and the marshalling yards at Villach, Austria and Treviso, Italy and 3 minor targets of opportunity; P-51s and P-38s provide escort; 37 other fighters on sweeps and strafings attack railroad targets in the Munich, Germany-Linz, Austria-Regensburg, Germany area and 43 hit similar targets in the Prague, Czechoslovakia area; still other F-5s, P-38s and P-51s fly extensively reconnaissance and reconnaissance escort.

The Me 262s of I and III Gruppen of JG 7, loaded with R4M rockets, intercept the bombers all day, claiming a total of twenty-one bombers destroyed. Double kills go to Oblt. Grunberg, Sturm, Todt, Lt. Schenk, Hptm. Schall and Ehrig. Lt. Weihs and Obfw. Gerhard Reiher also add to their scores. JG 7's Major Ehrler claims a P-51 escorting a bomber formation in a classic 'Herausschuss' maneuver. The 'Herausschuss' tactic acknowledged a pilot's skill in removing an enemy bomber from the collective protection of its formation and shooting it down.

During the night Fw. Karl-Heinz Becker of 10./NJG 11 flying a Me 262 downs a RAF Mosquito while his commander, Oblt. Welter downs no less than four of the RAF night intruders.

Willi Unger, Staffelkapitän of 14./JG 3, joins the pilots of the jet fighting unit JG 7.

MEDITERRANEAN: (US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, medium bombers bomb several targets (mostly alternates) in the Po Valley and Brenner area despite bad weather; B-25s hit bridges or bridge approaches at San Michele all'Adige, Crema, Canneto sull'Oglio, Legnago, and Manerbio and Steinach, Austria, and a rail embankment at Salorno; XXII Tactical Air Command A-20s and other aircraft hit Po River crossings during the night of 30/31 Mar at Casalmaggiore, Ostiglia, Borgoforte, and San Benedetto Po, rail facilities at Piacenza and Cittadella, plus nearby ammunition dumps and other targets; fighter-bombers continue to pound communications and dumps at Lavis, Casarsa della Delizia, San Ambrogio di Valpolicella, Legnago, and several other points in the Po Valley and NE Italy; the 97th Bombardment Squadron (Light), 47th Bombardment Group (Light), moves from Grossetto to Pisa with A-20s and A-26s.

WESTERN FRONT: The US 1st and 9th Armies link up at Lippstadt, cutting off the German forces in the Ruhr which consist of 325,000 men mostly from German 15th Army and 5th Panzer Army of German Army Group B (Field Marshal Model). Other elements of US 1st Army capture Paderborn while US 9th Army units take Hamm. To the north, forces of British 2nd Army have crossed the Mitteland Canal near Munster and are advancing to Osnabruck.

The LIII A.K. attack to breakout of the "Ruhr pocket" recaptures Medebach but can go no further. Hitler orders Field Marshall Walter Model, commander of Army Group B, to cease breakout attempts and to tie down as many enemy troops as possible through a vigorous defense.

Paris: Notre Dame and the Arc de Triomphe are floodlit for the first time since the war broke out.

(US Eighth Air Force): Mission 921: 12 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany during the night without loss.

HQ 64th Fighter Wing from Nancy, France to Edenkoben, Germany; HQ 320th Bombardment Group (Medium), from Longvic Airfield, Dijon to Tavaux Airfield, Dole, France.

The 72d Liaison Squadron, Ninth AF (attached to Sixth Army Group), moves from Kaiserlautern to Darmstadt, Germany with L-5s. During Apr 45, the following units move: HQ IX Fighter Command from Bruhl to Weimar, Germany; HQ 9th Bombardment Division (Medium) from Reims, France to Namur, Belgium; and HQ 99th Combat Bombardment Wing (Medium) from Beaumont, France to Tirlemont, Belgium.

(US Ninth Air Force): No bomber operations due to weather. In Germany, fighters fly patrols, armed reconnaissance, and support the US 3d and 9th Armored Divisions in the Paderborn-Lippstadt and Warburg areas, the XX Corps astride and E of the Fulda River, and the XII Corps which reaches the Werra River W of Meiningen.

EASTERN FRONT: In the East, bitter fighting rages in the western suburbs of the fortress city of Breslau. Soviet forces of 3rd Ukrainian Front capture Sopron in western Hungary, to the south of Vienna, in a continuing advance. The 2nd Ukrainian Front, to the north, also continues to advance. On the Oder River, German resistance at Glogau is eliminated by elements of 1st Ukrainian Front.

The highest Soviet military command, Stavka, formulates the political goals of the strategic strikes of the coming summer: "to purge our country of fascist invaders and reach the Barents Sea - Black Sea line".

(US Fifteenth Air Force): Almost 400 B-24s and B-17s bomb the Maribor, Yugoslavia railroad bridge, marshalling yards at Sankt Polten, Selzthal, Zeltweg, Graz, and Villach, Austria, the railroad bridge at Krieglach, Austria, and gun positions on the Adriatic coast near Venice, Italy; 82 P-38s bomb the Ybbs, Austria railroad bridge while 52 P-51s strafe rail traffic in the Prague-Plzen, Czechoslovakia area; other P-38s and P-51s fly reconnaissance and reconnaissance escort.

FINLAND: Finnish Air Force changes its national insignia from blue swastika to a white-blue-white roundel.

MEDITTERANEAN: British Guards and Commando units attack over the River Reno between Lake Comachio and the sea.

Cesena: In a small cinema here four days ago, the commander of the Eighth Army, Lt-Gen Richard McCreery, summoned all officers over the rank of lieutenant-colonel. His intention, he told them, was to destroy the Germans south of the river Po in what could be the last great battle of the gruelling Italian campaign. Soon the Germans will face a massive assault from armies which include Americans (many of Japanese origin), Britons, Brazilians, Italians, New Zealanders, Poles, Indians, Gurkhas and a Jewish brigade. British commandos began their attack east of Lake Comacchio tonight.

(US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy during the night of 31 Mar/1 Apr, A-20s and A-26s on intruder missions over the Po Valley continue to attack road and railroad bridges, motor transport, loading points, and other targets; principal strikes are made at Po River bridges; fighters and fighter-bombers during the day strike rail bridges, dumps, rail lines, marshalling yards, trains, vehicles, gun positions, several buildings (including an ammunition plant and truck factory), and a variety of targets of opportunity in the Po Valley and NE Italy; medium bombers hit railroad bridges at Calcinato, Crema, Mantua, Monselice, Colle Isarco, San Ambrogio di Valpolicella, and Perea.

HQ 87th Fighter Wing is disbanded at Florence; HQ 321st Bombardment Group (Medium) moves from Solenzara, Corsica to Falconara.

GERMANY: 4 RAF Mosquitos of No 100 Group, operating from a forward airfield in France, patrolled airfields in Southern Germany. 1 Mosquito was lost, hit by flak and seen to crash at Leipheim, a small airfield near Ulm.

Seven USAAF bombers fall to the guns of Me 262s from JG 7. But due to the advancing Allies the I Gruppe of JG 7 are ordered evacuate Kaltenkirchen and move further into Germany. 1st Staffel moves to Brandenburg, 2nd Staffel to Burg and 3rd Staffel to Oranienburg.

Major Siegfried Freytag is relieved of his command as Kommodore of JG 77. Major Fritz Losigkeit is named as Kommodore of the unit.

WESTERN FRONT: British 2nd Army advances north of Ruhr. Münster is taken. The Canadian 1st Army advances N. and E. between Nijmegan and Emmerith.

Cpl Edward Thomas Chapman (b.1920), Monmouthshire Regt., forced back the Germans with a Bren gun, and later halted an attack. He was wounded trying to rescue his officer. (Victoria Cross)

Ruhr: General Kurt Student was forced to postpone his planned counter-attack against the US Ninth Army in the Ruhr today because he has no fuel for his tanks. The shortage of fuel caused by Allied air attacks on synthetic fuel plants and the Red Army's occupation of the Romanian and Hungarian oil fields has crippled Germany's forces. The occupation by the Russians of Nagykanisza, the heart of the Hungarian oilfields, today shuts off the last tap.

(US Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown. Mission 922: 1. 447 B-17s, 261 B-24s and 572 P-47s and P-51s are dispatched against 6 airfields in Denmark but are recalled because of bad weather in the target area; 1 B-17 and 1 P-47 (pilot MIA) are lost and 1 P-47 is damaged beyond repair. 2. 26 of 27 P-51s fly a scouting mission without loss. 3. 15 P-51s escort 7 F-5s on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany. Mission 923: During the night of 2/3 Apr, 9 of 10 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands, France and Germany without loss and 10 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions to Denmark without loss.

HQ 358th Fighter Group from Toul, France to Sandhofen, Germany; HQ 69th Tactical Reconnaissance Group and 22d and 111th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadrons from Nancy and Azelot, France respectively to Haguenau, France with F-6s; 441st, 442d, 443d and 444th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium), 320th Bombardment Group (Medium), from Longvic Airfield, Dijon to Tavaux Airfield, Dole, France with B-26s.

12th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 10th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance) (attached to 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group) from Euren to Ober Olm, Germany with F-6s; 30th Photographic Reconnaissance and 109th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadrons, 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, from Vogelsang to Limburg, Germany with F-5s and F-6s respectively; 39th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, Ninth AF [attached to 9th Tactical Reconnaissance Group (Provisional)] from Jarny, France to Maastricht, the Netherlands with F-5s.

MEDITTERANEAN: Cpl Thomas Peck Hunter (b.1923), Royal Marines, charged 200 yards to draw fire away from his men. He forced three gun crews to surrender or flee, pressing on until he was killed. (Victoria Cross)

Major General Benjamin W Chidlaw takes command of the Twelfth Air Force and will shortly take over command of the Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Force (MATAF) also.

(Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, A-20s and A-26s continue intruder missions during the night of 1/2 Apr concentrating on Po River crossings and other Po Valley communications targets; B-25s bomb railroad bridges at Fornovo di Taro, Drauburg, San Michele all' Adige, Matrei am Brenner, Steinach, and Colle Isarco, and a railroad fill at Vo Sinistro; fighters and fighter-bombers again hit communications in the Po Valley but divert sizeable effort to attacks on methane plants in the C Po area; the P-47s are attacked by about 40 fighters during the day, 13 are claimed destroyed; HQ 340th Bombardment Group (Medium) moves from Alesan, Corsica to Rimini.

EASTERN FRONT: In southeast Hungary, Magykanizsa falls to the Soviet advance while in Slovakia, Kremnica is captured. The 3rd Ukrainian Front and Bulgarian forces capture Nagykanizsa, thereby gaining control of the main Hungarian oil production region. The 2nd Ukrainian front under conquers the industrial area of Mosonmagyarovar and reaches the Austrian border between Dounau and the Neusiedler Lake.

GERMANY: In Germany, the IX and XIX Tactical Air Commands fly patrols and armed reconnaissance over wide expanses of Germany claiming 17 airplanes downed and the IX Tactical Air Command supports the US 9th Armored Division at the Diemel River bridgehead near Warburg.

(US Fifteenth Air Force): Almost 600 B-24s and B-17s, with fighter escorts, bomb communications targets in Austria including the marshalling yards at Graz, Sankt Polten, and Krems, and a railroad bridge on the Sulm River; 38 P-38s dive-bomb a railroad bridge at Wildon; 71 P-38s and 55 P-51s strafe Vienna-Munich, Germany and Wiener-Neustadt-Maribor, Yugoslavia rail traffic; others carry out photo and weather reconnaissance and reconnaissance escort flights.

59 RAF training aircraft on a sweep over the North Sea, 54 Mosquitos to Berlin, 50 to Magdeburg, 8 to Lüneburg and 1 each to Hamburg and Lübeck, 55 RCM sorties, 26 Mosquito patrols. 1 Mosquito lost from the Berlin raid.

EASTERN FRONT: In Austria, the Soviet forces take Wiener Neustadt. Almost all of Hungary is now clear of Axis troops while in Czechoslovakia Bratislava is besieged. The 2nd Ukrainian Front approaches close to Vienna.

WESTERN FRONT: Capt Ian Oswald Liddell (b.1919), Coldstream Guards, scaled a road block and, in full view and under fire, disconnected the bombs planted on a bridge. He was killed on 21 April. (Victoria Cross)

The US 76th Division reassembles at Homberg to mop up German rearguard resistance.

10th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 69th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, from Nancy to Haguenau with F-6s (first mission is 17 Apr); 34th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, XII Tactical Air Command (attached to Provisional Reconnaissance Group), form Azelot to Haguenau with F-5s.

HQ XXIX Tactical Air Command (Provisional) to Haltern; HQ 84th and 303d Fighter Wings from Munchen-Gladbach to Haltern; 14th Liaison Squadron, XIX Tactical Air Command (attached to Twelfth Army Group), from Oberstein to Berkersheim with L-5s; 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 10th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance), from Trier to Ober Olm with F-6s; 507th and 508th Fighter Squadrons, 404th Fighter Group, from St Trond, Belgium to Keltz with P-47s.

MEDITTERANEAN: (US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy during the night of 2/3 Apr A-20s bomb the marshalling yard at Mantua, several Po River crossings and other communications targets in the Po Valley; weather hampers operations during the day; medium bombers cancel most missions, but manage to bomb the Po Valley bridges at Camposanto, Usigliano, and Modena; the XXII Tactical Air Command [including Brazilian and South African Air Force (SAAF) units] blast communications, fuel dumps, methane plants, trains, motor transport at numerous points in N Italy (mainly in the Po Valley), including Parma, Modena, Fidenza, Lodi, Bergamo, Reggio Emilia, and Piacenza. The detachment of the 414th Night Fighter Squadron, XXII Tactical Air Command, operating from Florennes, Belgium with Beaufighters, moves to Strossfeld, Germany.

GERMANY: (US Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown. Mission 924: 752 B-17s and 569 P-51s are dispatched to hit U-boat yards at Kiel; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 bombers and 4 fighters are lost: 1. 693 of 752 B-17s hit the Deutsche U-boat yard and 24 hit the Howardts U-boat yard; 2 B-17s hit Flensburg Airfield a target of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost and 121 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 20 MIA. Escorting are 517 of 569 P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost and 2 damaged beyond repair. 2. 98 of 100 P-51s fly a sweep of the Kiel area; 1 is damaged beyond repair. 3. 4 P-51s escort 1 F-5 on a photo reconnaissance mission over Germany. 4. 17 of 18 P-51s fly a scouting mission; 2 P-51s are lost. Mission 925: 1 B-17 and 10 B-24s are dispatched to drop leaflets in the Netherlands, France and Germany during the night; 1 returns to base.

(US Ninth Air Force): In Germany, about 230 B-26s, A-20s and A-26s attack Holzminden and Hameln marshalling yards, the town of Gottingen, 2 targets of opportunity, and fly a leaflet mission; fighters fly escort, fly patrols and armed reconnaissance, support the US 9th Armored Division in the Warburg area, the XX Corps E of the Werra River toward Muhlhausen and in the Kassel area, the XII Corps in the Gotha and Suhl areas, and the 2d and 8th Armored Divisions in the Teutoburger Forest and Neuhaus

(US Fifteenth Air Force): 95 P-38s divebomb the Tainach- Stein railroad bridge in Austria; other P-38s and P-51s fly reconnaissance and escort missions; bad weather prevents bomber operations. HQ 325th Fighter Group and the 317th, 318th and 319th Fighter Squadrons move from Rimini to Mondolfo, Italy with P-51s.

247 RAF Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 8 Groups to attack what were believed to be military barracks near Nordhausen. Unfortunately, the barracks housed a large number of concentration-camp prisoners and forced workers of many nationalities who worked in a complex of underground tunnels where various secret weapons were made. The camp and the tunnel workshops had been established immediately after Bomber Command attacked the rocket-research establishment at Peenemünde in August 1943. The bombing was accurate and many people in the camp were killed; the exact number is not known. The men working in the tunnels were unhurt. 2 Lancasters lost.

95 RAF Mosquitos to Berlin, 8 to Plauen and 5 to Magdeburg, 17 Mosquito patrols. 9 Lancasters sent to lay mines in the Kattegat were recalled because of weather conditions. 1 Mosquito lost from the Magdeburg raid.

General Gordon Gollob, in an effort to personally attack General Galland, issues a four page report on jet fighter operations stating: " So far JV 44 has achieved nothing, even though it contains a number of very good pilots. Furthermore, it is pursuing operational methods, which are not merely at variance with, but actually counter-productive to, commonly accepted principles. It is proposed that the unit be disbanded and its pilots be employed more usefully within the ranks of other existing units."