World War II in real time

Day 2056 of World War II, April 27th 1945

YouTube (The Battle of Berlin)



Eastern Front

In Berlin, the Soviet forces have captured the Templehof airfield and are making progress in Spandau, Grunewald and other areas. To the north of the capital, troops of 2nd Belorussian Front begin to advance rapidly, taking Prenzlau and Angermunde. The Russian 13th Army reaches Wittenberge on the Elbe River. The German 9th Army tries to reach Berlin from the southeast and begins a counterattack at Zossen. The German 20th Army does the same southeast of Belzig.

Lapland War

The last German forces leave Finland around Kilpisjärvi, the northwestern most tip of Finland. In this last day, two Finnish soldiers die, one is wounded and one goes missing in skirmishes with German patrols. During the seven-month war against Germany, Finns lose 774 KIA, 262 MIA and 2904 WIA. The German losses are estimated roughly equal.

Photo: Finnish soldiers raise the war flag at the three-country cairn between Norway, Sweden, and Finland, the end of World War II in Finland, 27 April 1945



Western Front (1945) - Western Allied invasion of Germany

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, April 27th 1945



A momentous announcement, revealing that Allied troops advancing from the west have linked up with the Russians on the river Elbe, was released simultaneously in London, Moscow and Washington this evening. The official version of the meeting places it at Torgau yesterday afternoon, when news cameramen were present to show American and Russian troops shaking hands on a wrecked railway bridge, and the commander of the US 69th Infantry Division, General F. E. Reinhardt, clasping hands with an unidentified Russian general of the 58th Guards Division. In fact the first meeting had occurred on 25 April, when a US patrol, led by Lt. Albert Kotzebue of the US 69th, spotted a solitary Soviet cavalryman near the village of Stehla. A few hours later, Lt. William Robinson met other Soviet soldiers at Torgau. In a radio message to his command post Kotzebue reported: "Mission accomplished. Making arrangements for meeting between commanding officers." The message ended with two significant words: "No casualties." - a reflection of western fears that a meeting with the Russians might lead to clashes.

Photo: Doughboys, tanks and other vehicles of the 86th Division, U.S. Third Army, push through the ruined town of Ingolstadt, Germany. 27 April, 1945



Photo: Lt-Gen Brian Horrocks, GOC 30 Corps (standing, second from right), studies maps with officers in a Universal carrier at the Europa Docks in Bremen, 27 April 1945



Photo: Tired infantrymen of the 99th Infantry Division, 3rd U.S. Army, rest in a covered area with their assault boats. Neustadt, Germany, 27 April, 1945



Air War over Europe

(Ninth Air Force): Weather grounds the 9th Bombardment Division. In Germany, fighters fly sweeps, airfield cover, and armed reconnaissance, and attack airfields; other fighters fly air cover for the US XII Corps as the 11th Armored Division reaches the Czech border N of Bischofsreuth and other elements move further into Austria toward Linz, and support the XX Corps as it receives the surrender of Regensburg and expands its Danube River bridgehead; the 72d Liaison Squadron, Ninth AF (attached to Sixth Army Group), moves from Kitzingen to Gmund with L-5s.

Italian campaign

Forces of US 5th Army liberate Genoa, which is already substantially controlled by Italian partisan forces.

Photo: American soldiers being greeted by civilians in Genoa. 27 April, 1945



Photo: 92nd Div. troops riding down street in newly-liberated Genoa pass PWs going to the rear. 27 April, 1945



Photo: Genoa, Italy. In this newly liberated city the 92nd Division troops enter the Galleria Guiseppe [sic] Garibaldi," 27 April 1945



Battle of the Atlantic

Frigate HMS 'Redmill' is attacked by 'U-1105' (Oberleutnant zur See Hans Joachim Schwarz) and loses her stern and propellers, but is able to be towed to Londonderry where she is paid off and not repaired. Location: Irish Sea 25 miles NW of Blacksod Bay at 54 23N 10 36W. There are 22 casualties.

Germany

The western Allies reply to the peace proposals Himmler offered earlier in the month with a total refusal and a reminder of the established demand for unconditional surrender.

Hitler's optimism evaporated today. Wenck has been stopped 15 miles short of Berlin and a breakout attempt by General Busse's trapped Ninth Army has been foiled while the Russians inexorably occupy Berlin, house by house, street by street, looting and raping as they go. Tonight the garrison is penned into a corridor three miles wide and ten miles long running east/west across the city. The SS rules there by way of instant execution. Hitler announces, "On the occasion of my death Ferdinand Schorner will take command of the German Army. In Hitler's last public appearance he decorated the Hitler Youth member Alfred Zeck from Goldenau with the Iron Cross. Zeck was only twelve years old becoming the youngest recipient of the prestigious medal.

United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Vogelgesang (DD-862) off Bethlehem Steel, Staten Island, New York (USA), on 27 April 1945



Photo: The U.S. Navy attack cargo ship USS Sidonia (AKA-42) underway in Narragansett Bay (USA) during builders sea trials, 27 April 1945



Pacific War

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 5 B-25s and 70+ fighter bombers attack bridges, positions, villages and town areas, gun emplacements, and river, road, and rail traffic at many points in S and E China chiefly around Fantung.

INDIA-BURMA

(Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 37 P-38s and P-47s hit troop concentrations in the Wan Pong and Nawng Leng areas; 12 other fighter bombers sweep roads S of the bomb line; transports complete 408 sorties throughout the day, landing or dropping 618 tons of supplies at forward bases and frontline areas; the 166th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 1st Air Commando Group, moves from Meiktila to Toungoo with UC-64s and L-5s.

GUAM

(Seventh Air Force): 11 Guam Island-based B-24s bomb Woleai.

(Twentieth Air Force): Missions 108 to 113: 109 B-29s strike airfields at Izumi, Miyazaki, Kokubu, Miyakonojo, Kanoya, and Kushira on Kyushu Island, Japan; 3 B-29s hit targets of opportunity; 2 bombers are lost.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force]: The 550th Night Fighter Squadron, XIII Fighter Command (attached to 85th Fighter Wing), based at Tacloban, Leyte Island with P-38s, P-61s and P-70s, sends a detachment to operate from Zamboanga, Mindanao Island.

JAPANESE OCCUPIED NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES

A squadron of 3 cruisers and 6 destroyers, commanded by Admiral Berkey, make a preparatory bombardment of targets in the Tarakan area in the northeast of the island of Borneo.

PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1945)

Baguio on Luzon in the Philippines is taken by US forces. On Luzon Island, B-25s attack Japanese installations at Cabatuan, La-lo, and Garit Norte; A-20s hit towns throughout the area; in S Luzon, fighter-bombers and A-20s hit targets E of Manila, in the Legaspi area, and at other scattered points.

Photo: U.S. troops of the 746th Engineer Aviation Battalion resurface Lehug Airstrip on Cebu Island, Philippines, 27 April 1945



VOLCANO AND RYUKYU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

Off Okinawa, kamikazes damage destroyer Ralph Talbot (DD-390), 26°00'N, 128°00'E; destroyer escort England (DE-635), 26°40'N, 127°40'E; and high speed transport Rathburne (APD-25), 26°26'N, 127°36'E; heavy cruiser Wichita (CA-45) is damaged by shore battery, 26°14'N, 127°50'E; destroyer William D. Porter (DD-579) is damaged by friendly fire, 26°21'N, 127°43'E. A kamikaze also crashes U.S. freighter Canada Victory killing one merchant officer and two of the 27-man Armed Guard; Canada Victory sinks, the survivors swimming to nearby attack transport Lauderdale (APA-179).

ALASKA

(Eleventh Air Force): On Shimushu, 6 B-24s drop fragmentation bombs on the Kataoka naval base, 1 B-24 hits Minami Cape, and another flies a radar-ferret mission.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPOA COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 345, APRIL 27, 1945

Troops of the Twenty‑Fourth Army Corps in the southern sector of Okinawa made a general advance during the afternoon of April 26 (East Longitude Date). By 1800 on that day, elements of the Twenty‑Seventh In­fantry Division had reached the vicinity of the Machinato Airfield near the West Coast after by passing enemy strong points in Nakama Village. In the central and eastern segments of the lines local gains were made against enemy mortar and machine gun fire. The ground troops were supported by Naval gunfire, carrier aircraft and planes of the Second Marine Aircraft Wing. The attack was resumed on the morning of April 27.

Marines of the Third Amphibious Corps continued to patrol northern Okinawa on April 26 and 27.

A few enemy aircraft appeared over our forces during the early morning of April 27. Three were shot down by one of our minesweepers.

Attacks by carrier aircraft of the U. S. Pacific Fleet on the Sakishima Group continued on April 26.

Mitchells of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing attacked harbor installa­tions on Chichi Jima in the Bonins on the night of April 26. Fighters and torpedo planes of the same wing bombed bivouac areas in the Palaus on April 27 and fighters attacked targets on Yap.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPOA PRESS RELEASE NO. 87, APRIL 27, 1945

In the Okinawa campaign the enemy has attempted the use of rocket-propelled suicide bombs against our forces. These weapons, which are similar to a small single‑seat airplane, carry a pilot and are generally launched from the underside of the fuselage of a bomber. They have a wingspan of about sixteen feet, a length of more than 19 feet, and a tail plane of about eight feet. Constructed of light metals and wood, these bombs carry a heavy war­head of explosives. They are capable of high speed which reduces their qualities of maneuverability to a low point. The enemy has used them in limited numbers in the Okinawa operation up to this date, offering little op­portunity for observation of their powers or effects. U. S. forces have desig­nated these missiles by the term "baka bomb". "Baka" Is Japanese meaning "stupid," "foolish," or "silly."

PACIFIC

Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser No.31 Yusen Maru is sunk by aircraft off Amami-Oshima.

USAAF mine (laid on 27 March) sinks Japanese cargo vessel Kaiho Maru at western entrance of Shimonoseki Strait, 34°00'N, 130°50'E.

Day 2058 of World War II, April 29th 1945

Eastern Front

In the battle of Berlin, the Red Army has now captured most of the city except for the area around the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichskanzlei and the Reichstag which is still fiercely defended by isolated units of the Waffen-SS. There is little left now for the defenders of Berlin to die for. They are being split up into small groups which fall back to fight from the Flak towers and large air-raid shelters. Guns are set up in railway yards, squares and parks to hold off the advancing tanks. It appears that a last stand will be made in the Tiergarten, but more and more men are risking the SS execution squads and surrendering. North of the capital, Red Army units capture Anklam and other towns. In the south, Soviet pressure in Austria and Czechoslovakia continues.

Photo: Soviet tanks and self-propelled guns on the streets of Berlin, 29 April 1945



Western Front (1945) - Western Allied invasion of Germany

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, April 29th 1945



The British 2nd Army captured Lauenburg, just south of Hamburg, in Germany, thus trapping all German forces in Denmark and securing the Baltic Ports. When Soviet forces arrived at Lubeck and Wismar not long afterwards they found British and Canadian paratroopers waiting for them. Bernard Montgomery had thereby, not only denied Joseph Stalin the opportunity to seize Denmark, but had also kept the Soviet Navy locked within the Baltic Sea.

Photo: Sherman DD tanks with lowered flotation screens in Lauenburg, 29 April 1945



Photo: German prisoners file past 6-pdr anti-tank guns and carriers of 15th (Scottish) Division near the Elbe, 29 April 1945



Photo: Buffaloe armoured vehicles on the banks of the Elbe, 29 April 1945



Photo: Carriers and infantry of the 2nd Gordon Highlanders move up to cross the Elbe, 29 April 1945



The French First Army (de Tassigny) captures Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance. South of the Danube River, US 3rd Army units reach the River Isar.

30,000 surviving inmates of Dachau are liberated by troops of the US 3rd Army. The advance continues toward Munich.

Photo: This German twin-engined, jet propelled fighter plane was abandoned by Luftwaffe troops in hanger of German airfield captured by 111 Corps, 3rd U.S. Army, at Manching, Germany, 29 April, 1945



Western Front (1945) - Liberation of France

The last parts of French soil, on the Alpine front, still held by Germans are liberated by French forces.

Western Front (1945) - Liberation of the Netherlands

Lancasters of Nos 1, 3 and 8 Groups start to drop food supplies for the civilian population. Eighteen aircraft of No 153 Squadron, RAF Bomber Command, began dropping food parcels from a height of 400 feet to the starving Dutch civilians. In the winter of 44/45, the 'Hunger Winter' as the Dutch call it, northern Holland and the heavily populated cities in Western Holland was still under German occupation. Around 18,000 of the elder, sick and young had died through sickness and lack of sufficient food. Churchill had written on April 10th, 'I fear we may soon be in the presence of a great tragedy'. The first food drop (284 bags) was over Ypenburg, near the Hague, subsequent drops were on the Dundigt Racecourse. Before the food-drop operation began an agreement was reached whereby German anti-aircraft units would not fire on low flying aircraft dropping food. This was agreed to by the then Reich Commissioner for the Netherlands, Artur Seyss-Inquart, who was later found guilty of participating in the deportation of Jews. (He was hanged at Nuremberg on October 16, 1946) Over the next ten days the squadron flew 111 sorties, dropping 7,029 tons of the much needed food. Pathfinder Mosquitos 'marked' the dropping zones. 2,835 Lancaster and 124 Mosquito flights were made before the Germans surrendered at the end of the war and allowed ships and road transport to enter the area. Bomber Command delivered 6,672 tons of food during Operation Manna. The operation continues for ten days, delivering 7,000 tons of food. US Army Air Force joins in, with Operation Chowhound, delivering 4000+ tons of food supplies.

Photo: Ground crew loading supplies into the bomb bay of an Avro Lancaster of No. 514 Squadron RAF at Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, during Operation 'Manna', the dropping of food to the starving Dutch population. Operation Manna: the air movement of food and supplies to the Dutch populace. Ground crew prepare to load sacks of food into the bomb-bay of an Avro Lancaster of No. 514 Squadron RAF at Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, 29 April 1945



Air War over Europe

(US Eighth Air Force): Mission 971: 8 B-17s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany.

HQ 64th Fighter Wing moves from Edenkoben to Schwabisch-Hall, Germany.

(US Ninth Air Force): Weather cancels operations by the 9th Bombardment Division. Fighters fly patrols and airfield cover, hit special targets, fly armed reconnaissance over E Germany and W Czechoslovakia, and cooperate with the XII Corps moving SE between the Danube River and the Czech border N of Linz, Austria, and with the XX Corps as some of its units establish bridgeheads and begin crossing the Isar River in the Plattling-Landau an der Isar-Landshut-Passau, Germany areas. Unit moves: HQ 48th Fighter Group and 494th Fighter Squadron from Kassel to Illesheim, Germany with P-47s; HQ 387th Bombardment Group (Medium) from Clastres, France to Beek, the Netherlands.

Italian campaign

British Eighth and US Fifth Armies linked up near Padua, Italy, which had just been liberated by Italian partisans who surrounded the 5,000-strong German garrison.

Photo: A Churchill tank of 21st Tank Brigade comes ashore after crossing the River Adige, watched by the inhabitants of the village of Cabiance, 29 April 1945



Photo: A Sherman artillery observation tank drives off a raft after crossing the River Adige, 29 April 1945



The unofficial surrender of German forces in Italy is signed at Caserta. The German representatives are present here because of a secret negotiation between the head of the OSS mission in Switzerland, Allan Dulles, and SS General Wolff.

YouTube (1 Million German Soldiers Surrender at Caserta (1945)



These talks have been going on since much earlier in the year, but because of their clandestine nature, the German representatives at Caserta cannot guarantee that the surrender will be ratified by Vietinghoff, commanding German forces in Italy.

Instrument of Local Surrender of German and other forces under the command or control of the German Commander-in-Chief Southwest




German 148th Division, Italian 4th Alpine Division "Monte Rosa", Italian 3rd Marine Division "San Marco", and German 29th Waffen-SS Grenadier Division (Italian troops) surrendered to Brazilian General Mascarenhas de Moraes near Parma, Italy.

Photo: German General Otto Freter Pico, Commander of the 148th Infantry Division, and General Mario Carloni surrendering to the Brazilian FEB after the battle of Fornovo di Taro, 29 April 1945



(US Fifteenth Air Force): Bad weather again prevents bomber operations. 8 P-51s and P-38s complete weather and photo reconnaissance missions. 39 P-51s fly armed reconnaissance over NE Italy; 5 of the fighters bomb and 4 strafe various targets of opportunity, claiming 4 motor transports destroyed and a reconnaissance car and 2 parked aircraft damaged.

(US Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, weather again restricts operations; the medium bombers are grounded; fighters and fighter-bombers attack retreating forces and communications throughout NE Italy including Thiene Airfield and claim 350+ motor transport destroyed; enemy forces in Italy, commanded by General Heinrich von Vietinghoff surrender unconditionally at Caserta, effective 2 May; HQ 57th Fighter Group and 64th, 65th and 66th Fighter Squadrons move from Grosseto to Villafranca di Verona, with P-47s.

Arctic naval operations

14 German U-boats attack convoy RA-66 which consists of 24 ships with an escort including 2 escort carriers, 1 cruiser, 9 destroyers and 13 other ships.

Whilst engaged on an A/S sweep off Kola prior to the departure of convoy RA.66, frigate HMS 'Goodall' is torpedoed and magazine explodes blowing away the forward part of the ship. Beyond salvage, she is abandoned and scuttled. Location: entrance to Kola Inlet at 69 25N 33 38E. 'Goodall' is the last British warship to be sunk by submarine attack.

Battle of the Atlantic

'U-1017' sunk in the North Atlantic NW of Ireland, in position 56.04N, 11.06W, by depth charges from an RAF 120 Sqn Liberator. 34 dead, unknown number of survivors.

Germany

Hitler marries his mistress, Eva Braun, and prepares his Political Testament, appointing Admiral Donitz as his successor and describing how Germany has failed him in the struggle against Bolshevism.

Soviet occupied Austria

The Red Army sets up a provisional government in Vienna.

Pacific War

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 3 B-25s and 4 P-47s blast targets at the Taiyuan railroad yards; about 50 fighter-bombers, operating in forces of 1 to 4 aircraft, blast numerous targets of opportunity in S and E China, hitting especially the Fantung area.

INDIA-BURMA

(Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 5 P-47s attack Laihka Airfield; 6 others strafe troops and horses at Tadamo; transports fly 427 sorties to forward areas, landing or dropping 537 tons of supplies. Unit moves: 81st Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 12th BG (Medium), ceases operating from Meiktila, Burma with B-25s and returns to base at Fenny, India; 317th Troop Carrier Squadron (Commando), 2d Air Commando Group, based at Kalaikunda, India with C-47s, sends a detachment to operate from Akyab, Burma.

BURMA

In the Irrawaddy Valley, Allanmyo falls to the advances of British 33rd Corps. The remaining Japanese units in this area are losing cohesion as a result of the British attacks. In the Sittang Valley, the British 17th Indian Division captures Nyaunglebim and continues attacking near Payagyi.

JAPANESE OCCUPIED NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES

In Borneo, B-24s pound Kuching Airfield while B-25s bomb Tarakan. Other B-24s hit Langoan, Mandai Airfield, and Mapanget Airfields.

SAIPAN

VII Fighter Command: 20 Saipan Island-based P-47s sweep Truk Atoll, strafing airfields, defenses, and gun positions on Moen and Param and hit Param and Falas with rockets. Seventh Air Force: 24 Guam-based B-24s subsequently attack the same airfields as the fighters above. 20 B-24s, operating in 2 forces, pound air installations on Marcus Island in the N Pacific.

(Twentieth Air Force): Missions 120 to 125: 111 B-29s strike airfields on Kyushu Island, Japan, i.e., Miyazaki, Miyakonojo, Kokubu, 2 at Kanoya, and Kushira Airfields; they claim nearly 30 Japanese aircraft shot down; 2 B-29s are lost.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

P-38s sweep French Indochina and strafe Thu Dau Mot Airfield. The 318th Troop Carrier Squadron (Commando), 3d Air Commando Group, moves from Mangaldan to Laoag with C-47s.

PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1945)

The US 185th Regiment (General Brush) lands near Padan Point with naval support by a destroyer force commanded by Admiral Struble. There is little Japanese resistance.

In support of ground forces on Luzon Island, fighter-bombers hit troop concentrations, supply areas, pillboxes, gun positions, vehicles, and other targets mainly in the Balete Pass, Baguio, and Echague areas and A-20s hit the New Bosoboso area, where fighters also support ground forces concentrating in the Ipo Dam area.

VOLCANO AND RYUKYU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

Off Okinawa, kamikazes damage destroyers Hazelwood (DD-531), 27°02'N, 129°59'E, and Haggard (DD-555), 27°01'N, 129°40'E; and light minelayers Shannon (DM-25), 26°00'N, 127°00'E, and Harry F. Bauer (DM-26), 26°47'N, 128°42'E.

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Haggard (DD-555) is assisted by the light cruiser USS San Diego (CL-53), after being hit by a kamikaze off Okinawa on 29 April 1945. Haggard did not sink but was not reparied and was scrapped after the war



ALASKA

(Eleventh Air Force): 12 B-25s attempting to bomb targets in the Kurile Islands abort due to a weather front. 6 B-24s radar-bomb Kataoka naval base on Shimushu.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPOA COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 347, APRIL 29, 1945

A Navy Hospital Ship, USS Comfort, was attacked and heavily damaged by a Japanese aircraft about 50 miles south of Okinawa at 2058 local time on April 28 (East Longitude Date). The crashed Japanese plane which made the suicide attack is still on the Comfort. The vessel which was engaged in evacuating wounded from Okinawa suffered 29 killed, 33 seriously wounded, and 100 missing, including patients, passengers, and crew. At the time of the attack she was operating under full hospital procedure, was clearly marked and was fully lighted. She is now proceeding to port under her own power.

Elements of the Twenty Seventh Infantry Division captured the northern half of Machinato Airfield on Okinawa on April 28 as a general advance was made in the southern sector of the island. The Seventh Infantry Division secured the high ground near Kochi Village and was continuing to move southward. Corsair fighters of the Second Marine Aircraft Wing and planes from the carriers of the Pacific Fleet bombed and strafed ahead of the ad­vancing troops. The attack was supported by heavy artillery and by the guns of heavy units of the fleet.

A series of attacks involving a total of about 200 enemy aircraft were made on our forces in the Okinawa area during the afternoon of April 28 and the night of April 28‑29. Combat air patrols from escort and fast carriers of the U. S. Pacific Fleet and from the Second Marine Aircraft Wing prevented any enemy planes from penetrating to our main forces during daylight. At­tacks after nightfall and continuing until 0215 on April 29 caused some dam­age to light units of the fleet. A total of 104 enemy aircraft were destroyed by ships' guns and carrier and land‑based aircraft.

Carrier aircraft strafed targets on Kume Island west of Okinawa on April 28.

From the beginning of operations against Okinawa and surrounding islands through April 27, the Tenth Army lost 1,527 soldiers and 320 Marines killed in action. A total of 7,826 soldiers and 1,322 Marines were wounded and 413 soldiers and five Marines were missing.

Navy search aircraft of Fleet Air Wing One attacked a convoy west of Kyushu on April 27 scoring four hits with medium bombs on cargo ships. Aircraft of the same wing attacked shipping in Shimonoseki Strait with bombs and torpedoes during the night of April 28‑29. During daylight on April 29, Fleet Air Wing One planes destroyed a small cargo ship, damaged seven others, and set a picket ship afire in attacks made in the waters around Kyushu, Honshu, and the Ryukyus.

Army Mustangs of the Seventh Fighter Command strafed small craft, radio installations, and other targets in the area of the Bonins on April 29.

Corsair fighters and Avenger torpedo planes of the Fourth Marine Air­craft Wing bombed targets in the Palaus through moderate antiaircraft fire on targets April 28 and 29.

Army Liberators and Thunderbolt fighters of the Strategic Air Force bombed and strafed airfields and installations at Truk in the Carolines on April 28 and 29. On April 29 Navy search planes of Fleet Air Wing One hit the same target setting a drydock afire and sinking a ship in the harbor.

PACIFIC

Motor minesweeper YMS-51 is damaged by mine off Tarakan, Borneo, 03°18'N, 117°33'E.

Japanese carrier attack planes (KATEs) flying from Truk attack Naval Base, Manus, Admiralty Islands, torpedoing the advance base section docks ABSD-2 and ABSD-4 in the belief that the shapes they perceive in the nocturnal strike are aircraft carriers.

TBM (VC 92) from escort carrier Tulagi (CVE-72) sinks Japanese submarine I 44, 220 miles southeast of Okinawa, 24°15'N, 131°16'E.

Submarine Besugo (SS-321) sinks Japanese guardboat Otome Maru southeast of Borneo, 05°45'S, 107°30'E.

Submarine Bream (SS-243) sinks German minesweeper depot ship Quito off Tanjong Puting, Borneo, N.E.I., 04°11'S, 111°17'E.[13]

Submarine Cero (SS-225) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Taishu Maru off Kamaishi, Japan, 39°15'N, 141°58'E.

USAAF B-24s on anti-shipping sweep of Makassar Strait sink Japanese cargo vessel No.5 Hirata Maru in Pamukan Bay, 02°30'S, 116°25'E.

Japanese passenger ferry No.2 Kuroshio (ex-landing ship T.149) is damaged by mine during passage from Singapore to Batavia; transport (ex-seaplane carrier) Kumikawa Maru is damaged by mine laid by RAAF Catalina off Balikpapan, Borneo. Merchant cargo ship No.1 Aioi Maru is sunk by mine three miles off Tsunemi.

Day 2060 of World War II, May 1st 1945

Eastern Front

In the battle of Berlin, the remaining pockets of German resistance in the center of the city are crumbling.

German General Hans Krebs head of the OKH after Guderian's dismissal on March 26th met with Vasily Chuikov, head of the Soviet 8th Guards Army, to attempt to negotiate a ceasefire. Krebs also gave Chuikov news of a certain event that had transpired some 12 hours earlier in the Führerbunker – contained in a document signed by Joseph Goebbels and Martin Bormann. Krebs is informed that surrender must be unconditional. German-Soviet truce talks are ended when a German sniper injures Russian Major Belovsoff. Soviet forces retaliate with a intense shell barrage.

Photo: Soviet tank with bedspring near the Brandenburg Gate at Berlin, 1 may 1945



YouTube (May 1, 1945 - News Bulletin Announces Soviet Entry into Berlin)



Western Front (1945) - Western Allied invasion of Germany

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, May 1st 1945



In the north, the British continue their moves toward Lubeck and Hamburg. The US 1st and 9th Armies are firmly established along the line of the Elbe and Mulde rivers. They have been forbidden to advance farther into the zone designated for Soviet occupation. The US 7th Army continues advancing into Austria.

Photo: German comes in to advancing Yank riflemen with hands raised in surrender. 1 May, 1945



Photo: tank opens fire on the enemy positions in the mountains. Infantrymen hug the ground along the fence. 1 May, 1945



Photo: (409th Task Force photo series) Here, machine gun mounted on jeep, chatters away at enemy positions on the mountains. Man at left with glasses directs fire. 1 May, 1945



Photo: while one man peppers away with his M1, machine gun sprays the mountain side with lead. 1 May, 1945



Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt is captured by US troops. US 7th Army captures German Field Marshal General Wilhelm Rutter von Leeb and German Field Marshal General Wilhelm List.

Western Front (1945) - Liberation of the Netherlands

Canadian forces capture Delfzijl, Netherlands.

Air War over Europe

(US Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown. Mission 973: 396 B-17s are dispatched to drop food supplies in the Hague (237) and Rotterdam (155), the Netherlands; a total of 777.1 tons of food are dropped. Mission 974: During the night of 1/2 May, 4 of 5 B-24s drop leaflets in Germany.

Photo: B 17 dropping food parcels on Schiphol, operation, 1 May 1945



(US Ninth Air Force): 9 A-26s bomb an ammunition plant at Stod, Czechoslovakia. The IX Tactical Air Command escorts the bombers, flies airfield cover, and patrols the Leipzig-Schwarzenberg, Germany area. The XIX Tactical Air Command flies patrols and armed reconnaissance over E Germany, W Czechoslovakia, and Austria, dive-bombs Berchtesgaden, and operates with the US XII Corps which is advancing SE between the Danube River and the Czech border and N into Czechoslovakia N of Passau, Germany, and with the XX Corps whose advance elements speed toward the Inn River at Wasserburg, Germany; the 353d and 355th Fighter Squadrons, 354th Fighter Group, move from Ober Olm to Ansbach, Germany with P-47s.

Italian campaign

General Vietinghoff, commanding German Army Group C, agrees to the surrender terms signed at Caserta.

Yugoslavian partisans occupy Trieste.

Photo: Partisans on their way to Trieste, 1 May 1945



Photo: Tanks of the Yugoslav 4th Army driving to Trieste, 1 May 1945



Photo: units of the Yugoslav 4th Army in Trieste, 1 May 1945



(US Fifteenth Air Force): Despite bad weather 27 B-17s bomb the main station and marshalling yard at Salzburg, Austria; this is the final Fifteenth AF bombing mission of the war; P-38s and P-51s fly reconnaissance and reconnaissance escort missions.

(US Twelfth Air Force): During the night of 30 Apr/1 May A-20s and A-26s bomb targets of opportunity in N Italy; bad weather during the day cancels medium bomber operations; fighter-bombers destroy numerous motor and horse-drawn vehicles in NE Italy; US Fifth Army forces approach the Brenner Pass on the Austro-Italian border, while British Eighth Army elements make contact with Yugoslav troops of Marshal Tito near Monfalcone; the flight of the 5th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 3d Photographic Group (Reconnaissance), operating from Pisa with F-5s returns to base at Peretola Airfield, Florence.

Battle of the Mediterranean

Greek Commandos with co-operation of British Navy and Air Force make four simultaneous raids on the west coast of Rhodes Island in the Dodecanese Islands in Aegean Sea. German and Italian casualties are estimated at 89, with just three British troops wounded.

German occupied Denmark

German forces begin abandoning Denmark.

Germany

Hamburg radio announces that Hitler is dead and that Donitz is the second Fuhrer of the Reich. Donitz himself broadcasts, announcing that "it is my duty to save the German people from destruction by Bolshevists." He orders utmost resistance on all fronts, especially in the East where tens of thousands of German civilians are still trying to escape from the stampeding Red Army.

YouTube (Karl Dönitz Speech to the German People - 1 May 1945 - English subtitles available)



In Berlin, Joseph Goebbels carried out his sole official act as Chancellor of Germany, dictating a letter to the Soviet commander in Berlin advising of Hitler's death and requesting a ceasefire. When the latter was refused, he and his wife Magda killed their six children and committed suicide themselves.

Portugal

The Portuguese Government orders flags at half-staff and two days of mourning for Adolf Hitler.

Pacific War

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): During May the Japanese decide to give up their Greater E Asia Corridor and withdraw from S China; the Fourteenth AF further concentrates its attacks on rail and road movements and river shipping and thus plays a major role in critically reducing the enemy's mobility and supply lines. In China, 2 B-25s and 16 P-51s knock out bridges near Taiku and Kiehsiu and hit AA positions and locomotives near the bridges, blast gun emplacements in the Loning area, and hit several locomotives, near Shihkiachwang. Lieutenant General Albert C Wedemeyer, Commanding General US Forces China Theater, selects Lieutenant General George E Stratemeyer to command HQ AAF China Theater, with both HQ Tenth and Fourteenth AFs under his command. During May, the detachment of the 449th Fighter Squadron, 51st FG, operating from Posek, China with P-38s, returns to base at Chengkung.

INDIA-BURMA

(Tenth Air Force): Unit moves: 9th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, from Myitkyina, Burma to Piardoba, India with F-5s; the detachment of the 317th Troop Carrier Squadron (Commando), 2d Air Commando Group, operating from Akyab Airfield with C-47s, to base at Kalaikunda, India.

BURMA

British attacks in the Sittang Valley approach Pegu. Monsoon rains begin in southern Burma, slowing further progress toward Rangoon by land. In anticipation of this eventuality, an amphibious operation to capture Rangoon is initiated with parachute landings at the mouth of the Irrawaddy River, on the east bank.

Photo: The Advance on Rangoon March - May 1945: Gurkha paratroops check their equipment before being dropped on a series of strategic points around Rangoon, 1 May 1945



SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force]: On Formosa, B-25s hit the Heito sugar refinery and the town of Kagi.

GUAM

(Seventh Air Force): 16 Guam based B-24s bomb the airfield on Marcus in the N Pacific while 10 hit air installations on Param; during the night 9 more, flying individual snooper strikes, hit airfields on Param and Moen. VII Fighter Command: The 6th Night Fighter Squadron, VII Fighter Command, departs Kagman Field, Saipan Island, Mariana Islands for Kipapa, Hawaii with P-61s.

BORNEO CAMPAIGN (1945)

General Whitehead and 18,000 troops of the 26th Australian Brigade land on Borneo. On Borneo, B-24s support Australian landings on Tarakan Island and bomb Tawau and B-25s attack Jesselton, Tarakan, Sandakan, and Kudat, concentrating on airfields.

Photo: The second wave of the 2/48th Infantry Battalion leaving HMAS Manoora, 1 May 1945



Photo: Australian troops wading ashore at Tarakan Island, Borneo, with beach obstacles and LSTs in background, P-Day. USS LST 993, left center, the pipes in the foreground are part of these left by oilfield workers, 1 May 1945



Photo: Australian troops wading ashore at Tarakan Island, Borneo, with beach obstacles and LSTs in background, 1 May 1945



PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1945)

The Mexican Expeditionary Air Force arrived in the Philippine Islands.

FEAF continues to support ground forces on Luzon and Negros Islands.

HQ 6th Photographic Reconnaissance Group moves from Leyte Island to Clark Field, Luzon. Unit moves during May: HQ 309th Bombardment Wing from San Marcelino to Lingayen Airfield; 7th Combat Cargo Squadron, 2d Combat Cargo Group from Biak to Dulag; the detachment of the 160th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 3d Air Commando Group, ceases operating from Mindoro with UC-64s and L-5s and returns to base at Mabalacat, Luzon.

U.S. freighter Henry L. Abbott is damaged by mine, Manila Bay, 14°35'N, 120°58'E. Two of the merchant crew die in the explosion; there are no casualties among the 27-man Armed Guard.

VOLCANO AND RYUKYU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

Map: Map of the Battle of Okinawa as of 1 May 1945



ALASKA

(Eleventh Air Force): 1 B-24 flies a weather reconnaissance mission over the Kurile Islands.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPOA COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 349, MAY 1, 1945

Troops of the Seventh Infantry Division continued to advance in the eastern sector of the lines on Okinawa on April 30 (East Longitude Date). By mid‑afternoon advance elements of the division had entered the village of Kuhazu. Local gains were made along the remainder of the front. The at­tack of the infantry was supported by heavy naval gunfire, heavy artillery and carrier and land‑based aircraft. A few enemy planes were In the area of Okinawa on April 30. One medium sized ship was damaged.

Aircraft from escort carriers attacked air installations in the Sakishima group on April 30. Reports of the strike on these islands by escort carrier planes on April 29 reveal that ammunition dumps were exploded, radio facili­ties and barracks were hit and several planes were destroyed on the ground.

Search planes of Fleet Air Wing One bombed and strafed radio installa­tions on Kuro and Kuchino Islands in the northern Ryukyus on April 30. An enemy plane was destroyed on the ground at Kuchino. On the following day aircraft of this wing sank a cargo ship and damaged another in the East China Sea; sank a small cargo ship off the southern coast of Shikoku; and destroyed a small cargo ship at Miyake Island, south of Tokyo.

On April 30, Army Mustangs of the Seventh Fighter Command, escorted heavy bombers of the Twenty‑First Bomber Command over Tokyo, probably shot down one enemy plane and strafed three picket boats off the coast leaving them afire and dead in the water. Iwo based Mustangs on May 1, bombed and strafed military installations on Chichi Jima in the Bonins.

Mitchells of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing damaged a large cargo ship with rockets north of the Bonins on April 30. Corsair and Hellcat fighters end Avenger torpedo planes of this wing bombed enemy islands in the Palaus on May 1.

Army Thunderbolt fighters of the Seventh Air Force shot down a four engine seaplane over Truk in the Carolines on April 30 and swept the sea­plane base and harbor with rocket fire sinking one small craft and damaging two others. Army Liberators of the same force followed the attack with heavy bombing of the airfields on Moen and Param Islands. Marcus Island was bombed by Seventh Air Force Liberators on the same date.

Eleventh Army Air Force Liberators bombed Kataoka naval base on Shimushu on April 30. On the same date, installations on Kokutan Cape on the same island, were attacked by search planes of Fleet Air Wing Four.

PACIFIC

Submarine Bowfin (SS-287) sinks Japanese gunboat Chowa Maru southeast of Erimosaki, Hokkaido, Japan, 41°02'N, 144°36'E.

Submarine Sennet (SS-408) damages Japanese Coast Defense Vessel No.50 off Wakayama, 3358'N, 136°17'E.

PBMs (VPB 11 and FAW-1) sink Japanese cargo vessel Kyugkoku Maru off Mokpo, Korea, 34°35'N, 126°00'E; USN land-based planes on anti-shipping sweeps over Yellow Sea also sink merchant cargo ships Miyatama Maru and Komadori Maru off Mokpo, 34°11'N, 126°35'E. Land-based USN aircraft are also most likely responsible for damage inflicted on merchant vessel Taruyasu Maru in the Chochiku Channel the same day.

Japanese merchant tanker No.2 Iyasaka Maru is sunk by aircraft off Singapore.

Japanese merchant ship Richo Go is sunk by mine off Woosung, China.

Day 2062 of World War II, May 3rd 1945

Eastern Front

Soviet forces have now reached the Elbe west of Berlin and made contact with US 1st and 9th Armies and in the north with the British 2nd Army. Fighting in Berlin ends.

YouTube (May 3rd 1945, footage of Berlin after the surrender)



Photo: A Lend-Lease M4A2 (76) W Sherman in Soviet service in the 64th Guards Tank Regiment, 8th Guards Mechanized Corps. The tank and its crew is at Grabow, Germany, linking up with the 82nd Airborne Division. This photograph was taken by an US Army Signal Corps personnel imbedded with the 82nd Airborne Division, May 3 1945



Western Front (1945) - Western Allied invasion of Germany

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, May 3rd 1945



British Field Marshal Bernhard Montgomery tells German General of the Army, Admiral Hans von Friedeburg and three others to surrender unconditionally all German forces in Holland, Friesen, Frisian Islands, Helgoland, Schleswig-Holstein, Denmark, and all other islands. They take the message back to Field Marshal Ernst Busch. Friedeburg informs Montgomery of the German wish to discuss surrender of all German armed forces.

Photo: Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery with the German delegates outside his headquarters at 21st Army Group, 3 May 1945



Photo: Field Marshal Montgomery receives German Admiral Von Friedeburg and other members of the surrender delegation at 21st Army Group Headquarters near Lüneburg, 3 May 1945



YouTube (May 3, 1945 - News Report on the Surrender of German Troops in Lauenburg)



In northern Germany, the British 12th Corps (Dempsey) occupies Hamburg, the last significant objective of British offensive operations. The British 6th Airborne and the US 7th Armoured Division captured the north German town of Wismar. The actual capture was carried out by men of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion. US forces are advancing swiftly on Salzburg and Linz while British troops pursue the Germans up the Kiel Canal.

Photo: Cromwell tanks of 7th Armoured Division in Hamburg, 3 May 1945



Photo: Sherman Firefly of 7th Armoured Division in Hamburg (Großer Burstah corner to Rödingsmarkt with Hindenburghaus in the background), 3 May 1945



Photo: Universal carriers of 1/5th Queen's Regiment, 7th Armoured Division in Hamburg, 3 May 1945



Photo: A Cromwell tank of ‘A’ Squadron, 1st RTR, 7th Armoured Division, in position by the Elbe Bridge in Hamburg, 3 May 1945



Photo: A Cromwell VI CS with 95mm howitzer of 11th Armoured Division on the quayside at Travemunde on the Baltic, 3 May 1945



Air War over Europe

P-47 unit moves in Germany: 314th, 315th and 316th Fighter Squadrons, 324th Fighter Group, from Luneville, France to Stuttgart; 406th Fighter Squadron, 371st Fighter Group, from Eschborn Airfield, Frankfurt to Furth.

(US Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown. Mission 977: 399 B-17s are dispatched to drop food supplies in the Netherlands at Schipol (251) and Alkmaar (20) Airfields, Vogelenzang (42), Hilversum (21), Utrecht (58) and a target of opportunity (3) in the Netherlands; a total of 739.1 tons of food are dropped. Mission 978: 14 B-17s, escorted by 43 of 47 P-51s, drop leaflets in Germany during the day.

(US Ninth Air Force): 132 A-26s (on the final 9th Bombardment Division raid) bomb the Stod, Czechoslovakia ammunition plant. The IX Tactical Air Command escorts the A-26s and C-47s and flies airfield cover; the XIX Tactical Air Command patrols the US Third Army front, flies armed reconnaissance over Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia in the frontline areas and around Kiel and Lubeck, Germany, and escorts the A-26s; the XXIX Tactical Air Command (Provisional) escorts C-47s, flies sweeps, and hits shipping in the Kiel- Lubeck area. Unit moves: HQ 98th Combat Bombardment Wing (Medium) from Havrincourt, France to Venlo, the Netherlands; HQ 362d Fighter Group from Furth to Illesheim, Germany.

Battle of the Mediterranean

US troops meet US 5th Army from Italy at Brenner Pass between Austria and Italy.

(US Fifteenth Air Force): Bad weather again restricts operations to reconnaissance and reconnaissance escort missions by 20 P-38s and escort of Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Force (MATAF) a B-25 leaflet dropping mission in N Italy.

(US Twelfth Air Force): To assure that the enemy implements the surrender terms in Italy and to observe road activity, fighters fly reconnaissance missions over N Italy and SW Austria; medium bombers drop leaflets in several areas where enemy troops might be unaware of the surrender. The 121st Liaison Squadron, Twelfth AF (attached to Fifth Army), moves from Florence to Verona, Italy with L-4s and L-5s.

Battle of the Atlantic

'U-1210' sunk near Eckernförde, in position 54.28N, 09.54E, by USAAF bombs. 1 dead, unknown number of survivors.

'U-2521' sunk in the Flensburg Fjord, in position 54.49N, 09.50E by rockets from RAF 184 Sqn Typhoons. 44 dead, unknown number of survivors.

'U-3032' sunk east of Frederica, in position 54.26,5N, 11.32,2E, by rockets from RAF 184 Sqn Typhoons. 36 dead and 24 survivors.

'U-2524' RAF 236 and 254 Sqn Beaufighters attacked the boat killing 1 man and damaging the boat. The boat was scuttled later that day. The LI refused to leave the boat and perished with it.

During an attack from a Beaufighter aircraft on a rocket penetrated into the control room of 'U-2503' killing the commander and 12 of his men. She was scuttled the next day.

Germany

Admiral Dönitz moves his seat of government to Flensburg. Karl Dönitz signs an edict written by Albert Speer, prohibiting the destruction of any facilities.

Brazil

Brazilian War Minister Eurico Dutra announce the Brazilian Expeditionary Force will return home from Italy immediately.

Portugal

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio de Oliveira Salazar sent a Foreign Ministry official to the German Embassy offering his condolences over the death of Adolf Hitler. Meanwhile, the Portuguese government declared two days of mourning for the recently deceased German leader.

United States

At the United Nations Conference on International Organization, in San Francisco four committees began work on a United Nations charter.

Photo: The U.S. Navy submarine USS Barb (SS-220) in San Francisco Bay, near the Mare Island Navy Yard, California (USA), 3 May 1945



Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Lofberg (DD-759) off San Francisco, California (USA), on 3 May 1945



Pacific War

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 9 B-25s and 6 fighter- bombers attack truck convoys in the Hsiang River Valley and near Paoching, Changsha, and Hengyang, and pound railroad targets of opportunity and bridges in the Taiku, Singtai, and Linfen areas; 90+ fighter-bombers attack troops, town areas, ammunition dumps, river shipping and other targets of opportunity over wide areas of S and E China.

INDIA-BURMA

(Tenth Air Force): With the fall of Rangoon, Burma on this date (Indian 26 Division elements occupy the city), the war against the Japanese in Burma is successfully concluded; pockets of resistance remain W of the Irrawaddy River and between that river and the Mandalay-Pegu, Thailand railway however, during May AAF operations are reduced drastically due to the lack of suitable air targets and because of the onset of bad weather preceding the monsoon. The Tenth AF is withdrawn from combat and moved back to India (see 15 May 45); 1 squadron of P-38s remains in Burma to patrol the roads leading into China. Unit moves: 88th Fighter Squadron, 80th Fighter Group, from Myitkyina, Burma to Moran, India with P-47s; the detachment of the 156th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 2d Air Commando Group, operating from Myitche with UC-64s and L-5s, to Magwe, Burma; the 317th Troop Carrier Squadron (Commando), 2d Air Commando Group, based at Kalaikunda, India with C-47s, sends a detachment to operate from Comilla, India.

BURMA

Map: Allied Third Burma Campaign April- 3 May 1945



Rangoon is captured by British 26th Indian Division without encountering any Japanese resistance. To the north, on the Irrawaddy River, Prome is taken by British 33rd Corps.

Photo: Infantry and Sherman tanks under fire near a village during the advance south from Meiktila to Rangoon, 3 May 1945



Photo: Indian troops of the 20th Division search for Japanese at the badly damaged station in Prome, 3 May 1945



Photo: A 3-inch mortar crew in action as the 20th Division prepares to advance on Prome, 3 May 1945



Photo: Lee tanks advance along one of the few good roads which follows the Irrawaddy River, during the advance of 20th Division to Prome, 3 May 1945



GUAM

Seventh Air Force: 10 Guam Island-based B-24s bomb airfields and targets of opportunity on several islands of Truk Atoll; during the night of 3/4 May, 8 more separately strike Param, Eten, and Moen and Truk airfields.

(Twentieth Air Force): 7 missions are flown. Missions 127 to 132: 59 B-29s bomb airfields at Tachiarai, Miyazaki, Miyakonojo, Kokubu and 2 at Kanoya; 5 others hit targets of opportunity; they claim 10 Japanese fighters; 1 B-29 is lost.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force ]: Saigon, French Indochina is bombed by B-24s, which greatly damage a boatyard and oil storage areas. The 63d Troop Carrier Squadron, 403d Troop Carrier Group, moves from Biak to Dulag with C-47s.

BORNEO CAMPAIGN (1945)

In Borneo, B-25s continue support of ground forces on Tarakan and, with B-24s, carry out small raids against numerous targets on Borneo and Celebes, Manggar Airfield is heavily hit by B-24s and P-38s and USN airplanes hit warehouses in the Brunei Bay area.

PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1945)

American naval forces commanded by Admiral Noble land 1000 troops near Santa Cruz in the Gulf of Davao, on Mindanao. Davao City is taken by US 24th Division units.

B-24s and P-51s pound the Ipo area while A-20s and fighters support ground forces. Davao City is taken by the US 27th Division.

U.S. freighter Edmund F. Dickens is damaged by mine, Manila Bay; there are no casualties among the merchant crew or the 27-man Armed Guard.

VOLCANO AND RYUKYU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

On Okinawa, Japanese forces launch a counteroffensive from positions in the south, during the night (May 3-4), but fail to break through the American lines. Japanese artillery batteries, that have remained silent until now to avoid American retaliation, support the assaults.

The 163d Liaison Squadron, AAFPOA (attached to Tenth Army), arrives on Okinawa Island from Saipan Island with UC-64s and L-5s.

Off Okinawa, kamikazes sink destroyer Little (DD-803), 26°24'N, 126°15'E and medium landing ship LSM-195, and damage destroyer Bache (DD-470) and high speed minesweeper Macomb (DMS-23), 26°01'N, 126°53'E; light minelayer Aaron Ward (DM-34), 26°24'N, 126°15'E, and large support landing craft LCS-25. Cargo ship Carina (AK-74) is damaged by assault demolition boat, 26°13'N, 127°50'E; infantry landing craft LCI-768 by operational casualty. Battleship New Mexico (BB-40) 40-millimeter mount accidentally fires upon and damages nearby War Department-chartered U.S. freighter Sea Flasher, injuring 47 men and killing seven troops of those men being transported on board.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPOA COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 351, MAY 3, 1945

The Tenth Army resumed the attack in Southern Okinawa on May 3, (East Longitude Date), meeting artillery, mortar and small arms fire from the enemy's fortified line. The First Marine Division made a limited advance in its zone of action while other sectors remained stable. The attack was supported by ships' guns and aircraft.

In the early evening hours of May 3, four small groups of enemy aircraft attacked our shipping off the coast of Okinawa inflicting some damage on our forces and sinking two light units. Seventeen enemy aircraft were destroyed.

Planes from escort carriers of the U. S. Pacific Fleet continued neutraliz­ing attacks on airfields and air installations in the Sakishima group on May 2.

As of May 2, according to the most recent reports available, 1,131 officers and men of the U. S. Pacific Fleet had been killed in action in the Okinawa operation and associated operations against Japan. A total of 2,816 were wounded and 1,604 were missing. All figures are preliminary and incomplete.

Search Privateers of Fleet Air Wing One destroyed three twin‑engine planes on the ground, damaged locomotive and set numerous fires in a low level attack on Kanoya Airfield, Kyushu, during the early evening of May 3. Planes of the same wing probably sank a small cargo ship off the coast of Central Honshu on the same date.

Planes of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing bombed targets in the Palaus and strafed installations on Sonsoral Island, southwest of the Palaus on May 3. On the same date dive-bombers of this wing struck the airstrip at Yap. Neutralizing attacks were carried out on enemy bases in the Marshalls by Marine aircraft on the previous day.

A search Privateer of Fleet Air Wing Two bombed barracks and shops on Wake Island on May 2.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPOA PRESS RELEASE NO. 89, MAY 3, 1945

Among the ships of the British Pacific Fleet which engaged in operations against the islands of the Sakishima Group during the period March 26 to April 20 were the following fleet aircraft carriers:

HMS Indomitable
HMS Indefatigable
HMS Victorious

PACIFIC

Phase II of Operation STARVATION commences: in the first of two operations aimed at blockading Japan's industrial centers, 97 USAAF B-29s sow mines in the Shimonoseki Straits and the waters off Kobe, Osaka and Suo Nada.

Submarine Lagarto (SS-371) is sunk by Japanese minelayer Hatsutaka in Gulf of Siam, 07°55'N, 102°00'E.

Submarine Springer (SS-414) sinks Japanese Coast Defense Ship No.25 in Yellow Sea, 34°56'N, 122°49'E, as that ship proceeds to the scene of the sinking of escort vessel Oga, sunk by Springer the previous day.

Day 2064 of World War II, May 5th 1945

YouTube (Germans and Americans fighting side by side!)



Eastern Front

Along the Baltic coast, Soviet units occupy Swinemunde and Peenemunde.

Western Front (1945) - Western Allied invasion of Germany

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, May 5th 1945



German Army Group G surrenders to US forces after negotiations are concluded at Haar in Bavaria.

YouTube (May 5, 1945 - Drew Pearson Reports on the Imminent End of Hostilities)



US 11th Armored Division enters Linz, Austria, occupying it within an hour without a fight.

German 11th Panzer Division surrenders to US 90th Division in Czechoslovakia.

Starting yesterday and finishing today, the US Army's 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, ("Curahee") of the 101st Airborne 'Screaming Eagles' Division, under Col. Robert Sink, capture Hitler's fortified military complex on the Obersalzburg, the 'Berghof'.

The US 9th Army discovers art treasures in a damp copper mine near the town of Siegen in Westphalia, Germany. Included are paintings by Rembrant, Van Gogh, Rubens; gold sarcophagus of Emperor Charlemagne; original manuscript of Beethoven's Sixth Symphony.

In Stendal area, German 9th and 12th Armies surrender, to take effect at noon May 6.

At the villa on the shores of the Tegernsee, Generalleutnant Adolf Galland surrenders to American forces. Because of his injuries, he is taken by ambulance to Bad Tolz. He asks the Allies to launch a search to find the remains of Gunther Lutzow, but they found nothing.

Photo: A Cromwell tank and Challenger tank of 8th Hussars, 7th Armoured Division, surrounded by German civilians outside Dammtor railway station in Hamburg, 5 May 1945



Western Front (1945) - Liberation of the Netherlands

In Wageningen, Netherlands, German General Johannes Blaskowitz surrenders the troops of the 25th German Army in Netherlands to Lieutenant-General Charles Foulkes, commander of 1st Canadian Corps.

Photo: Major K. Henninger (centre), a German Army signals officer, speaking on a telephone linkup between Canadian and German forces. Sergeant J. Stacy of 1st Canadian Corps Signals is at left foreground and Corporal John Henry Osborn is at far right. Wageningen, Netherlands, 5 May 1945



Photo: Description: Preparations and negotiations until the capitulation in Wageningen. "Kubelwagen" with German negotiators (with white flag), 5 May 1945



Photo: Preparations and negotiations until the capitulation in Wageningen. Arrival of Prince Bernhard, 5 May 1945



Photo: Immediately after the capitulation of the German forces on the Lüneburg Heath on May 4, 1945, Canadian Lieutenant General Charles Foulkes summoned General Oberst Johannes Blaskowitz to come to Hotel De Wereld in Wageningen on May 5 to receive instructions regarding the withdrawal of the German armed forces from the Netherlands. Blaskowitz, outranking Foulkes, sent his second in command, Lieutenant General Paul Reichelt. Foulkes was not satisfied with this and sent Reichelt back with orders to fetch Blaskowitz



Photo: Arrival of the German Chief of Staff Reichelt and interpreter (in leather jacket) at Hotel De Wereld, 5 May 1945



Photo: Lieutenant-General Charles Foulkes (left centre), GOC 1st Canadian Corps, accepts the surrender of German forces in The Netherlands from General Johannes Blaskowitz (right centre). Place: Wageningen, Netherlands, 5 May 1945



Orders to German commander on surrender, Wageningen, 5 May 1945





Western Front (1945) - Liberation of Denmark

Fighting breaks out in Copenhagen but is brought to an end when British units arrive by air in the evening.

Photo: Danish resistance fighters battling German troops in Aarhus, Bispetorv, 5 May 1945



Photo: Freedom fighters in a German car at The Central Square (Rådhuspladsen) in Copenhagen. 5 May 1945



Photo: Freedom fighters at Strandboulevarden in Copenhagen. 5 May 1945



Photo: Battle between the freedom fighters and HIPO. 5 May 1945. In the background: The Royal Danish Theater



Photo: Resistance fighters in standoff with German troops on Sankt Clemens Torv, 5 May 1945



Photo: 2 freedom fighters on the corner of Palægade and Bredgade in Copenhagen, 5 May 1945



Battle of the Atlantic

Five German U-boats, including four of the powerful XXI types, were sunk today in an Allied air strike on the Kattegat, just 24 hours after Admiral Dönitz had ordered the U-boats to cease hostilities and return to base. More air raids are planned to ram home the message that the six-year Battle of the Atlantic is over; for the second time this century, Germany's attempt to defeat Britain by crippling its merchant fleet had failed. This time the U-boats sank more merchant ships, although their combined tonnage was less. Some 175 Allied warships, mostly British, were also lost; but so were 784 of Germany's 1,162 U-boats.

U-2511 reached Bergen on the 5 May 1945. There the commander a few days later had a talk with officers of the HMS Norfolk and they could not believe the fact, that U-2511 was able to get so close without any sonar contact.

Photo: Three Elektroboat Type XXI U-Boat in Norway, Bergen, 1945. In the center is U-2511, one of the only Type XXI to conduct a war patrol, 5 May  1945



U-579 sunk in the Kattegat east of Aarhus, in approximate position 56.10N, 11.04E, by depth charges from an RAF 547 Sqn Liberator.

U-733 scuttled Flensburg Fjord, position 54.48N, 09.49E, after being damaged by bombs and gunfire. Broken up 1948.

U-2367 sank near Schleimünde, in approximate position 55.00N, 11.00E, after a collision with an unidentified German U-boat. Raised in August 1956. Renamed U-Hecht (pike) and served in the German Federal Navy from 1 Oct 1957. Stricken on 30 Sep, 1968 and broken up at Kiel in 1969.

U-2551 sunk near Flensburg Solitude, in position 54.49N, 09.28E Wreck broken up.

U-534 sunk in the Kattegat NW of Helsingör, in position 56.39N, 11.48E, by 10 depth charges from an RAF 86 Sqn Liberator. 3 dead and 49 survivors. Earlier in the action, U-534 shot down an RAF 547 Sqn Liberator. U-534 raised 1995 and now a museum piece at Birkenhead.

Photo: The German U-boat U 534 a type IXC/40 submarine commanded by Kapitanleutnant Herbert Nollau, ploughs through the water attempting to evade the attack of a Consolidated Liberator "G" of 86 Squadron, RAF Coastal Command. U 534 was earlier attacked by another Liberator which it shot down with no survivors. The submarine was sunk east of Anholt Island, Denmark, after being attacked by Liberator "G" with a total of ten depth charges. This action, for which the captain, Warrant Officer J.D. Nicol, RAF, was awarded a DFC, occurred in a 24 hour period in which five German U-boats were sunk. U534's sinking resulted in three dead and 49 survivors from its crew. They were rescued by lifeboats from a lightship in the vicinity



U.S. freighter Black Point is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-853 about five miles southeast of Point Judith, Rhode Island 41°19'02"N, 71°25'01"W. One of the five Armed Guard sailors is killed, as are 11 of the 41-man merchant complement. Yugoslavian freighter Karman and Norwegian Scandanavia, crash boats from Quonset Point, Rhode Island and a Coast Guard craft rescue the survivors. U-853's sailors, however, do not get to ponder the significance of their achievement for long.

Germany

The German airline Lufthansa suspends all operations due to the destruction of German airports by Allied aircraft. The last flight is between Oslo, Norway and Flensburg, Germany.

Grossadmiral Dönitz orders all U-boats to cease offensive operations and return to their bases: "You have fought like lions!"

At a meeting attended by SS-Obergruppenführer von Herff and representatives of the Gestapo and SD, Heinrich Himmler outlined his plans to establish an SS government in Schleswig-Holstein which would conduct independent peace negotiations with the western powers.

Italy

Photo: Tanks moving into Ivera to surrender to the 34th Div. (U.S.). They are part of the German 75th Corps. 5 May, 1945



(US Fifteenth Air Force): 14 P-51s escort MATAF C-47s on supply-dropping missions over Yugoslavia. The 99th Fighter Squadron, 332d Fighter Group, moves from Ramitelli to Cattolica, Italy with P-51s.

(US Twelfth Air Force): XXII Tactical Air Command fighters continue reconnaissance flights over N Italy, SW Austria, and as far N as Munich, Germany; fighters destroy numerous aircraft at an airfield SE of Munich.

German occupied Czechoslovakia - Prague uprising

Staff of Czech Radio opposed to the occupation began the morning by broadcasting in the banned Czech language. The Bartoš Command and Communist groups met separately and both scheduled the armed uprising to begin May 7th. Czech citizens gathered in the streets, vandalised German inscriptions, and tore down German flags. Czechoslovak flags appeared openly in windows and on jacket lapels. Tram operators refused to accept Reichsmark or to give the stops in German, as was required by the occupiers. Some German soldiers were surrounded and killed. In response to growing popular agitation, Frank threatened to shoot Czechs gathering in the streets, and increased armed German patrols. Some German soldiers began to fire into the crowds.

Around noon, the radio broadcast a series of appeals to the police and gendarmerie requesting aid in fighting SS guards inside the radio building. A detachment of Government Army policemen responded to the call, and met stiff resistance as they retook the building. During the entire time, the radio continued to broadcast. Although not directed at the populace, the appeal ignited fighting all over the city, concentrated in the downtown districts.Crowds of unarmed civilians, mostly young men with no military training, overwhelmed German garrisons and stores. Many casualties were inflicted by German soldiers and civilians sniping from strong-points or rooftops; in response, Czech forces began to intern Germans and suspected collaborators. Czech noncombatants assisted by setting up makeshift hospitals for the wounded and bringing food, water, and other necessities to the barricades, while German forces were often resorted to looting to obtain essential supplies. Czech forces seized thousands of firearms, hundreds of Panzerfausts, and five armoured vehicles, but still suffered a shortage of weapons.

By the end of the day, the resistance had seized most of the city east of the Vltava River. The insurgents held many important buildings, including the radio, the telephone exchange, most railway stations, and ten of twelve bridges. Three thousand prisoners were liberated from Pankrác Prison. By controlling the telephone exchange, resistance fighters were able to sever communication between German units and commanders. German forces held most of the territory to the west of the river, including an airfield at Ruzyně, northwest of the city, and various surrounded garrisons such as the Gestapo Headquarters.

Photo: During the rebellion, the function of the regional military command for Bohemia was performed by the Alex command of generals František Sluneček (third from right) and Zdenek Novák (fifth from right), 4 May 1945



At the orders of Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner, in command of Axis forces in Bohemia, Waffen-SS units were pulled from fighting the Red Army and sent into Prague. The SS was relatively well-equipped with tanks, armoured carriers, weaponry and motorised units. Information on this force movement reached insurgent headquarters late in the day. The radio broadcast appeals in English and Russian for an air attack on the tanks. Hearing of events in Prague, Patton asked for permission to advance to the Vltava in order to aid the Czech resistance, but Eisenhower refused. The Red Army was ordered to advance the launch of its offensive to 6 May.

German occupied Austria

After a night of probing raids, 100 to 150 German Waffen-SS troops under Georg Bochmann attacked Itter Castle in western Austria, which was recently captured by a small American force, with its full force. The castle was a prison for high-value French prisoners including Édouard Daladier, Paul Reynaud, Maxime Weygand, Maurice Gamelin, Charles de Gaulle's elder sister Marie-Agnès Cailliau, and others. The Americans were able to hold off the German attacks until 1600 hours when reinforcements arrived, surprising the Germans and resulting in about 100 Germans being captured. The sole defender to die in the engagement was Josef Gangl, a German Army officer at the rank of major who had recently joined the Austrian resistance.

United States

The War Department announces that about 400,000 troops will remain in Germany to form the US occupation force and 2,000,000 men will be discharged from the armed services, leaving 6,000,000 soldiers serving in the war against Japan.

Soviet Union

Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov informs U.S. Secretary of State Stettinius that the Red Army has arrested 16 Polish peace negotiators who had met with a Soviet army colonel near Warsaw back in March. When British Prime Minister Winston Churchill learns of the Soviet double-cross, he reacts in alarm, stating, "There is no doubt that the publication in detail of this event would produce a primary change in the entire structure of world forces."

Pacific War

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 3 B-25s knock out a bridge at Singtai and hit railroad traffic in the Sinsiang area; 5 B-25s hit railroad cars and other targets of opportunity at Kaifeng, Hsihhsiassuchi, and in the Tungkuan and Luan areas; 76 fighter-bombers, operating in flights of 2 to 4 aircraft, attack a variety of targets of opportunity throughout S and E China. The 530th Fighter Squadron, 311th Fighter Group, moves from Kwanghan to Pungchacheng, China with P-51s.

INDIA-BURMA

(Tenth Air Force): Unit moves from Burma to India: HQ 33d Fighter Group from Sahmaw to Piardoba; 90th Fighter Squadron, 80th Fighter Group, from Myitkyina to Moran with P-47s.

BURMA

There are air raids, by aircraft from four British escort carriers, on Japanese bases between Mergui and Victoria Point in southern Burma.

PALAU

(Seventh Air Force): 12 Angaur Airfield based B-24s bomb Koror Island.

TINIAN

(Twentieth Air Force): 7 missions are flown. Missions 144, 145 and 147 to 149: 55 B-29s bomb airfields at Oita, Tachiarai, Kanoya, and Chiran; 2 others attack targets of opportunity; 3 B-29s are lost. Mission 146: 148 B-29s [including the 58th Bombardment Wing (Very Heavy) flying their first attack of Japan from Tinian] hit a navy aircraft factory and arsenal at Kure, Japan; 4 others hit targets of opportunity; they claim 11 Japanese fighters; 2 B-29s are lost. Mission 150: During the night of 5/6 May, 86 B-29s drop mines in Tokyo Bay, Ise Bay, and at points in the Inland Sea; 4 others mine targets of opportunity.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force]: In the first FEAF strike on the Amoy, China area, B-24s bomb an airfield and oil storage plant. On Formosa, B-24s bomb Shinchiku Airfield while B-25s and fighter-bombers hit the Taito sugar refinery, Shoka railroad yards, and Giran and Matsuyama Airfields.

BORNEO CAMPAIGN (1945)

In Borneo, B-25s and P-38s support Australian forces on Tarakan, P-38s hit the Miri waterfront on the W coast and Keningau airfield in the N and B-24s bomb the Kuching waterfront on the W coast.

Photo: Members of C Company, 2/48th Australian Infantry Battalion, AIF, digging in to defend a section of Collins Ridge above Collins Highway, Tarakan, 5 May 1945



Photo: Troops from the 2/24th fighting on Tarakan, 5 May 1945



PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1945)

On Luzon Island, A-20s and fighter-bombers continue to hit Cagayan Valley targets and support ground forces at various locations.

VOLCANO AND RYUKYU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

On Okinawa, Japanese counterattacks continue with minor successes.

Off Okinawa, kamikazes damage seaplane tender St. George (AV-16), 26°10'N, 127°19'E, and surveying ship Pathfinder (AGS-1), 26°38'N, 127°53'E.

Photo: The U.S. Navy seplane tender USS St. George (AV-16), center, is hit by a Japanese kamikaze suicide plane at Kerama Retto on 6 May 1945. The plane exploded on the fantail, killed three men and wrecked the aircraft crane. St. George left Kerama Retto on 12 July for drydocking and repairs at Guam, returning on 21 August to Okinawa



Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer-minelayer USS Aaron Ward (DM-34) in the Kerama Retto anchorage, 5 May 1945, showing damage received when she was hit by several Japanese suicide planes off Okinawa on 3 May. Note the three-bladed aircraft propeller lodged in her superstructure, just forward of the after 5"/38 twin gun mount



ALASKA

(Eleventh Air Force): 1 B-24 flies weather mission over the Kurile Islands.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPOA COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 353, MAY 5, 1945

Following and in conjunction with the attempted landings of Japanese troops behind the Tenth Army lines on Okinawa on the night of May 3‑4 (East Longitude Dates) and in coordination with his heavy air attacks of May 3 and 4, the enemy on May 4, launched a general counterattack. Its greatest weight was against the positions of the Seventh and Seventy‑Seventh Infantry Divisions. This attack was supported by tanks and was preceded by intense artillery fire. Our troops supported by a heavy barrage from Army and Marine artillery and low level strafing by carrier and Marine air­craft broke up the enemy attacks. Taking advantage of the disorganized state of the enemy's lines after his failure in these operations, Army and Marine infantry men resumed the offensive on the morning of May 5 and were advancing at midmorning when elements of the First Marine Division began an assault on Hill 187, east of the Asa River Mouth. A total of 3,000 of the enemy were killed during the attacks on May 3‑4, including troops which made landings on our beaches. Five enemy tanks were destroyed.

During the air attacks of May 4, our forces shot down 168 planes over the Okinawa Area including 45 by the Second Marine Aircraft Wing and 67 by Fast Carrier Forces Patrols. Early in the morning of May 5, a small group of enemy planes approached our forces and bombed the Yontan Airstrip causing no damage.

From the beginning of the Okinawa operation to May 5, the enemy lost 33,462 killed and 700 prisoners of war including 297 labor troops.

The Tenth Army up to May 3, lost 2,337 soldiers and Marines killed. A total of 11,432 were wounded and 514 were missing.

Search Planes of Fleet Air Wing One sank two large tankers in Fusan Harbor, Korea, and damaged a cargo ship south of Fusan on May 4.

Aircraft from escort carriers of the U. S. Pacific Fleet continued to neutralize airfields in the Sakishima Group on May 4.

Corsairs and Avengers of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing and Libera­tors of the Seventh Army Air Force bombed installations in the Palaus on May 5.

PACIFIC

In the second of two operations aimed at blockading Japan's industrial centers, 98 USAAF B-29s sow mines in the Inland Sea and off Kobe, Osaka, Tokyo and Nagoya.

Japanese army cargo ship Manshu Maru is damaged by USAAF B-29-laid mine, 33°47'N, 131°35'E.

Japanese merchant tanker No.5 Takasago Maru is sunk by aircraft, 34°44'N, 126°16'E.

Japanese merchant tanker No.11 Takasago Maru is sunk by aircraft, off Yosu, Korea.

Japanese merchant cargo ships Yamatogawa Maru and Naka Maru are sunk by aircraft off Mokpo, Korea.

Navy patrol bomber (PBMs and PB4Ys are operating in this area) sink Japanese merchant cargo ship No.9 Taiun Maru west of Kunsan, 34°00'N, 130°00'E.

USAAF B-24s (13th Air Force) raid Japanese shipping and shore installations at Makassar, sinking cargo vessel Kenzan Maru.

Japanese merchant cargo ship Okusu Maru is sunk by aircraft off Karatsu.

Japanese merchant cargo ship Washi Maru is sunk by aircraft, 35°33'N, 126°18'E.

Japanese escort destroyer Oki is damaged by aircraft, 37°36'N, 126°00'E.

Day 2066 of World War II, May 7th 1945

Maps shoing military activities throughout Europe, China, and the Philippines during the week. Inset map: Pacific action Photograph: U.S. Sixty-Ninth Division Infantrymen greet Red Army soldiers on the Elbe River bridge at Torgau. Accompanied by timeline showing dates, key cities, and mileage for both armies to meet, 7 May 1945



Eastern Front

Soviet troops of the 1st Belorussian Front reach the Elbe river north and southeast of Magdeburg. In Czechoslovakia, fighting continues north of Olmutz and in the town itself. On the Frische Nehring, in East Prussia, the remaining German forces continue to hold out near the village of Vogelsang.

A special medical commission of Soviet 1st Byelorussian Front headed by Lieutenant Colonel Faust Shkaravsky performed an autopsy on the two bodies retrieved near the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, one of which was suspected to be that of Adolf Hitler's. He noted that a part of the skull on one of the bodies was missing, but the cause of death of that person was more likely cyanide poisoning.

Continuing the main attack of the 1st Ukrainian Front, 3rd Guards Army captured Meissen, home of the famous German porcelain. The 13th Army and the 4th Guards Tank Army pushed 45 kilometers further to the south and reached the northern slope of the Ore Mountains. The 3rd Guards Tank Army and 5th Guards Army began the battle to capture Dresden. The 2nd Polish Army thrust to the southwest in support of the operations against Dresden. Farther to the east, the second attack of the front developed as the 28th and 52nd Armies attacked to the south. Following a 30-minute artillery barrage, the 7th Guards Army and the 6th Guards Tank Army led an attack to the northwest, opening the offensive of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. Adding to the difficulties of the defending German 8th Army, the Soviet 9th Guards Army and 46th Army reinforced the attack on its left (southern) wing. By the end of the day, the front had pushed 12 kilometers into the German lines along an advance 25 kilometers in breadth. Between the 2nd and 1st Ukrainian Fronts, the 4th Ukrainian Front continued its advance on Olomouc. In Prague, German troops reached the Old Town Square, one of the centers of uprising, but later were pushed back. The buildings of Town Hall, despite being severely damaged, remained in the hands of insurgents for the duration of the uprising. The overwhelming pressure on the uprising and the civilian population continued.

Western Front (1945) - Western Allied invasion of Germany

Map: HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map, May 7th 1945



Allied military operations come to an end almost immediately after the surrender is signed.

Photo: Köln sunk in Wilhelmshaven, 7 May 1945



The US 97th Infantry Division is credited with firing the last official shot in the European Theatre of Operations by US troops tonight when, near Klenovice in the Pilsen area, Private First Class Domenic Mozzetta Company B, 387 Regiment, fires at a German sniper near Klenovice shortly before midnight.

Map: Final Operations - 19 April - 7 May 1945



Western Front (1945) - Liberation of the Netherlands

Photo: The entry of the British on Dam Square, Amsterdam, May 7, 1945



Western Front (1945) - Liberation of Norway

Photo: two guards with machine guns shaking hands at the Swedish Norwegian border after the liberation of German occupied Norway, May 7 1945



Western Front (1945) - Liberation of Denmark

Photo: The first regular British forces are saluted on their arrival in Åbenrå after the liberation, May 7 1945



Photo: The first US troops arrive at the Gentofte Hotel, May 7 1945



Air War over Europe

(US Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown. Mission 984: 231 B-17s are dispatched to drop food supplies at Schipol (154) and Alkmaar (10) Airfields, Vogelenzang (25), W of Utrecht (28) and N of Hilversum (12), the Netherlands; a total of 426 tons of food are dropped. Mission 985: 15 B-17s, with 30 of 32 P-51s escorting, drop leaflets in Germany during the day.

(US Ninth Air Force): The XIX Tactical Air Command flies sweeps over E Germany and W Czechoslovakia and carries out demonstration flights over prisoner of war (POW) camps. The 586th and 587th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium), 394th Bombardment Group (Medium), move from Niergnies Airfield, Cambrai, France to Venlo, the Netherlands with B-26s.

Battle of the Atlantic

Canadian freighter SS 'Avondale Park' torpedoed and sunk in the Firth of Forth in position 56.10N, 002.32W, by 'U-2336', Kptlt Emil Klusmeier, CO. 'Avondale Park' was Canadian-owned but British-manned merchantman and was the last British ship to be sunk during WW.II. The ship was part of Convoy EN-91 bound for Belfast and was two miles south-east of May Island, in the Firth of Forth, when she was torpedoed at 2240. The ship sank in ten minutes. Two members of her crew of 41 men were lost. The coaster 'Sneland' was also sunk in this attack.

The 196th and final U-boat sunk by Coastal Command (U-320) is destroyed by a Consolidated Catalina of No. 210 Squadron 120 miles north-east of Sullom Voe.

At 2145, KNM NYMS-382 was hit by a Gnat from 'U-1023' and sank within two minutes off Lyme Bay. The commander and 21 crewmembers were lost. Ten injured survivors were picked up by KNM NYMS-379 and NYMS-381 of the 3rd Minesweeping Unit stationed in Cherbourg, to which the minesweeper also belonged.

Italy

(US Fifteenth Air Force): 13 P-51s escort 3 RAF Balkan AF supply dropping missions to Yugoslavia.

(US Twelfth Air Force): P-47s fly reconnaissance over the Austrian Alps. HQ 57th Fighter Group and the 65th Fighter Squadron move from Verona to Grosseto, Italy with P-47s.

German occupied Czechoslovakia - Prague uprising

Under the terms of the provisional unconditional surrender, signed in the early hours of 7 May, German forces had a forty-eight-hour grace period to cease offensive operations. Eisenhower hoped that the capitulation would put an end to the fighting in Prague and therefore obviate American intervention. However, the German leadership was determined to use the grace period to move as many soldiers as possible westward to surrender to the Americans. Schörner denounced the rumours of a ceasefire in Prague and said that the truce did not apply to German forces fighting the Red Army or Czech insurgents.

Photo: Captured AMR 35 tanks deployed by insurgents on Bartolomějská street in the Old Town, 7 May 1945



In order to gain control of Prague's transportation network, the Germans launched their strongest attack of the uprising. Waffen-SS armoured and artillery units arriving in Prague gradually punched through the barricades with several tank attacks. Intense fighting was accompanied with the SS use of Czech civilians as human shields and damage to the Old Town Hall and other historic buildings. When the Bartoš Command learnt of the Rheims surrender, it ordered an immediate ceasefire for Czech forces. This caused some confusion among the defenders, who were also suffering from desertion due to the worsening military situation. The ROA played a decisive role in slowing the progress of the Germans, but withdrew from Prague over the afternoon and evening in order to surrender to the US Army. Only a few ROA units stayed in the city, departing late on 8 May.With the bulk of the ROA gone, the poorly armed and untrained Czech insurgents fared badly against the reinforced German forces. By the end of the day, German forces had taken much of the rebel-held territory east of the Vltava, with the resistance only holding a salient in the Vinohrady-Strašnice area.ROA forces captured the Luftwaffe airfield at Ruzyně, destroying several aircraft.

Photo: Demarcation line between the Soviet and American armies, 7 May 1945



France

At 0141, German military representatives, General Jodl and Admiral Freideburg, sign the unconditional surrender at the headquarters of General Eisenhower (SHAEF). British, French, Soviet and American representatives are all present. Operations are to end at 2301 on May 8th.

Photo: Signature of surrender on 7 May 1945 at Reims, with Major Wilhelm Oxenius, General Alfred Jodl, General Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg (all three German officers seen from behind from right to left). At the back, from left to right, Sir F E Morgan, François Sevez, Harold Burrough, Harry C. Butcher, Walter Bedell Smith, Ivan Cherniaev, Ivan Sousloparov, Carl Spaatz, Henri Bull (facing up the table), James Milne Robb, Ivan Zenkovitch (according the original caption, facing away, left to right). K W D Strong is standing on the left, behind the German officials, and we can only see of him a short part of his jacket



German Instrument of surrender of May 7, 1945




YouTube (German Unconditional Surrender - 1945)



The German garrison at La Rochelle surrenders.

United Kingdom

An order for another 300 de Havilland Vampire jet fighters is placed with English Electric at Preston, Lancashire.

Photo: The Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Winston Churchill, With His Chiefs of Staff in the Garden of No 10 Downing Street, London, seated, left to right: Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke, the Prime Minister, and Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham. Standing, left to right: Major General L C Hollis, Secretary to the Chiefs of Staffs Committee; and General Sir Hastings Ismay, Chief of Staff to the Minister of Defence, 7 May 1945



United States

The Big Four (China, UK, USA, USSR) nations reached agreement in San Francisco, California, USA, today on all except the Polish and trusteeship questions. Tomorrow the smaller nations will finish the drafting of a charter for the new "United Nations". Two points of friction between the western Allies and the USSR were resolved here today. The General Assembly will have the power to arbitrate in international disputes which threaten to erupt into war, and the UN will be given jurisdiction over future alliances. Settlement of the Polish question is being held up by the unexplained arrest of 16 Polish delegates in Moscow.

Photo: The U.S. Navy Baltimore-class heavy cruiser USS Chicago (CA-136) off the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Pennsylvania (USA), on 7 May 1945. Note Curtiss SC-1 Seahawk seaplanes on the catapults and her Measure 21 camouflage paint



Pacific War

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 3 B-25s and 4 P-47s knock out a bridge N of Singtai; 3 B-24s attack Yellow River targets of opportunity, damaging at least 1 bridge; 131 fighter-bombers again hit various targets of opportunity throughout S and E China, concentrating on railroad targets; the 21st Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, Fourteenth AF, based at Kunming with F-5s, sends a flight to operate from Laifeng (other flights are at Hanchung, Lulinag and Hsian).

GUAM

Seventh Air Force: 11 Guam Island-based B-24s pound runways on Marcus Island in the N Pacific. VII Fighter Command: 16 Saipan Island-based P-47s strafe a radio station, airfield installations, and gun positions on Moen and Falas Islands in Truk Atoll.

TINIAN

(Twentieth Air Force): Missions 151 to 154: 41 B-29s bomb airfields at Usa, Oita, Ibusuki, and Kanoya on Kyushu Island; 34 Japanese aircraft are claimed destroyed by B-29s during the Usa and Oita missions; 3 B-29s are lost. The 792d, 793d and 794th Bombardment Squadrons (Very Heavy), 468th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy), arrive at West Field, Tinian Island, Mariana Islands from India with B-29s.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

[Far East Air Force]: In French Indochina, B-25s hit railroad targets between Cap Batangan and Cap Varella. The 17th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 4th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance), moves from Morotai Island to Puerto Princesa with F-5s (a detachment is operating from Dulag).

BORNEO CAMPAIGN (1945)

In Borneo, P-38s hit Bintula, Kudat, and Ranau while B-25s, and P-38s hit gun positions and HQ on Tarakan. B-24s bomb Bingkalapa Airfield, Celebes and the harbor at Soerabaja, Java.

PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN (1945)

On Luzon, the US 43rd Division advances about 5 miles toward Ipo. American troops attacking towards a ridge near Guagua are repulsed by Japanese defenders.

B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers hit targets in the Cagayan Valley and support ground action in the Cervantes area, Balete Pass and N of Laguna de Bay.

VOLCANO AND RYUKYU ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

On Okinawa, the US 7th Division completes the elimination of Japanese units that infiltrated into the Tanabaru area. Fruitless attacks on the Japanese held Shuri Line continue.

UNITED STATES NAVY DEPARTMENT COMMUNIQUES, CINCPOA COMMUNIQUÉ NO. 355, MAY 7, 1945

Enemy positions in the Southern Sector of Okinawa were brought under fire by heavy forces of the United States Pacific Fleet on May 6 (East Longi­tude Date) and numerous blockhouses, pillboxes and other structures were destroyed. Carrier aircraft of the Fleet and planes of the Tactical Air Force gave close support to the ground troops. On the same day, U. S. carrier air­craft made neutralizing attacks on airfields of the Sakishima Group.

On May 7, troops of the Tenth Army advanced in the Southern sector. The First Marine Division drove southward to the edge of Dakeshi Village while the Seventy‑Seventh Infantry Division, led by flame‑throwing tanks, made gains in the center, and the Seventh Infantry Division moved forward on the left flank.

From the beginning of the Okinawa operation through May 7, the enemy lost 36,535 killed in all areas of the land fighting.

A small number of enemy aircraft were over our forces in the Okinawa Area early on May 7. No damage was reported.

Search Aircraft of Fleet Air Wing One attacking at masthead height with bombs and machine guns inflicted the following damage on enemy ship­ping in the waters around Korea on May 6:

Sunk:

One large cargo ship.
One medium cargo ship.
One medium oiler.
One large fleet tanker.

Damaged:

Two small freighters damaged.
One large cargo ship exploded.

Planes of Fleet Air Wing Eighteen in searches of Japanese waters sank three coastal cargo ships south of Honshu and probably destroyed a seagoing tug on May 7.

Mustangs of the Seventh Fighter Command bombed and strafed barracks, and small craft at Chichi Jima in the Bonins on May 7.

Planes of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing made neutralizing attacks on the Marshalls on May 6. On the following day, Corsairs, Hellcats and Avengers of the same Wing and Liberators of the Seventh Army Air Force attacked targets in the Palau Islands.

PACIFIC

Japanese minesweeper W.29 and cargo vessel Kashima Maru are sunk by mines (laid by USAAF B-29s) in Shimonoseki Strait, 34°02'N, 130°54'E; mines also sink merchant cargo ship Shofuku Maru off Dairen, Manchuria; and merchant vessel Teiko Maru off Futaoi Jima.

USAAF B-24s (13th Air Force) bomb Japanese shipping and shore installations at Makassar, sinking gunboat Kenzan Maru and cargo ship Hakko Maru, 05°08'S, 119°35'E.

PBMs or PB2Ys on sweeps off west coast of Korea sink Japanese cargo ships Tatsuchiyo Maru, 34°00'N, 126°00'E; No.2 Kozan Maru, 35°16'N, 126°03'E; and Kaba Maru and Hoei Maru, 34°00'N, 130°00'E.

Japanese minesweeper Nuwajima, damaged by aircraft, is beached, Saeki Bay.