World war II chronology - April 1945

1 April 1945	50,000 American 10th Army troops land on Okinawa, Japan. American 1st and 9th Armies complete an encirclement of the Ruhr area of Germany, isolating 325,000 German soldiers of Army Group B.
2 April 1945	American forces seize Tawitawi in the Sulu Archipelago, 30 miles off north-east Borneo.
3 April 1945	The Canadian 1st Army crosses the Rhine River into Germany, capturing Zevenaar.
4 April 1945	Soviet forces clear the last Germany forces out of Hungary.
5 April 1945	Japanese Admiral Toyoda, Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet decides to launch operation TEN-GO, in which the Special Sea Attack Force would concentrate naval forces on Okinawa to draw off enemy warships, while kamakazi attacks are launched against troop carriers and transport ships. 4th Canadian Armoured Division captures Almelo in north-east Holland.
6 April 1945	British Bomber Command is directed to discontinue area-bombing unless specifically directed. The US Army Air Force makes a successful raid on targets in Leipzig. The Japanese Special Sea Attack Force, including battleship Yamato, cruiser Yahagi, and eight destroyers sail from Tokuyama in search of the American fleet near Okinawa.  The Japanese navy and the 32nd Japanese Army launch a combined attack on US forces landing on Okinawa. 355 kamikaze planes attack the fleet, the largest such attack of the war. 3rd Canadian Division takes Zutphen in north-east Holland.
7 April 1945	In Germany, American forces discover a mineshaft at Merkers loaded with gold and valuables from the Reichsbank. It is valued at US$241 million. About 150 American planes engage the Yamato and the rest of the fleet. The Yamato is hit by two bombs near the aft secondary gun turret. The Yamato is first struck by a torpedo, in the port bow. Japanese destroyer Hamakaze is sunk by torpedo and bomb hits. Japanese cruiser Yahagi is struck on the starboard stern by a torpedo, exploding in the engine room. Another torpedo hits, as does an aerial bomb. Japanese destroyer Suzutsuki is heavily damaged by aerial bombardment. About twenty torpedo planes attack Yamato port side, scoring three hits to the mid-port side, and jamming the secondary rudder to port. Cruiser Yahagi sinks. American planes score three bomb hits on Yamato. Yamato is struck by a torpedo on the starboard side. Yamato is struck by two torpedos on the port side. Yamato is struck by a tenth torpedo. apanese battleship Yamato sinks. Only 269 of a crew of 3332 survive.
8 April 1945	At Flossenburg concentration camp, in Germany, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris is tried in court and found guilty. British bombers make a heavy attack on the Blohm and Voss submarine yards at Hamburg, Germany.
9 April 1945	German Admiral Wilhelm Canaris is hanged for his role in anti-Nazi activities. In Italy, British 8th Army launches an attack in amphibious vehicles across Lake Comacchio. In Germany, Major General Hans Oster is executed at Flossenburg concentration camp, at age 56. 591 British bombers attack Kiel, Germany. They sink the pocket battleship Admiral von Scheer, and severely damage the light cruiser Emden and heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper.
10 April 1945	The British Bomber Command makes an aerial raid on targets in Leipzig. Poland issues five postage stamps commemorating the liberation of Cracow.
11 April 1945	Japan begins Kamikaze attacks on US shipping off Okinawa. Coblenz and Essen are captured by the Allies. American forces liberate the Buchenwald concentration camp. 129 British Halifax bombers make an accurate aerial attack on rail targets in Nuremburg, Germany. 122 British bombers make an aerial attack on Bayreuth, Germany, causing severe damage. In the Netherlands, Operation Cannonshot begins, with the 1st Canadian Infantry Division crossing the Ijssel River, aiming for Apeldoorn. By 2100 hours, a secure bridgehead is established. (German counterattacks over night are successfully repulsed. Apeldoorn is reached by April 14.)
12 April 1945	By dawn in the Netherlands, Canadian army engineers have completed a bridge across the Ijssel River, and tanks begin crossing. 1st Canadian Corps begins an assault on Arnhem. American President Franklin Roosevelt dies of a stroke.
13 April 1945	The Soviet Red Army occupies Vienna, Austria.
14 April 1945	SS Reichführer Heinrich Himmler orders that no prisoners of Dachau concentration camp be allowed into enemy hands alive. 1st Canadian Corps takes Arnhem. 512 British bombers attack Potsdam.
15 April 1945	Adolf Hitler issues an order in the event that Germany is split into northern and southern areas. Admiral Karl Dönitz would be appointed Commander-in-Chief of the north, or General Field Marshal Albert Kesselring would be Commander-in-Chief of the south, with Hitler in charge of the other part. The USSR issues six postage stamps depicting battle victories over Germany.
16 April 1945	Near Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, German submarine U-190 torpedoes Royal Canadian Navy minesweeper HMCS Esquimalt. The ship sinks within four minutes, killing 44 of a crew of 71. (This is Canada's last military ship loss.) The German garrison commander of Groningen, Netherlands, surrenders the town to Canadian forces. American troops reach Nuremberg, Germany. British bombers attack Swinemünde, sinking the German warship Lützow. Soviet forces begin attacks on Berlin, Germany, from a bridgehead west of Kuestrin. About 2.5 million men in the 1st and 2nd Belorussian Front and 1st Ukrainian Front take part. German forces trying to escape into western Netherlands make a fierce attack on Canadians defending Otterlo.
17 April 1945	Canadian 1st Division forces capture Apeldoorn, Netherlands. Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz is appointed Commander-in-Chief of Operations Staff (North). American bombers attack Dresden, Germany. General Dwight Eisenhower decides to cease fighting west of Utrecht for the sake of the Dutch people.   Canadian soldiers of Fort Garry Horse Regiment liberate Doetinchem.
18 April 1945	969 British bombers attack Heligoland island, destroying every building and most of the radar and flak defences. About 320,000 German troops in Army Group B surrender in the Ruhr. British 30th Corps begins operations against Bremen, Germany. Death of Ernie Pyle, war correspondent, on Okinawa, shot by Japanese gun fire.
19 April 1945	British bombers make a precision-bombing attack of the 12-inch guns on Heligoland.
20 April 1945	Soviet forces launch another major attack on southern Breslau. In Berlin, Germany, Heinrich Himmler meets with Count Folke Bernadotte and another Swedish diplomat, suggesting that the time had come for Jews and Germans to "bury the hatchet". Himmler says that absolute secrecy must be used in the liberation of any Jews.
21 April 1945	The Soviet government concludes a treaty of alliance with the Lublin administration of Poland. Soviet forces first enter Berlin, Germany.
22 April 1945	Allied forces capture Toungoo, Burma. 767 British bombers make a heavy attack on Bremen, Germany.
23 April 1945	Hans John, brother of Otto John, is killed by the SS. Hermann Göring sends Adolf Hitler a telegram suggesting he take over total leadership of the Reich. Hitler has him arrested for high treason. Operation Canada, the battle for Delfzijl, Holland begins, with the 5th Canadian Armoured Division attacking German defenders of the Dutch port.   Adolf Hitler tells Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop to appeal to the British for real friendship between the two countries, for both nations to survive long-term. Hitler says he regrets war with the US, claiming "no possible divergencies" with the country. Hitler calls Stalin's creation of the Red Army a "grandiose deed".
24 April 1945	Heinrich Himmler meets with Swedish Count Folke Bernadotte in Lübeck, Germany. With Adolf Hitler in poor health in Berlin and surrounded by Soviet forces, Himmler considers himself responsible for Germany's future. He asks Bernadotte to pass on an offer of surrender to British, American, or Swedish troops. The surrender would include German armies only on the Western Front, and in Norway and Denmark. 482 British bombers make a massive raid on Wangerooge. British bombers make an aerial attack on rail targets at Bad Oldesloe, Germany. German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop flees Berlin. Canadian forces begin crossing River Leda, to capture Leer, Netherlands. The Swedish Foreign Minister informs British and American representatives of Heinrich Himmler's surrender offer.
25 April 1945	US Secretary of War Henry Stimson delivers a full report on the atomic bomb to President Harry Truman. The First line of the document reads "Within four months, we shall in all probability have completed the most terrible weapon ever known in human history.". British and American troops meet Soviet forces at Torgau on the Elbe river. By order of General Dwight Eisenhower, the US 9th Army halts at the Elbe, allowing Russian forces to capture Berlin. In Mitterfels, Germany, American troops capture German Field Marshal General Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist, commander of Army Group A. 375 British bombers and over 100 US Mustang fighters attack Berchtesgaden, Germany, site of Adolf Hitler's residence. The SS chief's residence and two barrack blocks are destroyed, and 50 aircraft bomb Hitler's villa. However, Hitler is in his bunker in Berlin at this time. 119 British bombers attack the oil refinery at Tönsberg in Norway.
26 April 1945	Operation Exodus begins, with British Bomber Command flying released prisoners of war home to England. First American and British prisoners-of-war are liberated from the Rangoon City Jail in Burma. US President Harry Truman advises the American Legation in Stockholm, Sweden, to pass on to his German contact the terms of Germany's unconditional surrender to American, British, and Soviet forces.
27 April 1945	The British 30th Corp captures Bremen, Germany. Allies capture Milan, Italy. Royal Australian Air Force Liberator bombers strike airfields at Surabaya, Java, and the airfield at Malang. About 100 Japanese aircraft make suicide and bombing attacks on Admiral Richard Turner's flagship off Okinawa, Japan. One ship is sunk; about 25 planes are shot down.
28 April 1945	The Grebbe Line is established in West Holland, with a temporary truce established allowing food supplies to reach civilians. Benito Mussolini is captured by Italian Partisans and killed. Adolf Hitler dismisses Heinrich Himmler, after learning that Himmler had offered to discuss peace terms with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. US forces in Germany liberate Colonel General Fritz Halder from a concentration camp. In the Netherlands, Operation Duck begins, with the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division beginning an assault on the town of Leer.
29 April 1945	American 1st Armored Division enters Milan, Italy. Operation Manna begins, as British Bomber Command begins dropping food in four pre-approved drop zones in western Holland. By the end of the day, 239 Lancaster bombers have dropped 500+ tons of food. (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.) A tentative agreement is made with the Swedish Government for German forces in Norway to be disarmed and interred in Sweden. US 7th Army takes Admiral Nicholas Horthy, Regent of Hungary, into protective custody. In Moscow, USSR, it is announced that Karl Renner has established a provisional government of Austria, under Soviet auspices. 429 American and British former prisoners-of-war are released by Japanese retreating from Rangoon. Some had been held since the fall of Singapore. American 42nd and 45th Divisions capture Dachau concentration camp in Germany, liberating 32,000. In Caserta, Italy, surrender documents are signed by a German lieutenant colonel and a major, for all German forces in Italy. The last parts of French soil, on the Alpine front, still held by Germans are liberated by French forces. Adolf Hitler writes his last will and testament, and final instructions for his staff. He places sole responsibility for all the deaths on the Jews. He appoints Karl Dönitz as Reich President, Joseph Goebbels as Chancellor, Martin Bormann as Party Minister, and Arthur Seyss-Inquart as Foreign Minister. American escort carriers attack Sakishima Islands, 145 miles south-west of Okinawa, Japan. Canadian forces secure Leer, Netherlands. American 27th Army Infantry captures Machinato airfield on Okinawa, Japan.
30 April 1945	American, French, and Canadian forces make an amphibious assault on Ile d'Oleron on the French Atlantic coast. (By evening, the capture St. Trojan.) American 5th Army's 442nd Infantry Regiment enters Turin, Italy. In Milan, Italy, partisans execute former chief of staff for the Italian Army Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, following a quick trial. Allies in Italy capture Gargnano, Cittadella, Bassano, Friolo, Treviso, Chioggia, and Alessandria. British troops liberate over 21,500 prisoners in Sandbostel, Germany. Romania issues six postage stamps honoring victims of Nazi terrorism. Soviet forces launch an assault on Berlin, Germany. The Soviet Red Army troops capture the Reichstag in Berlin, Germany. Troops of the Second White Russian Front capture Greifswald, Treptow, Neustrelitz, Fuerstenberg, Gransee, Lassen, Wolgast, Rheinsberg, Hanshagen, Zuessow, Guetzkow, Jarmen, Bartow, Burow, Sarow, Wolde, Penzlin, Menz, Gros-Woltersdorf, Dolgow. North of Berlin, troops of the First White Russian Front capture Zendenick, Klein-Muetz, Bergsdorf, Falkenthal, Guten-Germendorf, Loewenberg, Grueneberg, Teschendorf, Nassenheide. Troops of the Fourth Ukrainian Front capture Moravska Ostrava in Czechoslovakia, and Zilina. Troops of the Second Ukrainian Front capture Buchlovice, Stupava, Korycany, Nemotice, Milonice, Svabenice, Ivanice, Dedice. Canadian forces clear most of Leer, Netherlands, from German forces. Allied force in Czechoslovakia capture an airfield northeast of Eger. Allied forces reach Moosburg, liberating a prisoner-of-war camp of 110,000 British and American troops. US Strategic Air Forces in Europe and the British Air Ministry declare an end to strategic bombing in Europe. The policy is declared to have come up to every expectation, wrecking oil plants, aircraft factories, and railway systems. B-29 Superfortresses of US 21st Bomber Command from the Marianas Islands makes a two-pronged strike on Japan, one on aircraft installations on Kyushu Island, the other at industrial targets in the Tokyo area. No bombers are shot down. In Berlin, Germany, Adolf Hitler commits suicide in his bunker, shooting himself in the mouth. American 7th Army takes control of Munich, as next-to-last resistance ends. Karl Dönitz receives a radio message from Martin Bormann informing him that Adolf Hitler has designated him as his successor. The German Reich Chancellery confirms Rear Admiral Karl Dönitz as Reichspräisident and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. American 7th Infantry Division troops enter Kuhazu village on east central Okinawa, Japan. Calcutta, India, ends its wartime blackout. An Allied force lands on the east coast of Borneo.