World war II chronology - February 1945

1 February 1945	US General Dwight Eisenhower issues a directive authorizing Operations Veritable and Grenade.
2 February 1945	German Dr. Carl Friedrich Goerdeler is executed, at age 61. Over 500 British bombers attack Wiesbaden, Germany.
3 February 1945	About 1000 American B-17 bombers of the US 8th Air Force attack Berlin, Germany. A reported 25,000 civilians are killed.  US 1st Cavalry Division enters Manila, Philippines. About 400 American bombers attack rail and oil targets in Magdeburg, Germany.
4 February 1945	The Yalta Conference takes place, over eight days, to discuss post-war policies. Russia asks for an Allied air bombing of Berlin and Leipzig. US General Omar Bradley relays an order to General Courtney Hodges of the US 1st Army to seize the Schwammenauel Dam near Schmidt on the Roer River, and other dams.
7 February 1945	285 British Lancaster bombers and ten Mosquito Pathfinders drop 1384 tons of high explosives on Cleve, Germany. The high explosives cause huge craters. A total of 900 heavy bombers take part in the evening's bombings, including Goch, Weeze, Udem, Geldern, and Calcar. 100 Lancaster bombers attack the synthetic oil plant at Wanne-Eickel, Germany.
8 February 1945	1334 guns of the British and Canadian armies facing German defenders open fire in advance of Operation Veritable. Over 24 hours, over 500,000 rounds are fired. In Europe, the 1st Canadian Army, plus additional Allied formations, launches Operation Veritable, to clear the Reichswald Forest, break the Siegfried Line, clear the Hochwald Forest defences, and close up the Rhine river. 487 British bombers attack oil targets at Pölitz, Germany.
11 February 1945	At Yalta, representatives of Great Britain, the USA, and the Soviet Union sign a secret agreement on certain post-war issues. After victory over Japan, the Soviet Union is to receive the Kurile Islands, and southern Sakhalin and adjacent islands.
12 February 1945	Poland issues ten postage stamps noting the dates of liberation of various Polish cities.
13 February 1945	The US 8th Air Force in England cancels a scheduled assault on Dresden, Germany. Soviet forces capture Budapest, Hungary. 110,000 prisoners are taken to Russia. 368 British bombers attack an oil plant at Böhlen, near Leipzig, Germany. This raid is intended to occupy Germany night-fighters from the main air assault on Dresden. The first wave of British bombers attack Dresden, Germany, dropping target markers (white flares and green target indicators) and incendiaries. This is the start of Operation Thunderclap, a directive of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, to destroy German cities. Nine British Mosquito bombers mark the stadium near the centre of Dresden with red target indicators. The main British bombing force of 244 Lancasters arrive over Dresden, bombing the centre of the town with 881 tons of incendiaries and high explosives, starting a firestorm.
14 February 1945	529 more British Lancaster bombers arrive over Dresden, dropping 1700 tons of bombs around the edges of the fire. Over 1680 acres are destroyed in the city centre, over 86,000 houses destroyed or damaged, 20,000 to 25,000 killed. (Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels exaggerates the death toll to 200,000.) 311 American B-17 bombers attack the marshalling yards at Dresden. 294 American B-17 bombers attack rail targets at Chemnitz. In the harbor of Ostend, Belgium, a gasoline spill ignites among British and Canadian patrol boats. Torpedoes and other ammunition explode, destroying boats and harbor structures. 26 Canadian and 35 British sailors are killed and most boats of 29th Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla are destroyed. 329 British bombers attack Chemnitz. A second wave of 388 British bombers attack Chemnitz.
15 February 1945	In Dresden, Germany, the Frauenkirche (Church of our Lady) collapses from the extreme heat of the previous night's firestorm bombing. 210 American B-17 bombers attack the marshalling yards at Dresden. About 300 American B-17 bombers attack Kottbus, 20 miles from Dresden. The 1st Canadian Corps ends its campaign in Italy, moving to north-west Europe to be re-united with the Canadian 1st Army. 92757 Canadians served in Italy, suffering 26254 casualties. In Germany, General Erich Fromm is brought before the People's Court on a charge of cowardice for his part in the bomb plot against Adolf Hitler in July 1944. He is condemned to death. SHAEF produces the "Ruhr Transportation Plan", designed to concentrate air attacks on links between the Ruhr and the rest of Germany. British Bomber Command makes an air raid on Mainz, Germany. 5670 buildings are destroyed; 1100-1200 are killed. In Canada, a voluntary repatriation plan is announced by the federal government. People in Canada of Japanese descent are offered the choice of moving to Japan after the war, or moving east of the Rocky Mountains.
16 February 1945	Soviet forces surround Breslau, Germany. North of Scotland, Canadian frigate St. John sinks German submarine U-309. British bombers attack railways at Wesel, Germany, over four days. 800-ship American armada arrives at Iwo Jima.
19 February 1945	450 ships with 30,000 men of the US 4th and 5th Marine divisions begin landing on Iwo Jima to attack Japanese forces. By the end of the day, 30,000 have landed, with 500 dead and and 1500 wounded.
20 February 1945	The Soviet 6th Army launches an all-out attack on the southern sector of German town of Breslau. On Iwo Jima, American private first class Jacklyn Lucas covers two Japanee grenades to save the Marines around him. He survives, and is later awarded the Medal of Honor.
21 February 1945	Allied forces break through the Siegfried Line in Europe. The US 503rd Parachute Regimental Combat Team liberates Corregidor, Philippines. 137 British bombers attack the Mittelland Canal in Germany, breaching it.
22 February 1945	In the English Channel, off Falmouth, German submarine U-1004 torpedoes and sinks Canadian corvette HMCS Trentonian, with the loss of six lives.
23 February 1945	The US 1st and 9th Armies begin crossing the Roer river in Germany. American Marines capture Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima. British Bomber Command makes an air raid on Essen, Germany, inflicting great damage. The Turkish National Assembly declares war on Germany. A German submarine torpedoes Canadian merchant ship Point Pleasant Park north-west of Capetown, South Africa. 378 British bombers attack Pforzheim, in southern Germany. The resulting firestorm kills 17,000.   Germans abandon the V-2 rocket research site of Peenemünde.
25 February 1945	German 1st Battalion of the 26th Parachute Regiment lands in Breslau, to help defend the city. US 21st Bomber Command makes the first mass incendiary bomb raid on Tokyo. North of Florence, Italy, Canadian participation in fighting in Italy ends. Over 90,000 soldiers participated, with nearly 6,000 killed.
26 February 1945	In Holland, Operation Blockbuster begins with an artillery barrage by the Canadian 1st Army on northern frontline in Germany. In Europe, 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Divisions and 4th Armoured Division begin attacking German defences in the Hochwald Forest and Balberger heights.
27 February 1945	British Bomber Command makes a final air raid on the Alma Pluto benzol plant in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Severe damage is inflicted to all vital installations.
28 February 1945	British Bomber Command makes an air raid on the Nordstern oil plant in Gelsenkirchen, inflicting severe damaged.