World war II chronology - March 1945

1 March 1945	In Germany, Canadian forces lead an assault on the northern end of the Schlieffen line, in Hochwald Forest. American President Franklin Roosevelt presents Yalta Conference details to members of Congress, seeking their approval of the agreement. British Bomber Command makes an area air raid on Manheim, Germany.
2 March 1945	American General Douglas MacArthur returns to Corregidor, Philippines. American bombers attack Dresden and Chemnitz, Germany. 703 British bombers make an area air attack on Cologne, Germany. 223 British bombers attack the Landberger aqueduct of the Dortmund-Ems Canal in Germany, breaching it.
3 March 1945	In Burma, British forces capture Meiktila from Japanese occupiers. Japanese forces end resistance defence of Manila, Philippines. Breslau's district leader, Karl Hanke, makes a speech that is transmitted throughout Germany. He vows that the city would never surrender to the Russians under any conditions. (The city does finally surrender two months later, following the surrender of Berlin.) 57 British Mitchell and Boston bomber planes of the Second Tactical Air Force make a heavy attack on the Haagsche Bosch area near The Hague, Netherlands, attempting to destroy German V-2 rocket storage sites. The attack is a disaster, with 69 tons of bombs falling on nearby Bezuidenhout, creating major fires which the Germans refuse to put out. 800 Dutch civilians are killed, with up to 100,000 homes destroyed.
4 March 1945	German forces are cleared from the Hochwald Forest. German forces are cleared from the Balberger heights.
5 March 1945	A German battalion lands in Breslau to help defend the city. American 1st Army troops attack Cologne, Germany from the south, and enter the city. About 750 British bombers attack Chemnitz, Germany. 138 British bombers attack railways at Wesel, Germany. British bombers attack the synthetic oil plant at Böhlen, Germany.
6 March 1945	About 1200 Soviet aircraft bomb Breslau throughout the day. German forces launch Operation Spring Awakening. SS General Josef Dietrich leads 140,000 troops of the Sixth SS Panzer Army against 465,000 Soviet 3rd Ukraining Front, attempting to retake Budapest, Hungary.
7 March 1945	In Burma, American forces capture Lashio. In the Irish Sea, Canadian frigates La Hulloise, Strathadam, and Thetford Mines sink German submarine U-1302. The US 3rd Army breaks through the Schnee Eifel Mountains. In Germany, the American 1st Army seizes the intact Ludendorff railroad bridge at Remagen, near Bonn, and establishes a bridgehead on the east bank of the Rhine. Over 500 British bombers attack Dessau, Germany.
8 March 1945	Canadian forces begin an attack for Xanten, Germany. A German V-2 rocket hits Smithfield Market on Farringdon Road in the borough of Finsbury, near London, England, killing 110, seriously injuring 123, with 243 suffering lesser injuries. 300 German Luftwaffe planes fail to destroy the Ludendorff railroad bridge across the Rhine River. British bombers make a heavy attack on the Blohm and Voss submarine yards at Hamburg, Germany.
9 March 1945	General der Infantrie Herman Niehoff officially replaces von Ahlfen as fortress commander of Breslau, Germany. Japanese forces attack French positions in Indochina. 279 American B-29 bombers attack Tokyo, Japan, destroying sixteen square miles of the city, killing 83,700, injuring 40,000, making over one million homeless.
10 March 1945	American forces land on Mindanao, Philippines. Field Marshal Albert Kesselring ceases to be Commander-in-Chief Armed Forces South (Mediterranean).
11 March 1945	The first unexploded V-2 rocket to hit England lands in a field at Paglesham in Essex. (The warhead is later extracted from a depth of 37 feet below ground.) German forces complete their evacuation across the Rhine river, and blow up bridges at Wesel. German Field Marshal Albert Kesselring is placed in command of all German forces in the west, replacing Gerd von Rundstedt. 285 American B-29 bombers drop 1700 tons of incendiary bombs on Nagoya, Japan. 1079 British bombers attack Essen, Germany, dropping 4680 tons of bombs.
12 March 1945	1108 British bombers attack Dortmund, Germany, dropping 4851 tons of bombs.
13 March 1945	270 American B-29 bombers drop incendiary bombs on Osaka, Japan. British bombers attack Wuppertal-Barmen, Germany. A German submarine torpedoes and sinks Canadian merchant ship Tabor Park in a coastal convoy in the North Sea.
14 March 1945	43 British bombers attack two rail viaducts linking the Ruhr with the rest of Germany. The Bielefeld viaduct collapses. The first 22,000-pound Grand Slam bombs are used. US Marines raise the American flag on the north end of Iwo Jima, signifying the end of organized resistance.
15 March 1945	Soviets begin a bombardment of besieged Breslau, and troops attack from all sides. 267 British bombers attack Hagen, Germany. 30,000 people are made homeless. The USSR issues two postage stamps marking the 2nd anniversary of victory at Stalingrad. Allied forces accidentally bomb Basel, Switzerland. Swiss bankers reluctantly agree to make an inventory of all foreign holdings.
16 March 1945	In Germany, Lieutenant Fabian von Schlabrendorff is tried in court for his role in anti-Nazi activities. He tells of his torture by the Gestapo. The court considers torture illegal, and releases him. The Gestapo immediately arrests him again, and sends him to a concentration camp. American B-29 bombers drop incendiary bombs on Kobe, Japan, destroying 66,000 buildings. Allied forces make an attack along the Saar Basin. About 300 British bombers attack Nuremberg, Germany.
17 March 1945	American forces complete the capture of Iwo Jima. Americans suffer 26,038 casualties, include 6821 dead. Of the 21,000 Japanese defenders, only 1083 survive. In the Bay of Biscay off France, German submarine U-878 torpedoes and sinks Canadian minesweeper HMCS Guysborough. Chinese forces capture Hsipaw on the Burma Road. British bombers attack Witten, Germany, in the Ruhr. British bombers attack Hanau, Germany, east of Frankfurt.
18 March 1945	Adolf Hitler broadcasts to the German people, saying that if they lose the war, "the nation will also perish".
19 March 1945	A single Japanese dive bomber drops a 250kg bomb on USS Franklin carrier off the coast of Japan. The bomb pierces the deck, explodes causing a large fire and further explosions among shells, planes, and fuel. Over 5 hours, fifty 500-pound bombs explode from the fire. 798 dead, 487 wounded. (The ship returns to Brooklyn Navy Yard for extensive repairs in April.) Japanese forces evacuate Mandalay, Burma. British bombers attack the Arnsberg rail viaduct, linking the Ruhr with the rest of Germany. The center section is shattered, rendering it unuseable. US task force attacks Ryukyu Isialdns in preparation for Marine landings. In the Brandenburg Prison in Germany, General Erich Fromm is shot. He was convicted of cowardice for his part in the bomb plot against Adolf Hitler in July 1944. Adolf Hitler issues an order calling for the destruction of anything of value on retreat. (Albert Speer and some army officers do what they can to see that the orders are not carried out.)
20 March 1945	British bombers attack railway yards at Recklinghausen and Hamm, Germany. 19th Indian Division captures Mandalay, Burma. Off the Irish coast, Canadian frigate New Glasgow sinks German submarine U-1003. 235 British bombers attack the synthetic oil plant at Böhlen, Germany.
21 March 1945	British bombers attack railway yards at Rheine, Germany. 160 British bombers attack railway yards at Münster, Germany. British bombers attack Hildesheim, Germany, the only time of the war. Seventy percent of the town is destroyed.
22 March 1945	The US 3rd Army, lead by General George Patton, crosses the Rhine River at Oppenheim. British bombers attack railway bridges at Bremen, Nienburg, and Bad Oeynhausen, Germany.
23 March 1945	British bombers attack railway bridges at Bremen, Nienburg, and Bad Oeynhausen, Germany. Three German Gotha-242 and DFS-230 transport planes land on the Kaiserstrasse runway in Breslau, as three others are shot down by Russian flak. They provide howitzer guns and 150 mm ammunition. A US naval task force arrives at Okinawa, Japan. Canadian forces make first use of variable-time radar-equipped shells, allowing consistent bursts above ground. Operation Plunder begins, as British and Canadian forces make an amphibious crossing of the Rhine river in Germany. The objective of this operation is to attack north of Wesel, holding down and diminishing the 47th Panzer Corps, preventing it from attacking the main force crossing at Wesel. 3000 artillery guns and 228 British bombers attack Wesel, Germany.
24 March 1945	The US 9th Army begins its movement to cross the Rhine river, Germany. The Canadian 51st Highland Division of the British 2nd Army launches attacks on German villages north of Reeserward. The Canadian 1st Black Watch brigade of the 51st Division reaches the German town of Speldrop. Operation Varsity begins, as 134 American and British gliders cross the Rhine River, landing paratroops in Wesel, Germany. A US naval task force begins bombarding the island of Okinawa, Japan. The Canadian Highland Light Infantry of the 51st Division attacks Speldrop, Germany. The attack is a success, but with many losses. British bombers attack marshalling yard at Sterkrade, Germany.
25 March 1945	Field Marshal Albert Kesselring is moved from being Commander-in-Chief Armed Forces West to be Commander-in-Chief Armed Forces South. Canadian troops of the British 2nd Army cross the Rhine river and begin an attack on Bienen, Germany, against the German 1st Parachute Army and 47th Panzer Corps.
26 March 1945	Iwo Jima is declared secure. Allied forces on the Western Front are now completely east of the Rhine River. Japanese forces launch the "Ten-Ichigo" campaign on and around Okinawa.
27 March 1945	British bombers destroy a new German submarine shelter at Farge, using 22,000-pound bombs. A German V-2 rocket lands in Deptford, England, killing 52, seriously injuring 32. A German V-2 rocket hits the Hughes Mansions area in Vallance Road, Stepney, England, killing 134, seriously injuring 49. This is the second-highest British death toll by a V-2 rocket, and the second-last to hit England. Argentina declares war on Germany. The 1115th and last German V-2 rocket to reach England lands thirteen miles south-east of Stepney, in Orpington, killing one and injuring about 70. Germany launched a total of 1403 rockets at England, of which 1054 exploded on the ground, killing 2754, seriously injuring 6523.
28 March 1945	The Royal Canadian Engineers complete building a Bailey bridge 1814 feet long over the Rhine River, near Emmerich. (This is the longest Bailey bridge built in the war.) Canadian forces begin an advance on Emmerich, Germany. Adolf Hitler replaces chief of staff Heinz Guderian with Hans Krebbs. Supreme Allied Commander Dwight Eisenhower turns down Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery's request for an all-out assault on Berlin. Dwight Eisenhower tells Josef Stalin that the Western Allies will not advance toward Berlin, but will advance to Efurt-Leipzig-Dresden, to split the German defence, and link up with the Soviet Red Army.
29 March 1945	The last German flying bomb to reach England lands in Kent. In the English Channel, German submarine U-246 hits Canadian frigate Teme with an acoustic torpedo. The ship survives, but does not fight again.
30 March 1945	Canadian forces clear Emmerich, Germany, of its defenders. Adolf Hitler issues a decree drafted by Albert Speer, calling for war production to continue until the last possible moment, then for facilities to be crippled if possible, or destroyed otherwise. Russian forces capture Danzig.
31 March 1945	British bombers make a heavy attack on the Blohm and Voss submarine yards at Hamburg, Germany. Soviets launch another major air and artillery bombardment of Breslau, Germany. Canada's Commonwealth air training program ends. 131,500 aircrew graduated.