World war II chronology - May 1945

1 May 1945	About 5000 American, Australian, and Netherlands forces begin landing on Tarakan Island, near Borneo. German forces begin abandoning Denmark. Indian paratroops drop near part of Rangoon, Burma. German president Karl Dönitz commences a progressive total surrender of German armed forces, by means of local surrenders. In Germany, the US 7th Army captures German Field Marshal General Wilhelm Rutter von Leeb and German Field Marshal General Wilhelm List. German-Soviet truce talks are ended when a German sniper injures Russian Major Belovsoff. Soviet forces retaliate with a intense shell barrage. The Portuguese Government orders flags at half-staff and two days of mourning for Adolf Hitler. British and Indian armored columns reach Pego in Southern Burma before the retreating Japanese, trapping about 30,000 troops remaining from three Japanese armies of central and south Burma. Seven German JU-52 planes drop supplies to Breslau, and two Fieseler Fi-156 Storch planes land with more supplies. Karl Dönitz learns by radio message that Adolf Hitler died the previous day. Joseph Goebbels has a physician give his children lethal injections, then has an SS orderly shoot him and his wife, then burn the bodies. Karl Dönitz makes a speech over radio: "It is my first task to save Germany from destruction by the advancing Bolshevist enemy. For this aim alone the military struggle continues." British forces take Pegu in Burma, near Rangoon. To date, American and British planes have dropped 2,453,595 tons of explosives on German targets since the start of the war. Losses of aircraft have been 40,822 German, 26,715 American and British. 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. Canadian forces capture Delfzijl, Netherlands.
2 May 1945	The American 10th Army makes a night attack advancing 1400 yards on Okinawa, Japan, arriving close to Yonabaru. The final German defenders of the Dutch port of Delfzijl surrender. British troops make an amphibious landing on the southern tip of Burma, 20 miles south of Rangoon. British forces capture Prome, Burma. A large group of German rocket engineers surrender to American forces. Karl Dönitz appoints Count Lutz Schwerin von Krosigk as Foreign Minister, replacing Joachim von Ribbentrop. The unconditional surrender of about one million men of the German army in Italy goes into effect. German command radio calls on remaining troops to surrender. The British Government announces that the air raid warning system has been discontinued. It was heard 1224 times during the war. German Lieutenant-General Karl Weidling surrenders the city of Berlin to Russian forces. Breslau learns of the surrender of Berlin, and General Herman Niehoff asks Army Group Center that he be allowed to surrender the city. His request is denied. US 7th Army in Germany captures Field Marshal General Karl von Rundstedt, former commander in the West. Rangoon, Burma, is recaptured from the Japanese by the Indian 26th Division. Irish Prime Minister Eamon de Valera expresses condolences to the German Legation for Adolf Hitler's death. The 2nd New Zealand Division enters Trieste, Italy. Over two days, residents of Montevideo, Uruguay celebrate the fall of Berlin, Germany. The celebrations turn to rioting and looting; 58 are injured, and thousands of dollars worth of property are damaged. American units of 24th Division enter the city of Davao on Mindanao, Philippines. French Pierre Laval arrives at Barcelona airport, agreeing to be interned and dealt with by Allied Governments. The American 13th Armored Division peacefully enters Braunau, in former Austria, birthplace of Adolf Hitler. Berlin, Germany, capitulates. Capturing the city are the First White Russian and the First Ukranian armies. In twelve days of defence of the city, 343,000 Germans were killed. New Zealand 2nd Division of the British 8th Army accepts the surrender of the German garrison in the port of Trieste, Yugoslavia. 70,000 German troops in Berlin lay down arms in surrender to Russian forces. 138 British bombers attack Kiel and nearby airfields. This is the last Bomber Command offensive of the war. President Josef Stalin officially announces the capture of Berlin, Germany.
3 May 1945	Hans Fritsche, chief assistant to Joseph Goebbels, gives a deposition stating that Goebbels and Adolf Hitler had committed suicide in Berlin. Quote of Japanese Premier Kantaro Suzuki to the Japanese people on the present state of war: "We are fully prepared and we have in our forces... an unsurpassed strategical skill." American, British, and Soviet forces smash the remains of two German armies in north-west Germany, capturing 150,000-500,000 prisoners. British forces occupy Hamburg. American, British, and Canadian planes sink or damage over 64 ships off the Baltic coast of Schleswig-Holstein, as thousands of Germans flee toward Denmark and Norway. The British 14th Army captures Rangoon, Burma. Brazilian War Minister Eurico Dutra announce the Brazilian Expeditionary Force will return home from Italy immediately. Karl Dönitz moves his headquarters to Flensburg, just south of Denmark. Karl Dönitz signs an edict written by Albert Speer, prohibiting the destruction of any facilities. British bombers attack and sink German Hamburg South America Line ship Cap Arcona (27,600 tons) in the East Sea, with the loss of about 5000 people of 6000 on board. Canadian forces capture Oldenburg, abandoned by German defenders. US troops meet US 5th Army from Italy at Brenner Pass between Austria and Italy. 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 dicuss surrender of all German armed forces. US 103rd Infantry Division enters Innsbruck peacefully, accepting surrender from garrison commander General Burheim.
4 May 1945	Japanese troops begin landing on the eastern side of Okinawa. More Japanese troops land at various beaches on Okinawa, behind American lines. About 2000 begin attacks on US forces, but are soon destroyed or surrounded. Japanese planes sink five American surface ships and damage several others, in a heavy attack off Okinawa. Over 150 Japanese planes are shot down. German delegates of the 24th Army request surrender terms of the French. Salzburg surrenders to American forces. German Field Marshal Fedor von Bock, Commanding Army group South (Russia), is killed in an air-raid. General Harry Crerar of the Canadian 1st Army orders all planned assaults called off, as a German surrender is considered imminent. Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten announces that the Burma campaign is at an end. Japanese casualties numbered 347,000, with 97,000 confirmed killed. At Dachau, Germany, US forces rescue German General Alexander Frieherr von Falkenhausen. 50-100 B-29 Superfortresses of the US 21st Bomber Command from the Mariana Islands attack Japanese airfields on Shikoku Island and on Kyushu. Nine ships carrying Germans escaping toward Denmark and Norway are sunk in the Baltic. 100 other ships are damaged. British forces land on Jutland, Denmark. Soviet forces begin attacking Danish islands of Moen, Laaland, and Falster. US 7th Army's 36th Infantry Division captures German Governor General of Poland Hans Frank in Berchtesgaden, Germany. Soviet troops liberate all of Slovakia. In Breslau, German General Herman Niehoff requests a cease fire with the Russians. General Gluzdovsky accepts. US Forces release Josef Müller from captivity. German leader Karl Dönitz orders all submarine commanders to cease hostilities and return to home bases. German General of the Army, Admiral von Friedeberg and three others return to British Field Marshal Bernhard Montgomery, accepting terms of surrender. Near Hamburg, the unconditional surrender of one million troops in German land, sea, and air forces in Holland, Denmark, and northern Germany facing the Canadian 1st Army and British 2nd Army is arranged. German General of the Army and Commander in Chief of the Navy Admiral von Friedeberg, Rear Admiral Wagner, General Paulik, Major Friedeberg sign the surrender terms for Germany. Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery signs on behalf of Dwight Eisenhower. The American 7th Army captures Berchtesgaden and hundreds of other cities and towns. 80,000 prisoners are taken.
5 May 1945	The Czech resistance movement captures Prague, then later makes an urgent radio call for Allied aid against German counterattacks. Five Japanese Kamikaze planes hit the USS Aaron Ward. The official cease fire takes effect for all Allied and German armed forces in northwest Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark. US 11th Armored Division enters Linz, Austria, occupying it within an hour without a fight. Australian and Netherland troops capture the center of Tarakan City on Tarakan Island, off Borneo, taking full possession of the air field. Dr. Hans Fritsche, lieutenant to Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, says Hitler's body "has been hidden in a place that it will be impossible to find". 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. The French Government asks the Spanish Government for the extradition of former Vichy Premier Pierre Laval. Russian forces capture the German naval base of Swinemünde on Usedom Island. American forces free prisoners of Itter Castle in Austria. Included among them are former French Premiers Edouard Daladier and Paul Reynaud, and French Generals Maurice-Gustave Gamelin and Maxime Weygand. US 24th Division liberates Davao on Mindanao, Philippines. (This is the last major city held by the Japanese in the Philipines.) 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. Army Group G of 200-400,000 men surrenders to General Jacob Devers and the US 6th Army Group. Lieutenant General Foertsch signs for Germany. The official cease-fire and surrender is to take effect at noon May 6. German 11th Panzer Division surrenders to US 90th Division in Czechoslovakia. General Hans von Friedeburg and Colonel Fritz Poleck of the German High Command meet with Eisenhower's Chief of Staff General Walter Smith in Rheims, France. Eisenhower's terms of unconditional surrender of all German forces are communicated. From Rheims, France, General Hans von Friedeburg sends a message to Karl Dönitz informing him of General Walter Smith's proposals for surrender: either give Friedeburg full authority to make unconditional surrender, or for the chief of General staff and commanders of army, navy, and air force be sent with authority for unconditional surrender. British troops enter Copenhagen, Denmark.
6 May 1945	US 3rd Army captures Pilsen and Karlsbad. Karl Dönitz signs an order prohibiting demolitions in any occupied territories (part of Holland, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Norway). The Second White Russian Army capture Rügen Island, the German island seaplane base in the Baltic. 4660 Germans are taken prisoner. Official surrender comes into effect of German Army Group G to the American 6th Army Group. German General Herman Niehoff signs the surrender of Breslau. Dr. Hans Thomsen, German Minister to Sweden, signs capitulation of about 350,000 German troops in Oslo, Norway. Chief of Staff of German Army Colonel General Gustaf Jodl and two others arrive in Rheims, France, joining Hans von Friedeburg and Fritz Poleck.
7 May 1945	At Rheims, France, German armed forces sign unconditional surrender, effective from 0001 hours on May 9. Signing for Germany is Chief of Staff of German Army Colonel General Gustaf Jodl. Signing for the Supreme Allied Commander is Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Walter Smith. Signing for France is General François Sevez. Signing for the Soviet Union is General Ivan Susloparoff. The Soviet Union's Extraordinary State Commission reports that the German concentration camp of Oswiecim in Poland had systematically killed over four million citizens of the Soviet Union, Poland, France, Belguim, the Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslovakia, Hungary, Romania and others. This is the greatest incidence of mass murder on recorded history. American soldiers of the 85th Infantry Division of the US Ninth Army capture a resort hotel near Dobbiaca, Italy, near the Austrian border. The 150-man German garrison surrenders with little fight. Inside are 133 political hostages, intended to be executed if the hotel was captured. Included are former French Premier Léon Blum, Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg, former Hungarian Premier Nicholas von Kallay, former Chief of German General Staff Franz Halder, and Alex von Stauffenberg. Schuschnigg had been held for seven years. Japanese totalitarian party head General Jiro Minami declares that Japan never had the "slightest intention" of relying on the assistance of Germany in the Pacific war. Nazis in Denmark surrender to Canadian Flying Officer Bob MacDougall, a Halifax bomber tail gunner who had been shot down April 26, and held as a prisoner of war. British troops capture Dr. Anton Mussert in Utrecht, Netherlands. He was the leader of Dutch Nazis. The US House of Representatives passes a resolution authorizing the US to join the Allies in tracking down war criminals by all means possible. About fifty US B-29 bombers make daytime bombing raids on four Kyushu airdromes and industrial areas. Two planes are shot down. A German submarine torpedoes Canadian merchant ship Avondale Park. (This is the last Allied ship lost during the war of the Atlantic.) The US First Marine Division reaches one mile from Naha, capital of Okinawa. Spain severs diplomatic relations with Germany. The Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force holds a press conference, informing the press of the signing of German armed forces surrender. The information is not to be published until the public announcement 1500 hours May 8. From Flensburg, Germany, German Foreign Minister Count Ludwig Schwerin von Krosigk announces that Karl Donitz had ordered the unconditional surrender of all German forces. The Swedish Foreign Office announces Sweden has broken off diplomatic relations with Germany, and taken over the German Legation, Consulate, and other properties in Stockholm. Soviet Union leader Josef Stalin announces the capture of Breslau, capital of Lower Silesia, after an 84-day siege. 40,000 Germans are captured.
8 May 1945	Every shore and ship battery of the US at Okinawa, Japan, fires one shell on a Japanese target, indicating German surrender, that Japan now stands alone. The German commander in Prague issues orders for German units to cease fighting. German forces in the Dodecanese Islands surrender to the British on Symi Island, effective 1300 hours Greenwich time. The Soviet Tass news agency reports that a Russian general stated that the body of Adolf Hitler has been found in the ruins of Berlin. The Canadian Army formally arrests Arthur Seyss-Inquart, former German commander of the Netherlands. US Secretary of Treasury announces the US cost of the war so far is US$275 billion. US B-29 bombers make an 18th bombing raid on Kyushu airfields and industrial areas. All planes return to bases in the Mariana Islands. The US announces that the US 7th Army near Strobl, east of Salzburg, has liberated Belgian King Leopold III and family and staff. Czechoslovak-controlled Prague radio announces Germans in Prague and Bohemia have accepted unconditional surrender. Soviet forces of the First Ukrainian Army capture Dresden, Germany, and sixteen other German towns. The Yugoslav Army of National Liberation captures the Croatian city of Zagreb. The Canadian navy ceases fighting German forces. Brazil issues five stamps marking victory in Europe. In Berchtesgaden, Germany, the German 82nd corps of about 3300 troops surrenders to the US 101st Airborne Division. In Washington, D.C., US President Harry Truman officially announces the unconditional surrender of Germany. He then calls on Japan to surrender unconditionally, or face "utter destruction". In London, England, Prime Minister Winston Churchill formally proclaims an end to war in Europe. A cease fire is ordered in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
9 May 1945	The Second World War in Europe officially ends. By the end of the war in Europe, British civilian deaths due to enemy action total 60,595. By the end of the war in Europe, British-American forces lost 18,000 aircraft and 81,000 aircrew dead. The German Luftwaffe lost 62,500-100,000 aircraft and 70,000 aircrew dead or missing. At the end of American fighting in Europe, total casualties are about 750,000, including about 150,000 dead. During the war, German submarines sunk 2603 merchant ships and 175 warships, killing 50,000 victims. Germany lost 690 submarines and 32,000 crewmen killed or taken prisoner. Total Canadian soldiers killed in European fighting: 42,042. In Karlshorst, Berlin, Germany, a second signing of the military surrender of Germany is held. Surrender is signed by Field Marshal General Wilhelm Keitel, General Admiral Hans Georg von Friedeburg, General Hans Juergen Stumpff, commanders in chief of the German Army, Navy, and Air Force, respectively. Signing on behalf of the Soviet Commander in Chief of the Red Army is General Marshal Zhukov. Signing on behalf of General Eisenhower is Air Chief Marshal Arthur Tedder. Moscow radio announces Josef Stalin's proclamation of the unconditional surrender of Germany. German forces re-open fire on Prague, Czechoslovakia. Soviet forces capture Prague, Czechoslovakia. The Japanese Cabinet meets in a special session, then announces that the sudden change in the war situation in Europe would not change the war objective of the Japanese Government. In Norway, Vidkun Quisling and six cabinet ministers surrender to patriot forces. Libau radio in Latvia announces the formation of the National Latvian Government, and that German troops would continue to fight for the Latvian Government. The Soviet Government is requested to cease hostilities. In Copenhagen, Denmark, King Christian opens parliament, for the first time in five years. Prime Minister Vilhelm Buhl announces Denmark is cancelling participation in the anti-Comintern pact, and will join the Allied nations. The Soviet Union celebrates VE Day. In 1418 days of military operations, 20-26 million Soviets were killed, with another 40 million wounded, leaving 25 million homeless. On the German-Russian front, 10 million German troops were killed or wounded. Destruction to the Soviet Union: 70,000 villages, 1700 cities and towns, 84,000 schools, 40,000 hospitals, 43,000 libraries, 32,000 factories, 400 museums, 40,000 miles of railway, and 45 million horses, cattle, and pigs. Russian forces land on Danish island Bornholm; the last German garrison surrenders.
10 May 1945	Over 400 US B-29 bombers based on the Mariana Islands make bombing raids on Japanese islands of Kyushu, Honshu, and Shikoku. In waters off Nova Scotia, Canada, German submarine U-889 surrenders to Royal Canadian Navy ships.
11 May 1945	In waters off Newfoundland, Canada, German submarine U-190 surrenders to Royal Canadian Navy ships. Two Japanese kamikaze planes hit the US aircraft carrier Bunker Hill, off Okinawa.
12 May 1945	A Japanese Kamikaze airplane hits the US battleship New Mexico, off Okinawa.
13 May 1945	A Japanese Kamikaze airplane hits the US aircraft carrier Enterprise, off Okinawa.
14 May 1945	A canister with microfilm of "the most secret archives" of Nazi Foreign Office is dug up by British and American officers near Mühlhausen in Thuringia. Included is a copy of the secret German-Soviet document of August 23, 1939, the original of which was destroyed during the war. In Canada, the government completes its survey of those in Canada of Japanese descent. About 10,300 people are asked if they want to move to Japan after the end of the war.
21 May 1945	Heinrich Himmler, disguised as a Wehrmacht private, surrenders to a British sentry at a bridge in the German countryside.
23 May 1945	British forces surround Glücksburg, and take Albert Speer prisoner. At Flensburg, Germany, the German government of Karl Dönitz is arrested. Heinrich Himmler bites a cyanide capsule during examination by a British army doctor and dies
25 May 1945	American B-29 bombers make a major raid on Yokohama, Japan, with Mustang fighter plane escort from Iwo Jima. Twenty-six Japanese planes are shot down.
28 May 1945	The Battle of the Atlantic ends, and ships switch on their running lights.