 On the Western Front... The concentration camp at Dachau is liberated, along with 30,000 surviving inmates, by troops from US 3rd Army. The troops then continue to advance toward Munich. South of the Danube River, US 3rd Army units reach the River
Isar.
In Italy... The Allied armies continue to advance quickly. Venice is liberated by British 8th Army.
In Liberated Italy... 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. 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.
On the Eastern Front... In Berlin, Soviets make gains in the Moabit district and in the Wilmersdorf area. North of the capital, Red Army units capture Anklam and other towns. In the south, Soviet pressure in Austria and Czechoslovakia continues.
In Berlin... 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.
In 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.
In the Philippines... 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 the Occupied Dutch East Indies... The preparatory bombardment of targets in the Tarakan area in the northeast of the island of Borneo continues.
In the Arctic... The last convoy battle of the Second World War begins as 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. |
