Air Operations, CBIBURMA
Air Operations, East IndiesXIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Manggar and Sepinggang airfields on Borneo. [ | ]Air Operations, EuropeThe 8th Air Force carries out a 3,000 ton(?) raid on Berlin. A half million incendiaries are dropped. The main targets are the 3 railway stations. 15 bombers and 7 escorts are lost. RAF Mosquitoes bomb Berlin by night, guided by the fires started by the Americans. RAF BOMBER COMMANDDaylight Ops:
Minor Ops:
Air Operations, FormosaWeathered out of their assigned target, V Bomber Command B-24s attack the town area at Takao and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack rail targets. [ | ]Air Operations, PacificThe aircraft from the carriers of TF 58 again send attacks against Tokyo. Bad weather hinders their effectiveness. [ | ]Air Operations, Philippines
Air Operations, Volcano Islands
BurmaIn the British XXXIII Corps sector, the 19th Indian Div advances firmly southward, toward Mandalay. In the British IV Corps sector the 17th Indian Div, still advancing on Meiktila, takes Thabutkon airfield. Reinforcements for IV Corps will be flown in to this airfield. [ | ]Diplomatic RelationsEgypt and Syria declare war on Germany and Japan. [ | ]Eastern FrontThe 1st and 2nd Ukraine Fronts launch attacks against the frontier of Czechoslovakia. In Yugoslavia, the German Army Group E contains enemy pressure in the Sarajevo area, while Yugoslav and Bulgarian forces concentrate in the Zenica area. In the face of the Soviet attacks into East Pomerania and the Soviet's retention despite counterattacks of positions near Stettin, the Germans begin evacuations of wounded and refugees from Kolberg and other ports along the coast. These operations continue until the ports are taken during March. CENTRAL SECTORThe 19th Army pushes its armored component forward near Neustettin in an effort to reach the Baltic coast. To deflect this blow the 2nd Army attampts to assemble its VII Panzer Corps around Rummelsburg. [ | ]Iwo JimaThe advance made by the US amphibious V Corps is negligible, despite supporting fire from aircraft, ships and artillery. Japanese resistance is still most resolute. The Americans reach the 3 hills that overlook Airfield No. 2, but are driven off again. [ | ]Pacific
PhilippinesOn Luzon immediately east and northeast of Manila, where isolated Japanese units still resist, American infantry of the XIV Corps assault Mount Pacawagan and Mount Mataba, but are driven back by intensive enemy artillery and machine-gun fire. The XI Corps winds up operations on the Zambales Mountains and completes the capture of Corregidor Island, where the usual mopping up still remains to be carried out. The divisions of the US 8th Army complete the encirclement of the Japanese forces on the northwest coast of Leyte Island and the occupation of part of Samar and a number of islets in the southern part of the San Bernardino Strait. The fighting on Corregidor comes to an end. The US forces find more than 5,000 Japanese dead on the tiny island and others have been trapped in collapsed tunnels. There are 19 prisoners. US casualties are around 1,000. [ | ]Western FrontThe Canadian II Corps, Canadian 1st Army, opens Operation BLOCKBUSTER, an offensive on a big scale against the towns of Calcar, Udem and Xanten. Taking part are 2 armored divisions, the Canadian 4th and British 11th, 1 armored brigade, the Canadian 2nd, 2 Canadian infantry divisions, the 2nd and 3rd, and 1 British, the 43rd. On the first day the Allied forces reach the escarpment south of Calcar and positions very near Udem. Units of the US 9th Army continue to advance; some units of the XVI Corps move on Hückelhoven, while others cross the Rur opposite Hilfarth; the XIII Corps, after reaching and cutting the Erkelenz-Gerderath road, sends in the 102nd Div against Erkelenz, which is taken. In the US 1st Army sector, the VII Corps advances rapidly from Düren toward Cologne, overrunning the remains of the German 2nd Arm Div. While the left flank of the US 3rd Army, VIII Corps, is relatively calm, in the central sector the XII Corps goes ahead with its offensive, aiming among other things at a crossing of the Moselle at Trier. Further south, where the XX Corps is operating, the 10th Arm Div and the 94th Inf Div succeed in joining up their 2 bridgeheads at Ockfen and Serrig; some units of the 10th Arm Div cross the Saar in the 94th Div sector and move on toward Irsch. [ | ]Images from February 26, 1945
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[February 25th - February 27th] |