Air Operations, Bonin Islands

16 15th Fighter Group P-51s mount an attack against the Susaki airfield on Chichi Jima, their first offensive mission since arriving on Iwo Jima on March 6. Through the end of the war, VII Fighter Command fighter-bombers will fly 1,638 effective sorties to neutralize airfields and interdict shipping in the Bonins.

Air Operations, Carolines

24 Japanese amikaze aircraft based on Kyushu attack US Navy ships in the Ulithi anchorage. 22 of the attackers are downed by anti-aircraft fire, one intentionally crashes into a small island, and one crashes into the fleet carrier USS Randolph, which will be out of commission for a month.

Air Operations, CBI

• 14 10th Air Force B-25s attack troops, motor vehicles, and ammunition dumps at 4 locations.
• More than 30 10th Air Force P-47s sweep road nets behind the Japanese Army battle lines. 8 P-47s attack troops at Kyaukme.
• 4 459th Fighter Squadron P-38s attack a bridge at Mong Tong.

• 5 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack shipping in the Gulf of Tonkin and South China Sea.
• 10 14th Air Force P-40s and P-51s attack locomotives and 3 occupied villages.

• 4 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack a bridge and rail cars at Kep and near Don Met.

Air Operations, Europe

• 1,079 aircraft includin 750 Lancasters, 293 Halifaxes and 36 Mosquitos from all bomber groups bomb Essen. This is the largest number of aircraft sent to a target so far in the war. 4,661 tons of bombs are dropped on Oboe-directed skymarkers through complete cloud cover. The attack is accurate and this great blow virtually paralyzes Essen until the American troops enter the city some time later. All production stops at Krupp's Works. This is the last RAF raid on Essen, which had been attacked so many times, though often in the early years of the war with such disappointing and costly results. Most of the city is now in ruins. 7,000 people had died in air raids. The pre-war population of 648,000 had fallen to 310,000 by the end of April 1945. The rest had left for quieter places in Germany.
• 3 Lancasters are lost.

• 90 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin, and 6 each to Brunswick, Hannover and Magdeburg, 22 Lancasters lay mines in the Kattegat and off Oslo, and there are 4 Mosquito patrols.
• 1,000 US bombers attack the U-boat yards in northwest Germany.

• 406 1st Air Division B-17s attack a U-boat yard at Bremen.
• 344 2nd Air Division B-24s attack a U-boat yard at Kiel.
• 469 3rd Air Division B-17s attack an oil refinery at Hamburg.
• 1 B-17 and 4 of 766 VIII Fighter Command escorts are lost.

• 9th Air Division bombers mount 696 effective sorties against four airfields, two munitions plants, three communications centers, three city areas, and targets of opportunity.

• 12th Air Force B-25s attack a bridge at Drauberg.

• 12th Air Force B-25s attack bridges and rail fills at three locations.
• XXII TAC P-47s attack sumps and rail lines in the Po River valley.
• During the night, XXII TAC A-20s and A-26s attack road and rail traffice, Po River crossings, and a sugar refinery.

Air Operations, Formosa

• V Bomber Command B-24s attack Mako.
• V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack Takao.

Air Operations, Japan

During the night, 285 of 310 XXI Bomber Command B-29s dispatched attack Nagoya with incendiary bombs from 5,100 to 8,500 feet. 6 B-29s attack other targets. 1 B-29 is lost.

Air Operations, Pacific

In Operation TAN GINGA fast 2-engined bombers carry out a night kamikaze raid on the Ulithi Atoll, the Pacific Fleet base. The carrier Randolph (CV-15) is damaged in the raid.

Air Operations, Philippines

• V Bomber Command B-24s attack Aparri and support US Army ground forces at Wawa.
• XIII Bomber Command attack the San Roque airfield on Mindanao and targets in Zamboanga.
• 42nd Medium Bomb Group B-25s support US Army ground forces near Zamboanga and US Navy PT-boats in several attacks in the southern Philippines.
• V Bomber Command A-20s and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers support US Army ground forces and attack dumps and many targets of opportunity on Luzon.
• A 421st Night Fighter Squadron P-61 crew downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber off northern Luzon at 0626 hours.
• A 348th Fighter Group P-51 downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber at 1105 hours.

Battle of the Atlantic

US Army aircraft sink two German submarines, U-682 and U-2515, in the Hamburg, Germany area.

Britain, Home Front

70 Germans stage a mass escape from a PoW camp at Bridgend, Glamorgan in southern Wales. All will be recaptured by March 17.

Burma

In the British XXXIII Corps sector, the 19th Indian Div carries on the battle for the capture of Mandalay, occupying a hill that overlooks the northeast part of the city.

(10th?)Mongmit is captured by a converging attack by the 2 bdes of the British 36th Div which have moved south from Myitsos and the 3rd bde of the division which moves in from the west.

Diplomatic Relations

Emperor Bao Dai proclaims Vietnam's independence from the French, but the Japanese remain in firm control.

Eastern Front

Troops of the 2nd Front press from the south toward Danzig and Gdynia. Berlin announces slight penetrations inthe area of Küstrin (Kostrzyn). In Hungary, the Germans persist with their offensive, but their losses are getting heavier and heavier, and the Russian resistance is stiffening.

Fierce fighting rages around Kustrin as the 5th Shock Army and 8th Guards Army attempt to dislodge the isolated garrison. Gen Rendulic is appointed to command Army Group Kurland, Gen Weiss, Army Group North and Gen Manteuffel the 3rd Panzer Army. Von Saucken takes over the remains of the 2nd Army in East Prussia.

English Channel

U-681 had suffered some damage after running aground trying to enter St Mary's roads in the Isles of Scilly. As a result, she could not dive. She is spotted by Liberator 'N' of VP-103 which makes two attacking depth-charg runs after which the U-boat is abandoned.

U-681

Germany, Home Front

In a Berlin speech commemorating Heroes' Day, Hitler urges Germans to fight on: 'We know what the fate of Germany would be otherwise. Our enemies, drunk with victory, have made it clearly known: extermination of the German nation.'

Iwo Jima

The 4th Marine Div finally overcomes Japanese resistance in its sector on the right flank of the American line. In the center, the 3rd Marine Div eliminates the remaining Japanese strongpoints one by one, while on the left the 5th Div advances very slowly despite support from close-range fire and the use of tanks armed with flame-throwers.

Pacific

The US submarine Segundo (SS-398) sinks the Japanese merchant cargo ship Shori Maru (3087t) off Shori Island, southern Korea.

Philippines

On Luzon in the US XIV Corps sector, the 43rd Division replaces the 1st Cavalry Division in the operations against the Shimbu line. A regiment of the 6th Infantry Division makes considerable progress south of Antipolo and repulses a series of night counterattacks by the Japanese. In the southern part of Luzon the Americans occupy the Batangas area. In the I Corps sector, the US 33rd Division advances to within 10 miles west of Baguio, while on the Villa Verde track the 32nd Division is held up by the Japanese at Salacsac Pass. Units of the 32nd Divisoin occupy Salazar.

The US 41st Division occupies Zamboanga City on Mindanao Island. The completion of the occupation of the islands of Burias and Ticao is handed over to the Filipino guerrillas. During the night small American units land unopposed on Romblon Island.

Gen MacArthur orders 8th Army to capture the island of Mindanao, even as the 41st Infantry Division continues operations on the Zamboanga Peninsula. The island has 43,000 Japanese troops, most of which are near Davao City. They lack supplied and have been harried by a 24,000-man guerilla force run by Col Wendell W. Fertig, an American who escaped from Bataan in 1942. Lt-Gen Eichelberger and his staff develop a plan to land at Illana Bay and advance eastward.

Secret War

Ultra gives warning of jet attacks on the Remagen Bridge.

Western Front

With the capture of the Blucher strongpoint, the 35th Div, XVI Corps, US 9th Army, completes its advance on Wesel.

American units take up positions around the Remagen bridgehead. The 78th Div, III Corps, 1st Army, is responsible for the northern flank of the bridgehead, while in the center the 9th Div continues its attacks in the Hargarten area and on the right the 99th Div appears, in an offensive toward the southeast and south that reaches Leubsdorf and Ariendorf. Meanwhile, further south, the 2nd Div, V Corps, strengthens its positions on the Rhine.

The VIII and XII Corps, US 3rd Army, continue mopping-up operations on the west bank of the Rhine and betwen the Rhine and the Moselle, in preparation for a crossing of the Moselle. The Moselle is also the objective of the XX Corps, whose 10th Arm Div begins to advance toward the river in the Bullay sector.

Images from March 11, 1945

M-16 Gun Motor Carriage, Halftrack

The 8th Portable Surgical Hospital

Fighting Fires on the Flight Deck

The Carrier Randolph Alongside Repair Ship Jason

43rd Division Troops and Vehicles

Wrecked Locomotive Shop

461st Bomb Group B-24 Liberators

The Bridge at Remagen