Air Operations, CBICHINA
Air Operations, East IndiesXIII Bomber Command B-24s attack Tawau and shipyards at Sandakan. [ | ]Air Operations, EuropeRAF BOMBER COMMANDEvening Ops:
Air Operations, JapanDuring the night 9 313th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s sow mines off Hiroshima. [ | ]Air Operations, Philippines
Air Operations, Ryukyus
Eastern FrontIn Hungary, the Russian 57th Army and Bulgarian 1st Army capture Nagykanizsa, center of the Hungarian oilfields. The 2nd Ukraine Front occupies the industrial town of Mosonmagyarovar and reaches the Austrian border between the Danube and Lake Neusiedler. There is also hard fighting southwest of Ratibor in the sector of the German Army Group Center. HUNGARYThe 57th Army captures the Nagykanitza oil fields and stops the fuel running to Germany.[MORE] [ | ]Germany, Home FrontMartin Bormann issues a proclamation, which calls for 'victory or death'. [ | ]ItalyOperation ROAST to liberate Comacchio goes ahead and units of the V Corps, British 8th Army, succeed in establishing a bridgehead in the sector west of Comacchio. [ | ]OkinawaThe Americans advance north more easily than they had hoped, and the 6th Marine Div occupies the peninsula northwest of Hagushi. In the east, too, considerable progress, and the 7th Div reaches the east coast in Nagagusuku Bay, cutting the island in two. American losses on the first day have been astonishingly low, 28 dead, 27 missing and 104 wounded, so light that the Americans nickname April 1st, Easter, 'Love Day'. Bulldozers shove the remains of Japanese aircraft off the airfields to make the runways usable; in one hangar they find, intact, one of the new piloted flying bombs, Oka. An American convoy with the 77th Div on board is attacked by Japanese aircraft; 3 destroyers, 4 assault craft and 1 tank landing craft are damaged more or less seriously, and there are many casualties. As well as normal bombardment and air support missions performed by the US forces there are attacks by the British carriers on Sakashima Gunto Island. In kamikaze attacks 4 US attack transports are badly damaged with many casualties among the troops aboard. The transports hit include Chilton (APA-38), Henrico (APA-45), Goodhue (APA-107) and Telfair (APA-210). Other US ships damaged in the day's action include the destroyer Shaw (DD-373) by grounding, the destroyers Franks (DD-554) and Borie (DD-704) in a collision, the destroyer escort Foreman (DE-633) by a dive bomber and the attack cargo ship Lacerta (AKA-29) accidentally hit by friendly naval gunfire. [ | ]PacificUS carrier-based aircraft sink the Japanese coast defense vessel No. 186 and the transport No. 17 in the Yellow Sea. [ | ]PhilippinesOn Luzon the American troops landed at Legaspi dig in to defend their bridgehead, for the Japanese are well trained and determined to deny the Americans access to Highway 1 which runs north from the San Bernardino Strait. In the US XIV Corps sector, the 1st Cav Div reaches San Pablo. On Negros Island the US 185th Inf takes Talisay and its airfield. The 160th Inf is held up by violent Japanese fire near Concepción. In Cebu Island intense fighting takes place between the Americans and Japanese on Bolo Ridge. US 41st Div troops land on Tawitawi, in the south of the Sulu archipelago near British North Borneo. [ | ]Western FrontThe Canadian I Corps, 1st Army, moves out from the Nijmegen bridgehead and advances on Arnhem. In the British 2nd Army sector the XII Corps reaches the Dortmund-Ems Canal at Rheine, while the VIII Corps continues its advance on Osnabrück. While the XIII Corps takes Münster and pushes on toward the Weser, the XIX Corps is engaged in the Teutoburg forest and the XVI Corps reaches the Dortmund-Ems Canal. The 3rd Arm Div, VII Corps, US 1st Army, consolidates its positions at Paderborn. The XVIII Airborne Corps takes over responsibility for the sector between the Rhine, Rur, Lenne and Sieg Rivers. The 80th Div, XX Corps, US 3rd Army, reaches the suburbs of Kassel. In the US 7th Army sector the attacks of units of the XV Corps against Aschaffenburg are still unsuccessful; the city is vigorously defended by units of the German 7th Army. [ | ]Images from April 2, 1945
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[April 1st - April 3rd] |