Air Operations, Europe

The Allied strategic bombing effort continues. The US 8th Air Force and RAF Bomber Command both drop over 50,000 tons of bombs and other US strategic bombers add a further 23,000 tons. Many towns throughout west Germany are hit for both strategic and tactical reasons. Communications targets are among the most common. The 8th Air Force sends more than 1,000 bombers on attacks on 15 days during the month. In Operation CLARION, which begins on the 22nd, tactical targets throughout Germany are attacked by up to 9,000 planes including lighter forces. The US 9th Air Force drops almost 20,000 tons in all missions and RAF tactical support further increases this figure. The Mediterranean Air Forces also attack communications in that theater as well as dropping supplies to Tito and his Partisans. The attack on Dresden by the strategic forces is particularly controversial (see February 13-15).

Air Operations, Far East

Among the major attacks by B-29 forces are those targeted on Kobe, Nagoya and Tokyo. Some of these are made in conjunction with the carrier forces of the Pacific Fleet. Allied heavy bombers and tactical support forces are active in all other Pacific fronts.

Air Operations, CBI

• 12 10th Air Force B-25s attack a bridge at Mong Pawn.
• More than 90 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troops, motor vehicles, ferry crossings, and supplies at 8 locations.
• 28 fighter-bombers support Allied ground forces at Hosi and Molo.
• 8 P-47s attack the airfield at Hsumhsai.
• 8 P-47s attack a bridge at Pa-mao.

• 4 14th Air Force P-40s attack a Japanese Army divisional headquarters at Yungning.

Air Operations, Formosa

• 90th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the airfields at Heito and Okayama and the Toko seaplane base.
• During the night, 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s attack several airfields.

Air Operations, Europe

Berlin is subjected to heavy Allied bombing which continues on an almost round-the-clock basis.

• 160 Lancasters of No. 3 Group attack the general town area of Mönchengladbach through 8-10/10ths cloud using G-H. The results of the raid are not known.
• 1 Lancaster crashes in France.

• 1 Halifax flies an RCM sortie.

• 382 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 6 and 8 Groups are sent to bomb Ludwigshafen. Most of the force aim their loads at skymarkers and the local report shows that bombs fell in many parts of Ludwigshafen, with much property damage of a mixed nature. The 900 houses destroyed or seriously damaged are the main item in the report, but it also states that the railway yards are seriously damaged and one of the Rhine road bridges is hit by 2 bombs and temporarily closed to traffic.
• 6 Lancasters are lost.
• 340 aircraft including 293 Halifaxes, 40 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of Nos. 4, 6 and 8 Groups are sent to hit Mainz. A few early crews are able to bomb target indicators seen through a gap in the clouds, but the gap soon closes and most of the raid is on skymarkers. The local report states that a few buildings were destroyed, including the Christuskirche, which burned out, and the town hospital was damaged, but most of the bombing fell outside Mainz.
• There are no losses.
• 271 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitos of No. 5 Group are sent to Siegen. This raid also experiences difficult marking and bombing conditions. Some damage is caused to the railway station but the local report says that the markers were either carried away from Siegen by a strong wind or that dummy markers and a decoy fire site attracted much of the bombing. Most of the raid falls in country areas outside Siegen.
• 3 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito are lost.

• 122 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin, 8 to the Bruckhausen benzol plant, 6 to Hannover, 4 to Nuremberg, and 4 dropping dummy target indicators at both Mannheim and Stuttgart, and there are 47 Mosquito patrols and 64 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, Malaya

67 of 113 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s dispatched attack a drydock at Singapore, 21 B-29s attack the Singapore naval base, and 21 B-29s attack several alternate targets.

Air Operations, Philippines

• FEAF B-24s attack targets on the Canacao Peninsula, Luzon.
• XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Cavite naval base.
• 10 494th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s based on Angaur attack Corregidor.
• V Bomber Command B-25s attack Puerto Princesa, Palawan.
• Many 5th Air Force aircraft support US 6th Army ground forces on Luzon.
• As the US 1st Cavalry Division opens a dash around Japanese Army battle lines in the direction of Manila at 0001 hours, SBDs from Marine Air Group 24 and Marine Air Group 32 maintain flights of at least 9 aircraft over the division spearhead at all times —- effectively serving as the divisional flank guard. The SBDs will be available for on-call close support under the guidance of Marine Corps jeep-borne air liaison teams operating with the US 6th Army units. During the day, 2 separate flights of 9 SBDs each support the division with attacks against Japanese ground forces at Angat and San Jose del Monte.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

At the start of the final run-up to the projected invasion of Iwo Jima, VII Bomber Command B-24s redouble their efforts to neutralize the island’s airfields and shatter its defenses. On this day, 21 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack the island. During the night, 10 VII Bomber Command B-24s conduct snooper raids against Iwo Jima.

Eastern Front

In East Prussia the Russians continue their inexorable liquidation of the German pockets of resistance. In Poland the 1st Belorussian Front and 1st Ukraine Front take the town of Thorn (Torun) on the Vistula after a furious assault, and maintain strong pressure on the surrounded town of Poznan. In Germany they continue their advance toward the middle Oder and Berlin, capturing Schneidelmühl and putting pressure on Ratzeburh (Okonek). Zhukov's troops which have reached the Oder opposite Berlin halt there to regroup while the many pockets of German resistance in their rear are being eliminated and while the units on their flanks broaden the advance by attacking into Pomerania in the north and crossing the Oder and moving toward the Neisse in the south.

In Hungary the elimination of German strongpoints goes ahead in the western part of Budapest.

An attack by the V SS Mountain Corps against the 1st Guards Tank Army at Kunersdorf fails; Soviet forces then counterattack and force the Germans back.[MORE]

Iwo Jima

For the next two weeks the US air attacks on the island are stepped up with B-24s and B-29s over the island every day. In this preparatory phase for the landings later in the month 6,800 tons of bombs are dropped.

Pacific

• Two US torpedo boats, PT-77 and PT-79 are accidentally sunk by US naval gunfire in the Philippine Islands area.
• The Japanese transport No. 115 is sunk by US Army aircraft in the Philippine Islands area.
• The combined efforts of the destroyers Jenkins (DD-447), O'Bannon (DD-450) and Bell (DD-587) and the destroyer escort Ulvert M. Moore (DE-442) sink the Japanese submarine RO-115 125 miles southwest of Manila.
• The Japanese netlayer No.16 Nissho Maru (1173t) is sunk by mine west-northwest of Mokpo, Korea.
• The British submarine Spark sinks the Japanese towboat No.203 Katsura Maru and damages the motor sailboats Nanyo Maru, Nampo Maru and No.80 Tachibana Maru off Jabara.

Air Operations, CBI

• 11 10th Air Force B-25s attack troops and supplies at Loilem.
• More than 60 10th Air Force fighter-bombers support Allied ground forces in the Hosi, Mabein, and Molo areas.
• Fighter-bombers complete numerous sorties against troops, occupied towns, motor vehicles, and supplies at 10 locations.

• 4 14th Air Force P-40s attack a Japanese Army regimental headquarters at Lungchow.

Air Operations, Europe

• There are 2 Mosquito patrols over northern Germany without a loss.

• 495 Lancasters and 12 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 3, 6 and 8 Groups are sent to Wiesbaden. This is Bomber Command's one and only large raid on Wiesbaden. There is complete cloud cover, but most of the bombing hits the town. 5 important war industries along the banks of the Rhine are untouched, but the railway station is damaged.
• 3 Lancasters crash in France.
• 323 aircraft including 277 Halifaxes, 27 Lancasters and 19 Mosquitos of Nos. 4, 6 and 8 Groups are sent to Wanne-Eickel. This target is also cloud-covered and the attack, intended for the oil refinery, is not accurate. Local people assume that the target is a local coal mine - Shamrock 3/4. Most of the bombing falls in the open ground around the mine.
• 4 Halifaxes are lost.
• 250 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitos of No. 5 Group are sent to bomb Karlsruhe. Cloud cover over the target causes this raid to be a complete failure. Karlsruhe reports no casualties and only a few bombs. The report mentions 'dive bombers', presumably the Mosquito marker aircraft trying to establish their position. This is a lucky escape for Karlsruhe in its last major RAF raid of the war.
• 14 Lancasters are lost. No. 189 Squadron, from Fulbeck, loses 4 of its 19 aircraft on the raid.

• 43 Mosquitos are sent to Magdeburg and 20 to Mannheim, and there are 44 Moaquito patrols and 54 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, Far East

A large force of US B-29s demolishes Singapore harbor and Japanese naval shipping moored there.

Air Operations, Formosa

• V Bomber Command B-24s attack the Okayama airfield at dawn.
• During the night, 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s attack several airfields.

Air Operations, Marianas

A VMF(N)-534 F6F downs a C6N 'Myrt' reconnaissance 120 miles northeast of Saipan at 1030 hours.

Air Operations, Philippines

• FEAF B-24s attack Corregidor.
• XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Cavite naval base.
• 22 22nd Heavy Bomb Group B-24s based on Angaur attack Corregidor.
• V Bomber Command B-25s attack pillboxes, artillery positions, and river barges in the Cagayan River valley.
• A-20s attack Baler Bay.
• V Fighter Command fighter-bombers support US 6th Army ground forces advancing toward Manila.
• SBDs from VMSB-133, VMSB-142, and VMSB-241 support the US 1st Cavalry Division’s dash to Manila with attacks on ground targets directly ahead of the ground vanguard units. In one encounter, at Santa Maria, when a cavalry squadron is stopped by an Japanese Army battalion, SBDs making low-level dummy passes (due to the proximity of friendly troops) force the Japanese to withdraw. By day’s end, the cavalry column has advanced to within 15 miles of its objective, thanks in large measure to USMC air support and V Bomber Command B-25s.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

• 20 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima.
• During the night, 10 VII Bomber Command B-24s conduct snooper raids against Iwo Jima.

Burma

The Japanese force the British 36th Division back over the Shweli River and launch heavy attacks on the US 5332nd Brigade, which nevertheless manages to capture some heights in the Hpa-pen area.

Eastern Front

The Soviet 8th Guards Army is crossing the Oder River as the 1st Guards Tank Army assaults Küstrin. The German 9th Army is engaging both formations.

The 8th Guards Army begins to attack across the frozen Oder while the 1st Guards Tank Army attacks in Kustrin. Both units meet furious resistance from the 9th Army. Despite repeated attacks the 1st Guards Tank is unable to take Kustrin but is is mistakenly reported to the Stavka that the town had fallen.

The 26th Army anf 4th Guards Army link up at Adony, rejoining the Soviet defenses in Hungary.

Air Operations, Bonin and Volcano Islands

• 9 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Chichi Jima.
• 10 B-24s attack Iwo Jima.
• 15 318th Fighter Group P-38s strafe Iwo Jima in two waves while escorting photo-reconnaissance aircraft over the island.
• During the night, 9 VII Bomber Command B-24s conduct snooper raids against Iwo Jima.

Air Operations, CBI

• 12 10th Air Force B-25s attack troops and supplies at Loilem.
• More than 80 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troops, tanks, occupied towns, and supplies at 7 locations.
• 27 fighter-bombers support Allied ground forces in the Hosi, Molo, and Myitson areas.

• Japanese Army ground forces capture the 14th Air Force airfield at Namyung.

Air Operations, Europe

1,000 B-17s, escorted by 900 fighters, raid Berlin setting fire to 5 sq km in the central districts. The Tempelhof marshalling yards and Airport are seriously damaged. About 1,000 people are killed including Judge Roland Freisler, the fanatical head of the 'People's Court'. 24 planes are lost in the raid.

• 36 Lancasters of No. 5 Group attack the U-boat pens at Ijmuiden (No. 9 Squadron) and Poortershaven (No. 617 Squadron) with Tallboy bombs. It is believed that these pens, in that part of Holland still occupied by the Germans, are sheltering midget submarines. The weather is clear and hits are claimed at both targets without loss.

• 1 Halifax flies an RCM sortie.

• 192 Lancasters and 18 Mosquitos of Nos. 1 and 8 Groups attack the Prosper benzol plant at Bottrop successfully.
• 8 Lancasters are lost.
• 149 Lancasters of No. 3 Group attack the Hansa benzol plant at Dortmund, but the bombing falls north and northwest of the target.
• 4 Lancasters are lost.

• 42 Mosquitos are sent to Wiesbaden and 20 to Osnabrück, 19 Halifaxes of No. 4 Group lay mines off German ports, and there are 28 Mosquito patrols and 42 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, Formosa

During the night, 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s attack several airfields.

Air Operations, Philippines

• FEAF B-24s attack Aparri, Cebu City, Corregidor, the Canacao Peninsula, and Tuguegarao.
• XIII Bomber Command B-24s mount their final attack against the Cavite naval base.
• V Bomber Command B-25s and V Fighter Command P-38s attack the Daliao, Matina and Padada airfields on Mindanao.
• 3rd and 417th Light Bomb group A-20s support US Army ground forces in the Batangas area with attacks against the Lipa and Calingatan airfields on Luzon.

• Beginning at 0820 hours, two-thirds of the 11th Airborne Division’s 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment is dropped by 48 317th Troop Carrier Group C-47s at Tagaytay Ridge, south of Manila. Due to lack of radio communication among the C-47s, the paratroopers are widely scattered, but they are able to link up with US 6th Army ground forces and seize an important road junction.
• Supported from SBDs from Marine Air Group 24 and Marine Air Group 32, which break up several Japanese Army defensive barriers, the US 1st Cavalry Division spearhead crosses the Manila city limit at 1835 hours. By 2100 hours, the cavalry troopers have liberated 3,700 American and other foreign nationals who have been interned since 1942 at Santo Tomas University.

Baltic

U-745 disappears while on patrol in the Gulf of Finland. She may have been the victim of a mine or is lost as a result of an accident from mechanical or drill failure.

U-745

Battle of the Atlantic

In early February there are indications that a number of U-boats might be using the Shetlands-Faroes Channel as a transit route to the Atlantic. Escort Group 10 sails from Londonderry to patrol the area. The British frigate Bayntun gains an asdic contact (U-1279) and is unsuccessfully attacked with Hedgehog by Braithwaite and Bayntun. A single Squid firing, however, by Loch Eck brings a lot of oil and wreckage to the surface.

U-1172

China

The Japanese capture Namyung (Nanhsiung).

Eastern Front

In Latvia, the German troops cut off in the north, namely the 16th Army, repulse powerful attacks by the Russians in the direction of Liepaja (Libau). With help from the German navy, preparations are made for the army to be evacuated. In East Prussia there is fighting north of Heilsberg (Lidzbark Warminski), near Bartenstein, and south and north of Königsberg. German destroyers give supporting fire to their land forces, while transports take off more than 184,000 refugees.

The Vistula Army Group under Himmler is deployed in defense of northern Poland, Pomerania and Brandenburg. It contains the pressure of the 2nd Belorussian Front north of Chelmo and Sepolno and also at Küstrin (Kostrzyn), east of the Oder. Elbing is attacked from all sides, as is Pyritz (Pyrzyce), south of Stettin.

The Army Group Center is engaged near Brieg and Ohlau, at Steinau and along the whole of the middle Oder at Glogau (Glogow), Ratibor (Raciborz) and Pless (Pszczyna).

Air Operations, Bonin and Volcano Islands

• 10 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Chichi Jima.
• 9 B-24s attack Iwo Jima.
• During the night, 8 VII Bomber Command B-24s conduct snooper raids against Iwo Jima.

Air Operations, CBI

• 54 10th Air Force P-47s and 459th Fighter Squadron P-38s attack bridges at 6 locations.
• 26 P-47s support Allied ground forces in the Hosi and Myitson areas.
• Fighter-bombers attack Japanese Army troops, motor vehicles, and supplies at 8 locations.

• 10 14th Air Force P-40s attack the airfield at Yungning, a Japanese Army headuarters at Yungning, and rail facilities at Sinyang.
• 2 P-40s are lost to anti-aircraft fire.

Air Operations, Europe

• 238 aircraft including 202 Halifaxes, 20 Lancasters and 16 Mosquitos of Nos. 4, 6 and 8 Groups are sent to Bonn. This is a poor attack, with most of the bombing falling to the south of the target or over the Rhine in the Beuel area.
• 3 Lancasters are lost.
• 100 Halifaxes, 12 Mosquitos and 11 Lancasters of Nos. 6 and 8 Groups attack a benzol plant at Osterfeld, but cause no fresh damage.
• There are no losses.
• 120 aircraft including 96 Halifaxes, 12 Lancasters and 12 Mosquitos of Nos. 4 and 8 Groups attack the Nordstern synthetic oil plant in Gelsenkirchen. Some minor damage is caused but most of the bombs fall south of the target.
• There are no losses.

• 50 Mosquitos are sent to Hannover, 12 to Dortmund, 4 to Magdeburg and 3 to Würzburg, 15 Lancasters and 12 Halifaxes lay mines off Heligoland and in the Elbe River, and there are 42 Mosquito patrols and 59 RCM sorties.
• 2 Mosquitos are lost, 1 from the Hannover raid and 1 from the Würzburg one.

Air Operations, Formosa

During the night, 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s attack several airfields.

Air Operations, Japan

• 69 XXI Bomber Command B-29s attack Kobe and 30 B-29s attack targets of opportunity and last resort. This is the first mission over Japan by groups of the 313th Very Heavy Bomb Wing (30 B-29s from the 504th and 505th Very Heavy Bomb groups).
• 2 B-29s are lost.

Air Operations, Philippines

• FEAF B-24s attack the Cavite naval base and Corregidor.
• 23 494th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s based on Angaur attack Caballo Island.
• V Bomber Command B-25s support US 6th Army ground forces on Luzon with bombing, napalm, and strafing attacks.
• A-20s attack the Calingatan and Lipa airfields on Luzon.
• The final wave of the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment is dropped perfectly on a drop zone south of Manila by 317th Troop Carrier Group C-47s. During the two-day operation, only 36 of 2,055 paratroopers are slightly injured on landing, possibly a record for the entire war.
• 6 V Bomber Command B-25s accidentally strafe an area near San Jose, Luzon, already under the control of US Army ground troops.

Battle of the Atlantic

The British frigate Loch Scavaig makes an asdic contact with an object lying on the bottom. She is joined by other ships in her group (Escort Group 23), Nyasaland and Papua and they carry out a series of attacks which result in a considerable amount of wreckage, the remains of U-1014.

U-1014

Diplomatic Relations

Over the next 8 days Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin and their senior military and political collegues begin the second phase of the Argonaut Conference at Yalta in the Crimea.

It is now clear to all that the war in Europe has been won but both Britain and the US believe that they still have much to do to defeat Japan. Partly because Roosevelt's illness seems to be weakening his negotiating powers and judgment, Stalin is able to obtain the promise of territorial concessions in Sakhalin and the Kurile Islands in return for a promise to declare war on Japan within two months of the end of the war in Europe.

The postwar borders of the countries of eastern Europe are also largely determined at the Yalta meeting. The most notable changes are in the position of Poland, with the whole country being effectively moved westward at the insistence of the Soviets.

Stalin gives assurances that elections will be held in eastern Europe and that non-Communist parties will not be forbidden or persecuted; however, the Western powers will not be able to supervise any such elections and they will never take place in a form regarded by the West as free or democratic. The arrangements for the division of Germany into occupation zones for each of the major powers are confirmed and defined. In reality the arrangements for Europe, however distasteful for liberal western opinion, only reflect the predominant share the USSR has played in the defeat of Germany. For the war against Japan the British and American eagerness to bring the Soviets in is also easy to understand, bearing in mind the fanatical resistance of the Japanese garrisons yet fought and the large Japanese forces in Manchuria and China. The establishment of a United Nations Organization is also discussed, and it is agreed that the preliminary meetings to create the organization should be held in April in San Francisco. It is already clear that the Soviets will lead the other great powers in insisting that they be granted veto powers in votes on major issues.

Air Operations, CBI

• 60 10th Air Force P-47s and 459th Fighter Squadron P-38s attack troops and supplies at 7 locations.
• 35 P-47s support Allied ground forces at Hosi, Molo, and Myitson.
• 8 P-38s attack Mong Long.

• 14 14th Air Force P-40s and P-51s attack motor vehicles and locomotives at Lohochai, Hsiangcheng, and Pinghan.

Air Operations, East Indies

XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Manggar and Sepinggang airfields on Borneo.

Air Operations, Europe

The death of Capt Marcel Doret, the leader of the Free French Groupe de Chasse 'Doret' and a former test pilot is reported. He was 48.

• 1 Halifax flies an RCM sortie.

• 63 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin, 7 to Magdeburg and 6 to Würzburg, and there is 1 RCM sortie.
• 1 Mosquito is lost on the Berlin raid.

Air Operations, Formosa

During the night, 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron night B-24s attack several airfields.

Air Operations, Japan

5 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s attack Kataoka through heavy overcast.

Air Operations, Philippines

• 60 FEAF B-24s mount the heaviest attack to date against Corregidor.
• B-25s attack shipping off eastern Luzon.
• 5th Air Force aircraft support US 6th Army ground forces on Luzon.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

• 21 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima.
• During the night, 10 VII Bomber Command B-24s conduct snooper raids against Iwo Jima.

Eastern Front

In East Prussia, Elbing is still being attacked from all sides. In the central sector of the front, the Russians reach the Oder 30 miles from Berlin, pressing on north and south of the fortified city of Küstrin (Kostrzyn) and Frankfurt-am-Oder. German bulletins announce that the Russians have forced the crossing of the upper Oder below Breslau, north and south of Brieg. Russians attacks continue on the besieged town of Poznan.

At Posen the 8th Guards Army launches a strong attack upon the German garrison.

The Soviets begin a major attack against the German and Hungarian forces still resisting in Buda. Heavy fighting rages around Sashegy Hill and Nemetovolgy Cemetery. The Hill is isolated after bitter fighting, freeing the Soviets to push deeper into the German defenses.

Greece

The Greek Communist Party accepts the Greek government terms for an amnesty. The communists have to surrender their arms. The amnesty comes into force on February 12.

New Britain

Australian forces land on New Britain.

Air Operations, Bonin and Volcano Islands

• 10 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Ototo Jima.
• 9 B-24s attack Iwo Jima.
• During the night, 8 VII Bomber Command B-24s conduct snooper raids against Iwo Jima.

Air Operations, CBI

• 25 10th Air Force B-25s and 86 10th Air Force P-47s and 459th Fighter Squadron P-38s attack Japanese Army troops, anti-aircraft batteries, and supplies in the Lashio area.
• 4 P-38s attack a bridge at Mong Tong.
• 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack Mekong River traffic between Wan Mai-Lo and Nguen.

• 20 14th Air Force P-51s attack the airfield at.
• Numerous fighter-bombers attack rail and traffic and many other targets in the Chingmen, Hsiangcheng, Ichang, Suchow, Tsingpu, Wuhu, and Yungning areas.
• A 311th Fighter Group P-51 downs a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter near Paoting at 1250 hours.

Air Operations, East Indies

XIII Bomber Command B-24s and XIII Fighter Command P-38s attack the Manggar and Sepinggang airfields on Borneo.

Air Operations, Europe

• 35 aircraft of No. 5 Group (Nos. 9 and 617 Squadrons) are sent to attack viaducts at Bielefeld and Altenbeken, but are recalled because of bad weather.

Air Operations, Formosa

During the night, 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s attack several airfields.

Air Operations, Philippines

• FEAF B-24s attack artillery positions on Corregidor.
• 19 494th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s based on Angaur attack Corregidor.
• FEAF B-24s and V Bomber Command B-25s attack coastal areas and shipping.
• B-25s and V Fighter Command P-38s attack Echague and a Japanese Army camp.
• A-20s attack the Fabrica airfield on Negros, Caballo Island, and support US 6th Army ground forces in the Nichols Field area of Luzon.
• USMC SBDs attack Japanese Army rocket positions endangering Manila’s main water-filtration plant.

Eastern Front

Fighting rages in East Prussia and in the cities of Poznan and Budapest, still tenaciously defended by the Germans. Southeast of Breslau the Soviet forces begin to push out of their bridgehead over the Oder. Hundreds of thousands of panic-stricken German civilians flee westward, many into the 'safe' city of Dresden.

A counterattack by the 8th SS Cavalry Division toward Sashegy Hill founders after heavy losses. On the hill itself, the defending force is compelled to surrender, having run out of food and ammunition.

Italy

Units of IV Corps from 5th Army take Gallicano in a brief offensive designed to improve the Allied positions on either side of the Serchio Valley.

Air Operations, Bonin and Volcano Islands

• 8 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima while 6 B-24s attack Chichi Jima.
• During the night, 9 VII Bomber Command B-24s conduct snooper raids against Iwo Jima.

Air Operations, CBI

• 11 10th Air Force B-25s attack troops and tanks at Man Namman.
• 50 10th Air Force P-47s support Allied ground forces preparing to cross the Shweli River near Myitson.
• More than 40 fighter-bombers attack troops and supplies at 9 locations.

• 11 14th Air Force P-51s attack a bridge near Hengshan.
• P-40s attack road, river, and rail traffic across southern China and into French Indochina.
• 2 fighter-bombers attack warehouses in Kweihsien.
• Japanese Army ground forces capture the 14th Air Force’s airfield at Kanchou.

• 33 of 67 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s dispatched attack Saigon.
• 19 B-29s attack targets of opportunity in and around Phnom Penh.
• 2 B-29s attack a marshalling yard at Martaban, Burma as a target of last resort.
• 1 B-29 is lost.

• 58 of 64 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s dispatched attack a bridge in Bangkok.
• 1 B-29 attacks a marshalling yard in Martaban, Burma as a target of last resort.
• 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s destroy a bridge near Ye with Azon bombs.

Air Operations, East Indies

XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack oil facilities at Tutong, and the Miri and Tawau airfields on Borneo.

Air Operations, Europe

• 100 Lancasters of No. 3 Group are sent to attack the oil plant at Wanne-Eickel. Only 75 aircraft are able to bomb in wintry conditions which scatters the force. The results of the raid are not known.
• 1 Lancaster is lost.

• 464 aircraft including 292 Halifaxes, 156 Lancasters and 16 Mosquitos of Nos. 4, 6 and 8 Groups are sent to attack Goch. This raid is preparing the way for the attack of the British XXX Corps across the German frontier near the Reichswald. The Germans have included the towns of Goch and Kleve in their strong defenses here. The Master Bomber orders the Main Force to come below the cloud, the estimated base of which is only 5,000ft, and the attack opens very accurately. The raid is stopped after 155 aircraft have bombed, because smoke is causing control of the raid to become impossible. Considerable damage is caused in Goch but most of the inhabitants had probably left the town.
• 2 Halifaxes are lost.

• 295 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitos of Nos. 1 and 8 Groups are sent to hit Kieve. 285 aircraft drop their bombs, which is battered even more than Goch. After the war, Kleve claimed to be the most completely destroyed town in Germany of its size. The British attack, led by the 15th (Scottish) Division, makes a successful start a few hours later, but quickly grinds to a halt because of a thaw, which causes flooding on the few roads available for the advance, and also because of the ruins which block the way through Kleve. Lieutenant-General B. G. Horrocks, the Corps Commander in charge of the attack, later claimed that he had requested that Kleve should only be subjected to an incendiary raid, but Bomber Command dropped 1,384 tons of high explosive on the town and no incendiaries.
• 1 Lancaster is lost.

• 177 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitos of No. 5 Group attack the Dortmund-Ems Canal section near Ladbergen with delayed-action bombs. Later photographs show that the banks have not been damaged. The bombs have fallen into nearby fields.
• 3 Lancasters are lost.

• 38 Mosquitos are sent to Magdeburg, 16 to Mainz and 41 in small numbers to 5 other targets, 30 Lancasters and 15 Halifaxes lay mines in Kiel Bay, and there are 45 Mosquito patrols and 63 RCM sorties.
• 4 Mosquitos are lost, 3 from No. 100 Group and 1 from the Mainz raid.

Air Operations, Formosa

• 90th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s and V Fighter Command P-38s unable to attack Takao because of bad weather over the target divert to attack the airfield at Heito.
• 38th Medium Bomb Group B-25s and V Fighter Command P-38s mount anti-shipping and other sweeps over Formosa and nearby waters.
• A 3rd Air Commando Group P-51 downs a Ki-46 'Dinah' reconnaissance plane near Formosa.
• During the night, 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s attack several airfields.

Air Operations, Philippines

• FEAF B-24s attack Bago and Mandaue.
• 20 FEAF B-24s based at Angaur attack the Silay and Talisa airfields on Negros.
• 1 B-24 attacks the Opon airfield.
• A-20s and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers support US 6th Army ground forces with attacks on the hills west of Nichols Field, Luzon.
• An 18th Fighter Group P-38 downs a J1N 'Irving' fighter off the Bataan Peninsula at 1310 hours.

Belgium

The Belgian government resigns.

China

In southeast China the Japanese occupy Kanchow, a base of the US 14th Air Force.

Air Operations, CBI

• 72 10th Air Force P-47s support Allied ground forces in the Myitson area.
• 37 P-47s and 459th Fighter Squadron P-38s attack troops, occupied villages, ammunition dumps, and supplies at 8 locations.

• 19 14th Air Force P-51s attack bridges at Changsha and Shihtangchung.
• 4 fighters attack the airfield at Tsinan and rail targets.
• A 426th Night Fighter Squadron P-61 crew downs a Ki-48 'Lily' bomber near the airfield at Laohokow before dawn.
• 530th Fighter Squadron P-51s down a Ki-27 'Nate' fighter and a Ki-43 'Oscar' fighter over the Tsinan airfield between 1220 and 1250 hours.
• A 5th CACW Fighter Group P-40 downs a Ki-57 'Topsy' transport plane near Changsha at an undisclosed time.

Air Operations, Carolines

30 B-29s from the 313th Very Heavy Bomb Wing’s 6th Very Heavy Bomb Group attack the Truk Atoll.

Air Operations, Europe

• 15 Lancasters of No. 617 Squadron drop Tallboys on the U-boat pens at Ijmuiden without a loss.

• 1 RCM sortie is flown.

• 475 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 5 and 8 Groups are sent to attack Politz. The attack takes place in 2 waves, the first being marked and carried out entirely by the No. 5 Group method and the second being marked by the Pathfinders of No. 8 Group. The weather conditions are clear and the bombing of both waves is extremely accurate. Severe damage is caused to the important synthetic oil plant here. It produces no further oil during the war. Speer mentioned this raid, in his post-war interrogations, as being another big setback to Germany's war effort.
• 12 Lancasters are lost, l of them coming down in Sweden.
• 228 aircraft including 200 Halifaxes, 20 Mosquitos and 8 Lancasters of Nos 4, 6 and 8 Groups are sent to Wanne-Eickel. This raid is not a success. The local report says that the bombing was scattered, with only light damage to the oil refinery.
• 2 Halifaxes crash in France.
• 151 Lancasters of No. 3 Group attacked the Hohenbudberg railway yards at Krefeld, but photographic reconnaissance is unable to detect any new damage.
• 2 Lancasters are lost.

• 47 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin, 9 to Neubrandenburg in a 'spoof' for the Politz raid, and 4 to Nuremburg, 10 Lancasters of No. 5 Group lay mines off Swinemünde, and there are 42 Mosquito patrols and 47 RCM sorties.
• 1 RCM Halifax is lost.

Air Operations, East Indies

XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack airfields on Borneo.

Air Operations, Formosa

During the night, 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s attack several airfields.

Air Operations, Philippines

• FEAF B-24s attack Mariveles.
• V Bomber Command B-25s attack the Legaspi airfield on Luzon and shipping off eastern Luzon.
• A 3rd Air Commando Group P-51 downs a Ki-21 'Sally' bomber near Luzon at noon.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

• 20 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima.
• During the night, 10 VII Bomber Command B-24s conduct snooper raids against Iwo Jima.

Burma

In the north, the XXVI Brigade, British 36th Division, establishes a bridgehead over the Shweli River near Myitson and defends it against Japanese counterattacks.

Diplomatic Relations

Paraguay declares war on Germany and Japan.

Eastern Front

The 3rd Ukraine Front restores the position southwest of Budapest in the Lake Velencei area.

The Vistula Army Group contains Russian forces pushing out from the bridgeheads over the Oder.

In East Prussia the German forces have now been virtually split into three groups: the defenders of Königsberg, some forces trapped on the peninsula to the west of the town, and those to the south, the largest group, holding out around Keiligenbeil and inland.

The 1st Ukrainian Front launches the Lower Silesian Offensive from the Oder north and south of Breslau. At first the infantry and armor find it heavy going due to a thaw. The German 17th Army defends well but, eventually, the 54th Army breaks through at Steinau.

The 1st Ukrainian Front completes a hurried redeployment and attacks from the Oder bridgeheads north and south of Breslau. Heavy artillery fire hits the 17th Army followed by armored and infantrry assaults. However, the thaw makes the going difficult for the Soviet assault teams, as did ferocious German resistance. Even so, a breakthrough is achieved near Steinau by the 52nd Army.

Air Operations, CBI

• 10 10th Air Force B-25s attack bridges at 2 locations.
• 2 B-25s attack numerous road targets of opportunity between Hsipaw and Lashio.
• More than 40 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troops, communications targets, and supplies at 7 locations.
• 22 P-47s support Allied ground forces in the Myitson area.
• 9 P-47s attack bridges at 2 locations.

• CACW fighters destroy an estimated 100 Japanese airplanes on the ground at the Tsingtao airfield.
• 8 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack rail bridges around Lukou and Kiyang.
• 3 fighter-bombers sweep the rail line between Peking and Sinsiang.
• Several fighter-bombers attack the airfield at Sinsiang and rail facilities at Kaifeng.

Air Operations, Carolines

29 B-29s from the 313th Very Heavy Bomb Wing’s 9th Very Heavy Bomb Group attack the Truk Atoll.

Air Operations, Europe

Halifaxes bomb the Wanne-Eickel oil plant in the Ruhr. B-17s attack the Lützkendorf plant.

• 1 Halifax flies an RCM sortie.

• 7 Stirlings fly Resistance operations and 1 Mosquito flies an RCM sortie.
• 1 Stirling is lost.

Air Operations, Formosa

During the night, 63rd Heavy Bombt Squadron SB-24s attack several airfields.

Air Operations, Philippines

• FEAF B-24s attack Corregidor during the morning and afternoon.
• B-24s and V Bomber Command A-20s attack Mariveles and the Bataan Peninsula throughout the day.
• B-25s and V Fighter Command P-51s attack shipping off Luzon and buildings in San Fernando.
• A-20s attack Corregidor.
• USMC SBDs provide close support for US 1st Cavalry Division units near Manila.
• SBDs and P-40s support US 6th Army ground forces in the Balete Pass area.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

• 22 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima.
• During the night, 11 VII Bomber Command B-24s conduct snooper raids against Iwo Jima.
• An interim conclusion drawn from analysis of aerial photographs of Iwo Jima indicates that daily bombing attacks since December 8 have not been effective in halting the construction of many new defensive positions, nor even the installation of many new artillery pieces on the island.

Atlantic

While both vessels are submerged, the submarine HMS Venturer sinks U-864 to register the first successful underwater attack.

Baltic

U-923 is destroyed by hitting a mine in the Baltic Sea.

U-923

Battle of the Atlantic

U-864 is sunk in a submarine attack by the British submarine Venture. It is the second submarine sunk by Venture.

U-864

Burma

The 26th Indian Division, British XV Corps, completes the capture of Ramree Island, in the Arakan sector. In view of the favorable progress of operations in Burma, Adm Mountbatten decides to speed up the arrangements for the offensive against Mandalay and Rangoon. With Burma liberated, the Allies will go on to re-capture Singapore and Malaya.

Diplomatic Relations

Ecuador and Paraguay declare war on Germany and Japan.

Air Operations, Bonin and Volcano Islands

• 10 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Chichi Jima in the morning.
• 17 B-24s, escorted by P-38s, attack Iwo Jima during the afternoon.
• 318th Fighter Group P-38s down 4 G4M 'Betty' bombers and an A6M Zero near Iwo Jima at noon, and 2 A6M Zeros near Iwo Jima at 1430 hours.
• During the night, 9 VII Bomber Command B-24s conduct snooper raids against Iwo Jima.

Air Operations, CBI

• 9 10th Air Force B-25s attack bridges at 2 locations.
• 76 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troops and supplies at 10 locations.
• 15 P-47s support Allied ground forces in the Mongmit area, especially around Myitson.
• 17 P-47s attack bridges at 2 locations.

• The 14th Air Force’s 308th Heavy Bomb Group headquarters and 3 B-24 squadrons move from the airfield at Kunming to the Hsinching airfield, near Chengtu, in order to mount attacks against Japanese transportation targets and supply depots in the region. The group’s 373rd Heavy Bomb Squadron remains at Kunming, from which it will continue to attack shipping targets.

Air Operations, Europe

• 1 Halifax flies an RCM sortie.

• 82 Mosquitos are sent to Hannover and 11 to Essen, and there are 22 Mosquito patrols and 24 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, Formosa

• During a sweep of the island, a 3rd Air Commando Group P-51 downs a Ki-46 'Dinah' reconnaissance plane near Formosa at 1110 hours.
• 35th Fighter Group P-47s down a Ki-46 'Dinah' reconnaissance plane, an A6M Zero, and 7 unidentified biplanes over the Kobi and Taichu airfields between 1500 and 1540 hours.
• During the night, 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s attack several airfields.

Air Operations, Japan

84 of 118 73rd and 313th Very Heavy Bomb wing B-29s dispatched attack an aircraft plant at Ota and 14 of the B-29s attack other targets. 11 of the 12 B-29s lost on the mission succumb to operational accidents and mechanical failures.

Air Operations, Pacific

• The Nakajima aircraft factory near Tokyo is destroyed in a huge raid by 84 US B-29 bombers.
• Iwo Jima and Okimura are bombed by US B-24 bombers.

Air Operations, Philippines

• FEAF B-24s, V Bomber Command B-25s, and V Fighter Command P-38s and P-51s attack troops, artillery positions, motor vehicles, and occupied villages in support of US 6th Army ground forces on Luzon.
• 24 B-24s, 72 A-20s, and 16 fighter-bombers attack troops and defenses in the southern Bataan Peninsula during the morning.
• 24 B-24s, 73 A-20s, and 27 fighter-bombers mount similar strikes through the afternoon.
• A 3rd Air Commando Group P-51 downs a Ki-46 'Dinah' reconnaissance plane at 1340 hours.
• In the largest single mission of its kind during the Luzon Campaign, 81 SBDs from VMSB-142, VMSB-241, VMSB-243, VMSB-244, and VMSB-341 attack numerous Japanese Army dumps, anti-aircraft positions, and defended towns in support of the US 1st Cavalry Division. As a result of this day’s work, senior US Army ground commanders who have been reticent until now to request USMC precision air support strenuously vie to employ the up to this point under-utilized and now suddenly overworked SBD squadrons in behalf of their divisions and regiments.

Baltic Sea

The Soviet submarine S-13 sinks the German transport General von Steuben in the Baltic. Of the estimated 4,500) injured soldiers and civilian evacuees from East Prussia aborad, 300 survive. Soviet claims that among those lost were elite officers, SS men and Nazi Party officials cannot alter the fact that many refugees go down with the ship.

Eastern Front

In East Prussia, the 3rd Belorussian Front captures the important road junction of Preussich-Eylau (Ilawa). The 2nd Belorussian Front takes the fortified port of Elbing. On the German Army Group Center's front, the 21st Panzer Division has to withdraw form Kürstrin (Kostrzyn). Arnswalde is surrounded, but rejects Russian surrender terms.

On the front of the Army Group South the 2nd Ukraine Front makes a big breakthrough in the Budapest sector. Fighting continues to rage in the city.

In Yugoslavia there is fighting west of Mostar.

The 3rd Belorussian Front attacks the German 4th Army near Heilsberg.

The 2nd Belorussian Front opens the East Pomeranian Offensive toward Neustettin.[MORE]

Air Operations, CBI

• 56 XX Bomber Command B-29s and a number of 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack stores in Rangoon.
• 11 10th Air Force B-25s attack troops and supplies at Loilem.
• More than 100 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troops, artillery positions, ammunition dumps, supplies, and targets of opportunity at 10 locations.
• 22 P-47s support Allied ground forces in the Mongmit area.
• A 459th Fighter Squadron P-38 downs a D4Y 'Judy' dive bomber near Rangoon at 1230 hours.

• 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack shipping in the South China Sea.
• 17 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack a locomotive works at Hsuchang and rail facilities at Lohochai and Sinyang.
• 23 14th Air Force P-47s attack the airfield at Hankow.
• 8 fighter-bombers attack the Anyang airfield and rail targets of opportunity.

Air Operations, Europe

Record raids are launched against Essen and Dortmund as 1,079 and 1,108 heavy bombers raid the cities with 5,000 and 5,487 tons of bombs, respectively.

Air Operations, Formosa

• V Fighter Command P-38s and P-47s sweep the island.
• An 18th Fighter Group P-38 downs a Ki-45 'Nick' fighter near the Okayama airfield at 1410 hours.
• During the night, 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s attack several airfields.

Air Operations, Philippines

• 25 494th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s based at the Angaur airfield attack Corregidor.
• FEAF B-24s attack Corregidor throughout the day and mount a light attack against Bago.
• B-24s, A-20s, and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack military targets across the Bataan Peninsula throughout the day.
• Fighter-bombers support US 6th Army ground forces on Luzon.
• 348th Fighter Group P-47s strafe barges carrying Japanese Army ground troops from Manila to Bataan and Corregidor.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

• A total of 21 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima in two separate waves.
• During the night, 10 VII Bomber Command B-24s conduct snooper raids against Iwo Jima.

Diplomatic Relations

The Yalta Conference ends. Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt, assisted by their Foreign Ministers, Molotov, Eden and Stettinius, have reached agreement on future war strategy and on the political order of the post-war world. The USSR confirms its adhesion to the United Nations, an idea very dear to Roosevelt, and agrees to take part in the war against Japan when the war in Europe is over, expected in July, - this request is also made by Roosevelt, though the American military chiefs had warned against it on account of its political implications. In exchange, the Soviet Union is to be given important concessions in the Far East, Dairen, Port Arthur, part of Sakhalin and the Kurils.

Churchill has opposed what he considers to be dangerous and unjustified surrenders, particularly with regard to the Soviet sphere of influence in Europe, but he has had to yield to the wishes of his more powerful ally.

The Yalta Conference opens in the Crimea, attended by Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt. Stalin demands a strong, pro-communist government in Poland to guarantee the future security of the USSR. As the Red Army controls most of Eastern Europe, the British and Americans have little choice but to agree. The conference also confirms the decision to form a United Nations organization. Also agreed is the future division of Germany. Roosevelt's decision that the capture of Berlin is not a prime US objective will ensure that the Red Army will be the first to reach the city.

Eastern Front

Moscow announces the breaching of the German line on the Oder northwest of Breslau by the 1st Ukraine Front and the capture of Lüben (Lubin), Haynau (Chajnow), Leignitz (Legnica), Neumarkt (Sroda Slaska) and Kanth (Katy Wroklavskie).

The advance southeast of Breslau means a threat to the chief city of Silesia, while the Russians are now seen to be threatening Dresden also, 75 miles further west. In the northeast sector the Russians take Deutsch-Krone (Walcz). Other Russian forces are preparing to wipe out the German forces at Schneidemühl (Pila) and Poznan.

45 more blocks of buildings in Budapest have fallen into the hands of the Russian forces.

Konev's troops begin to break out of their bridgehead over the Oder near Steinau and attack west and north threatening Glogau.

The Soviet 48th Army captures Wormditt.

Air Operations, Bonin and Volcano Islands

• 9 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Chichi Jima.
• 19 B-24s attack Iwo Jima.
• 21 313th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s using radar guidance from high altitude attack defensive gun positions on Iwo Jima with 84 tons of bombs, but results are negligible.
• During the night, 8 VII Bomber Command B-24s conduct snooper raids against Chichi Jima and Iwo Jima.

Air Operations, CBI

• More than 60 10th Air Force P-47s and 459th Fighter Squadron P-38s attack troops, tanks, motor vehicles, and supplies at 7 locations.
• 23 P-47s support Allied ground forces near Myitson and Nabu.
• 4 P-47s support Allied ground troops at Loiya.
• 3 P-47s attack a bridge at Pa-mao.

• 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack rail targets across broad areas of China.

Air Operations, Europe

• 72 Mosquitos are sent to Stuttgart, 11 to Misburg, 4 to Würzburg, and 3 each on 'H₂S trials' to Cologne, Frankfurt, Koblenz and Wiesbaden, and 1 Mosquito flies an RCM sortie.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, Formosa

During the night, 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s mount their first attacks against shipping off Formosa and off the China coast, a task to which the unit will be almost exclusively dedicated for several months, as will US 7th Fleet PBYs and PB4Ys.

Air Operations, Marianas

In its first combat mission since returning to the war zone as a B-29 unit, the 314th Very Heavy Bomb Wing’s 19th Very Heavy Bomb Group attacks ground targets on Rota Island.

Air Operations, Philippines

• FEAF B-24s attack Corregidor.
• V Bomber Command B-25s and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers support US 6th Army ground forces in the Nichols Field area of Luzon.
• V Bomber Command A-20s and 348th Fighter Group P-47s attack barges off the Bataan Peninsula.
• B-24s, A-20s, and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack military targets across the Bataan Peninsula throughout the day.

Baltic

To date, the Kriegsmarine has evacuated 374,000 refugees from East Prussia.

Burma

West of Mandalay XXXIII Corps units begin to take their second series of bridgeheads over the Irrawaddy. The advance here is by 20th Indian Division opposite Myinmu. To the south IV Corps has reached the Irrawaddy at Myitche and Seikpyu and is preparing to cross. British and US units of Daniel Sultan's Northern Area Combat Command are advancing south toward Lashio and Kyaukme, but are being held for the moment in heavy fighting near the River Shweli.

Diplomatic Relations

Peru declares war on Germany and Japan.

Eastern Front

The Germans resume their break-out attempt from Buda. A force of nearly 16,000 men reach the hills around Perbal before they are halted by units of the 46th Army. More than 12,000 have been killed or captured inside the city. The remnants of SS Gen Karl Pfeffer-Wildenbruch's group continue to fight on in the sewers.

Air Operations, Bonin and Volcano Islands

• 25 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima.
• 10 B-24s attack Haha Jima.
• During the night, 5 VII Bomber Command B-24s conduct snooper raids against Iwo Jima.

Air Operations, CBI

• 70 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troops, supplies, and targets of opportunity at 8 locations.
• 19 fighter-bombers support Allied ground forces around Mongmit and Myitson.
• 16 fighter-bombers attack a bridge and a bypass bridge at Hay-ti.

• 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack a locomotive works at Hsuchang.
• 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack the airfields at Ichang and Sinyang, a bridge at Hsuchang, and rail lines between Hsuchang and Sinyang.
• An effort by 22nd, 43rd, and 90th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s, 40 345th Medium Bomb group B-25s, and 48 V Fighter Command P-51s to attack a Japanese Navy force of 2 battleships, 1 cruiser, and 3 destroyers, fleeing from Singapore to Japan via the South China Sea, is aborted in the face of bad weather, but USAAF and USN search planes continue to track the flotilla.

• 8 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s destroy a bridge near Kanchanaburi with Azon bombs.

Air Operations, Europe

Over the next 3 days in the most intense incendiary attacks of the war, RAF and US planes devastate the German city of Dresden in raids which have become synonymous with the term 'terror bombing'. On the night of the 13th there is a massive RAF attack on Dresden by 773 Lancaster bombers. This is followed up by daylight attacks by 8th Air Force on the 14th and 15th involving 600 planes altogether. The greatest damage is done in the RAF attack when the city, crowded with refugees from the Eastern Front, is devastated in a horrific fire storm. Various authorities give different figures for the number of casualties ranging from 30,000 dead to 200,000 dead. The best estimates suggest a figure around 70,000 is most accurate. The raid becomes very controversial because Dresden is not an important military target and has been a city of much historical interest.

In response to a specific Soviet request for bombing German communications, and in particular with regard to the Berlin-Leipzig-Dresden railway complex, US and British bombers attack Dresden. The Western Allied air authorities have decided that the bombing of the city will fulfil strategic objectives of mutual inportance to the Allies and the Soviets, and will satisfy the specific Soviet request presented to the Allies by Gen Antonov, Deputy Chief of the Soviet General Staff, to 'paralyze the junctions of Berlin and Leipzig'. More than 100,000 civilians will be killed in the air raids.

Air Operations, Formosa

• 38th Medium Bomb Group B-25s bomb and strafe the Kagi airfield from very low level.
• 35th Fighter Group P-47s down 6 Ki-84 'Frank' fighters just off northern Formosa at 1345 hours.

Air Operations, Philippines

• FEAF B-24s attack Corregidor, especially coast artillery batteries.
• B-24s, V Bomber Command A-20s, and V Fighter Command P-47s attack Mariveles.
• 348th Fighter Group P-47s strafe barges carrying Japanese Army ground troops from Manila to Bataan and Corregidor.
• A-20s and P-47s attack targets of opportunity throughout the southern Bataan Peninsula.
• B-25s and fighter-bombers attack small ships off Luzon.

Burma

Gen Slim launches a new drive toward Meiktila to cut off Lt-Gen Heitaro Kimura's forces in the Mandalay area. The 7th Indian Division, IV Corps, begins the operation by crossing the Irrawaddy at Nyaungu. In the northern sector, the Japanese intensify their pressure on the bridgehead across the Shweli won by the 26th Brigade of the British 36th Division. In the British XXXIII Corps sector, the 20th Indian Division extends its bridgehead over the Irrawaddy.

Eastern Front

After a month and a half of bitter struggle, Rodion Malinovsky's 2nd Ukraine Front finally overcomes the last German defenses in Budapest. Pest surrendered on January 18, and now the defenders of Buda surrender also. The Russians capture 138,000 prisoners. Some units try to fight their way out to the positions of the German 8th Army, but only 7 officers and 120 men manage to escape but German sources put the amount at several hundred.

In Silesia the Russians advance northwest of Breslau, surrounding Glogau (Glogow) and capturing Beuthen (Bytom Odrzanski).

The Soviet advance from the Oder to the Neisse begins to gain momentum despite desperate German efforts. Bunzlau on the river Bober is captured.

Operation THUNDERCLAP

The Air Ministry had, for several months, been considering a series of particularly heavy area raids on German cities with a view to causing such confusion and consternation that the hard-stretched German war machine and civil administration would break down and the war would end. The general name given to this plan was Operation THUNDERCLAP, but it had been decided not to implement it until the military situation in Germany was critical. That moment appeared to be at hand. Russian forces had made a rapid advance across Poland in the second half of January and crossed the eastern frontier of Germany. The Germans were thus fighting hard inside their own territory on two fronts, with the situation in the East being particularly critical. It was considered that Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz - all just behind the German lines on the Eastern Front now - would be suitable targets. They were all vital communications and supply centres for the Eastern Front and were already packed with German refugees and wounded from the areas recently captured by the Russians. As well as the morale aspect of the attacks, there was the intention of preventing the Germans from moving reinforcements from the West to face the successful Russian advance. The Air Ministry issued a directive to Bomber Command , at the end of January. The Official History. describes how Winston Churchill took a direct hand in the final planning of Operation THUNDERCLAP - although Churchill tried to distance himself from the Dresden raid afterwards.

On February 4, at the Yalta Conference, the Russians asked for attacks of this kind to take place, but their involvement in the process only came after the plans had been issued. So, Bomber Command was specifically requested by the Air Ministry, with Churchill's encouragement to carry out heavy raids on Dresden, Chemnitz and Leipzig. The Americans were also asked to help and agreed to do so. The campaign should have begun with an American raid on Dresden on February 13 but bad weather over Europe prevented any American operations. It thus fell to Bomber Command to carry out the first raid.

796 Lancasters and 9 Mosquitos are sent in two separate raids to Dresden and drop 1,478 tons of high explosive and 1,182 tons of incendiary bombs. The first attack is carried out entirely by No. 5 Group, using their own low-level marking methods. A band of cloud still remains in the area and this raid, in which 244 Lancasters drop more than 800 tons of bombs, is only moderately successful. The second raid, 3 hours later, is an all-Lancaster attack by aircraft of Nos. 1, 3, 6 and 8 Groups, with No. 8 Group providing standard Pathfinder marking. The weather is now clear and 529 Lancasters drop more than 1,800 tons of bombs with great accuracy. Much has been written about the fearful effects of this raid. Suffice it to say here that a firestorm, similar to the one experienced in Hamburg in July 1943, was created and large areas of the city were burned out. No one has ever been able to discover how many people died, but it is accepted that the number was greater than the 40,000 who died in the Hamburg firestorm and the Dresden figure may have exceeded 50,000. Bomber Command casualties are 6 Lancasters lost, with 2 more crashing in France and 1 in England.

Air Operations, CBI

• Most of the 10th Air Force is grounded by bad weather, but 12 B-25s are able to attack road targets between Lashio, Takaw, and Hopong and 7 P-47s attack the airfield at Laihka.

• 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack the airfield at Kaifeng, a fuel dump at Hsiangcheng, and numerous rail lines.
• In their unit’s last mission from the Sian airfield, 8 530th Fighter Squadron P-51s destroy 4 aircraft on the ground at the Shihkiachwang airfield and 7 locomotives between Puchou and Sinsiang.
• An effort by 90th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s and 345th Medium Bomb Group B-25s to attack a Japanese Navy force of 2 IJN battleships, 1 cruiser, and 3 destroyers fleeing from Singapore to Japan is aborted in the face of bad weather, and the flotilla escapes beyond the range of all Allied aircraft.

Air Operations, Europe

The 8th Air Force completes the Allied 'triple blow' against Dresden. Also bombed are Chemnitz, Magdeburg, Prague in error, and the Wesel Bridge over the Rhine. The total number of bombers and escorts in the raids is 1,440. 13 planes are lost. The RAF follow up with a severe night raid on Chemnitz.

• 36 Lancasters and 1 photographic Mosquito of Nos. 9 and 617 Squadrons are sent to attack Bielefeld and Altenbeken viaducts, but abandon the raids because of cloud.
• 1 Lancaster of No. 9 Squadron is lost.

OPERATION THUNDERCLAP

• 499 Lancasters and 218 Halifaxes of Nos. 1, 3,4,6 and 8 Groups continue Operation THUNDERCLAP by attacking Chemnitz. This raid takes place in two phases, 3 hours apart. A very elaborate diversion plan succeeds in keeping bomber casualties down but Chemnitz, now called Karl-Marx-Stadt, is also spared from the worst effects of its first major RAF raid. Both parts of the bomber force find the target area covered by cloud and only skymarking can be employed. Post-raid reconnaissance shows that many parts of the city are hit, but that most of the bombing is in open country.
• 8 Lancasters and 5 Halifaxes are lost.
• 224 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of No. 5 Group attack the oil refinery in Rositz near Leipzig. Damage was caused to the southern part of the oil plant.
• 4 Lancasters are lost.

• Diversionary and 95 aircraft of No. 3 Group and of Heavy Conversion Units make a sweep into the Heligoland Bight, 46 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin, 19 to Mainz, 14 to Dessau, 12 to Duisburg, 11 to Nuremberg and 8 to Frankfurt, 30 Lancasters and 24 Halifaxes lay mines in the Kadet Channel, and there are 87 Mosquito patrols and 21 RCM sorties.
• 5 mine-laying Halifaxes and 1 mine-laying Lancaster are lost.

Air Operations, Formosa

Several 38th Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack the airfield at Kagi and nearby targets of opportunity.

Air Operations, Japan

3 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s attack the Suribachi airfield.

Air Operations, Philippines

• FEAF B-24s attack Corregidor and Mariveles.
• V Bomber Command B-25s attack the Tuguegarao airfield on Luzon.
• B-25s and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers support US 6th Army ground forces near Clark Field, Marikina, and Montalban on Luzon.
• B-25s attack barges at Zamboanga, Mindanao.
• A-20s attack the southern Bataan Peninsula.
• 348th Fighter Group P-47s strafe barges carrying Japanese Army ground troops from Manila to Bataan and Corregidor.
• P-38s attack the Matina airfiled on Mindanao.
• Fighter-bombers strafe airfields on Cebu and Negros.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

• 17 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima.
• During the night, 9 VII Bomber Command B-24s conduct snooper raids against Iwo Jima and the Bonin Islands.

Arctic

The US freighter Horace Gray is torpedoed by U-711 at the entrance to Kola Inlet. Beached the following day, the ship will be declared a total loss. There are no casualties among either crew or the 28-man Armed Guard.

Battle of the Atlantic

In the afternoon the British frigate Bayntun has a firm asdic contact and all ships in Escort Group 10 make a number of attacks using Squid and Hedgehog. The final blow is delivered by Loch Dunvegan which carry out three Squid attacks when wreckage starts appearing on the surface.

U-989

Burma

The 7th Indian Division from IV Corps begins to cross the Irrawaddy near Myaunga. There is only slight Japanese opposition because most of the Japanese forces have been withdrawn to defend Mandalay. North of Mandalay 19th Indian Division takes Singu despite the efforts of the defenders.

Diplomatic Relations

Chile declares war on Germany and Japan.

Air Operations, Bonin and Volcano Islands

• 24 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack Iwo Jima.
• 12 B-24s attack Chichi Jima.
• During the night, 5 VII Bomber Command B-24s conduct snooper raids against Iwo Jima and Chichi Jima.

Air Operations, Carolines

4 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Truk Atoll while escorting photo-reconnaissance aircraft.

Air Operations, CBI

• 12 10th Air Force B-25s attack targets of opportunity and road traffic in the Loilem area.
• 56 10th Air Force P-47s attack troops, occupied towns, and supplies at 4 locations.
• 20 P-47s support Allied ground forces in the Mongmit and Myitson areas.
• 8 P-47s attack a ferry at Li-lu.
• 6 P-47s attack a bridge at Hay-ti.

• 15 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack various rail lines in the Yangtze River area.

Air Operations, Europe

Dresden, Magdeburg and Cottbus are attacked by 1,000 bombers of the 8th Air Force.

• 1 Halifax flies an RCM sortie.

• 37 Lancasters and 18 Halifaxes lay mines in the Oslo Fjord and in the Kattegat, and there are 6 Mosquito patrols and 2 RCM sorties.
• 1 Mosquito crashes in France.

Air Operations, Formosa

12 38th Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack 2 bridges spanning the Sobun River in southern Formosa.

Air Operations, Japan

• 33 of 117 XXI Bomber Command B-29s dispatched attack an aircraft plant at Nagoya, 54 B-29s attack Hamamatsu, a target of last resort, and 16 B-29s attack various targets of opportunity and last resort.
• 1 B-29 is lost.

Air Operations, Philippines

• FEAF B-24s, V Bomber Command A-20s, and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack Corregidor.
• 348th Fighter Group P-47s strafe barges carrying Japanese Army ground troops from Manila to Bataan and Corregidor.
• B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers attack the Bataan Peninsula throughout the day.
• Fighter-bombers attack Caballo Island.
• Various aircraft attack the Echague and Tuguegarao airfields and Fort William McKinley on Luzon.

Air Operations, Western Pacific

• A VF-3 F6F downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber at sea only 25 miles from Task Force 58.
• As the Iwo Jima invasion fleet and Task Force 58 move toward the objective, XXI Bomber Command B-29s and US Navy PB4Ys based in the Marianas scout ahead in order to clear the air of Japanese reconnaissance aircraft.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-1053 is sunk off Bergen during a diving accident, the exact circumstances of which are unknown.

U-1053

Burma

In the British XXXIII Corps sector, the 20th Indian Division meets with increasingly stubborn resistance by the Japanese around the bridgehead over the Irrawaddy. In the British IV Corps sector, the 7th Indian Division extends its bridgeheads over the Irrawaddy, while some of its units take Pakokku, west of the river.

Eastern Front

The 2nd Belorussian Front consolidates its positions in northwest Poland, north of Bromberg (Bydgoszcz). In northern Silesia troops of the 1st Ukraine Front take Grüberg (Zielona Gora), southwest of Poznan, and penetrate into Brandenburg.

The Germans are still counterattacking in Hungary. The Russians announce that in Budapest they have found the bodies of 2 divisional generals who have committed suicide. They claim to have taken 9,000 prisoners at Schneidemühl (Pila).

Fighting flaires up again in East Prussia in the area of Frauenburg-Landsberg-Zintem (Frombork-Górowo-Ilaweckie). In northern Latvia the German 16th and 18th Armies repel Russian attacks, while making arrangements to evacuate their encircled forces.

In Ivan S. Konev's attacks west of the Oder, Breslau has now been surrounded.

Air Operations, CBI

• 12 10th Air Force B-25s attack troops, motor vehicles, and stores while sweeping roads south of Lashio and between Hsenwi and Loile.
• Nearly 160 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troops, artillery positions, occupied towns, transportation targets, and targets of opportunity at 18 locations.
• 31 P-47s support Allied ground forces in the Myitson area.

• 33 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack airfields and road, rail, and river traffic across China and northern French Indochina.

Air Operations, East Indies

5th and 307th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack the Kendari airfield on Celebes.

Air Operations, Europe

• 100 Lancasters of No. 3 Group and 1 Mosquito of No. 8 Group attack the town of Wesel on the Rhine, near the fighting area. The raid takes place in clear conditions and 'the town and the railway were seen to be smothered in bomb bursts'.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, Formosa

V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack rail and road targets across southern Formosa.

Air Operations, Japan

• Despite unfavorable weather conditions, Task Force 58 carrier aircraft launched from approximately 125 miles southeast of Tokyo and only 60 miles from the Honshu coast open an intense air and naval interdiction offensive in support of the impending invasion of Iwo Jima in the nearby Volcano Islands. In addition to Japanese airfields and ports, the carrier bombers and fighter-bombers also attack Tokyo-area aircraft-industry targets that 20th Air Force B-29s have not been able to demolish. Task Force 58 loses 60 aircraft in combat and operational accidents. Among the lost airmen in Cdr Philip H. Torrey, Jr., the Fleet Carrier Air Group 9 commander.
• USN carrier-based F6Fs and F4Us down 270 Japanese aircraft over the Tokyo area between 0800 and 1710 hours, and USMC carrier-based F4Us down 14 Japanese bombers, fighters, and reconnaissance aircraft between 0830 and 1400 hours.
• During the night, US Navy night fighters suppress Japanese efforts to mount attacks against Task Force 58, but bad weather prevents night TBMs from locating and attacking Japanese shipping, as planned.

Air Operations, Philippines

• Following an intense final air and naval bombardment that includes effective sorties by 24 FEAF B-24s, 11 V Bomber Command B-25s, and 31 A-20s, and in conjunction with an amphibious assault by US 6th Army ground troops, 51 317th Troop Carrier Group C-47s drop 1,021 paratroopers of the US 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment and 151 supply bundles on Corregidor Island beginning at 0830 hours. As the paratroopers land, 70 A-20s bomb and strafe predetermined targets on Corregidor and nearby Caballo Island. During the afternoon, 50 317th Troop Carrier Group drop 978 paratroopers and 159 supply bundles on Corregidor.

• V Bomber Command B-25s support US 6th Army ground forces in the Mariveles area and attack the Camalaniugan airfield on Baguio and Santa Fe.
• A-20s and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack Caballo Island.
• P-38s attack the Likanan and Matina airfields on Mindanao.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

Despite poor weather and rough seas, US surface warships, aircraft from Task Group 52.2, and 42 VII Bomber Command B-24s open an intense pre-invasion bombardment at Iwo Jima and Chichi Jima, but the B-24s are recalled due to dense cloud cover over the target. Several planned strikes by escort carrier fighters and TBMs are also thwarted by the miserable weather.

Battle of the Atlantic

Escort Group 9 is escorting Convoy WN-74 into Moray Firth when the British frigate St John reports an asdic contact. It is determined that the U-boat, U-309, is hiding on the bottom. After several attacks with depth charges and Hedgehogs, a mass of wreckage appears on the surface.

U-309

Burma

In the British XV Corps sector, a brigade of the 25th Indian Division lands on the Arakan coast near Ru-ywa, west of An; with the 82nd East African Division coming down from the north, they will cut the Japanese off from their withdrawal route to Prome. Hard fighting continues between the Japanese and the 20th Indian Division, British XXXIII Corps, on the bridgehead over the Irrawaddy in the Myinmu-Allagappa area.

Diplomatic Relations

Venezuela declares war on Germany and Japan.

Eastern Front

German headquarters admits for the first time that there are 'gangs' trying with Russian help to penetrate from Slovakia into the Protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia.

The German 8th Army is engaged with the 2nd Ukraine Front in Hungary.

Russian forces complete the encirclement of Breslau. The 1st Belorussian Front takes Sagan (Zagan), from which the Germans manage to withdraw the Hermann Göring Corps, which had been almost completely surrounded.[MORE]

Italy

Headquarters, US 5th Army, issues directives for limited attacks by the divisions of the IV Corps, to begin on the 20th, to reinforce the positions west of Highway 64.

Air Operations, Bonin Islands

As Task Force 58 passes the Bonin Islands on its way from the Honshu area to Iwo Jima, Task Force 58.4 carrier aircraft attack airfields and shipping at Chichi Jima and Haha Jima.

Air Operations, CBI

• 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s destroy a rail bridge near Moulmein with Azon bombs.
• 10 10th Air Force B-25s attack troops and supplies at Hai-hseng.
• More than 140 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troops, tanks, pack animals, supply-distribution points, arms and ammunition dumps, and numerous other targets throughout northern Burma.
• 14 P-47s support Allied ground forces around Mongmit and Myitson.

• 30 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack Linfen and Yuncheng.
• 1 B-25 attacks rail targets of opportunity near Hengyang.
• 37 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack road, rail, and river traffic across southern China.
• 27 P-40s and P-51s attack barracks, rail targets, pack animals, and the town area at Puchi.
• 16 P-47s attack the Hankow and Wuchang areas.

Air Operations, Carolines

9 73rd Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack the Truk Atoll, as do three VII Bomber Command B-24s assigned to escort photo-reconnaissance aircraft.

Air Operations, East Indies

XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Miri airfield on Borneo.

Air Operations, Europe

The Italian battleship Conte di Cavour, already damaged, and the unfinished Impero are sunk in Trieste harbor by the RAF.

• 298 aircraft including 247 Halifaxes, 27 Lancasters and 24 Mosquitos of Nos. 4, 6 and 8 Groups are sent to bomb Wesel. The target area is covered in cloud and the Master Bomber orders the raid to be stopped after only 8 Halifaxes have bombed.
• There are no losses, but 3 Halifaxes crash in England.

• 6 Oboe Mosquitos attack the Deschimag shipyard in Bremen, but no results are seen because of ground fog.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, Formosa

Due to bad weather over the airfield at Heito, 22nd and 90th Heavy Bomb group B-24s and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack the Takao airfield and rail facilities and an aluminum plant at Takao.

Air Operations, Japan

• Due to extremely bad weather, Task Force 58 carrier aircraft are able to mount only one of many planned morning strikes against Honshu airfields, shipping in Tokyo Bay, and Tokyo-area aircraft plants. At length, weather conditions over the fleet and target areas deteriorate to the point where the attacks must be canceled altogether, and so Task Force 58 retires toward Iwo Jima during the afternoon.
• Despite the bad weather and cancellation of ground-attack missions, US Navy carrier-based F6Fs and F4Us down 75 Japanese aircraft over the Tokyo area between 0730 and 1355 hours, and USMC carrier-based F4Us down a D4Y 'Judy' dive bomber and 8 Japanese fighters during several strike missions between 0845 and 1015 hours.

Air Operations, Philippines

• V Bomber Command B-25s and A-20s, and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack San Fernando and Tuguegarao.
• A-20s support US 6th Army ground forces near Mariveles and Fort Stotsenburg.
• In two separate missions, a total of 76 317th Troop Carrier Group C-47s drop 982 supply bundles to US Army paratroopers on Corregidor.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

As the weather clears, Task Group 52.2 TBMs and FMs mount 226 effective combat sorties against Iwo Jima’s airfield defenses on a day in which the island is also subjected to intense naval bombardment. Also, 42 VII Bomber Command B-24s attack the island from 5,000 feet at 1330 hours.

Arctic

As escort ships are clearing Kola Inlet priot to the arrival of Convoy RA-64, The British frigates Alnwick Castle and Lark detect U-425 and destroy her with depth charges.

U-425

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-1273 sinks on a mine off Horton in the Oslo Fjord.

U-1273 Class Type VIIC/41 CO Oberleutnant zur See Helmut Knollmann Location Norwegian coastal waters, off Horton Cause Mine Casualties 43 Survivors None

U-1278 Class Type VIIC/41 CO Kapitänleutnant Erich Müller-Bethke Location N of Shetlands Cause Hedgehog Casualties 48 Survivors None

• On the evening of the 17th, the British frigate Bayntun makes contact with a submarine, the third time for this group operating in the Shetland-Faroes passage. Bayntun destroys U-1278 in a Hedgehog attack.
• The US freighter Michael J. Stone, in Convoy UGS-72, is torpedoed by U-300 27 miles from Gibraltar. There are no casualties on board and the damaged ship reaches her destination under her own power.

Burma

In the northern sector the Japanese launch violent counterattacks against the bridgehead established by the British 36th Division across the Shweli River especially near Myitson. The British units are cut off and have to be supplied by air.

The British operations in the Arakan continue with successful landings at Ru-Ya, 40 miles southeast of Myebon.

China

Gen Albert C. Wedemeyer warns Chiang Kai-shek against the danger of an imminent attack by the Japanese to capture the airfields at Hsian, Laohokow and Chihchiang. Changting is now the only base left to the American strategic air force in eastern China.

Air Operations, CBI

• 12 10th Air Force B-25s attack bridges at 2 locations.
• More than 100 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troops, motor vehicles, supplies, and targets of opportunity across Japanese-occupied Burma.
• More than 30 fighter-bombers support Allied ground forces around Mongmit, Myitson, and Nabu.

• 4 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack shipping in the South China Sea.
• 25 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack rail facilities at Sinyang, the rail line at Pinghan, and targets of opportunity around Chiuchiang, Hsuchang, Lohochai, and Nanking.
• A 51st Fighter Group P-51 downs a Ki-44 'Tojo' fighter near Fukow at 1050 hours.

Air Operations, Carolines

35 313th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s attack the Truk Atoll.

Air Operations, East Indies

• XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack supply dumps and Japanese Army ground troops on Borneo.
• FEAF B-24s attack the airfield at Labuan.

Air Operations, Europe

• 160 Lancasters of No. 3 Group return to Wesel to carry out a G-H attack through cloud.
• There are no losses.

• 32 Mosquitos are sent to Mannheim, 6 each to Berlin and Bremen, and 3 on 'siren tours' of various towns in central Germany, 21 Lancasters and 4 Halifaxes lay mines in the German Bight, and there are 18 Mosquito patrols and 34 RCM sorties.
• 2 mine-laying Lancasters are lost.

Air Operations, Formosa

• In the heaviest strikes so far in the Formosa air interdiction campaign, 22nd, 43rd, 90th, and 380th Heavy Bomb group B-24s and V Fighter Command P-38s attack the airfields at Okayama, Takao, and Toshien.
• 15 B-24s attack stores of toxic gas at Hozan.
• 24 38th Medium Bomb Group B-25s mount a low-level attack against warehouses and barracks at Koshun.
• Fighter-bombers attack communications targets and targets of opportunity throughout the island.

Air Operations, Philippines

• V Bomber Command B-25s and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers support US 6th Army ground forces on Luzon.
• In a maneuver described as a “rolling air barrage,” 48 V Bomber Command B-25s and 60 V Fighter Command fighter-bombers support a US Army infantry regiment’s final attack on the Bataan Peninsula.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

• Due to bad weather, Task Group 52.2 is able to mount only 28 effective sorties against beach defenses on Iwo Jima, and Task Force 58 arrives from Japanese waters too late in the day to mount attacks. Also, 36 VII Bomber Command B-24s are recalled to their base. Nevertheless, carrier aircraft from Task Group 58.4 are able to attack Chichi Jima in the Bonin Islands.
• At 2130 hours, in the only incident of its kind during the pre-invasion bombardment phase, several Japanese Navy bombers attack and damage a US Navy troop transport, a minesweeper, and a salvage tug. 2 men are killed and 31 are wounded aboard the transport, 5 men are killed and 9 are wounded aboard the minesweeper, and 42 men are killed and 29 are wounded aboard the tug.
• In Task Force 58’s only fighter action of the day, a VF-30 F6F downs a Ki-45 'Nick' fighter at sea 50 miles from Task Force 58 at 1120 hours.

Baltic

U-2344 is sunk following a collision with U-2336, the exact circumstances of which are unknown.

U-2344

Bonin Islands

While most of TF 58 is replenishing, one group of 4 carriers commanded by Adm Arthur W. Radford attacks Haha Jima and Chichi Jima.

Burma

Fighting continues near the British 36th Division's bridgehead across the Shweli River. Japanese pressure is still strong.

Eastern Front

In Yugoslavia, the troops of Army Group E are compelled to withdraw 3 miles from Mostar.

In the area between Lake Velencei and Lake Balaton, in Hungary, 3 German infantry divisions, supported by 2 SS Panzer divisions, attack the positions of the 3rd Ukraine Front near the Danube. In the central sector, the Russians continue to strengthen their positions on the Oder. The Germans claim that the Russian troops encircling Poznan are suffering heavy losses.

Air Operations, Bonin Islands

During the morning, 24 US Navy fighters from the USS Hancock (VF-80) and the USS Lexington (VF-9) attack airfields and small vessels at Chichi Jima and Haha Jima. 5 of these fighters are lost in operational mishaps and a TBM command plane is shot down by anti-aircraft fire.

Air Operations, CBI

• 24 10th Air Force B-25s and 31 10th Air Force P-47s support Allied ground forces in the Mongmit and Myitson areas.
• More than 70 fighter-bombers attack numerous targets throughout central Burma.

• 14 14th Air Force P-51s attack rail and river traffic.

Air Operations, East Indies

XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Miri airfield on Borneo.

Air Operations, Europe

• 168 Lancasters of No. 3 Group carru out a good attack on Wesel with the best concentration of bombs being in the railway area.
• 1 Lancaster is lost.

• 1 Halifax flies an RCM sortie.

• 254 Lancasters and 6 Mosquitos of No. 5 Group are sent to Böhlen. This raid is not successful, probably because the aircraft of the Master Bomber, Wing Commander E. A. Benjamin, is shot down by flak over the target. Post-raid reconnaissance shows that damage to the target was 'superficial'. There is no evidence to show where the main bombing fell.
• 1 Mosquito is lost.

• 82 Mosquitos are sent to Erfurt and 24 in small numbers to 6 other targets, and there are 29 Mosquito patrols and 9 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, Formosa

• Thwarted by bad weather over the Heito airfield, 3 V Bomber Command B-24 groups attack the airfields at Koshun and Takao.
• 38th Medium Bomb Group B-25s and fighter-bombers attack numerous targets of opportunity throughout the island.

Air Operations, Japan

• Undertaking a diversionary strike in support of the invasion of Iwo Jima, 150 XXI Bomber Command B-29s are dispatched against an aircraft factory near Tokyo. Due to thick cloud cover over the target, 119 B-29s release their bombs over port and city areas of Tokyo and 12 B-29s attack targets of opportunity and last resort.
• 6 B-29s are lost.
• 6 28th Composite Bomb Group B-24s attack the Kurabu Cape airfield while conducting a photo-reconnaissance mission over the Kurile Islands.

Air Operations, Malaya

49 of 59 58th Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s dispatched attack railroad repair shops at Kuala Lumpur with 176 tons of bombs from as low as 1,000 feet. 4 of the B-29s attack the Alor Star airfield and a marshalling yard at Martaban, Burma.

Air Operations, Philippines

• 26 FEAF B-24s based at Angaur attack the Likanan airfield on Mindanao.
• V Bomber Command B-25s and A-20s support US 6th Army ground forces on Luzon and Corregidor.
• 1st Marine Aircraft Wing F4Us attack airfields and other targets in the central Philippines with napalm.
• Aerial bombs penetrating an underground barracks on Corregidor are credited with killing 500 Japanese Army soldiers in a single blow.
• 1st Marine Aircraft Wing SBDs based at the Mangaladan airfield on Luzon make their first use of an airborne air-support coordinator during a close-air-support mission in support of US 6th Army ground forces. The experiment is deemed a success, and the technique is employed thereafter on an expanded though ad hoc basis.
• A 547th Night Fighter Squadron P-61 crew downs a G4M 'Betty' bomber near Cabanatuan at 2055 hours, and a second 'Betty' near Baguio at 2135 hours.

Baltic

U-676 sinks after hitting a mine in a Soviet-laid mine field in the Gulf of Finland.

U-676

Burma

The Japanese put in a determined counterattack against the bridgehead opened by the 25th Indian Division at Ru-ywa in the Arakan sector.

Diplomatic Relations

Himmler makes his first peace overtures to Swedish Count Folke Bernadotte of the Red Cross.

Eastern Front

The forces of the German Army Group E are considerably reduced by the transfer of reinforcements from Yugoslavia to Hungary, but the positions are generally maintained.

In Silesia the Russians continue their attacks against the garrison of Breslau and northwest of the city.

The 2nd Belorussian Front in East Prussia puts in vigorous attacks against the Germans crossing the Samland peninsula, the tongue of land that joins Königsberg with Danzig, who are trying to fight their way out to the west. In northwest Poland the Russians surround Grudziadz and press on northward in the direction of Danzig (Gdansk), opposed by the Vistula Army Group.[MORE]

At 9:00am, after an extremely powerful preparation in which 6 battleships add to the firepower, the American V Amphibious Corps, escorted by the 5th Fleet under the command of Adm Raymond A. Spruance and commanded for the combined operations by Vice-Adm Richmond K. Turner and for the land operations by Gen Harry Schmidt, lands part of the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions on the southeast coast of the island, strongly fortified by the Japanese. Japanese resistance at first is negligible, but it increases in ferocity as the Marines begin their move inland from the beaches. The landing force suffers heavy casualties, especially on its right flank. The units on the left flank try to advance southward toward Mount Suribachi, a feature that dominates the whole island. Tanks and artillery go into action the moment they land.

The landing force consists of 30,000 men. They are carried in Adm Harry W. Hill's TF 53 and land on the southeast of the island. Facing them, in the shelter of a forest of underground fortifications accurately sited and linked by tunnels - a real ants' nest - are 21,500 men, 14,500 of them from the army, 109th Inf Division, 2nd Mixed Brigade from Manchuria, 145th Independent Mixed Regiment, 1 tank regiment with 30 medium and 10 light tanks, 3 mortar battalions and 5 anti-tank battalions, and 7,000 from the navy, technicians, pilots without aircraft and seamen without ships, hastily trained by the army. The naval troops are commanded by Read-Adm Toshinosuka Ichimaru; Commander-in-Chief of the garrison is Gen Tamadichi Kurabayashi.

The island, in the Volcano group, covers less than 12 square miles. 8 square miles of the island is completely fortified. It has two airfields, with a third under construction. It is dominated by the hill called Mount Suribachi (560 ft), at the southwestern extremity. To the north is a plateau about 300 feet hight, the Motoyama plateau. There is hardly any vegetation; the volcanic nature of the terrain gives the island a lunar appearance. Why have the Americans decided to land here? There is a psychological motive; the loss of Iwo Jima, which is part of metropolitan Japan, could have a serious effect on the enemy's morale. And there is a strategic motive: from Iwo Jima American long-range fighters will be able to reach Japan and escort bombers there, and the bombers too will find it helpful to have a staging-post on the long route they have to cover to carry out their frequent missions against Japan.

Air Operations, Bonin Islands

Task Force 58 aircraft mount morning and afternoon sweeps against Haha Jima and Chichi Jima.

Air Operations, CBI

• Nearly 100 10th Air Force P-47s and 459th Fighter Squadron P-38s attack troops, dumps, and targets of opportunity across Japanese-occupied Burma.
• 44 P-47s support Allied ground forces at Mongmit.
• 13 P-38s attack a bridge at Mong Long.
• 8 P-47s support Allied ground forces near Namhsan.

• 34 14th Air Force P-51s attack rail targets at Puchi and Tsingtao.
• 30 fighter-bombers attack rail and river traffic at numerous locations.

Air Operations, East Indies

XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Jesselton airfield on Borneo and supply dumps and Japanese Army ground troops on Borneo.

Air Operations, Europe

900 B-17s blast the passenger station and the marshalling yards in Nuremburg. 700 escorts strafe locomotives, rolling stock and parked aircraft. 23 planes are lost.

• An RCM sortie is flown by a Halifax.

• 514 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 3, 6 and 8 Groups attack Dortmund in Bomber Command's last large-scale raid on this target. The intention of this raid is to destroy the southern half of Dortmund and Bomber Command claims that this was achieved.
• 14 Lancasters are lost.
• 173 aircraft inlcuding 156 Halifaxes, 11 Mosquitos and 6 Lancasters of Nos. 4 and 8 Groups attack the Rhenania Ossag refinery in the Reisholz district of Düsseldorf. The raid is accurate and it is later established that all oil production was halted.
• 4 Halifaxes and 1 Lancaster are lost.
• 128 aircraft of Nos. 6 and 8 Groups attack the Rhenania Ossag refinery at Monheim with similar results to the Reisholz raid. In the aircraft total are 112 Halifaxes, 10 Mosquitos and 6 Lancasters.
• 2 Halifaxes are lost
• 154 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitos of No. 5 Group are ordered to attack the Mittelland Canal near Gravenhorst, but the raid is ordered to be abandoned by the Master Bomber because the area is covered by cloud.
• There are no losses.

• Diversionary and 91 aircraft from Heavy Conversion Units make a sweep over the North Sea, 66 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin and 16 to Mannheim, 6 aircraft are on Resistance operations, and there are 45 Mosquito patrols and 65 RCM sorties.
• 1 aircraft, type unknown, of No. 100 Group is lost.

Air Operations, Formosa

• Weathered out of their assigned target, 63 38th and 345th Medium Bomb group B-25s bomb and strafe the town area at Choshu.
• V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack numerous rail targets thoughout the island.

Air Operations, Philippines

FEAF B-24s attack Puerto Princesa, Palawan and underground installations on Corregidor.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

• Supported by US surface warships and hundreds of attack and combat-support sorties by Task Force 58 and Task Group 52.2 carrier aircraft during the morning, V Marine Amphibious Corps ground troops overrun the Motoyama Airfield No. 1 on Iwo Jima. Worsening weather curtails all combat flight operations by the afternoon.
• In all throughout the day, US carrier aircraft mount 545 effective sorties in 27 separate missions against Iwo Jima.

Atomic Research

US scientists and engineers working at the K-25 uranium plant at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, now have enough Uranium 235 to produce an atomic bomb.

Eastern Front

The Germans continue with their counterattacks in Hungary between Lake Balaton and Lake Venencei. There is bitter fighting between Székesfehérvár and Dunaföldvar. The German divisions also counterattack from the south across the Drava. The German 8th Army contains Russian pressure in the Esztergom area, on the Danube northwest of Budapest.

There are local actions on the other fronts, in Silesia, East Prussia and northern Latvia.

The Soviet forces are now moving northward into German Pomerania on a 200-mile front. The German forces opposing them are from Himmler's Army Group Vistula, and his incompetence has contributed to their plight.

The Germans have re-opened a route out of Königsberg, allowing 100,000 civilians to flee west to Pillau, although they have to run the gauntlet of Soviet artillery and ground-attack aircraft as they do so.

The defenders of Breslau attempt to break out but are stopped by the Soviet 6th Army, suffering heavy losses.

The I SS Panzer Corps continues to pressure the 7th Guards Army in the Hron bridgehead, and the German 6th Army attacks the 3rd Ukrainian Front between Lakes Balaton and Velencei. The German 8th Army around Esztergom is attacked by the Soviet 46th Army.[MORE]

Air Operations, CBI

• More than 100 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack numerous targets throughout Japanese-occupied areas.
• 16 P-47s support Allied ground forces around Namhsan.
• 15 P-47s support Allied ground forces around Mongmit.

• 21 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s and 12 14th Air Force P-51s attack Taiyuan.
• 2 B-25s and 12 P-40s attack Yoyang.
• Nearly 100 fighter-bombers attack numerous targets across southern and eastern China.

Air Operations, East Indies

• XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Kudat and Sandakan airfields on Borneo.
• V Bomber Command A-20s attack Jeselton, Borneo and the airfield there.

Air Operations, Europe

• 1 Halifax flies an RCM sortie.

• 362 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 6 and 8 Groups are sent to Duisburg. This is a successful area-bombing raid and much damage is caused. No other details are available. This is the last major Bomber Command raid on Duisburg.
• 7 Lancasters are lost and 3 more crash behind Allied lines in Europe.
• 349 aircraft including 288 Halifaxes, 36 Lancasters and 25 Mosquitos are sent to Worms. This is the first and only large Bomber Command raid on Worms. The raid is an area attack in which 1,116 tons of bombs are accurately dropped. A post-war survey estimated that 39 per cent of the town's built-up area was destroyed.
• 10 Halifaxes and 1 Lancaster are lost.
• 165 Lancasters and 12 Mosquitos of No. 5 Group again attempt to breach the Mittelland Canal near Gravenhorst. Visibility is clear and the attack is successful. Bomber Command claims that the canal was rendered '100 per cent unserviceable'.
• 9 Lancasters are lost and 4 crash in France and Holland. One of the Lancasters which crashes in Holland is piloted by Group Captain A. C. Evans-Evans, DFC, the station commander at Coningsby, flying a No. 83 Squadron aircraft. The Lancaster is shot down by a German fighter and crashes near Eindhoven. One of the gunners is the only survivor.

• 77 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin and 5 to Bremen, 28 aircraft are involved in Resistance operations, and there are 35 Mosquito patrols and 66 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

Air Operations, Philippines

• 63 FEAF B-24s attack Japanese Army ground defenses and Japanese-held caves near Fort Stotsenburg at distances of only 1,000 yards from US Army ground troops.
• V Bomber Command B-25s and A-20s, and V Fighter Command P-38s attack Basco.
• P-47s attack Corregidor and road targets.
• P-40s support US 6th Army ground forces on Corregidor and at Marikina and San Mateo.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

• Intense air and naval gunfire support precedes a major ground assault by V Marine Amphibious Corps units.
     Between approximately 1645 and 2030 hours, an estimated 50 Japanese kamikaze aircraft arriving from the Tokyo area in several waves by way of Hachojo Jima in the northern Bonin Islands penetrate the US Navy combat air patrol and attack the US vessels arrayed off Iwo Jima. The USS Saratoga is struck by 3 kamikazes and a bomb shortly after 1700 hours, and by yet another bomb at about 1845 hours. Losses are 123 killed and missing, and 192 wounded, plus the destruction of 42 Night Carrier Air Group 53 aircraft in fires and water landings. As soon as her fires are under control, the venerable Saratoga departs for Eniwetok Atoll on her way to the United States. The escort carrier USS Lunga Point is slightly damaged by a kamikaze at about 1830 hours. At 1900 hours, 1 kamikaze strikes the escort carrier USS Bismarck Sea, setting off uncontrollable fires fed by fueled aircraft that result in the carrier’s loss following an enormous explosion. Of a complement of 943, 318 of her crewmen and airmen are lost. A cargo ship and an LST are also damaged by kamikazes. No lives are lost aboard the LST, but 17 are killed and 44 are wounded aboard the cargo ship. In the end, all of the attacking aircraft are destroyed, almost entirely by anti-aircraft fire.
• VF(N)-53 F6Fs down 4 A6M Zeros at sea at 1650 hours and a VF-4 F6F downs a D4Y 'Judy' dive bomber near Chichi Jima at 1750 hours.

Burma

The 17th Indian Division and supporting tank units begin to break out of IV Corps' bridgehead at Myaungu and advance toward Meiktila. The Japanese know of the presence of British units in this area, but do no realize such strong forces are involved because the advance to IV Corps has been well disguised.

Farther north troops of the British XXXIII Corps step up their efforts to attract the main Japanese forces when the British 2nd Division crosses the Irrawaddy near Ngazun to link with 20th Indian Division who already have a bridgehead near there. Farther north still the British 36th Division take Myitson.

Eastern Front

After days of heavy fighting the 8th Guards Army makes limited gains in the German defenses around Posen.

Air Operations, CBI

• Nearly 100 10th Air Force fighter-bombers attack troops, artillery, motor vehicles, pack animals, supplies and other targets in areas close to active battle fronts.
• 29 P-47s support Allied ground forces in the Namhsan area.
• 11 P-47s provide close support for Allied ground troops around Mongmit.
• During the night, 427th Night Fighter Squadron P-61s mount the first in an ongoing series of intruder and heckler missions against troops, road traffic, and airfields.

• 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack convoys in the Hengyang area.
• 19 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack occupied villages and road, rail, and river traffic, especially between Hankow and Nanking.
• 10 38th Medium Bomb Group B-25s, organized into two-plane elements, attack a Japanese convoy composed of 4 merchant vessels and 4 escorts in the South China Sea. 1 destroyer is sunk and a freighter is left in burning condition.

Air Operations, East Indies

XIII Bomber Command B-24s attack supply dumps and Japanese Army ground troops on Borneo and the Labuan and Tarakan airfields there.

Air Operations, Europe

In Operation CLARION, whose objective is to cut transportation lines in central Germany and isolate the western Front, 9,000 Allied bombers and fighters from bases in England, France, Belgium, Holland and Italy attack rail and road targets over 647,497 sq km of the Reich. The 8th Air Force alone attacks 30 targets, including Lüneberg, Halberstadt, Ludwislust and Göttingen.

• 167 Lancasters of No. 3 Group in forces of 85 and 82 aircraft are sent to oil refineries at Gelsenkirchen and Osterfeld. A Film Unit Lancaster of No. 463 Squadron, No. 5 Group, accompanies the Gelsenkirchen force. Both targets are accurately bombed in clear weather conditions.
• 1 Lancaster is lost on the Gelsenkirchen raid.

• 73 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin, 6 to Bremen, 4 to Erfurt and 3 on 'siren tours' to various towns in Germany, 35 Lancasters are sent to the railway viaducts at Altenbeken and Bielefeld, 19 aircraft make Resistance flights, and there are 23 Mosquito patrols and 48 RCM sorties.
• 1 Mosquito from the Erfurt crashes in Belgium.

Air Operations, Philippines

• 100 FEAF B-24s attack Japanese Army ground defenses and Japanese-held caves near Fort Stotsenburg at distances of only 1,000 yards from US 6th Army ground troops, and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack the same targets with napalm, high-explosive bombs, and machine guns.
• B-24s attack supplies near Baguio.
• V Bomber Command A-20s attack troops in the Baguio area.

• V Fighter Command P-47s attack Japanese-occupied areas of Corregidor.
• P-51s attack Angin and Marikina.
• Under guidance of a US Marine Corps air liaison party attached to Filipino guerillas on Luzon, 308th Bomb Wing light bombers begin direct-support operations in behalf of guerilla units. In this case, the Marine air liaison party’s first assignment is bringing 12 A-20s on target at the Japanese-held port of San Fernando, Luzon. Para-frag bombs are dropped with great accuracy, as are 500-pound bombs dropped in a follow-up strike by 1st Marine Aircraft Wing SBDs. As a result of the air support, guerrilla gains on the ground are considerable.

Air Operations, Volcano Islands

• Task Group 52.2 TBMs and FMs provide support for US V Marine Amphibious Corps ground forces on Iwo Jima.
• During morning searches for ditched aircrews from the damaged USS Saratoga, 2 VT(N)-90 are downed by friendly fire. 1 crew is rescued, but the other 3 airmen are lost.

Battle of the Atlantic

On February 17 U-300 attacks Convoy UGS-2 and torpedoes two ships, the British Regent Lion (9551t) and the American Michael J. Stone (7176t). Two days later the U-boat is attacked by the British armed yacht Evadne and badly damaged. Temporary repairs are made in Tangier Bay. On the 22nd U-300 sights a convoy of LSTs. One Gnat is fired but misses. When escorts turn toward the submarine, it surfaces and is abandoned.