The Second World War - 1945 Day by Day

JANUARY

1ST- Western front: Alsace: Himmler launches a powerful offensive on Lorraine and Lower Alsace, surprising the 7th American Army. Operation Bodenplatte: The Luftwaffe attacks air bases in France, Belgium, and Holland, surprising the Allies. 465 planes are destroyed on the ground, and the Germans lose 364 of the 800 employees. It will be the last great attack of the Luftwaffe. Chenogne Massacre: Americans execute a group of German prisoners in retaliation for the December 17 massacre. The USAF bombs the Dollbergen and Magdeburg refineries and the Rhine bridges with 845 bombers. The RAF attacks the Dortmund-Ems Canal, Gravenhorst, and the Dortmund refinery. Italy: The Allies capture the city of Barga. In East Prussia, the Germans begin evacuating two million civilians and military by sea in the face of the imminent invasion by Soviet troops. Moscow: Stalin is appointed marshal. Asia: The Japanese leave Burma isolated without provisions and withdraw to the mountainous jungles on the other side of the Salouen River. The Americans bomb Tokyo.

2- The head of the Allied fleet, Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, dies in a plane crash near Paris. The US Army III counterattacks in the Ardennes. A jet aircraft unit is created, commanded by fighter ace Adolf Galland. British aviation bombs Nuremberg and Ludwigshafen. The USAF bombs Rhine bridges and other industrial targets in western Germany. Hungary: German troops arrive in Budapest, attacking Russian positions...