March 1945

March

• 01

  • Saudi Arabia declares war on GermanyOn 1 March 1945 Saudi Arabia declared war on Germany and Japan. Ibn Saud met the deadline on its final day, securing a place among the founders of the UN.
• 03

  • The end of the Battle of ManilaOn 3 March 1945 the Americans took the Finance Building, the last centre of resistance in Manila. A month of fighting cost the lives of some 100,000 civilians.
  • The capture of MeiktilaOn 3 March 1945 the 17th Indian Division and 255th Tank Brigade took Meiktila, the Japanese supply hub in Burma. Fighting for it went on until late March.
  • The bombing of BezuidenhoutOn 3 March 1945 RAF bombers sent to destroy V-2 sites in The Hague bombed the Bezuidenhout district by mistake. More than 500 civilians were killed.
  • Finland declares war on GermanyOn 3 March 1945 Paasikivi’s government recorded that Finland had been at war with Germany since 15 September 1944. There was no formal declaration of war.
• 06

  • Operation Frühlingserwachen beginsOn 6 March 1945 the Germans attacked at Lake Balaton in the last great offensive of the war, aiming to protect Hungarian oil and reach the Danube.
• 07

  • Key eventThe bridge at RemagenOn 7 March 1945 men of the US 9th Armored Division captured the intact Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen and established the first bridgehead across the Rhine.
• 08

  • The execution of Karl HultenOn 8 March 1945 Karl Hulten, a US Army deserter, was hanged at Pentonville for murdering a London cab driver – the notorious “Cleft Chin Murder”.
• 09

  • Key eventThe Tokyo raid of 9–10 MarchOn the night of 9–10 March 1945, 279 B-29s firebombed eastern Tokyo. The firestorm killed 80,000–100,000 people – the deadliest air raid in history.
  • The Japanese coup in IndochinaOn 9 March 1945 the Japanese overthrew the French administration of Indochina and disarmed its army. On 11 March Emperor Bảo Đại proclaimed Vietnam independent.
• 10

  • Fu-Go balloons over HanfordOn 10 March 1945 a Japanese Fu-Go balloon fell on a high-voltage line in Washington State, briefly shutting down the Hanford plutonium reactors.
• 11

  • The incendiary raid on NagoyaOn the night of 11–12 March 1945 nearly 300 B-29s bombed Nagoya, burning out 5 km² of the city – the second of five March incendiary raids on Japan.
• 15

  • The last months of the V-2In mid-March 1945 V-2 rockets were still falling on London and Antwerp. The bombardment stopped only at the end of the month, as the Allies crossed the Rhine.
• 16

  • The end of Operation FrühlingserwachenOn 15 March 1945 the German offensive at Lake Balaton stalled, and on 16 March the Red Army set off for Vienna. The SS divisions barely escaped encirclement.
  • The end of the fighting on Iwo JimaOn 16 March 1945 the Americans declared organised resistance on Iwo Jima over. The last Japanese attack was beaten off on 26 March; mopping up lasted months.
• 19

  • The strike on Kure and USS FranklinOn 18–21 March 1945 Mitscher’s carriers struck Kyushu, Kure and Kobe; on 19 March two bombs nearly destroyed USS Franklin, killing 724–807 men.
• 20

  • Heinrici replaces HimmlerOn 20 March 1945 Hitler gave command of Army Group Vistula to General Gotthard Heinrici, a master of defence, in place of Himmler, to hold the Oder.
  • The liberation of MandalayOn 20 March 1945 the 19th Indian Division took Fort Dufferin, the last point of Japanese resistance in Mandalay. The royal palace burned in the fighting.
  • The capture of MainzOn 20 March 1945 infantry of Patton’s Third Army reached the hills above Mainz. The ruined city fell on 22 March as German defence west of the Rhine collapsed.
• 21

  • Operation CarthageOn 21 March 1945 RAF Mosquitos bombed the Gestapo HQ in Copenhagen. The files burned and 18 prisoners escaped, but bombs hit a school, killing 86 children.
• 22

  • The crossing at OppenheimOn the night of 22–23 March 1945 infantry of Patton's Third Army quietly crossed the Rhine in boats at Nierstein and Oppenheim, with no artillery preparation.
• 23

  • Operation PlunderOn the night of 23–24 March 1945 Montgomery's 21st Army Group forced the lower Rhine at Rees and Wesel. Germany was now under attack from almost every side.
• 24

  • Operation VarsityOn 24 March 1945 the British 6th and US 17th Airborne Divisions landed beyond the Rhine north of Wesel – the largest single-day airborne drop in history.
• 27

  • Eisenhower gives up BerlinAt the end of March 1945 Eisenhower decided that the Allies' main objective was not Berlin but Leipzig and Dresden. He left the Reich's capital to the Red Army.
  • Argentina declares war on the AxisOn 27 March 1945 General Farrell’s government declared war on Japan and Germany, abandoning neutrality under US pressure to secure a place in the new order.
• 29

  • The Deutsch Schützen massacreOn 29 March 1945 at Deutsch Schützen in Burgenland the SS shot at least 57 Hungarian Jews – forced labourers building fortifications.
  • The Red Army enters AustriaOn 29 March 1945 tanks of the 3rd Ukrainian Front crossed Austria's old border at Klostermarienberg in Burgenland. The road to Vienna lay open.
  • The capture of Frankfurt am MainOn 29 March 1945 Third Army troops completed the capture of ruined Frankfurt am Main. From their Rhine bridgeheads the Allies were driving deep into Germany.
• 30

  • Key eventThe capture of DanzigOn 30 March 1945 the 2nd Belorussian Front and Polish tank crews took Gdańsk. The Main Town lay in ruins, much of it burned after the fighting had ended.
• 31

  • Eisenhower's appeal to the GermansOn 31 March 1945 Eisenhower called on Wehrmacht soldiers to stop fighting and on forced labourers to leave the factories and railway junctions.