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Second World War History > 1945 WW2 Events Timeline

1945 WW2 Events Timeline

1945 proves no less bloody as the German Empire falls, followed later by the conquering of the Empire of Japan.

Authored By Staff Writer

Total 1945 WW2 Events: 87

1945
Monday
January 1st

Weeks of fighting see German forces destroyed, taken prisoner or sent packing as the Allies regroup and respond.

1945
Saturday
January 6th

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the west coordinates via telegram with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in the east on launching a combined January offensive. Churchill plans on the 20th as the target date.

1945
Sunday
January 7th

Stalin moves the offensive launch date forward to January 12th.

1945
Friday
January 12th

The Red Army enacts a massive offensive against German foes along the East Front. His targets are German Army Group A and Army Group Center located in East Prussia and Poland. The battle line is a long running front from the Lithuanian coast down to the Balkans region.

1945
Friday
January 12th

The Red Army offensive is spear-headed by the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Belorussian Fronts as well as the 1st Baltic Front joined by the 1st Ukrainian Front.

1945
Sunday
January 14th

Initial thrusts by the Soviet Army prove positive against the German defense.

1945
Tuesday
January 16th

Adoph Hitler reorders his forces, weakening key areas of defense, to attempt a flanking manuever against the Red Army near Poznan.

1945
Wednesday
January 17th

Soviet forces engage German foes in East Prussia with gains being made towards Danzig and Konigsberg.

1945
Wednesday
January 17th

The Polish capital city of Warsaw officially falls to the advancing Soviet Army.

1945
Saturday
January 20th

Hitler orders his 6th SS Panzer Army out of the Ardennes forrest on the West Front towards Budapest, Hungary in the east.

1945
Monday
January 22nd

Soviet General Konev and his 1st Ukranian Front cross the Oder River at Steinau.

1945
Thursday
January 25th

Hitler reorganizes his forces under the new names of Army Group North, Army Group Center and Army Group Vistula.

1945
Thursday
February 1st

German forces at Kustrin derail any further Soviet advance towards Berlin. General Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front is halted.

1945
Saturday
February 3rd

General Zhukov and his 1st Belorussian Front combine forces with General Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front along the Oder River near Kustrin.

1945
Saturday
February 3rd

The Soviet front lines total some 50 miles along the Oder River by this time.

1945
Monday
February 5th

Soviet Army forces begin to cross the Oder River into Germany.

1945
Wednesday
February 7th

The German loss of life is a staggering 82,000 men, matched only by the 77,000 casualties suffered by the American Army.

1945
Wednesday
February 7th

By this date, all of the German gains of the Ardennes Offensive have been erased.

1945
Tuesday
February 13th

805 RAF bombers level the German city of Dresden, killing up to 130,000 of its inhabitants. The attack is notable for Dresden held little to no military or strategic value for Germany.

1945
Thursday
February 15th

The German city of Breslau is surrounded by Soviet troops.

1945
Thursday
February 22nd

Poznan falls to the Soviet Army after the defending German troops surrender.

1945
Saturday
February 24th

General Konev's 1st Ukranian Front claims Lower Silesia.

1945
Friday
March 16th

From Hungary, Soviet Army groups begin their offensive into Austria along the Danube River. The target is Vienna.

1945
Saturday
March 24th

In preparation for the amphibious assault landings on the island of Okinawa, US Naval elements begin bombardment of shoreline positions.

1945
Saturday
March 24th

The US 77th Infantry Division lands at the Kerama Islands to secure a staging post for the eventual invasion of Okinawa.

1945
Thursday
March 29th

Further landings of US forces on the Kerama Islands, complete its capture for the Allies.

1945
Saturday
March 31st

The US Navy lobs some 30,000 explosive shells on the Okinawa coastline by this time, ending a week of bombardment.

1945
Saturday
March 31st

The Soviet Front gains tremendous ground since the start of the offensive back in January. Forces are a mere 50 miles from Berlin.

1945
Saturday
March 31st

Preparations for the final battle of Berlin are made.

1945
Sunday
April 1st - April 30th

The USN is credited with sinking four German U-boats in what turns out to be the last recorded combat actions in the Atlantic Theater of War.

1945
Sunday
April 1st - April 31st

The final raid, this by American medium bombers, is launched against Schweinfurt.

1945
Sunday
April 1st

Two US Army and USMC divisions land along the southwest coast of Okinawa near Hagushi, meeting little resistance. The US 10th Army is commanded by Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner. Some 550,000 personnel and 180,000 soldiers take part in the fray.

1945
Thursday
April 5th

Allied forces find and locate the Japanese defenders along the southern portion of Okinawa. Heavy defenses are noted.

1945
Friday
April 6th

As American forces move further inland, the battle for Okinawa intensifies. Pockets of dug-in Japanese defenders become evermore concentrated the more inland the Allied forces go.

1945
Friday
April 6th

American forces are now amassed as two separate assault fronts. To the north are the 1st and 6th Marine divisions. To the mountainous south are the 7th and 96th Infantry divisions.

1945
Friday
April 6th

The IJN Yamato, Japan's pride and joy and the largest battleship ever built, sails from the Inland Sea on a suicide mission at Okinawa. She is escorted by the light cruiser Yahagi and some eight destroyers on her final voyage.

1945
Friday
April 6th

The deadly kamikaze air attack is unleashed on American Naval vessels in the Pacific. These aircraft appear as coordinated airstrikes and prove equally deadly to both sides. USN vessels off the coast of Okinawa itself are targeted. Some 34 US Navy ships fall victim.

1945
Saturday
April 7th

In the early morning hours, US Navy reconnaissance aircraft spot the IJN Yamato and relay her position.

1945
Saturday
April 7th

The IJN Yamato, having already been spotted by an American submarine, makes its way to the fighting at Okinawa. The crew understand that this is a suicide mission at this point in the war.

1945
Saturday
April 7th

Task Force 38 launches some 380 aircraft against IJN Yamato.

1945
Saturday
April 7th

With no air cover, the IJN Yamato is blasted to pieces by the American Navy warplanes. Her magazine stores explode in a fantastic display as she goes up in smoke. Most of her crew is lost with the ship in the afternoon hours.

1945
Tuesday
April 10th

The American 27th Infantry Division lands at Tsugen. The island is just to the east of Okinawa proper.

1945
Wednesday
April 11th

The conquest of Tsugen is completed by the 27th Infantry Division.

1945
Friday
April 13th

US Marines reach Hedo Point in the north of Okinawa.

1945
Monday
April 16th

The Soviet Army begins its Berlin campaign with spectacular display of artillery, exploding targets throughout Berlin and its surrounding areas. The bombardment signals the beginning of the offensive to take the German capital.

1945
Monday
April 16th

A five-day offensive is undertaken involving the American 77th Infantry Division and the island of Ie Shima. Ie Shima represents the tip of the Motobu Peninsula. Motobu is a defensive Japanese stronghold located to the west of Okinawa proper.

1945
Thursday
April 19th

Japanese defenders are pushed back towards Naha by American forces. The Japanese defensive lines are reset as territory is lost. The Americans report 1,000 casualties in their assaults.

1945
Monday
April 20th

Adolph Hitler celebrates his final (56th) birthday, seemingly unaware of the fate to befall him and his Germany.

1945
Monday
April 20th

Soviet Army groups advance against German defenses at the Oder River.

1945
Friday
April 20th

Motobu Peninsula falls to the Americans as the Japanese defenders are either killed or captured.

1945
Tuesday
April 21st

General Zhukov and his 1st Belorussian army break into the Berlin suburbs.

1945
Saturday
April 21st

The offensive to take Ie Shima is completed.

1945
Wednesday
April 22nd

Soviet leader Stalin sends his final assault orders to generals Zhukov and Koniev.

1945
Thursday
April 23rd

The Berlin suburbs gradually fall under Soviet control as fighting rages on everywhere.

1945
Friday
April 24th

The British Royal Air Force slow down the 12th Army offensive through intense bombing.

1945
Friday
April 24th

German General Wenck of the 12th Army launches a futile counter-offensive against the Soviet onslaught.

1945
Saturday
April 25th

All access points west of the German capital are cutt off by Soviet forces.

1945
Saturday
April 25th

Over 2 million Berlin civilians hunker down for the violent fighting ahead.

1945
Saturday
April 25th

Elements of the 5th Guards Army reach the Elbe River at Torgau and celebrate with the arriving US 1st Army.

1945
Saturday
April 25th

Some 30,000 German soldiers ready themselves for the bloody business of the day.

1945
Saturday
April 25th

The 1st Belorussian Front meets up with the st Ukranian Front, formally encircling Berlin.

1945
Sunday
April 26th

Twin Soviet offensives break the final defensive fronts of the Germans.

1945
Sunday
April 26th

Soviet forces advance towards Unter den Linden.

1945
Sunday
April 26th

Soviet forces advance across the Spree River.

1945
Monday
April 27th

German soldiers set up defensive areas across a small 10 mile long front for their ultimate "last stand".

1945
Monday
April 27th

The Soviet Army remains just 15 miles from the center of Berlin.

1945
Monday
April 27th

General Wenck's 12th Army is halted by the Soviet Army.

1945
Monday
April 30th

The Soviets capture the Reichstag.

1945
Monday
April 30th

German leader Adolph Hitler weds his mistress, Eva Braun, in his underground bunker under Berlin. After giving a final speech to his remaining supporters, he poisons his dog, then Braun and ultimately takes his own life. In his will, he leaves his authority to Admiral Doenitz.

1945
Monday
April 30th

The bodies of Adolph Hitler and Eva Braun are taken to the Chancellery Gardens and incinerated under previous orders from Hitler, this to avoid capture and ultimate humiliation at the hands of the progressing Soviet Army.

1945
Tuesday
May 1st

German propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels murders his wife and six children before taking his own life.

1945
Tuesday
May 1st

Berlin formally and unconditionally surrenders to the Soviet legions and Western Allies. General Jodl signs for the defeated Germans and Generals Bedell Smith and Suslaparov for the Allies.

1945
Tuesday
May 1st

By May of 1945, the U-boat scourge in the Atlantic is over, completing one of the more important battles in all of World War 2.

1945
Tuesday
May 1st

German Generaloberst Hans Krebs approaches Chuikov with the formal German surrender.

1945
Tuesday
May 1st

General Chuikov makes his way into the center of Berlin.

1945
Tuesday
May 1st

Soviet artillery opens up once again, this time in a massive barrage against the Chancellery and surrounding areas.

1945
Tuesday
May 1st - May 31st

The last Artic Convoy voyage - with the designation of JW67 - between Britian and Russia is completed.

1945
Wednesday
May 2nd

The war in Europe officially comes to a close.

1945
Wednesday
May 2nd

German forces across Berlin begin surrendering.

1945
Wednesday
May 2nd

The Fall of Berlin is complete - Soviet forces occupy all major sections of the German capital.

1945
Friday
May 4th

The Japanese enact a major offensive in the south of Okinawa. A coast-to-coast defensive front is established from Naha to Yonabaru. Regardless, the line is targeted by prolonged American firepower and infantry.

1945
Tuesday
May 8th

This day is formally announced as "VE Day" and celebrations break out across the world, though fighting in the Pacific against the Japanese Empire is ongoing.

1945
Sunday
May 27th

Naha is officially captured by American forces. The Orouku Peninsula to the south is now within reach.

1945
Sunday
June 17th

By this time, the Japanese defenders have been seperated into three major fighting groups. The more raw recruits find it somewhat easy to surrender than fight to the death.

1945
Friday
June 22nd

The Battle of Okinawa officially draws to a close and now represents the all-important staging area for the Allied invasion of the Japanese mainland.

1945
Friday
June 22nd

The fighting on Okinawa comes to a close as American forces overwhelm the islands determined Japanese defenders. Those that are not taken prisoner or die in the fighting, subject themselves to ritual suicides.

1945
Friday
June 22nd

Understanding that defeat is iminent, Japanese Lieutenant General Mitsuru Ushjima commits ritual suicide with his staff after reporting the loss of Okinawa to his superiors.

Second World War History

1939:

• German Invasion of Poland
• Battle of the River Plate
• The Atlantic Theater
• Winter War: Soviet Invasion of Finland

1940:

• German Invasion of France
• The RAF Bombing Campaign
• Rescue at Dunkirk
• The Battle of Britain
• Operation Compass
• Operation Judgement
• The Balkans Invasion

1941:

• Sink the Bismarck!
• The Invasion of Crete
• Operation Barbarossa
• The Arctic Convoys
• The Siege of Leningrad
• The Battle of Sevastopol
• Soviet Offensive - Battle for Russia
• The Attack on Pearl Harbor
• Japanese Conquest of the Pacific

1942:

• Kharkov
• Operation Blue
• The Battle of Coral Sea
• From Gazala to Tobruk
• The Battle of Midway
• Operation Jubilee
• The Battle of El Alamein
• Guadalcanal
• The Solomon Islands
• Operation Torch
• Kokoda Trail
• Stalingrad

1943:

• Kasserine Pass
• The Schweinfurt Raids
• Kursk
• Operation Husky
• Battle of Tarawa

1944:

• The Landings at Anzio
• Monte Cassino
• "Big Week"
• D-Day: The Invasion of Normandy
• The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot
• Operation Bagration
• Beyond Normandy
• The Warsaw Uprising
• Operation Market Garden
• The Battle of the Bulge

1945:

• The Push to the Oder River
• Battle of Okinawa
• The Fall of Berlin

EVENTS BY WAR YEAR:

• 1939
• 1940
• 1941
• 1942
• 1943
• 1944
• 1945

EVENTS BY DAY OF THE WEEK:

• Sunday
• Monday
• Tuesday
• Wednesday
• Thursday
• Friday
• Saturday

MISC:

• Pearl Harbor Speech Text
• WW2 War Posters
• WW2 Quotes
• WW2 Statistics

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