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The following events occurred in March 1945:

March 1, 1945 (Thursday)

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March 2, 1945 (Friday)

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March 3, 1945 (Saturday)

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March 4, 1945 (Sunday)

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March 5, 1945 (Monday)

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March 6, 1945 (Tuesday)

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March 7, 1945 (Wednesday)

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March 8, 1945 (Thursday)

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March 9, 1945 (Friday)

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March 10, 1945 (Saturday)

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March 11, 1945 (Sunday)

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March 12, 1945 (Monday)

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  • The Soviet 1st Belorussian Front took Küstrin.[14]
  • Santa Fe riot: Four internees at a Japanese internment camp near Santa Fe, New Mexico were seriously wounded after a scuffle broke out between internees and Border Patrol agents guarding the facility that resulted in the use of tear gas and batons.
  • Benito Mussolini escaped injury when an Allied fighter plane strafed his convoy of cars near Lake Garda.[12]
  • German submarine U-260 struck a mine and was scuttled south of Ireland.
  • Died: Friedrich Fromm, 56, German army officer (executed by the Nazis by firing squad for failing to act against the 20 July bomb plot)

March 13, 1945 (Tuesday)

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March 14, 1945 (Wednesday)

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March 15, 1945 (Thursday)

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March 16, 1945 (Friday)

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March 17, 1945 (Saturday)

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March 18, 1945 (Sunday)

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  • An air battle was fought in the skies over Berlin when 1,329 Allied bombers and 700 long-range fighters were met by the Luftwaffe using the new Me 262s and air-to-air rockets. The U.S. Eighth Air Force lost six Mustangs and 13 bombers while the Luftwaffe only lost two planes in return despite being outnumbered 32 to 1. However, the Allies still dropped 3,000 tons of bombs in the heaviest daylight raid on Berlin of the war.[7][26]
  • The Battle of Kolberg ended in Soviet and Polish victory.
  • The Battle of the Ligurian Sea was fought between British and German naval forces in the Gulf of Genoa. The Germans lost two torpedo boats and had a destroyer damaged while the British took light damage to one destroyer in return.
  • The Battle of the Visayas began in the Philippines.
  • All schools and universities in Tokyo were closed and everyone over the age of six was ordered to do war work.[18]
  • German submarine U-866 was depth charged and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean by American destroyer escorts.
  • Two days of parliamentary elections concluded in Finland. The Social Democratic Party of Finland lost 35 seats but maintained a one-seat plurality over the new Finnish People's Democratic League.

March 19, 1945 (Monday)

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  • The aircraft carrier USS Franklin was bombed and heavily damaged off the Japanese mainland by Japanese aircraft, killing more than 800 crew.
  • Hitler issued the Nero Decree, ordering the destruction of German infrastructure to prevent their use by Allied forces. Albert Speer and the army chiefs strongly resisted this and conspired to delay the order's implementation.[15]
  • All remaining U-boats in the Baltic Sea were withdrawn and transferred to the west.[27]
  • The Battle of Bacsil Ridge was fought between Japanese and Filipino forces, resulting in Filipino victory.
  • In Burma, the 19th Indian Division captured Mandalay while the British 36th Division took Mogok.[17]
  • The Soviet Union notified Turkey that their non-aggression pact signed in 1925 would not be renewed after it expired in November.[27] Turkey responded by rejecting Soviet demands for territorial concessions and a revision of the Montreux Convention.[28]

March 20, 1945 (Tuesday)

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March 21, 1945 (Wednesday)

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  • The Japanese deployed the first Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka suicide aircraft, slung under 16 Betty bombers that were part of a group sent to attack the American fleet off Okinawa. The flight was a disaster for the Japanese when the group was intercepted by American fighters a full 60 miles (97 km) from the American task force, and all the bombers were shot down. American pilots noted that the Bettys were flying unusually slow and carrying an unusual payload, but the significance of this was not realized at the time.[30]
  • The Battle of West Henan–North Hubei began as part of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
  • British aircraft executed Operation Carthage, an air raid on Copenhagen, Denmark. The Danish headquarters of the Gestapo was destroyed but a nearby boarding school was also hit and the raid caused a total of 125 civilian deaths.
  • The Allies executed Operation Bowler, an air attack on Venice harbour.

March 22, 1945 (Thursday)

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March 23, 1945 (Friday)

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March 24, 1945 (Saturday)

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  • As part of Operation Plunder, American, British and Canadian troops carried out Operation Varsity, an airborne drop around Wesel, Germany.
  • It was reported from Cairo that archaeologists had located the ancient Egyptian city of Heliopolis.[31]
  • Billboard magazine revised its system for tabulating a chart of the leading songs in the United States with the creation of a new composite chart called the Honor Roll of Hits, combining best-selling retail records, records most played on the air and the most played jukebox records. "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" by Johnny Mercer was the first #1 of this new chart, which would exist until being supplanted by the creation of the Hot 100 in 1958.

March 25, 1945 (Sunday)

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March 26, 1945 (Monday)

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March 27, 1945 (Tuesday)

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March 28, 1945 (Wednesday)

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March 29, 1945 (Thursday)

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March 30, 1945 (Friday)

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March 31, 1945 (Saturday)

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References

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

March 1945

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March 1945 was a decisive month in the final phase of , as Allied forces executed breakthrough offensives across and intensified aerial assaults in the Pacific, eroding Axis defenses and setting the stage for . In , Western Allied armies breached the River barrier, encircling German forces in the industrial region and advancing toward the heart of the , while Soviet troops overran and pushed westward. Concurrently, U.S. shifted to low-altitude incendiary raids on Japanese cities, culminating in the devastating of that killed nearly 100,000 civilians in a single night and rendered over one million homeless. The Western Allies' Rhine crossings marked a collapse of German resistance on the Western Front; on March 7, U.S. First Army troops captured the intact at , securing an early foothold despite subsequent destruction attempts by the , followed by coordinated British and Canadian operations Plunder and Varsity on March 23–24 that established multiple bridgeheads north of the river. These maneuvers isolated in the , where over 300,000 German soldiers would soon be trapped and compelled to surrender en masse. In the east, the Red Army's Vistula-Oder Offensive gains propelled forces to within 40 miles of by month's end, capturing after a brutal that ended on March 9. In the Pacific theater, the shift under General to nighttime firebombing tactics proved ruthlessly effective against Japan's wooden urban infrastructure; the March 9–10 raid on alone surpassed the later atomic bombings in immediate fatalities and destruction, burning out 16 square miles of the city and prompting Emperor Hirohito to question the sustainability of continued resistance. The grueling concluded on March 26, with U.S. Marines declaring the island secure after five weeks of combat that cost nearly 7,000 American lives and virtually annihilated the 21,000 Japanese defenders, securing a vital base for B-29 emergency landings and P-51 fighter escorts. These events underscored the Allies' overwhelming material and tactical superiority, rendering Axis defeat inevitable within weeks.

Overview

Strategic and Geopolitical Context

In March 1945, the confronted existential military collapse, with Nazi Germany's defenses fractured across converging fronts while Japan's imperial holdings eroded under relentless U.S. pressure. German forces, depleted by years of attrition and lacking fuel and air cover, adopted a strategy of rigid defense and localized counterattacks under Adolf Hitler's directive for , refusing any negotiated peace despite internal dissent from commanders like . The Wehrmacht's , launched on March 6 in to secure vital oil fields near , mobilized elite SS panzer divisions but faltered within days due to Soviet encirclements and Allied tactical air dominance, resulting in over 25,000 German casualties and the loss of significant armored assets. This offensive exemplified Germany's strategic desperation, prioritizing ideological holdouts over realistic withdrawal to preserve forces for a prolonged defense of the . The Western Allies, coordinated under Supreme Commander , pursued a broad-front advance to dismantle Germany's industrial base, particularly the Ruhr Valley, rather than a narrow thrust to Berlin, enabling systematic encirclement of enemy units. The opportunistic seizure of the Remagen Bridge on March 7 facilitated rapid Rhine crossings, followed by on March 23, which poured forces into northern Germany. In the east, Soviet strategy emphasized overwhelming offensives to claim territory and political leverage, with Marshal Ivan Konev's resuming advances after the January-February Vistula-Oder push, initiating the on March 16 to preempt Western influence in and secure Danube access. These movements aligned with Joseph Stalin's dual military-political aims, exploiting the Red Army's numerical superiority—over 6 million troops on the Eastern Front—to consolidate control beyond frontline necessities. Geopolitically, the February framed March's operations by dividing Germany into four occupation zones (U.S., British, French, and Soviet) and mandating free elections in Poland, though Stalin's recognition of the Soviet-backed Lublin Committee as provisional government signaled intent to install compliant regimes in , contravening democratic pledges. U.S. President defended these accords in his congressional address, highlighting their role in hastening Germany's defeat and securing Soviet entry against Japan within three months of Europe's end, in exchange for concessions like southern and the . Yet, Stalin's accelerated advances and non-compliance with repatriation protocols for liberated prisoners bred mistrust among Western leaders, foreshadowing postwar divisions as Soviet forces outpaced Allies to key cities like on April 13. In the Pacific, U.S. island-hopping doctrine prioritized bases for B-29 Superfortress raids, with Iwo Jima's capture by March 26 providing emergency fields for damaged bombers, while Yalta's Soviet pledge influenced American planning to limit communist footholds in Asia post-surrender.

Major Themes and Outcomes

In March 1945, the European theater exemplified the accelerating disintegration of Nazi Germany's military capacity under dual Allied assaults from east and west. Western Allied forces, having reached the Rhine River, executed opportunistic crossings, including the capture of the intact Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen on March 7, which facilitated rapid expansion of bridgeheads despite subsequent destruction of the structure. By mid-March, the U.S. Ninth Army advanced over 50 miles eastward, inflicting approximately 36,000 German casualties while suffering minimal losses of their own, underscoring the Wehrmacht's depleted reserves and inability to mount effective counteroffensives. Concurrently, Soviet forces consolidated gains from the January-February Vistula-Oder Offensive, conducting subsidiary operations in East Prussia and Pomerania that further eroded German lines, setting the stage for the final push to Berlin in April. A dominant theme in the Pacific was the intensification of U.S. and amphibious operations aimed at crippling Japanese infrastructure and securing forward bases for homeland invasion preparations. The of on the night of March 9-10, involving 334 B-29 Superfortresses dropping 1,665 tons of incendiaries, incinerated 16 square miles of the city, resulting in 80,000 to 130,000 civilian deaths, over 1 million injuries, and more than 1 million left homeless—the single deadliest air raid in history. This raid, part of Operation Meetinghouse, demonstrated the efficacy of low-altitude incendiary tactics against Japan's wooden urban structure, shifting from precision bombing to area destruction to erode morale and production. Meanwhile, the concluded on March 26 after five weeks of combat, with U.S. Marines securing the island at a cost of nearly 7,000 killed and 20,000 wounded against approximately 21,000 Japanese defenders killed, providing emergency landing fields and launch points for fighters escorting B-29s to . Key outcomes included irreversible strategic gains for the Allies, such as uncontested access to Germany's industrial heartland and enhanced air superiority over , which precipitated the regime's collapse in by May and prolonged attrition in the Pacific. However, these advances exacted staggering human tolls, including the Nazi-orchestrated death marches evacuating concentration camp prisoners westward ahead of Soviet advances, where tens of thousands perished from exhaustion, , exposure, and executions during forced treks in through . In total, 's operations highlighted the war's shift to unconditional Axis defeat through overwhelming material and numerical superiority, but at the expense of unprecedented civilian devastation and prisoner atrocities, reflecting the causal logic of total war where strategic imperatives overrode humanitarian constraints.

European Theater Operations

Western Allied Advances and Rhine Crossings

In early March 1945, the U.S. Ninth Army completed , which had commenced on February 23 after the receding of floods from the Roer River dams, advancing rapidly across the to reach the western bank of the River by March 7; this offensive involved over 200,000 American troops overcoming depleted German defenses in the Erft River valley and securing key terrain west of the . Concurrently, the British-led , initiated on February 8 by the First Canadian and Second British Armies, concluded its push through the Reichswald Forest and cleared remaining German positions southeastward, linking up with American forces and positioning Allied troops along much of the 's west bank by mid-March despite heavy rains turning the terrain into mud that hampered tank mobility. The opportunistic capture of the Ludendorff Railroad Bridge at on March 7 marked a pivotal breakthrough; elements of the U.S. First Army's 9th Armored Division, advancing under , surprised German engineers attempting to demolish the span, seizing it intact and establishing an initial bridgehead across the with minimal initial resistance due to communication breakdowns in the . Over the following days, American engineers reinforced the position amid fierce German counterattacks involving V-2 rockets and sorties, expanding the bridgehead to encompass over 100 square miles by March 17, when the overloaded original bridge collapsed, killing 33 U.S. personnel but not halting the flow as five pontoon bridges had been constructed upstream. U.S. forces suffered approximately 7,400 casualties in the fighting from March 7 to 24, while German losses exceeded 25,000 killed or captured, with the bridgehead's success attributed to rapid infantry-armor coordination and the erosion of coherent German command under Field Marshal . Further north, Allied commanders planned a deliberate set-piece crossing under , launched on the night of March 23–24 by Bernard Montgomery's , comprising the British Second Army and elements of the , targeting a 20-kilometer front near Rees and with amphibious assaults supported by heavy barrages from over 2,000 guns and RAF bombing. , an airborne assault on March 24, dropped two divisions—6th British and 17th U.S.—totaling 14,000 paratroopers and 1,300 gliders behind German lines to seize key bridges and disrupt reinforcements, though it incurred 1,000 Allied casualties from flak and defensive fire. By March 28, over 200,000 troops and 1,000 vehicles had crossed via pontoon bridges, collapsing German resistance in the sector and enabling the encirclement of the industrial region. These Rhine crossings in March 1945 shattered the river's role as a natural barrier, exposing the German heartland to rapid Allied exploitation and contributing to the Wehrmacht's operational collapse on the Western Front through superior logistics and overwhelming material superiority.

Soviet Offensives in the East

In March 1945, Soviet forces on the Eastern Front conducted two major offensives to eliminate German salients, secure industrial resources, and protect the flanks of the impending advance on Berlin: the in the north and the in the south. These operations followed the earlier and capitalized on German exhaustion after their failed in from 6 to 15 March. The began on 15 March, spearheaded by Marshal Ivan Konev's against elements of German Army Group Center and holding the vital industrial basin of , which produced much of Germany's coal and steel. Soviet troops, including the 21st, 60th, and 4th Guards Tank Armies, employed deep penetration tactics with massed armor and artillery to shatter German defenses around Oppeln (modern ) and Ratibor (). By 24 March, the 60th Army had linked up with forces from the 4th Ukrainian Front, encircling and destroying several German divisions; the operation concluded on 31 March with Soviet control over most of the region, though the Siege of Breslau persisted until May. German forces suffered severe attrition, with Soviet estimates claiming over 70,000 casualties, including captured personnel and destroyed equipment, while Soviet losses totaled approximately 15,000 killed and wounded. These figures, derived from frontline reports, likely understate Soviet casualties given the pattern of official underreporting in documentation. Concurrently, the Vienna Strategic Offensive Operation commenced on 16 March, involving Marshal Rodion Malinovsky's and Marshal Fyodor Tolbukhin's against German Army Group South and Hungarian remnants. Triggered by the collapse of Spring Awakening, which depleted German Panzer reserves, the Soviet assault featured over 400,000 troops, 5,000 tanks and assault guns, and massive air support to overrun defenses along the and Garam rivers. Key advances included the 6th Guards Tank Army's thrust toward and the 9th Guards Army's push into , crossing the border by 29 March. After bypassing fortified lines and encircling units near , Soviet forces entered on 8 April, capturing the city amid house-to-house fighting by 13 April. The operation extended into mid-April, clearing pockets in eastern and inflicting disproportionate losses on Axis forces, whose fragmented command and fuel shortages prevented effective counteraction. Soviet reports emphasized the destruction of 80 German divisions, though independent analyses suggest Axis casualties around 100,000, with Soviet losses exceeding 30,000; these offensives underscored the Wehrmacht's inability to mount coherent resistance, hastening the collapse of the southeastern front.

Encirclements and Defensive Battles

In the , launched on March 15, 1945, by the Soviet under Marshal , German forces faced intense pressure as Soviet troops advanced to eliminate the industrial region and prevent German counterattacks toward the Oder River. By March 22, Soviet armored units completed the encirclement of German positions around Oppeln (now ), trapping approximately 15,000 troops of the German and associated infantry divisions; subsequent assaults from March 24 to 31 resulted in heavy German casualties and the capture of key towns like Ratibor and Katscher, effectively dismantling organized resistance in the area. German defensive efforts, relying on ad hoc units and depleted panzer reserves, failed to break the ring due to inferior mobility and Soviet artillery dominance, with the operation yielding over 50,000 German prisoners by month's end. Further south, , the last major German offensive on the Eastern Front, commenced on March 6, 1945, with attempting to recapture oil refineries near in using the 6th SS Panzer Army. Initial advances stalled by March 10 amid spring thaws turning the terrain into mud, exposing German armor to Soviet anti-tank fire from the ; defensive battles intensified as Soviet forces under Marshal repelled probes, inflicting losses of over 10,000 German casualties in the first week. By , the offensive collapsed, transitioning to desperate German rearguard actions against Soviet counteroffensives that encircled isolated Kampfgruppen, destroying much of the elite SS panzer divisions through coordinated tank and infantry assaults. On the Western Front, German defensive battles during Operation Undertone from March 15 to 21 focused on delaying Allied advances through the Saar-Palatinate region, where U.S. Third and Seventh Armies, alongside the French First Army, shattered remnants of Army Group G. German units, including the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division, conducted fighting withdrawals across the Saar River, suffering encirclement threats in narrowing salients but avoiding large-scale pockets until Rhine crossings; casualties exceeded 20,000 as Allied air superiority and rapid mechanized thrusts overwhelmed fortified lines like the Siegfried defenses. These actions set the stage for the Ruhr encirclement, with U.S. Ninth Army elements reaching the Rhine by March 7 at Remagen and broader crossings on March 22, forcing German Army Group B into fragmented defenses east of the river. German attempts to hold bridgeheads and counterattack, such as at Remagen, collapsed under relentless bombardment, capturing or killing thousands in isolated engagements.

Pacific Theater Developments

Firebombing of Japanese Cities

In March 1945, the intensified its incendiary bombing campaign against Japanese urban centers, shifting from ineffective high-altitude precision strikes to low-altitude area attacks designed to ignite firestorms in wooden residential and industrial districts. Under Major General Curtis LeMay's , B-29 Superfortresses employed M-69 napalm-filled incendiary bombs, exploiting Japan's vulnerability to fire due to its construction materials and limited firefighting capacity. This approach, informed by prior tests like those at , aimed to disrupt war production and erode civilian morale by targeting densely populated areas housing workers in light industries such as woodworking and textiles. The campaign's apex was Operation Meetinghouse, a raid on executed on the night of March 9–10, 1945, involving 334 B-29s departing from Marianas bases, with 279 reaching the target after dropping pathfinder markers to guide the incendiaries. Aircraft flew at 5,000–9,000 feet, releasing 1,665 tons of bombs over a three-hour period, igniting a that consumed 16 square miles (41 km²) of the city, including over 250,000 buildings. Japanese authorities reported 83,793 confirmed deaths, though estimates range from 80,000 to 130,000 fatalities, with more than one million left homeless; the blaze's superheated winds and oxygen depletion exacerbated suffocation and burns among civilians sheltering in rivers and canals. Emboldened by Meetinghouse's success—despite losing 14 B-29s to flak and fighters—the command extended firebombing to other cities that month. On March 11–12, faced 99 B-29s dropping 1,000 tons of incendiaries, destroying 2 square miles and killing approximately 3,700. Osaka endured a larger assault on March 13–14 with 323 bombers unleashing 1,650 tons, leveling 8 square miles and causing around 10,000 deaths. followed on March 16–17, hit by 288 B-29s with 1,200 tons, burning 3 square miles and resulting in over 3,000 fatalities. These raids collectively devastated urban infrastructure, with post-strike reconnaissance confirming extensive fire damage equivalent to months of production losses in aircraft, shipping, and munitions. The March operations reflected a calculated escalation, as LeMay's tactical mission reports documented the raids' in area and psychological impact, though Japanese civil defenses—such as neighborhood brigades—proved inadequate against the scale of phosphorus and fires. By month's end, over 50% of Tokyo's built-up area and significant portions of other targeted cities lay in ruins, contributing to Japan's overall urban destruction rate exceeding 40% from the broader campaign.

Ground Campaigns in the Pacific

In March , the primary ground campaign in the Pacific Theater centered on the ongoing , where forces continued their assault against entrenched Japanese defenders following landings on February 19. The island's volcanic terrain, extensive tunnel networks, and fortified positions, including and Hills 362A and 362C, prolonged the fighting into the month's final week, with Marines employing flamethrowers, demolitions, and close-quarters combat to dislodge approximately 21,000 Japanese troops under General . By early March, the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Marine Divisions had secured key objectives, such as Hill 362C on March 7, enabling the first emergency landings of B-29 Superfortress bombers on March 4 and the arrival of the USAAF's 15th Fighter Group on March 6 to provide air support for B-29 raids on . The battle's intensity peaked with systematic clearing operations across northern , where Japanese forces conducted sporadic banzai charges and cave defenses, resulting in nearly of the garrison—only 216 prisoners were taken amid over 20,000 killed. American casualties mounted severely, with 5,931 killed and approximately 19,000 wounded by the campaign's end on 26, when the island was declared secure after a final Japanese assault on 25. These losses underscored the high cost of capturing 's airfields, which facilitated 2,400 emergency B-29 landings and fighter escorts that downed over 1,000 Japanese in subsequent months, though the strategic value for direct support remained debated given the battle's ferocity relative to the island's size. Concurrently, in the Philippines campaign, and Filipino forces concluded the Battle of on March 3, liberating the capital after two months of urban combat against Japanese holdouts who had fortified buildings and executed scorched-earth tactics, including the destruction of infrastructure and massacres of civilians. General Douglas MacArthur's Sixth had encircled and reduced Japanese pockets in the city, suffering around 1,000 American deaths and 5,500 wounded, while Filipino and civilian losses exceeded 100,000 due to atrocities and artillery exchanges. Further south, the Eighth initiated the phase on March 10 with amphibious landings by the 24th and 31st Infantry Divisions near Zamboanga and Illana Bay, targeting remaining Japanese garrisons of about 32,000 troops scattered across the island's rugged interior. These operations, involving air and naval bombardments followed by ground advances, aimed to eliminate bypassed forces and secure airfields, with initial gains against disorganized defenses but prolonged guerrilla-style resistance extending into August. Overall, March's ground actions reflected the Allies' shift toward isolating and eradicating Japanese remnants, prioritizing bases for the impending Okinawa invasion while incurring disproportionate casualties from defensive fortifications.

Civilian Impacts and Atrocities

Forced Marches and POW Treatment

In March 1945, Nazi authorities continued forced evacuations of prisoners from camps in eastern Germany and occupied Poland as Soviet forces advanced, compelling tens of thousands to march westward under brutal conditions to prevent their liberation and relocate labor resources. These death marches affected both concentration camp inmates—predominantly Jewish civilians, political prisoners, and forced laborers—and Western Allied prisoners of war (POWs) held in stalags, with guards enforcing movement through beatings, guard dogs, and summary executions of those unable to keep pace. Allied POW treatment during these marches deviated sharply from Geneva Convention protections, as overstretched German guards prioritized speed over welfare amid collapsing logistics; rations typically consisted of a quarter-loaf of and thin daily, while sub-zero temperatures, , and exacerbated outbreaks—earning the Stalag Luft IV evacuation the moniker "Black March" for its disease toll. From Stalag Luft IV near Tychowo, , approximately 10,000 mostly American airmen, evacuated starting February 6, endured 20-30 miles daily through March, covering over 400 miles by month's end, with guards shooting stragglers and abandoning the sick roadside. Similarly, 6,000 POWs from Stalag VIII-C near Sagan marched from February 8 to March 14, traversing 588 kilometers to near Bad Orb with minimal shelter, resulting in deaths from exhaustion and exposure. Across the broader series of POW evacuations involving over 80,000 Western Allied personnel initiated in January-February, an estimated 3,500 perished overall, with significant losses in March due to cumulative privations and guard brutality. Concentration camp death marches in March inflicted even higher mortality on civilian prisoners, lacking POWs' nominal legal safeguards; from Gross-Rosen and its 100+ subcamps, where 44,000 inmates—mainly —had been evacuated in February, onward treks persisted into March amid chaos, with SS units driving columns through blizzards without adequate clothing or food. At the Helmbrechts subcamp (a Gross-Rosen affiliate holding female prisoners), a 200-kilometer march concluded around March 6 near Zwodau, claiming roughly half the participants through , , and shootings, as guards left corpses unburied and executed the weakest to maintain pace. These evacuations, part of a pattern displacing 250,000-375,000 camp prisoners total from late 1944, saw 15-25% mortality across routes, with March conditions—prolonged exposure without rest—contributing thousands of additional deaths verified by survivor testimonies and Allied investigations post-liberation.

Bombing Raids and Urban Destruction

In March 1945, forces intensified bombing operations against German cities to disrupt transportation networks, industrial production, and troop movements in support of ground offensives, resulting in extensive urban devastation and heavy civilian losses. The RAF and USAAF conducted multiple large-scale raids, often employing area bombing techniques that targeted built-up areas around military-economic objectives, exacerbating the already from prior campaigns. These attacks contributed to the near-total ruin of several cities, with cumulative effects including mass displacement and thousands of deaths amid crumbling infrastructure. On March 11, the launched a raid on , focusing on the Works munitions complex, which temporarily halted production at this key armaments facility vital to the German war effort. The assault involved high-explosive and incendiary bombs dropped over the densely industrialized Ruhr Valley city, already heavily damaged from earlier raids, further demolishing factories, worker housing, and utilities, while killing hundreds of civilians caught in the blast zones and fires. The Eighth Air Force executed its largest daylight raid on Berlin on March 18, dispatching 1,329 heavy bombers escorted by 733 fighters to strike rail yards and tank assembly plants in the capital. Over 3,000 tons of bombs were unleashed across the city, scattering impacts that compounded previous devastation, destroyed additional residential districts, and killed approximately 3,000 civilians amid the chaos of refugees and overloaded shelters. German defenses, including over 70 fighters with 30 jets, downed seven B-17s and damaged hundreds more via flak, but failed to prevent the mission's completion, highlighting the Luftwaffe's diminished but persistent threat. Preceding the Allied crossings in , faced relentless RAF and USAAF bombardment from early March, culminating in saturation attacks on March 23–24 that obliterated 97 percent of the town's buildings through combined high-explosive, incendiary, and cluster munitions. Intended to neutralize defenses, rail bridges, and supply depots, the raids leveled the historic city center, killed over 700 residents, and left survivors amid rubble and fires, facilitating the subsequent amphibious assault but rendering uninhabitable. These operations, while aimed at hastening Germany's collapse, inflicted disproportionate civilian suffering in urban centers, with March raids alone contributing to thousands of fatalities and accelerating the of and in bombed-out areas. By late March, much of western Germany's urban landscape resembled moonscapes of craters and charred ruins, underscoring the doctrine's emphasis on total disruption over precision amid technological limits.

Political and Miscellaneous Events

Diplomatic and Internal Developments

On March 1, 1945, U.S. President delivered his final address to a of Congress, detailing the outcomes of the held in February, including agreements on the ' formation, German , and Soviet entry into the . In the speech, Roosevelt emphasized the conferences' role in advancing a "world of peace" through , while defending the accords against emerging domestic Republican criticism over Soviet influence in . His visibly frail appearance during the address, delivered while seated due to health issues, underscored internal U.S. concerns about leadership continuity amid ongoing war efforts. Secret diplomatic negotiations under Operation Sunrise commenced on March 3, 1945, in , , between U.S. representative and General , aiming for the capitulation of German Army Group C in and western . Follow-up meetings, including a pivotal session on in , involved discussions on cease-fire terms excluding Soviet participation, reflecting Western Allied interest in hastening the Italian front's collapse without broader coordination. These talks, conducted via Swiss intermediaries, bypassed official channels and later strained U.S.-Soviet relations upon discovery, as they violated Yalta's unity-of-command principle. In , Reichsführer-SS initiated unauthorized overtures toward Western Allies in March 1945, seeking terms to preserve his position post-Hitler, amid internal regime fractures as military defeats mounted. These efforts, channeled through intermediaries like SS officer , contrasted with Adolf Hitler's insistence on and highlighted elite-level desperation, though they yielded no formal agreements until April contacts in . Internally, 's King Michael I faced escalating Soviet-backed pressure, appointing a fully communist-dominated cabinet under Petru in March 1945, marking a decisive shift from the post-coup toward one-party control. This move, following rigged elections and occupation, effectively sidelined non-communist parties and aligned with Soviet spheres, despite Michael's initial resistance after the August 1944 overthrow of . The cabinet's formation facilitated communist consolidation, including purges of monarchist elements, setting the stage for the monarchy's abolition in December 1947. On March 24, 1945, Allied diplomats in ongoing post-Yalta discussions reaffirmed German reparations commitments, prioritizing in-kind payments from occupied zones to compensate war damages, as outlined in a U.S. State Department emphasizing equitable burden-sharing among victors. These internal Allied deliberations underscored tensions over economic reconstruction, with Soviet demands for heavy extractions from eastern clashing with Western preferences for sustainable recovery to avert .

Technological and Cultural Milestones

On March 1, 1945, the conducted the world's first manned vertical rocket-powered takeoff from a launch site near Stetten am Kalten Markt, , as a desperate point-defense interceptor against Allied bombers. The single-seat, radar-guided prototype, propelled by four Schmidding solid-fuel rockets for ascent and a liquid-fuel rocket for maneuvering, reached an altitude of approximately 1,500 meters before control issues caused it to crash, killing . This experimental design, intended for rapid deployment from vertical silos to attack high-altitude formations, represented an early precursor to vertical takeoff aircraft, though only prototypes were built before Allied advances halted the program. On March 14, 1945, the Royal Air Force's No. 617 Squadron deployed the first operational Grand Slam bomb, a 22,000-pound (10,000 kg) "earthquake" weapon designed by Barnes Wallis, against the Bielefeld railway viaduct in Germany. Dropped from an Avro Lancaster bomber at high altitude, the aerodynamic, thin-cased bomb penetrated the ground before detonating, creating a 100-foot-wide crater and severing over 400 feet of the structure, disrupting German logistics without requiring direct hits. This marked the debut of the war's largest conventional aerial bomb, which used near-supersonic descent and delayed fusing to generate shockwaves that crumbled reinforced targets, influencing post-war bunker-busting designs. Over the following weeks, 41 more Grand Slams were used against viaducts, U-boat pens, and bridges, demonstrating advancements in precision heavy ordnance. Amid wartime constraints, American inventor received U.S. No. 2,370,990 on March 6, 1945, for his "tumbling device," formalizing the modern as a spring-mounted canvas rebounder for and training. Building on Nissen's 1930s prototype inspired by circus nets, the patented frame with tensioned steel springs enabled controlled aerial maneuvers, aiding U.S. Navy aviator training for carrier landings and spatial orientation during . This invention bridged military utility and recreational potential, later trademarked as "" and adopted for sports, though its cultural adoption surged post-war in competitive and entertainment.

References

  1. http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/daybyday/resource/march-1945-7/
  2. https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/march-1945
  3. https://history.howstuffworks.com/world-war-ii/nazi-germany-surrenders4.htm
  4. https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1945/march
  5. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/topics/battle-iwo-jima
  6. https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/operation-spring-awakening-adolf-hitlers-last-wwii-offensive/
  7. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-rhine-crossings
  8. https://germanwarmachine.com/timelines/world-war-ii-day-by-day/world-war-ii-1945/march-1945.html
  9. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/yalta.asp
  10. https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/march-1-1945-address-congress-yalta
  11. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/yalta-conf
  12. https://history.army.mil/Portals/143/Images/Publications/Publication%2520By%2520Title%2520Images/C%2520Img/campaigns-wwii/pdf/32.pdf
  13. https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-SS-Chronology/USA-SS-Chronology-5.html
  14. https://history.army.mil/Portals/143/Images/Publications/Publication%2520By%2520Title%2520Images/C%2520Img/campaigns-wwii/pdf/10.pdf
  15. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/hellfire-earth-operation-meetinghouse
  16. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/28509-document-8-headquarters-xxi-bomber-command-tactical-mission-report-mission-no-40
  17. https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/wars-conflicts-and-operations/world-war-ii/1945/battle-of-iwo-jima.html
  18. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/nazi-death-marches
  19. https://www.auschwitz.org/en/history/evacuation/the-final-evacuation-and-liquidation-of-the-camp
  20. https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/operation-grenade-race-to-the-roer/
  21. https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-E-Last/USA-E-Last-8.html
  22. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/operations-veritable-and-grenade-allies-close-rhine
  23. https://www.usace.army.mil/About/History/Historical-Vignettes/Military-Construction-Combat/135-Remagen-Crossing/
  24. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/timeline-event/holocaust/1942-1945/remagen
  25. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA592795.pdf
  26. https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/the-forgotten-rhine-crossings/
  27. https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/wars-conflicts-and-operations/world-war-ii/1945/operation-plunder.html
  28. https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/operation-plunder-crossing-the-rhine/
  29. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/general-william-h-simpsons-ninth-us-army-and-crossing-rhine
  30. https://en.topwar.ru/168980-razgrom-nemeckoj-armii-v-verhnej-silezii.html
  31. https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/a-soviet-red-army-victory-at-vienna/
  32. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/soviet-occupation-of-austria
  33. https://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=319
  34. https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-E-Last/USA-E-Last-12.html
  35. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/726942
  36. https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/education/lesson-plans/impact-air-raids-tokyo
  37. https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/npswapa/PacTheaterCAmp/Iwo/chronology.htm
  38. https://www.usmcmuseum.com/battle-of-iwo-jima.html
  39. https://mwi.westpoint.edu/fighting-for-the-pearl-of-the-orient-lessons-from-the-battle-of-manila/
  40. https://www.facebook.com/armyhistory/posts/10-march-1945-battle-of-mindanao-beginsas-the-campaign-to-liberate-the-philippin/1086630253506238/
  41. https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/March-April-2024/Command/
  42. https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/[photography](/page/Photography)/wwii/wwii-pacific/chronological-list-naval-battles-land-campaigns/pacific-land-campaigns.html
  43. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/death-marches
  44. https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/surviving-the-german-death-march/
  45. https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-collection/the-collection-blog/the-long-march-to-freedom-19441945/
  46. https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/forced-marches
  47. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/gross-rosen
  48. https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/allied-bombing-of-germany
  49. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/bombing-berlin-biggest-wartime-raid-hitlers-capital
  50. https://www.krieg-am-niederrhein.de/en/17-Targeting-the-City-of-Wesel
  51. https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1901-1950/President-Franklin-D--Roosevelt-s-final-address-to-a-Joint-Session/
  52. https://www.politico.com/story/2011/03/roosevelt-makes-final-address-to-joint-session-of-congress-march-1-1945-050345
  53. https://www.cvce.eu/en/obj/address_given_by_franklin_d_roosevelt_washington_1_march_1945-en-2632af6d-c5a1-40a3-92f3-c973941c2021.html
  54. https://www.militaryhistories.co.uk/surrender/sunrise
  55. https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/in-the-shadow-of-sunrise-the-secret-surrender-of-italy/
  56. https://www.stephenhalbrook.com/law_review_articles/sunrise.pdf
  57. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/heinrich-himmler
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  59. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1945v03/d893
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  61. https://vintageaviationnews.com/warbird-articles/today-in-aviation-history/today-in-aviation-history-first-flight-of-the-bachem-ba-349-natter.html
  62. https://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/my-brilliant-mistake-the-bachem-ba-349-natter/
  63. https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205454520
  64. https://www.memorialflightclub.com/14-march-1945-first-grand-slam-raid
  65. https://www.bombercommandmuseumarchives.ca/s%2Cgrandslam.html
  66. https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/grand-slam/
  67. https://patents.google.com/patent/US2370990A/en
  68. https://blog.lib.uiowa.edu/eng/george-nissen-and-the-trampoline/
  69. https://www.notesoniowa.com/post/iowa-history-daily-march-6-nissen-s-first-trampoline-patent
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