History Content for the Future

World War Two Day by Day

On the night of 27 March 1945, USAAF XXI Bomber Command B-29 Superfortresses conduct the first of many long-range minelaying sorties in the waters around the Japanese Home Islands as part of Operation Starvation.

Last September, General Henry `Hap` Arnold, commanding general of the USAAF, received Admiral Nimitz`s proposal to use Very Long Range Aircraft for naval minelaying purposes positively and asked his analysts to develop a plan. Nimitz had considered the idea a solution to the Navy`s lack of large-scale mine delivery mechanisms. On 22 December, Arnold directed a less-than-enthusiastic General Hansell, then-commander of XXI BC, to initiate planning for mining operations beginning on 1 April 1945 under the codename Operation Starvation.

However, when Hansell was replaced as commander by Major General Curtis LeMay in mid-January this year, tactics shifted to low-level, radar-assisted night bombing, which the bomber crews applied very effectively in the firebombing attacks on Japanese cities we covered recently.

On 25 March, XXI BC issued the Field Order for Mining Mission No. 1 to the 313th BW, which specified the area of the attack, the date (27 March), the number of sorties, the density of the minefield, and the preparation of the mines.

After sunset today, 102 B-29s from the 313th BW take off from Tinian Island carrying a combination of 900 kg (2,000 lb) Mk 25 and 500 kg (1,000 lb) Mark 26 and Mk 36 mines with a mix of magnetic and acoustic actuating devices and random arming delays.

They encounter only a few dozen Japanese fighters, of which only a few launch successful attacks. Despite the relatively heavy flak, the bombers lay 825 mines on the eastern and western sides of the Shimonoseki Strait, codenamed minefields LOVE and MIKE, respectively. A 4.9 km (3 mi) gap remains in LOVE because of mechanical release failures on several aircraft. Eight B-29s return with damage, while three are shot down.

XXI BC will continue to fly hundreds of similar missions and successfully mine most of Japan`s shipping routes.

Picture: A B-29 of the 9th BG/313th BW drops two parachute-retarded Mark 26 aerial mines during Operation Starvation
Source: U.S. Air Force
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On 25 March 1945, a team of six Waffen-SS troops and `Werwolf` guerrillas assassinate the Allied-appointed Mayor of Aachen, Franz Oppenhoff.

Perhaps less convinced of the possibility of turning the tide of the war than Hitler, with his obsession with Wunderwaffe, last autumn Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler placed SS Obergruppenführer Hans-Adolf Prützmann in charge of training elite military and paramilitary units intended to stem the Allied advance by clandestinely operating behind their lines as part of Unternehmen Werwolf (Operation Werwolf).

As Generalinspekteur für Spezialabwehr (General Inspector of Special Defence), Prützmann has used his study of partisan groups to begin training volunteers from the SS and Hitler Youth.

Despite the growing lack of equipment and volunteers, the Nazi leadership has been keen to let the Werwolfs loose on the Allies and those they`ve deemed traitors. After Hitler took a personal interest in Franz Oppenhoff, Himmler ordered the Werwolfs to execute Unternehmen Karneval (Operation Carnival).

Prützmann selected SS Untersturmführer Herbert Wenzel, a Werwolf training officer, to lead Unterscharführer-SS (Sergeant) Josef "Sepp" Leitgeb, 16-year-old Werwolf trainee Erich Morgenschweiss, and 23-year-old Nazi Ilse Hirsch, a Hauptgruppenführerin (captain) in the League of German Girls (BDM).

On the night of 20 March, together with Former border Patrolman Karl-Heinz Hennemann and Georg Heidorn, they parachuted near the village of Gemmenich, Belgium, from a Luftwaffe-flown captured B-17 Flying Fortress.

This evening, they arrive at Oppenhoff`s house at Eupener Strasse 251 in Aachen, disguised as downed Luftwaffe pilots seeking help. Oppenhoff returns from a nearby party he was attending and attempts to convince them to surrender, but Leitgeb confronts him and shoots him in the head with a pistol.

They quickly evade the incoming U.S. patrols, but as they move out of the area, Hirsch triggers a landmine, which injures her knee and kills Leitgeb. But they do manage to get away.

Should the Allies fear the Werwolfs from now on?

Picture: Hitler Youth company preparing to defend the town of Pyritz
Source: Bundesarchiv Bild 183-J28536
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On 23 March 1945, Staff Sergeant Edward A. Carter Jr., 56th Armored Infantry Battalion, 12th Armored Division, singlehandedly neutralizes an enemy position near Speyer, Germany, despite suffering from multiple wounds.

For his actions, SSG Carter will be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on 12 January 1997. His citation will read:
˝At approximately 0830 hours, 23 March 1945, near Speyer, Germany, the tank upon which Staff Sergeant Carter was riding received bazooka and small arms fire from the vicinity of a large warehouse to its left front. Staff Sergeant Carter and his squad took cover behind an intervening road bank. Staff Sergeant Carter volunteered to lead a three-man patrol to the warehouse where other unit members noticed the original bazooka fire... As the patrol left this covered position, they received intense enemy small arms fire killing one member of the patrol instantly. This caused Staff Sergeant Carter to order the other two members of the patrol to return to the covered position... The enemy fire killed one of the two soldiers while they were returning to the covered position, and seriously wounded the remaining soldier... An enemy machine gun burst wounded Staff Sergeant Carter three times in the left arm as he continued the advance. He continued and received another wound in his left leg that knocked him from his feet. As Staff Sergeant Carter took wound tablets and drank from his canteen, the enemy shot it from his left hand, with the bullet going through his hand. ...Staff Sergeant Carter continued the advance by crawling until he was within thirty yards of his objective. The enemy fire became so heavy that Staff Sergeant Carter took cover behind a bank and remained there for approximately two hours. Eight enemy riflemen approached Staff Sergeant Carter, apparently to take him prisoner. Staff Sergeant Carter killed six of the enemy soldiers and captured the remaining two. These two enemy soldiers later gave valuable information concerning the number and disposition of enemy troops...˝

Picture: Black soldier of the 12th Armored Division stands guard over a group of Nazi prisoners, April 1945
Source: U.S. National Archives
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On 22 March 1945, six Middle Eastern states sign the Charter of the League of Arab Nations in Cairo, Egypt.

In the past few months, we have seen a slew of agreements signed, organizations formed, or membership in them confirmed, and pledges being made in preparation for a post-war world. But these have been mostly between the major powers and states recently freed from occupation by the Axis. In the background, Arab state leaders have been negotiating and working together to attempt to secure their future against a potential return of the colonial system.

British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden encouraged this `Arab Unity` in his Mansion House speech in May 1941, and Arab leaders have made progress in making agreements to work together since. On 7 October last year, the representatives of Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon signed the Alexandria Protocol, in which they agreed to form a joint Arab organization which would strengthen the relations between Arab states and allow them to participate actively in the coordination of political plans and foreign policy without interference with their independence.

Based on this organizational blueprint, the representatives of Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria meet today in the Boustan Palace in Cairo and sign the Charter of the League of Arab Nations.

With pledges to foster political, economic, cultural, and social cooperation among its member states to safeguard their independence and sovereignty, the Arab League certainly has the potential to be a powerful player in the region. However, it remains to be seen what issues the leaders of the signatories place the most importance on.

One particular issue that they have already identified is that of the future of the British Mandate for Palestine. In the Charter`s ˝Annex on Palestine˝, the signatories express their view that Palestine should become an independent state.

The issue of Palestine may become a sticking point if the British authorities there do not resolve the growing grievances and emerging violence from both the Jewish and Arab populations.

Picture: Saudi Arabian delegates sign the League of Arab States charter
Source: AP
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On the night of 16/17 March 1945, the USAAF`s XXI Bomber Command continues its firebombing campaign against Japan by hitting the city of Kobe.

Continuing on the heels of the raids on Tokyo and Osaka, which we covered in our 9 and 13 March posts, XXI Bomber Command launches a raid targetting Kobe, Japan`s largest port and sixth-largest city with a population of around 1 million.

Just before midnight, 331 B-29 Superfortresses of the 73rd, 313th, and 314th Bombardment Wings arrive over the city. In response, 280 Japanese night fighters take off from several airfields near the city. Of these, 96 locate and attack the U.S. bombers. Between them and ground anti-aircraft fire, three B-29s go down.

Nevertheless, the bombers release their payloads in a slightly different pattern than during the previous two raids. Rather than bombing in a specific pattern, they carpet bomb several major urban and transportation areas of the city.

Kobe`s poor water supply and, by this point, familiar mainly wooden construction leads to a firestorm quickly spreading through the city. It destroys some 7.8 square km (3 square mi) of the city`s urban area, almost 21%, leaving approximately 650,000 people homeless. 8,841 perish in the flames.

Sergeant Algy S. Augunus and Second Lieutenant Robert E. Copeland downed during the raid, will be captured by the Japanese military. In the following weeks, they will be sentenced by the Japanese to death for the bombing of Osaka and Kobe and executed by firing squad.

Picture: Incendiary bombs are dropped over the city of Kobe, Japan from American B-29 Superfortresses, as the landing piers and buildings of the city are burning below, 4 Jun 1945
Source: U.S. Air Force
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On 15 March 1945, Private First Class Silvestre Santana Herrera, Company E, 142d Infantry, 36th Infantry Division, singlehandedly captures a German strongpoint near Mertzwiller, France, then provides covering fire while his squad eliminates a second despite suffering grave injuries.

Herrera (born in Camargo, Chihuahua, Mexico, on 17 July 1917) was given to the care of his uncle in El Paso, Texas after his parents died of the Spanish flu. He lived much of his youth in El Paso with his uncle and then his wife Ramona and their three children before moving to Phoenix, Arizona.

He was drafted into the Texas National Guard, 36th Division after the U.S. entered the war, and it was only then that he learned the truth about his uncle and that he wasn`t even a U.S. citizen. Despite his uncle`s insistence that the U.S. Government couldn`t even draft him and that he didn`t have to serve, he still decided to do so, stating that he would rather go and fight than have someone else die in his place.

Today, as Perrera`s unit advances near Mertzville, they encounter several German machine gun positions. For his actions, PFC Herrera will be awarded the Medal of Honor on 23 August 1945. His citation will read:
˝He advanced with a platoon along a wooded road until stopped by heavy enemy machinegun fire. As the rest of the unit took cover, he made a 1-man frontal assault on a strongpoint and captured 8 enemy soldiers. When the platoon resumed its advance and was subjected to fire from a second emplacement beyond an extensive minefield, Pvt. Herrera again moved forward, disregarding the danger of exploding mines, to attack the position. He stepped on a mine and had both feet severed but, despite intense pain and unchecked loss of blood, he pinned down the enemy with accurate rifle fire while a friendly squad captured the enemy gun by skirting the minefield and rushing in from the flank.˝

In 1946, Herrera will also be awarded Order of Military Merit (First Class) by the Mexican Government. He will be granted U.S. citizenship shortly afterwards.

Picture: Infantrymen of the 7th Inf. Regt. prepare to rush a house. Guiderkirch, France. 15 March, 1945.
Source: Signal Corps Archives
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On the night of 13/14 March 1945, USAAF B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers carry out a low-altitude incendiary bombing raid on Osaka, Japan.

As Japan`s second-largest city with a pre-war population of just over 3.2 million, Osaka has been on the target list for strategic bombing ever since the possibility of hitting the Japanese Home Islands emerged for the USAAF.

The city`s abundance of heavy and light industrial plants and the need for a large number of workers to operate the large port, Japan`s third largest, make Osaka a prime target for the USAAF XXI Bomber Commands` new tactics of nighttime low-altitude incendiary area bombing. With the scale of destruction that resulted from the firebombing attack on Tokyo three days ago, which we covered in our 9 March post, becoming ever more apparent, the attack on Osaka was authorized to attempt to achieve the same effect.

Throughout the late afternoon, B-29s take off from the Mariana Island airfields operated by Major General Curtis LeMay`s XXI Bomber Command. The first to make their way toward the Japanese Home Islands are 43 B-29s of the 314th Bombardment Wing from Guam. Following closely behind them are 107 from the 313th Bombardment Wing based on Tinian Island. Finally, 124 B-29s of the 878th Bombardment Squadron take off from Saipan.

The first B-29s arrive over Osaka at 2357 hours today at an altitude of only 2,000 m (6,600 ft). For over three hours, until 0325 hours, the three waves of bombers drop 1,733 tons of mostly incendiary bombs on the Minato, Naniwa, Kita, and Nishi wards of the city.

The bombs ignite thousands of fires among this urban area`s light, wood-built homes. High winds quickly turn these into a massive firestorm that consumes 21 km squared (8.1 square miles) of the city, and 3,987 of its inhabitants. Another 678 will go missing or will not be identifiable in the aftermath.

All the B-29s return to base. The only two aircraft lost are the result of take-off accidents.

Picture: Section of Osaka, Japan levelled by fire-bomb attacks
Source: Library of Congress LC-USZ62-104726
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On 12 March 1945, a group of Japanese internees of the Santa Fe Internment Camp in New Mexico incite a minor riot.

The Santa Fe Internment Camp (SFIC) was established in February 1942 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and guarded by U.S. Border Patrol agents.

By 30 June 1943, the camp contained 1,894 Issei (first-generation Japanese immigrants ineligible for U.S. citizenship). Since then, over 4,000 Japanese internees have passed through the camp, with relations between them, the administrators and guards remaining generally peaceful.

However, tensions have recently risen with the arrival of 366 men identified as “pro-Japan agitators” relocated to the SFIC from the WRA Segregation Camp at Tule Lake, California.

These men, who have renounced their U.S. citizenship, have organized themselves into two groups, the Sokuji Kikoku Hoshi-Dan (the Organization to Return Immediately to the Homeland to Serve) and the Hikoku Seinen-Dan (the Organization to Serve Our Mother Country) and have been staging protests each morning. They display their loyalty to Japan by wearing sweatshirts with the Rising Sun emblem.

However, on 10 March, the situation escalated further when guards searched their barracks and confiscated around a dozen shirts bearing the Rising Sun, spurring more protests. In response, the camp commander ordered three men leading the protests to be transferred to the camp at Fort Stanton and posted more guards at the SFIC.

Today, as the guards lead the three protest leaders out of the camp, around 300 of the `troublemakers` gather around the administration centre.

After giving five orders to disperse, 16 border patrol agents attack the protesters with batons and tear-gas grenades, while some of the internees threw rocks at the agents.

In a 10-minute confrontation, four of the internees are severely injured, requiring hospitalization.

Another 14 internees will be transferred to Fort Stanton due to their involvement in the incident, while the other `agitators` will be separated from the rest of the camp`s population.

Picture: Hokoku Seinen Dan gather to give proper send-off to members sent to Santa Fe Internment Camp, Tule Lake, March 4, 1945.
Source: AP
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In the early afternoon of 11 March 1945, over one thousand RAF heavy bombers effectively knock out Essen`s industrial production and transportation infrastructure.

Continuing on the heels of the recent all-out bombing against German industrial and transportation infrastructure during the two-day Operation Clarion, which we covered in our 22 February post, the RAF has increased the number of daylight bombing raids it is carrying out.

Essen has been hit with a tonnage second only to Berlin so far in the war, in no small part, because its industrial district houses the massive Krupp steelworks.

At 1138 hours today, 1,079 RAF aircraft take off from RAF Craft and head toward the Ruhr region.

The 12.9 km (8 mi) long and 8 km (5 mi) wide bomber stream includes 750 Lancaster and 293 Halifax heavy bombers and 36 de Havilland Mosquitos acting as pathfinders and fighter-bombers. Some 200 Spitfires and P-51 Mustangs escort the bombers.

The bombers arrive over Essen at around 1520 hours, flying at altitudes between 5,200 m (17,000 ft) and 6,700 m (22,000 ft). Despite the heavy cloud cover, the H2S ground scanning radar allows them to target the city`s industrial district and railyard accurately based on the sky markers dropped by the pathfinders.

In total, the bombers drop 4,661 tons of bombs. Most of the planes drop either the general use `Plumduff/Cookie` bombload (1 x 1,800 kg (4,000 lb) impact-fused High-Capacity bomb called ˝blockbuster˝ or ˝Cookie˝; 3 x 450 kg (1,000 lb) high explosive bombs, and 6 small canister bombs (SBCs) with 1,416 incendiary bomblets) or the `Plumduff Plus` bombload intended for heavy industrial targets ( 1 x Cookie and up to 6 x 230 kg (500 lb) delay-fused bombs).

The Krupp steelworks factory suffers severe damage. Essen, after years of heavy bombing and this raid especially, ceases to be a significant industrial or transportation centre.

Only three RAF bombers fail to return to base.

Picture: Locomotive shop of the Krupps AG works at Essen, Germany, seriously damaged in 1943, and further wrecked in the daylight raid of 11 March 1945
Source: IWM CL 2557
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During the early hours of 10 March 1945, Private First Class Thomas E. Atkins, Company A, 127th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division, together with two companions, repels Japanese attacks on a position on the Villa Verde Trail, Luzon for four hours.

For his action, PFC Atkins will be awarded the Medal of Honor on 12 October 1945. His citation will read:
˝With 2 companions he occupied a position on a ridge outside the perimeter defense established by the 1st Platoon on a high hill. At about 3 a.m., 2 companies of Japanese attacked with rifle and machinegun fire, grenades, TNT charges, and land mines, severely wounding Pfc. Tom Atkins and killing his 2 companions. Despite the intense hostile fire and pain from his deep wound, he held his ground and returned heavy fire. After the attack was repulsed, he remained in his precarious position to repel any subsequent assaults instead of returning to the American lines for medical treatment. An enemy machinegun, set up within 20 yards of his foxhole, vainly attempted to drive him off or silence his gun. The Japanese repeatedly made fierce attacks, but for 4 hours, Pfc. Tom Atkins determinedly remained in his fox hole, bearing the brunt of each assault and maintaining steady and accurate fire until each charge was repulsed. At 7 a.m., 13 enemy dead lay in front of his position; he had fired 400 rounds, all he and his 2 dead companions possessed, and had used 3 rifles until each had jammed too badly for further operation. He withdrew during a lull to secure a rifle and more ammunition, and was persuaded to remain for medical treatment. While waiting, he saw a Japanese within the perimeter and, seizing a nearby rifle, killed him. A few minutes later, while lying on a litter, he discovered an enemy group moving up behind the platoon`s lines. Despite his severe wound, he sat up, delivered heavy rifle fire against the group and forced them to withdraw.˝

Picture: Pfc. Waymen N. Ramply and Cpl. Perry Rowe, cal. .30 heavy machine gunners of the 127th Inf. Regt., 32nd Infantry Division, supporting other elements of their Regt. on the Villa Verde Trail
Source: Signal Corps Archives
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On 5 March 1945, Rifleman Bhanbhagta Gurung, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Gurkha Rifles, British Indian Army, singlehandedly eliminates five Japanese fortified positions near Tamandu, Burma in hand-to-hand combat.

For his actions, he will be awarded the Victoria Cross. His citation will read:
˝On 5 March 1945 at Snowdon-East, near Tamandu, Burma, Gurung and his unit were approaching Snowdon-East. His section became pinned down by enemy fire including machine guns and mortars. An enemy sniper in a tree was inflicting casualties on the section, "Rifleman Bhanbhagta Gurung, being unable to fire from the lying position, stood up fully exposed to the heavy fire and calmly killed the enemy sniper with his rifle...".
The section advanced to within 20 yards of the objective, and again it came under fire. Without waiting for orders, Gurung dashed out alone to attack the first enemy fox-hole. "Throwing two grenades, he killed the two occupants and without any hesitation rushed on to the next enemy fox-hole and killed the Japanese in it with his bayonet".

"During his single-handed attacks on these four enemy fox-holes, Rifleman Bhanbhagta Gurung was subjected to almost continuous and point-blank Light Machine Gun fire from a bunker on the North tip of the objective." Knowing that the bunker would hold up both his own platoon and another, "for the fifth time [he] went forward alone in the face of heavy enemy fire to knock out this position. He doubled forward and leapt on to the roof of the bunker from where, his hand grenades being finished, he flung two No. 77 smoke grenades into the bunker slit." Gurung killed two Japanese soldiers who ran out of the bunker with his Kukri, and then crawled into the cramped bunker and killed the remaining Japanese soldier by "beat[ing] the gunner`s brains out with a rock".
Gurung ordered a Bren gunner and two riflemen to take up positions in the bunker. "The enemy counter-attack followed soon after, but under Rifleman Bhanbhagta Gurung`s command the small party inside the bunker repelled it with heavy loss to the enemy.˝

Picture: Men of the 6th Gurkha Rifles at Singu on the Irrawaddy bridgehead
Source: IWM SE 1934
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On 4 March 1945, B-24 Liberator heavy bombers from the USAAF 8th Air Force`s 2nd Air Division accidentally bomb the Swiss cities of Zürich and Basel.

We covered on 1 April last year when 22 USAAF B-24s from the 8th AF`s 392nd Bombardment Group accidentally bombed Schaffhausen in Switzerland, causing quite a stir and resulting in an official, albeit reluctant, apology from General Carl A. “Tooey” Spaatz. In October, the U.S. Government paid Switzerland $4 million in restitution.

Around 0300 hours today, 2nd Air Division commanders brief the 2nd, 20th, and 96th Combat Wings on their targets in southern Germany, with the 14th Wing assigned the Aschaffenburg tank depot near Frankfurt am Main.

As part of the 14th Wing, Lt. William R. Sincock and his dead reckoning navigator, Lt. Theodore Q. Balides, lead the high right squadron of the 392nd BG in B-24 No. 385.

But the Gee-H radio navigation system and H2X ground scanning radar on Sincock`s aircraft fail. While Sincock and his crew land and transfer to B-24 No. 577, all the air wings struggle to form up, with assembly points over continental Europe raised multiple times from 5.4 km (18,000 ft) altitude to 7 km (20,000 ft) because of a very tall cloud layer.

By the time Sincock`s squadron reaches the assembly point, much of the 2nd Air Division is scattered. He first tries to follow the 44th BG to Stuttgart, but after failing to bomb the city using the H2X, Balides plots a withdrawal course.

With navigation errors from before stacked up and new ones arising, as well as orders to bomb targets of opportunity, they get an H2X fix on what they think is Freiburg. Sincock`s squadron unknowingly drops their payload on Zürich and heads home. Almost simultaneously, other bombers hit Basel.

Luckily, the casualties are light, with only five killed in Zürich.

Sincock and Balides will be court-martialed as negligent under the 96th Article of War in the first-ever criminal case against U.S. soldiers for friendly fire. They will be acquitted, but Sincock will not be allowed to lead a squadron again.

Picture: Swiss Army officers standing over debris in Oberstrass, Zurich, on 4 March 1945
Source: ETH Library Zurich
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On 3 March 1945, a former Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa, AK) unit rounds up and murders over a hundred Ukrainian civilians in the village of Pawłokoma in southeastern Poland.

The history of relations between the Poles and Ukrainians had certainly seen its fair share in the late 1910s and early 1920s; as the tides of war have been sweeping over the area for the past six years, various armed forces have used this to terrorize civilians.

Much of this has centred on the region of Volhynia, from where the Soviets deported many Poles after occupying the region in 1939. Then, the Germans, assisted by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army or UPA (Українська повстанська армія, УПА), murdered hundreds of thousands of Jews in Volhynia.

More recently, UPA forces have been reportedly attacking, murdering, or kidnapping Polish villages in the area.

For the past few months, however, a unit under the command of Second Lieutenant Józef Biss has been hiding out in the forests in Volhynia to avoid persecution by the NKVD. Biss and his unit were disarmed by the Red Army in July last year and attempted to rejoin the AK during the Warsaw Uprising but were stopped and forced to go into hiding under threat of arrest by the Red Army.

Today, Biss and his troops enter Pawłokoma, located 40 km (25 mi) west of Przemyśl, and begin rounding up Ukrainian villagers. Likely attempting to exact revenge for reported UPA actions against Poles, they force upwards of 150 civilians, mostly Greek Catholic (Uniate) Ukrainians, into the village church and execute them.

Sadly, it appears as if this war is becoming increasingly deadly as its end draws near. On the other side of the world today, the Battle of Manila comes to its brutal conclusion, with the city devastated, some 100,000 civilians dead, and thousands of others wounded, sick, and traumatized. If you want to learn more about how the U.S. forces brought the Battle of Manila to a close and more about the human, or rather inhumane, aspects of the fighting there, check out Indy and Spartacus` latest videos on our YouTube channel.

Picture: Ukrainians murdered by elements of the Polish National Armed Forces
Source: Getty Images via Wikimedia Commons
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On 2 March 1945, Naik (Corporal) Fazal Din, 7th Battalion of 10th Baluch Regiment, British Indian Army, singlehandedly eliminates several Japanese soldiers with a sword wrestled from one of the Japanese officers, despite being mortally wounded.

For his actions, Naik Fazal Din will be posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross on 24 May 1945. His citation will read:
˝In Burma, on 2nd March, 1945, Naik Fazal Din was commanding a section during a Company attack on a Japanese bunkered position. During this attack, the section found itself in an area flanked by three bunkers on one side and a house and one bunker on the other side... Naik Fazal Din`s section was accompanied by a tank but, at the time of entering the area, it had gone on ahead. On reaching the area, the section was held up by Light Machine Gun fire and grenades from the bunkers. Unhesitatingly Naik Fazal Din personally attacked the nearest bunker with grenades and silenced it. He then led his section under heavy fire against the other bunkers. Suddenly six Japanese, led by two officers wielding swords, rushed from the house. The Bren gunner shot one officer and a Japanese other rank but by then had expended the magazine of the gun. He was almost simultaneously attacked by the second Japanese officer who killed him with his sword. Naik Fazal Din went to the Bren gunner`s assistance immediately but, in doing so, was run through the chest by the officer, the sword point appearing through his back. On the Japanese officer withdrawing his sword, Naik Fazal Din, despite his terrible wound, tore the sword from the officer and killed him with it. He then attacked a Japanese other rank and also killed him. He then went to the assistance of a sepoy of his section who was struggling with another Japanese and killed the latter with the sword. Then, waving the sword, he continued to encourage his men. He staggered to Platoon Headquarters, about 25 yards away, to make a report and collapsed. He died soon after reaching the Regimental Aid Post.˝

Picture: 6/7th Rajputana Rifles advance behind Sherman tanks during the assault on Meiktila, 23 February 1945
Source: IWM SE 3095
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On 1 March 1945, U.S. President Roosevelt addresses a joint session of Congress on the results of the Yalta Conference, revealing his health issues by appearing in a wheelchair for the first time in front of Congress.

Roosevelt opens by explaining his inability to walk:
˝I hope that you will pardon me for this unusual posture of sitting down during the presentation of what I want to say, but I know that you will realize that it makes it a lot easier for me not to have to carry about ten pounds of steel around on the bottom of my legs; and also because of the fact that I have just completed a fourteen-thousand-mile trip.
First of all, I want to say, it is good to be home.˝

After a lengthy description of the talks held at the conference, he moves on to the plans made for the future and issues that may continue to linger:
˝Of equal importance with the military arrangements at the Crimea Conference were the agreements reached with respect to a general international organization for lasting world peace. The foundations were laid at Dumbarton Oaks. There was one point, however, on which agreement was not reached at Dumbarton Oaks. It involved the procedure of voting in the Security Council... At the Crimea Conference, the Americans made a proposal on this subject which, after full discussion was, I am glad to say, unanimously adopted by the other two Nations.
It is not yet possible to announce the terms of that agreement publicly, but it will be in a very short time... A conference of all the United Nations of the world will meet in San Francisco on April 25, 1945.

...The decision with respect to the boundaries of Poland was, frankly, a compromise. I did not agree with all of it, by any means, but we did not go as far as Britain wanted, in certain areas; we did not go so far as Russia wanted, in certain areas; and we did not go so far as I wanted, in certain areas. It was a compromise... I am convinced that the agreement on Poland, under the circumstances, is the most hopeful agreement possible for a free, independent, and prosperous Polish state...˝

Picture: Roosevelt addresses Congress, March 1, 1945
Source: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
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On 28 February 1945, Maurice Petherick, a Conservative British MP, introduces a motion to oppose the Yalta Agreement in response to Churchill`s announcement yesterday.

After explaining the motion, Petherick criticizes various aspects of the agreement:
˝The Amendment contains a direct criticism of the policy of the Government, and the decisions which were arrived at, as a result of the Yalta Conference. It contains, therefore, a criticism of the Prime Minister as head of His Majesty`s Government...

...I certainly should not wish to repeat everything that I and others said in presenting the case on 15th December, but I would say that as a result of this Yalta Agreement, if it goes through, Poland is to lose nearly half her territory, a third of her population, 85 per cent. of her oil and natural gas, half her timber and peat, half her chemical industry, nearly half her grain, hemp and flax, and nearly 40 per cent. of her water power, potassium mines and phosphates and the ancient Lion City of Lvov which stood up for centuries against attacks from North and South and from the East.

I have heard it said that the Poles are a difficult people. Perhaps they are. So should we be, if half our country were to be given away to somebody else... But the Poles have not been conquered. They are still fighting. They are fighting with us and they are fighting in the underground movement.

I would like to say a little now about the question of Lublin Government, and the Provisional Government which is proposed at a result of Yalta. It is to be chosen, we understand, by three eminent men—a brace of Ambassadors and a Foreign Secretary... Would any country in the whole wide world accept such a Government? Surely one of the principles of the Atlantic Charter is the right of every people to choose its own form of Government... There are in part of the Yalta communiquè dealing with Poland, some sinister references to the suggestion or the fact that only anti-Nazis will be allowed to vote and take part in these elections. What does that mean?˝

The motion is defeated with 396 votes against and only 25 for.

Picture: MPs move to the Lords chamber
Source: Parliamentary Archives
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