1945年4月18日 | World War II Database

1945年4月18日

Ernie Pyle was killed on Ie Shima off Okinawa, Japan. ww2dbase [Ernie Pyle | CPC]
Over 300,000 encircled German troops in the Ruhr region of western Germany surrendered. US First Army entered Düsseldorf. ww2dbase [Ruhr Campaign | TH]
US Ninth Army captured Magdeburg, Germany. ww2dbase [TH]
British Second Army captured Lüneburg and Ülzen, Germany. ww2dbase [TH]
The Western Allies reported that German prisoners taken since the Normandy invasion had reached two million, with the exact count at 2,055,575. ww2dbase [AC]
2nd Byelorussian Front broke the Oder defensive line between Schwedt and Stettin, Germany. ww2dbase [TH]
As some German troops surrendered Helgoland to the Allies peacefully, SS men shot some of them for the traitorous act. ww2dbase [CPC]
Soviet 1st Byelorussian Front finally penetrated the Seelow Heights defensive lines at Berlin, Germany. Joseph Goebbels burned files in his office as Soviet troops approached. ww2dbase [Battle of Berlin | TH]
USS Rock bombarded a Japanese radio station at Batan, Batanes Islands, Philippine Islands. ww2dbase [Rock | CPC]
USS Cabrilla attacked a Japanese convoy off northern Japan with six torpedoes, one of which damaged a transport. ww2dbase [Cabrilla | CPC]
USS Parche attacked a Japanese transport east of Kamaichi, Japan; all 3 torpedoes missed. ww2dbase [Parche | CPC]
USS Seahorse was damaged by two Japanese patrol vessels off Japan; she fired one torpedo in return, but it missed. She set sail for Guam, Mariana Islands for repairs. ww2dbase [Seahorse | CPC]
RAF Bomber Command abandoned a plan to use modified Lancaster bombers for in-flight fueling when Tiger Force was deployed to Okinawa, Japan for long-range missions against the Japanese home islands, preferring to wait until the new Avro Lincoln aircraft fitted with saddle tanks can became available. ww2dbase [AC]

台灣

B-25 bombers attacked Giran Airfield in northern Taiwan. ww2dbase [Giran Airfield | Giran, Taihoku | CPC]

太平洋

Submarine USS Thresher was released from the USS Sea Owl wolfpack northwest of Wake Island and resumed her course for Pearl Harbor, Hawaiʻi. ww2dbase [Thresher | DS]

德國

US troops began fighting in the old city section of Nürnberg, Germany; meanwhile, US 3rd Army sent units across the Czechoslovakian border. ww2dbase [Southern Germany Campaign | Nürnberg, Franken | TH, CPC]
German pilot Johannes Steinhoff was seriously burned during a takeoff accident with his Me 262 jet fighter at München (Munich), Germany. ww2dbase [München, München-Oberbayern | CPC]
The column of prisoners of war that SS-Feldgendarmerie personnel forced out of Marlag und Milag Nord prisoners of war camp in Westertimke, Germany on 2 Apr 1945 crossed the River Elbe near Hamburg, Germany. ww2dbase [Marlag und Milag Nord | Ost-Hannover | HM]
The USAAF 306th Bomb Group flying from RAF Thurleigh launched a bombing raid against rail facilities at Rosenheim, Germany. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | RAF Thurleigh | Rosenheim | DS]

日本

With escort carrier USS Sargent Bay's rotation with the replenishment group completed, she shifted back to close air support at Okinawa.n ww2dbase [Sargent Bay | Okinawa | CPC]

澳洲

USS Chub arrived at Fremantle, Australia, ending her first war patrol. ww2dbase [Chub | Fremantle, Western Australia | CPC]

義大利

German 29th Panzergrenadier Division unsuccessfully attempted an armored counterattack against the British bridgehead north of the Fossa Marina canal near Argenta, Italy. ww2dbase [Operation Grapeshot and Operation Roast | Argenta, Emilia-Romagna | CPC]

荷蘭