March 7th, 1945 (WEDNESDAY)
IRISH SEA: U-1302 (type VIIC/41) is sunk in St. George's Channel in position 52.19N, 05.23W, by depth charges from the Canadian frigates HMCS La Hulloise, Strathadam and Thetford Mines. 48 dead (all hands lost). U-1302 was "made" by radar by HMCS Strathadam then by Asdic, and followed by a sighting of a periscope and Schnorkel. While La Hulloise and Thetford Mines held sonar contact, Strathadam made a Hedgehog bomb attack which produced a definite hit, there was a "spectacular underwater flash" a huge air bubble and wreckage, followed moments later by a submarine breaking the surface. Further attacks produced sufficient material to confirm the end of U-1302.
U-246 (type VIIC) reported for the last time from position 56.20N, 12.50W while enroute for its operational area in the Irish Sea. Lost during April 1945 in the Irish Sea south of the Isle of Man, in position 53.40N, 04.53,5W.
Listed as missing on 5 April, 1945. No explanation exists for its loss. 48 dead (all hands lost). On 25 October, 1944 an escort attacked U-246 with depth charges and damaged her so seriously that she had return to base.(Alex Gordon)
GERMANY: The US III Corps reaches Remagen and send advance units across the Ludendorff Bridge. This is the first crossing of the River Rhine.
The US First Army under General Courtney Hodges reached the Rhine at Cologne today and found all the bridges down. Some 30 miles to the south, however, Second Lieutenant Emmet J Burrows came out of the woods above Remagen to find the disorganized German troops fleeing across the intact Ludendorff railway bridge.
Soon a platoon of US tanks was charging down to the bridge. As it approached a German engineer detonated charges which created a small crater. The Americans pushed on, shelling the German on the east bank. One shell knocked out the engineer responsible for firing the demolition charges. When he came to and turned the key, nothing happened. He tried again and still the detonators failed. An army sergeant raced onto the bridge and amid a hail of American gunfire, ignited a fuse. A powerful explosion lifted the bridge up; it settled back and, incredibly, still stood. General Bradley (C-in-C of the 12th Army Group) exclaimed to Hodges: "Hot dog, Courtney! This'll beat him wide open. Shove everything you can across it."
U-2543 commissioned.
NORWAY:
U-1023 sailed from Norway on her first and final patrol.
POLAND: The Germans start to evacuate Danzig.
HUNGARY: Budapest: Hitler, in a desperate attempt to recapture Budapest and the Hungarian oilfields, launched Operation Spring Awakening yesterday with two Panzer armies attempting an encircling movement around Lake Balaton. The southern arm has the extra task of disrupting the Russian advance on Vienna.
First reports from the battlefield tell of minor German gains as their tanks flounder in a sea of mud. It is also obvious the Russians knew of the attack and prepared deep defensive positions.
EASTERN FRONT: Marshal Zhukov, striking north to the Baltic, has smashed the 3rd Panzer Army and has cut off Stettin from the sea. According to German reports Zhukov is mounting heavy attacks along a 100-mile stretch of the Oder running from the south-east of Berlin to the approaches to Stettin.
One of the main points under attack is the fortress of Kustrin, 40 miles due east of the German capital. A communiqué from the German high command says that the Russians intend to eliminate it before attacking Berlin.
Meanwhile, Marshal Rokossovsky continues to clear Pomerania. His men captured the German stronghold of Grudziadz, outside Danzig, yesterday.
BURMA: Chinese forces capture Lashio.
CANADA: Frigate HMCS Wentworth arrived Shelburne , Nova Scotia for refit.
Frigates HMCS Charlottetown, Springhill and Stettler departed Halifax for EG-16 Londonderry.
1946: U.S.A.: Hosted by Bob Hope and James Stewart, the 1945 Academy
Awards are presented at GraumanUs Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California. RThe Lost WeekendS wins four awards including Best Picture, Best Actor (Ray Milland) and Best Director (Billy Wilder); Best Actress Award goes to Joan Crawford for RMildred PierceS; Best Support Actor Award goes to James Dunn for RA Tree Grows in BrooklynS; and the Best
Supporting Actress Award goes to Ann Revere for RNational Velvet.S