March 22nd, 1945 (THURSDAY)
GERMANY: The US 5th Division crosses the Rhine near Nierstein. Patton sends his troops across the Rhine at Nierstein, stealing the glory from Montgomery, who had long been planning a crossing on the next day.
Soviet troops under Konev bridge the Oder at Oppeln.
Soviet pilot L.I. Sivko flying a Yak-9 claims to shoot down an Me262 jet but is himself swiftly thereafter shot down himself by an Me-262 jet piloted by pilot Unteroffizier. Franz Schall, the wingman of his victim, and one of the leading jet aces of the war.
EUROPE: Over 2,700 USAAF bombers hit targets in Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia. Over 1,280 Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s hit four airfields and three marshalling yards east of Frankfurt and ten military encampments in the Rhine. Nearly 800 Ninth Air Force A-20s, A-26s and B-26s bomb nine communications centers and a marshalling yard east of the Rhine River; and over 680 Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s hit oil refineries and rail targets in Austria and Czechoslovakia.
EGYPT: The Arab League is formed with adoption of a charter in Egypt.
PACIFIC OCEAN: Task Force 58 retires to take on fuel, ammunition and supplies at sea. The damaged carriers USS Enterprise (CV-6) with Night Carrier Air
Group Ninety [CVG(N)-90], USS Franklin (CV-13) with Carrier Air Group Five (CVG-5) and USS Wasp (CV-18) are organized as Task Group 58.2 and retire towards Ulithi Atoll in the Caroline Islands. TF 58 is reorganized as follows:
Task Group 58.1 (CarDiv 5)
USS Bennington (CV-20) with CVG-82
USS Hornet (CV-12) with CVG-17
USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) with Light Carrier Air Group THIRTY (CVLG-30)
USS Jacinto (CVL-30) with CVLG-45
TG 58.3 (CarDiv 1)
USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) with CVG-84
USS Essex (CV-9) with CVG-83
USS Hancock (CV-19) with CVG-6
USS Bataan (CVL-29) with CVLG-47
USS Cabot (CVL-28) with CVLG-29
TG 58.4 (CarDiv 6)
USS Intrepid (CV-11) with CVG-10
USS Yorktown (CV-10) with CVG-9
USS Independence (CVL-22) with CVLG-46
USS Langley (CVL-27) with CVLG-23
SOLOMON ISLANDS: Cpl Reginald Roy Rattey (1918-86), Australian Military Forces, silenced three bunkers and later captured a machine gun intact. (Victoria Cross)
An attack by a company of 25th Battalion, Australian Military Forces on a strongly held enemy position was met by extremely heavy fire. Corporal Rattey, realizing that any advance would be halted by this fire and heavy casualties inflicted, dashed forward firing his Bren gun from the hip and completely neutralized the enemy fire from three forward bunkers.
Then, having silenced a bunker with one grenade, he fetched two more with which he silenced the other two bunkers. The company was then able to continue its advance. Later Corporal Rattey captured another machine-gun and 2,000 rounds of ammunition. (Daniel Ross)