March 25th, 1945 (SUNDAY)
GERMANY:
As British and US troops link up on the east bank of the Rhine, Montgomery forbids British troops to "fraternize" with the local population.
- 1,009 Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s, escorted by 341 P-47s and P-51s, are dispatched to bomb seven oil plants and a tank factory. Due to bad weather, only 243 B-24s hit three oil plants.
- 641 Ninth Air Force A-20s, A-26s and B-26s to bomb three marshalling yards, four communications centers and flak concentrations.
- Lead elements of the U.S. Third and Ninth armies cross the River Rhine .
As part of Operation Varsity, the US 17th Airborne Division is dropped over the east bank of the Rhine. (Mike Yared)
The Red Army has reached the Austrian border in the Köszeg-Szombathely area.
CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack Cheb Airdrome, and a tank factory and two airfields in and around Prague.
HUNGARY: The Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front starts its attack across the Hron River and along the north bank of the Danube. Hungarian troops begin deserting their German allies in droves, while German commanders report a loss of confidence among their own men. By the 28th, the Red Army has reached the Austrian border in the Köszeg-Szombathely area. (Tony)
CHINA: 175 B-25s and fighter-bombers attack numerous targets in southern and eastern China. Due to advances by the Japanese Army, the Fourteenth Air Force base at Laohokow is abandoned. This is the last USAAF base to fall to the Japanese in China during WWII. The US forces blow up the base before abandoning it.
OKINAWA: The four Royal Navy aircraft carriers of Task Force 57 join the US Navy's Task Force 58 off Okinawa. Aircraft of Task Force 58 and the support carrier Task Group 52.1 continue their pre-invasion attacks on Okinawa and the Kerama Islands.
COMMONWELATH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Over 90 Thirteenth Air Force B-24s attack Cebu City.
NEW GUINEA: Lt. Albert Chowne (b.1920), Australian Military Forces, knocked out two machine guns, then led a successful charge before he was killed. (Victoria Cross)