April 19th, 1945 (THURSDAY)
GERMANY: In the west, the U.S. First Army nears its final stop line in central Germany as it captures Leipzig and Halle. Eisenhower has ordered the First and Ninth Armies to halt along the Elbe and Mulde rivers and let the Red Army overrun areas that will be part of the post-war Soviet occupation zone. Leipzig is taken.In the east, Zhukov's army crashes through German defences and swarms to within 20 miles (32 km) of Berlin's eastern suburbs.
Konev's army threatens southern Berlin.
The British 2nd Army reaches the Elbe River south of Namburg.
German Field Marshall Model commits suicide.
Patton's US forces cross the Czech border.
Final German surrenders in the Ruhr pocket total 325,000.
The Eighth Air Force flies Mission 961: 605 B-17s and 584 P-51s are dispatched to make visual attacks on rail targets in south-eastern Germany and north-western Czechoslovakia; they claim 18-1-5 Luftwaffe aircraft; 5 B-17s and 2 P-51s are lost:
- 135 B-17s bomb the Elsterwerda marshalling yards while 143 bomb the Falkenberg marshalling yards. Escorting are 191 P-51s that claim 5-0-0 aircraft; 1 P-51 is lost.
- Of 321 B-17s dispatched, 115 hit the railroad industry and rail bridge at Pirna while 87 hit Karlsbad and 109 bomb the marshalling yard at Aussig; they claim 6-1-2 aircraft; 5 B-17s are lost. The escort is 197 P-51s; they claim 7-0-3 aircraft.
Ninth Air Force bombers hit marshalling yards at Ulm, Neu Ulm, and Gunzburg (primary targets), the city of Donauworth and a target of opportunity at Schelklingen; weather prevents 70+ of the 450+ dispatched aircraft from bombing targets; fighters fly escort to the bombers, carry out patrols and armed reconnaissance, bomb a radio station, and cooperate with the US VII Corps in the Halle-Dessau area, the XII Corps attacking southeast from south of Bayreuth, the XX Corps in the Bamberg-Nurnberg area, preparing to drive toward Austria, and the XIX Corps along the Elbe River in the Magdeburg area.
Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers Bischofshofen and Rosenheim while 78 P-38s dive-bomb the marshalling yard at Weilheim.
AUSTRIA: Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s bomb the Rattenberg railroad bridge and marshalling yards at Lienz, Klagenfurt and Linz.
CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Eighth Air Force fighter pilots shoot down five Me 262 jet fighters between 1150 and 1300 hours local.
NORWAY: During the night of 19/20 April, 11 Eighth Air Force B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions; 2 B-24s are lost.ITALY: The US Fifth Army breaks out of the Apennines onto the Po plateau.
During the night of 18/19 April, Twelfth
Air Force A-20s and A-26 Invaders bomb roads, vehicles, and lights in the
Bologna, Turin, Milan, and Mantua areas, and continuing to attack Po River
crossings, hit 8 bridges; B-25s and B-26s bomb bridges in the Brenner Pass and
support ground forces at several points including Budrio, Vignola, and San
Martino in the Soverzano areas; fighter-bombers hit dumps, communications, and
close support targets in the US Fifth Army battle areas south and west of
Bologna.
Fifteenth Air Force bombers attack the Avisio viaduct, the Vipiteno railroad bridge, Anti-Aircraft batteries near Grisolera and Santo Stino di Livenza, and several minor targets of opportunity.
CHINA: 12 Fourteenth Air Force B-24s bomb railway repair shops at Taiyuan; 3 others attack targets of opportunity in Bakli Bay on Hainan Island, 8 B-25s attack bridges and rail and road traffic north and northeast of Anyang and northeast of Taiku, damaging or destroying several locomotives and numerous boxcars; 100+ P-40s, P-51s, and P-47s attack town areas, troops, river, road, and rail traffic, and general targets of opportunity all over southern and eastern China and hit a few targets of opportunity in northern French Indochina.
BURMA: Pyinmana in the Sittang Valley falls to the 5th Indian Division.
XXXIII Corps clears the Mt. Popo area.
Magwe falls to the British 20th Indian Division.
14 Tenth Air Force P-38s hit supplies near Paklu, a fuel dump at Hainang, and bridges near Kunna; 1 bridge is knocked out; 6 other P-38s attack targets of opportunity along roads behind enemy lines; air supply operations continue as 800 tons of supplies are landed or dropped in forward areas.
COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: US I Corps takes Vigan, Luzon.
Numerous missions are flown by the Far East Air Forces A-20s, B-24s and B-25s in support of ground forces on Luzon, Cebu, and Negros Islands. On Mindanao Island, Thirteenth Air Force B-24s bomb personnel areas at Kabacan, Cagayan, and along the Davao River. USMC SBD Dauntlesses attack IJA positions on Jolo Island. B-25s and USMC F4U Corsairs and SBDs sweep highways and road on Mindanao.
FORMOSA: Fifth Air Force B-24s bomb Tainan Airfield and Shinchiku town.
JAPAN: While serving as a radio operator on board a B-29 Superfortress over Koriyama, Henry Eugene "Red" Erwin, of Leeds, Alabama, was responsible for dropping phosphorus smoke bombs. One of the bombs exploded in the launching chute. The burning phosphorus bomb shot back into the interior of the aircraft, striking him in the face and obliterating his nose and completely blinding him.
Erwin realised that the aircraft and crew would be lost if the burning bomb remained in the plane. He picked it up and instinctively crawled toward the co-pilot's window. Erwin located the window and threw the bomb out. Engulfed in flames, he fell back upon the floor.
The smoke cleared and the pilot pulled the plane out of its dive at 300 feet. Erwin's gallantry and heroism went above and beyond the call of duty and saved the lives of his comrades, according to the citation for his subsequent Medal of Honor. (MOH) (Air Force Print News)
The Seventh Air Force flies Very Long Range Mission 4:
104 P-51s based on Iwo Jima fly a fighter sweep to Atsugi and Yokusuka Airfields; they claim 23-0-7 aircraft in the air and 14-0-23 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost.
Eight Eleventh Air Force B-25s off to bomb Kurile Island targets abort due to weather.
Iva Toguri, a Japanese-American marries Felipe D'Aquino, a Portuguese, registering with the Portuguese consulate in Tokyo and Toguri declining to take her husband's citizenship.
OKINAWA: An enormous bombardment precedes attacks on the Shuri Line, but the 7th, 27th and 96th Infantry Divisions make small gains and suffer severe losses. The 1st and 6th Marine divisions complete occupation of north and central Okinawa.
PACIFIC OCEAN: US submarines sink 9 Japanese vessels at sea:
- Submarine USS Cero (SS-225) sinks a guardboat south of Japan.
- Submarine USS Sennet (SS-408), attacking a convoy in Kii Suido
off the south coast of Kyushu, sinks an auxiliary submarine chaser and a merchant cargo ship.
- Submarine USS Silversides (SS-236) sinks a guardboat .
- Submarine USS Sunfish (SS-281) attacks a convoy off Hokkaido, sinking a gunboat and a merchant cargo.
- Submarine USS Trutta (SS-421) sinks a merchant vessel and two merchant fishing boats.
PALAU ISLANDS: 25 Seventh Air Force B-24s, based in the Palau islands, bomb nearby Arakabesan and Koror Islands.
BONIN ISLANDS: 8 Seventh Air Force P-51s from Iwo Jima bomb and strafe Futamiko in the Bonin Islands. During the night of 19/20 April, 6 P-61 Black Widows from Iwo Jima, operating singly and at intervals, bomb and strafe Chichi, Haha, and Muko Jima Islands.
BORNEO: Thirteenth Air Force B-25s attack Tarakan while B-24s bomb Sandakan.
CAROLINE ISLANDS: 17 Seventh Air Force B-24s from Guam bomb Dublon, Fefan and Eten Islands in Truk Atoll.
U.S.A.: The musical "Carousel", based on Molnarís "Liliom," opens at the Majestic Theatre in New York City. John Raitt and Jan Clayton starred in the show which ran for 890 performances. Music was by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein.