21 Apr 1945




See all photos dated 21 Apr 1945
- Feldmarschall Model committed suicide. ww2dbase [Walter Model | CPC]
- Soviet 1st Ukrainian Front captured Bautzen and Cottbus, Germany. ww2dbase [TH]
- Soviet infantry reached Berlin, Germany. Adolf Hitler ordered an all-out counterattack against the Soviets at Berlin under the command of SS General Felix Steiner; this counterattack was never to be attempted. ww2dbase [Battle of Berlin | TH]
- US Ninth Army captured Blankenburg, Germany. ww2dbase [TH]
- US First Army captured Dessau, Germany. ww2dbase [TH]
- At the end of the Ruhr battle in Germany, 325,000 Germans were taken prisoner. ww2dbase [Fall of the Ruhr | CPC]
- Americans declared Ie Shima, Japan secure. ww2dbase [Okinawa Campaign | CPC]
- 200 to 300 German civilians from Gardelegen, Saxony, Germany were ordered by the US Army commander in the region to bury the 1,016 political and military prisoners who had been massacred by German SS and Luftwaffe troops on 13 Apr 1945. ww2dbase [CPC]
- Louis Mountbatten scheduled Operation Dracula against Rangoon, Burma for 2 May 1945. William Slim hastened his units overland toward Rangoon in an attempt to reach Rangoon before Dracula commenced. ww2dbase [Battle of Rangoon | CPC]
- Yukio Araki engaged American P-51 fighters over China. ww2dbase [Yukio Araki | CPC]
- International Red Cross representatives visited the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Theresienstadt Concentration Camp | TerezÃn, Cechy | CPC]
- On the orders of Finnish Home Secretary Yrjö Leino, which were dictated by Allied Control Commission chief Andrei Zhdanov (but acting on behalf of Soviet SMERSH rather than the Allies), 20 men (most of whom Finnish citizens) were arrested and turned over to the Soviet SMERSH. 2 others were targeted for arrest but they were able to escape capture. ww2dbase [CPC]
- Soviet troops under Ivan Konev captured the German military headquarters near Zossen, south of Berlin, Germany. ww2dbase [Battle of Berlin | Wünsdorf, Mark Brandenburg | CPC]
- Thousands of prisoners were marched out of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp in Germany toward the northeast, ahead of oncoming Soviet troops. Many of them would die en route. ww2dbase [Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp | Oranienburg, Mark Brandenburg | CPC]
- Soviet troops under Ivan Konev captured the German military headquarters near Zossen, south of Berlin, Germany. ww2dbase [Zossen | Wünsdorf, Mark Brandenburg | CPC]
- During the night (with the Red army already entering the suburbs) RAF Bomber Command attacked Berlin, Germany for the last time during the war. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | Berlin | AC]
- Theodor Morell was dismissed from his position as Adolf Hitler's personal physician, and departed the Führerbunker in Berlin, Germany in the evening. He was replaced by Ludwig Stumpfegger. ww2dbase [Theodor Morell | Berlin | CPC]
- Thousands of prisoners were marched out of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp in Germany toward the northeast, ahead of oncoming Soviet troops. Many of them would die en route. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Oranienburg, Mark Brandenburg | CPC]
- French First Army captured Stuttgart, Germany. ww2dbase [Southern Germany Campaign | Stuttgart, Württemberg-Hohenzollern | TH]
- Daniel Inouye led his platoon in destroying three German machine gun positions on the Gothic Line near San Terenzo, Italy, suffering a bullet wound in the stomach, a severed arm, and a bullet wound in the leg in the process. ww2dbase [Daniel Inouye | Toscana | CPC]
- 3rd Carpathian Infantry Division of Polish II Corps captured Bologna, Italy with assistance from US 34th Division. ww2dbase [Operation Grapeshot and Operation Roast | Bologna, Emilia-Romagna | TH, CPC]
- USS New Mexico arrived off Okinawa, Japan waters. ww2dbase [New Mexico | Okinawa | CPC]
- USS Boarfish arrived at Subic Bay, Philippine Islands, ending her second war patrol. ww2dbase [Boarfish | CPC]
- Viktor Abakumov was awarded the Order of Kutuzov 1st Class for the successful execution of the radio game "Tuman" involving Pyotr Tavrin, a Russian national who spied for the Germans. ww2dbase [Viktor Abakumov | CPC]
- Philippine air force began near-daily strikes on Japanese positions on Taiwan. ww2dbase [CPC]
- USS Ticonderoga departed Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Washington, United States for Alameda, California, United States, and then on to Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. ww2dbase [Ticonderoga | Puget Sound Navy Yard | Bremerton, Washington | DS, CPC]




See all photos dated 21 Apr 1945
21 Apr 1945 Interactive Map
Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you. Share this article with your friends: Stay updated with WW2DB: |
Search WW2DB & Partner Sites
News
- » Wreck of Samuel B. Roberts Found (27 Jun 2022)
- » Wreck of Jantina Found (4 Jan 2022)
- » WW2DB's 17th Anniversary (29 Dec 2021)
- » Wreck of Johnston Found (8 Apr 2021)
- » See all news
Current Site Statistics
- » 1,123 biographies
- » 334 events
- » 40,455 timeline entries
- » 1,185 ships
- » 341 aircraft models
- » 199 vehicle models
- » 368 weapon models
- » 123 historical documents
- » 238 facilities
- » 467 book reviews
- » 28,522 photos
- » 383 maps
Famous WW2 Quote
"You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory. Victory at all costs. Victory in spite of all terrors. Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival."Winston Churchill
Support Us

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 a month will go a long way. Thank you!

Or, please support us by purchasing some WW2DB merchandise at TeeSpring, Thank you!