1942 - US Army Center Of Military History

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Japanese forces on Mindanao are thus divided.
Am-phibious forces move upstream and secure ferry
crossing in Kabacan area. In Sulu Archipelago,
troops of RCT 163, 41st Div, overrun Mt Daho, last
organized enemy position on Jolo I., with ease. On
Palawan, reinf platoon of Co G, 186th Inf, 41st Div,
makes unopposed landing on Pandanan I., off S
tip of Palawan. Liberation of Palawan Province is
virtually completed. On Cebu, 3d Bn of 182d Inf
moves W by truck from Cebu City to Toledo and
then N along coastal road to Tabuclan. On Bohol,
3d Bn regains contact with Japanese, who have dug
in N of barrio of Nanod, and is pinned down.
RYUKYU Is.—Japanese air activity against shipping
in Okinawa area increases. In U.S. Tenth
Army’s XXIV Corps area, 27th Div slightly improves
positions on W flank of corps but Japanese
retain Item Pocket, Kakazu, and most of Urasoe-
Mura Escarpment. TF Bradford (Brig Gen William
B. Bradford, 27th Div ADC), consisting of elements
of 27th, 7th, and 96th Divs with supporting
units, is formed to destroy the Kakazu Pocket. 383d
Inf, 96th Div, relieves battered 382d and, with 2d
Bn of 382d attached, attempts to take saddle in
Nishibaru Ridge; elements seize Nishibaru Village.
7th Div’s right flank is still held up at Rocky Crags;
on left flank, 32d Inf holds current positions on
Skyline Ridge and patrols.
23 April
WESTERN EUROPE—Heinrich Himmler offers to
surrender German forces to Western Allies during
conference at the Swedish consulate in Luebeck. The
offer is subsequently rejected by the Allies, who call
for unconditional surrender on all fronts.
21 Army Group: In Br Second Army area, 12
Corps enters Harburg, on the Elbe opposite
Hamburg.
12th Army Group: In U.S. Ninth Army’s XIII
Corps area, 29th Div continues toward the Elbe
against light opposition. 5th Armd Div finishes
clearing its sector along the Elbe; Dannenberg surrenders
to CCR after brief fire fight. In XVI Corps
area, 55th AAA Brig takes responsibility for N
part of 95th Div zone. 75th Div begins relief of
5th Div S of the Ruhr.
U.S. First Army releases 4th Armd Div to Third
Army as reserve. In VII Corps area, enemy resistance
in corps zone ceases at 2100, by which time 3d
Armd Div has cleared Dessau and its entire sector.
9th Div ( — RCT 60) thoroughly combs Harz Mts.
4th Cav Gp begins security mission in Quedlinburg
Aschersleben Klostermansfeld area that continues
until end of war. In V Corps area, 1st Bn
of 271st Inf, 69th Div, finishes clearing Eilenburg.
[ 23 APRIL 1945 ]
In U.S. Third Army’s XII Corps area, CCB and
CCA of 11th Armd Div drive quickly from Naab
R to Cham, which CCB clears with ease, completing
current mission of div. Roads in div zone are clogged
with thousands of prisoners and slave laborers. 104th
Inf, 26th Div, advances unopposed to Dautersdorf–
Neuenburg area; 328th gets forward elements to
Schoengras. 358th Inf, 90th Div, overruns Flossenburg—where
large concentration camp and an aircraft
factory are secured—and Waldthurn; 357th
takes Albersrieth (W of Waldthurn), Kaimling, and
Michldorf; 359th is relieved by 2d Cav Gp as far S
as Tirschenreuth and displaces SE to continue
blocking along left flank of div. 97th Div closes in
corps zone; continuing relief of 2d Cav Gp, takes
over line As-Arzberg. 11th Armd Div is directed to
continue SE to effect junction with Soviet forces near
German-Austrian border; 26th Div, echeloned to
right rear of armor, will protect right flank of corps
along the Danube and secure bridges; 97th and 90th
Divs and 2d Cav Gp are to contain enemy in
Czechoslovakia and seize passes along border. In
XX Corps area, 3d Cav Gp continues rapidly toward
the Danube, 3d Sq turning over Naab R bridgehead
at Burglengenfeld to 71st Div. 71st Div speeds SE,
bypassing pockets of resistance. 5th Inf, on left, clears
Schwandorf while 66th, on right, presses toward
Regensburg. 65th Div advances rapidly, committing
261st Inf on right flank through elements of 259th;
takes Griffenwang and Kittensee on left and Hardt
and See on right; to rear, final resistance is overcome
at Neumarkt. In III Corps area, 14th Cav Gp
moves SE on left flank of corps, elements entering
XX Corps zone to relieve 65th Div forces on hill S
of Neumarkt. 14th Armd Div is transferred to corps
to spearhead attack S in center of corps front while
99th Div follows. 99th Div, after waiting for 14th
Armd Div to cross its front, jumps off in afternoon
with 394th Inf on left and 395th on right and advances
to line Allersberg–Holpoltstein. 86th Div continues
SE on right flank of corps.
U.S. Fifteenth Army issues instructions for expansion
of Army zone of occupation to include First
and Ninth Armies’ portion of Rheinprovinz E of
the Rhine and 6th Army Group’s remaining portion
of Pfalz, Saarland, and Hessen W of the Rhine.
In XXIII Corps area, 54th AAA Brig takes over
Koblenz subarea, relieving XXII Corps of that portion
W of the Rhine and 8th Div (XVIII Corps
(A/B) ) of portion E of the Rhine.
6th Army Group: In U.S. Seventh Army area, XV
Corps takes command of 20th Armd Div to spearhead
drive on Munich, 45th Div to follow on left and
42d on right. 45th and 42d Divs are driving S toward
the Danube to clear routes of advance for armor.
In XXI Corps area, CCA of 12th Armd Div, reinf
by elements of CCB, strengthens and expands Dil-