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• Dwight Eisenhower ordered George Patton to cease making plans to enter German-occupied Czechoslovakia. ww2dbase [Dwight Eisenhower | George Patton | TH]

• Chinese 6th Army captured Hsipaw, Burma. ww2dbase [Hsipaw | CPC]
• The Indian 5th Division arrived in the Meiktila, Burma area. To the south, Anglo-Indian troops again assaulted Fort Dufferin in Mandalay, Burma in failure, suffering heavy casualties. ww2dbase [Battle of Meiktila-Mandalay | Meiktila | CPC]

• Emperor Bao Dai of Nguyen Dynasty Vietnam assumed direct control of the Vietnamese government. ww2dbase [Bao Dai | Hue, Annam | CPC]

• The Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen, Germany, which had served the Allies so well, collapsed after repeated being bombed by German Ar 234 jet bombers. Twenty-eight American engineers trying to strengthen the structure were swept away to their deaths. Meanwhile, US Third Army captured Koblenz, Germany about 15 miles to the southeast. ww2dbase [Advance to the Rhine | Remagen, Moselland | AC]
• 1,260 Allied heavy bombers hit 2 synthetic oil plants in Germany while 650 medium bombers attacked the rail system. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | CPC]
• German troops evacuated Kolberg, Germany (now Kolobrzeg, Poland) by sea. ww2dbase [East Pomeranian Offensive | Kolberg | CPC]
• The USAAF 306th Bomb Group flying from RAF Thurleigh launched a bombing raid against a power plant at Mölbis, Germany. ww2dbase [Bombing of Hamburg, Dresden, and Other Cities | RAF Thurleigh | Mölbis | DS]

• 331 US B-29 bombers destroyed 7 square kilometers of Kobe, Japan; 8,841 were killed and 650,000 were displaced. The US attack also heavily damaged submarine I-15, which was under-construction at Kobe, nearly completed. ww2dbase [Bombing of Tokyo and Other Cities | Kobe, Hyogo | CPC]
• A German sailor assigned to UIT-25 was killed at Kobe, Japan during an American bombing. ww2dbase [Luigi Torelli | Kobe, Hyogo | CPC]

• Submarine USS Tinosa departed Saipan on her ninth war patrol. ww2dbase [Tinosa | Tanapag Harbor, Saipan | DS]

• USS Spot attacked a Japanese convoy in the East China Sea, sinking one ship and damaging another; 16 torpedoes were expended in this attack. ww2dbase [Spot | East China Sea | CPC]

• USS Bailey arrived off Zamboanga, Mindanao, Philippines. Bailey was loaded with a captured Japanese suicide boat for transportation to Leyte Gulf. Bailey departed for Leyte Gulf immediately. ww2dbase [Bailey | Zamboanga, Mindanao | DS]

• German V-2 rocket hit 212 Finchley Road near Borough Central Library in Hampstead, London, England, United Kingdom. Aside from the library, 1,000 homes, the telephone exchange, the lighting station, Council's Work Depot, Warden's Post No. 16, and Women's Voluntary Service offices were damaged. Another rocket hit the Rippleway sidings in Barking, London at 2230 hours. ww2dbase [Vergeltungswaffe 2 | V-Weapons Campaign | London, England | CPC]

• USS Alabama departed Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, United States. ww2dbase [Alabama | Puget Sound Navy Yard | Bremerton, Washington | CPC]
• Escort carrier USS Bogue arrived at Quonset Point, Rhode Island. ww2dbase [Bogue | Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island | DS]

17 Mar 1945 Interactive Map