Re: WWII: European Theater daily - 1944 (was Normandy Daily)
May 7, 1945: General Alfred Jodl signs the unconditional surrender of all German forces to the Allies, to take effect the day after (11:01 PM on May 8), at Eisenhower's headquarters near Rheims, France. British, French, Soviet and American representatives are all present. The Soviets witness the surrender at Rheims, but do not recognize the surrender until another document is signed in the Soviet-conquered territory. German occupation forces in Norway also surrender.
Allied military operations come to an end almost immediately after the surrender is signed. Eisenhower signals Combined Chiefs of Staff: “The mission of this Allied Force was fulfilled at 0241, local time, May 7th, 1945.”
US 9th Air Force fighters fly sweeps and demonstrations over POW camps.
Operations Manna and Chowhound continue as RAF Bomber Command utilizes Lancaster bombers (Manna) and US 8th Air Force uses 220 B-17 bombers (Chowhound) to drop food supplies to Dutch civilians.
US 7th Army troops capture Hungarian Prime Minister Szalasi.
French forces begin moving into La Rochelle overnight to take surrender of the German garrison.
Soviet troops of the 1st Belorussian Front reach the Elbe river north and south-east of Magdeburg. In Silesia, the German garrison of Breslau surrenders to the Soviet 1st Ukrainian Front after an 82 day siege. In Czechoslovakia, fighting continues north of Olmutz and in the town itself. On the Frische Nehring, in East Prussia, the remaining German forces continue to hold out near the village of Vogelsang.
German SS troops attack Czechoslovakian resistance fighters outside of Prague; the resistance fighters are saved by the unexpected assistance from 1st Division of Russian Liberation Army, which previously fought on the side of the Germans. Meanwhile, in the city, German Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner orders his troops to begin evacuating the city, while he will soon depart by plane to southern Germany himself; the plane will crash en route, but he would survive the ordeal.
Pictured: The schoolhouse in Reims, France used by Eisenhower as the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Forces (SHAEF). This is also where the first German surrender was signed on May 7, 1945
ColGen Alfred Jodl signing the documents of Germany’s surrender, Reims, France, May 7, 1945. His aide, Maj Wilhelm Oxenius, is on the left and Kriegsmarine Admiral Hans-Georg Von Friedeburg is on the right
German instrument of surrender, page 1 of 2
German instrument of surrender, page 2 of 2 (note signatures of Jodl, Smith, Sousloparov, and Sevez)
Map depicting the final campaign in Germany, April 19 - May 7, 1945
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