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WWII On This Day: March 21

What happened on March 21 during World War II? This date brings together 1 event from 1945, with period photographs and links to the full operations documented across WW2 Theatres.

1945
Buffalo amphibious carriers moving up before the crossing.
Buffalo amphibious carriers moving up before the crossing. Imperial War Museums · IWM Non-Commercial Licence Source
The Rhine Crossings

The preparation

A month of build-up: around 60,000 tons of ammunition, 30,000 tons of engineer stores, some 37,000 British and 22,000 American engineers, and enough bridging for a road across the river. Smoke generators laid a screen sixty miles long down the west bank for two weeks so the Germans could not see what was being assembled. It is the largest logistical preparation in the west since Overlord, and it is the thing Plunder is really a record of.

Continue in The Rhine Crossings →