US forces in Paris after its liberation. The German
commander of the city chose to ignore
Hitler's order to destroy it

August 25
Politics, ROMANIA
The former member of the Axis power bloc declares war on Germany.

Western Front, France
The commander of the German garrison of Paris, General Dietrich von Choltitz, surrenders the city to Lieutenant Henri Karcher of the French 2nd Armored Division. Choltitz, who has 5000 men, 50 artillery pieces, and a company of tanks under his command, had been ordered by Hitler to ensure that 'Paris [does] not fall into the hands of the enemy except as a heap of ruins.' Some 500 Resistance members and 127 other civilians are killed in the fighting for the city.

August 25-26
Western Front, France
The British XII and XXX Corps cross the Seine River.

Italy, Adriatic Sector
The Allied assault on the Gothic Line begins. The German defense line is 200 miles (320 km) long and runs from the valley of the Magra River, south of La Spezia on the west coast, through the Apuan Mountains and the Apennines, ending in the valley of the Foglia River, and reaching the east coast between Pesaro and Cattolica. The assault is conducted by three corps - the British V, Canadian I, and Polish - of the Eighth Army. The plan is to seize the Gemmano-Coriano Ridge complex, thereby unlocking the coastal 'gate' and allowing Allied armor to break out to the plains of the Po Valley. However, German resistance is fierce.

August 27
Far East, Burma
The last of the Chindits are evacuated to India.

August 28
Eastern Front, Poland
The Polish Home Army continues to fight in Warsaw, but German air attacks and artillery fire are so heavy that the Poles have been forced into the sewers. Soviet leader Stalin has refused to help the freedom fighters, and so the Red Army awaits the outcome on the far side of the Vistula River.

August 30
Eastern Front, Slovakia
Elements of the armed forces and partisans in the Nazi puppet state stage an uprising against their German overlords as the Red Army approaches the country's Eastern border.

August 31
Western Front, France
The US Third Army spearheads an advance toward the Meuse River as the British XXX Corps secures all the main bridges over the Somme near Amiens.

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