<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!-- IMPORTANT - SAVE THIS FILE AS UTF-8 -->
<!-- © Copyright 2014 Graphic News -->
<!-- General instructions about Graphic News interactive igraphics are available at http://www.graphicnews.com/info/info.php?info=int-->
<!-- An abbreviated downloadable guide is available at http://www.graphicnews.com/downloads/GNiGraphicsHTML5ReadMe.rtf  -->
<!-- Instructions for a particular graphic are given at the beginning of the xml file that accompanies an interactive graphic. So always look at the xml (or first intro xml if there are more than one). -->
<!-- If you need any help or assistance or would like permission to publish this graphic Tel: +44 207 404 4280 or helpdesk@graphicnews.com -->

<!-- TO CHANGE TEXT SIZE ALTER THE fontSize NUMBER OR TO CHANGE IT WITHIN SINGLE CAPTION:-->
<!--  <span style='font-size:28px; color:red'>TEXTHERE</span>  -->

<chapter>
<headSize>28px</headSize><!-- Size of headline text -->
<stanSize>15px</stanSize><!-- Size of standfirst text -->
<fontSize>13px</fontSize><!-- Size of caption text -->
<customColour>#3d3d3d</customColour>
<headline><![CDATA[The Fall of Nazi Germany]]></headline>
<source><![CDATA[Imperial War Museum, Chronicle of the Second World War, The Times Atlas of the Second World War<br>Pictures: Associated Press, Newscom, German Federal Archives]]></source>

<table1>
<strap><![CDATA[<span style='font-size:18px'>JANUARY</span>]]></strap>
<number1><date1><![CDATA[<span style='font-size:18px'><b>Jan 7, 1945:</b></span> <b><i>Josef Stalin</i></b> agrees to <b><i>Winston Churchill’s</i></b> call for a Soviet offensive to ease pressure on the Allies’ drive towards Germany from the west. The Red Army campaign begins five days later when 160 divisions attack German positions in Poland and East Prussia – and the stage is set for the downfall of the Third Reich]]></date1></number1>
<number1><date1><![CDATA[<span style='font-size:18px'><b>Jan 14-16:</b></span> <b>Poland:</b> Soviet forces cut railway line at Kracow. Red Army encircles Warsaw]]></date1></number1>
<number1><date1><![CDATA[<span style='font-size:18px'><b>Jan 16:</b></span> <b>Berlin:</b> Hitler returns to Reichstag, forced to take cover in his bunker as Allied bombers attack city]]></date1></number1>
<number1><date1><![CDATA[<span style='font-size:18px'><b>Jan 17-18:</b></span> <b>Warsaw:</b> Polish capital liberated after five years of Nazi occupation. Soviet government set up<img align='left' src='images/jan1.png' width='100%' height='202' hspace='0' vspace='0' /><br>Above: Russian and Polish troops march through Warsaw after Germans driven out of Polish capital]]></date1></number1>
<number1><date1><![CDATA[<span style='font-size:18px'><b>Jan 27:</b></span> <b>Berlin:</b> With Red  Army closing in, streets are cleared of refugees to make way for reinforcements]]></date1></number1>
<number1><date1><![CDATA[<img align='left' src='images/jan2.png' width='100%' height='206' hspace='0' vspace='0' /><span style='font-size:18px'><b>Jan 27:</b></span> <b>Auschwitz:</b> Russian troops enter Nazis’ biggest death camp, where 1.5 million people – including 1.1 million Jews – were murdered from 1942-45 in Hitler’s <b><i>Final Solution</i></b>]]></date1></number1>
<number1><date1><![CDATA[<img align='left' src='images/jan3.png' width='128' height='128' hspace='0' vspace='0' /><span style='font-size:18px'><b>Jan 31:</b></span> Led by <b><i>Marshal Georgi Zhukov</i></b>, Red Army crosses German border into Pomerania – 150km from Berlin, cutting vital Nazi rail link with Danzig]]></date1></number1>
</table1>
<table2>
<strap><![CDATA[<span style='font-size:18px'>FEBRUARY</span>]]></strap>
<number2><date2><![CDATA[<span style='font-size:18px'><b>Feb 3:</b></span> U.S. warplanes drop 3,000 tonnes of bombs on Berlin, setting alight 13 square km of city]]></date2></number2>
<number2><date2><![CDATA[<span style='font-size:18px'><b>Feb 8-10:</b></span> Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) attacks key targets, including V2 rocket sites. British and Canadian forces breach West Wall (Siegfried Line), to reach Rhine. Germans blow up floodgates on Roer, flooding area west of Cologne in bid to halt Allied advance]]></date2></number2>
<number2><date2><![CDATA[<img align='left' src='images/feb2.png' width='100%' height='300' hspace='0' vspace='0' /><span style='font-size:18px'><b>Feb 14:</b></span> RAF and U.S. planes fire-bomb Dresden, killing more than 50,000 people]]></date2></number2>
<number2><date2><![CDATA[<img align='left' src='images/feb3.png' width='128' height='128' hspace='0' vspace='0' /><span style='font-size:18px'><b>Feb 19:</b></span> <b><i>Heinrich Himmler</i></b>, SS chief and second in Nazi command, makes initial overtures for peace talks with western Allies]]></date2></number2>
<number2><date2><![CDATA[<span style='font-size:18px'><b>Feb 21-22:</b></span> RAF and U.S. planes bomb key Nazi transport links, dropping 400,000 incendiaries on Nuremberg]]></date2></number2>
<number2><date2><![CDATA[<span style='font-size:18px'><b>Feb 25:</b></span> After three months of fierce fighting U.S. 3rd Armoured Division crosses Roer and advances on Cologne]]></date2></number2>
</table2>
<table3>
<strap><![CDATA[<span style='font-size:18px'>MARCH</span>]]></strap>
<number3><date3><![CDATA[<span style='font-size:18px'><b>Mar 3:</b></span> Finland joins war on Germany]]></date3></number3>
<number3><date3><![CDATA[<span style='font-size:18px'><b>Mar 7:</b></span> Allies capture Cologne and strategic <b><i>Remagen Bridge</i></b>, only bridge left intact by retreating German troops]]></date3></number3>
<number3><date3><![CDATA[<span style='font-size:18px'><b>Mar 8-25:</b></span> Allied forces fight their way across Rhine, setting up 56km-wide bridgehead on east bank.<br><b>Hitler is unable to stop Allied troops pouring across Rhine. Red Army prepares for final assault on Berlin</b>]]></date3></number3>
</table3>
<table4>
<strap><![CDATA[<span style='font-size:18px'>APRIL</span>]]></strap>
<number4><date4><![CDATA[<span style='font-size:18px'><b>Apr 1:</b></span> Believing that Allies are mounting operation to capture Berlin, Stalin orders Red Army to take it first]]></date4></number4>
<number4><date4><![CDATA[<img align='right' src='images/apr1.png' width='159' height='128' hspace='0' vspace='0' /><span style='font-size:18px'><b>Apr 12:</b></span> U.S. President <b><i>Franklin D. Roosevelt</i></b> dies. Vice president <b><i>Harry S. Truman</i></b> (<i>right</i>) sworn into office]]></date4></number4>
<number4><date4><![CDATA[<span style='font-size:18px'><b>Apr 16:</b></span> Allied armies halt advance on Berlin to allow Soviets to take city. Over 2.5 million Russian troops, supported by over 6,000 tanks and 7,500 aircraft, begin final drive towards Berlin. Hitler retreats to his bunker]]></date4></number4>
<number4><date4><![CDATA[<span style='font-size:18px'><b>Apr 23:</b></span> Zhukov’s forces battle to within 150 metres of Reichstag]]></date4></number4>
<number4><date4><![CDATA[<img align='left' src='images/arrow.png' width='20' height='16' hspace='0' vspace='0' /><span style='font-size:18px'><b>Apr 25:</b></span> U.S. and Soviet troops meet at Torgau on Elbe River]]></date4></number4>
<number4><date4><![CDATA[<img align='right' src='images/apr2.png' width='166' height='128' hspace='0' vspace='0' /><span style='font-size:18px'><b>Apr 28:</b></span> Hitler’s main ally, Italian dictator <b><i>Benito Mussolini</i></b>, executed by partisans]]></date4></number4>
<number4><date4><![CDATA[<span style='font-size:18px'><b>Apr 30:</b></span> Hitler poisons his wife of 36 hours, <b><i>Eva Braun</i></b>, before committing suicide. Bodies doused in petrol and burnt]]></date4></number4>
</table4>
<table5>
<strap><![CDATA[<span style='font-size:18px'>MAY</span>]]></strap>
<number5><date5><![CDATA[<img align='left' src='images/may1.png' width='100%' height='460' hspace='0' vspace='0' /><span style='font-size:18px'><b>May 1-2:</b></span> Berlin falls to Red Army. Zhukov accepts German surrender in Berlin. War in Italy finally ends with surrender of almost 500,000 German troops]]></date5></number5>
<number5><date5><![CDATA[<img align='right' src='images/may2.png' width='162' height='128' hspace='0' vspace='0' /><span style='font-size:18px'><b>May 4:</b></span> Britain’s Field Marshal <b><i>Bernard Montgomery</i></b> accepts surrender of all German forces in Netherlands, Denmark and north-west Germany]]></date5></number5>
<number5><date5><![CDATA[<span style='font-size:18px'><b>May 7:</b></span> Germany signs unconditional surrender of “all forces on land, sea and in the air”]]></date5></number5>
<strap1><![CDATA[<span style='font-size:18px'>VE DAY: May 8 declared<br>Victory in Europe Day</span>]]></strap1>
</table5>



<txt0><![CDATA[KEY PLAYERS]]></txt0>
<txt1><![CDATA[<b><i>Winston Churchill</i></b><br>British Prime Minister]]></txt1>
<txt2><![CDATA[<b><i>Josef Stalin</i></b><br>Soviet Premier]]></txt2>
<txt3><![CDATA[<b><i>Adolf Hitler</i></b><br>Nazi leader]]></txt3>
<txt4><![CDATA[DENMARK]]></txt4>
<txt5><![CDATA[SWEDEN]]></txt5>
<txt6><![CDATA[Riga]]></txt6>
<txt7><![CDATA[Moscow]]></txt7>
<txt8><![CDATA[NETHERLANDS]]></txt8>
<txt9><![CDATA[UNITED<br>KINGDOM]]></txt9>
<txt10><![CDATA[BELGIUM]]></txt10>
<txt11><![CDATA[Vilna]]></txt11>
<txt12><![CDATA[SOVIET<br>UNION]]></txt12>
<txt13><![CDATA[Hamburg]]></txt13>
<txt14><![CDATA[Berlin]]></txt14>
<txt15><![CDATA[Danzig]]></txt15>
<txt16><![CDATA[London]]></txt16>
<txt17><![CDATA[GREATER GERMANY]]></txt17>
<txt18><![CDATA[Warsaw]]></txt18>
<txt19><![CDATA[200km<br>125 miles]]></txt19>
<txt20><![CDATA[Cologne]]></txt20>
<txt21><![CDATA[Dresden]]></txt21>
<txt22><![CDATA[POLAND]]></txt22>
<txt23><![CDATA[Paris]]></txt23>
<txt24><![CDATA[FRANCE]]></txt24>
<txt25><![CDATA[Nuremberg]]></txt25>
<txt26><![CDATA[BOHEMIA-<br>MORAVIA]]></txt26>
<txt27><![CDATA[Kracow]]></txt27>
<txt28><![CDATA[Kiev]]></txt28>
<txt29><![CDATA[UKRAINE]]></txt29>
<txt30><![CDATA[Munich]]></txt30>
<txt31><![CDATA[SVK]]></txt31>
<txt32><![CDATA[SWITZ.]]></txt32>
<txt33><![CDATA[HUNGARY]]></txt33>
<txt34><![CDATA[VICHY<br>FRANCE]]></txt34>
<txt35><![CDATA[ITALY]]></txt35>
<txt36><![CDATA[SPAIN]]></txt36>
<txt37><![CDATA[Height of Nazi domination 1941-42]]></txt37>
<txt38><![CDATA[Greater Germany<br>of Third Reich]]></txt38>
<txt39><![CDATA[Occupied by<br>Third Reich]]></txt39>
<txt40><![CDATA[Axis powers /<br>Puppet states]]></txt40>
<txt41><![CDATA[Allies]]></txt41>
<txt42><![CDATA[Soviet front<br>line: Feb 2]]></txt42>
<txt43><![CDATA[BALTIC<br>SEA]]></txt43>
<txt44><![CDATA[Soviet front<br>line: Jan 12]]></txt44>
<txt45><![CDATA[Danzig]]></txt45>
<txt46><![CDATA[Stettin]]></txt46>
<txt47><![CDATA[POMERANIA]]></txt47>
<txt48><![CDATA[EAST<br>PRUSSIA]]></txt48>
<txt49><![CDATA[Berlin]]></txt49>
<txt50><![CDATA[Poznan]]></txt50>
<txt51><![CDATA[Vistula]]></txt51>
<txt52><![CDATA[Warsaw]]></txt52>
<txt53><![CDATA[Frankfurt<br>an der Oder]]></txt53>
<txt54><![CDATA[Oder]]></txt54>
<txt55><![CDATA[Dresden]]></txt55>
<txt56><![CDATA[POLAND]]></txt56>
<txt57><![CDATA[Kracow]]></txt57>
<txt58><![CDATA[Breslau]]></txt58>
<txt59><![CDATA[Vistula]]></txt59>
<txt60><![CDATA[Prague]]></txt60>
<txt61><![CDATA[BOHEMIA<br>MORAVIA]]></txt61>
<txt62><![CDATA[100km<br>60 miles]]></txt62>
<txt63><![CDATA[Auschwitz]]></txt63>
<txt64><![CDATA[Allied front line: Feb 8]]></txt64>
<txt65><![CDATA[NETH.]]></txt65>
<txt66><![CDATA[Rhine]]></txt66>
<txt67><![CDATA[Duesseldorf]]></txt67>
<txt68><![CDATA[Remagen<br>Bridge]]></txt68>
<txt69><![CDATA[Roer]]></txt69>
<txt70><![CDATA[Cologne]]></txt70>
<txt71><![CDATA[Bonn]]></txt71>
<txt72><![CDATA[BELGIUM]]></txt72>
<txt73><![CDATA[Bitburg]]></txt73>
<txt74><![CDATA[Koblenz]]></txt74>
<txt75><![CDATA[20km<br>12 miles]]></txt75>
<txt76><![CDATA[West Wall]]></txt76>
<txt77><![CDATA[Allied front<br>line: Apr 18]]></txt77>
<txt78><![CDATA[Soviet front<br>line: Apr 18]]></txt78>
<txt79><![CDATA[Potsdam]]></txt79>
<txt80><![CDATA[Elbe]]></txt80>
<txt81><![CDATA[Berlin]]></txt81>
<txt82><![CDATA[Neisse]]></txt82>
<txt83><![CDATA[Torgau]]></txt83>
<txt84><![CDATA[40km<br>25 miles]]></txt84>
<txt85><![CDATA[Colditz]]></txt85>
<txt86><![CDATA[Dresden]]></txt86>
<txt87><![CDATA[Winston Churchill greets crowds of civilians, British and Allied troops in Whitehall, London, celebrating the end of the war in Europe]]></txt87>
<txt88><![CDATA[U.S. B-17 Flying Fortress bomber]]></txt88>
<txt89><![CDATA[First American infantrymen cross Remagen Bridge, en route to Berlin]]></txt89>
<txt90><![CDATA[Map]]></txt90>
<txt91><![CDATA[Sources]]></txt91>
<txt92><![CDATA[<b><i>Franklin D. Roosevelt</i></b><br>U.S. President]]></txt92>
</chapter>