European theatre of World War II major German forces in the west were encircled and trapped in the Ruhr. On April 27, 1945, as Allied forces closed in on Milan, Mussolini was captured by Italian Partisans. He was trying to flee Italy to Switzerland and was traveling with a German anti-air battalion. On April 28, Mussolini and several of the other Fascists captured with him were taken to Dongo and executed by firing squad. The bodies were then taken to Milan and unceremoniously strung up in front of a filling station. Hitler, learning of Mussolini's death, realized that the end had finally come. He remained in
Timeline of World War II (1945–1991) the start of 2018, there are still tens of thousands of veterans of the conflict still alive. Timeline of World War II (1945–1991) This is a timeline of the events that stretched over the period of World War II from January 1945 to its conclusion and legal aftermath. Start of the ethnic cleansing of Germans from Central and eastern Europe. Up to 14 million people were expelled or killed. U.S.President Truman declares, "Although a state of war still exists, it is at this time possible to declare, and I find it to be in the public interest to declare, that