May 7 in Military History — On This Day

The Second Grand Assault

The second major assault targeted multiple wall sections simultaneously, forcing the defenders to split their already-thin resources. Zaganos Pasha's troops attacked from within the Golden Horn. The Anatolian corps struck the land walls near the Blachernae sector. Mehmed's elite Janissaries attacked the primary breach in the Lycus Valley. For three hours the defenders held, repulsing assault after assault in brutal close-quarters combat. Constantine XI himself fought at the breach with his household guard. By dawn, the second assault had failed — but the defenders had suffered casualties they could not replace.

The second defeat deepened Ottoman frustration and sharpened the debate within Mehmed's council between those who urged continued pressure and those who counseled negotiation. Mehmed silenced the latter with characteristic decisiveness: there would be no negotiation. But the defeats were costing him Janissary lives that even he could not afford to waste indefinitely.

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⚔️📍 Reims, France1945

Germany Signs Unconditional Surrender — WWII Ends in Europe

German Chief of Staff Alfred Jodl signed the unconditional surrender of all German forces at Allied Supreme Headquarters in Reims at 2:41 a.m., effective May 8. The act ended nearly six years of war that killed an estimated 70–85 million people.

V-E Day (Victory in Europe) was celebrated with massive street parties across Allied nations, though the war in the Pacific continued for three more months.

Outcome

WWII in Europe ends; Nazi Germany ceases to exist

Rafah Offensive

Despite intense US and international pressure to hold off, Israel launched its Rafah operation on May 7. Over 1 million displaced Palestinians had sought shelter in Rafah, making it the most densely populated city on earth. The IDF seized the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, cutting off the last major aid entry point. The operation proceeded block by block through the summer. On July 13, a targeted strike killed Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. On October 17, a random IDF infantry patrol encountered and killed Yahya Sinwar in Rafah's ruins.

The Rafah offensive achieved the stated military objective of destroying Hamas's last organized military formations and killing its senior leadership. But it also produced the war's most devastating humanitarian conditions, with aid effectively blocked for months. The killing of Sinwar removed Hamas's mastermind but did not end the conflict or produce a hostage deal.

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