- April 9
- At the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Germany, Dr. Hans von Dohnanyi is executed for several anti-Nazi offences. [691.204]
- (evening) British bombers attack railway targets in Lille, France. [84.227]
- April 10
- The Soviet Red Army re-captures Odessa. [519.1933]
- (evening) British bombers attack railway targets in Ghent, France. [84.227]
- April 11
- (evening) 362 British bombers attack targets in Aachen. [84.229]
- April 13
- The American government requests Sweden to unconditionally stop exporting ball bearings and special steel machinery to Germany. [29.117]
- April 14
- In the harbor in Bombay, India, American cargo ship SS Fort Stikine explodes. It was carrying 1395 tons of explosives, and gold for the Indian Treasury. Ten nearby ships are destroyed, 500 people are killed, and 8000 injured. [103.24]
- In the North Atlantic, Royal Canadian Navy frigate Swansea and Royal Navy sloop Pelican sink German submarine U-448. [27.21] [447.29]
- April
- The 8th British Army secretly begins moving across Italy to join the 5th United States Army in an assault on Cassino. [1.21]
- 32 British Naval Air Arm Barracuda aircraft are launched from an aircraft carrier against German battleship Tirpitz in Kaafjord, Norway. Ten planes carry bombs weighing nearly one ton apiece. The attack is very successful, causing severe hull damage, leaving Tirpitz listing to starboard. [29.105]
vvv advertisement vvv
^^^ advertisement ^^^
- April 17
- British government imposes a ban on diplomatic pouches leaving the UK, except US and USSR, to help prevent information being leaked about the invasion of Europe. [54.83]
- April 22
- In the mid-Atlantic, Royal Canadian Navy frigates Matane and Swansea destroy German submarine U-311. [27.21] [455.25]
- April 24
- In the mid-Atlantic, a Royal Canadian Air Force Sunderland plane from 423 Squadron extensively damages German submarine U-672. [27.21]
- (evening) 627 British bombers attack targets in Karlsruhe, Germany. Little damage is done. [84.229]
- (evening) 260 British bombers attack targets in Munich, Germany. 30,000 people are made homeless. [84.229]
- April 26
- (0420 hours) German destroyer T-29 sinks in the English Channel, after shelling from Royal Canadian Navy destroyer Haida, and three other British and Canadian ships. [27.21] [28.401] [154.9] [447.29] [745.34]
- (evening) 493 British bombers attack targets in Essen, Germany. Enormous damage is inflicted. Seven planes are shot down. [84.230]
- (evening) 225 British bombers attack the ball-bearing industry centre at Schweinfurt, Germany. About 21 planes are shot down. [84.230,346]
- April 27
- (night) Operation Tiger takes place, with the Allies practising landing at Slapton Sands on the south coast of England. Several German E-boats (Schnellbootes) sink two LSTs and damage six others, with the loss of over 700 men. (Because of this incident, Adolf Hitler orders the lower Normandy defences reinforced.) [54.86,139]
- (evening) 323 British bombers attack Friedrichshafen, Germany. They destroy two-thirds of the Zeppelin works which was building V-2 rocket components. [84.230,346]
- April 29
- (0417 hours) In the English Channel, Royal Canadian Navy destroyer HMCS Athabaskan is hit by a torpedo from German destroyer T-24. [229.6]
- (0418 hours) In the English Channel, Canadian destroyers Athabaskan and Haida score a hit on a German destroyer. [229.6]
- (0420 hours) In the English Channel, Canadian destroyers Athabaskan and Haida score a second hit on a German destroyer. [229.6]
- (about 0425 hours) In the English Channel, Royal Canadian Navy destroyer Haida forces German destroyer T-27 to run aground on Ile de Vierge. [27.21] [154.9]
- (0427 hours) Canadian destroyer Athabaskan suffers a second explosion, possibly from a torpedo hit, and sinks in the English Channel. 128 men die, 83 taken prisoner, 44 rescued. [28.402] [27.21] [154.9] [229.5] [688.44]
- May 3
- (evening) 360 British bombers attack a German military camp at Mouilly-le-Camp. 42 planes are shot down. [84.229]
- May 6
- Off Cape Race, Newfoundland, German submarine U-548 torpedoes Royal Canadian Navy frigate Valleyfield, sinking it. [27.21]
- May 7
- Adolf Hitler gives Erwin Rommel control of three panzer divisions in northern France, the 2nd, 21st, and 116th. [54.114]
- May 8
- Supreme Commander of Operation Overlord Dwight Eisenhower tentatively sets June 5 as D-Day for the invasion of Europe. [172.3]
- May 9
- British Bomber Command makes its first major attack on coastal batteries in the Pas de Calais region of northern France. [84.346]
- May 11
- (2300 hours) Operation Diadem is launched in Italy. About 1600 Allied guns open fire on Monte Cassino. The British 4th Division and the Indian 8th Division attack the Gustav Line. [4.42] [28.411] [71.17] [149.255] [277.231] [442.18] [519.1952]
- May 12
- The Soviet Red Army liberates the Crimea area. [519.1933]
- 935 US 8th Air Force bombers attack several fuel plants in central and eastern Germany. This results in a reduction of daily output from 5850 metric tons to 4820. [373.346]
- May 14
- A French corps in Italy under General Alphonse Juin breaks through German mountain defenses into the valley of Ausente River, forcing the German 71st Division to fall back. [277.231]
- May 15
- (0900 hours) British General Bernard Montgomery holds the final dress rehearsal for Operation Overlord, at the St. Paul's School headquarters. [54.128] [172.3]
- The French Committee of National Liberation changes its name to Provisional Government of the Republic of France, under the leadership of Charles de Gaulle. [406.209]
- May
- Wreckage of a German pilotless bomb with wings (V-1) is recovered from a Swedish island. [449.40]
- American battleship California, torpedoed at Pearl Harbor, returns to active duty. [148.82]
- May 16
- In Germany, Adolf Eichmann gives Joel Brand of the Zionist Relief and Rescue Committee a ransom demand to convey to British and American governments: 1 million European Jews would be released in exchange for food and 10,000 trucks for use on the Eastern Front against the Soviet Union. [15.33]
- Adolf Hitler issues a Führer Order for the employment of long-range weapons against England to commence mid-June. The weapons include Fzg. 76 (later known as the V-1 bomb) directed at London, long-range artillery directed at British towns, and bomber planes. [149.239]
- In Italy, the 1st Canadian Corps receives orders to advance on the Hitler Line. [1.22]
- May 17
- Dwight Eisenhower selects June 5 as tentative D-Day for Operation Overlord. [519.1959]
- German paratroops at Cassino withdraw. [277.231] [519.1952]
- May 18
- In Italy, Polish troops take the monastery at the summit of Monte Cassino. [1.22] [71.17] [166.355] [766.42]
- May 20
- A German A-4 rocket, test launched from Blizna, Poland, lands nearly undamaged in swampy ground on the bank of the River Bug, near Klimczyce. The Polish Home Army quickly locates and covers the rocket, preventing German recovery of it. A few days later they transport and begin disassembly of the rocket, informing London of their discoveries, including that the rocket is partly radio-controlled, and uses hydrogen peroxide. [339.131]
- May 23
- (0459 hours) In Italy, the 1st Canadian Corps begins an attack on the Hitler Line. [1.22] [28.411] [442.18]
- (0630 hours) In Italy, American 3rd Division forces at Anzio break out of German encirclement, and launch a drive on Rome. [10.17] [166.343] [701.35]
- (morning) In Italy, the Carleton and York Regiment of the 1st Canadian Division, with the 25th British Tank Brigade, break through the Hitler Line, one kilometre south of Aquino. Tanks of the Canadian 5th Armoured Division race through the breach toward the Melfa River. [1.22] [28.418] [737.40]
- In Italy, the West Nova Scotia and Royal 22nd regiments of the Canadian 1st Division drive nearly a mile through the Hitler Line, reporting that they have met their division's final objective. [28.418]
- (1230+ hours) German forces in Italy counterattack the American breakout from Anzio, with eight Tiger tanks. [701.41]
- (2100 hours) The German counterattack on Americans from Anzio, Italy, is broken up. [701.41]
- May 25
- US 1st Armored and 3rd Infantry Division link up with 2nd Corps at Cori, Italy. [277.231]
- May 27
- (evening) 331 British bombers attack a German military camp at Bourg Leopold, Belgium. [84.229]
- (evening) British bombers attack targets in Aachen. [84.229]
- May 28
- (evening) 400 US Air Force bombers make a second attack on fuel plants in Germany, and US 15th Air Force strike refineries in Romanian oil fields Ploesti. Fuel production is completely halted. [373.348]
- May
- British Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory argues that the airborne operation of the D-Day attack be cancelled, due to high projected losses of men and aircraft. [27.45]
- May 30
- The US 36th Division pierces the Caesar line of German defenses at Velletri, Italy, on Route 7. [277.231]
- The USSR issues two postage stamps promoting the Day of the Nations United Against Germany, June 14, 1944. [343.523]
- May 31
- In Italy, retreating Germans burn two ships in a special museum near Lake Nemi outside Rome. The ships had been used in the lake as floating entertainment palaces in time of Caligula, about year 12-41. [546.52] [548.18]
- In Italy, Canadian forces occupy Frosinone. [1.22]
- (night) 245 minesweepers begin clearing the English coast, and clearing paths to the landing sites on the French coast. [54.170]
|