Today in
World War II History

Damage at Victoria Dock after Fort Stikine explosion, Bombay, India, 14 April 1944 (public domain via Wikipedia)

80 Years Ago—April 14, 1944: Countdown to D-day: RAF and US Eighth and Ninth Air Forces in England come under Gen. Dwight Eisenhower’s command for Operation Overlord.

At Bombay, India, British ammunition ship Fort Stikine explodes, killing 1300 and destroying 27 ships.

Chinese troops launch offensive across border into Burma.

B-17 Memphis Belle and her crew in England, 7 June 1943 (US Air Force photo 24147 AC)

80 Years Ago—April 13, 1944: Countdown to D-day: RAF and US Ninth Air Force begin bombing campaign against gun emplacements in Normandy and elsewhere on French coast to conceal invasion site.

Martial law lifted in US Territory of Hawaii, which had been in place since the attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941.

Hollywood movie premiere of the documentary Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress, directed by William Wyler, about the famous B-17’s 25^th mission.

Longues-sur-Mer gun battery, Longues-sur-Mer, France, September 2017 (Photo: Sarah Sundin)

Prince Umberto of Italy, 1944 (Imperial War Museum: TR 1827)

80 Years Ago—April 12, 1944: German troops begin evacuating the Crimea by sea.

King Vittorio Emanuele of Italy transfers most powers to his son Prince Umberto but retains the throne.

Allied map showing German gun emplacements and defenses at Pointe du Hoc, Normandy, dated 21 April 1944 and used in preparations for D-day (Imperial War Museum MH 24806)

80 Years Ago—April 11, 1944: Countdown to D-day: Lt. Col. James Rudder submits plan for US 2^nd Ranger Battalion’s assault on Pointe du Hoc in Normandy on D-day. Read more: “The Land Beneath Us Tour of Pointe du Hoc.”

Due to increasing instances of sabotage in factories by the French, the German SS orders public execution as the penalty for sabotage.

Soviets take Kerch in Ukraine.

A copy of Operation Neptune orders and a weather map, on display at the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth, England, September 2017 (Photo: Sarah Sundin)

80 Years Ago—April 10, 1944: Countdown to D-day: Adm. Sir Bertram Ramsay (Allied Naval Commander, Expeditionary Force) issues 700-page Naval Orders, Operation Neptune (naval plan for D-day). Read more: “The Sea Before Us tour – D-Day at Sea.”

Soviets & partisans take Odessa, Ukraine.

Park Street Church, Boston, MA (Photo: Sarah Sundin, July 2014)

80 Years Ago—April 9, 1944: Japanese surround 155,000 British & Indian troops in Imphal, India.

On Easter, churches around the nation donate $600,000 to the new War Relief Fund, started by Park Street Church in Boston, MA; in 1950, the organization will become World Relief.

Maj. Richard Bong in his P-38 (US Air Force photo 53021 AC)

80 Years Ago—April 8, 1944: Over New Guinea, Capt. Dick Bong of the US Fifth Air Force surpasses Eddie Rickenbacker’s 26 victories in WWI to become the top US ace.

New song in Top Ten: “Long Ago and Far Away” from the movie Cover Girl.

“Selection” of Hungarian Jews on the ramp at Auschwitz-II-Birkenau in German-occupied Poland, May/June 1944 (public domain via Yad Vashem)

80 Years Ago—April 7, 1944: Slovak Jews Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler escape from Auschwitz; they will write a detailed report that will be published in Geneva on May 17 and will lead Hungary to halt deportations in July 1944.

At besieged Kohima in India, Japanese troops seize the city’s water supply.

Garrison Hill at Kohima, India, 1944 (Imperial War Museum: IND 3698)

80 Years Ago—April 6, 1944: Japanese besiege 3500 British & Indian troops in Kohima, India.

United Kingdom expands PAYE (Pay As You Earn) tax system to all taxpayers.

Movie premiere of Cover Girl, starring Gene Kelly & Rita Hayworth; Oscar winner for orchestration for Carmen Dragon (of Antioch, CA).

Stella Romana oil refinery at Ploesti, Romania after US 15th Air Force bombing, 1944 (USAF photo)

80 Years Ago—April 5, 1944: US Strategic Air Forces (in England and Italy) begins campaign against German oil production: US Fifteenth Air Force sends 334 bombers to oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania.