Posts Categorized: Today WWII History

80 Years Ago—Apr. 21, 1941: Greek First Army surrenders to Germans in northern Greece.

80 Years Ago—Apr. 20, 1941: Greek forces in Albania surrender to the Germans. In Greece, the German Luftwaffe bombs Athens and Piraeus, sinking five ships—heavy raids will continue for next three days. Riot between Sikhs and Muslims in Bombay, India, leads to 400 casualties.

80 Years Ago—Apr. 19, 1941: Luftwaffe sends 712 bombers to London, 449 killed, including 34 firemen, the largest single loss of firefighters in British history. British women ages 20-30 are conscripted for war work; mothers of children under 14 are exempt.

80 Years Ago—Apr. 18, 1941: As the Germans advance in Greece, Prime Minister Alexandros Koryzis commits suicide; King George assumes leadership. British & Indian troops land in Basra, Iraq, to counteract the new pro-Axis government.

80 Years Ago—Apr. 17, 1941: Yugoslavia signs armistice with Germany; King Peter II will establish a Yugoslavian government-in-exile in London. In Iraq, Prime Minister Rashid Ali al-Gaylani asks for German aid in expelling the British.

80 Years Ago—Apr. 16, 1941: First US Lend-Lease food arrives in Britain. British destroyers sink all eight ships in an Axis convoy off Tunisia; 1800 killed. Firefighters from Ireland cross into Northern Ireland to help with fires in Belfast caused by heavy Luftwaffe bombing.

80 Years Ago—Apr. 15, 1941: Germans take Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. German Luftwaffe bombs Belfast, Northern Ireland, killing 600-700.

80 Years Ago—Apr. 14, 1941: As the Axis powers take over Yugoslavia, King Peter II and the Yugoslavian government escape to Athens, Greece. Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond, California, lays the keel for its first ship, the Ocean Vanguard; 747 ships will be built in Richmond.

80 Years Ago—Apr. 13, 1941: USSR and Japan sign a five-year nonaggression pact. On Easter, Pope Pius XII cancels usual service in St. Peter’s Square due to the war and says mass in a private chapel instead.

80 Years Ago—Apr. 12, 1941: Germans take Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Hitler divides Yugoslavia between Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Bulgaria, leaving Croatia as a puppet state. Germans take Bardia, Libya.