April 26, 1942: Hitler Expands His Powers

Sunday 26 April 1942

Adolf Hitler addressing the Reichstag, 26 April 1942 (Federal Archive Image 101I-811-1881-33).

Battle of the Pacific: The Allies are busy beefing up their air defenses in northern Australia and at Port Moresby on 26 April 1942, and not a moment too soon. Today, the 35th and 36th Pursuit Squadrons of 8th Pursuit Group transfer their P-39s and P-40s from Brisbane and Townsville, respectively, to Port Moresby, New Guinea. Everyone can see from the flow of Japanese invasions that Port Moresby is likely to be the next "hot spot" on the road to Australia. However, it remains unclear if the Japanese will try a seaborne invasion launched from their overseas headquarters at Rabaul or try to cross the forbidding Owen Stanley Mountain Range. The distance between the Japanese positions on the north coast and the Australian-held port on the south coast is not terribly much as the crow flies, but the crow would have to fly high over mountains and dense jungles to make the trip.

Polish Judge Karol Wrona (No. 29596), a native of Rudno, executed at Auschwitz on 26 April 1942.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: Pursuant to orders from General Harold Alexander, commander of all forces in Burma, British and Chinese troops withdraw to positions north of Mandalay. Chinese forces of the Sixty-Sixth Army and attached units are concentrating in Lashio, where there are warehouses full of supplies bound for China, as the Japanese rapidly approach.

The situation in Burma is murky to the world at large, many of whom could not find it on a map. A reporter for the Sunday Observer (now affiliated with The Guardian) in London attempts to summarize it on 26 April 1942:

The Japanese are practicing the advantages of mobility which they enjoyed in Malaya, and getting the full benefit of the lead which it gives them over our more cumbersomely equipped forces. They have been switching their attack from the east to the west and back again to the east, looking all the time for our weak spots. They found one at Taunggyi, ninety-five miles south-east of Mandalay, and they are now throwing their heavy forces into this railway terminus, which gives them a valuable springboard for the decisive attack on Mandalay.

While things look dire for the Allies due to the rapid Japanese advance, the weather is about to become their ally. The monsoon season is about to begin and that will stop the Japanese better than the Allies can.

As losses mount on the Eastern Front (over a third of the initial troops of Operation Barbarossa have become casualties), the Wehrmacht is recruiting heavily in the Nordic nations. Here, soldiers from the Free Corps Denmark march out of the K.B. Hallen as part of the DNSAP's spring appeal on 26 April 1942. (National Museum of Denmark).

Eastern Front: As General Franz Halder notes in his diary entry for 26 April 1942, the spring thaw has brought operations on both sides to a temporary halt:

Situation: Unchanged quiet. Apparently, the effects of the seasonal mud are severely felt in Center and North [Army Groups]. In [Army Group] South, the enemy regrouping movements opposite our front continue.

Halder does not know this, but the Red Army is reshuffling its units to launch a major operation to retake Kharkiv. Stalin is determined to get in some more successes from the dying winter counteroffensive before the expected German summer offensive. Halder notes in his diary that he is leaving his headquarters at 20:05 to attend the Fuhrer's Reichstag speech in Berlin.

While it did not receive much attention in the post-war world, the bombing of Bath was considered quite horrific at the time and resulted in this pamphlet, "The Bombardment of Bath." 

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe returns to Bath on the night of 26/27 April 1942 for the second night in a row. The two raids cause widespread devastation and about 400 casualties.

During the day, the RAF sends a dozen Boston bombers to attack St. Omer and Hazebrouck railway yards. They return without loss.

After dark, RAF Bomber Command raids Rostock again for the fourth night in the row. The Germans use the phrase "Terrorangriff" (terror raid) for the first time to describe these attacks. Taken together, the four raids destroy 1765 buildings and cause serious damage to 513 others. This is the first time that Bomber Command begins destroying large swathes of German cities, with 130 acres (60 percent of the downtown area) obliterated. Tonight's raid kills 204 people and injures 89 others, an inversion of usual figures when more people are injured than killed. These casualty totals illustrate the enhanced effect of mass bombings when firestorms break out and local rescue services such as fire stations are overwhelmed.

While many point to raids on Cologne and Hamburg over the summer of 1943 as turning points in the air war, the German leadership already can read the writing on the wall. Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels confides in his diary that "community life in Rostock is practically at an end." That said, the results have required a full RAF commitment over several nights, though with minimal losses. Tonight they lose three bombers, which, considering the roughly 109 aircraft involved gives an "acceptable" loss rate of under 3%.

The RAF also launches subsidiary raids of 24 aircraft against Dunkirk, 2 Blenheim Intruders to Leeuwarden, 4 bombers on minelaying missions, and seven leaflet flights with no losses.

"A Crusader I tank emerges from a tank landing craft (TLC 124) during tests of a portable concrete roadway, in this case laid on the beach, 26 April 1942." © IWM H 19057.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-66 (KrvKpt. Richard Zapp), on its fifth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5513-ton US freighter Alcoa Partner about 80 nautical miles (150 km) northwest of Bonaire in the Caribbean. The ship sinks quickly due to the heavy bauxite ore cargo. There are ten deaths and 25 survivors, who make it in their lifeboat to Bonaire on the 27th.

US Navy 1190-ton destroyer USS Sturtevant (DD-240) hits three mines in rapid succession and sinks off Key West, Florida while escorting a convoy. An investigation reveals that it blundered into a US Navy minefield about 8 miles (13 km) north of the Marquesas Keys. The loss is attributable to a lack of communication between different commands within the US Navy. There are 15 deaths and 115 survivors. The Sturtevant, resting in two pieces at a depth of 60 feet (18 meters), becomes a favored site for SCUBA divers.

Convoy PQ 15 sails from Reykjavík, Iceland, on 26 April 1942 with its local escort. It is bound for Murmansk, USSR. 

An Italian POW, most likely captured in North Africa, arrives in Liverpool on 26 April 1942. "This prisoner brought his mandolin." © IWM A 8469.

Battle of the Mediterranean: U-81 (Kptlt. Friedrich Guggenberger), on its fifth patrol out of La Spezia, surfaces and shells 100-ton Egyptian sailing vessel Aziza off Palestine.

It is a quiet morning in Malta aside from some false air raid alerts. At 14:20, however, the bombers return with a total of 54 Junkers Ju 88 and 17 Junkers Ju 87 Stuka planes. The attackers break up into six separate groups and focus on the airfields at Ta Qali, Luqa, and Kalafrana as well as the Grand Harbour area. The damage is not confined to those areas, however, and affects many other portions of the island as well. 

The raid sinks 330-ton HMS Monkey, a Dockyard Water Tank vessel in the Malta Dockyard near the Sheer Bastion. Another vessel, HM Drifter Eddy being used to clear mines despite having a steel hull, sinks after hitting a mine just outside Grand Harbour.

The RAF is able to get three Spitfires into the air from Luqa and three from Ta Qali, but they do not down any enemy planes. The RAF loses two fighters from its dwindling force. Other air attacks follow throughout the evening.

Adolf Hitler addresses the Reichstag at the Kroll Opera House, 26 April 1942. Many other leaders of the Third Reich also are visible, including Heinrich Himmler and Hermann Goering.

German Government: Adolf Hitler addresses the Reichstag for the final time (while he makes many more speeches, they are at Party gatherings). He gives a long oration that favorably compares the desperate German defense outside of Moscow with the Napoleonic retreat and catastrophe of 1812. This battle required sacrifices "far exceeding what should or could be expected in normal wars," he says, though the comparison falls flat since he cites the Napoleonic situation that in fact suggests bad Russian winters are completely normal during wartime. The speech is full of bravado but short on mentions of actual conquests. It strikes some (such as Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano) as pessimistic, particularly when Hitler vows to be ready for the next winter "no matter where it finds us."

That was all standard boilerplate stuff. Let's step back a moment before going on to the key part of this speech. While Hitler holds seeming total control over the Third Reich, there are various gaps in his authority. These primarily lie in two areas, the Church and the Wehrmacht. The Church he can do nothing about because of widespread public support for it. The archbishops already have defeated Hitler on the euthanasia issue, though he successfully hid the program in the death camps after seemingly terminating it. Hitler does not like limits on his power and holds a powerful grudge against the Pope and the other clergy that he can do little about despite some occasional hostile comments at his "table talk." That issue remains unresolved throughout Hitler's tenure.

But the Wehrmacht is another matter entirely. The German Army has a long history of independence, particularly over promotions and demotions, but it ultimately is under the control of the chief executive and the law. Hitler chafes at the historical limits of his authority over the generals. His main grievance is that he can remove generals from their positions, but he cannot arbitrarily demote them or even execute them (as Stalin can). That must be done under a cloak of legality even within the Third Reich, after a court-martial. Any general can demand an honor court, just as General Werner von Fritsch had done before the war. That incident turned quite embarrassing for the Fuhrer because Fritsch showed conclusively that he had been framed. Hitler doesn't want scorned generals embarrassing him ever again. Eliminating this gap in his authority becomes the main purpose of Hitler's speech.

Thus, the 26 April 1942 speech is crafted to expand Hitler's legal powers over the military, despite the common misconception that he already holds absolute dictatorial control over all aspects of German life. In it, Hitler reveals what will become a common theme for the remainder of the war. He asks the Reichstag to give him:

... an explicit confirmation that I have the legal right to hold everyone to the fulfillment of his duty and to reduce to the common ranks or remove from post and position, without regard for acquired rights or status, anyone whom I find not to have done his duty.

In other words, Hitler wants (and receives) power to blame his generals for the army's failures. This is despite the fact that he increasingly is giving the generals detailed instructions on how to fight their battles. Blaming the generals, of course, is better than blaming himself. 

The Reichstag is presided over by Hermann Goering and naturally grants Hitler's requests by acclamation. It is the last vote of any substance the Reichstag will make. Tellingly, Hitler rarely if ever uses these new powers over his generals (he invariably just dismisses them and puts them in the "Fuhrer Reserve" until the 20 July 1944 Putsch). This suggests Hitler is just using this occasion as a pretext to cast the generals, many of whom he dislikes intensely for losing battles and occasionally not following his orders to the letter, obliquely as scapegoats for the hard winter of 1941-42. After the speech, Hitler boards his train and heads south to Salzburg for a strategy meeting with Mussolini.

There is a particular interested party listening to Hitler's speech over the radio: British Intelligence. They notice something odd about the tone of the speech, but they can't quite put their finger on it. They commission a pioneer social scientist, Mark Abrams, to analyze it and subsequent speeches. Abrams listens to Hitler's speeches closely and he notes certain tendencies in a report marked "Secret." His aim is "to reconstruct, if possible, what was in Hitler's mind when he composed and delivered the speech."

Abrams asks a fellow academic, Joseph McCurdy, to write up the report on these findings. McCurdy's report concludes that Hitler's speeches now have a "dull flatness of the delivery" and show "a man who is seriously contemplating the possibility of utter defeat." Hitler also is developing a "Jew phobia" and increasingly sees them as a "universal diabolical agency" versus himself, who represents "the incarnation of the spirit of good." All in all, it is not a pretty picture, rather a terrifying one of a man who thinks he sees the future and doesn't like it at all. And this man controls the fates of millions of people all across Europe and elsewhere.

Japanese Homefront: An explosion in the Benxihu Colliery (coal mine) in the puppet state of Manchukuo kills up to 1,549 miners.

These nineteen Polish prisoners were executed (11 May 1942) in Buchenwald Forest, Germany, for an attack by two Poles on a German policeman on 26 April 1942. This spot was chosen because it was the spot where the Polish forced laborers stabbed the German to death. The nineteen men were hanged from gallows erected by the Buchenwald SS.

American Homefront: American communists are fully behind the war effort ever since the commencement of Operation Barbarossa. Susan Green writes an article in "Labor Action" of 26 April 1942 entitled "Here's How to Smash the Fascists." She singles out the "Coughlins, Pellys, Kullgrens, and other would-be American Hitlers" (they are all radio commentators) for scorn. Her concluding section is "We Must Ferret Out the Fascist Rats." Of course, just because the American communists are against Hitler does not mean they support the US status quo. She concludes that "Neither [Franklin] Roosevelt nor [Wendell] Wilkie is an insurance against the spread of American fascism." Susan Green, incidentally, was a confirmed Trotskyite who viewed Stalin's Soviet Union as a "totalitarian empire," so she ware more of a pure radical than a partisan.

A Handley Page Hampden I bomber. RAAF No. 455 Squadron transferred from Bomber Command to Coastal Command on 26 April 1942 because its Hampdens were becoming obsolete. 

Future History: Robert Louis Ridarelli is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After winning a talent show on the television show "Paul Whiteman's TV Teen Club," Robert adopts the stage name "Bobby Rydell" and attempts to become a professional singer. He finally achieves some success in 1959 with "Kissin' Time," which leads to a tour of Australia with other artists. More successes follow, and he gets a big break by being cast as the central character of Hugo Peabody in the film version of "Bye Bye Birdie." This brings Bobby Rydell even greater fame, which leads to more hits. However, the British Invasion is not kind to Rydell's style of rock and so his singing and acting career plateaus and declines by the mid-1960s. As of 2021, Bobby Rydell continues to perform on occasion despite health issues.

Claudine Oger is born in Paris, France. After being named "Miss France Monde", Claudine is the first runner-up in the 1958 Miss World contest. She then tries her hand at acting while still in school, changes her name to Claudine Auger, and makes her screen debut in "Testament of Orpheus" (1960). Her most prominent film role becomes Domino in the James Bond movie "Thunderball" (1965). Claudine Auger passes away in Paris on 18 December 2019.

"Iraq. 26 April 1942. On the parade ground, Air Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder KCB, Air Officer in Commanding in Chief, RAF, Middle East, inspects Iraq levies during his tour of inspection of the Middle East area." Australian War Memorial MED0400.

April 1942

April 1, 1942: Convoys Come to the USA 
April 2, 1942: Doolittle Raiders Leave Port
April 3, 1942: Japanese Attack in Bataan
April 4, 1942: Luftwaffe Attacks Kronstadt
April 5, 1942: Japanese Easter Sunday Raid on Ceylon
April 6, 1942: Japanese Devastation In Bay of Bengal
April 7, 1942: Valletta, Malta, Destroyed
April 8, 1942: US Bataan Defenses Collapse
April 9, 1942: US Defeat in Bataan
April 10, 1942: The Bataan Death March
April 11, 1942: The Sea War Heats Up
April 12, 1942: Essen Raids Conclude Dismally
April 13, 1942: Convoy QP-10 Destruction
April 14, 1942: Demyansk Breakout Attempt
April 15, 1942: Sobibor Extermination Camp Opens
April 16, 1942: Oil Field Ablaze in Burma
April 17, 1942: The Disastrous Augsburg Raid
April 18, 1942: The Doolittle Raid bombs Japan
April 19, 1942: British in Burma Escape
April 20, 1942: The Operation Calendar Disaster
April 21, 1942: Germans Relieve Demyansk

April 22, 1942: Gasoline Rationing in the US

April 23, 1942: The Mystery of Plane 8

April 24, 1942: When Will Help Arrive?

April 25, 1942: Bath Devastated in Baedeker Blitz

April 26, 1942: Hitler Expands His Powers

April 27, 1942: Luftwaffe Bombs Norwich

April 28, 1942: Brewing Clash in the Arctic

April 29, 1942: Japanese Preparing Operation Mo

April 30, 1942: U-Boats Attack!

2021

April 25, 1942: Bath Devastated in Baedeker Blitz

Saturday 25 April 1942

German soldiers escort a column of Jewish residents of Würzburg to a waiting train for their evacuation to the extermination camp at Sobibor on 25 April 1942. Photo: State Archives Würzburg.

Battle of the Pacific: The Japanese attempt to bomb Darwin in northern Australia again on 25 April 1942, but they get a hot reception. The 49th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) of Fifth Air Force is now at full strength there. Flying Curtiss P-40 Warhawks, the Group shoots down 10 Japanese bombers and 3 Zero fighters at no loss to themselves. Gradually, the Allied air defenses in the region are firming and are much more effective than just a few weeks earlier.

US Navy submarine USS Spearfish torpedoes 7296-ton Japanese freighter (requisitioned by the Navy) Toba Maru northwest of Luzon, Philippines. The ship's crew manages to beach the ship 10 km west of Cape Candon, Luzon. It is later refloated and towed to Kirun for repair.

US Navy submarine Pickerell (SS-177), on her fourth wartime patrol, torpedoes and damages Japanese hospital ship Takasugo Maru in Manipa Strait, Malay Archipelago (Indonesia).

Aircraft of unknown nationality damage Japanese transport No. 2 Nankai Maru near Shortland Island in the western Solomons.

The lead story in the 25 April 1942 Saturday Evening Post is "Japan's Islands of Mystery."

Battle of the Indian Ocean: The British continue bugging out from positions they never expected to be in any jeopardy. The Bush Warfare School at Maymyo is forced today to leave for Sagaing and is activated for combat there. While the Chinese 200th Division has recaptured Loilem and neared Hopong, the Japanese continue advancing around them and are on the verge of occupying all of the Shan States. This would open a path to northern Burma via Bhamo and Myitkyina. 

General Alexander observes the Japanese advancing on Mandalay and orders all Allied troops to withdraw to the north of that city. This means the Chinese must abandon their defenses at Pyawbwe, south of Mandalay. General Chang, commander of the Chinese Sixty-Sixth Army, arrives in Lashio and takes command of all Chinese troops in the area, but it does not appear the Allies can hold the city for long.

The Zec cartoon in the 25 April 1942 Daily Mirror is all about bombs raining down on Germany. However, just as many bombs have been raining down on England recently. That's not quite so humorous, though.

Eastern Front: General Franz Halder compiles a casualty list from the start of Operation Barbarossa to 20 April 1942. The list shows that 34,039 officers and 1,114,914 men of other ranks have become casualties. Considering that the Heer (Army) began the campaign with a total of 3.2 million men of all ranks, that means that a full third of the army (35.9%, as Halder notes) that invaded the Soviet Union has become casualties - so far. The totals of those killed are 9,077 officers and 232,236 other ranks, with another 874 officers and 53,787 "missing." While Halder does not comment on the figures, this obviously was not how the campaign was supposed to turn out. These casualty figures are far in excess of anything the German Army has experienced before in the war.

The spring thaw ("Rasputitsa") is in full swing, so not much is happening along the Eastern Front. Halder laconically notes, apparently without irony, "All quiet along the entire front. Local enemy probing on the front of the Second Army."

Obstlt. Hans-Ekkehard Bob of JG 54 shoots down a MiG-3 over Leningrad for his 40th victory. During the raid, the Luftwaffe sinks 893-ton Estonian freighter VT-510 (formerly the Vahur, seized by the USSR in 1940).

As this 25 April 1942 edition of the Winnipeg Free Press shows, the RAF raids on Rostock receive a lot of press, the Luftwaffe raids on Exeter, not so much. Perhaps that is due to security concerns.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe "Baedeker Raids" continue. After two nights of attacking Exeter with mediocre results, tonight's new Luftwaffe target is Bath, which has been largely untouched so far in the war. This raid by 80 aircraft is much more successful than the Exeter raids, causing widespread damage and 400 casualties. Many citizens don't bother seeking cover because previous Luftwaffe missions have overflown the city on the way to the aircraft factories at Bristol. However, the German pathfinders drop their flares over Bath and that leads to a night of horror. The first bombs fall just before 23:00 and the raid lasts for two hours. As is their custom, the Luftwaffe bombers then return a few hours later after refueling and rearming in France, causing more damage and catching people by surprise again after the "all clear" has sounded. Many historic buildings are destroyed among the roughly 19,000 buildings hit in some way during the Bath raids. The Luftwaffe loses four aircraft in this raid.

RAF Bomber Command raids the north German port of Rostock again with 128 bombers. As they have on previous nights, the bombers split up, with 110 heading downtown and 18 to the Heinkel factory on the outskirts of town. For the first time, some hits are scored on the Heinkel factory by Manchester bombers of RAF No. 156 Squadron under the command of Wing Commander Guy Gibson. No planes are lost on this mission.

In a subsidiary attack, half a dozen Stirling bombers attack the Skoda armaments factory in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia. They lose one bomber. Another 32 bombers do a "milk run" to Dunkirk, while 2 Blenheim intruders attack targets inland and 5 bombers drop leaflets over France.

Johannes Seifert of I./JG-26, a top Luftwaffe ace on his way to 57 aerial victories, shoots down a Spitfire five miles northwest of Berck-sur-Mer, killing the pilot.

The 25 April 1942 Liberty magazine's lead story is about "Hitler's No. 1 Headache," which is revealed to be a certain Yugoslav Serb general leading Chetnik detachments. In actuality, the Chetniks were hardly Hitler's biggest problem because many collaborated with the Third Reich. Due to his alleged collaboration, this "headache," Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović, was convicted of high treason after the war and executed by firing squad in Belgrade (the true extent of his culpability is disputed and his conviction was expunged long after his death).

Battle of the Atlantic: U-108 (KrvKpt. Klaus Scholtz), on its seventh patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 3849-ton British (formerly Finnish) freighter Modesta in the mid-Atlantic 110 miles northwest of Bermuda. There are 18 deaths and 23 survivors, who are rescued by Belgian freighter Belgian Airman. 

RAF aircraft bomb and sink German freighter Leesee off Norway.

US 770-ton freighter Wellesley catches fire and is a total loss in the Oakland Estuary, California.

British 248-ton trawler HMT Daisy is lost in a storm in the Clyde. Boom defense vessel HMT Chorley also springs a leak and is lost, with three dead.

Finnish soldier and dog in position near Kiestinki, 25 April 1942. Photographer: Erkki Viitasalo. SA-Kuva.

Battle of the Mediterranean: The Axis continues to bomb Malta with overpowering numbers. An estimated 246 enemy raiders make 19 attacks today, dropping 1000 bombs totaling 317,486kg. The bombers target the Pembroke area, including No. 45 General Hospital at St. Patrick's and No. 39 General Hospital at St. Andrews. There are reports by some witnesses (including Lieutenant George Carroll, a bomb disposal officer being treated at No. 45 General Hospital) that the planes are specifically targeting the hospitals.

Anzac Day celebration in Jerusalem, 25 April 1942 (Library of Congress matpc 21260).

POWs: A full week after French General Henri Giraud's escape from Königstein Fortress, Berlin radio finally announces it. They offer a 100,000 mark reward for information that leads to his capture. Giraud, however, already is in neutral Switzerland, which the Germans probably know from their Swiss spies. Just to make sure that everyone knows that Germany is upset about the escape, word then is put out that Giraud's relatives are being arrested. It is a nice propaganda victory for the Allies and plays out exactly as one would expect.

The entire tale of Giraud's escape from an "inescapable" prison and subsequent events, however, is very odd. Tellingly, after Giraud brazenly returns to Vichy France, the Germans do not compel Premier Petain to return him to Germany for punishment despite German domination of the French state. Getting nowhere with Petain, Giraud quickly goes over to the Free French side despite his well-known antipathy for the British. He receives prominent posts but becomes embroiled in disagreements with Charles de Gaulle about strategy and finally is dismissed from all commands.

Giraud's escape ultimately proves only to be a major distraction for the Allies - which may have been the intent all along. On its face, Giraud's tale of scaling down a prison wall using bedclothes seems like a bit of brilliant derring-do, and that is how the history books treat it. However, while there is no proof of German complicity, the "escape" has the hallmarks of a Gestapo operation.

US Military: US troops arrive in New Caledonia. Its capital of Nouméa quickly becomes the main South Pacific Fleet base of the United States Navy in the region. About 50,000 US troops eventually are garrisoned on New Caledonia. 

Jews being marched down Schweinfurter Strasse in Würzburg to a waiting train (Photo: State Archives Würzburg).

Holocaust: The Würzburg Gestapo orders about 800 Jews from 19 different sub-districts and three different counties (a total of 80 different communities) to assemble in Platz’schen-Garten. Another group from Würzburg itself also is ordered to appear. They are searched and relieved of any valuables, including all currency. At about 15:00, the group boards a train and leaves on an "evacuation." This is the third deportation from Würzburg to the East. Their initial destination is Krasnystaw in the Lublin district of Poland, where they are marched on foot to Krasniczin. Eventually, the survivors are taken to Sobibor on 6 July 1942.

At Auschwitz, 100 Poles from Cracow are registered. This particular group was arrested on 16 April 1942 while at the Café of Artists and includes four painters (Tadeusz Mróz, Ludwik Puget, Tadeusz Różycki, and Karol Siwek). All four are shot on 27 May 1942.

British Homefront: Princess Elizabeth, 16, registers for war service. She eventually will serve in a motor pool.

Two Japanese-Americans play a game while waiting on 25 April 1942 to be picked up by the War Relocation Authority (WRA) in San Francisco, California (Dorothea Lange).

American Homefront: "Moonlight Cocktail" by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra with Ray Eberle and the Modernaires is the No. 1 song on the Billboard Charts today for the ninth week in a row. It will spend one more week at No. 1 and be the number two record for 1942 after Bing Crosby's "White Christmas."

Future History: Jon Llewellyn Kyl is born in Oakland, Nebraska. He becomes a prominent politician in Arizona, serving in its House delegation from 1987-1995 and later as a senator from 1995-2013 and again in 2018.

Katsuji Adachi is born in Tennōji-ku, Osaka, Japan. As "Mr. Hito," Adachi becomes a famous wrestler, best known as the tag-team partner of American/Canadian wrestler "Mr. Moto" (McRonald Kamaka).

Medal of Honor winner Edward H. "Butch" O'Hare receives a ticker-tape homecoming parade along with his wife Rita in his native St. Louis, Missouri, 25 April 1942 (St. Louis Dispatch).

April 1942

April 1, 1942: Convoys Come to the USA 
April 2, 1942: Doolittle Raiders Leave Port
April 3, 1942: Japanese Attack in Bataan
April 4, 1942: Luftwaffe Attacks Kronstadt
April 5, 1942: Japanese Easter Sunday Raid on Ceylon
April 6, 1942: Japanese Devastation In Bay of Bengal
April 7, 1942: Valletta, Malta, Destroyed
April 8, 1942: US Bataan Defenses Collapse
April 9, 1942: US Defeat in Bataan
April 10, 1942: The Bataan Death March
April 11, 1942: The Sea War Heats Up
April 12, 1942: Essen Raids Conclude Dismally
April 13, 1942: Convoy QP-10 Destruction
April 14, 1942: Demyansk Breakout Attempt
April 15, 1942: Sobibor Extermination Camp Opens
April 16, 1942: Oil Field Ablaze in Burma
April 17, 1942: The Disastrous Augsburg Raid
April 18, 1942: The Doolittle Raid bombs Japan
April 19, 1942: British in Burma Escape
April 20, 1942: The Operation Calendar Disaster
April 21, 1942: Germans Relieve Demyansk

April 22, 1942: Gasoline Rationing in the US

April 23, 1942: The Mystery of Plane 8

April 24, 1942: When Will Help Arrive?

April 25, 1942: Bath Devastated in Baedeker Blitz

April 26, 1942: Hitler Expands His Powers

April 27, 1942: Luftwaffe Bombs Norwich

April 28, 1942: Brewing Clash in the Arctic

April 29, 1942: Japanese Preparing Operation Mo

April 30, 1942: U-Boats Attack!

2021

April 24, 1942: When Will Help Arrive?

Friday 24 April 192

Axis bombs fall on Malta, 24 April 1942.

Battle of the Pacific: Japanese planes raid Port Moresby, New Guinea, on 24 April 1942. They destroy two B-26 bombers at 7-Mile Drome, some PBY Catalinas moored in the harbor, and three P-40E Kittyhawk fighters of RAF No. 75 Squadron.

The Japanese are bombing and shelling the sole remaining US Army outpost in the Philippines located in the caves on Corregidor Island without respite. Much of the world has forgotten about this lone holdout against the Japanese, mentally writing it off when General Douglas MacArthur escaped in mid-March. The troops there no longer seem to be at the top of his priority list, either. However, the troops and service personnel on Corregidor, some of whom are women, are suffering daily. A few trapped soldiers maintain diaries. One of them is Denny Williams.

US Army Nurse Denny Williams.

US Army Nurse Denny Williams, from Culpepper, Virginia, makes dispassionate but telling entries in her diary throughout the Corregidor ordeal. Williams watches some fortunate friends get flown out on seaplanes, but there is no happy ending for her and many others. She writes that "The large blowers in the ventilators have to be shut off when we get direct hits because the blowers circulate the dust caused from the bombs." The stress is inescapable, and to leave the tunnels just to hang some laundry is to risk your life. She records that everyone is making wisecracks to relieve the tension, but "My hands tremble when I’m giving anesthetics; evidently I’m more frightened than I realize." This is not unusual, as "I am not alone in this for even the hands of the calmest doctors tremble." Denny Williams concludes the day's entry with, "When will help arrive?"

US Navy submarine USS Trout (SS-202) torpedoes and sinks Japanese transport Tachibana Maru just south of Susami Kii, Japan (south of Osaka).

The Manila, Philippines, Tribune, 24 April 1942.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: The Battle of Hopong-Taunggyi in Burma ends after a fierce offensive by the motorized 200th Infantry Division of the Chinese National Revolutionary Army that captures Taunggyi. The Japanese, however, shrug off the loss and continue advancing toward Lashio.

Eastern Front: With the spring thaw ("Rasputitsa") in full swing on 24 April 1942, operations remain in a lull. General Franz Halder seems bored as he writes the day's diary entry:

Situation: Unchanged. Enemy continues relieving and regrouping movements opposite the southern part of the front. All quiet in Army Group North. 

The Germans remain worried about the possible Soviet use of poison gas, and Halder discusses preparedness for this and also "Rocket Projector troops" (Nebeltruppen, who man Nebelwerfer mortars and rockets) with General Wilhelm-Francis Ochsner.

The Nebelwerfer have been in use throughout the war and their use is being expanded by both sides on the Eastern Front. The Red Army has its own version, Katyusha rocket launchers. The advantage of these types of weapons is that they are light and inexpensive. These types of weapons also have the benefit of producing characteristic scary noises that cause G.I.s to nickname them "Screaming Mimis."

Luftwaffe bomb damage in the historic cathedral at Exeter, April 1942.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe conducts the first two so-called "Baedeker Raids" against Exeter on the nights of 23/24 and 24/25 April 1942. The first raid is a dud, causing little damage, but the second kills over 80 people. Luftflotte 3 conducts the raids using KG2 and KG106, led by pathfinders of I/KG100. The raids are moderate in size, comprised of 30-40 bombers, but the bombers fly two sorties each night. This leads to a terrifying, sleepless night. These raids cause more casualties than usual because the standard two sorties are separated by several hours that lull the residents into a false sense of security until the pattern becomes known.

During the day, the RAF sends a dozen Boston bombers to attack Flushing docks and half a dozen to attack the Abbeville airfields (these latter bombers are recalled). No planes are lost.

After dark, the RAF raids Rostock, Germany, for the second night in a row. It sends 125 bombers, with 91 targeting the town and 34 the Heinkel aircraft factory on its outskirts. Once again, the Heinkel factory emerges unscathed, but the town center sustains heavy damage. In subsidiary operations, 39 bombers attack Dunkirk, four Blenheim bombers independently raid the Low Countries (one is lost), and there are three leaflet flights.

Due to battle losses that cannot be replenished with Czechs, the Czechoslovak No. 311 Squadron is withdrawn from RAF Bomber Command and reassigned to Coastal Command. The Czech squadron finishes with over 1000 bombing sorties between 10 September 1940 and 24 April 1942.

A pre-war photo of Soviet submarine Shch-401, sunk by Friendly Fire on or about 24 April 1942.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-136 (Kptlt. Heinrich Zimmermann), on its second patrol out of St. Nazaire, torpedoes and sinks 7244-ton British freighter Empire Drum just before midnight on the 24th about 280 nautical miles (520 km) southeast of New York City. The ship is carrying 1270 tons of explosives and sinks just after midnight on the 25th after Zimmermann pumps a coup de grâce into the ship. He then surfaces and questions the survivors, examines the wreckage, and departs. All 41 crewmen survive, picked up by USS Roper and Swedish freighter Venezia.

Soviet submarine Shch-401 (Capt 3rd Class Moiseev) is sunk in a case of "Friendly Fire" by torpedo-cutters "TKA N13" and "TKA N14." The cutters of the Northern Fleet use depth charges and torpedoes to sink the sub near Komagneset, Vardø, Finnmark Fylke, Norway. Different sources list this action as occurring on either 23 or 25 April 1942. This sinking occurs the day after Shch-401 attacked a German convoy and was damaged by German submarine chasers.

Danish 1359-ton ferry Kalundborg hits a mine and is badly damaged in Kalundborg Fjord. There are no deaths and some passengers are lightly injured. Tugs attempt to tow the ferry port but it sinks.

The 24 April 1942 McComb, Mississippi, Journal headlines "Reds Hold Landed U.S. Bomber, Allies Keep Up Raids on Rabaul."

Battle of the Mediterranean: Axis air raids on Malta continue, focusing mainly on the RAF's airfields and the Grand Harbour area. There are many civilian and military casualties in Valletta and Floriana. The first raids are at 05:30 and they continue throughout the day and night. The RAF is down to four Spitfire fighters and about six Hurricane fighters, with some of these planes grounded at various times with damage. The RAF claims three enemy planes destroyed and loses two Wellington bombers, with others damaged, in retaliatory raids on Comiso Airfield in Sicily.

British Military: April 24, 1942, is the first flight of the Miles Master M.25 Martinet (LR 241), performed at Woodley Aerodrome by test pilot Flight Lieutenant Thomas Rose. This is a target tug aircraft used by the RAF and affiliated air forces throughout the remainder of World War II. The Martinet is necessary because front-line aircraft are being shot up too fast for enough to become "obsolete" and only suitable for target-towing duties. Some eventually are developed as radio-controlled target drones pursuant to secret Specification Q.10.43, something the United States also is working on. There are 1,724 Martinets produced in total and some remain in the RAF into the early 1950s.

U.S. Naval Air Station and Naval Operating Base, Argentia, Newfoundland, April 24, 1942 (U.S. Navy photo NH 113541).

US Military: New color specifications for naval aircraft go into effect. Service aircraft now are non-specular light gray except for non-specular blue-gray on surfaces visible from above. Advanced trainers are to be glossy aircraft gray with glossy orange-yellow on the wing and aileron surfaces, with primary trainers only having gray on their landing gear.

General George C. Marshall sends a thank-you note to General George Patton in appreciation for the gift of a goblet fashioned from a copper oil can. "Dear Patton," the letter begins, "Mrs. Marshall and I were much intrigued with the oil cup." General Patton at this time is commander of the Desert Training Center in the Mojave Desert to prepare for desert warfare. He also commands elements of the First Armored Corps and the Second and Third Armies.

The U.S. Navy announces that it will take over the Sanford (Florida) Municipal Airport (later known as the Orlando (Florida) Sanford International Airport). This is big news for the sleepy town and gets a banner headline in the 24 April 1942 "The Sanford Herald." This decision has a huge impact on the area, as the Navy is ready to spend millions of dollars upgrading the facilities.

The US Army issues Technical Manual "The Army Cook, April 24, 1942."

Finnish Army Company commander Cpt. Hakala is taking a morning wash. April 24, 1942, Voitatunturi (Voittotunturi). Colorized. [SA-Kuva].

Finnish Military: Kenraalimajuri (Major General) K. I. Viljanen, the commander of the 4th Infantry Division, and those accompanying him are killed when they get lost and wander into a Finnish minefield near Seesjürvi. Only one man from the group survives.

Holocaust: Continuing the gradual degradation of rights for Jewish citizens in the Reich, the government bans all Jews from using public transport. This is a great handicap, as private vehicles are increasingly rare due to production and fuel shortages.

German Homefront:  Plenipotentiary-General for Employment Gauleiter Fritz Sauckel issues a decree requiring women to work in manufacturing. This reflects a growing manpower shortage as casualties on the Eastern Front mount and production of munitions lags.

Canadian Homefront: Lucy Maud Montgomery, O.B.E, author of novels including "Anne of Green Gables," passes away at the age of 67.

"Official Portrait of US Marine Corps (USMC) Second Lieutenant (2LT) Orvin H. Ramlo, taken at San Diego, California (CA), April 24, 1942. 2LT Ramlo is an ace pilot and is credited with 5 kills." (National Archives 6608411). Ramlo wound up with seven kills and won the US Navy Cross on 10 November 1942. His son, Orvin Jr., became a Colonel and passed away in 2017.

American Homefront: Japanese residents of San Francisco, Alameda, and Contra Costa Counties are ordered to report for registration over the weekend prior to their evacuation. Authorities will take them to the new Tanforan assembly center. The plan is to resettle them in the Gila River Valley, 50 miles southeast of Phoenix, Arizona. Locals in that area see positives from the relocation, with a front-page article in the 24 April 1942 Casa Grande (Arizona) Dispatch titled, "Construction on Japanese Relocation Quarters Will Stimulate Local Business."

The San Francisco supervisor's committee on city planning requests a prohibition on liquor licenses in the areas being evacuated by Japanese residents (bounded by Ellis, Gough, California, and Fillmore Streets). It also proposes to ask Congress to impose a moratorium on all mortgages held by evacuating Japanese citizens.

A "Behind the News" commentary by Arthur Caylor in the San Francisco News warns "Uncle Heiny or Cousin Guiseppe" to discard "certain cameras, short-wave radios and other contraband" or face raids by "G-men."

Warner Bros. releases the comedy "Larceny, Inc." directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, Broderick Crawford, Jack Carson, and Anthony Quinn. Jackie Gleason makes an early appearance as a soda jerk. Robinson, who plays a gangster trying to go straight, takes the film to "soften his image" after a long run of tough gangster and policeman roles. Some reviewers have seen parallels between "Larceny, Inc." and Woody Allen's 2000 film "Small Time Crooks."

C.H. Laessig, who opened the very first gas station in the United States at 418 South Teresa in St. Louis, Missouri, passes away. He and his partner, Harry Grenner, later opened a chain of 40 gas stations across the city.

One of a series of photos taken on 24 April 1942 of families displaced by the Tennessee Valley Authority's Fort Loudoun Dam (located 602 miles, or 969 km, upstream from the mouth of the Tennessee River). The dam opened on 2 August 1943. Some people view the displacement of these families as a sign of the indifference of government agencies to the needs of the common people (National Archives at Atlanta).

Future History: Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand is born in Brooklyn, New York. She takes after her mother, who occasionally sings professionally, and quickly gains a reputation in her neighborhood for singing in front of her apartment building. She makes her first demo tape at age 13, but her real passion becomes acting. A job as an usher at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater on Broadway in 1960 leads her to audition for the play ("The Sound of Music"), though she isn't hired. A talent show appearance at a Greenwich Village (gay) nightclub turns into a continuing gig, which leads to other gigs, and then some stage roles. Around this time she changes her stage name from "Barbara" to "Barbra." Further roles come along, then television appearances including "The Tonight Show" and "The Ed Sullivan Show." Her first album in 1963, "The Barbara Streisand Album," hits the top 10 on the Billboard charts and wins three Grammys. After that, her career is assured, and ultimately Barbra Streisand becomes a legendary singer and actress who is still active as of this writing in 2021.

Nurse Denny Williams survives the war after spending time in the Santo Tomas POW camp. She passes away in 1997 at the age of 89.

Posting of Japanese Exclusion Order (No. 17, dated April 24, 1942) in Seattle, Washington, 1942 Social Trends in Seattle Vol 14 (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1944).

April 1942

April 1, 1942: Convoys Come to the USA 
April 2, 1942: Doolittle Raiders Leave Port
April 3, 1942: Japanese Attack in Bataan
April 4, 1942: Luftwaffe Attacks Kronstadt
April 5, 1942: Japanese Easter Sunday Raid on Ceylon
April 6, 1942: Japanese Devastation In Bay of Bengal
April 7, 1942: Valletta, Malta, Destroyed
April 8, 1942: US Bataan Defenses Collapse
April 9, 1942: US Defeat in Bataan
April 10, 1942: The Bataan Death March
April 11, 1942: The Sea War Heats Up
April 12, 1942: Essen Raids Conclude Dismally
April 13, 1942: Convoy QP-10 Destruction
April 14, 1942: Demyansk Breakout Attempt
April 15, 1942: Sobibor Extermination Camp Opens
April 16, 1942: Oil Field Ablaze in Burma
April 17, 1942: The Disastrous Augsburg Raid
April 18, 1942: The Doolittle Raid bombs Japan
April 19, 1942: British in Burma Escape
April 20, 1942: The Operation Calendar Disaster
April 21, 1942: Germans Relieve Demyansk

April 22, 1942: Gasoline Rationing in the US

April 23, 1942: The Mystery of Plane 8

April 24, 1942: When Will Help Arrive?

April 25, 1942: Bath Devastated in Baedeker Blitz

April 26, 1942: Hitler Expands His Powers

April 27, 1942: Luftwaffe Bombs Norwich

April 28, 1942: Brewing Clash in the Arctic

April 29, 1942: Japanese Preparing Operation Mo

April 30, 1942: U-Boats Attack!

2021

April 23, 1942: The Mystery of Plane 8

Thursday 23 April 1942

The crew of Plane 8, interned in Russia (left to right): Lieutenant Nolan A. Herndon, bombardier/navigator; Captain Edward J. York, pilot; Sergeant Theodore H. Laban, flight engineer/gunner; Lieutenant Robert Emmens, co-pilot; Sergeant David W. Pohl, gunner, not shown.

Battle of the Pacific: The Soviet government announces on 23 April 1942 that one of the 18 April 1942 Doolittle Raid B-25 bombers landed at its airfield at Vladivostok. This is "Plane 8," piloted by Captain Edward J. "Ski" York and co-pilot Lieutenant Robert G. Emmens. This was the only plane that diverted from the planned landing in China and the crew wind up interned in the USSR for 13 months before an NKVD-aided escape to Iran because the Soviet Union is not at war with Japan (until August 1945). 

The bombardier-navigator on the plane, Lieutenant Nolan A. Herndon, later argues (without proof) that Plane 8 was intentionally diverted to Russia under secret orders given only to the plane's pilots. This alleged mission was to test Soviet allegiance to the Allied cause and also to gather information about Soviet airfields that might be useful for later USAAF missions against Japan.

Fueling Herndon's suspicions is the very curious fact that pilots York and Emmens, much to Herndon's astonishment, turn out to be fluent Russian speakers after Plane 8 lands at the Soviet airfield. In addition, during the mission's preparation, the crew of Plane 8 was assembled at the last minute after the rest of the planes already had departed from Eglin Air Force Base for the West coast. There also are odd differences between Plane 8 and the other Doolittle bombers, such as different tuning of its carburetors, as if it was never intended to fly the same flight path as the other bombers.

This leads to an enduring mystery of World War II as to whether Plane 8's pilots were ordered to fly to Vladivostok instead of China. There is no proof of an intentional diversion despite all of the suspicions, and one would think that the navigator would be part of the "plot" instead of just the pilots. Asked point-blank about this years later, Jimmy Doolittle and others involved evaded the question without outright denying the allegation ("I did not send you to Russia" is all that Doolittle would say). This controversy plays out for decades, mostly within the tight-knit community of Doolittle Raid crewmen but also lovers of a good mystery.

Battle of the Indian Ocean: In Burma, the Japanese 56th Division continues advancing from Taunggyi toward Lashio, Burma. The Chinese defenders of Taunggyi, meanwhile, retreat in the direction of Yunnan Province. The 10th Air Force of the USAAF continues evacuating personnel and supplies from Burma to India. There are reports out of India of increased fears of a Japanese invasion there.

Luftwaffe reconnaissance taken on 23 April 1942 of the North Bay of Sevastopol, showing numerous large fortresses. Large Soviet forces are holding out in Sevastopol while German General Manstein's 11th Army prevents relief from Soviet forces to the east (Federal Archives Image 168-278-011).

Eastern Front: General Halder merely notes in his war diary, "Situation unchanged, a curiously quiet day on the entire front." Colonel Hans Speidel reports today to Halder after his transfer to the Eastern Front from France to become the Chief of Staff of the 5th Army Corps. The Luftwaffe launches three raids against Murmansk and sinks a floating crane and a tugboat, among other damage.

The Soviet Stavka (high command) relieves General Meretskov as commander of the Volkhov Front. Large Red Army forces are trapped on the western side of the Volkhov River and Meretskov essentially becomes the scapegoat. The entire command is subordinated to Headquarters, Leningrad Front. In Leningrad, General Khozin is ordered to break the Leningrad siege. Unfortunately for the Soviets, the spring thaw ("Rasputitsa") already has created a channel in the middle of the Volkhov River and the Soviets on the eastern bank are no longer to supply the pocket to the west. Inside the pocket, General Vlasov's Second Shock Army is starting to give ground against sustained German pressure, so time is running out for the Soviets.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe and RAF stage raids tonight that exhibit the same characteristics and similarly negative results. Both raids are against medium-sized historic towns by a medium-sized bomber force led by a handful of bombers equipped with special navigational equipment. They cause little damage of note. These similarities are an indication of temporary parity in the air war.

The so-called "Baedeker Raids" begin today. They are launched by the Luftwaffe against mid-sized English towns that coincidentally feature prominently in guidebooks. Exeter is tonight's target. Other cities on the list will include Bath, Canterbury, Norwich, and York. These raids are in retaliation for a heavy 28 March 1942 RAF air raid on the historic German city of Lubeck. Tonight's raid by 45 Do 217s of KG 2 and Ju 88s of KG 106 against Exeter causes little damage, but the Luftwaffe plans a follow-up raid on the night of the 24th. They are led to the target by a few specially equipped He 111s of 1./KG 100.

The RAF, meanwhile, makes the first of a series of four raids against the Baltic port town of Rostock. This is somewhat ironic, as Rostock has many similarities to Lubeck, the raid against which caused such ire in the German high command. Rostock has few air defenses and the RAF bombers are guided by pathfinder bombers using the Gee navigational system. The goal of 18 bombers is a precision attack on the Heinkel aircraft factory on the southern outskirts of town, while 143 others bomb the center of town (Altstadt). The raid is a failure, with no hits scored on the Heinkel factory and most of the other bombers missing the town by two to six miles. The RAF loses two Wellington bombers, a Manchester bomber, and a Whitley bomber for these tepid results.

Two US Navy Yeomen hold a battered flag that was flying in Pearl Harbor at the time of the 7 December 1941 attack. That are at a Naval recruiting office at Kansas city on 23 April 1942 (AP Photo).

Battle of the Atlantic: German motor torpedo boat Esau (LS-4), operating from auxiliary cruiser SS Michel, torpedoes and sinks 8684-ton US tanker Connecticut in the South Atlantic midway between Brazil and Angola. There are 36 deaths and 18 survivors. Michel rescues the survivors and later turns them over to the Japanese as POWs when docked in Yokohama.

U-125 (Kptlt. Ulrich Folkers), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5102-ton US freighter Lammot Du Pont about 500 nautical miles (930 km) southeast of Bermuda. There are 37 survivors and 17 deaths. USS Tarbell and Swedish freighter Astri rescue the survivors.

Soviet submarine Shch-401 attacks a German convoy off Tanafjord, Norway. It torpedoes and sinks 1359-ton Norwegian liner Stensaas off Slettnes in the Barents Sea. German submarine chaser UJ-1101 rescues the survivors. UJ-1101 and UJ-1110 drop depth charges on the submarine, which temporarily escapes with some damage but later sinks.

British 2768-ton collier Chatwood hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea off Cromer, Norfolk. All 24 crewmen survive. Salvage attempts are made in 1994 by "Desert Star."

US destroyer USS Geer (DD-145) rescues survivors of US freighter Robin Hood, sunk by U-575 on 15 April 1942. Destroyer Rowan (DD-405) rescues the survivors of US freighter San Jacinto, sunk by U-201 on 21 April.

US freighter Lammot Du Pont, sunk by U-125 southeast of Bermuda on 23 April 1942.

Battle of the Mediterranean: U-565 (Kptlt. Wilhelm Franken), on its fifth patrol out of La Spezia, attacks convoy TA 36 and sinks 1361-ton British freighter Kirkland about 35 nautical miles (65 km) northwest of Sidi Barrani, Egypt. There are 22 survivors and one death. HMT Falk rescues the survivors.

British 4986-ton freighter Jersey hits a mine and sinks in the Red Sea off Suez, Egypt.

At Malta, large Axis air formations attack Grand Harbour installations and the airfields around 11:00. Another large raid is at 15:30. The RAF defenders are down to two operational Spitfires of No. 601 Squadron at Luqa and four Hurricanes of No. 229 Squadron at Hal Far.

Civilian workers are convinced to work repairing airfields at Ta Qali and Luqa despite the oppressive daily Luftwaffe attacks. Detachments of Malta Police also help out. There are plans to compel such assistance in the future under the Compulsory Service Scheme, when they (and next of kin) will receive additional benefits.

The Daily Mirror focuses on a unique angle of the inconclusive Operation Abercrombie commando raid on the French shore near Boulogne on the night of 21/22 April 1942.

South African/French Relations: South Africa severs diplomatic relations with Vichy France.

British Government: Lord Portsea makes a speech requesting that humanitarian aid be sent to the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey despite the German occupation. No decision is made.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill speaks at a Secret Session of the House of Commons about the fall of Singapore in February 1942. It is one of Churchill's longest wartime speeches and very candid about the true situation in the Far East.

German Homefront:  Reich Plenipotentiary for Labour Fritz Sauckel issues a decree for schoolboys aged 14-16 and schoolgirls aged 16-17 to work on farms. Many of the boys, however, already are manning antiaircraft guns.

Reich Finance Minister Count Lutz Schwerin von Krosigk gives a speech to the German Chamber of Commerce in Amsterdam about the Reich's economy. Krosigk claims that the trick to avoiding inflation is to absorb excess buying power. This trick, he says, will enable the German people to avoid economic dependence on the rest of the world.

British Homefront: Crime writer and poet Dorothy L. Sayers gives an address at Eastbourne entitled "Why Work?" She argues that a post-war British economy should not be driven by capitalist consumerism but instead by matching workers with jobs based on talent and intention. It is a vaguely socialist vision that is gradually gaining a foothold within England amidst the deprivations of war.

The Washington, D.C., Evening Star for 23 April 1942 trumpets the RAF's resumption of its air offensive against the Reich and Japanese advances in Burma. It also relays a Soviet communique that the German rear is "disintegrating" as the Reich calls up 1.9 million new reserves, none of which appears to be true.

American Homefront: Construction begins today at the Tule Lake Relocation Center in Newell, California. This is a high-security camp for internees considered a particular threat (for refusing to renounce the Japanese Emperor, for instance), with three layers of barbed-wire fences and armed guards with orders to shoot anyone trying to break out. The morale there becomes notoriously low, with many residents becoming militant and intentionally trying to provoke the guards.

Future History: Alexandra Zuck is born in Bayonne, New Jersey. Alexandra begins working as a child model and takes the professional name of Sandra Dee. Sandra becomes quite successful working in New York. She gets a break at the age of twelve when producer Ross Hunter "discovers" her during a walk on Park Avenue, NYC. This leads Sandra to Hollywood, where she begins working at MGM in 1957. She quickly earns leading roles and switches to Universal Pictures, where Sandra becomes a star. Perhaps her most successful films are "Imitation of Life" (1959), playing Lana Turner's daughter, and "Gidget," which spawns the teenage bach comedy trend. However, her image is that of an ingenue, and that appeal declines as she matures. Sandra's career declines after that, and Universal drops Sandra amid publicity about her divorce from Bobby Darin. Sandra Dee, typecast as a naive teenager, basically retires from acting during the late 1960s and passes away on 20 February 2005.

Construction begins on 23 April 1942 at Tule Lake Relocation Camp in Newell, California. Actor George Takei spends some time at this camp (Clem Albers, Department of the Interior, National Archives at College Park).

April 1942

April 1, 1942: Convoys Come to the USA 
April 2, 1942: Doolittle Raiders Leave Port
April 3, 1942: Japanese Attack in Bataan
April 4, 1942: Luftwaffe Attacks Kronstadt
April 5, 1942: Japanese Easter Sunday Raid on Ceylon
April 6, 1942: Japanese Devastation In Bay of Bengal
April 7, 1942: Valletta, Malta, Destroyed
April 8, 1942: US Bataan Defenses Collapse
April 9, 1942: US Defeat in Bataan
April 10, 1942: The Bataan Death March
April 11, 1942: The Sea War Heats Up
April 12, 1942: Essen Raids Conclude Dismally
April 13, 1942: Convoy QP-10 Destruction
April 14, 1942: Demyansk Breakout Attempt
April 15, 1942: Sobibor Extermination Camp Opens
April 16, 1942: Oil Field Ablaze in Burma
April 17, 1942: The Disastrous Augsburg Raid
April 18, 1942: The Doolittle Raid bombs Japan
April 19, 1942: British in Burma Escape
April 20, 1942: The Operation Calendar Disaster
April 21, 1942: Germans Relieve Demyansk

April 22, 1942: Gasoline Rationing in the US

April 23, 1942: The Mystery of Plane 8

April 24, 1942: When Will Help Arrive?

April 25, 1942: Bath Devastated in Baedeker Blitz

April 26, 1942: Hitler Expands His Powers

April 27, 1942: Luftwaffe Bombs Norwich

April 28, 1942: Brewing Clash in the Arctic

April 29, 1942: Japanese Preparing Operation Mo

April 30, 1942: U-Boats Attack!

2021