USSR: In Russia a new law bans religions from engaging in anything more than divine services. All study groups, bible circles, religious youth and women's movements, church reading rooms and libraries and all forms of religious education are banned. Taxes are increased on all clergy and priests who try to buy food in state shops and are forced to pay a special deposit. Rules are altered on clerical residence rights, forcing many priests to rely on the charity of their congregation for accommodations.
1932 — , April 8
USSR: Cotton Workers at the Teikovo Calico works outside Moscow begin to strike when they hear that their already meager food rations are to be cut again.
1933 — , April 8
CBI - China: Day 98 of 142 of the 1st Battle of Hebei. The Chinese 29th Corps evacuates from the Xifengkou Pass.
1937 — , April 8
Spain: Day 266 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
1938 — , April 8
Spain: Day 631 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 276 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 61 of 124 of the Battle of Henan.
Day 16 of 39 of the Battle of Xuzhou.
1939 — , April 8
MTO - Albania: Italy occupies Albania, driving King Zog into exile in Greece.
CBI - China: Day 641 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 23 of 54 of the Battle of Nanchang.
1940 — , April 8
Atlantic: British destroyer HMS GLOWWORM discovers the German invasion fleet heading to Norway. She is fired upon by the German cruiser ADMIRAL HIPPER at close range so she rams it. Both ships sink. Lt Commander Gerard Broadmead Roope receives the Victoria Cross posthumously.
Atlantic: The Polish sub ORZEL sinks the German transport ship RIO DE JANEIRO in the Skagerrak Strait. The German sailors rescued by Norwegian ships admit that they were en route to attack Bergen, Norway.
Atlantic: British naval vessels lay mines in Norwegian waters in preparation for landings by British and French forces at Namsos, Narvik and Andalsnes.
Eastern Front: German Field Marshal Keitel orders the transfer of active military servicemen who are 50% Jewish and those who are married to women who are 50% Jewish to reserve or militia units.
CBI - China: Day 1,007 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 146 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi.
1941 — , April 8
Atlantic: German sub U-107 sinks the British ships ESKDENE and HELENA MARGARETA about 200 miles south of the Azores.
Atlantic: German sub U-124 sinks the British ship TWEED 150 miles off Freetown, Sierra Leone, British West Africa. 22 crewmen managed to survive in two lifeboats.
ETO - UK: Day 215 of 258 of the Blitz. The Luftwaffe heavily bombs Coventry.
MTO - Yugoslavia: Day 3 of 12 of the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia. German troops capture Prilep in the Monastir Valley while the Luftwaffe bombs Belgrade.
MTO - Greece: Day 3 of 25 of the Battle of Greece. Germans cross into northern Greece near Dojran Lake.
MTO - Libya: British, Australian and Indian troops flee from Mechili which will be occupied by the Axis troops by the end of the day.
East Africa: Day 303 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt. British, Indian and Free French troops capture the hill forts surrounding Massawa, Eritrea. After one of their ships is sunk, the Italians scuttle 12 ships before surrendering themselves and the city.
CBI - China: Day 1,372 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 26 of 27 of the Battle of Shanggao.
CBI - Thailand: Day 190 of 221 of the Franco-Thai War (Vichy France vs Thailand).
1942 — , April 8
Atlantic: Day 85 of 169 of Germany's Second "Happy Time," during which U-boats sink 609 Allied ships with little risk.
U-123 damages the US tankers OKLAHOMA (killing 19 of 37) and ESSO BATON ROUGE (killing 3 of 39) east of Brunswick, Georgia.
ETO - UK: A US delegation arrives in Britain to discuss a joint strategy on opening a second front in Europe. The original invasion date is set for the summer of 1943 with Antwerp as the initial objective.
ETO - Germany: The RAF bombs Hamburg at night.
Russian Front - North: Day 213 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad. Soviet troops open a railway link into Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 60 of 102 of the Battle of the Demyansk Pocket, another failed attempt to break the siege at Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 76 of 103 of the Battle of the Kholm Pocket. Another attempt to break the siege at Leningrad.
Russian Front - Center: Day 91 of 103 of the Battle of Vyazma, Russia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 91 of 103 of the Battle of Sychevsk, Russia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 37 of 49 of the Battle of Rzhev, Russia, a diversion to pull more German troops away from Moscow.
Russian Front - South: Day 161 of 248 of the Siege of Sevastopol, Crimean Peninsula.
MTO: The badly damaged cruiser HMS PENELOPE limps into Gibraltar.
CBI: Day 9 of 11 of the Japanese Naval raids on Allied ships throughout the Indian Ocean.
CBI - Burma: Day 116 of 164 of Japan's Invasion of Burma. Japanese troops overrun the Chinese 200th and 22nd Divisions at Yedashe.
CBI - China: Day 1,737 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Malaya: Day 49 of 357 of the Battle of Timor Island.
PTO - New Guinea: Japanese troops land in western New Britain.
PTO - Philippines: Day 122 of 152 of the 1st Battle of the Philippines. The USS SEA DRAGON delivers 20 tons of food to Corregidor. The US destroys all munition dumps at Mariveles Harbor.
1943 — , April 8
USA: US President Roosevelt freezes wages and prices of utilities in order to prevent inflation. He also bans workers from changing jobs unless the switch will further the war effort.
Germany: Working-class German couple Elise and Otto Hampel are executed for treason and sedition for hand-writing over 200 postcards and leaflets speaking out against the Nazi regime.
Russian Front - North: Day 578 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 339 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket.
MTO - Tunisia: Day 143 of 178 of the Battle of Tunisia. RAF and US Air Forces provide Allied air support. The British 10th Corps attacks Fondouk.
CBI - Burma: Day 60 of 79 of the Allied Operation LONGCLOTH. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - China: Day 2,102 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Alaska: Day 306 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands.
PTO - New Guinea: US 5th Air Force hits a variety of targeted areas.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 8 of 16 of Japan's Operation I-GO.
1944 — , April 8
ETO - UK: British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Anthony Eden issues a statement condemning German atrocities and calls for those responsible to be brought to justice.
ETO - Belgium: US 9th Air Force B-26s attack the Hasselt marshalling yard and hit Coxyde Airfield.
ETO - Germany: US 8th Air Force B-17s and B-24s bomb airfields and factories in northwestern Germany, including a Volkswagen plant near Hannover.
Russian Front - North: Day 67 of 191 of the Battle of the Narva Isthmus, Estonia. Both German and Soviet troops in the Baltic region remain in a defensive position.
Russian Front - South: Day 107 of 113 of the USSR's Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive in southwestern Ukraine.
Russian Front - South: Day 36 of 45 of the Battle of Chernovtsy, Ukraine.
Russian Front - South: Day 15 of 15 of the Battle of Kamenets-Podolsky Pocket, Ukraine. German Army Group South retreats from the area.
Russian Front - South: Day 34 of 44 of the Battle of Snigirevka, Ukraine.
Russian Front - South: Day 1 of 35 of the Battle of the Crimea.
Russian Front - South: Day 14 of 20 of the Battle of Odessa, Ukraine.
Russian Front - South: Day 1 of 60 of the Battle of Romania, 1st Iaşi (Jassy) Offensive. Soviet troops reach the Slovakian border and advance into Romania.
MTO - Italy: Day 83 of 123 of the Battle of Monte Cassino. RAF and US Air Forces provide air support.
MTO - Italy: Day 78 of 136 of the Battle of Anzio. RAF and US Air Forces provide air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 35 of 166 of the UK's Operation THURSDAY.
CBI - Burma: Day 30 of 147 of the Battle of Myitkyina. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 8 of 302 of the Chinese Salween Offensive. US 14th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - China: Day 2,468 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Japanese planes make a number of raids across the Henan Province. US 14th Air Force hits small ships in Yulinkan Bay and airfields on Weichow and Hainan Islands.
CBI - India: Day 32 of 118 of the Battle of Imphal-Kohima. Japanese troops move in between Kohima and Jotsoma, cutting off the Indian 161st Brigade from defending Kohima.
PTO - Caroline Islands: US 7th Air Force B-24s bomb Truk Atoll.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 40 of 80 of the Battle of the Admiralty Islands. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 203 of 219 of the Battle of Shaggy Ridge. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 116 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 160 of 295 of the Battle of the Bougainville Islands. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
1945 — , April 8
ETO Germany: The US 3rd Army discovers an enormous hidden cache of gold, art and other treasures of Nazi plunder in the Merkers salt mine near Mülhausen.
Spotlight...
Gen Dwight D Eisenhower inspects stolen artwork in the Merkers salt mines, 12 Apr 45. Behind Eisenhower are General Omar N Bradley (left), CG of the 12th Army Group and (right) LT Gen George S Patton, Jr, CG, 3rd US Army.
Merkers salt mine near Mülhausen
Reichsbank wealth, SS loot and Berlin museum paintings discovered by the US 3rd Army 90th Division in the mine.
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ETO - Netherlands: A British SAS paratrooper brigade is dropped into eastern Netherlands to clear the way for the advancing Canadian units moving north.
ETO - France: Day 253 of 284 of the Battle of Brittany.
ETO - France: Day 206 of 236 of the Siege of Dunkirk.
ETO - Germany: Day 34 of 46 of the Battle of the Ruhr Pocket. US 9th Air Force provides air support. The British 2nd Army captures Hildesheim.
ETO - Germany: Day 5 of 9 of the Battle of Heilbronn. US 7th Army takes Pforzheim in southwestern Germany.
ETO - Germany: US 8th Air Force B-17s and B-24s bomb various targets Germany.
Germany: SS judge Otto Thorbeck sentences anti-fascist Lutheran Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer to death for his part in a failed plot to kill Hitler.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 206 of 223 of the Lapland War. Finland and Russia have joined forces to kick the Germans out of Finland's most northern province.
Russian Front - Center: Day 176 of 206 of the Battle of the Courland Pocket in Latvia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 74 of 75 of the Battle of Königsberg, East Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia). The Soviets take the defensive forts numbered 5 and 8.
Russian Front - Center: Day 55 of 83 of the German Siege of Breslau (today Wroclaw, Poland). The Soviets continue with their siege.
Russian Front - Center: The Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front advances into northern Czechoslovakia.
Russian Front - South: Day 14 of 21 of the Battle of Nagykanizsa-Körmend, western Hungary.
Russian Front - South: Day 27 of 34 of the Battle of Vienna, Austria. Soviet troops gain control of the main railway station.
MTO: US 15th Air Force bombs targets in Italy, Austria, and Germany.
MTO - Italy: Day 3 of 27 of Operation GRAPESHOT, a successful offensive in northern Italy. A British SAS 20-man team creates a diversion at Lake Comacchio for which the Danish Major Anders Lassen will be posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, becoming the only non-British Commonwealth soldier to win this medal during the war.
MTO - Italy: RAF and US Air Forces provide air support for the Allied ground units.
CBI - Burma: Day 64 of 99 of the Battle of Pakokku and Irrawaddy River operations in central Burma. The US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - China: Day 2,833 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 8 of 91 of the Battle of Zhijiang. US 14th Air Force provides air support.
The USS SEA ROBIN sinks two small Japanese fishing vessels in the South China Sea with her deck gun.
PTO: US 7th Air Force: During the night, P-51s bomb Chichi Jima, Haha Jima, Ani Jima and Ototo Jima islands.
PTO - Japan: US 20th Air Force B-29s bomb two airfields at Kanoya and another one at Kokubu on Kyushu Island, from which the kamikaze attacks have been originating.
PTO - Japan: Day 8 of 83 of the Battle of Okinawa. The US coastal minesweeper YMS-103 is beached and abandoned after suffering fatal damage from a mine hit the previous day.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 468 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 352 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 171 of 299 of the 2nd Battle of the Philippines, aka the Liberation of the Philippines or the Philippines Campaign.
PTO - Philippines: Day 115 of 244 of the Battle of Luzon. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 30 of 159 of the Battle of Mindanao Island. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 22 of 135 of the Battle of the Visayas region. US 5th and 7th Air Forces provide air support.
Day-By-Day listings for April 8 were last modified on Friday, February 23, 2018
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