Germany: A second re-election takes place in Germany between Hindenburg and Hitler as none of them received the required 50% of votes in the previous election. Hindenburg wins the presidency after receiving 53% of votes.
1933 — , April 10
CBI - China: Day 100 of 142 of the 1st Battle of Hebei.
1937 — , April 10
Spain: Day 268 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
1938 — , April 10
Germany: At the Reichstag elections, a single ballot paper also requires voters to approve the union with Austria. There is lot of vote rigging done by local Party officials to ensure Hitler gets the result he wants.
Spain: Day 633 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 278 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 63 of 124 of the Battle of Henan.<
Day 18 of 39 of the Battle of Xuzhou.
1939 — , April 10
Germany: A Gestapo report notes that between 1933 and 1939, a total of 162,734 prisoners were placed in protective custody, of which most were categorized as political prisoners.
CBI - China: Day 643 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 25 of 54 of the Battle of Nanchang.
1940 — , April 10
UK: Henry Tizard establishes the Military Application of Uranium Detonation (MAUD) Committee in the United Kingdom to investigate the feasibility of building an atomic weapon.
Atlantic: Norway: First Battle of Narvik: 10 German destroyers are attacked in the Ofot fjord by 5 British destroyers. 2 German destroyers, 11 merchant ships and 1 supply ship are sunk. 2 British destroyers are lost.
Atlantic: German sub U-4 sinks the HMS THISTLE at Stavanger, Norway, killing the entire crew of 53.
Atlantic: British sub HMS TARPON attacks a German armed merchant vessel 50 miles off of the Danish coast, which fought back with depth charges. The HMS TARPON is sunk, killing the entire crew of 53.
Atlantic: German sub U-37 torpedoes the Swedish motor tanker SVEABORG 10 miles north of the Faroe Islands. Norwegian merchant vessel TOSCA arrives to rescue the survivors but is also sunk by U-37.
ETO - Norway: Day 2 of 63 of the Battle of Norway. Bitter fighting continues as Germans advance north from Oslo.
CBI - China: Day 1,009 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 148 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi.
1941 — , April 10
Atlantic: While conducting rescue operations of a torpedoed Dutch freighter off Iceland, the American destroyer USS NIBLACK attacks a German U-boat with depth charges. Although the sub escapes without any damage, this becomes the first hostile action between the US and Germany.
Spotlight...
USS NIBLACK (DD 424)
The USS NIBLACK was on a mission to screen the first convoy carrying American troops to Iceland. It was to scout the area before troops were landed. During one sweep, she spotted the survivors of a torpedoed Dutch merchant freighter.
As she slowed to rescue the men, a German submarine was detected by sonar, preparing to attack the destroyer. The depth charge attack that followed drove off the attacking U-boat and marks the first action between United States and German forces in World War II.
However, since no U-boat was ever reported being under attack in the area that day by the Kriegsmarine, the contact may have been false.
Dates of American pre-war incidents...
12 Dec 37: USS PANAY is sunk on the Yangtze River by Japanese planes
21 Apr 40: US Army Captain is killed during the bombing of Norway
10 Apr 41: US destroyer attacks a U-boat that had just sunk a Dutch freighter
14 Sep 41: US Coast Guard captures German-Norwegian ship in Greenland
17 Oct 41: USS KEARNY is damaged by a German torpedo off Iceland
31 Oct 41: USS REUBEN JAMES is sunk by a U-boat, killing 100
Related WWII Store items...
A Measureless Peril: America in the Fight for the Atlantic, the Longest Battle of World War II
USA: President Roosevelt approves the transfer of 10 Lake-class Coast Guard Cutters to the British Royal Navy. These transfers will be completed between 30 Apr and 30 May 1941.
Atlantic: German sub U-107 sinks the British tanker DUFFIELD, killing 25 while 28 survive.
Atlantic: German sub U-52 sinks the Dutch ship SALEIER 500 miles southwest of Iceland.
Atlantic: Overnight, RAF aircraft attack German battlecruisers in Brest, France, hitting GNEISENAU with 4 bombs and causing extensive damage.
ETO - UK: Day 217 of 258 of the Blitz. Birmingham is hit again with more incendiary bombs.
ETO - Germany: The RAF night bombs Berlin destroying the historical Opera House. It will be restored by 1943, but bombed again in Feb 1945.
MTO - Yugoslavia: Day 5 of 12 of the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia. German troops capture the Croatian capital of Zagreb.
MTO - Greece: Day 5 of 25 of the Battle of Greece. German troops cross the border and capture Florina. The British fall back to Salonika.
MTO - Libya: Day 1 of 256 of the Siege of Tobruk. The German 15th Panzer Division attacks the British, Australian and Indian troops defending the city.
East Africa: Day 305 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt. Nigerian troops (British 11th African Division) march from Addis Ababa toward Jimma in Abyssinia while the Indian 5th Division marches from Massawa, Eritrea, toward Amara, Abyssinia.
CBI - China: Day 1,374 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
CBI - Thailand: Day 192 of 221 of the Franco-Thai War (Vichy France vs Thailand).
1942 — , April 10
USA: The Soviet Ambassador to the US gives a speech in Philadelphia demanding an immediate second front in Europe.
Atlantic: Day 87 of 169 of Germany's Second "Happy Time," during which U-boats sink 609 Allied ships with little risk.
U-123 sinks the US tanker GULFAMERICA off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, killing 19 of 48 aboard.
ETO - Norway: Norwegian Lutheran Bishop Eivind Berggrav, arrested for resistance by the Germans in Norway yesterday, is sent to the Bredtvet Concentration Camp.
Russian Front - North: Day 215 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 62 of 102 of the Battle of the Demyansk Pocket, another failed attempt to break the siege at Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 78 of 103 of the Battle of the Kholm Pocket. Another attempt to break the siege at Leningrad.
Russian Front - Center: Day 93 of 103 of the Battle of Vyazma, Russia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 93 of 103 of the Battle of Sychevsk, Russia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 39 of 49 of the Battle of Rzhev, Russia, a diversion to pull more German troops away from Moscow.
Russian Front - South: Day 163 of 248 of the Siege of Sevastopol, Crimean Peninsula.
CBI: Day 11 of 11 of the Japanese Naval raids on Allied ships throughout the Indian Ocean.
CBI - Burma: Day 118 of 164 of Japan's Invasion of Burma. Japanese and Chinese troops clash at Szuwa River.
CBI - China: Day 1,739 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Malaya: Day 51 of 357 of the Battle of Timor Island.
PTO - Philippines: Day 124 of 152 of the 1st Battle of the Philippines. Japanese troops take control of Cebu Island.
PTO - Philippines: The Bataan Death March begins as 78,000 Allied POWs are forced to walk 60 miles under a blazing sun without food or water toward a new POW camp. The march was characterized by wide-ranging physical abuse and murder by the Japanese Army, resulting in over 5,000 deaths. It will later be judged by an Allied military commission to be a Japanese war crime.
1943 — , April 10
Russian Front - North: Day 580 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 341 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket.
MTO - Tunisia: Day 145 of 178 of the Battle of Tunisia. RAF and US Air Forces provide Allied air support. British troops take Sfax, 150 miles south of Tunis.
CBI - Burma: Day 62 of 79 of the Allied Operation LONGCLOTH. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - China: Day 2,104 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Alaska: Day 308 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: US 13th Air Force B-24s bomb Kahili airfield.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 10 of 16 of Japan's Operation I-GO.
1944 — , April 10
USA: As a follow up to the successful film series Why We Fight, the Frank Capra produced documentary film The Negro Soldier is released and shown to both military and civilian audiences across America.
Spotlight...
The Film Poster
The US Army used this film as a means of convincing African-Americans to enlist in the army and fight in the war. Most people regarded the film very highly, some going as far to say that it was "one of the finest things that ever happened to America" due to its great cinematography, in part, and its impact on the ongoing advancement of race relations and civil rights in America.
The Negro Soldier proved to be a breakout film that influenced army members and civilians of all races. Although the US Army was officially committed to practicing segregation, they also looked to African-Americans for additional manpower. It was correctly felt the time that films were the best method of instilling a message within people and pushing them to act toward a common goal.
The army selected Frank Capra to head the effort to create morale films that were designed to build enthusiasm for war purposes. Capra, an immigrant from Sicily, began his career in Hollywood working on humorous short films and went on to create many well-known films that made it big in the box office.
In March of 1942, Capra began brainstorming The Negro Soldier. He asked different researchers to inform him about what was okay and not okay when it came to creating a cinematic depiction of African-Americans. These researchers came up with a list of cautions, some of which included "avoid stereotypes such as the Negroes' alleged affinity for watermelon or pork; also avoid strong images of racial identity ('play down colored soldiers more Negroid in appearance' and omit 'Lincoln, emancipation, or any race leaders or friends of the Negro')". With these cautions in mind, work began on a sympathetic treatment for the film.
The final movie totaled 43 minutes long and received official support in 1944. At first, The Negro Soldier was intended for only African-American troops; however, the creators of the film decided that they wanted to distribute the film to a wider military and civil audience. Nobody was certain what the impact of the film would have on viewers, and many people feared that African-Americans would have a negative response to the film. However, when the first African-American troops saw the film, they insisted that all African-American troops should see it. Furthermore, after both African-Americans and whites were surveyed about their response to the film, the filmmakers were shocked when over 80% of the white population thought the film should be shown to both black and white troops, as well as white civilians.
The Negro Soldier influenced later African-American films and its viewers in different ways, playing a considerable part in altering the types of roles that African-Americans received in following films. For example, instead of showing blacks only as subservients, this film showed them as lawyers, musicians, athletes, and other valued professions. In different movies during this time period, African-Americans were often portrayed as humorous characters. However, after The Negro Soldier, African-Americans played more respectable and prominent roles in films.
Dates related to Frank Capra-produced films...
27 May 42: First of seven "Why We Fight" films premiers
10 Apr 44: Capra's "The Negro Soldier" is released
Dates related to WWII propaganda films...
Triumph of the Will (Germany) 28 Mar 35: Leni Riefenstahl's award-winning film chronicling the Sep 5-10, 1934 Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg
Ohm Krüger (Germany) 04 Apr 41: Anti-British feature film shedding bad light on British imperialism toward Afrikaans-speaking Boers
No Greater Sin (USA) 28 Aug 41: Military instructional film warning young soldiers about the dangers of prostitutes and the spread of syphilis
Why We Fight (USA) 27 May 42: A series of seven Frank Capra-produced documentary films
Mission to Moscow (USA) 22 May 43: Feature film made to garner more sympathy and support for the Soviet Union
This Is the Army (USA) 12 Aug 43: Irving Berlin's wartime musical designed to boost American morale and patriotism
The Negro Soldier (USA) 10 Apr 44: Frank Capra docudrama made to promote African-American enlistment
Memphis Belle (USA) 13 Apr 44: William Wyler documentary of one of the first crews of the 8th Air Force to complete 25 missions
Nazi Concentration Camps (USA) 29 Nov 45: Films of concentration camp atrocities are shown at the Nuremberg trials
ETO: US 8th Air Force B-17s and B-24s bomb aviation industry targets and airfields in Belgium and France.
ETO - France: The RAF drops a record of 3,600 tons on targets in northern France.
ETO - France: US 9th Air Force B-26s and A-20s attack the coastal batteries around Le Harve.
Russian Front - North: Day 69 of 191 of the Battle of the Narva Isthmus, Estonia. Both German and Soviet troops remain in their defensive positions.
Russian Front - South: Day 109 of 113 of the USSR's Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive in southwestern Ukraine.
Russian Front - South: Day 38 of 45 of the Battle of Chernovtsy, Ukraine.
Russian Front - South: Day 36 of 44 of the Battle of Snigirevka, Ukraine.
Russian Front - South: Day 3 of 35 of the Battle of the Crimea.
Russian Front - South: Day 16 of 20 of the Battle of Odessa, Ukraine. The Soviets enter Odessa on the Black Sea, forcing the Germans across the Dniester river.
Russian Front - South: Day 3 of 60 of the Battle of Romania, 1st Jassy Offensive.
MTO - Italy: Day 85 of 123 of the Battle of Monte Cassino. RAF and US Air Forces provide air support.
MTO - Italy: Day 80 of 136 of the Battle of Anzio. RAF and US Air Forces provide air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 37 of 166 of the UK's Operation THURSDAY.
CBI - Burma: Day 32 of 147 of the Battle of Myitkyina. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 10 of 302 of the Chinese Salween Offensive. US 14th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - China: Day 2,470 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
CBI - India: Day 34 of 118 of the Battle of Imphal-Kohima.
CBI - Indochina: US 14th Air Force bomb two bridges at Phu Dien Chau.
PTO - Caroline Islands: US 7th Air Force bombs Truk Atoll.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 42 of 80 of the Battle of the Admiralty Islands. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 205 of 219 of the Battle of Shaggy Ridge. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 118 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 162 of 295 of the Battle of the Bougainville Islands. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
1945 — , April 10
MTO - Italy: US 15th Air Force: In an all out effort, B-24s and B-17s bomb enemy defenses along the Santerno River in support of the Battle of Bologna.
Spotlight...
The demise of Stevonovitch II
The B-24 Liberator "Stevonovitch II" (aka "Black Nan"), flown by Col James Gilson and named for his son, was on what was supposed to be a "milk run" over Lugo, Italy, when it was hit by flak between the #2 engine and the fuselage.
All but one of the crew were killed, the bombardier was thrown clear and survived.
The heavy bomber was a new "Pathfinder" ship of the 779th Bomb Squadron, 464th Bomb Group. Colonel Gilson was the squadron commander of the 779th.
ETO - UK: Churchill reveals the recent British Empire casualties are at 1,126,802 total. Of the 306,984 killed, 34,161 were merchant sailors and 59,793 were civilians.
ETO - UK: A German reconnaissance flight over Scotland by an Arado jet becomes the last operational sortie over Britain by a Luftwaffe aircraft.
ETO - Netherlands: The Canadian 1st Army continues its push north, capturing Deventer, 30 miles north of Nijmegen.
ETO - France: Day 255 of 284 of the Battle of Brittany.
ETO - France: Day 208 of 236 of the Siege of Dunkirk.
ETO - Germany: Day 36 of 46 of the Battle of the Ruhr Pocket. US 9th Air Force provides air support. The British 2nd Army captures Wildenhausen while the US 9th Army takes Hanover.
ETO - Germany: Day 7 of 9 of the Battle of Heilbronn.
ETO - Germany: The RAF night bombs at Kiel sinking the German heavy cruiser ADMIRAL SCHEER.
ETO - Germany: US 8th Air Force sends 1,224 heavy bombers to bomb airfields and aircraft facilities known or suspected to have a connection with German jet fighters.
Germany: The infamous Buchenwald Concentration Camp is liberated by the Allies.
Germany: Adolf Hitler sends his servants ahead of him to Berchtesgaden to prepare for his arrival scheduled for 20 April 1945.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 208 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 178 of 206 of the Battle of the Courland Pocket in Latvia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 57 of 83 of the German Siege of Breslau (today Wroclaw, Poland). The Soviets continue with their siege.
Russian Front - South: Day 16 of 21 of the Battle of Nagykanizsa-Körmend, western Hungary.
Russian Front - South: Day 29 of 34 of the Battle of Vienna, Austria. The German 6th SS Panzer Army holds off Soviet attacks at Wiener Neustadt and Baden.
MTO - Italy: Day 5 of 27 of Operation GRAPESHOT, a successful offensive in northern Italy.
MTO - Italy: Day 2 of 13 of the Battle of Bologna. The battleline now stretches from west of Imola to Comacchio Lagoon and all the way to the coast.
MTO - Italy: RAF and US Air Forces provide air support for the Allied ground units.
CBI - Burma: Day 66 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 2,835 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 10 of 91 of the Battle of Zhijiang. US 14th Air Force provides air support.
Day 2 of 60 of the Battle of West Hunan (near Zhijiang).
CBI - Malaya: USS CHARR sinks a Japanese freighter with her deck gun in the Java Sea.
PTO: US 7th Air Force P-51s attack Chichi, Muko, Ani and Haha Jima Islands at night.
PTO - Alaska: US 11th Air Force and US Navy planes drop Napalm bombs on the Kataoka naval base at Shimushu Island, Kurile Islands, while the B-25s attack at Minami Cape on Paramushiru Island.
PTO - Formosa: US 5th Air Force B-24s bomb the town of Koshun.
PTO - Japan: Day 10 of 83 of the Battle of Okinawa.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 470 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 354 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 173 of 299 of the 2nd Battle of the Philippines, aka the Liberation of the Philippines or the Philippines Campaign.
PTO - Philippines: Day 117 of 244 of the Battle of Luzon. 5th Air Force provides air support. US troops capture Jolo and Lamon Bay.
PTO - Philippines: Day 32 of 159 of the Battle of Mindanao Island. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 24 of 135 of the Battle of the Visayas region. US 5th and 7th Air Forces provide air support.
1947 — , April 10
Poland: Former Auschwitz concentration camp Commandant Rudolf Höss writes a letter to the state prosecutor who had worked against him during his trial, noting that he realizes he had sinned and is ready to receive the punishment of death.
Day-By-Day listings for April 10 were last modified on Thursday, March 8, 2018
Spotlight...
