Eastern Europe: Four Polish Armies under the command of Marshal Pilsudski march into the Ukraine.
1933 — , April 25
Germany: Hitler appoints a prominent German Christian, Ludwig Müller (a former Army chaplain and an enthusiastic National Socialist) as his representative in the drawing up of a new constitution for a unified Reich church.
CBI - China: Day 115 of 142 of the 1st Battle of Hebei.
1937 — , April 25
Spain: Day 283 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
1938 — , April 25
Spain: Day 648 of 985 of the Spanish Civil War.
CBI - China: Day 293 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 78 of 124 of the Battle of Henan.
Day 33 of 39 of the Battle of Xuzhou.
1939 — , April 25
CBI - China: Day 658 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 40 of 54 of the Battle of Nanchang.
Day 6 of 35 of the Battle of Suizao.
1940 — , April 25
USA: President Roosevelt recognizes the state of war between Germany and Norway and reaffirms US neutrality. He specifically forbids Norwegian submarines from entering US territorial waters.
UK: A survey by the Ministry of Health shows for their new evacuation scheme that only 8% of eligible children have been registered, as 19% of parents refused to comply and the other 73% simply did not respond to the mandate.
ETO - Ireland: An Irish Republican Army land mine kills 6 people in Dublin.
ETO - Norway: Day 17 of 63 of the Battle of Norway. Out-numbered almost 3 to 1, the British stop the German advance at Kvam. Elsewhere, other Allied troops begin to withdraw from Lillehammer.
CBI - China: Day 1,024 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 163 of 381 of the Battle of South Guangxi.
1941 — , April 25
USA: President Roosevelt calls Charles Lindbergh an "appeaser" in response to his recent calls for the US to stay out of the war.
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17 Sep 39: Lindbergh makes his first anti-intervention radio speech
24 Jan 41: Lindbergh testifies that aid to Britain was a mistake
23 Apr 41: Lindbergh again calls for the US to stay out of the war
Those Angry Days: Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and America's Fight Over World War II, 1939-1941
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USA: President Roosevelt announces an indefinite extension of US Atlantic patrols.
Atlantic: German sub U-103 sinks the Norwegian ship POLYANA 200 miles southwest of Cape Verde Islands, killing the entire crew of 25.
Atlantic: The German armed merchant cruiser PINGUIN attacks and stops the British ship EMPIRE LIGHT. After the 70 crew members are taken off, the PINGUIN sinks the ship.
ETO - UK: Day 232 of 258 of the Blitz.
MTO - Greece: Day 20 of 25 of the Battle of Greece. Allied troops withdraw from Thermopylae to Athens. Six Greek destroyers and five submarines slip out and head to Egypt.
MTO - Libya: Day 16 of 256 of the Siege of Tobruk. German troops engage British patrols near Fort Capuzzo. With the exception of one spotter plane, the RAF moves their planes from Tobruk to Egypt, leaving Tobruk without any air defense.
MTO - Tunisia: The British sub HMS UPHOLDER sinks the Italian ship ANTONIETTA LAURO off the Tunisian island of Kerkenah.
East Africa: Day 320 of 537 of Italy's East African campaign in the lands south of Egypt.
CBI - China: Day 1,389 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
CBI - Thailand: Day 207 of 221 of the Franco-Thai War (Vichy France vs Thailand).
1942 — , April 25
USA: Lt Edward "Butch" O'Hare, America's first fighter Ace of the war and first naval recipient of the Medal of Honor, is honored in a hero's welcome parade in his home town of St Louis, Missouri.
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20 Feb 42: O'Hare becomes the first US fighter Ace of the war
26 Mar 42: O'Hare greeted as celebrity by reporters in Hawaii
21 Apr 42: O'Hare receives the Medal of Honor at White the House
25 Apr 42: O'Hare given a hero's parade in his hometown St Louis
19 Jun 42: O'Hare is relocated to Maui to instruct other pilots
31 Aug 43: O'Hare is awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
05 Oct 43: O'Hare is awarded a Gold Star in lieu of another DFC
26 Nov 43: O'Hare is shot down in combat, never to be found
09 Dec 43: Official word arrives from the PTO that O'Hare is MIA
27 Jan 45: US Navy launches the destroyer USS O'Hare in his honor
19 Sep 49: Chicago's airport is renamed O'Hare International
Related WWII Store items (Fighter Aces of WWII)...
Douglas Bader Reach for the Sky: The Story of Douglas Bader, Legless Ace of the Battle of Britain
George Beurling Malta Spitfire: The Diary of an Ace Fighter Pilot
Dick Bong Ace of Aces: The Story of Fighter Pilot Dick Bong
Atlantic: Day 102 of 169 of Germany's Second "Happy Time," during which U-boats sink 609 Allied ships with little risk.
ETO - UK: The Luftwaffe bombs Bath as the Baedeker raids continue.
Russian Front - North: Day 230 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 77 of 102 of the Battle of the Demyansk Pocket, another failed attempt to break the siege at Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 93 of 103 of the Battle of the Kholm Pocket. Another attempt to break the siege at Leningrad.
Russian Front - South: Day 178 of 248 of the Siege of Sevastopol, Crimean Peninsula.
CBI - Burma: Day 133 of 164 of Japan's Invasion of Burma. British commanders decide to pull all Allied troops to India, saying none are to withdraw to China, even though it's much closer. Meanwhile, Japanese and Chinese troops clash at Loilem, central Burma.
CBI - China: Day 1,754 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
PTO - Malaya: Day 66 of 357 of the Battle of Timor Island.
PTO - New Caledonia: US troops land on French New Caledonia.
PTO - Philippines: Day 139 of 152 of the 1st Battle of the Philippines.
1943 — , April 25
Atlantic: On his last patrol aboard U-404, Captain Otto Von Bülow fires four torpedoes at the British aircraft carrier HMS BITER but they all detonate prematurely and HMS BITER escapes without damage. On his return to Germany Von Bülow is decorated by Hitler as German newspapers report he has sunk HMS BITER and the carrier USS RANGER as well. Later, US newspapers print a recent photograph showing the RANGER's commander Gordon Rowe aboard the RANGER smiling at a picture of Von Bülow and the German article of the USS RANGER's demise.
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25 Apr 43: German newspapers errantly report sinking of the USS RANGER
04 Oct 43: USS RANGER attacks German convoys in the war's only US carrier action above the Arctic Circle
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USS Ranger: The Navy's First Flattop from Keel to Mast, 1934-1946
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Germany: Reports say that 27,464 Jews have been captured in the Jewish ghetto of Warsaw, Poland.
Russian Front - North: Day 595 of 872 of the Siege of Leningrad.
Russian Front - North: Day 356 of 658 of the Siege of the Kholm Pocket.
MTO - Tunisia: Day 160 of 178 of the Battle of Tunisia. RAF and US Air Forces provide Allied air support. Fighting continues in the Jefna area as the Allies begin making their way to Bizerte and Tunis.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 4 of 148 of the 2nd Battle of Lae-Salamaua. 5th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 77 of 79 of the Allied Operation LONGCLOTH. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - China: Day 2,119 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
The commanding officer of the Chinese 5th Army defects to the Japanese.
The USS SNOOK sinks a sampan with her deck gun off the coast of China.
PTO - Alaska: Day 323 of 435 of the Battle of Kiska, Aleutian Islands. US 11th Air Force attacks targets on Kiska and Attu.
PTO - Solomon Islands: US 13th Air Force B-24s night bomb the Kahili Airfield.
1944 — , April 25
CBI - Burma: A helicopter is used for the first time to rescue four downed soldiers in the dense jungle of Burma 100 miles behind Japanese lines, using a newly-delivered Army Sikorsky YR-4B helicopter.
Spotlight...
Coast Guard test of the capability of the Navy's first helicopter, HNS-1 (Army R-4 Sikorsky), for air-sea rescue at NAS New York during WWII
Lt Carter Harmon, standing at left, in front of his YR-4 helicopter with other team members. They made the first US Army Air Force helicopter rescue behind Japanese lines in Burma on 25-26 April 1944.
Little known among the more than 299,000 American aircraft built during WWII for US and Allied Forces, the 133 R-4s built between 1942 and 1945 deserve a special place in the annals of aviation.
ETO: US 8th Air Force B-17s and B-24s bomb marshalling yards and airfields in France and Germany.
ETO - France: US 9th Air Force: B-26s and A-20s bomb V-weapon sites.
Norway: The Emsland concentration camps in Germany establishes the Kommandos Nord (Department North), which begins to construct new concentration camps in Norway north of the Arctic Circle. 1,404 prisoners will be transferred there when completed.
Russian Front - North: Day 84 of 191 of the Battle of the Narva Isthmus, Estonia. Both German and Soviet troops remain in their defensive positions.
Russian Front - South: Day 18 of 35 of the Battle of the Crimea.
Russian Front - South: Day 18 of 60 of the Battle of Romania, 1st Jassy Offensive.
MTO - Italy: Day 100 of 123 of the Battle of Monte Cassino. RAF and US Air Forces provide air support. The German Gustav Line continues getting weaker.
MTO - Italy: Day 95 of 136 of the Battle of Anzio. RAF and US Air Forces provide air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 52 of 166 of the UK's Operation THURSDAY.
CBI - Burma: Day 47 of 147 of the Battle of Myitkyina. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 25 of 302 of the Chinese Salween Offensive. US 14th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - China: Day 2,485 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 9 of 259 of Japan's Operation ICHI-GO.
Day 9 of 39 of the Battle of Central Henan, the first offensive in Japan's Operation ICHI-GO.
CBI - India: Day 49 of 118 of the Battle of Imphal-Kohima. The Anglo-Indian troops attack at Ningthoukhong near Imphal. The British begin making a right hook advance south of Kohima.
PTO: US 7th and 13th Air Forces bomb in the Marshall Islands, Marianas Islands, and Caroline Islands.
PTO - Alaska: US 11th Air Force B-24s bomb installations on Matsuwa Island.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 57 of 80 of the Battle of the Admiralty Islands. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 133 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 4 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea.
PTO - Solomon Islands: Day 177 of 295 of the Battle of the Bougainville Islands. US 13th Air Force provides air support.
1945 — , April 25
USA: Representatives from 46 nations meet in San Francisco to discuss the future founding of the United Nations.
Atlantic: German U-boats sink five Allied supply ships in the English Channel.
ETO - France: Day 270 of 284 of the Battle of Brittany.
ETO - France: Day 223 of 236 of the Siege of Dunkirk.
ETO - Germany: Before Soviet troops enter Stettin, the ten-man crew aboard Germany's only aircraft carrier GRAF ZEPPELIN detonate carefully placed explosives to render the ship useless to her new owners for many months to come.
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28 Dec 36: Construction begins on the GRAF ZEPPELIN
08 Dec 38: The GRAF ZEPPELIN is launched, though far from complete
25 Apr 45: As Soviet troops approach, Germans scuttle the GRAF ZEPPELIN
16 Aug 47: Soviets use the GRAF ZEPPELIN for target practice and sink her
Without Wings: The Story of Hitler's Aircraft Carrier
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ETO - Germany: The US 3rd Army crosses the Danube River in southern Germany. The US 9th Army and the Soviet 1st Ukrainian Front meet on the Elbe at Torgau, 100 miles Southwest of Berlin.
ETO - Germany: The RAF bombs Berchtesgaden, hitting Hitler's "Eagle's Nest" chalet and the SS barracks.
ETO: The US 8th Air Force fly their final heavy bomber mission attacking targets in southeastern Germany and Czechoslovakia.
Germany: Hitler makes his last major public appearance in Berlin.
Russian Front - Finland: Day 223 of 223 of the Lapland War. The last Germans troops in Finland withdraw into Norway.
Russian Front - Center: Day 193 of 206 of the Battle of the Courland Pocket in Latvia.
Russian Front - Center: Day 13 of 13 of the Battle of Zemland, East Prussia. The Soviets move on to Berlin.
Russian Front - Center: Day 10 of 23 of the Battle of Settin-Rostock, both sides of the border between Germany and Poland. Day 4 of the 11-day Battle of Bautzen.
Russian Front - Center: Day 10 of 17 of the Battle of Berlin. Eight Russian Armies have Berlin completely surrounded in a vise-like grip.
Russian Front - Center: Day 72 of 83 of the German Siege of Breslau (today Wroclaw, Poland). The Soviets continue with their siege.
Russian Front - Center: Day 2 of 8 of the Battle of Halbe, Germany.
MTO: US 15th Air Force B-24s and B-17s attack targets in Austria and Czechoslovakia.
MTO - Italy: Day 20 of 27 of Operation GRAPESHOT. The US 5th Army enters Mantua, 60 miles northwest of Bologna and continue to drive up coast, while the British 8th Army crosses the Po river and captures Parma. Benito Mussolini flees to Como. The Allied Air Forces provide air support.
CBI - Burma: Day 81 of 99 of the Battle of Pakokku and Irrawaddy River operations in central Burma.
CBI - Burma: Day 1 of 12 of the Battle of Rangoon. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
CBI - China: Day 2,850 of 2,987 of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.
Day 25 of 91 of the Battle of Zhijiang. US 14th Air Force provides air support.
Day 17 of 60 of the Battle of West Hunan (near Zhijiang).
PTO: The USS COD sinks the Japanese minesweeper W-41.
PTO - Japan: Day 25 of 83 of the Battle of Okinawa.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 485 of 597 of the Battle of New Britain. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - New Guinea: Day 369 of 481 of the Battle of Western New Guinea. US 10th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 189 of 299 of the 2nd Battle of the Philippines, aka the Liberation of the Philippines or the Philippines Campaign.
PTO - Philippines: Day 132 of 244 of the Battle of Luzon. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 47 of 159 of the Battle of Mindanao Island. 5th Air Force provides air support.
PTO - Philippines: Day 39 of 135 of the Battle of the Visayas region. US 5th and 7th Air Forces provide air support.
Day-By-Day listings for April 25 were last modified on Friday, February 23, 2018
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