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History on the 7th of April

History
Date Text
07 Apr 1921 WW2 Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria married Princess Antoinette of Luxembourg. The ceremony was conducted by Pope Pius XII. 
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07 Apr 1930 WW2 The Prison and Concentration camp system in Russia was reformed under the "Law on the Corrective Labour Camps". The OGPU camps were now grouped under the Main Administration of Corrective Labour Camps and Labour Settlements (GUITLTP) headed by OGPU official, Lazar Kogan, which was informally shortened to Gulag or Main Administration Camps, by which it has been known ever since. 
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07 Apr 1932 WW2 Chinese General Ma Zhanshan declared the Heilungkiang Provincial Government in Japanese-occupied Manchuria in northeastern China. He would soon begin to organize what was to become the Northeast Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army. 
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07 Apr 1933 WW2 Hitler announced the new "Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service" which, in effect, allowed the National Socialist Party the legal right to dismiss any State employee (often on the vaguest of grounds) and replace them with appointees of their own. Among the first workers fired were Jewish workers, with exceptions made for Jewish WW1 veterans. 
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07 Apr 1933 WW2 The Gau organization, the large permanent offices of the Reich representatives, was established in law to centralize the political structure of Germany. Hitler appointed himself as the Reich representative for Prussia. 
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07 Apr 1939 WW2 Spain officially signed the Anti-Comintern Pact, joining Germany, Italy, and Japan. 
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07 Apr 1939 WW2 Italy invaded Albania. 
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07 Apr 1940 WW2 Hudson reconnaissance aircraft of 220 Squadron RAF spotted a part of German Marine Gruppe 1 and reported the presence of 1 cruiser and 6 destroyers at 1325 hours, sailing in a northward direction; 12 Blenheim and 24 Wellington bombers were dispatched to attack this group but the attack was not successful. The British Admiralty, receiving reports of major German naval movements, incorrectly assumed the Germans were launching a major attack into the Atlantic Ocean. The Home Fleet departed from Scapa Flow at 2115 hours, while the 1st Cruiser Squadron disembarked the troops already on board in order to prepare for a battle on the open seas. Nevertheless, British submarines continued to patrol the European coast for German activity rather than going out to the open seas; HMS Shark and HMS Seawolf departed Harwich naval base to patrol off Dutch coast, while HMS Clyde and HMS Thistle departed Scapa Flow to patrol the coast of Norway. 
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07 Apr 1941 WW2 US Navy transferred 3 battleships, 1 carrier, 4 light cruisers, 18 destroyers, and other ships from the Pacific Fleet to the Atlantic Fleet. 
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07 Apr 1941 WW2 The British government raised income tax again, by another 1 shilling and 6 pence to 10 shillings in the pound. 
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07 Apr 1941 WW2 British armed merchant cruiser HMS Comorin, damaged by a fire on the previous day, was scuttled by the guns of destroyers HMS Broke and HMS Lincoln 450 miles west of Ireland after all survivors were rescued. 
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07 Apr 1941 WW2 Yugoslavian troops were forced to withdraw to southern Macedonia when the Germans captured Skopje, exposing their flank. German 2nd Panzer Division had reached Strumica, Yugoslavia by the end of the day, which was only 10 miles from the Greek border, from which point it would be able to bypass the Metaxas Line defenses, where German troops conducted a failed frontal assault on this day. The United Kingdom promised aid to Yugoslavia and broke off relations with Hungary; meanwhile, RAF bombers conducted a raid on Sofia, Bulgaria. 
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07 Apr 1941 WW2 A US Navy base began operations in Bermuda, which was leased to the United States for 99 years in exchange for destroyers. 
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07 Apr 1941 WW2 Before dawn, a motor column containing British military governor of Cyrenaica, Libya Lieutenant General Philip Neame and British Lieutenant General Richard O'Connor got lost and became captured by a German patrol between Mechili and Derna. During the day, Axis troops captured Derna, Libya. 50 miles to the south, British, Australian, and Indian troops prepared their defenses at Mechili, which had been surrounded by Axis troops since the prior day. The Axis forces had not yet attacked Mechili due to sandstorms; Rommel ordered that an attack must be launched on the next day. 
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07 Apr 1941 WW2 229 RAF bombers conducted a raid on Kiel, Germany. 
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07 Apr 1941 WW2 German bombers sank minesweeping trawler HMT Rochebonne off the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, killing 11. 
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07 Apr 1941 WW2 German submarine U-124 sank Canadian ship Portadoc with 1 torpedo and 24 rounds from the deck gun 240 miles west of Freetown, Sierra Leone, British West Africa at 1750 hours. The entire crew fo 20 survived in 2 lifeboats. 
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07 Apr 1941 WW2 British cruiser HMS Capetown bombarded Massawa, Eritrea, Italian East Africa. Italian torpedo boat MAS.213 counterattacked and seriously damaged HMS Capetown with a torpedo at 2315 hours, but Capetown was able to escape despite the damage. She would be towed to Bombay, India for repairs. 
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07 Apr 1941 WW2 The Gloster E.28/39 jet powered prototype piloted by Chief Test Pilot P.E.G.Sayer commenced taxiing trials at Gloster's Hucclecote airfield in Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom. 
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07 Apr 1942 WW2 Japanese-Americans began to be relocated from the coastal defense zones in western United States. The American state of Colorado agreed to accept voluntary relocation of enemy aliens; it was the only western state to do so. 
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07 Apr 1942 WW2 Protestant Christian theologian K. F. Stellbrink and three Roman Catholic priests were arrested by the German government for anti-Nazi activities. 
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07 Apr 1942 WW2 Tatsuta Maru departed Tarakan, Borneo. 
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07 Apr 1942 WW2 German submarine U-754 sank Norwegian tanker Kollskegg 370 miles northwest of Bermuda at 0218 hours; 4 were killed, 38 survived. U-552 sank British freighter British Splendour at 0417 hours (12 were killed, 41 survived) and Norwegian whale factory ship Lancing at 1052 hours (1 was killed, 49 survived) off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, United States. 
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07 Apr 1942 WW2 In the Soviet Union, a Decree permitted local Authorities to distribute uncultivated land to the populace for food growing allotments. 
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07 Apr 1942 WW2 British submarine HMS Turbulent sank Italian freighter Rosa M. with 39 rounds from the deck gun 7 miels south of Petrovac, Yogoslavia at 1730 hours. 
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07 Apr 1942 WW2 Japanese submarine I-6 sank British freighter Bahadur 300 miles west of Bombay, India at 1920 hours. 
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07 Apr 1942 WW2 German submarine U-453 damaged British hospital ship HMHS Somersetshire with three torpedoes 40 miles North of Sid Barrani, Egypt at 1300 hours; 2 were killed, 180 survived. The survivors reboarded the ship later and was able to sail to Alexandria, Egypt for repairs. 
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07 Apr 1942 WW2 Tenryu arrived at Manus, Admiralty Islands. 
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07 Apr 1942 WW2 Nachi departed Sasebo, Japan. 
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07 Apr 1942 WW2 British tugs HMS Emily and HMS Hellespont were sunk at Malta by Axis air raids. 
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07 Apr 1942 WW2 A Japanese dive bomber destroyed an ammunition truck near American field hospital No. 1 at Bataan, Philippine Islands at 1000 hours. Shortly after, Japanese aircraft returned to attack the hospital, which had large red crosses painted on the roof, killing 89 and wounding 101; a significant portion of the drug supplies were destroyed in this attack. On the front lines, Japanese assaulted positions held by US and Filipino troops of the US II Corps along the San Vicente River, penetrating the line by noon, forcing the Allies to fall back to the line at the Mamala River in the afternoon, which would also abandoned by 2100 hours for the Alangan River further to the south. 
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07 Apr 1943 WW2 Hitler and Mussolini began a four-day meeting near Salzburg, Austria trying to keep Italy in the war. This led off a month of meetings with Axis allies for pep talks to keep them active against the Allies. 
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07 Apr 1943 WW2 British and American troops linked up on the El Guettar-Gabès road in Tunisia, ending the Battle of El Guettar. 
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07 Apr 1943 WW2 The British government announced equal war compensation for men and women. 
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07 Apr 1943 WW2 Bolivia declared war on the Axis powers. 
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07 Apr 1943 WW2 German Luftwaffe assigned 148 fighters to Jagdfliegerführer Sizilien. 
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07 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Tunny attacked transport Kosei Maru, hitting her with two torpedoes. An Akatsuki-class destroyer counterattacked with depth charges, causing no damage. 
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07 Apr 1943 WW2 Orde Wingate and his small group of Chindits began to march for the Irrawaddy River in Burma en route back to India. 
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07 Apr 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Guitarro was laid down. 
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07 Apr 1943 WW2 Claus von Stauffenberg was seriously injured when his car was strafed by Allied aircraft in North Africa. 
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07 Apr 1943 WW2 In the morning, at Lakunai field at Rabaul, New Britain, Isoroku Yamamoto personally observed the launch of some of the aircraft that was to form a large aerial offensive (to be consisted of 157 Zero fighters and 67 D3A dive bombers). At Tulagi in the Solomon Islands, this Japanese attack force sank 1 US destroyer, 1 New Zealand corvette, and 1 tanker, while also damaged the oiler that was fueling the New Zealand corvette at the time of the attack. The Japanese aircraft were engaged by US Marine Corps F4F fighters; during the combat, 12 Zero fighters, 9 D3A dive bombers, and 7 F4F fighters were shot down. 3 D3A dive bombers were lost en route back to their bases. Under the cover of the air attack, a reinforcement convoy arrived at Kolombangara, New Georgia. 
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07 Apr 1943 WW2 USAAF 325th Fighter Group saw its first combat mission as 36 of its P-40 fighters escorted a group of B-25 bombers to attack Mateur in Tunisia; one P-40 fighter was lost during this mission. 
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07 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Whale departed Midway Atoll. 
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07 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Wahoo began a period of refitting at Midway Atoll. 
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07 Apr 1944 WW2 The Icelandic airline Lofteide HF, founded in the previous month, inaugurated its initial flight service. 
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07 Apr 1944 WW2 USS Tunny arrived at Milne Bay, New Guinea. 
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07 Apr 1944 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Five officers and 91 men of D-2, Unit 2, departed. 
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07 Apr 1944 WW2 No. 112 Squadron RAF, flying Kittyhawk fighters, shot down a German aircraft over Rieti Airfield in Italy; this would be the final Kittyhawk victory in the Mediterranean theater of WW2. 
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07 Apr 1944 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze arrived at Kure, Japan. 
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07 Apr 1944 WW2 Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler escaped from Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp in occupied Poland; they would cross the border to Slovakia three days later. 
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07 Apr 1944 WW2 Allied convoy RA-58 departed the Kola Inlet near Murmansk, Russia. 
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07 Apr 1944 WW2 Nikolai Melnikov, the deputy of Soviet NKVD Directorate for Prisoners of War and Interned Persons (UPVI), committed suicide. He was replaced by Amayak Kobulov. 
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07 Apr 1944 WW2 Bernard Montgomery briefed his generals regarding the invasion of France, predicting the city of Caen would be captured on the first day of the invasion. 
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07 Apr 1944 WW2 During a dinner with Dwight Eisenhower and other Allied generals in England, United Kingdom, George Patton suggested that divisions used for Operation Overlord should be made over-strength. 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 USS Tirante torpedoed a Japanese cargo freighter, surfaced, and observed two survivors clinging to debris. She was initially credited with the kill, but it failed to be confirmed after studying Japanese records post-war. 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 German Armeegruppe E completed its evacuation of Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 In Germany, US First Army captured Göttingen and US Ninth Army captured Eisenach and Hameln. 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 General Schörner's German Armeegruppe Mitte attacked the Soviet 2nd and 4th Ukrainian Fronts in Czechoslovakia. 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 USS Hancock, USS Maryland, and 4 destroyers were damaged by Japanese special attack aircraft. 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 German jets were deployed to intercept heavy bombers of the Western Allies. 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 USS Charr sank Japanese cruiser Isuzu, which had just been damaged by a torpedo from USS Gabilan, with three hits out of five torpedoes fired. 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 The US coastal minesweeper YMS-103 was damaged by a mine off Okinawa, Japan. 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 USS Cabrilla fired 3 torpedoes at a Japanese transport off northern Japan; all torpedoes missed. 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 USS Gabilan sank the already-damaged Japanese cruiser Isuzu, which she and her wolfpack mates had been chasing since 4 Apr 1945, in the South China Sea, hitting her with 1 of 6 torpedoes fired. 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 Hauptmann Oskar Dettke and Oberleutnant Heinrich Südel of the German Kampfgeschwader 55 wing were awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 Anglo-Indian troops attacked Yindaw, which was 20 kilometers south of Meiktila, Burma. It was stubbornly defended by 1,000 Japanese troops which repeatedly repulsed assaults over the next few days. William Slim would ultimately order the town bypassed, leaving it for the mop-up phase later. 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 Hikosaburo Hata was named the chief of staff of Otozo Yamada (Japanese Kwantung Army in northeastern China). 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 German forces at Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany attempted a counterattack. Although it inflicted heavy casualties on the Soviets, it ultimately failed. 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 Wilhelm Canaris was sentenced to death by a special SS tribunal. 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 In a last ditch operation by the so-called Sonderkommando Elbe, set up by the fanatical Oberst Otto Köhnke, the pilots of 183 Fw 190 and Bf 109K aircraft flying to the strains of martial music played over the radio were ordered to deliberately ram American B-17 bombers. How many actually did so remained a mystery but 137 of the German aircraft were lost with the loss 70 pilots killed. Only eight US heavy bombers were brought down. 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 USS Sargent Bay departed Okinawa. 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 101 American B-29 bombers attacked the Nakajima aircraft factory near Tokyo, Japan; this was the first B-29 mission to be escorted by P-51 fighters from Iwo Jima. 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 Kantaro Suzuki was named the 42nd Prime Minister of Japan. 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 Lieutenant General Yoshio Kozuki was named the commanding officer of the Japanese Chosen Army in occupied Korea, relieving Seishiro Itagaki. 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 Kosaku Ariga, commanding officer of battleship Yamato, went down with the ship as the battleship sank. 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 While enroute to attack the US fleets off Okinawa, Japan, battleship Yamato was attacked by US carrier aircraft resulting in her loss, along with several of her escorts. 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 Destroyer Yukikaze rescued survivors of battleship Yamato and destroyer Isokaze; she suffered minor damage from American air attacks during the action (3 were killed, 15 were wounded). 
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07 Apr 1945 WW2 While at Warm Springs, Georgia, United States, Franklin Roosevelt had a brief telephone conversation with his wife Eleanor Roosevelt, who was at the family estate at Hyde Park, New York, United States. 
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07 Apr 1947 WW2 Graf Zeppelin departed Stettin, Germany (now Szczecin, Poland) with loot aboard. 
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07 Apr 1949 WW2 Ma Bufang and Ma Hongkui announced that they would continue to fight against the Communists despite the string of victories that the Communists had been achieving in the Chinese Civil War. 
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