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History on the 8th of April

History
Date Text
08 Apr 1912 WW2 Alois Brunner was born. 
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08 Apr 1915 WW2 Erwin Rommel received the Military Merit Order award. 
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08 Apr 1922 WW2 General Erich von Falkenhayn, the former Chief of the German General Staff between 1914 and 1916, died at Schloss Lindstedt near Potsdam, Germany. 
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08 Apr 1929 WW2 In Russia a new law banned 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 were banned. Tax levels were increased on all clergy and priests who tried to buy food in state shops were forced to pay a special deposit. Rules were altered on clerical residence rights forcing many priests to rely on the charity of their congregation for accommodation. 
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08 Apr 1932 WW2 Workers at the Teikovo Calico works outside Moscow, Russia began a strike when they heard that their already meagre food ration was to be cut again. 
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08 Apr 1933 WW2 Battle of the Great Wall: The Chinese 29th Corps was evacuated from Xifengkou Pass of the Great Wall. 
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08 Apr 1940 WW2 Polish submarine Orzel, under British command, sank the German transport ship Rio de Janeiro in the Skagerrak at 1150 hours. German sailors rescued by Norwegian ships admitted that they were en route to attack Bergen. 
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08 Apr 1940 WW2 British destroyer HMS Glowworm discovered German Navy Marine Gruppe 1 at 0800 hours and was fired upon by cruiser Admiral Hipper at close range. Outgunned, Glowworm's captain decided to ram the German cruiser, which caused heavy damage for Admiral Hipper but it also led to her sinking, which killed 118, including commanding officer Lieutenant Commander Gerard Broadmead Roope, who received a posthumous Victoria Cross, the first of the war; captain Hellmuth Heye of Admiral Hipper spoke highly of Roope's courage. Off Narvik, British destroyers Esk, Icarus, Impulsive, and Ivanhoe mined Vestfjord at 0500 hours in preparation for landings by British and French forces at Namsos, Narvik, and Andalsnes; Norway was informed of this action at 0600 hours. Meanwhile, German Navy Marine Gruppe 3 departed Wilhelmshaven, Germany for Bergen, Norway (1,900 troops aboard 2 cruisers, 1 transport, 1 minelayer, and 5 torpedo boats), Marine Gruppe 4 and Marine Gruppe 6 departed Cuxhaven, Germany for southern Norway (1,250 troops), and Marine Gruppe 5 departed Swinemünde, Germany for Oslo, Norway (2,000 troops aboard 3 cruisers, 8 minesweepers, and 3 torpedo boats). In Britain, Vice Admiral Max Horton dispatched 6 more submarines to intercept these additional German invasion fleets; many of his peers were against this decision, believe there would not be any additional fleets being dispatched by the Germans. Among the 6 newly dispatched British submarines included HMS Ursula, HMS Triad, and HMS Sterlet, which departed to patrol the Skagerrak between Denmark and Norway. 
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08 Apr 1940 WW2 German Field Marshal Keitel ordered the transfer of active military servicemen who were 50% Jewish and those who were married to women who were 50% Jewish to reserve or militia units. 
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08 Apr 1941 WW2 German bombers conducted a raid on Coventry, England, United Kingdom. 
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08 Apr 1941 WW2 German 2nd Panzer Division crossed from southern Yugoslavia into northern Greece near Dojran Lake. Elsewhere, German 73rd Infantry Division moved into the Monastir Valley and captured Prilep, Yugoslavia and prepared to move south toward Salonika, Greece. German 6th Mountain Division penetrated the Metaxas Line by crossing a 7,000 feet mountain range. Finally, German bombers attacked Belgrade, Yugoslavia. 
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08 Apr 1941 WW2 British, Indian, and Free French troops captured hill forts surrounding Massawa, Eritrea, Italian East Africa. RAF aircraft sank Italian minelayer Ostia in the Massawa harbor; avoiding capture, Italian destroyer Orsini and 12 other vessels were scuttled, leaving the harbor nearly unusable with so many wrecks. Shortly after, British General Heath accepted the formal surrender by Italian Admiral Bonetti and his 10,000-strong garrison. Prior to the surrender, ammunition and supply dumps were destroyed. 
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08 Apr 1941 WW2 Before dawn, some of the British, Australian, and Indian troops fled from Mechili, Libya, which would be captured by Axis troops by the end of the day. Major General John Lavarack assumed the duties of Lieutenant General Philip Neame as the British military governor of Cyrenaica, Libya; Neame was captured by a German patrol on the previous day. 
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08 Apr 1941 WW2 German submarine U-107 sank British ship Eskdene with 2 torpedoes and 104 rounds from the deck gun 200 miles south of the Azores at 0742 hours; the entire crew of 39 survived. At 1940 hours, U-107 sank British ship Helena Margareta in the same region; 27 were killed, 9 survived. 
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08 Apr 1941 WW2 German submarine U-124 sank British ship Tweed 150 miles off Freetown, Sierra Leone, British West Africa at 1225 hours; 3 were killed, 22 survived in 2 lifeboats. 
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08 Apr 1941 WW2 The Gloster E.28/39 jet powered prototype made a series of short hops along the Hucclecote airfield runway in Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom before being dismantled and moved by road to RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire, England where it was felt that the longer runway would be an advantage for flight tests. 
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08 Apr 1941 WW2 USS Astoria arrived at Long Beach, California, United States. 
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08 Apr 1941 WW2 Josias was promoted to the rank of General der Polizei. 
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08 Apr 1942 WW2 A US delegation led by Harry Hopkins and George Marshall arrived in Britain to discuss US and British strategy on opening a second front in Europe by invading France. 
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08 Apr 1942 WW2 Japanese troops based in Rabaul landed in Western New Britain. 
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08 Apr 1942 WW2 Japanese troops overran Chinese 200th Division and New 22nd Division defensive positions at Yedashe, Burma. 
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08 Apr 1942 WW2 The Japanese Navy officially agreed to the German request to conduct submarine raids against Allied shipping in the Indian Ocean, although the submarines were already in position or underway. Later that day, Japanese submarine I-3 sank British collier Fultala 200 miles off the southern tip of India at 0150 hours. 
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08 Apr 1942 WW2 Italian bombers sank British minesweeping whaler HMS Svana and anti-submarine whaler HMS Thorgrim off Alexandria, Egypt. 
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08 Apr 1942 WW2 Ivan Bagramyan was named the chief of staff of the Southwestern Front. 
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08 Apr 1942 WW2 German submarine U-84 sank Yugoslavian ship Nemanja 300 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, United States at 0457 hours; 13 were killed, 34 survived. Just 10 miles off St. Simons Island, Georgia, United States, U-123 damaged US tanker Oklahoma (killing 19 of 37) at 0752 hours and US tanker Esso Baton Rouge (killing 3 of 62) at 0844 hours. Far to the south, Italian submarine Calvi sank US tanker Eugene V. R. Thayer with a torpedo and 120 shells from her deck gun 20 miles off the northern coast of Brazil. 
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08 Apr 1942 WW2 Tenryu departed Manus, Admiralty Islands. 
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08 Apr 1942 WW2 A Catalina flying boat spotted a Japanese carrier fleet approaching Trincomalee, Ceylon. On this news, British aircraft carrier HMS Hermes and Australian destroyer HMAS Vampire departed Trincomalee in an attempt to escape the impending attack. 
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08 Apr 1942 WW2 The P-40E fighter saw its first combat and first victory in Asia as Flight Leader Robert Little of 1st Pursuit Squadron shot down a Ki-43 aircraft over Leiyun (Loiwing), Yunnan Province, China. 
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08 Apr 1942 WW2 Tatsuta Maru arrived at Balikpapan, Borneo and took on fuel. 
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08 Apr 1942 WW2 272 RAF bombers (177 Wellington, 41 Hampden, 22 Stirling, 13 Manchester, 12 Halifax, and 7 Lancaster aircraft) conducted a raid on Hamburg, Germany; 4 Wellington and 1 Manchester aircraft were lost in this attack. 
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08 Apr 1942 WW2 Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller was awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. 
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08 Apr 1942 WW2 USS Enterprise departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii to make rendezvous with USS Hornet, which was en route to strike the Japanese home islands. 
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08 Apr 1942 WW2 USS Pollack arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, ending her second war patrol. 
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08 Apr 1942 WW2 Joseph Rochefort's cryptanalytic team in Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii intercepted a Japanese Navy message that assigned fleet carrier Kaga to the campaign against a location with code name RZP. 
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08 Apr 1942 WW2 Allied convoy PQ-14 departed Reykjavík, Iceland; it was consisted of 24 merchant ships, escorted by 2 minesweepers and 3 anti-submarine trawlers. 
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08 Apr 1942 WW2 American submarine Seadragon delivered 20 tons of food to Corregidor in the Philippine Islands; on the return trip, she evacuated the final 21 radio intelligence personnel from the US Navy Station CAST facility. 
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08 Apr 1942 WW2 Japanese bombers and fighters attacked US II Corps positions digging in along the Alangan River at Bataan, Philippine Islands at 1100 hours, but these positions successfully repulsed the first Japanese assault shortly after; the Japanese would return with tank support, however, overrunning the line. The US Commander of the Luzon Force ordered all munition dumps at Mariveles Habor at Bataan destroyed, and medical staff began withdrawing to Corregidor island. 
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08 Apr 1942 WW2 Soviet forces opened a railway link into Leningrad in northern Russia. 
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08 Apr 1943 WW2 US President Roosevelt froze wages and prices of utilities in order to prevent inflation. He also banned workers from changing jobs unless the switch would further the war effort. 
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08 Apr 1943 WW2 The keel of submarine Baya was laid down. 
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08 Apr 1943 WW2 USS Tunny patrolled north of West Fayu Island, Caroline Islands. Toward the end of the day she received orders to sail for waters southwest of Truk to intercept a Japanese fleet of unknown composition. 
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08 Apr 1943 WW2 Repair ship Akashi completed the repair work for destroyer Hatsukaze at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
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08 Apr 1943 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Yokosuka, Japan. 
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08 Apr 1943 WW2 The first modified Lancaster ED765/G ("G" for "Guard" denoting the special security arrangements required) bomber was delivered to the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom for planned attacks against German dams. 
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08 Apr 1943 WW2 XSB2D-1 prototype aircraft took its first flight. 
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08 Apr 1944 WW2 USS Seahorse detected a Japanese convoy off the Mariana Islands. After dark, attacked the convoy and sank cargo ship Kizugawa Maru, hitting her with four of eight torpedoes fired. After evading depth charges, she attacked again, sinking cargo ship Bisaku Maru, hitting her with two of six torpedoes fired. 
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08 Apr 1944 WW2 Red Army troops reached the Slovakian border and advanced into Romania. 
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08 Apr 1944 WW2 USAAF bombers attacked a Volkswagen factory near Hannover, Germany. 
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08 Apr 1944 WW2 British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Anthony Eden issued a statement condemning German atrocities and called for those responsible to be brought to justice. 
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08 Apr 1944 WW2 US 83rd Infantry Division became part of the VIII Corps of US Third Army. 
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08 Apr 1944 WW2 Rall was commissioned into service. 
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08 Apr 1944 WW2 The headquarters of USAAF 417th Bomb Group was transferred from Dobodura Airfield to Saidor Airfield, Australian Papua. 
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08 Apr 1944 WW2 Japanese aircraft conducted raids across Henan Province, China. 
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08 Apr 1944 WW2 Japanese troops moved into the ground between Kohima and Jotsoma in India, cutting off the Indian 161st Brigade from being able to assist in the defense Kohima. 
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08 Apr 1944 WW2 Light carrier Ryuho arrived at Kure, Japan. 
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08 Apr 1944 WW2 USS Whale sank Japanese freighter Honan Maru in the Korea Strait, hitting her with 2 of 7 torpedoes fired. 
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08 Apr 1944 WW2 Ivan Konev ordered Soviet 27th Army and 40th Army to attack Romanian positions near Târgu Frumos, Romania. 
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08 Apr 1944 WW2 The Soviet forces began an offensive to retake Crimea, Russia and to destroy the German 17.Armee. 
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08 Apr 1945 WW2 Prinz Eugen set sail for Copenhagen, Denmark. 
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08 Apr 1945 WW2 SS judge Otto Thorbeck sentenced Dietrich Bonhoeffer to death for conspiracy against the German state. 
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08 Apr 1945 WW2 A British SAS brigade was dropped into eastern Netherlands as an advance force for Canadian units moving north. 
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08 Apr 1945 WW2 British Second Army captured Hildesheim in central Germany. 
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08 Apr 1945 WW2 Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front continued its advance into northern Czechoslovakia. 
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08 Apr 1945 WW2 Defensive forts number 5 and 8 at Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany surrendered to Soviet forces. German forces attempted another counterattack, but it failed at the face of Soviet air superiority. On this date, Soviet aircraft dropped 1,500 tons of bombs on Königsberg. 
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08 Apr 1945 WW2 Two destroyers were damaged by Japanese special attack boats and aircraft off Okinawa, Japan. 
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08 Apr 1945 WW2 In northern Italy, British Army SAS Major Anders Lassen and 19 men were tasked with creating a diversion at Lake Comacchio. The Dane, who joined the British forces after the fall of Denmark and had already won the Military Medal three times in commando operations, destroyed three enemy strong-points before being fatally wounded. As his men withdrew, he refused aid, knowing that he would only slow them down and endanger their escape. His body was later found and buried by partisans. The fighting Dane was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross, the only non-British Commonwealth soldier to win the medal during the war. 
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08 Apr 1945 WW2 USS Snook reported her position to USS Tigrone east of the island of Taiwan, China. 
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08 Apr 1945 WW2 USS Sea Robin sank two small Japanese fishing vessels in the South China Sea with her deck gun and took on 3 survivors. 
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08 Apr 1945 WW2 The US coastal minesweeper YMS-103 was beached and abandoned after suffering fatal damage from a mine on the previous day off the coast of Okinawa, Japan. 
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08 Apr 1945 WW2 Soviet troops gained control of the main railway station in Vienna, Ostmark, Germany and surrounded the city. 
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08 Apr 1945 WW2 USS Seahorse sank a small Japanese vessel with gunfire off Japan. 
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08 Apr 1945 WW2 Troops of the US 3rd Army discovered a hidden cache of gold, art, and other treasures in the Merkers salt mine near Mülhausen, Germany. 
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08 Apr 1945 WW2 US Seventh Army takes Pforzheim in southwestern Germany. 
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08 Apr 1945 WW2 British troops attacked the area between the southern tip of Lake Comacchio and the Fossa di Navigazione, known as 'The Wedge', in northern Italy. 
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08 Apr 1945 WW2 B-25 bombers of 3rd Bombardment Group of USAAF 5th Air Force attacked the butanol plant at Kagi, Taiwan. 
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08 Apr 1946 WW2 The League of Nations held its final meeting. 
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08 Apr 1948 WW2 USS Whale arrived at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States by tow. 
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