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History on the 4th of June

History
Date Text
04 Jun 1915 WW1 Begin of Third Battle of Krithia
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04 Jun 1916 WW1 Begin of Battle of Lutsk
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04 Jun 1917 WW2 George Giffard was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. 
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04 Jun 1917 WW2 Roger Backhouse was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George. 
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04 Jun 1918 WW2 Muriel Byck was born. 
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04 Jun 1920 WW2 The US Army Reorganization Act made the Air Service a combatant arm of the army, with 1,516 officers and 16,000 men in a total force of 280,000; this legislation defeated hopes for an independent air arm similar to the RAF, but marked progress towards recognising aviation as an asset to be administered independently from ground forces; of the authorised strength, only 919 officers and 8,725 men were engaged. 
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04 Jun 1928 WW2 Zhang Jinghui was seriously wounded east of Huanggutun near Mukden, Fengtian Province (now Liaoning Province), China during the successful assassination attempt on warlord Zhang Zuolin. 
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04 Jun 1932 WW2 German Chancellor Franz von Papen dissolved the Reichstag and announced a new election scheduled for 31 Jul 1932. 
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04 Jun 1934 WW2 America's fourth aircraft carrier, USS Ranger, was commissioned at Norfolk, Virginia, United States under the command of Captain A. L. Bristol. Although smaller than the USS Lexington and USS Saratoga, Ranger was the first US carrier to be designed and built as such from the keel up. Ranger which cost $20,000,000 to build incorporated many design features that led to the more functional vessels of World War II. 
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04 Jun 1934 WW2 In a four-hour meeting German Chancellor Adolf Hitler instructed SA leader Ernsrt Röhm to send the 4,500,000 men of the SA on leave for the month of Jul 1934 and Röhm himself to take sick leave for a few weeks. 
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04 Jun 1936 WW2 The British Air Ministry issued Contract No. 527112/36 to Hawker Aviation for 600 units of the soon-to-be-named Hurricane fighter design. 
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04 Jun 1937 WW2 Prince Fumimaro Konoe became the 34th Prime Minister of Japan. 
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04 Jun 1938 WW2 30 to 40 Japanese bombers attacked Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, causing an estimated 2,000 casualties (700 deaths). 
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04 Jun 1940 WW2 German Admiral Wilhelm Marschall launched Operation Juno, sending Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Admiral Hipper, and several destroyers from Kiel for Norway, aiming at disrupting the Allied supply lines to Narvik. 
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04 Jun 1940 WW2 Overnight, 26,175 French troops were evacuated from Dunkirk, France. At 1020 hours, German troops occupied the city and captured the 30,000 to 40,000 French troops, 2,000 British field guns, and 60,000 British vehicles. In total, 338,226 Allied personnel were evacuated through Operation Dynamo. 
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04 Jun 1940 WW2 Churchill delivered the "We shall never surrender" speech to House of Commons. 
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04 Jun 1940 WW2 The United Kingdom banned any recreational camping within 10 miles of the east and southeastern coasts, including the Isle of Wight. 
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04 Jun 1940 WW2 Konstantin Rokossovsky was promoted to the rank of major general. 
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04 Jun 1940 WW2 Douglas Bader, while attacking a German Do 17 aircraft, nearly collided with the target. 
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04 Jun 1940 WW2 In order to maintain the vital link with North America, British Overseas Airways Corporation commenced a twice-weekly air service between Heston, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom and Lisbon, Portugal, to connect with the scheduled Pan-American Airways New York-Lisbon route. 
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04 Jun 1940 WW2 French l'Armee d'Aire attacked München (Munich) and Frankfurt in Germany in response to the German bombing of Paris, France on the previous day. 
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04 Jun 1941 WW2 British cruiser HMS London and destroyer HMS Brilliant intercepted German tanker Esso Hamburg 750 miles southwest of Cape Verde islands based on Ultra intercepts; Esso Hamburg's entire crew of 87 survived the attack and the tanker was scuttled. Also from Ultra intercepts, British armed merchant cruiser HMS Esperance Bay and aircraft from HMS Victorious spotted German supply ship Gonzenheim 380 miles northeast of the Azores; battleship HMS Nelson and cruiser HMS Neptune approached to board but not before Gonzenheim was scuttled; all 63 aboard survived and picked up by Neptune. Finally, ocean boarding vessel HMS Marsdale captured German tanker Gedania also off the Azores; Gedania would later be pressed into British service as Empire Garden. 
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04 Jun 1941 WW2 German submarine U-101 attacked British ship Trecarrell 1,200 west of Brest, France at 0503 hours, killing 4; 41 abandoned ship. At 0640, U-101 rammed Trecarrell, bending Trecarrell's bow, and then left Trecarrell to sink on her own. 
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04 Jun 1941 WW2 British dredger Robert Hughes hit a mine, which was laid by U-69 on 27 May 1941, and sank in Lagos Harbor, Nigeria; 14 were killed, 17 survived. 
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04 Jun 1941 WW2 Dutch minelayer HNLMS Van Meerlant hit a mine and sank in the Thames Estuary in southern England, United Kingdom, killing 3. 
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04 Jun 1941 WW2 The British Home Security Situation Report noted that, for the week ending at 0600 hours on 4 Jun 1941, about 178 were killed by German bombing in Britain, and 185 were seriously injured. 
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04 Jun 1941 WW2 Former German Emperor and King of Prussia Kaiser Wilhelm II died in Doorn, Netherlands. 
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04 Jun 1942 WW2 Hitler traveled to Finland to meet with Marshal Mannerheim. 
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04 Jun 1942 WW2 Michio Kobayashi passed away. 
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04 Jun 1942 WW2 Reinhard Heydrich passed away. 
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04 Jun 1942 WW2 French troops at Bir Hakeim, Libya repulsed another Axis attack. 
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04 Jun 1942 WW2 Mitsuo Fuchida was injured after being thrown by an explosion aboard Akagi, breaking both ankles. 
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04 Jun 1942 WW2 Shortly after midnight the Italian submarine Luigi Torelli bound for a patrol area off Puerto Rico was attacked by Squadron Leader Jeaff Greswell's (No. 172 Squadron RAF) Leigh Light equipped Wellington bomber. The attack (the first to be made using a Leigh light) caused extensive damage to the Italian submarine, which was forced to abort her mission and return to port for repairs. 
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04 Jun 1942 WW2 USS Astoria became the temporary flagship of Rear Admiral Frank Fletcher as USS Yorktown was hit by Japanese aircraft. 
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04 Jun 1942 WW2 German submarine U-126 sank Norwegian tanker Høegh Giant 400 miles east of Guyana at 0140 hours; all 39 aboard survived. Just after dawn, German armed merchant cruiser Stier stopped British ship Gemstone, took off the crew, and sank her with a torpedo 750 miles northeast of Natal, Brazil. 
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04 Jun 1942 WW2 German submarine U-159 sank Norwegian ship Nidarnes 20 miles west of Cuba at 0400 hours; 13 were killed, 11 survived. 150 miles northwest of Trinidad, U-502 sank US tanker MF Elliott at 2156 hours; 13 were killed, 29 survived. 
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04 Jun 1942 WW2 British submarine HMS Trusty sank Japanese cargo ship Toyohashi Maru 20 miles south of Phuket, Thailand. 
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04 Jun 1942 WW2 Japanese submarine I-27 attacked Australian coastal freighter Barwon off Gabo Island 260 miles south of Sydney, Australia at 0535 hours, failing to sink her. At 1645 hours, I-27 struck again, sinking Australian cargo ship Iron Crown; 37 were killed, 5 survived. An Australian Hudson bomber dropped two 250-pound bombs on I-27 but failed to do any damage. 
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04 Jun 1942 WW2 Repair ship Akashi arrived at Truk, Caroline Islands. 
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04 Jun 1942 WW2 Tatsuta Maru departed Yokohama, Japan. 
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04 Jun 1942 WW2 Hans-Joachim Marseille originally received orders that he was to be sent back to Germany to be awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, but on this date Albert Kesselring would personally arrive in Libya to deliver the citation (without the physical award). On the same day, he was ordered to prepare to become commanding officer of the squadron 3 Staffel I./JG-27. 
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04 Jun 1942 WW2 Akagi launched strikes against Midway Atoll. She was subsequently attacked by numerous enemy land and carrier-based aircraft. At 1026 hours, she was attacked by three aircraft from USS Enterprise, suffering one direct hit amidships in the vicinity of the island, starting a fire in the hangars. A second hit ripped through the fantail and exploded under the port quarter. The third bomb released at her was a near-miss port-side forward. Although normally the damage would had been moderate, the vessel was currently engaged in preparing a strike, with the result that the single bomb hit induced explosions among armed and fueled aircraft within hangars and start a raging aviation gasoline fire. Since she was in a maximum turn at the time, Akagi's rudder was damaged, and soon jammed at 20 degrees to port, leaving her going in wide circles. Unable to command the fleet from her now, at 1046 hours Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo transferred flag first to Nowaki, then to Nagara. Akagi's engines worked erratically, with the ship starting and stopping, but she went dead in the water for good at 1350 hours. By 1600 all non-essential personnel had left the ship, though Captain Aoki and a damage control party remained aboard. The vessel burned through the evening and next night, but remained afloat. 
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04 Jun 1942 WW2 Light carrier Hosho's aircraft located the burning wreck of carrier Hiryu off Midway Atoll. 
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04 Jun 1942 WW2 Kaga was struck by at least four bombs during the Battle of Midway and suffered a great fire. She was scuttled at 1925 hours by two torpedoes from destroyer Hagikaze. 814 were killed in her loss. 
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04 Jun 1942 WW2 Starting at 0700 hours, US carriers launched torpedo bombers and dive bombers against the Japanese fleet in the Midway region. Japanese carriers wiped out the first few waves of US air attacks, but at about 1030 hours dive bombers were able to hit Soryu, Kaga, and Akagi. USS Yorktown was hit by Japanese dive bombers at about 1200 hours and by torpedo bombers at 1440 hours, forcing Rear Admiral Fletcher to transfer his flag to cruiser Astoria. At 1703 hours, the last undamaged Japanese carrier Hiryu was hit by a dive bomber. Soryu would sink at 1913 hours (711 were killed, 392 survived), and Kaga would be scuttled at 1925 hours (811 were killed, 900 survived). 
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04 Jun 1942 WW2 In the Battle of Midway, USS Hammann shot down two Japanese aircraft attacking USS Yorktown, but nevertheless Yorktown would be disabled by the Japanese. Hammann rescued about 500 survivors from Yorktown. 
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04 Jun 1942 WW2 Japanese carriers launched 72 bombers and 36 fighters against the airfield at Midway Atoll at 0430 hours, hitting the atoll at 0620 hour and doing limited damage. 
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04 Jun 1942 WW2 I-168 observed the first Japanese attack on Midway Atoll through the periscope. 
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04 Jun 1943 WW2 Luftwaffe bombed the tank factory in Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod), Russia. 
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04 Jun 1943 WW2 The British House of Commons refused to lift the economic blockade against occupied Europe. 
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04 Jun 1943 WW2 Three American submarines entered the Sea of Japan. 
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04 Jun 1943 WW2 The Times newspaper in Britain reported the death of the fictitious Royal Marines temporary captain and acting major W. Martin. 
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04 Jun 1943 WW2 James Johnson was awarded the Distinguished Service Order medal. 
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04 Jun 1943 WW2 Chinese 79th Corps launched a frontal attack against Japanese troops in the Hubei-Hunan border region in China, on the southern side of the Yangtze River; Japanese positions were pushed back, but the Chinese suffered very heavy casualties. 
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04 Jun 1943 WW2 A Luxembourg national working at Peenemünde, Germany reported to the United Kingdom the presence of a 10-meter-long rocket with 150- to 250-kilometer range which was fueled by "bottles containing gas". 
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04 Jun 1943 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Bachelor Officer Quarters (BOQ) "D" turned over to station. 
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04 Jun 1943 WW2 In Tokyo, Japan, Emperor Showa made a rare address about an individual regarding the loss of Isoroku Yamamoto. 
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04 Jun 1944 WW2 Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, was postponed due to weather. Meanwhile, RAF bombers struck German coastal fortifications along the French coast. 
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04 Jun 1944 WW2 USS Pintado helped in the wolfpack attack against a Japanese convoy in the Philippine Sea, but did not earn any sinkings during the attack. 
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04 Jun 1944 WW2 USS Cabrilla sank a Japanese coastal patrol boat with her deck gun off Borneo. 
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04 Jun 1944 WW2 USS Flier attacked a Japanese convoy in the South China Sea, sinking transport Hakusan Maru and damaging another ship; 6 torpedoes were expended in this attack, 3 of which scored hits. 
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04 Jun 1944 WW2 USS Guadalcanal's anti-submarine hunter-killer group with Captain Daniel V. Gallery in command captured the German U-505 in-tact, including all code books, two Enigma machines, and two Zaunkönig acoustically-guided torpedoes. One German crew member was killed in the initial attack but all others, including the U-Boat commander Oberleutnant-zur-See Harald Lange, were captured. The U-Boat was taken under tow bound for Bermuda. This was the US Navy's first capture of an enemy warship on the high seas since the War of 1812. The US leader of the initial boarding party, Lieutenant (jg) Albert L. David, was awarded the Medal of Honor. 
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04 Jun 1944 WW2 Two replacement battalions for Galahad arrived at Myitkyina, Burma direct from the United States, but not being acclimatized proved of little immediate value. 
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04 Jun 1944 WW2 Barbers Point Naval Air Station: Part of CASU-48 departed. 
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04 Jun 1944 WW2 Mark Clark and the US 5th Army entered Rome, Italy unopposed; Clark immediately held a press conference on the steps of the Town Hall on the Capitoline Hill. Some fellow Allied generals thought Clark had failed to trap the German 10th Army. Nearby, the Italian motor torpedo boat base at Terracina was evacuated. 
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04 Jun 1944 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Sasebo, Japan. 
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04 Jun 1944 WW2 The work to construct two prototypes of the J7W1 Shinden short-range interceptor fighter commenced at the aircraft factory at Zasshonokuma in Fukuoka, Japan. 
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04 Jun 1945 WW2 The body of Air Chief Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory, who died in an air crash, was found. 
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04 Jun 1945 WW2 USS Tunny arrived off Kyushu, Japan. 
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04 Jun 1945 WW2 Song Ziwen was named the chief of the Executive Yuan; he had been serving in this position in an acting status since Dec 1944. 
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04 Jun 1945 WW2 USS Ray attacked a Japanese transport west of Japan; all 6 torpedoes missed. 
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04 Jun 1945 WW2 I-401 arrived at Nanao Bay, Japan 
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04 Jun 1945 WW2 Japanese submarine I-14 received her full complement of Seiran aircraft while at Nanao, Japan. 
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04 Jun 1945 WW2 Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru arrived at Seletar, Singapore. 
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04 Jun 1945 WW2 Semyon Timoshenko was awarded the Order of Victory. 
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04 Jun 1946 WW2 I-400 was scuttled by torpedoes from USS Trumpetfish off Oahu, US Territory of Hawaii. 
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04 Jun 1946 WW2 S. F. Kozhevnikov stepped down as GUKR SMERSH's chief in the Leningrad Front. 
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04 Jun 1947 WW2 To combat the increasing amount of pilfering, the Soviet Union, at Stalin's insistence, passed a new draconian law increasing the penalty for economic crime. Between 1947 and 1952 some one and a half million (often desperate or hungry) Russians would be sent to the gulag camps on charges of state theft often for quite trivial misdemeanours. 
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04 Jun 1948 WW2 Jan Smuts stepped down as the Prime Minister of South Africa. 
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