April 1944

April

• 03

  • The raids on Budapest and BucharestOn 3 April 1944 bombers of the US Fifteenth Air Force struck Budapest for the first time, and Bucharest a day later. Several thousand civilians died.
• 04

  • De Gaulle becomes commander-in-chiefOn 4 April 1944 a CFLN decree abolished Giraud's post of commander-in-chief. De Gaulle became head of the armed forces, and Giraud went into retirement.
• 05

  • The first raids on Ploiești from ItalyOn 5 April 1944 the US Fifteenth Air Force, flying from Italy, bombed the Ploiești rail junction, also hitting refineries. The war on Romanian oil had begun.
• 06

  • The siege of KohimaIn early April 1944 the Japanese 31st Division surrounded Kohima; Imphal had been cut off since late March. Kohima's garrison held a few hills for two weeks.
• 08

  • Key eventThe Crimean offensive beginsOn 8 April 1944 the 4th Ukrainian Front attacked Crimea via Perekop and the Sivash. Simferopol fell on 13 April and the Germans fell back to Sevastopol.
• 10

  • The Red Army in OdessaOn 10 April 1944 Malinovsky's 3rd Ukrainian Front took Odessa, ending two and a half years of occupation of the capital of Romanian-run Transnistria.
• 16

  • The liberation of Yalta and KerchThe Coastal Army retook Kerch on 11 April 1944, Feodosia on 13 April and Yalta on 16 April. In Crimea the Germans and Romanians now held only Sevastopol.
• 17

  • Key eventOperation Ichi-Go beginsOn 17 April 1944 the Japanese crossed the Yellow River in Henan. Operation Ichi-Go began – the largest land offensive ever mounted by the Japanese army.
• 21

  • The second Badoglio governmentIn April 1944 Badoglio resigned and formed a government of national unity in Salerno with the anti-fascist parties, including Togliatti's Communists.
  • The raid on La ChapelleOn the night of 20–21 April 1944 the RAF bombed the La Chapelle rail yards in northern Paris. Some 640–670 civilians died – the deadliest raid on Paris.
• 22

  • Key eventThe landings at Hollandia and AitapeOn 22 April 1944 US troops landed at Hollandia and Aitape in New Guinea, hundreds of kilometres behind the front, cutting off the Japanese 18th Army at Wewak.
• 24

  • The relief of KohimaRelief from Dimapur reached Kohima's defenders on 18 April 1944. In late April the fight for the ridge went on and the road to besieged Imphal stayed shut.
• 25

  • Patton at KnutsfordOn 25 April 1944, at a welcome club in Knutsford, General Patton said the British and Americans would rule the world. He very nearly lost his command.
• 27

  • Key eventThe Slapton Sands disasterOn 27 April 1944 US troops rehearsed the Normandy landing in Devon. That night German E-boats torpedoed convoy T-4, killing at least 749 soldiers and sailors.
• 30

  • Preparations for D-DayBy late April 1944 southern England was a vast camp. The Allies massed troops, landing craft and artificial harbours and fooled the Germans with a ghost army.
  • The second raid on TrukOn 29–30 April 1944 Mitscher's carriers struck Truk again and warships shelled Satawan and Ponape. The Japanese base in the Carolines ceased to count.