April 9

On April 9, 1940 German ships land in several Norwegian cities from Narvik to Oslo. Thousands of German troops were deployed into Norway. At the same time German troops were moving into several Danish cities.

In 1942 Major general Esward P. King Jr. surrenders Bataan to the Japanese. The surrender was against General Douglas MacArthur's orders. 66,000 Filipino soldiers and 12,000 Americans were captured by the Japanese, which was the largest contingent of U.S. soldiers to be captured by the Japanese.

April 8

Russians fighting for Crimea.

On April 8, 1944 Russuian forces led by Marshal Fedor Tolbukhin attacked German forces in an attempt to drive the Germans out of Crimea, in the southern Ukraine. The German defensive lines would only stand for four days against the Russians.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

In 1945 Lutheran pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer is hanged at Flossenburg for opposing the Nazis. The corageous 39-year-old's last words  were "This is the end for me, the beginning of life."

General Omar Bradley.

In 1981 General Omar Bradley of the American 12th Army who ensured victory over Germany died. 

April 7

Italian commanders in Albania.

The Yamato sinking.

On April 7, 1939 in an effort to copy Hitlers invasion of Prague, Mussolini launches an invasion of Albania. The invasion was a success even though the Italian troops were highly unorganized. Also in 1945 ostensibly the greatest battleship in the world, the Japanese Yamato, was sunk by the Allies in Japan's first major counteroffensive to defend Okinawa.

April 6

Piraeus, Greece after German bombing.

Belgrade, Yugoslavia after German bombing.

On April 6, 1941 Germany's air force launches Operation Castigo against Belgrade, Yugoslavia and sends 24 infantry divisions with 1,200 tanks to Greece.

April 5

On April 5, 1945 Yugoslav leader Tito signs a treaty with the Soviet Union allwaing temporary entry of Soviet troops into Yugoslav territory.

April 4

On April 4, 1884 mastermind of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Yamamoto Isoroku is born. Isoroku was possibly Japan's greatest strategist and officer.

April 3

On April 3, 1942 the Japanese launch a major offensive against Allied troops in Bataan, the peninsula gaurding Manila Bay and the Phillippine Islands.