military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) (05/17/91)
From: military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) Sunday, 18 May, 1941 The Kriegsmarine commits its newest battleship, the Bismarck, to battle. She sails from Gdynia along with the cruiser Prinz Eugen with orders to break into the Atlantic and commence raiding operations. General Dentz, commander of the Vichy Army of Levant, orders his troops to meet force with force, as the RAF continues to bomb Vichy airbases in Syria. The Duke of Spoleto, nephew to the King of Italy, is declared King Tomislav II of newly-formed Croatia. A British column reaches Habbaniyah, relieving the small garrison there. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Bill Thacker military@att.att.com Send submissions for "50 Years Ago" to military-request@att.att.com "We will find a way to insure that the weapons pouring in ever greater volume from our factories will reach the hands which eagerly await them." - Secretary of State Cordell Hull