military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) (04/19/91)
From: military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) Saturday, 19 April, 1941 The Luftwaffe launches another huge night raid on London. In 712 sorties, 1180 tonnes of bombs are dropped. Only two attacking aircraft are downed. The damage from this raid and the raid of 16-17 April amount to 2300 killed, 3000 wounded, and 150,000 homes destroyed or damaged. British Imperial troops arrive in Basra, where the Iraqi government permits their passage. Britain had secured the right of troop transit to and from Palestine and the use of Iraqi aerodromes in a 1930 treaty, and without German support the Ali government has little option but to permit the landing. The troops deploy to guard the nearby Shiabah airbase. This stabilizes the situation in Iraq, but leaves Malaya, the original destination of the units, weakened. In Greece, British troops begin to withdraw for evacuation, as rearguard elements defend the pass at Thermopylae. German troops have cut off the retreat of Greek forces in the west, and the Greek commander there makes unauthorized contact with the local German commander to negotiate surrender terms. Britain begins to register women for work under the recently-enacted Employment Order. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Bill Thacker military@att.att.com Send submissions for "50 Years Ago" to military-request@att.att.com "Something ought to be done about these outrageous tax proposals by a handful of Democratic Senators. A 10 per cent income tax ! No exemptions whatever !" - "F.L.G.," in a letter to the New York Times