military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) (04/16/91)
From: military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) Thursday, 17 April, 1941 General Bodi surrenders the Yugoslav army, signing armistice papers in Belgrade. The ceremony is significant, in that it shows that Germany recognizes no official government in Yugoslavia. His country's losses have been heavy; nearly 17,000 civilians were killed in Belgrade alone. Germany has lost only 151 dead. King Peter evacuates Kotor aboard an RAF Sunderland flying boat. The RAF sends a 118-plane raid against Berlin; the Luftwaffe hits Portsmouth. The German disguised raider Atlantis sinks the Egyptian liner Zamzam, taking aboard 312 passengers, including 138 Americans. Royal Navy ships bombard Fort Capuzzo. At Tobruk, the just-deployed 15th Panzer Division renews the attack, but no gains are made. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Bill Thacker military@att.att.com Send submissions for "50 Years Ago" to military-request@att.att.com "We won't have a cuckoo's egg laid in our nest a second time. We tried once to establish the new order in the Balkans with Serb cooperation. Now we shall do it without them." - Unidentified Axis spokesman