military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) (04/10/91)
From: military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) Thursday, 10 April, 1941 Zagreb falls to German troops, and the situation in Yugoslavia continues to deteriorate rapidly. With the proclamation of an independent Croatia, thousands of Croat soldiers begin deserting the Yugoslav army. Leading elements of Rommel's forces reach Tobruk. Their weak attack on the city is repulsed by the 9th Australian division which has just withdrawn to garrison the port. South of Iceland, the destroyer USS Niblack, while engaged in operations to rescue the crew of a sinking Dutch freighter, detects a submarine and engages with depth charges. The U-boat escapes undamaged, but the incident goes on record as the first shots fired against Germany by the USA. A committee investigating the violent strike at the Madison, Wisconsin Allis Chalmers plant indicates that the strike was encouraged by communist agents. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Bill Thacker military@att.att.com Send submissions for "50 Years Ago" to military-request@att.att.com "We discussed strikes in general and were told by Gene Dennis that strikes become a good school room for teaching the workers revolutionary tactics." - Testimony of Kenneth Goff, former communist, describing a meeting between Allis Chalmers union leaders and Gene Dennis, district organizer for the Communist Party