The United States and Mexico signed an agreement in Washington allowing the reciprocal use of airfields and air space for the civil and military aircraft of both countries.[3]
The naval battle known as the action of 4 April 1941 was fought in the mid-Atlantic Ocean. The German commerce raider Thor sank the British auxiliary cruiser Voltaire.
At 1:30 a.m. in Moscow, the Soviet Union and the new government of Yugoslavia signed a treaty of friendship and non-aggression. The treaty was backdated to April 5, possibly in anticipation of a German attack and the Russians wanting to avoid any impression that the agreement was signed while Yugoslavia was at war.[9][10]
The Luftwaffe sank 12 ships in an attack on the Greek port of Piraeus.[13]
On Budget Day in the United Kingdom, Chancellor of the ExchequerKingsley Wood presented an innovative plan modeled after Keynesian economics that used taxation and forced savings to attack an estimated £500 million "inflation gap". Wood increased taxes by £250 million and projected a deficit of £2.304 billion, almost identical to the previous year's deficit of £2.475 billion.[14][15] British newspaper editorials generally found the wartime sacrifices asked for in the budget to be reasonable and the stock exchange also took the news of the budget well.[16] For the first time in British history, a majority of the population was liable to income tax.[17]
Britain severed diplomatic relations with Hungary, saying it had "become a base of operations against the Allies."[18]
British general Richard O'Connor was captured by a German reconnaissance patrol in North Africa.
The results of a Gallup poll were published asking Americans, "Which of these two things do you think it is more important for the United States to try to do — to keep out of the war ourselves, or to help England win, even at the risk of getting into the war?" 67% said help England, a 7 percent increase since the same question was polled three months previously.[19]
President Roosevelt sent Peter II of Yugoslavia a message promising that "the United States will speedily furnish all material assistance possible in accordance with its existing statutes. I send Your Majesty my most earnest hopes for a successful resistance to this criminal assault upon the independence and integrity of your country."[21]
On the night of April 9 British airmen made the heaviest attack on Berlin which the city had so far suffered. The damage was done in the Government quarter and civilian casualties amounted to more than 2000.
Greenland in World War II: The U.S. and Danish governments signed an agreement in which the Americans took over the defense of Greenland in exchange for the right to build air and naval bases there. The U.S. established a protectorate over Greenland the following day.[23]
Winston Churchill made a lengthy speech before the House of Commons reviewing the course of the war. He said in conclusion: "Once we have gained the Battle of the Atlantic and are sure of the constant flow of American supplies which are being prepared for us, then, however far Hitler may go or whatever new millions and scores of millions he may lap in misery, we who are armed with the sword of retributive justice shall be on his track."[24]
American battleship USS North Carolina was commissioned.
German battleship Gneisenau was hit again in an RAF raid on Brest.[1]
German submarines U-401 and U-565 were commissioned.
The trial of Anthony and William Esposito began in New York City. The brothers faced two counts of murder for the January 14 slaying of a police officer and a holdup victim. The case was a sensation in the New York media, who dubbed the defendants the "Mad Dog" brothers because they entered an insanity defense and displayed wild behavior such as walking in and out of the courtroom like apes, howling and gnawing on their own fingers.[26][27]
Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact: Japan and the Soviet Union signed a five-year Treaty of Neutrality, pledging to remain neutral in the event of one country being attacked by a third party.[20][23] The pact also saw the Soviet Union recognize du jure Manchukuo for the first time.[31]
The British armed merchant cruiser Rajputana was torpedoed and sunk in the North Atlantic by German submarine U-108.
Pope Pius XII broadcast an Easter address asking listeners to pray for an early peace. He directed a message to the occupying powers as well, saying, "let your conscience guide you in dealing justly, humanely and providently with the peoples of occupied territories. Do not impose upon them burdens which you in similar circumstances have felt or would feel to be unjust." The pope also called for an end to attacks against civilian targets.[32][33]
Died:Sergej Mašera, 28, Yugoslav Navy officer; Milan Spasić, 31, Yugoslav Navy officer; Al Bowlly, famed British musician, 43. Killed by a Luftwaffe parachute mine that detonated outside his flat.
Steve Stanko posted the World's first official 1000 pound total at the Mid-Atlantic Championships in York Pennsylvania. He achieved this by posting a 310-pound clean and Press, a 310-pound snatch, and a 380-pound Clean and Jerk.[37]
The British cargo liner Empire Endurance was torpedoed and sunk west of Rockall by the German submarine U-73.
Luftwaffe aircraft bombed and sank the Greek passenger ship Ithaki in Souda Bay and the Greek destroyer Psara in the Saronic Gulf.
The Greek destroyer Vasilefs Georgios was scuttled in the Salamis Naval Base to prevent capture. The Germans later raised it and put it into service as Hermes.
Georgios Tsolakoglou disobeyed orders from Greek high command and signed surrender papers to Sepp Dietrich in Larissa so the Greek army would not have to surrender to the Italians.[39]
The Greek destroyer Thyella was bombed and sunk by the Luftwaffe off Vouliagmeni.
The writer Rex Stout made a speech in New York City in which he attacked the isolationist activism of Charles Lindbergh, saying, "I wish I could look you in the eye, Colonel Lindbergh, when I tell you that you simply don't know what it's all about ... A desperate war is being fought, and the winners of the war will win the oceans. No matter what we do, we shall be either one of the winners, or one of the losers; no shivering neutral will get a bite of anything but crow when the shooting stops. It would therefore seem to be plain imbecility not to go in with Britain and win."[40]
The Greek battleship Kilkis and barracks ship Lemnos were bombed and sunk in Salamis Naval Base by the Luftwaffe.
The results of a Gallup poll were published asking Americans, "If it appears certain that Britain will be defeated unless we use part of our navy to protect ships going to Britain, would you favor or oppose such convoys?" 71% expressed favor, 21% were opposed and 8% expressed no opinion.[19]
During a press conference, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt seemed to compare Charles Lindbergh to Clement Vallandigham and the Copperheads of the American Civil War. Without using Lindbergh's name, Roosevelt said, "There are people in this country ... [who] say out of one side of the mouth, 'No, I don't like it, I don't like dictatorship,' and then out of the other side of the mouth, 'Well, it's going to beat democracy, it's going to defeat democracy, therefore I might just as well accept it.' Now, I don't call that good Americanism ... Well, Vallandigham, as you know, was an appeaser. He wanted to make peace from 1863 on because the North 'couldn't win.' Once upon a time there was a place called Valley Forge and there were an awful lot of appeasers that pleaded with Washington to quit, because he 'couldn't win.' Just because he 'couldn't win.' See what Tom Paine said at that time in favor of Washington keeping on fighting!"[41][42]
The British submarine Usk was lost in the Mediterranean, probably to a naval mine, on or sometime after this date.
Winston Churchill made a radio broadcast reporting on the war situation. "When I spoke to you early in February many people believed the Nazi boastings that the invasion of Britain was about to begin. Now it has not begun yet, and with every week that passes we grow stronger on the sea, in the air and in the number, quality, training and equipment of the great armies that now guard our island," Churchill said. Returning to the line in that February speech asking for the "tools" to "finish the job," Churchill said that "that is what it now seems the Americans are going to do. And that is why I feel a very strong conviction that though the Battle of the Atlantic will be long and hard and its issue is by no means yet determined, it has entered upon a more grim but at the same time a far more favourable phase."[43]
German submarine U-65 was depth charged and sunk in the North Atlantic by the British destroyer HMS Douglas.
Charles Lindbergh announced in a letter that he was resigning as a member of the Army Air Corps Reserve due to President Roosevelt's implied criticism of him. The U.S. War Department accepted his resignation the following day.[45]
Another Gallup poll result was released asking Americans, "If you were asked to vote today on the question of the United States entering the war against Germany and Italy, how would you vote — to go into the war, or to stay out of the war?" 81% said stay out, a 7 percent decrease since the same question was polled in January. Another question asked, "If it appeared certain that there was no other way to defeat Germany and Italy except for the United States to go to war against them, would you be in favor of the United States going to war?" 68% said yes, 24% said no, and 8% expressed no opinion.[19]
The troop transport Nerissa was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-552. Nerissa was the only transport carrying Canadian troops to be lost during the war.
^Howlett, Peter. "The Wartime Economy, 1939–1945." The Economic History of Britain Since 1700, Volume 3: 1939–1992. Ed. Roderick Floud and Deirdre McCloskey. Cambridge University Press, 1994. p. 15–16. ISBN978-0-521-42522-3.
^Nash, N.S. (2013). Strafer, Desert General: The Life and Killing of Lieutenant General WHE Gott. Barnsley: Pen and Sword Books Ltd. p. 106. ISBN978-1-78159-090-4.
^ abcMercer, Derrik, ed. (1989). Chronicle of the 20th Century. London: Chronicle Communications Ltd. p. 547. ISBN978-0-582-03919-3.
^Castillo, Dennis A. (2012). The Santa Marija Convoy: Faith and Endurance in Wartime Malta, 1940–1942. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books. p. 113. ISBN978-0-7391-2896-1.
