April 10th, 1941 (THURSDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: The war cabinet agrees to send troops serving in India under General Auchinleck to Iraq.GERMANY: Daily Keynote from the Reich Press Chief:
Next the Minister calls our attention to reports about Belgrade. Expression like "The city is one single heap of rubble, its streets covered with corpses of women and children" are naturally to be omitted before publication.
YUGOSLAVIA: Zagreb falls to the German 2nd
Army.
Also, Croatia declares independence and proclaims the "Independent
State of Croatia" (Nezavisna Drzava Hrvatska - NDH). One week later
Croatia declares war on Britain and thereby joins the Axis.
GREECE: The Germans attack the Florina gap, held by a force known as the Amynteion Detachment and including the 27th New Zealand Machine Gun Battalion (less two companies), the 64th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery, and the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment along with units of the 6th Australian Division.
The attack is halted by artillery fire and the RAF bombing the enemy columns on the roads.
At Vevi the German and British guns exchange fire in the valley and Mackay is ordered to hold until the night of 12 April before withdrawing. Mackay's infantry is commanded by Brigadier Vasey who has 3 battalions spread across ten miles of front much of which is covered with snow; the 2/8th Australian Battalion on the east, the 1st Rangers in the centre and the 2/4th Australian Battalion on the hills to the west.
The 16th Australian Brigade, having established itself on the Veria Pass, is ordered to march back through the snow covered mountains to fill a gap on the New Zealand front west of Servia. (Anthony Staunton)
LIBYA: Rommel lays siege to the Australian 9th Division, which has retreated to Tobruk.
MALTA: A striking force of four destroyers under Captain Mack in HMS Jervis are sent to Malta to operate against Rommel's convoys.
U.S.A.:
Ickes
repeats his request to Roosevelt to be placed in charge of Philippine
defense.
(Marc Small)
The actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr has been commissioned as a junior-grade lieutenant in the
US Navy.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorizes the transfer of ten Lake-Class US Coast Guard cutters to the Royal Navy. Coast Guardsmen will train the RN crews in the waters off Long Island, New York.
Washington:
All ships of alien flags are to be commandeered for purveying war materials to Great Britain and the Suez Canal.
The USN's heavy cruisers USS Chicago (CA-29) and USS Portland (CA-33) and destroyers USS Clark (DD-361), USS Conyngham (DD-371), USS Reid (DD-369), USS Cassin (DD-372) and USS Downes (DD-375) arrive at Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, thus winding up the Australia-New Zealand good-will cruise.
President Roosevelt orders 10 Coast Guard cutters transferred to the Royal Navy.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: Germany and the US have their first military encounter when the US destroyer USS
Niblack engages a U-boat.
In March 1941, Hitler declared that Iceland and surrounding waters were to be considered
as war zones. Admiral Stark received orders from Roosevelt to 'reconnoitre' the
approaches
to this strategic island. USS Niblack (DD-424) was dispatched for this mission.
Approaching Iceland on April 10, Niblack sighted three lifeboats of survivors from a
torpedoed Dutch merchantman. As the crew of the DD completed this rescue, sonar contact
was made on an approaching submarine.
LtCdr E. Durgin called for General Quarters and a depth charge salvo was ordered by
Commander D.L.Ryan (ComDesDiv 13). The attack sent the submarine scurrying away and USS
Niblack continued on to Iceland. (55)