Air Operations, CBI
BURMA- 13 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack rail bridges between Moulmein and Kanchanaburi (Thailand). 6 10th Air Force A-31s attack targets of opportunity around Thaungdut.
- 51st Fighter Group P-40s down 9 Ki-44 'Tojo' fighters over the airfield at Nanning at 1435 hours.
- 14th Air Force P-40s based in China attack rail targets at Na Cham.
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]Air Operations, East Indies
V Bomber Command B-25s attack Koepang, Timor.
[ | ]Air Operations, Europe
The US 15th Air Force begins a series of systematic attacks against the Ploesti oilfields dropping 588 tons of bombs. There is heavy flak and determined opposition from German, Rumanian and Bulgarian fighters. There are 262 civilians killed and 361 injured in the raid.
Later, on May 12, the US 8th Air Force will join in the offensive, which is to be extended to all German oil refineries. Shortage of fuel is endangering both the Wehrmacht's mobility and the country's war production. The Germans begin to build underground factories, step up the production of synthetic fuel and split up war contracts among a great number of small firms to reduce the risk. But from the middle of 1944 war production fails to keep pace with requirements of balancing losses.
RAF BOMBER COMMANDEvening Ops:
- 144 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito of No. 5 Group successfully attack an aircraft factory at Toulouse.
- 1 Lancaster is lost as it explodes over the target.
- 24 Stirlings lay mines off Biscay ports and 37 aircraft are involved in Resistance operations.
| ]Air Operations, New Guinea
More than 270 V Bomber Command B-24s, B-25s, and A-20s, and V Fighter Command P-38 fighter-bombers attack Hollandia area and dumps and occupied villages around Humboldt Bay. B-24s attack Efman Island and Kaimana. P-40 and P-47 fighter-bombers attack the Bogia, Hansa Bay, and Wewak areas.
[ | ]Burma-India
The Japanese 31st Div isolates Kohima. The 138th Regt moves from the north; the 58th and 124th Regts attack from the south and west. Allied forces at Kohima are now trapped in a pocket less than 10 miles across.
[ | ]Diplomatic Relations
US sources announce that between October 1941 and the beginning of April 1944, the United States has supplied the USSR with 9.5 million tons of war material, including 8,800 aircraft, 5,500 tanks and armored cars, 160,000 other vehicles and 19,000 rail cars.
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Eastern Front
Malinovsky's forces reach Razdelnaya, cutting the rail route from Odessa. Tarnopol is captured by the Russians.
SOUTHERN SECTORThe 3rd Ukrainian Front exploits the hole in the German line at Razdelnaya to sever the railway line to Odessa.
[ | ]Pacific
The Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser No. 46 is sunk by US carrier-based aircraft in the Caroline Islands area.
[ | ]United States, Politics
Wendell L. Willkie withdraws from the Presidential Election Campaign.
[ | ]Images from April 5, 1944
Soldiers Drinking Tea During Break in Maneuvers in the Cassino Area in Italy, 5 April 1944 |
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New Zealand Soldiers on the Cassino Battlefront |
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A New Zealand Soldier at the Battlefront in Cassino, Italy, 5 April 1944 |
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5 April 1944: USAAF Return to Bomb the Oil Refinery at Ploesti |
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Soldiers Moving Through Ruins on the Cassino Battlefront, Italy, 5 April 1944 |
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