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• Pro-German officers under Rashid Ali began their move against the government; Rashid Ali declared himself the "Chief of the National Defence Government." ww2dbase [Campaigns in the Middle East | AC, CPC]
• To avoid being captured by the Americans and Canadians, 8 German merchant ships were scuttled by their own crews in various South American ports. ww2dbase [ABC-1 Conference | CPC]
• German bombers sank British tanker San Conrado and Norwegian tanker Hidlefjord 45 miles west of Milford Haven, Wales, United Kingdom, killing the entire crew of 29 of the latter. Three other tanks were also damaged during this attack. ww2dbase [CPC]
• George Giffard was mentioned in a despatch for his service in the Middle East between 1939 and 1940. ww2dbase [George Giffard | CPC]
• Hans-Joachim Marseille was promoted to the rank of Leutnant. ww2dbase [Hans-Joachim Marseille | CPC]
• Richard O'Connor was Mentioned in Despatches. ww2dbase [Richard O'Connor | CPC]

• Leonardo da Vinci departed Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France at 1010 for a patrol; in rough seas, gunner De Martino was seriously injured, and the submarine set sail for Le Verdon-sur-Mer. ww2dbase [Leonardo da Vinci | Le Verdon-sur-Mer, Aquitaine | CPC]

• Werner Haase joined the Nazi SS organization. ww2dbase [Werner Haase | CPC]

• In Italian East Africa, advancing British tanks were met by 2 police officers from Asmara, declaring the Eritrean capital an open city; troops of Indian 5th Division entered the city at 1000 hours, accepting the surrender of 5,000 Italian prisoners of war, while British armored cars under Colonel Bernard Fletcher raced toward Adigrat to cut off the Italian retreat into Ethiopia. To the east, German merchant ships continued to leave the port of Massawa; British destroyer HMS Kandahar intercepted German ship Bertram Rickmers, which was scuttled by her own crew. ww2dbase [Invasion of Italian East Africa | Asmara | CPC]

• 4th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron of 13th Composite Wing of 72nd Observation Group of US Army Air Corps was assigned to Losey Field in Puerto Rico. ww2dbase [Losey Field | Juana Díaz | CPC]

• Ten Norwegian ships, collectively named Kvarstad ships, attempted to break out of captivity from Gothenburg, Sweden by sailing for Leith, Scotland, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Gothenburg, Göteborgs och Bohus län | HM]

• Jacques Duchesne (real name Michel Saint Denis) spoke on BBC, from the United Kingdom in the French language. He stressed that during the Nemours (now Ghazaouet) Incident which took place on the previous day, the British never fired on French ships, only the defensive batteries, and as self defense. He noted that the British blockade of France never stopped the flow of food from Algeria and Tunisia to Marseille, France; French ships were only stopped to search for war goods for Germany. ww2dbase [CPC]

1 Apr 1941 Interactive Map