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• » 12 Apr 1944

• The last of the convoys carrying Spanish volunteers of the recently disbanded German Army "Blue Legion" arrived in Spain. ww2dbase [CPC]
• The Soviet demands for peace were rejected by Finland. ww2dbase [TH]
• American troops cleared Pak Island off New Guinea. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 3 | CPC]
• USS Finback attacked a six-ship Japanese convoy escorted by three patrol vessels east of Philippine Islands, firing 9 torpedoes and reporting 5 hits; she was then counterattacked with depth charges. ww2dbase [Finback | CPC]
• Joseph Stalin signed the Soviet Stavka order to reform Western Front into 2nd and 3rd Byelorussian Fronts due to incapable leadership of the Western Front; the top officers of the Western Front were surprisingly not reprimanded seriously and were placed in other important positions. ww2dbase [Joseph Stalin | CPC]
• USS Seahorse assumed lifeguard station duty for US aircraft attacking Saipan, Mariana Islands. ww2dbase [Seahorse | CPC]
• U-821 completed her first war patrol. ww2dbase [U-821 | CPC]

• Adolf Hitler authorized the withdrawal of German and Romanian forces from Sevastopol, Russia, but his delay in this decision caused heavier losses than necessary. ww2dbase [TH]

• Realizing his earlier support of Benito Mussolini's government was viewed with suspicion by the Allies, King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy transferred most of his power to Crown Prince Umberto, though he held on to the throne. ww2dbase [Vittorio Emanuele III | CPC]

• Landing ship No. 104 was completed. ww2dbase [No. 101/103-class | CPC]
• Landing ship No. 105 was launched. ww2dbase [No. 101/103-class | CPC]

• German troops wiped out a small pocket of troops (elements of Soviet 206th Rifle Division and Soviet 3rd Guards Airborne Division) west of Târgu Frumos, Romania. ww2dbase [Jassy-Kishinev Offensive and Romania's Surrender | Târgu Frumos | CPC]

• More than 61,000 German and Romanian troops began evacuation from the Crimea in Russia. ww2dbase [Krym | AC]

• Escort carrier USS Bogue and her task group arrived at Port of Spain, Trinidad. ww2dbase [Bogue | DS]

• Casablanca-class escort carrier USS Sargent Bay departed Alameda, California bound for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii with a cargo of 45 replacement aircraft. ww2dbase [Sargent Bay | Alameda, California | DS]

12 Apr 1944 Interactive Map