26 Apr 1941
- German troops attack British and Australian positions at Halfaya Pass on the Libyan-Egyptian border. Allied troops held the pass all day, but after dark they withdrew to Buq Buq, Egypt. ww2dbase [Siege of Tobruk | CPC]
- German paratroopers attacked the Corinth Canal bridge in Greece early in the morning; the bridge was blown up as the German approached; by the end of the day, however, German engineers would erect temporary crossings at this point of the canal. Overnight, 8,300 Allied troops were evacuated from beaches south of Athens while 12,950 were evacuated from beaches on the Peloponnese Peninsula. German aircraft sank Greek torpedo boat Kydonia and 3 other ships on this date. To the north in Yugoslavia, British destroyer HMS Defender evacuated the crown jewels of Yugoslavia. ww2dbase [Balkans Campaign | CPC]
- General Georgy Zhukov, the recently appointed Soviet Chief of Staff, ordered a creeping mobilization to begin, in response to widespread evidence that German forces were moving eastward. ww2dbase [Georgy Zhukov | AC]
- General MacArthur issued his third plan for the seizure of the New Britain, New Guinea, and New Ireland area, emphasizing cooperation between the US Army and US Navy as the two services each moved toward the Japanese stronghold at Rabaul. ww2dbase [Douglas MacArthur | CPC]
- The German Nachtjagdfliegerdienst nightfighter unit scored its 100th night kill. ww2dbase [CPC]
- General Lord Gort was appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar. ww2dbase [John Vereker | AC]
- South African 1st Brigade captured Dessie, Abyssinia, taking 4,000 Italians as prisoners of war. ww2dbase [Invasion of Italian East Africa | Dessie | CPC]
- Maggiore Baracca heared distant explosions in the Atlantic Ocean at 1900 hours, but could not find the source. ww2dbase [Maggiore Baracca | CPC]
- Wolfgang Falck, stationed at Deelen in the Netherlands, was ordered to attend a meeting at Hamburg, Germany. He would use the opportunity to learn more about new aircraft-mounted radar systems under development: Morgenstern, Flensburg, and SN-2 (Lichtenstein). ww2dbase [Wolfgang Falck | Deelen | CPC]
- British freighters Clan Chattan, Clan Campbell, Clan Lamont, Empire Song, and New Zealand Star, carrying 295 tanks for Egypt, departed from the Clyde in Scotland, United Kingdom in Operation Tiger. They were escorted by battleship HMS Rodney, cruiser HMS Naiad, destroyer HMS Havelock, destroyer HMS Hesperus, and destroyer Harvester. ww2dbase [Rodney | Scotland | CPC]
26 Apr 1941 Interactive Map
Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you. Share this article with your friends: Stay updated with WW2DB: |
Change View
Desktop ViewSearch WW2DB & Partner Sites
News
- » Joseph Eskenazi honored at US National World War II Museum (16 Jan 2023)
- » Beethoven Original Manuscript to be Returned to Heirs of its Pre-WW2 Owner (13 Jan 2023)
- » WW2DB's 18th Anniversary (29 Dec 2022)
- » Two WW2-era Aircraft Crashed During Dallas Air Show (14 Nov 2022)
- » Wreck of Samuel B. Roberts Found (27 Jun 2022)
- » See all news
Current Site Statistics
- » 1,124 biographies
- » 334 events
- » 40,949 timeline entries
- » 1,200 ships
- » 346 aircraft models
- » 205 vehicle models
- » 368 weapon models
- » 123 historical documents
- » 248 facilities
- » 468 book reviews
- » 28,774 photos
- » 399 maps
Famous WW2 Quote
"All that silly talk about the advance of science and such leaves me cold. Give me peace and a retarded science."Thomas Dodd, late 1945