Posted on 04/20/2013 5:22:36 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
The ringing of bells to summon worshippers as described in my answer in Parliament to-day does not mean that the bells should be rung at odd times for weddings or funerals. This may come in a few months, but not yet. Although the ringing of the bells will no longer have the significance of invasion, this idea has been so sedulously inculcated that unexpected ringing at unusual times might cause alarm. I presume the existing powers can be modified accordingly, as the greater includes the less. If need be a special regulation can be made.
Winston S. Churchill, The Hinge of Fate
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1943/apr1943/f20apr43.htm
Allies suffer heavy casualties in Tunisia
Tuesday, April 20, 1943 www.onwar.com
Allied soldiers resting in a trench [photo at link].
In Tunisia... The British 8th Army (Montgomery) launches a series of unsuccessful attacks on Axis positions near Enfidaville. The Allied forces suffer heavy casualties.
In Tokyo... The Japanese Cabinet is reorganized with Shimegitsu becoming Foreign Minister.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/frame.htm
April 20th, 1943 (TUESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: The ban on ringing church bells is to be lifted from next Sunday, Easter Day, said Mr Churchill in the commons today. The cabinet decided that the ban can be relaxed on Sundays and special occasions “in the light of changing circumstances”. Many of the 12,000 parish churches will not be able to ring their bells this Sunday as they have been disused for three years and their bellringers are in the armed services. No substitute signal of invasion has been announced.
GERMANY: 425 RAF bombers inflict heavy damage on German ports of Stettin and Rostock on the Baltic. German night fighters and anti-aircraft guns shoot down 29 aircraft. (Jack McKillop)
TUNISIA: Company Havildar-Major Chhelu Ram (b.1905), 6th Rajput Rifles, knocked out a machine-gun post and led hand-to-hand fighting until he was killed. (Victoria Cross)
The British 8th Army takes Enfidaville, a road and rail junction 45 miles (72 km) from Tunis, but makes only limited headway against strong Italian defences.
Ninth Air Force P-40s fly sweeps, reconnaissance, and fighter-bomber missions in support of the 8th Army.
Northwest African Air Force B-17s and B-25s bomb the landing grounds of Mabtouha, La Marsa, La Sebala, Sidi Ahmed, Creteville, and near Protville. Fighters fly escort, carry out reconnaissance, and attack various Tunisian airfields. (Jack McKillop)
Minesweeper HMS Fantome is mined during clearance operations off Cape Bon and has her stern blown off. She is towed back to Bizerta, but found to be beyond repair and paid off as a constructive loss. There is one casualty but 36 survive.
Due to incorrect operation of her Otway log (speed measuring device) submarine HMS Untamed begins to flood and settles in 160 feet of water off Sanda Island on the West coast of Scotland. Due to delays in escape attempts, and incorrect flood valve assembly, none are able to escape and the entire 36 man crew are poisoned by CO2. Untamed was eventually raised and recomissioned as HMS Vitality, finally being broken up in March 1946. (Alex Gordon)(108)
BURMA: 8 Tenth Air Force B-25s bomb the engine sheds at Thazai. (Jack McKillop)
JAPAN: Tokyo: The Japanese Cabinet is re-organized with Mamoru Shigemitsu as Foreign Minister.
NEW GUINEA: Fifth Air Force B-17s bomb Wewak, Nubia, and Boram Airfields and shipping off Wewak sinking a cargo ship. (Jack McKillop)
EAST INDIES: Fifth Air Force B-24s, under the operational command of the RAAF, bomb Kaimana and targets of opportunity on Kendari Island in the Celebes. (Jack McKillop)
PACIFIC OCEAN: USAAF bombers raid the Japanese base on Nauru.
CENTRAL PACIFIC: 22 Seventh Air Force B-24s from Funafuti, in the Gilberts, carry out a photo-bombing mission over Nauru Island. Several direct hits on runways and the dispersal areas are claimed. (Jack McKillop)
PACIFIC OCEAN: Submarine USS Runner (SS-476) mines the waters near Hong Kong while submarine USS Scorpion (SS-278) sinks a Japanese gunboat off the east central coast of Honshu, Japan. (Jack McKillop)
TERRITORY OF ALASKA: ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: The Eleventh Air Force dispatches 15 B-24 Liberators, 16 B-25 Mitchells, 10 P-38 Lightnings, and 32 P-40s to hit shipping in the harbour at Kiska Island and gun positions in North Head. Other targets include buildings in the Main Camp area and the runway. The bombers sinks a Japanese ship north of Kiska. (Jack McKillop)
U.S.A.: President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill decide to hold another strategy conference. This one, called Trident, will begin 12 May in Washington, D.C., with US and British military leaders deciding what the Western Allies will do in 1944. Led by US Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall, the Americans will insist on invading northern France. (Jack McKillop)
particularly enjoyed the ‘Birthday’ notice for Hitler.
There was no comment from the White House.
-----------------
Wonder what Harry Truman had to say?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.