Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/This month in military history/April
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1 April
- 1572 - The Watergeuzen succeeded in capturing Den Briel, effectively sealing off the Meuse River from the Spaniards.
- 1865 - American Civil War: Battle of Five Forks - In Petersburg, Virginia, Confederate General Robert E. Lee begins his final offensive.
- 1918 - The Royal Flying Corps is replaced by the Royal Air Force.
- 1941 - The Blockade Runner Badge for German navy is instituted.
- 1945 - World War II: Operation Iceberg - United States troops land on Okinawa in the last campaign of the war.
2 April
- 1453 - Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople (İstanbul), which would fall on May 29.
- 1755 - Commodore William James captures the pirate fortress of Severndroog on the west coast of India.
- 1801 - Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Copenhagen - The British destroy the Danish fleet.
- 1865 - American Civil War: Siege of Petersburg broken - Union troops capture the trenches around Petersburg, Virginia, forcing Confederate General Robert E. Lee to retreat.
3 April
- 1941 - Hungarian and German troops invade Yugoslavia.
- 1942 - World War II: Japanese forces begin an all-out assault on United States and Filipino troops on the Bataan Peninsula. Bataan falls on 9 April and the Bataan Death March began.
- 1969 - Vietnam War: U.S. Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announces that the United States will start to "Vietnamize" the war effort.
4 April
- 1865 - American Civil War: A day after United States forces capture Richmond, Virginia, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln visits the Confederate capital.
- 1918 - World War I: Second Battle of the Somme ends.
- 1945 - World War II: American troops liberate Ohrdruf death camp.
- 1949 - Twelve nations sign The North Atlantic Treaty, creating the NATO.
5 April
- 1242 - During a battle on the ice of Chudskoye Lake, Russian forces rebuff an invasion attempt by the Teutonic Knights.
- 1654 - The Treaty of Westminster, ending the First Anglo-Dutch War, is signed.
- 1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Yorktown. The battle begins when Union forces under George B. McClellan close in on the Confederate capital Richmond, Virginia.
- 1942 - Second World War: Japanese Navy attacks Colombo in Ceylon. Royal Navy cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire are sunk.
- 1945 - Cold War: Yugoslav leader Josip "Tito" Broz signs an agreement with the USSR allowing "temporary entry of Soviet troops into Yugoslav territory."
6 April
- 402 - Stilicho stymies the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia.
- 1832 - Indian Wars: Black Hawk War begins - The Sauk warrior Black Hawk enters into war with the United States.
- 1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Shiloh begins - forces under United States General Ulysses S. Grant meet Confederate troops led by General Albert Sidney Johnston.
- 1865 - American Civil War: Battle of Sayler's Creek - Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia fights its last major battle while in retreat from Richmond, Virginia.
- 1917 - World War I: United States declares war on Germany.
7 April
- 1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Shiloh ends - Union Army under General Ulysses S. Grant defeat the Confederates near Shiloh, Tennessee.
- 1939 - World War II: Italy invades Albania.
- 1945 - World War II: The Japanese battleship Yamato is sunk north of Okinawa while en route to a suicide mission.
- 1989 - Soviet submarine Komsomolets sinks in the Barents Sea off the coast of Norway after a fire; 42 sailors die.
8 April
- 1767 - Ayutthaya kingdom fell to Burmese invaders.
- 1832 - Black Hawk War: Around 300 United States 6th Infantry troops leave Jefferson Barracks to fight the Sauk Native Americans.
- 1942 - World War II: Siege of Leningrad - Soviet Union forces open a much-needed railway link to Leningrad.
- 1975 - Vietnam War: After spending a week in South Vietnam, U.S. Army Chief of Staff Frederick Weyand gives a report to the U.S. Congress that South Vietnam will fall without additional military aid.
9 April
- 1241 - Battle of Liegnitz: Mongol forces defeats the Polish and German armies.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Mansfield - United States General Nathaniel Banks' Red River Campaign is thwarted by Confederate General Richard Taylor's forces at Mansfield, Louisiana.
- 1865 - American Civil War: Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, effectively ending the war.
- 1916 - World War I: Battle of Verdun - German forces launch their third offensive of the battle.
- 1917 - World War I: Battle of Arras - The battle begins with Canadian forces executing a massive assault on Vimy Ridge.
10 April
- 1741 - Prussia defeats Austria in the Battle of Mollwitz.
- 1941 - World War II: The Axis Powers in Europe establish the Independent State of Croatia from occupied Yugoslavia with Ante Pavelić's Ustase fascists in power.
11 April
- 1241 - Batu Khan defeats Béla IV of Hungary at the Battle of Mohi.
- 1512 - War of the League of Cambrai: French forces led by Gaston de Foix were victorious in the Battle of Ravenna.
- 1713 - War of the Spanish Succession): Treaty of Utrecht.
- 1951 - Korean War: President Harry S. Truman relieves General Douglas MacArthur of overall command in Korea.
12 April
- 1204 - Constantinople is sacked by crusaders of the Fourth Crusade.
- 1861 - American Civil War: The war begins with Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Fort Pillow massacre -- Confederate forces under Nathan Bedford Forrest kill most of the African American soldiers who had surrendered at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.
- 1865 - American Civil War: Mobile, Alabama, falls to the Union Army.
14 April
- 43 BC - Battle of Forum Gallorum: Mark Antony, besieging Julius Caesar's assassin Decimus Junius Brutus in Mutina, defeats the forces of the consul Pansa, who is killed.
- AD 69 - Vitellius, commander of the Rhine armies, defeats Emperor Otho in the Battle of Bedriacum and seizes the throne.
- 1205 - Battle of Adrianople between Bulgars and Crusaders.
- 1471 - Wars of the Roses: Yorkists under Edward IV defeated the Lancastrians under Warwick at the battle of Barnet; the Earl of Warwick was killed and Edward IV resumed the throne.
15 April
- 1450 - Hundred Years' War: Battle of Formigny; French nearly annihilate English forces, ending English domination in northern France.
- 1632 - Thirty Years' War: Battle of Rain; Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus defeat the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1940 - The Allies start their attack on the Norwegian town of Narvik.
- 1942 - George Cross awarded to "the island fortress of Malta - its people and defenders" by King George VI.
16 April
- 1071 - Bari falls to Robert Guiscard, ending Byzantine rule in Italy.
- 1746 - Second Jacobite Rebellion: The Battle of Culloden, the last battle of the Jacobite Uprising is fought, ultimately leading to the destruction of the Highland clans.
- 1799 - Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Mount Tabor – Napoleon drives Ottoman Turks across the River Jordan near Acre.
- 1862 - American Civil War: Battle at Lee's Mills in Virginia.
17 April
- AD 69 - After the First Battle of Bedriacum, Vitellius becomes Roman Emperor.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Plymouth begins – Confederate forces attack Plymouth, North Carolina.
- 1895 - Sino-Japanese War: The Treaty of Maguan (also known as the "Treaty of Shimonoseki") between China and Japan is signed. This marks the end of the war, and the defeated Qing Empire is forced to renounce its claims on Korea and to concede the southern portion of the Fengtien province, Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands to Japan.
18 April
- 1797 - Battle of Neuwied resulted in the victory of French forces under General Louis Lazare Hoche against Austrians under General Wermecek.
- 1915 - World War I: French aviator and a fighter aircraft pilot Roland Garros was shot down and glided to a landing on the German side of the lines.
- 1942 - World War II: Doolittle Raid on Tokyo.
- 1945 - World War II: Over 1,000 bombers attack the small island of Heligoland, Germany.
- 1988 - U.S. launches Operation Praying Mantis against Iranian naval forces in retaliation for the 14 April mining of the USS Samuel B. Roberts in the Persian Gulf during Operation Earnest Will.
19 April
- 1587 - Sir Francis Drake sinks the Spanish fleet in Cádiz harbor.
- 1775 - American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Lexington and Concord – British General Thomas Gage is driven back to Boston, Massachusetts, thus beginning the American Revolutionary War.
- 1809 - The army of Austria attacks and is defeated by the forces of the Duchy of Warsaw in the Battle of Raszyn, part of the struggles of the Fifth Coalition.
- 1943 - World War II: In Poland, German troops enter the Warsaw ghetto to round up the remaining Jews, beginning the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
- 1989 - A gun turret explodes on the USS Iowa (BB-61), killing 47 sailors.
20 April
- 1689 - The former King James II of England, now deposed, lays siege to Derry.
- 1775 - American Revolutionary War: American colonial force begin laying siege to British troops in Boston, Massachusetts
- 1792 - France declares war on Austria.
- 1861 - American Civil War: Robert E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army in order to command the forces of the state of Virginia.
- 1918 - Manfred von Richthofen, aka The Red Baron, shoots down his 79th and 80th victims marking his final victories before his death the following day.
- 1945 - US troops capture Leipzig, Germany, only to later cede the city to the Soviet Union.
21 April
- 1836 - Texas Revolution: Battle of San Jacinto – Republic of Texas forces under Sam Houston defeat troops under Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
- 1894 - Norway formally adopts the Krag-Jørgensen rifle as the main arm of its armed forces, a weapon that would remain in service for almost 50 years.
- 1918 - World War I: German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, known as "The Red Baron," is shot down and killed by Allied fire over Vaux sur Somme in France.
22 April
- 1836 - Texas Revolution: A day after the Battle of San Jacinto forces under Texas General Sam Houston capture Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
- 1863 - American Civil War: Grierson's Raid begins – troops under United States Colonel Benjamin Grierson attack central Mississippi.
- 1898 - Spanish–American War: The United States Navy begins a blockade of Cuban ports and the USS Nashville captures a Spanish merchant ship.
- 1915 - The use of poison gas in World War I escalates when chlorine gas is released as a chemical weapon in the Second Battle of Ypres.
- 1930 - The United Kingdom, Japan and the United States sign the London Naval Treaty regulating submarine warfare and limiting shipbuilding.
- 1944 - World War II: Operation Persecution initiated – Allied forces land in the Hollandia area of New Guinea.
23 April
- 1014 - Battle of Clontarf: Brian Boru defeats Viking invaders, but is killed in battle.
- 1521 - Battle of Villalar: King Charles I of Spain defeats the Comuneros.
- 1942 - World War II: Baedeker Blitz – German bombers hit Exeter, Bath and York in retaliation for the British raid on Lübeck.
- 1948 - 1948 Arab–Israeli War: Haifa, the major port of Israel, is captured from Palestinian forces.
- 1949 - The People's Liberation Army Navy is founded.
24 April
- 1898 - Spanish–American War: Spain declares war on the United States.
- 1940 - World War II: Operation Demon – The United Kingdom begins evacuating Greece.
- 1980 - Eight U.S. servicemen die in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempted to end the Iran hostage crisis.
25 April
- 1607 - Eighty Years' War: Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar.
- 1707 - War of the Spanish Succession: An Allied Austrian army is defeated by Bourbon army at Almansa (Spain).
- 1915 - ANZAC and British forces land on the Gallipoli peninsula, beginning the Gallipoli campaign.
- 1945 - World War II: Elbe Day – United States and Soviet Union troops meet in Torgau along the River Elbe, cutting Germany.
- 1972 - Vietnam War: Nguyen Hue Offensive – The North Vietnamese 320th Division forces 5,000 South Vietnamese troops to retreat and traps about 2,500 others northwest of Kontum.
26 April
- 1805 - United States Marines capture Derna, Libya.
- 1865 - American Civil War: Confederate General Joseph Johnston surrenders his army to U.S. General William Tecumseh Sherman at the Bennett Place near Durham, North Carolina.
- 1937 - Spanish Civil War: Guernica, Spain is bombed by German Luftwaffe.
27 April
- 1296 - Battle of Dunbar: The Scots are defeated by Edward I of England.
- 1521 - Battle of Mactan: Explorer Ferdinand Magellan is killed by natives in the Philippines led by chief Lapu-Lapu.
- 1650 - The Battle of Carbisdale: A Royalist army invades mainland Scotland from the Orkney Islands but is defeated by a Covenanter army.
- 1813 - War of 1812: United States troops capture York, the capital of Ontario (present day Toronto, Ontario).
- 1941 - World War II: German troops enter Athens.
28 April
- 1796 - The Armistice of Cherasco is signed by Napoleon Bonaparte and Vittorio Amedeo III, the King of Sardinia, expanding French territory along the Mediterranean coast.
- 1862 - American Civil War: Admiral David Farragut captures New Orleans, Louisiana.
- 1970 - Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon formally authorizes American combat troops to fight communist sanctuaries in Cambodia.
29 April
- 1672 - Franco-Dutch War: Louis XIV of France invades the Netherlands.
- 1945 - World War II: The German Army in Italy unconditionally surrenders to the Allies.
- 1946 - Former Prime Minister of Japan Hideki Tojo and 28 former Japanese leaders are indicted for war crimes.
30 April
- AD 711 - Islamic conquest of Iberia: Moorish troops led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad land at Gibraltar to begin their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus).
- 1429 - Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orléans.
- 1794 - The Battle of Boulou, in which French forces defeated the Spanish under General Union.
- 1863 - Mexican forces defeat the French Foreign Legion in the Battle of Camarón.
- 1943 - World War II: Operation Mincemeat – The submarine HMS Seraph surfaces in the North Atlantic off the coast of Spain to deposit a dead man planted with false invasion plans and dressed as a British military intelligence officer.