19 Apr 1944
  • USS Finback sank a small Japanese vessel in the Pacific Ocean with her deck gun. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
  • Thomas Hitchcock was killed while test-flying a P-51 Mustang aircraft. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
China
  • In order to forestall the bombing of the homeland by American B-29 bombers from bases at Guilin and Liuzhou in China and to seize the Beiping-Hong Kong railroad, Field Marshal Shunroku Hata, Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Army China Expeditionary Force launched the Ichi-Go (Number one) offensive with a force of some 620,000 men, which was the largest force ever assembled by Japan for a single campaign. The main thrust was a powerful drive southwards from Hankou by the 11th Army, designed to link up with a push westward by 23rd Army from Guangdong. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
Dutch East Indies
  • Admiral Sir James Somerville's new Eastern Fleet launched a devastating raid on the oil refinery at Sabang in Sumatra, Dutch East Indies with aircraft flown from the carriers HMS Illustrious and USS Saratoga. ww2dbase [Main Article | Event | AC]
Germany
  • U-1234 was commissioned into service with Kapitänleutnant Helmut Thurmann in command. She was assigned to the 31st Flotilla, a training unit. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
India
  • After sundown, the Japanese launched three separate attacks against Anglo-Indian positions near Imphal, India, some supported by medium tanks; none of the attacks achieved their objectives. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
United States
  • Ernest King met with Joseph Rochefort in Washington DC, United States and gave him the command of the Far Eastern Section of the US Navy Office of Naval Intelligence. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 19 Apr 1944
Japanese oil tanker, destroyer, and harbor facilities burning after being attacked by Allied aircraft during Operation Cockpit, Sabang, Sumatra, 19 Apr 1944Lho Nga (Lhoknga) airfield under attack, Sumatra, Dutch East Indies, 19 Apr 1944

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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USS Essex struck by Lt. Yoshinori Yamaguchi's special attack D4Y3 Model 33 aircraft, at 1256 hours on 25 Nov 1944, photo 10 of 10




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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