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• Allied aircraft conducted a raid on Baghdad, Iraq. ww2dbase [Campaigns in the Middle East | CPC]
• As the Axis offensive on Tobruk, Libya began to stall, Paulus ordered Rommel to besiege rather than eliminate Tobruk. ww2dbase [Siege of Tobruk | CPC]
• German submarine U-38 sank Swedish ship Japan off the coast of French Guinea at 1915 hours; her deck gun exploded during the attack, injuring the gun crew. The entire crew of 54 of Japan survived. ww2dbase [CPC]
• In a speech, Adolf Hitler said Winston Churchill was not a capable leader, both on political and military fronts. ww2dbase [Adolf Hitler | CPC]
• HMS Edinburgh supported the raid on Lofoten Islands, Norway. ww2dbase [Edinburgh | CPC]

• Alessandro Malaspina continued to maneuver against British merchant ship British Lycaon in the Atlantic Ocean, which she had been pursuing since the previous date. At 0108 hours, Italian commanding officer Giuliano Prini ordered the launching of three bow torpedoes at the distance of 400 meters, but only one fired (and missed) while the other two were stuck in the tube. At 0128 hours, the Italians fired a stern torpedo at the distance of 500 meters, which missed. At 0208 hours, she fired a stern torpedo at the distance of 600 meters, which missed. At 0245 hours, she launched another torpedo, which again missed. At 0415 hours, British Lycaon escaped into a rain squall and would evade the Italian submarine. ww2dbase [Alessandro Malaspina | CPC]

• 29th Brigade of the Indian 5th Division launched another attack at Amba Alagi, Ethiopia, capturing 3 hills between 0415 and 0730 hours. ww2dbase [Invasion of Italian East Africa | Amba Alagi | CPC]

• Leonardo da Vinci arrived at Bordeaux, France at 1245 hours, ending her war patrol. ww2dbase [Leonardo da Vinci | Bordeaux, Aquitaine | CPC]
• Maggiore Baracca arrived at Bordeaux, France, ending her fourth war patrol. ww2dbase [Maggiore Baracca | Bordeaux, Aquitaine | CPC]

• German aircraft sank British minesweeper Fermoy in dock at Malta. ww2dbase [Malta Campaign | CPC]

• Harold George arrived at Manila, Philippine Islands. ww2dbase [Harold George | CPC]

• The Politburo appointed Joseph Stalin the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, thus taking over as the actual head of the Soviet government, which position was previously held by Vyacheslav Molotov. ww2dbase [Joseph Stalin | Moscow | TH, CPC]

• The German bombing on Liverpool, England, United Kingdom that began on the previous date ended before dawn on this date, killing 850 people and destroying ammunition ship Malakand in the harbor. The rocket shelter at Broad Green in Liverpool received a direct hit from a German bomb during this raid; the shelter was, at the time, packed with people many of whom had come out of a local dance hall looking for shelter as the sirens rang. ww2dbase [Battle of Britain | Liverpool, England | CPC, AC]

4 May 1941 Interactive Map