Photo Courtesy: thestrategybridge.org/the-bridge
1915: German forces under General Albrecht von Württemberg were preparing chlorine gas canisters for the first large-scale gas attack in history.
1917: U.S. declared war on Germany. The 1st Expeditionary Division (later 1st Infantry Division) began mobilizing under General John J. Pershing.
1941: German Invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece.
1942: Japanese about to Win Bataan.
1945: The Japanese battleship Yamato, sunk by U.S. Task Force 58 off Okinawa.
1966: Operation Abilene Underway.
1967: Battle of Binh An Fought.
2003: 3rd ID’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team (Colonel David Perkins) seized Saddam International Airport
World War I (1914–1919): April 7 Events
1915: Prelude to the Second Battle of Ypres
By April 7, 1915, the 1st Canadian Division (commanded by Major-General Arthur Currie) and the British 27th Division were entrenched near Gravenstafel Ridge, Belgium, part of the Ypres Salient. German Fourth Army commander General Albrecht von Württemberg had ordered the deployment of 5,730 chlorine gas canisters along a 4-mile front, overseen by Colonel Georg Peterson’s Pioneer Regiment 35. Canadian scouts from the 2nd Battalion (Eastern Ontario Regiment) reported unusual activity—including the placement of “metal cylinders emitting a faint odor”—but British GHQ dismissed these as routine trench raids. Meanwhile, the Prussian 26th Reserve Corps rehearsed gas mask protocols. The gas attack, launched on April 22, would kill 6,000 Allied troops in 10 minutes, but on April 7, the focus was on logistical preparation. The Canadian 3rd Brigade conducted patrols led by Lieutenant Edward Bellew, who later earned the Victoria Cross during the subsequent battle.
1916: Verdun Sector Skirmishes
At Verdun, French 30th Corps’ 126th Infantry Division, commanded by General Paul Chrétien, faced the German VI Reserve Corps (General Konstantin Schmidt von Knobelsdorf) near Fort Vaux. On April 7, a German assault battalion from the 24th Brandenburg Regiment advanced under cover of a 30-minute artillery barrage (150 howitzers). The French 5th Company, 94th Infantry Regiment, counterattacked with grenades and bayonets, reclaiming 200 meters of trench. Casualties included Lieutenant Henri de Visme, killed leading a charge. French losses totaled 150 men (40 KIA), while the Germans suffered 200 (75 KIA). This skirmish exemplified Falkenhayn’s “Blutpumpe” (blood pump) strategy to bleed France dry.
1917: U.S. Mobilization Begins
Following Congress’s war declaration on April 6, the 1st Expeditionary Division (later 1st Infantry Division) began assembling at Camp Pintlala, New Jersey. The division’s 16th Infantry Regiment (Colonel William Donovan) conducted live-fire drills with 3,000 recruits. General John J. Pershing cabled Washington: “Mobilization must proceed with utmost haste; Europe’s fate hangs in balance.” The regiment’s 2nd Battalion shipped out on April 14 aboard the SS Tenadores, marking America’s first combat deployment.
1918: German Spring Offensive Pause
After advancing 40 miles during Operation Michael (March 21–April 5), the German 18th Army (General Oskar von Hutier) faced crippling supply shortages. On April 7, engineers repaired the Somme Canal under Allied artillery fire to resupply the 5th Bavarian Division. Meanwhile, British III Corps (General Richard Butler) reinforced Villers-Bretonneux with the 9th Australian Brigade (Brigadier Charles Rosenthal). Sergeant Stanley McDougall (47th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force) prepared defensive lines; he would earn the Victoria Cross days later for repelling a German assault with a Lewis gun.
1919: Post-War Demobilization and Chaos
The Allied Supreme War Council (Clemenceau, Lloyd George, Wilson) met in Paris to reduce the BEF from 1.9 million to 900,000 troops by June. Simultaneously, Freikorps Oberland (Captain Josef Römer) clashed with communist Red Guards in Munich, killing 20. This violence foreshadowed the Weimar Republic’s instability.
World War II (1939–1945): April 7 Events
1940: Norwegian Campaign Prelude
The German Group 1 (Admiral Günther Lütjens) departed Wesermünde with battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, escorting 10 destroyers (including Z11 Bernd von Arnim) carrying 2,000 mountain troops of the 3rd Gebirgsjäger Division to Narvik. British submarine HMS Truant (Lieutenant Commander Cyril Haines) spotted the fleet at 58°N but missed torpedoing Gneisenau. The operation marked Germany’s first combined naval-infantry assault.
1941: Invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece
The German 12th Army’s XL Panzer Corps (General Georg Stumme) captured Skopje with the 9th Panzer Division, crushing the Yugoslav 5th Army. Simultaneously, the XVIII Mountain Corps (General Franz Böhme) overran the Greek Central Macedonian Army at Lake Doiran. Greek 19th Mechanized Division commander General Georgios Stanotas surrendered 12,000 troops. The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler regiment secured the Klidi Pass, earning Hauptsturmführer Fritz Witt the Iron Cross.
1942: Bataan Death March Prelude
Japanese 14th Army (General Masaharu Homma) intensified artillery bombardment of the U.S.-Filipino II Corps (Major General Edward P. King) on April 7, firing 5,000 rounds from 150mm howitzers. The Philippine 41st Division (Brigadier General Vicente Lim) lost 500 men in 24 hours. Corporal Irvin Scott (31st Infantry Regiment) described the shelling as “hell’s own drumbeat.” The surrender on April 9 triggered the 65-mile Death March, claiming 10,000 lives.
1943: Operation Wop in Tunisia
The U.S. II Corps (General Omar Bradley) attacked Fondouk Pass, defended by the Italian 50th “Regina” Brigade. The 34th Infantry Division’s 133rd Regiment (Colonel Ray Fountain) lost 200 men storming Hill 369. Sergeant Sylvester Antolak (Company B) led a bayonet charge, earning the Distinguished Service Cross. By nightfall, the 1st Armored Division’s tanks breached the pass, capturing 300 Axis soldiers.
1944: Bombing of Bucharest
The 15th Air Force launched 230 bombers (including B-17s of the 97th Bomb Group) from Foggia, Italy, targeting Ploiești’s Astra Română refinery. German I/JG 53 fighters downed 12 B-24s, but 80% of refinery capacity was destroyed. Lieutenant John Jerstad (a posthumous Medal of Honor recipient) stayed at his bomber’s controls despite engine failure, ensuring bombs hit the target.
1945: Sinking of the Yamato
The Japanese Combined Fleet’s Yamato (Captain Kosaku Ariga) sortied from Tokuyama with minimal air cover. U.S. Task Force 58 (Admiral Marc Mitscher) launched 386 aircraft, including Helldivers from USS Hornet. At 12:41 PM, torpedoes struck Yamato’s port side. Ensign Thomas Stetson (Torpedo Squadron 9) sank the battleship, earning the Navy Cross. Only 269 of 3,332 crew survived.
Photo Courtesy: warfarehistorynetwork.com
Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–48: April 7, 1948
Relief of Skardu
Indian 1st Battalion, Kumaon Regiment (Major Suraj Thapa), after a 20-day march from Leh, scaled the 15,000-foot Zoji La pass under Pakistani Gilgit Scouts machine-gun fire. On April 7, Thapa’s D Company stormed the Satpara Ridge, using Bangalore torpedoes to clear barbed wire. Naik Chain Singh silenced a Pakistani MG nest with a grenade, earning the Vir Chakra. The Kumaonis lost 22 men but secured Skardu, cutting off Pakistani supply routes to Ladakh.
U.S.-Vietnam War (1955–1975): April 7 Events
1965: Deployment of the 173rd Airborne
The 173rd Airborne Brigade (Brigadier General Ellis Williamson) arrived at Bien Hoa Air Base, deploying 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry to patrol Highway 1. Private First Class Milton Olive (Company B) would later become the first African American Medal of Honor recipient in Vietnam for smothering a grenade.
1966: Operation Abilene
Photo Courtesy: greenvillejournal.com
The 1st Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade engaged the 9th Viet Cong Division in the Long Nguyen Secret Zone. Sergeant Jerry Headley (Company C) rescued six wounded under RPG fire, destroying a VC bunker with a flamethrower. U.S. losses: 45 KIA; VC: 200 KIA, 50 POWs.
1967: Battle of Binh An
Marines from 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines (Lieutenant Colonel Peter Wickwire) ambushed a VC battalion near Da Nang. Corporal Robert O’Malley (Echo Company) called in naval gunfire from USS Newport News, scattering the VC.
1968: Khe Sanh Relief
1st Cavalry Division’s 3rd Brigade (Colonel J. R. St. Clair) reopened Route 9 with M48 Patton tanks. Chief Warrant Officer Bruce Johnson (174th Aviation Company) evacuated 120 wounded under anti-aircraft fire.
1969: Operation Massachusetts Striker
101st Airborne’s 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry raided NVA Base 902 in A Shau. Specialist 5 Lawrence Joel (medic) treated 13 wounded despite a leg wound, earning the Medal of Honor.
1972: Easter Offensive Counterattack
3rd ARVN Division’s 20th Tank Regiment (Captain Pham Van Dinh) destroyed 12 NVA T-54s at Dong Ha. Captain John Ripley (U.S. Marine advisor) spent three hours rigging explosives to collapse the bridge, delaying the NVA for 72 hours.
Gulf War (1990–1991): April 7, 1991
Post-War Sanctions
UNSCOM teams inspected Iraq’s Al-Qa’im chemical plant, seizing 500 tons of VX precursor chemicals. The 24th Mechanized Infantry Division enforced the ceasefire, destroying 40 Iraqi T-72s near Basra.
U.S.-Iraq War (2003): April 7, 2003
Battle for Baghdad
3rd ID’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team (Colonel David Perkins) seized Saddam International Airport after a 12-hour firefight with Republican Guard Nebuchadnezzar Division. Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith (B Company, 11th Engineers) held a courtyard with a .50-cal, killing 50 Iraqis before being fatally wounded. His actions saved 100 soldiers, earning the Medal of Honor.
