The German bombing of Bath damaged many fine
buildings. This was one of the targets in the
"Baedeker Raids" on historic English towns
and cities

April 24
Air War, Britain
Germany bombs Exeter at the start of an air campaign against historic towns and cities, following the British attack on Lübeck. Hitler has ordered raids against every English city featured in the famous Baedeker tourist books.

April 29
Far East, Burma
The Japanese cut the Burma Road after seizing the town of Lashio, where the route ends. Chinese Nationalists are now almost wholly dependent on supply by air. The Japanese, being reinforced through the port at Rangoon, are advancing up the river valleys and plan to encircle the Allies in the Mandalay area. The Allies will then have to fight with their backs to the Irrawaddy River. The Burma Corps aims to fall back to India, whose defense is the main priority. Rapid Japanese advances, however, force the British to make a hurried (and potentially disastrous) retreat rather than an organized withdrawal.

April 30
Politics, Soviet Union
Premier Joseph Stalin declares that the USSR has no territorial ambitions except to wrest its own lost lands from Nazi control.

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