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http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/18.htm

April 18th, 1941

UNITED KINGDOM:
Churchill to CIGS:
After the capture of Benghazi ... the 7th Armoured Division, ... was ordered back to Cairo to refit. This involved a journey of over 400 miles, and must have completed the wearing out of the tracks of many of the tanks. It was an act of improvidence to send the whole division all his way back, in view of the fact that German elements were already reported in Tripoli. The whole of the tanks in this division could not have been all in a condition of needing prolonged heavy repairs. Workshops should have been improvised at the front for lighter repairs, and service personnel sent forward.
FRANCE: Vichy France quits the League of Nations. (Jack McKillop)

GERMANY:
Berlin: The German News Bureau reported:
At 9:00 P.M. on April 17, all the Yugoslav forces that had not yet been disarmed surrendered unconditionally. The surrender came into force at 12:00 today, April 18.

YUGOSLAVIA:
The Yugoslavs surrender after 12 days fighting.

GREECE:
Athens: The Greek Prime Minister, Alexander Korizis, commits suicide.
Athens: The Greek High Command announced:
Our position in West Macedonia has remained substantially unchanged. Our troops on the Albanian front have carried out an ordered retreat.

Thermopylae: Throughout daylight the Germans attacked the 16th Australian Brigade in the Pinios Gorge and the 21st Battalion 6th New Zealand Brigade at Elasson. The 16th Australian Brigade held the road until late that night but the German tanks forced the two battalions (2/2Nd and 2/3rd) of the 16th Brigade Australian Imperial Force into the hills. From the air, the Luftwaffe attacked the long lines of vehicles along the 70 miles escape route to Lamia. Although the air attacks continued all day and were noisy and nerve wracking, the Luftwaffe failed to exploit its superiority and was unable to halt the retreating column and did remarkably little damage to men and vehicles. (Anthony Staunton and Jack McKillop)

EGYPT:
Cairo: British Headquarters in Egypt announced:
Under growing pressure from the German forces receiving reinforcements daily, Greek and British troops along the Greek northern front are making a gradual retreat to a shorter defensive line.

FORMOSA:
Takao (Kaohsiung): A Mitsubishi G3M2 bearing no national emblems but belonging to No. 3 “Kukutai” Corps of the Japanese navy, takes off and sets a course for the US base at Legaspi on the Philippine island of Luzon. Keeping just outside the territorial waters 15 miles from shore they photograph the island of Luzon from 28,000 feet.

U.S.A.: General Motors, now producing 50% of U.S. cars, announces that it will make no changes in passenger-car models due to defence needs. (Jack McKillop)