City of Sevastopol falls to the Soviet Union: On April 8, 1944, the Soviet Union launched a major offensive (500,000 troops) against the German 17th Army, which had been isolated in the Crimea since November. Europe. A proponent of daylight precision bombing, he helped persuade Winston Churchill to launch the Combined Bomber Offensive (also known as the Eaker Plan), in which the Americans focused on daylight bombing and the Royal Air Force conducted night bombing. Britain's Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) aids the war effort: Although WAAFs did not fly planes (unlike their civilian female counterparts in the Air Transport Auxiliary), their duties centered around such vital matters as weather, radar, codes, reconnaissance, and intelligence. Sauckel pursued his duties with extraordinary cruelty, forcing war prisoners and citizens of occupied Eastern territories into brutal slave labor. Nazi politician Fritz Sauckel heads forced labor program in Nazi Germany: In March 1942, Hitler put Nazi politician Fritz Sauckel in charge of acquiring manpower for the war effort.

In a memo, Sauckel ordered, "All the men must be fed, sheltered and treated in such a way as to exploit them to the highest possible extent at the lowest conceivable degree of expenditure." Sauckel's policies brought some five million workers to Nazi Germany, only about 200,000 of them voluntarily. There is the common refrain of consumers not even knowing they needed something until it was brought into being, and that's true of many disruptive technologies. They argue that even at the highest bit rate settings, MP3 files are inferior to CDs and vinyl records. It's good to do a little research before you choose your MP3 application -- some are more reliable than others. Pope Pius XII is hailed and criticized for wartime actions: In 1943, Time magazine praised Pope Pius XII and the Catholic Church for "fighting totalitarianism more knowingly, devoutly, and authoritatively, and for a longer time, than any other organized power." However, even during his life, Pius's wartime policies were controversial. Members of the Church hierarchy, however, hid Jews in monasteries, convents, and the Vatican itself, saving thousands of Jewish lives. However, after being shattered by massive artillery barrages and relentless infantry attacks, the city fell on May 9. Of the 230,000 Axis troops originally trapped on the peninsula, about 150,000 escaped by sea.

Romans hail American liberators: Shortly before the June 4, 1944, liberation of Rome, the city had endured a week of Allied bombings that killed some 5,000 civilians. The American capture of a German submarine and the fall of Crimean city of Sevastopol to the Soviet Union are among the notable news stories of 1944. Summaries of these and other major World War II events follow. For applications like this, American cities can apply for funding from the Department of Homeland Security. Department of War concludes that only through a ground invasion of the Japanese homeland will the Allies succeed in winning the war in the Pacific Theater. Nazi Germans patrol the bluff at Pas de Calais, France: A German tank patrols the beaches of Pas de Calais in the spring of 1944. The Germans had every reason to believe that the main impending Allied invasion would arrive in Pas de Calais -- and not farther west in Normandy, as the Allies actually intended. The Allies added to Nazi Germany's misapprehension through a number of ruses, including the creation of a phantom army group that was stationed directly across the channel from Calais and was led by U.S. After all, Pas de Calais was close to England and had excellent landing beaches.

Tedder successfully carried out the Allies' "Transportation Plan," which involved bombing French railways to slow down Axis reinforcements during the Allied landing at Normandy on June 6, what is control cable 1944. His tactic of using bombers to clear the way for advancing troops ("Tedder's Carpet") also proved effective at Normandy and elsewhere. The strategic failure of the landing at Anzio exemplified this and other Allied deficiencies. Army Air Force based in Britain, where he led the first U.S. April 14: The Nazis deport the first trainload of Greek Jews from Athens. Pius also stirred criticism for not denouncing the Nazis' atrocities against the Jews. April 13: The Allies confront Sweden, which -- despite increasing pressure from the international community -- continues to supply the Nazis with ball bearings for their equipment and weapons. The Nazis represent Terzin as a "model camp" to visitors: The 18th century fortress of Terezin (Theresienstadt in German), Czechoslovakia, became a Nazi "model camp." To deceive Red Cross inspectors and other international visitors, Theresienstadt -- which included a theater, café, and park -- was filled with Jewish scholars, musicians, and artists who were encouraged to give public performances and exhibits. On Adolf Hitler's orders, actor Kurt Gerron directed a propaganda film, The Fürhrer Gives the Jews a City, praising Theresienstadt.