April 15 in Military History

Following Fort Sumter's fall, Lincoln called for 75,000 militia volunteers to suppress the rebellion. The proclamation galvanized the North but pushed Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina to secede and join the Confederacy.

Lincoln died at 7:22 AM at the Petersen House, the first U.S. president to be assassinated. His death derailed plans for a generous Reconstruction and transformed him into a national martyr.

The White Star liner RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic after striking an iceberg the previous night. Over 1,500 lives were lost. The disaster drove the first International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) in 1914, created the International Ice Patrol (operated by the U.S. Coast Guard), and reshaped warship survivability design for decades.

President Roosevelt signed an unpublished executive order authorizing U.S. military pilots to resign their commissions and join Claire Chennault's American Volunteer Group to fly combat missions for China against Japan.

King George VI awarded the George Cross to the people of Malta in recognition of their endurance under sustained Axis bombing. The island had absorbed more tonnage of bombs per square mile than any other target of the war.

The leading elements of the Bataan Death March arrived at Camp O'Donnell in central Luzon after nearly a week of forced marching under Japanese guards. Approximately 60,000 Filipino and American prisoners completed the 65-mile ordeal.

The British 11th Armoured Division liberated Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, finding 60,000 starving prisoners and thousands of unburied corpses. The horrifying conditions, documented by film crews, shocked the world.

Jackie Robinson started for the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first Black player in modern MLB. A former Army lieutenant court-martialed for refusing to move to the back of a segregated military bus, his breakthrough helped pave the way for military desegregation in 1948.

The YB-52 prototype made its maiden flight from Boeing Field in Seattle. The B-52 would become the backbone of America's nuclear deterrent force and remain in active service for over 70 years, the longest-serving bomber in history.

U.S. Air Force F-111Fs from England and Navy A-6 Intruders struck targets in Tripoli and Benghazi in retaliation for Libyan-sponsored terrorism. One F-111 was lost with both crew members killed. It was the first U.S. military strike against state-sponsored terrorism.