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This day in 1941 was staring at the 600th since that ominous overture to Poland in 1939. And in that time, Europe was engulfed in a series of invasions, surrenders and daily desperation.

From London came word that German bombing raids over Britain the previous night were mostly confined to the Southeast and Northeast of England, but casualties were reported to be small. It was also the second successive night London went without a raid alarm.

The RAF retaliated with attacks on targets throughout occupied Europe.

The Free French Island of Tahiti declared itself on the side of DeGaulle.

There were unconfirmed yet persistent reports that Athens had fallen to the Germans and that Greece was in danger of being a lost Allied cause.

From Berlin came news that the previous nights address by Charles Lindbergh of the America First Committee at Madison Square Garden in New York drew praise in the German press, fueling speculation that maybe America would not get involved in the War after all.

Hitler concluded talks with Hungarian leaders in the wake of preparing German plans for the occupied Balkan region. Japanese Foreign Minister Matsuoka returned to Tokyo, armed with assurances and a renewed alliance with Berlin. Rumors that Germany was planning a move to Spain and Portugal were shrugged off as British propaganda, despite credible reports that some 2,500 German operatives posing as "tourists" were roaming the streets of Madrid.

It was also learned that German brewers were considering the idea of "light beer" to go with calls from the government to curb alcohol use, even though they hadn't even entered the experimental stage yet. And shortages were turning into rationing of cigarettes and cigars, in the wake of government calls to ban tobacco, which was deemed not such a good thing from a morale point of view.

And back in the U.S. - Secretary of State Cordell Hull called for renewed support of Britain in their fight against the axis and to support Lend-Lease.

All on this day in April, 1941 as reported by NBC and it's News Of The World.

A particularly grim day in 1940. Starting with news reports that France had appointed delegates to receive the German surrender terms. From the relocated French government in Bordeaux, Marshall Petain appealed to the French people, and the remaining French troops, to give up the War, that France had been defeated.

And while the appeals were going out and the envoys were readying to receive terms, the German Army were quickly advancing on all fronts, taking the important French Port city of Brest and the rumored capture of numerous French warships. What was left of the French Army had been separated into four areas and cut off from communication with each other. The German Army was also poised to take Paris.

All this had an uneasy affect on London, as it was reported that emergency cabinet meetings had taken place and plans for the defense of Britain were underway. Among those plans was the initial evacuation of some 20,000 children to Canada and the Dominions for the duration. The first ships were scheduled to convoy out in 2 weeks and offices handing the evacuation requests were flooded with applicants. It was widely believed that, now with the fall of France, Britain was facing Germany's Final Objective. German Bomber raids overnight hit the industrial cities of Billingham and Hull. The fires from Billingham could be seen for 30 miles. Reports from Berlin claimed they were reprisal bombings for British raids on German cities.

News from Washington initially came in the form of a bulletin that stated FDR made a surprising motion to form a Coalition Cabinet and the unprecedented move of appointing two high-ranking Republicans, Col. Frank Knox and Henry L. Stimson to the posts of Secretary of The Navy and Secretary of War, respectively. Knox was vice-Presidential Candidate for the Republicans in 1936 and Stimson was Secretary of State in the Hoover Administration and Secretary of War in the Taft Administration. The dismay came from the Republicans who felt it created damage to their 1940 Platform and it was purely a political move on FDR's part.

Another nail-biting day in history, this June 20, 1940, as reported on the NBC News Of The World.

More ominous news, this 3rd day of April in 1941. The War in Europe continued. News of the apparent suicide of Count Teleki of Hungary leads to speculation the suicide was helped along by the German Government. The war was taking its toll in other ways. Captured German troops reveal large quantities of sedatives and sleeping pills in their kits, suggesting stress is high everywhere.

Italy suffers numerous setbacks in the Middle East with the report of substantial air losses for the month of March and a growing amount of dissatisfaction among the Italian populace for the war. The prediction in London was that Germany would be forced to occupy much of Italy sooner or later.

The signs from Yugoslavia were ominous on this day, with the Yugoslav Army preparing for a German invasion and German diplomats packing and leaving the country, quickly.

The U.S. got drawn closer to the conflict with the seizure of several German and Italian ships in American Ports. With no plans to release the vessels, Congress was faced with the task of what to do with the ships. In the meantime, the Navy was keeping guard.

As retaliation, it was reported that several Americans living in Germany were rounded up for question in Berlin the previous night. Several students, a member of the Trade Commission and a Priest were brought in and later released via intervention of the Foreign Office. But the feeling was high that the Welcome Mat was going to be pulled at some point.

And on Capitol Hill, all the strikes going on this day were leading some members of Congress to call for a Federal curb on strikes in anticipation of increased War production. And a Congressional tour of Military bases brought about a stinging report of graft, corruption and incompetence and a call for further investigations and courts martial for the offending Military personnel and arrests for their civilian counterparts.

A nervous day, all around as reported on the NBC News Of The World for April 3, 1941.