By: History.com Editors

1942

General Henri Giraud makes his great escape from the Nazis

History.com Editors

Published: November 05, 2009

Last Updated: January 25, 2025

On April 17, 1942, French General Henri Giraud, who was captured in 1940, escapes from a castle prison at Konigstein by lowering himself down the castle wall and jumping on board a moving train, which takes him to the French border.

Hitler, outraged, ordered Giraud’s assassination upon being caught, but the French general was able to make it to North Africa via a British submarine. Giraud helped establish the French Committee of National Liberation and played a significant role in the restoration and reformation of the French army, charting his own course toward liberating France from German occupation.

World War II History

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt committed American forces to the Allied cause in World War II.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on April 17th

1790

Benjamin Franklin dies

On April 17, 1790, American statesman, printer, scientist and writer Benjamin Franklin dies in Philadelphia at age 84. Born in Boston in 1706, Franklin became at 12 years old an apprentice to his half brother James, a printer and publisher. He learned the printing trade and in 1723 went to Philadelphia to work after a […]

1917

Second Battle of Gaza begins

As the major Allied offensive masterminded by Robert Nivelle was failing miserably on the Western Front, British forces in Palestine make their second attempt to capture the city of Gaza from the Ottoman army on April 17, 1917. In the wake of the failed British assault on Gaza of March 26, 1917, Sir Archibald Murray, […]

1941

Yugoslavia surrenders to the Nazis

During World War II, representatives of Yugoslavia’s various regions sign an armistice with Nazi Germany at Belgrade, ending 11 days of futile resistance against the invading German Wehrmacht. More than 300,000 Yugoslav officers and soldiers were taken prisoner. Only 200 Germans died in the conquest of Yugoslavia. On March 27, 1941, two days after the […]

1945

Americans seize 1,100 pounds of uranium in effort to prevent Soviets from developing A-bomb

On April 17, 1945, U.S. Lieutenant Colonel Boris T. Pash commandeers over half a ton of uranium at Strassfurt, Germany, in an effort to prevent the Soviets from developing an A-bomb. Pash was head of the Alsos Group, organized to search for German scientists in the postwar environment in order to prevent the Soviets, previously […]

1960

Eddie Cochran dies, and Gene Vincent is injured, in a UK car accident

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1961

The Bay of Pigs invasion begins

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1964

Ford Mustang debuts at World’s Fair

The Ford Mustang is officially unveiled by Henry Ford II at the World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows, New York, on April 17, 1964. That same day, the new car also debuted in Ford showrooms across America and almost 22,000 Mustangs were immediately snapped up by buyers. Named for a World War II fighter plane, the […]

This Day In History: Ford Mustang debuts at World's Fair

1969

Architect of Czechoslovakia’s Prague Spring forcibly resigns

Alexander Dubcek, the communist leader who launched a broad program of liberal reforms in Czechoslovakia, is forced to resign as first secretary by the Soviet forces occupying his country. The staunchly pro-Soviet Gustav Husak was appointed Czechoslovak leader in his place, reestablishing an authoritarian communist dictatorship in the Soviet satellite state. The trend toward liberalization […]

1970

Apollo 13 returns to Earth

Apollo 13, a U.S. lunar spacecraft that suffered a severe malfunction on its journey to the moon, safely returns to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. All three astronauts survived.

Apollo 13 Mission

1975

Cambodia falls to the Khmer Rouge

Khmer Rouge troops capture Phnom Penh and government forces surrender. The war between government troops and the communist insurgents had been raging since March 1970, when Lt. Gen. Lon Nol had ousted Prince Norodom Sihanouk in a bloodless coup and proclaimed the establishment of the Khmer Republic. Between 1970 and 1975, Lon Nol and his […]

1989

Chinese students protest against government

Thousands of Chinese students take to the streets in Beijing to protest government policies and issue a call for greater democracy in the communist People’s Republic of China (PRC). The protests grew until the Chinese government ruthlessly suppressed them in June during what came to be known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre. During the mid-1980s, […]

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Citation Information

Article title
General Henri Giraud makes his great escape from the Nazis
Website Name
History
Date Accessed
March 25, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
January 25, 2025
Original Published Date
November 05, 2009

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