Bataan Death March: American and Filipino prisoners of war are forced to march to San Fernando to Capas (some 65 miles). During the march some 15,000 soldiers are killed by severe physical abuse and wanton killings. The Japanese Navy launches an air raid on Trincomalee in Ceylon (Sri Lanka); the Royal Navy aircraft carrier and Royal Australian Navy destroyer are sunk off the country's East Coast. April 10 – The Holocaust: Construction of the Nazi German extermination camp Treblinka II commences in occupied Poland near the village of Treblinka. Between July 23, 1942, and October 1943, around 850,000 people are killed here, more than 800,000 of whom are Jews. April 13 – WWII: Japanese forces of the 56th Division under General Masao Watanabe cross the Sittang River and defeat the Chinese 6th Corps in the Karen Hills area battles of Mawchi. The United States Federal Communications Commission's minimum programming time required of television stations is cut from 15 hours to 4 hours a week during the war. April 14 WWII: British submarine is probably sunk by Axis forces in the Mediterranean. WWII: is sunk by off North Carolina. April 15 – WWII: Award of the George Cross to Malta: King George VI awards the George Cross to the island of Malta to mark the Siege of Malta, saying, "To honor her brave people I award the George Cross to the Island Fortress of Malta, to bear witness to a heroism and a devotion that will long be famous in history" (from January 1 to July 24, there is only one 24-hour period during which no bombs fall on this tiny island). April 17 – WWII: Henri Giraud, French general captured in 1940, escapes from Königstein Fortress near Dresden. He lowers himself down the cliffside fortress with a 50-meter 'rope' he made with odds and ends smuggled in to him. After traveling for three days, Giraud safely reaches the Swiss border. April 18 – WWII: Doolittle Raid: Lieutenant Colonel James "Jimmy" Doolittle leads a bombing mission against Japan, along with 79 airmen of the US. Air force, flying 16 B-25 Mitchell land-based bombers. They take off from the USS Hornet in the Pacific Ocean, some 700 miles (1,126 km) east of Tokyo. Thirteen of the B-25 bombers fly over Tokyo and drop their bombs on oil storage facilities, factories and military targets. The other three B-25s drop their bombs over Yokohama,