Thursday 26 March 1942

Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi departing from Starling Bay, Celebes Islands, on 26 March 1942. Note the line of ships stretching into the distance. The task force is heading for the Indian Ocean to defeat the British Eastern Fleet and destroy British airpower in the region in order to protect the flank of the invasion of Burma.

Battle of the Pacific: General Douglas MacArthur gives a rousing speech at a 26 March 1942 dinner in his honor (he receives the citation for his Medal of Honor) at the Australian Parliament House, Canberra, Australia. MacArthur notes, "Although this is my first trip to Australia," that he already feels at home. He calls the war a "great crusade of personal liberty" and further says:

There can be no compromise. We shall win or we shall die, and to this end, I pledge you the full resources of all the mighty power of my country and all the blood of my countrymen.

Privately, MacArthur meets with the Australian Advisory War Council and reassures them that the Japanese do not have the power to mount a large-scale invasion of Australia. However, MacArthur cautions that the Japanese still might attempt it "to demonstrate their superiority over the white races." The real danger, he says, is from small-scale invasions and raids in which the Japanese would attempt to set up air bases in Australia.

General Douglas MacArthur in Canberra, 26 March 1942 (CREDIT:F.J. HALMARICK, The Sydney Morning Herald).

On the Bataan Peninsula, the large force that MacArthur was ordered to leave continues to be shelled throughout the day as the Japanese prepare for a major offensive. Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon and his family evacuate aboard three USAAF B-17s to Australia.

At the Battle of Toungoo in Burma, the Japanese 112th Regiment attacks in the northwest of the Chinese perimeter but makes no progress. Other attacks elsewhere take the western part of the city to the west of the railroad, but the Chinese retain the heart of the city to the east of the railroad. The two sides close to within 100 meters on either side of the railway, firing at each other across the tracks. Both sides take heavy casualties, and eventually, the Japanese withdraw about 200 yards to give their artillery and bombers room to operate. Late in the day, the New 223nd Division arrives to the north of Yedashe and forces the Japanese to dilute their attacking strength by sending the 2nd Battalion, 143rd Regiment in a blocking move. A temporary stalemate develops.

A Japanese task force including aircraft carriers departs from the naval base at Kendari on Celebes Island, Netherlands East Indies, for the Indian Ocean. This is the beginning of a major raid in the Indian Ocean by the Kido Butai force that conducted the raid on Pearl Harbor. The first target will be Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

The Napa (California) Register of 26 March 1942 headlines MacArthur's "Win or Die" pledge below a disaster at Sandits Eddy Lehigh Cement in Pennsylvania.

Eastern Front: In the Crimea, Soviet General Kozlov opens his third offensive against the German line on the Parpach Narrows. The objective is the German strongpoint at Koi-Asan. The Soviet 390th Rifle Division and 143rd Rifle Brigade of the 51st Army lead the assault. They are supported by two T-26 companies, six KVs, and three T-34s from the 39th and 40th Tank Brigades and the 229th Separate Tank Battalion. The operation, much smaller than the previous two Soviet offensives, fails almost immediately.

Finnish forces begin a military operation (the Battle of Suursaari) in the frozen Gulf of Finland. The goal is to recover islands ceded to the Soviet Union after the Winter War in the Moscow Peace Treaty. These islands are Gogland and Bolshoy Tyuters. The islands already have changed hands twice since the peace treaty, as Soviet troops abandoned the islands, they were then occupied by the Finns, and then Soviet troops returned to recover them. The Finns have assembled three battalions in the nearby Haapasaaret Islands for this operation under the command of Major General Aaro Pajari. Today's preparations for the assault include opening two roads over the ice to the vicinity of the islands.

Berliner Ilustrierte Zeitung, 26 March 1942. Everything is sunny in the Reich, and the articles include an account of the destruction of a Soviet tank and ambitious plans in the United States that don't seem to be possible. Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung, March 26, 1942, Howard Mowen NSDAP Collection, Western Michigan University.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command sends 24 Boston bomber to Le Havre. One bomber is lost.

After dark, the RAF sends a follow-up raid to Essen. The raid on the night of the 25th was a failure, with few bombers even hitting the city. Tonight's raid of 104 Wellingtons and 11 Stirlings is not a surprise and is met by heavy opposition, including Flak and night fighters. However, while a much smaller raid, it is somewhat more successful. Unlike the previous night, hits are scored on the target, the Krupps works, and fires are started in the city. However, accuracy remains a huge problem for the RAF and only 22 high-explosive bombs are counted in the city. Six people are killed, 14 injured, and two houses are destroyed at a cost of 10 Wellingtons and one Stirling lost, a terrible 10% loss rate.

There also are smaller attacks sent against Le Havre (8 bombers), Holland (11 Blenheims), minelaying off Wilhelmshaven (36 bombers), and 15 bombers on leaflet operations over France. In the Holland raid, hits are scored on Schipol Airport and the port area of Rotterdam, along with Leeuwarden and Soesterburg Airfield. Two Blenheims (from the attack on Schipol) and two Hampdens (minelayers) fail to return.

Captain R S Warne, RN, (left) Captain of HMS ADAMANT, and his First Lieutenant, Lieut Cdr W H Hills on the bridge of Royal Navy submarine depot ship HMS Adamant in the North Atlantic, 26 March 1942. © IWM A 8431.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-71 (Kptlt. Walter Flachsenberg), on its fifth patrol out of St. Nazaire, torpedoes and sinks 8046-ton US tanker Dixie Arrow about a dozen miles off Diamond Shoal Light Buoy (Cape Hatteras). With the break of day, Flachsenberg was about to submerge for the day when he spotted the masts of the Dixie Arrow approaching. He hits the tanker with three torpedoes at 08:58. There are 11 deaths and 14 survivors who are picked up about two hours later.

In a small-boats action in the North Sea, Royal Navy motor torpedo boats torpedo and sink 229-ton Dutch fishing trawler FV Corrie near Texel.

British freighter Pampas burning at Malta on 26 March 1942.

Battle of the Mediterranean: This is the beginning of the worst period of the war for the British in the Mediterranean. Malta is isolated and ships are being sunk left and right. With the weather improving, attacks on land in North Africa can be expected to resume soon, too.

Incessant Axis air raids on Malta following the Second Battle of Sirte claim two more victims, 5415-ton British freighter MV Pampas and 6798-ton Norwegian freighter SS Talabot. Both ships from Convoy MW10 are sunk at their docks where they are being unloaded in between air attacks. Both ships remain where they sink until after the war (Talabot is not completely removed until 1985). In addition, Royal Navy submarine P-39 nearby is seriously damaged and ultimately written off, then scrapped at Kalkara.

With these attacks, Convoy MW 10, the one attacked during the Second Battle of Sirte, turned out to be a massive failure. While 26,000 tons (23 587 metric tonnes) were shipped, only about 5000 tons (4536-metric tons) actually make it off the ships to Malta. In addition, several ships were lost at minimal cost to the Axis.

U-652 (Oblt. Georg-Werner Fraatz), on its eighth patrol out of Salamis, sinks two ships. They are Royal Navy destroyer HMS Jaguar (F 34, 193 men lost, 53 survivors) and 2623-ton British fleet oiler Slavol (36 dead, 26 survivors). The attacks are made about 25 miles north of Sidi Barrani, Egypt. Jaguar was escorting the Slavol and other ships to Tobruk, and Fraatz first picked it off and then attacked Slavol in the resulting confusion.

SS Talabot, sunk in Malta's Grand Harbor on 26 March 1942.

Partisans: German security forces begin Operation Bamberg. This is an anti-partisan sweep through Hlusk District, Babruysk, Polesia, Byelorussia. This operation has been planned since 26 February 1942 to clear the area of partisans. The three objectives are: 1) annihilate partisan bands, 2) pacify the forested region, and 3) collect grain, livestock, and other supplies. This is the second major anti-partisan operation in the region, which has many Soviet army officers helping to organize resistance. The main strategy is to encircle an area with a diameter of 25-30 km (16-19 miles) and then gradually move inward to trap the partisans.

Special Operations: Royal Navy ships (three destroyers, a gunboat, motorboats, and motor torpedo boats) set out from Falmouth Bay, Cornwall England carrying special forces. Their target is the French port of St. Nazaire located at the mouth of the Loire Estuary. This is the beginning of Operation Chariot.

Spy Stuff: Police in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, announce that they have broken up a spy ring and arrested 200 suspects. This is one in a series of such operations by local authorities in South America.

US Military: Admiral Ernest J. King takes over as Chief of Naval Operations from Admiral Harold R. Stark. This makes King Commander in Chief U.S. Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations. His primary assistants are Vice Admiral Frederick J. Horne (Vice Chief of Naval Operations) and Vice Admiral Russell Willson (COMINCH Chief of Staff). Stark heads to England to become Commander of United States Naval Forces Europe. While this undoubtedly is a demotion for Stark due to fallout from the Pearl Harbor attack, he does good work preparing for and supervising the buildup of US forces for the D-Day landings.

Stark will be the beneficiary of a greatly increased US Navy presence in the European Theater of Operations. Today, Rear Admiral John Wilcox sails his Task Force 39, led by the battleship USS 'Washington' (BB-56), the aircraft carrier USS 'Wasp' (CV-7), the heavy cruisers USS 'Wichita' (CA-45) and 'Tuscaloosa' (CA-37) and six destroyers, from Portland, Maine, for Scapa Flow. This large force will supplement the British Home Fleet during the pendency of Operation Ironclad, the projected invasion of Vichy French Madagascar.

Egyptian Government: The ruling Wafd Party wins 240 of 264 seats in elections. This is partly due to a boycott of the election by the opposition.

Orli Wald (original name Aurelia Torgau) registers at Auschwitz Concentration Camp, 26 March 1942. Wald has been in prison since 1936 when she was charged with high treason for being a communist and engaging in political resistance. She serves in the infirmary at Auschwitz-Birkenau and survives the war, dying in 1962.

Holocaust: Near Riga, Latvia, German occupation forces and their local auxiliaries begin the Second Dünamünde Action (Aktion Dünamünde). This operation results in about 1840 deaths of Jews who have been deported from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and Moravia. The technique used is to lure the victims of Jungfernhof concentration camp to a supposed new resettlement facility in an area called Daugavgrīva (Dünamünde) with promises that things will be better. These victims are all older people, with younger people prohibited from accompanying them. Once aboard the transport trucks, the victims are taken to the Biķernieki woods north of Riga. The victims are forced to lie in trenches above previous victims in a pattern called "sardine packing" which the Germans consider to be the most effective use of space. They are then shot and more victims ordered to lie above them until the trenches are full.

The first trainload of female prisoners arrives at Auschwitz from Ravensbruck Concentration Camp and Slovakia via Poprad transit camp.

Judy Garland rehearses with Gene Kelly (his first film for MGM) for the upcoming musical "For Me and My Gal." Kelly later said, "I learned a great deal about making movies doing this first one, and much of it was due to Judy." (Photo credit: Kim Lundgreen via judygarlandnews.com).

American Homefront: The leaders of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) promise to aid the war effort for the duration of the conflict by curbing strikes.

Football star Tom Harmon, the winner of the 1940 Heisman Trophy and the first pick in the 1941 NFL draft, enlists in the US Army Air Corps. As a pilot, Harmon will win the Silver Star and the Purple Heart. After four years in the service, he returns to play for the Los Angeles Rams in 1947 and 1948, then enters broadcasting.

An explosion due to a premature detonation at Sandits Eddy Lehigh Cement five miles outside of Easton, Pennsylvania, kills dozens of men. The explosion is felt 50 miles away.

Future History: Erica Mann is born in New York City, New York. Under her married name, Erica Jong, she becomes famous as a fiction writer due to her 1973 novel "Fear of Flying," which explores female sexuality and sells 20 million copies.

Football star Tom Harmon enlists on 26 March 1942.

March 1942

March 1, 1942: Second Battle of Java Sea
March 2, 1942: Huge Allied Shipping Losses at Java
March 3, 1942: Japan Raids Western Australia
March 4, 1942: Second Raid On Hawaii
March 5, 1942: Japan Takes Batavia
March 6, 1942: Churchill Assaults Free Speech
March 7, 1942: British Defeat in Burma
March 8, 1942: Rangoon Falls to Japan
March 9, 1942: Japanese Conquest of Dutch East Indies
March 10, 1942:US Navy attacks Japanese Landings at Lae
March 11, 1942: Warren Buffett's First Stock Trade
March 12, 1942: Japan Takes Java
March 13, 1942: Soviets Attack In Crimea Again 
March 14, 1942: The US Leans Toward Europe
March 15, 1942: Operation Raubtier Begins
March 16, 1942: General MacArthur Gets His Ride
March 17, 1942: MacArthur Arrives in Australia
March 18, 1942: Japan Attacks In Burma
March 19, 1942: Soviets Encircled on the Volkhov
March 20, 1942: "I Shall Return," Says MacArthur
March 21, 1942: Germans Attack Toward Demyansk
March 22, 1942: Second Battle of Sirte
March 23, 1942: Hitler's Insecurity Builds
March 24, 1942: Bataan Bombarded
March 25, 1942: Chinese Under Pressure in Burma
March 26, 1942: Win Or Die, Vows MacArthur
March 27, 1942: The Battle of Suusari
March 28, 1942: The St. Nazaire Commando Raid
March 29, 1942: The Free Republic of Nias
March 30, 1942: Japanese-Americans Off Bainbridge Island
March 31, 1942: Japanese Seize Christmas Island

2020

Thursday 19 February 1942

"If Day" actors portraying German soldiers invading Winnipeg, Canada, accost a Winnipeg Free Press newsman and rip up his newspaper on 19 February 1942 (Western Canada Pictorial Index).

Battle of the Pacific: Japan sends around a total of 242 aircraft to attack Darwin, Australia, on 19 February 1942. Darwin is the capital of the Northern Territory and home to important naval and air bases, and the raid causes extensive damage. The first raid of 188 aircraft (36 fighters, 71 level bombers, and 81 dive bombers from aircraft carriers Akagi, Hiryu, Kaga, and Soryu) arrives over the city at 09:58. On the way, they shoot down a US Navy PBY Catalina. The Australian military receives their first warning of the incoming planes at 09:35 from a coastwatcher but wrongly assume that they are Allied planes. Thus, nothing is done to prepare for the raid before it hits. This first raid lasts for 30 minutes and sinks three warships, six freighters, and damage to ten more ships. The Japanese send in a second raid composed of 54 land-based aircraft which arrives at about 11:58 and lasts for about 20 minutes. This Japanese focus more on RAAF Base Darwin this time, destroying about 30 aircraft and killing six people. The Japanese then launch a third attack during the afternoon, but this time they avoid shore targets and instead sink two Philippine-registered ships, Florence D and Don Isidro, about 25 miles (40 km) north of Melville Island.

A "Val" attack plane takes off from Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi for the Darwin raid on 19 February 1942. As usual, there is a crowd of cheering Japanese sailors to send them off.

The 19 February 1942 Darwin raid comes as a major shock because Allied attention has been focused on Japanese invasions further north, with Australia itself being seen as relatively safe for the time being. About 250 people perish (maybe many more), over 300 are wounded, and 57 ships and boats are sunk. Among the losses is a 9155-ton hospital ship, HMAHS Manunda, with the loss of a dozen lives. The Japanese drop 681 bombs totaling 114,100 kg (251,500 lb). The Australians get minor satisfaction from capturing the first Japanese soldier on Australian territory, airman  Itto (Hiko) Hei (Flyer First Class) Hajime Toyoshima, when he crash-lands on Melville Island.

The crashed A6M2 Reisen "Zero" of Hajime Toyoshima on Melville Island, 19 February 1942.

With the Battle of Bilin River over, the Battle of Sittang Bridge begins in Burma. The Japanese 214th and 215th Regiments chase the 17th Indian Infantry Division toward the river. Due to Japanese infiltration around the Allied defenses on the Bilin River, their troops actually reach the bridge before the vast majority of the Indian troops. This forces the Allies to blow up the bridge with most of the 17th Division still on the other side. While most of the 17th Division does manage to make it back to Allied lines, its troops must abandon almost all of their equipment - which is hard to replace in remote areas of Burma. The Japanese also bomb the Burmese capital of Mandalay for the first time.

British tanker British Motorist on fire with USS Peary in the background. Both ships sink during the Japanese raid on Darwin of 19 February 1942.

After dark, about 1500 troops from the Japanese 228th Regimental Group, 38th Division, XVI Army, invade Dill, Timor, and another 4000 men land at the Paha River in the southwest of Timor. The invasion takes the defenders by surprise, as they have assumed that the invasion fleet was Allied vessels. There is fierce fighting at the Dill airfield, but the Paha River area is undefended. The Japanese also land five Type 94 tankettes in the southwest, where the invaders quickly move north in an attempt to isolate a Dutch garrison in the west. The Australians at Dill are outnumbered and forced to retreat south during the night.

"Dense clouds of smoke rise from oil tanks hit during the first Japanese air raid on Australia's mainland. In the foreground is HMAS Deloraine, which escaped damage." 19 February 1942 (Australian War Memorial 128108).

Japanese forces consolidate their hold on Bali, where they landed late on 18 February 1942. The US Army Air Force (USAAF) sends B-17s and other aircraft to attack the invasion shipping but, while claiming to cause extensive damage, do not interrupt the landings. The Japanese quickly capture Denpasar Airfield intact and begin using it immediately to launch an attack on Java, which USAAF P-40s turn back. This invasion effectively encircles the important Allied stronghold of Java.

The NY Times of 19 February 1942 reports on the Darwin raid underneath the British difficulties in Burma. Due to time zone differences, US newspapers often can get that day's news from the Pacific Theater of Operations in their editions.

After 34 days at sea, the three-man crew of a TBD Devastator of Torpedo Squadron Six (VT-6), whose plane ditched due to fuel exhaustion on 16 January, reach the Danger Islands in the Western Northern Cook Islands. They have survived by catching fish and birds and collecting rainwater. USN Aviation Chief Machinist's Mate Harold F. Dixon (Naval Aviation Pilot) receives the Navy Cross for heroism, leadership, and resourcefulness.

The NY Times of 19 February 1942 provides a helpful map of the Burma campaign on page 2.

Eastern Front: The German Army Headquarters (OKH) considers a plan offered by Fourth Army commander General Gotthard Heinrici to give up Yukhnov and retreat behind the Ugra River ten miles to the west. The OKH is basically in agreement with this plan but is not ready to make a firm decision without Hitler's express permission - and everyone knows that Hitler abhors voluntary withdrawals. So, the matter lies dormant for now until someone screws up the courage to talk to Hitler about it. The major point in favor of even making the attempt with Hitler is that General Heinrici is acquiring a solid reputation as a defensive tactician whose judgment can be trusted.

The NY Times of 19 February 1942 provides a helpful map of the Burma campaign on page 3. There is still a lot of hope in the United States that General McArthur can hold his position in the Philippines indefinitely.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command sends eight Wellington bombers to attack targets in Germany, with seven bombers hitting Essen. Other RAF bombers drop leaflets on Paris and Lille. There are no losses.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-161 (Kptlt. Albrecht Achilles), on its second patrol out of Lorient, continues the success of Operation Neuland, the U-boat offensive in the Caribbean. At 05:32, it torpedoes 6940-ton British freighter British Consul and 7640-ton US freighter Mokihana while they are lying at anchor in the Port of Spain, Trinidad. Both ships sink in shallow waters and are later raised, repaired, and returned to service. There are no casualties among the 45 people on the Mokihana and two deaths among the 42 people on British Consul. This is the beginning of a very successful patrol for U-161, which will sink (five) or damage (four) nine ships of 58,544 tons before it returns to port in late March 1942.

US tanker Pan Massachusetts, sunk by U-128 on 19 February 1942.

U-128 (Kptlt. Ulrich Heyse), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 8202-ton US tanker Pan Massachusetts about 20 miles off Cape Canaveral, Florida. The tanker quickly catches fire, causing the crew that survives to quickly jump into the water. There are 20 deaths and 18 survivors. Fortunately, there are other ships nearby, British tanker Elizabeth Massey and US Coast Guard ship USS Forward (WAGL 160), and they combine to rescue the swimming men.

U-432 (Kptlt. Heinz-Otto Schultze), on its fourth patrol out of La Pallice, torpedoes and sinks 2158-ton British freighter Miraflores about 50 miles east of Atlantic City, New Jersey. The ship, hit at 03:18, sinks quickly and all 34 men aboard the freighter perish.

Page 5 of the 19 February 1942 New York Times shows the situation in the Mediterranean.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Malta has its first raid-free day since 1 December 1941. This perhaps is due to violent storms passing over the island. This is fortunate for the British, as floods make Ta Qali and Hal Far airfields unusable.

War Crimes: Australian commandos, No. 7 section, defend the Japanese invasion of Timor fiercely and claim to kill 200 Japanse troops during the first hours. When men of the Australian commandos, No. 7 section, accidentally drive into a Japanese roadblock nearby, the Japanese troops take their revenge. All of the men but one are massacred by the Japanese after surrendering.

US Military: General Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes Chief of the War Plans Division for the US Army. He succeeds General Leonard T. Gerow, who has been appointed to Commanding General (CG) of the 29th Infantry Division, an Army National Guard formation.

Transport USS William P. Biddle (AP-15) lands the US Marine Corp's 9th Defense Battalion at Guantanamo Bay.

USAAF Seventh Air Force Base Command is activated. This previously was the Hawaiian Air Force, established in 1913 and received its current designation on 5 February 1942.

Oil tanks in Darwin burning after the 19 February 1942 Japanese attack.

US Government: After a week of frenetic debate and deliberation within the highest reaches of the United States federal government, President Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066. This, among other things, authorizes the internment of Japanese Americans. The order is open-ended, permitting the removal of any or all people from sensitive areas "as deemed necessary or desirable." The debate continues within the highest reaches of the government and military about who, exactly is to be rounded up and shipped off to internment camps, but this is the decisive moment in the process. Contrary to many myths about this affair, the US military is divided as to who should be interned, particularly about Japanese Americans. The entire West Coast is deemed a militarily sensitive area. This leads to the eventual internment of about 100,000 Japanese Americans in remote internment camps.

British Government: Prime Minister Winston Churchill shakes up his War Cabinet, reducing it from nine members to seven, after the loss of Singapore and the successful German Channel Dash. In the most notable change, Stafford Cripps becomes Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal. Cripps, a Labour leader, has proud Marxist sympathies and is an expert on the Soviet Union. He has played a key role in coordinating supply missions to the USSR with the Soviet government and has spent a lot of time there. Due among other things to a well-received radio broadcast following his return from the Soviet Union, Cripps is one of the most popular politicians in the United Kingdom. Lord Beaverbrook, who has clashed with labor leaders, leaves his position as Minister of War Production after barely a fortnight in disgust and heads to America to lead the Anglo-American Combined Raw Materials Board. Clement Attlee becomes Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary for Dominions.

Damage to the Don Hotel in Darwin following the 19 February 1942 Japanese attack.

Canadian Government: Parliament votes to introduce conscription. Conscripted troops still are only to serve on Canadian soil under current law (which will be changed in 1944). For this reason, those conscripts who refuse to waive this restriction earn the derisive nickname "zombies" because they cannot fight in the war (unless it reaches Canadian soil, which it actually does in minor ways in one or two obscure incidents).

US Navy supply ship Florence D., one of the ships sunk in the 19 February Japanese raid on Darwin, Australia.

Hungarian Government: As expected, Regent István Horthy nominates his son, István Horthy, to be Deputy Regent pursuant to a recently passed law. The Germans do not like István Horthy, who is not a strong fascist and opposes the Holocaust, but accept his appointment in order to maintain good relations with his father. István Horthy has an interesting background, having worked in a Ford factory in Detroit, Michigan, and flying sorties (which eventually kill him) as a fighter pilot.

Vichy French Homefront: The Riom Trial begins in Riom, France. There are seven defendants, though only five actually face trial. These are Léon Blum, Édouard Daladier, Maurice Gamelin, Guy La Chambre, and Robert Jacomet. Supported by the German occupation authorities, the Riom Trial seeks to pin the blame for the war on France and France's defeat on the leaders of the Left-wing Popular Front government elected on 3 May 1936.

Separately, police arrest French Resistance leaders, including the Marxist philosopher Georges Politzer and his wife. These Communist leaders are subjected to torture and eventual execution (Politzer's wife dies in Auschwitz).

“If Day.” Canadians dressed as Wehrmacht soldiers at City Hall arrest Winnipeg Mayor John Queen, Ald. William Scraba, Ald. R. A. Sara, and Ald. Blumberg on 19 February 1942 (Western Canada Pictorial Index).

Canadian Homefront: In a creepy attempt to sell war bonds, Winnipeg, Manitoba, stages a simulated invasion by Wehrmacht forces. Canadians dress up in Wehrmacht uniforms and pretend to be invaders. This is called "If Day."

American Homefront: Somewhat ironically considering that this is the day that her husband orders the incarceration of Japanese Americans in internment camps, Eleanor Roosevelt writes in her "My Day" column:

The number of prisoners behind barbed wire all over the world today is quite appalling. It did not surprise me to have both Dr. Jerome Davis and Dr. Dri (Dri correct) Davis emphasize the fact there is such a thing called "barbed wire sickness. To have nothing to do mentally or physically, to know that those you love are anxious about you, to be anxious about them, and yet have no way of working towards your release, must be a horrible situation.

That number is about to increase by about 100,000 people in the United States.

Future History: The Supreme Court rules in 1944 that FDR's Executive Order 9066 authorizing the internment of Japanese Americans is constitutional. Executive Order 9066 is rescinded in January 1945 and the internees are released. On 10 August 1988, President Ronald Reagan signs the Civil Liberties Act which provides an official apology from the US Government and a $20,000 cash award to each surviving person incarcerated under Executive Order 9066.


February 1942

February 1, 1942: The US Navy Strikes Back
February 2, 1942: Germans Recovering in Russia
February 3, 1942: Japanese Shell and Bomb Singapore
February 4, 1942: Battle of Makassar Strait
February 5, 1942: Empress of Asia Sunk
February 6, 1942: The Christmas Island Body
February 7, 1942: The Double-V Campaign
February 8, 1942: Japan Invades Singapore
February 9, 1942: French Liner Normandie Capsizes
February 10, 1942: US Car Production Ends
February 11, 1942: Tomforce Fails on Singapore
February 12, 1942: The Channel Dash
February 13, 1942: Japanese Paratroopers In Action
February 14, 1942: RAF Orders Terror Raids
February 15, 1942: Japan Takes Singapore
February 17, 1942: Indian Troops Defect to Japanese
February 18, 1942: Battle of Badung Strait
February 19, 1942: FDR Authorizes Internment Camps
February 20, 1942: O'Hare the Hero
February 21, 1942: Crisis in Burma
February 22, 1942: Bomber Harris Takes Over
February 23, 1942: Bombardment of Ellwood, California
February 24, 1942: US Raid on Wake Island
February 25, 1942: Battle of Los Angeles
February 26, 1942: Gneisenau Eliminated
February 27, 1942: Battle of Java Sea
February 28, 1942: Battle of Sunda Strait

2020

Wednesday 21 January 1942

A Japanese Zero (Mitsubishi A6M2 Type 0 Model 21) taking off from aircraft carrier Zuikaku for a raid against Lae, New Guinea on 21 January 1942.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel unleashes an offensive from El Agheila on the startled British forces in West Cyrenaica, Libya on 21 January 1942. As is typical with desert offensives on both sides, it begins with a "reconnaissance in force" designed to probe for weakness and exploit it if found. The Afrika Korps advances in three columns centered on the main coastal road with powerful support from the Luftwaffe. British Eighth Army has not been alerted to any German plans to attack by the Ultra decryption service and thus has not prepared defensive positions. The British 13 Corps quickly withdraws back toward a line centered on Agedabra and El Haseiat. Indian 4th Division moves to block a German advance along the coast toward Benghazi. The British quickly begin looking over their shoulders to the old German line at Gazala, where they ultimately wind up.

The Borger (Texas) Daily Herald for 21 January 1942 trumpets Red Army successes outside Moscow.

Rommel also engineers a distraction for his attack. He sends a Heinkel He 111 of Sonderkommando Blaich (Captain Theo Blaich) to bomb the Free-French controlled Fort Lamy in French Equatorial Africa. Blaich has proposed the mission against the fort because it is an important waypoint along the Allied supply route from Takoradi, Ghana, to Egypt. The mission is successful, but the plane runs out of fuel and has to make an emergency landing in the middle of the desert. There, the crew waits until 27 January, when it is spotted by an Italian Caproni Ca.309 Ghibli reconnaissance plane. The next day, a Junkers Ju 52 bomber brings fuel and the original Heinkel is flown back to base. While the mission only causes minor damage to the fort but destroys a large number of badly needed Allied supplies. French General Philippe Leclerc takes the threat perhaps more seriously than it deserves and expends a great deal of effort to strengthen the air defenses at the fort and launch ground operations against remote Italian forces in the Fezzan region. It is a good example of inducing the enemy to waste more resources than you are using against him.

Japanese submarine I-66 sinks 3193-ton Panamanian collier Nord off Rangoon in Preparis North Channel, Andaman Sea, on 21 January 1942. Everyone survives.

Battle of the Pacific: A RAAF Consolidated PBY Catalina crew spots the approaching Japanese invasion fleet off Kavieng. The Crew gets off its position before the Japanese shoot the flying boat down. This causes the Australian defenders to deploy ground troops along the western shore of Blanche Bay, where they expect the Japanese to land. With only two Wirraways left at Rabaul, the RAAF withdraws them and a Hudson to Lae with as many wounded as they can carry. The Australians then destroy the airfield and dig in for what they know is bound to be a difficult battle. Japanese carrier-based air attacks continue, with bombers from carriers Akagi and Kaga bombing Rabaul on New Britain Island while Shokaku and Zuikaku bomb Kavieng on New Ireland Island. The US Navy sends Rear Admiral William A. Glassford aboard light cruiser USS Boise to attack the force with a small force that includes light cruiser USS Marblehead and four destroyers. However, both cruisers experience troubles (Boise runs aground and Marblehead has engine troubles), so the fairly unimposing force quickly is reduced to just the four destroyers.

In the Makassar Strait, US submarine USS S-36 is scuttled by its crew after running aground. All 42 men aboard are rescued by a Dutch flying boat and they scuttle the submarine.

The Hong Kong News of 21 January 1942 features war pictures. Naturally, they are from the Japanee perspective.

In the Philippines, the Japanese are preparing a major offensive in the eastern II Corps area, so things today are relatively quiet. The Japanese plan to attack the western half of the II Corps line on 22 January. The Allies continue attacking with the Philippine Division in this area to restore the original line, without success. In the western I Corps sector, a small Japanese force has gotten behind the main Allied line in the extreme west near the coast. The Japanese are on West Road about miles east of Mauban. This effectively cuts off the Ist Division which is defending the main line. The Allies attack this force from both north and south, but the Japanese hold firm.

The Hong Kong News for 21 January 1942 features war pictures.

On the Malay Peninsula, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Anderson leads his 45th Indian Infantry Brigade at dawn in a desperate attempt to take the Parit Sulong Bridge and continue their retreat south toward Singapore. The Japanese, however, have tanks, aircraft, and artillery in position to stop them. A Japanese machine gun nest on the bridge forces the Brigade back, where it hemmed into a length of roadway measuring only about 440 years (meters) long. The Brigade has a working radio and gets the news that troops at Yong Peng, about five miles to the east, are on to their way. Fierce fighting rages into the night, with the Allies knocking out several Japanese tanks approaching from the north. Anderson knows he cannot hold out much longer and calls in an airstrike for the morning of the 22nd while he tries to hold out throughout the night. He sends two ambulances with wounded men to try to cross the Parit Sulong Bridge under a flag of truce, but the Japanese refuse and order the ambulances to remain as roadblocks. However, the British drivers outwit the Japanese and escape back to the Brigade during the night.

The 44th Indian Brigade reaches Singapore, having sailed from Bombay on 7 January 1942. Because of desertion by local laborers, disembarkation takes two days. The brigade is untrained and is given responsibility for southwest Singapore Island from Jurong to Berih.

A new exhibit entitled "Americans 1942: 18 Artists from 9 States" opens at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City on 21 January 1942.

Eastern Front: Soviet 4th Shock Army takes Toropets on the central front. The Soviet advance has created a wedge here into the German line that becomes known as the Toropets Bulge. The Red Army units in the area use supplies captured in Toropets to continue moving to the west. However, the Germans are stubbornly holding out at Kholm and Demyansk to the north. The Soviets never expected their counteroffensive to get this far and experience a little confusion about the best next step. Perhaps due to the strong German resistance at Kholm and Demyansk, they decide to turn south and move behind Army Group Center. The German generals actually prefer this, as it takes the pressure off the besieged German garrisons to the north and sends the Red Army units into an area they feel they have a better chance of holding.

Irene von Meyendorff in Filmwelt Magazine, 21 January 1942.

US/Chinese Relations: U.S. Major General Joseph W. Stilwell becomes chief of the Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's Allied staff. Stilwell assumes command of Allied units. With relations improving, the Chinese agree to move the 49th Division of the 6th Army into Burma, where the Japanese have opened a new front in the east along the Thai border.

Future History: Morris Mac Davis is born in Lubbock, Texas. In the 1960s, Davis writes several successful country songs for Elvis Presley, including "Memories", "In the Ghetto," "Don't Cry Daddy," and "A Little Less Conversation." Mac Davis then embarks on a very successful solo career in 1970 which includes country music, Broadway plays, motion pictures ("North Dallas Forty"), and television.

Filmwelt Magazine for 21 January 1942 features Zarah Leander on the cover.

1942

January 1942

January 1, 1942: Declaration By United Nations
January 2, 1941: Manila Falls to Japan
January 3, 1942: ABDA Command Announced
January 4, 1942: MacArthur on His Own in the Philippines
January 5, 1942: Soviets Plan General Offensive
January 6, 1942: US Army in Europe
January 7, 1942: Soviet General Offensive Opens
January 8, 1942: Hitler Sacks Hoepner
January 9, 1942: Battle of Dražgoše
January 10, 1942: Building the Jeep
January 11, 1942: Japan Takes Kuala Lumpur
January 12, 1941: Rommel Plans Counterattack
January 13, 1942: First Ejection Seat Use
January 14, 1942: Operation Drumbeat First Sinking
January 15, 1942: U-Boat Off NYC
January 16, 1942: Carole Lombard Crash
January 17, 1942: British Take Halfaya Pass
January 18, 1942: Soviet Paratroopers in Action
January 19, 1942: FDR Approves Atomic Bomb
January 20, 1942: The Wannsee Conference
January 21, 1942: Parit Sulong Bridge Battle
January 22, 1942: Parit Sulong Massacre
January 23, 1942: Japan Takes Rabaul
January 24, 1942: Battle of Makassar Strait
January 25, 1942: Kholm Surrounded
January 26, 1942: GIs Land in Europe
January 27, 1942: Battle of Endau
January 28, 1942: Rommel Takes Benghazi
January 29, 1942: First US Coast Guard Ship Sunk
January 30, 1942: Singapore Isolated
January 31, 1942: Army Group South Averts Disaster

2020

Saturday 6 December 1941

Aboard Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga northwest of Hawaii, pilots and aircrew receive a final briefing on 6 December 1941. Note the map drawn on the deck.

December 6, 1941, is the last day of the old world, where wars between great powers are isolated geographically and containable. World affairs already, however, are hurtling in the direction that they will after that date, just not as quickly. For instance, the Red Army on 6 December 1941 is counterattacking at Moscow and, soon, all across the Eastern Front. The Wehrmacht is in retreat, though that retreat has barely begun. The United States is re-arming at a furious pace and is arming all of the current belligerents is soon to join. Taken in its broadest context, the events that follow 6 December 1941 accelerate the pace of change but do not change a direction that already is well established. But it is still a last goodbye to a world where the starkest confrontations that will bedevil the world for decades have yet to be made.

Bulgarian Arado Ar-196 aircraft operating with submarine chasers Belomorets and Chernomorets sink Soviet submarine ShCh-204 (Captain Gricenko) on or about 6 December 1941 (exact date presumed) off the Bulgarian coast 20 miles south-southeast of Varna and near Cape Emine. There are no survivors of the crew of about 38 men. The wreck is rediscovered in 1984.

US Government: President Roosevelt drafts a last-minute personal appeal to Emperor Hirohito requesting a time to restart negotiations. The United States, however, does not make any new substantive proposals.

Fighter pilots aboard Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku pose for ceremonial final portraits, 6 December 1941. Flight leader Lt. Masao Sato is in the second row, third from right. This group will be in the first wave of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Japanese Government: The Japanese government Liaison Conference in Tokyo directs Ambassador to the United States Nomura to deliver Japan's final statement on the state of relations with the United States to US Secretary of State Cordell Hull. This is to be done precisely at 13:00 local time. The Japanese note is in 14 long sections and only begins arriving for decoding and translation late today. The Japanese embassy staff works late into the night on this massive project but falls behind schedule quickly in its efforts to retype the message in English on the appropriate stationery. The Imperial Navy attack on Pearl Harbor is scheduled to begin at 13:30 local time, so timing is critical to get the note into the hands of US authorities as scheduled, before the attack. The note does not contain an explicit declaration of war, but its tone is extremely hostile. Japanese representatives in Washington are burning official documents.

Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi, battleship Hiei, and battleship Kirishima on their way to Hawaii, on or about 6 December 1941.

Japanese Military: Kido Butai, the main Japanese carrier strike force heading for Hawaii, finishes refueling and turns southeast toward Pearl Harbor on the last leg of its journey. The fleet ends the day (east coast time) roughly 600 miles north of Oahu and the plan is to park about 200 miles from it. It is on schedule and there have been no security breaches during the long journey from Japan.

"Nakajima B5N aircrews pose in front of one of their aircraft on the Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier Kaga the day before the Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941. In the first row, the fourth position is PO3c Akamatsu Yuji; the second row, the third position is Lieutenant Ichiro Kitajima; the fourth position is Lieutenant Fukuda Minoru; the fifth position is WO Morinaga Takayoshi. The fourth row, the sixth position is PO2c Takeshi Maeda." 6 December 1941 (Werneth, Ron, Beyond Pearl Harbor: The Untold Stories of Japan's Naval Airmen, Schiffer Military History, Atglen, PA, 2008, p. 265. Werneth's book states that the photo is from the Yoshino Collection.).

On Formosa, Imperial Japanese Air Force planes prepare for an attack on the US Army Air Force bases on the Philippines. Troop transports are heading toward the Philippines from Formosa and the Pescadores. Another invasion force is making final preparations on the island of Rota to invade the US fleet base at Guam, while another is preparing on Kwajalein to invade Wake Island. Troop transports are heading south from Hainan, China and French Indochina for landing beaches in Thailand and Kota Baru in British Malaya.

"Motorcyclists of 59th Battalion, Reconnaissance Corps at Ballykinlar in Northern Ireland, 6 December 1941." © IWM (H 16470).

Eastern Front: The Soviet counteroffensive that began on 5 December with an isolated attack on German forces near Kalinin broadens to encompass the entire Moscow perimeter on the 6th. In the morning, the temperature bottoms out around -38 °F, which is cold even for the frigid conditions on the front to date. Field Marshal Fedor von Bock approves General Guderian's request to withdraw from the Tula salient before dawn, and he also tells the commanders of the other two Panzer Armies on the Moscow front, 3rd (Reinhardt) and 4th (Hoepner), that they are free to "adjust" their deployments in a westerly direction. Von Bock also directs General der Panzertruppen Rudolf Schmidt to stop Second Army's advance toward Yelets because, if current events continue, Schmidt will be left with no flank protection. Still, Second Army advances just enough to take Yelets, perhaps the final German advance of Operation Typhoon.

British 1281-ton freighter SS Greenland (note name on the bow) hits a mine and sinks after striking a German mine while traveling from London to Grangemouth. There are 8-10 casualties, no survivors.

The Soviet offensive gets off to a ragged start. At Third Panzer Army northwest of Moscow, the Soviet 30th Army scores a breakthrough on the German right flank northeast of Klin and advances eight miles. Soviet Twentieth Army makes a small gain at Krasnaya Polyana near Yakhroma, but attacks nearby by First Shock and Twentieth Army are stopped cold.

Conductor Hermann Abendroth of the Paris Conservatory arrives for a Mozart concert, 6 December 1941 (Fulgur (Pala), Federal Archive Picture 183-10820-0041).

The initial results of the Soviet offensive are not overwhelming. However, they are just enough to leverage the Wehrmacht out of its front-line positions. Once on the move, with no prepared defenses, the freezing German soldiers with their balky equipment are much more vulnerable. General Reinhardt informs von Bock during the day that he will begin pulling Third Panzer Army back on his southern flank to try to concentrate his forces against the dangerous thrust by Soviet 30th Army. This will necessarily uncover the flank of German 4th Panzer to its south - requiring it to withdrawal as well. While the pace of the Soviet attack slackens a bit in the afternoon, the German generals only view this as an opportunity to save more of their equipment and forces during the retreat. Thus, a chain reaction begins on the 6th, with small German withdrawals requiring others that have the possibility of snowballing into a massive retreat unless the Soviet counteroffensive is brought to a quick halt.

Dive-bomber Pilots aboard Zuikaku posing for a ceremonial last portrait before their Pearl Harbor attack, 6 December 1941.

Battle of the Mediterranean: German General Crüwell, commander of the Afrika Korps, spends most of the day trying to decide which way to attack with his leading forces. To his credit, Crüwell does not needlessly expose his men to further danger, but he also misses some nearby British vulnerability. General Rommel, commander of Panzergroup Africa and Crüwell's superior, begins to see the extreme danger to Crüwell's forces of the massive British Eighth Army armored formations to his south and orders a retreat westward. This decision saves the panzers but abandons the Italian Savona Division in the border area around Bardia, Halfaya, and Sollum. The British 70th Division takes advantage of the German withdrawal and occupies the German "Walter" and "Freddy" strong points. The Italians fight with desperation and inflict heavy casualties on the 2nd Durham Light Infantry before surrendering around midnight. The events of 6 December 1941 basically decide the outcome of Operation Crusader as a British victory, but it has come at a very heavy cost (to both sides). Still to be decided is exactly how far the Axis forces will be pushed back, but Tobruk's relief is confirmed and further actions in the vicinity of the port mostly involve British mopping up Axis remnants.

British submarine HMS Perseus strikes a mine and sinks five miles off the coast of the Greek island of Cephalonia. It comes to rest in 171 feet of water. All 61 men aboard immediately perish except for four men who manage to exit through an escape hatch. Only one of the men, a passenger named John Capes, successfully reaches the surface. Badly afflicted with the bends, Capes swims to the island, where he is found on the beach by Greek fishermen. Capes spends the next 18 months hiding on the island from its occupying Italian troops before being smuggled to Alexandria. While Capes is awarded a medal for his heroism, many doubt his story, and he passes away in obscurity in 1985. In 1997, a diving party finds the Perseus and verifies every aspect of Capes' story.

Author Dale Carnegie ("How to Win Friends and Influence People") arrives in New York City after flying from Toronto on a Trans Canada Air Lines flight, 6 December 1941.

December 1941

December 1, 1941: Hitler Fires von Rundstedt
December 2, 1941: Climb Mount Niitaka
December 3, 1941: Hints of Trouble in the Pacific
December 4, 1941: Soviets Plan Counteroffensive
December 5, 1941: Soviets Counterattack at Kalinin
December 6, 1941: Soviet Counterattack at Moscow Broadens
December 7, 1941: Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor
December 8, 1941: US Enters World War II
December 9, 1941: German Retreat At Moscow
December 10, 1941: HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse Sunk
December 11, 1941: Hitler Declares War on the US
December 12, 1941: Japanese in Burma
December 13, 1941: Battle of Cape Bon
December 14, 1941: Hitler Forbids Withdrawals
December 15, 1941: The Liepaja Massacre
December 16, 1941: Japan Invades Borneo
December 17, 1941: US Military Shakeup
December 18, 1941: Hitler Lays Down the Law
December 19, 1941: Brauchitsch Goes Home
December 20, 1941: Flying Tigers in Action
December 21, 1941: The Bogdanovka Massacre
December 22, 1941: Major Japanese Landings North of Manila
December 23, 1941: Wake Island Falls to Japan
December 24, 1941: Atrocities in Hong Kong
December 25, 1941: Japan Takes Hong Kong
December 26, 1941: Soviets Land in the Crimea
December 27, 1941: Commandos Raid Norway
December 28, 1941: Operation Anthropoid Begins
December 29, 1941: Soviet Landings at Feodosia
December 30, 1941: Race for Bataan
December 31, 1941: Nimitz in Charge

2020