Sunday 22 February 1942

A local St. Louis girl, Nurse Agnes Kozjak, in her field uniform at Ft. Benning, Georgia. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Pictures Section, page 1, February 22, 1942.

Battle of the Pacific: The loss of the Allied position on the Bilin River and the resulting approach of Japanese troops causes panic in Rangoon on 22 February 1942. Civilians evacuate west to India or leave by sea. On the Sittang River, the last strong natural barrier between the Japanese Army and Rangoon, the Japanese continue to make gains. Throughout the day, the British Indian Army continues to hold the Sittang River Bridge despite fierce Japanese attacks, often at close quarters. Finally, at 17:30, Brigadier Sir John George Smyth, V.C., orders his troops to blow up the bridge rather than allow it to fall into Japanese hands intact. This is done despite the fact that a large portion of the 17th Indian Division is still on the other side. Those men now are forced to get across the river in small groups without their equipment, and most of them do manage to reach the British lines. The overall commander in Burma, General Hutton, soon dismisses Smyth and replaces him as commander of the 17th Division with Brigadier David "Punch" Cowan. Since the 17th Division is the only large force available to defend the Sittang River, its struggles now for all intents and purposes doom Rangoon.

""Americans, Dutch Forces Now on Offensive," screams the headline of the 22 February 1942 The Ada (Texas) Evening News. The reality is a bit different, but it certainly sounds good and is better than reading about constant retreats.

Japanese air attacks on the Allied stronghold of Java increase in intensity as they begin to utilize newly acquired airbases in the region. Attacks today destroy four B-17's at Pasirian Airdrome and an LB-30 Liberator at Jogjakarta Airdrome. USAAF Fifth Air Force retaliates by destroying Japanese aircraft on the ground at Pasar Airfield.

US Navy submarine USS Swordfish disembarks Philippine President Manuel Quezon and his party at San Jose, Panay. Quezon wants to set up a new headquarters in Mindanao, but the Allies want him out of the Philippines and in Australia. They fear that Quezon may make a separate peace with the Japanese, which would remove from battle many troops fighting hard in the Bataan Peninsula. Area commander General Douglas MacArthur, meanwhile, also has orders to leave the Philippines and head to Australia.

After dark, two flights of 3 B-17Es of the Kangaroo Squadron (435th Bomb Squadron of the 19th Bomb Group), six bombers in all, set out from Townsville (Queensland) Field to bomb the Japanese fortress at Rabaul. The raid will actually take place early on the morning of the 23rd. One of these B-17s is "Swamp Ghost," which later becomes famous for being found in the swamps of New Guinea. The area has become too hot now for the US Navy to realize its plans of sending a carrier task force to attack the port, which rapidly is becoming the main Japanese base in the southwest Pacific.

A German poster, dated 22 February 1942, signed by Higher SS and Police Leader in General Government, SS-Obergruppenführer Friedrich Wilhelm Krüger. The poster sets forth penalties for aiding partisans or escaped Soviet prisoners.

Eastern Front: Adolf Hitler institutes a new practice by designating the Demyansk pocket a "fortress" (Festung). This makes the position there sound deliberate rather than unplanned and connotes a pleasing sense of permanence. He talks with the leaders of his army high command, OKH, about ways to restore contact with the large force at Demyansk. However, the smallest gap between the fortress and the German lines is about 20 miles to Staraya Russa to the north and the Polist River to the south. The troops outside the pocket, however, are busy holding their own lines, while the trapped German forces are barely surviving on less than half of the daily supplies they require from the Luftwaffe airlift. It will take a massive buildup nearby for the Germans to be able to stage a successful relief operation across the gap.

European Air Operations: After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends 50 bombers (31 Wellingtons and 19 Hampdens) to attack Wilhelmshaven. The targets are German heavy cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau ("Salmon and Gluckstein" as the British call them, after the tobacconist), which are believed to be at anchor. The weather is poor for bombing and bombers attempt to release their loads over the city instead (and, according to the Germans, they all miss Wilhelmshaven entirely). Seven bombers attack Emden, five bombers bomb the port of Ostend, five Manchesters lay mines off of Wilhelmshaven, and two Hampdens drop leaflets over Paris. The RAF loses no aircraft.

The Lone Ranger comic strip by Charles Flanders, illustrator. Taken from The Shreveport Times. February 22, 1942.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-504 (KrvKpt. Hans-Georg Friedrich Poske), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5287-ton US freighter Republic about 3 1/2 miles (5 km) northeast of Jupiter Inlet, Florida. While the Republic remains afloat for over 24 hours, it drifts onto reefs about five miles east of Hobe Sound and is lost. This is one of the famous incidents near Florida in which residents onshore are able to see the attack or its result. The surviving crewmen row ashore and are helped by local citizens. There are five dead and 29 survivors.

U-96 (Kptlt. Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock), on its third patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 6,999-ton British freighter Scottish Standard, a straggler from Convoy ONS-67 The crew of Scottish Standard already has abandoned the ship after bombing by a German Focke-Wulf Fw200 Condor, but Lehmann-Willenbrock gladly administers the coup de grâce at 15:52. There are five dead and 39 survivors.

U-96 also hits 8888-ton British tanker Kars, another straggler, this one from Convoy HX-175 (convoys often overlap on the busy North Atlantic routes). The ship is abandoned and taken in tow. Kars makes it to Halifax and is beached on 27 February. There are 50 deaths and two survivors.

MV Adellen, sunk on 22 February 1942 by U-155.

U-155 (Kptlt. Adolf Cornelius Piening), on its first patrol out of Kiel, gets its first two victories of the war. They are 1799-ton Norwegian freighter Sama and 7984-ton British freighter Adellen. Both of these ships are part of Convoy ONS-67. Both ships are hit after U-155 firest three torpedoes into the convoy south of Cape Farewell. There are 36 dead and 12 survivors from the Adellen and 19 dead and 20 survivors from Sama.

U-128 (Kptlt. Ulrich Heyse),  on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks unescorted 8103-ton US tanker Cities Service Empire about 25 miles north of Bethel Shoals, Florida. Heyse fires four torpedoes at the ship but misses with all four. He then fires two more torpedoes. These hit and immediately start a raging fire. There are 14 dead and 36 survivors.

British supply ship Hanne, sunk by Luftwaffe bombers off North Africa on 22 February 1942.

Battle of the Mediterranean:  The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks British 1341-ton freighter Hanne (formerly City of Bradford) in the Mediterranean about 77 miles east of Tobruk. The Hanne was carrying military equipment, something it had done 21 times already without incident. There are four deaths and 21 survivors.

U-83 (Kptlt. Hans-Werner Kraus), on its fifth patrol out of Salamis, claims to hit two ships near Sidi Barrani with torpedoes. This may be true, but there are no records of damaged ships at this time and place.

The 22 February 1942 L.A. Japanese Daily News reports on "Hundreds taken in round-up" by the FBI.

German Resistance: Ernst Junger, who maintains a personal diary, has tea with General of Infantry Carl-Heinrich Rudolf Wilhelm von Stülpnagel, who is the new military commander of Occupied France (succeeding his cousin, General Otto von Stülpnagel). Junger, who is on Stülpnagel's staff, finds that Stülpnagel is unexpectedly pessimistic about the military situation on the Eastern Front (where Stülpnagel commanded the 17th Army). Stülpnagel also complains about a hidden battle in France for power between the military occupation authority and the NSDAP. The former is acting in furtherance of military goals while the latter is more interested in political control. Stülpnagel is maintaining contacts with the anti-Hitler resistance through his friend, Lieutenant-Colonel Caesar von Hofacker. However, Stülpnagel is no angel and is alleged to authorize war crimes in his commands.

Holocaust: German Einsatzgruppe C sets up the Dzyatlava Ghetto (Zdzięcioł Ghetto) in Western Belarus when troops plaster city walls with posters directing the 4500 Jewish residents to relocate to an area around the synagogue and the Talmud Torah building within the streets of Łysogórska and Słonimska. Other residents are forced to evacuate their homes (which they gladly do so as to not be in the Ghetto themselves) and they are used for the new arrivals. The Ghetto is at least partially surrounded by barriers and barbed wire, with guards controlling access. Some trade is permitted between residents of the Ghetto and people outside for things like food and clothing, but these interactions are extremely limited. The Ghetto residents are used for building tasks outside the Ghetto under close guard.

The Seattle Sunday Times reports on FBI roundups of "Axis Spy Groups," 22 February 1942.

British Military: Air Marshall Arthur Harris becomes Head of Bomber Command for the RAF. He becomes known as "Bomber" Harris for his enthusiastic implementation of the RAF's new policy of terror bombings (the Area Bombing Directive of 14 February 1942).

Air Marshal Arthur "Bomber" Harris at his office during World War 2.

Harris puts forth his views on the upcoming bombing campaign by reference to the Bible:

The German people entered this war under the rather childish delusion they were going to bomb everyone else, and nobody was going to bomb them. At Rotterdam, London, Warsaw and half a hundred other places, they put their rather naive theory into operation. They sowed the wind, and now, they are going to reap the whirlwind.

There is no question that Harris' strategy is effective at destroying cities, though the scope of its effect on the overall German war effort is debatable. The strategy fails utterly at undermining the Reich's morale, just as Hermann Goering's terror bombing of London failed in 1940 and 1941. Bomber Harris becomes a controversial figure within Britain and elsewhere both during and after the war due to his uncompromising and unwavering attitude toward bombing civilians.

"Army's new dive bombers see action at Bali," says the caption to this photo in the 22 February 1942 Philadelphia Inquirer.

US Military: Recently arrived Major General Ira C. Eaker sets up the headquarter of U.S. Army Bomber Command, U.S. Army Forces, British Isles (USAFBI).

US Navy seaplane tender USS Langley leads a convoy of ships out of Freemantle, Australia, to India and Tjilatjap, Java. They carry 69 USAAF P-40s, motor vehicles, and U.S. Army troops

The A-24s of the 17th Bombardment Squadron, 27th Bomber Group, arrive at Batchelor from Brisbane, Australia. As with many air units in the region, their ground echelon is trapped in Bataan.

British Government: Prime Minister Winston Churchill continues his government shakeup following the loss of Singapore and the successful German Channel Dash. Among new appointees are Lord Wolmer as Minister of Economic Warfare and Sir James Grigg as Secretary of War. Everyone knows that Churchill, working very hard every day, is making all the big decisions and that his war cabinet basically exists to rubberstamp them.

"Corporate Cat," a Gold Seal Novel by Martin Flavin, reprint included with the 22 February 1942 Philadelphia Inquirer. Illustrator: Henry C. Pitz.

American Homefront: While the major auto manufacturers closed down their production lines by 10 February, a few have continued producing cars past that date. That production ends today. The remaining manufacturers all end their production of automobiles on February 22, 1942. Units manufactured at the beginning of February bring up the total number of vehicles in a newly established car stockpile to 520,000. These are available for the duration of the war for rationed sales by auto dealers to purchasers deemed “essential drivers.” Naturally, this makes obtaining a "new" car exceedingly difficult and reliant on "knowing the right people" and "pulling strings." Even if you have a car, gasoline to use it also is rationed.

"A String of Pearls" by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra is the number one song on the Billboard singles chart. It spends ten weeks there.

Future History: Christine Margaret Keeler is born in Uxbridge, Middlesex, England. She becomes a waitress, then a topless showgirl, in the late 1950s. Through this work, Keeler meets osteopath Stephen Ward, who introduces her to various government and entertainment figures. Keeler has affairs with several prominent men, including Secretary of State for War John Profumo and Soviet officer Yevgeny Ivanov. This leads to a major British government scandal that results in the resignation of Profumo and the suicide of Ward. After the Profumo Scandal, Keeler slips back into anonymity and passes away in obscurity on 4 December 2017.

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

Friday 20 February 1942

Lieutenant Butch O'Hare in the cockpit of his Grumman F4F Wildcat shortly after shooting down five Japanese bombers and becoming an ace-in-a-day on 20 February 1942. For his actions, O'Hare is promoted to lieutenant commander and receives the Medal of Honor (Office of War Information National Archives, via the Naval Historical Center website).

Battle of the Pacific: The Combined Chiefs of Staff announces on 20 February 1942 that Allied forces will remain on Java and will not be evacuated. At this point, Java is basically encircled, with new Japanese naval and air bases close by Portuguese Timor, Bali, Singapore, and Sumatra. So far, the ABDA forces have not succeeded in stopping the Japanese anywhere, and everyone expected Singapore to hold out, too. In a show of confidence, Governor of the Netherlands East Indies Dr. van Mook returns to Batavia from the United States today.

In Portuguese Timor, about 1500 troops of the Japanese 228th Regimental Group, 38th Division, XVI Army, continue their landings at Dili. Resistance is spotty, with some areas such as the airport fiercely defended by Australian commandos while others are abandoned. The Australian defenders are heavily outnumbered and retreat to the south and the ease toward the mountains. About 200 Dutch East Indies troops head southwest toward the border with Dutch Timor.

The first issue of the Singapore occupation newspaper The Shonan Times on Feb 20, 1942, celebrates Japan's victory and "impregnable" position. The last issue on 4 September 1945 will list reasons for Japan's defeat. PHOTO: NATIONAL LIBRARY, SINGAPORE.

In the Badung Strait, Vice Admiral Karel Doorman retreats with his battered force after the Battle of Badung Strait on 19 February 1942. At 06:00, Admiral Doorman sends seven torpedo boats to the Strait, but they do not find any targets. The failure of the ABDA forces at the Battle of Badung Strait leaves the Japanese in possession of Bali. The Japanese have suffered little damage during the engagement, while the ABDA forces have lost destroyer Piet Hein and suffered damage to cruiser Tromp and destroyer Stewart. Japanese aircraft of the Tainan Air Group land at Bali and begin operations.

Edward O'Hare, seen during a subsequent ticker-tape parade, becomes an ace-in-a-day on 20 February 1942 by shooting down five Japanese bombers (AP Photo).

USS Lexington, Task Force 11, is on a mission to penetrate waters north of New Ireland near Bougainville, Papua New Guinea and to attack Rabaul when it is attacked by Japanese bombers based at Rabaul. This is known as the Action off Bougainville. While most of the carrier's fighters are chasing them off, another group of Bettys from the 4th Kōkūtai's 1st Chuta is located only twelve miles away. Lieutenant Commander Edward Henry "Butch" O'Hare and his wingman, Marion "Duff" Dufilho, are the only two fighter pilots available when the second wave of Japanese bombers attack US Navy aircraft carrier USS Lexington. They take off together, and O'Hare shoots down five Betty bombers and he damages three more. This makes O'Hare the first U.S. flying ace of the war and he receives the Medal of Honor. O'Hare International Airport (ORD) in Chicago is named after Lt. O'Hare, and destroyer USS O'Hare (DD-889) also is named after him.

In the Philippines, Japanese artillery bombardment intensifies on fortified islands still held by the Allies in and near Manila Bay. US Navy submarine USS Swordfish departs from the Philippines with President Manuel Quezon, Vice President Sergio Osmea, their families, and other top government officials. Their first stop is Mindanao, where Quezon wants to stop in order to remain in the country that he governs. General MacArthur, the leader of Allied forces in the Philippines, orders that troops keep a close eye on Quezon to make sure that he does not attempt to make a separate peace with the Japanese. Since MacArthur, who is a Field Marshal in the Philippine Army, relies on Philippine troops to man the Main Line of Resistance (MLR) on the Bataan Peninsula, that would be a catastrophic development and almost certainly lead to a quick defeat. Whether or not Quezon's departure has an effect on morale remains to be seen.

The San Diego (California) Tribune-Sun of 20 February 1942 notes that United States citizens of Japanese descent are subject to internment pursuant to President Roosevelt's new Executive Order 9066.

In Burma, the Indian 17th Division continues to withdraw toward the Sittang River. Japanese aircraft strafe the fleeing troops, who are short of water and other essentials, and this leads to a lot of abandoned equipment. The campaign has for the moment become a race for a key bridge across the Sittang, with Japanese infiltrators closer to it than the main body of Allied troops. The British authorities order all civilians to evacuate Rangoon within 48 hours.

Japanese aircraft of the Tainan Kokutai strafe Singosari Airfield on East Java. They destroy numerous aircraft on the ground, including B-17E 41-2455, B-17E 41-2484, B-17E 41-2488, B-17E 41-2478, and B-17E 41-2498. Other Japanese bombers damage 4991-ton Dutch freighter Jalakrishna and sink 983-ton Dutch freighter Tobelo at Kupang. Japanese submarine I-65 torpedoes and sinks 5280-ton freighter Bhima in the Indian Ocean southwest of India, with all 70 people on board surviving. Japanese bombers sink 4068-ton Australian freighter Koolama off Wyndham, West Australia.

Generalmajor Theodor Scherer, the commander of the German troops encircled by the Red Army at Kholm, receives the Knight's Cross at the hands of the officers of his staff, 20 February 1942. Note they are all unshaven, reflecting their difficult situation. Scherer receives the award as Generalmajor and commander of the 281. Sicherungs-Division. The Germans hold approximately one square mile in Kholm at the confluence of the Lowat and Kunja rivers. They have been surrounded since 21 January 1942. The trapped force there has been designated Kampfgruppe Scherer.

Eastern Front: The German Army high command (OKH) compiles a report on casualties to date on the Eastern Front. So far, there are 199,448 dead, 708,351 wounded, 44,342 troops missing, and 112,627 cases of severe frostbite. Considering that the invasion began with approximately 3 million Axis troops, casualties after eight months of the war are about one-third. While many wounded men are able to return to duty, replacements have not matched losses.

European Air Operations: Activities on both sides are relatively quiet day due to weather conditions. There are no major operations.

A Mitsubishi G4M “Betty” medium bomber photographed from the flight deck of USS Lexington, 20 February 1942. (U.S. Navy).

Battle of the Atlantic: U-156 (Kptlt. Werner Hartenstein), which opened hostilities in the Caribbean as part of Operation Neuland,  continues its successful patrol when it torpedoes and sinks independent 5127-ton US freighter Delplata about sixty miles (97 km) west of Martinique. There are no deaths and all 53 men on board are picked up on the 21st by seaplane tender USS Lapwing (AVP 1). The Delplata does not sink right away, so the Lapwing sinks it on the 21st with gunfire. Following this further success, Hartenstein requests permission from the Vichy French authorities at Martinique to dock in order to put ashore their gunnery officer, who lost his right leg in an accident on 16 February. This request is granted, and U-156 docks there on the 21st.

U-129 (Kptlt. Asmus Nicolai Clausen), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks unescorted 2,400-ton Norwegian freighter Nordvangen near Trinidad. The ship sinks quickly and all 24 men aboard perish. An empty lifeboat washes ashore on Trinidad on 6 March.

SS Nordvangen, sunk by U-129 on 20 February 1942.

U-96 (Kptlt. Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock), on its third patrol out of Lorient, 2398-ton US freighter Lake Osweya off Nova Scotia. This sinking is sometimes dated as taking place on 19 February, but it appears that the torpedoes hit at 04:53 on 20 February. Lehmann-Willenbrock reports seeing three lifeboats launched, but the entire 39-man crew disappears.

Italian submarine Luigi Torelli torpedoes and sinks British 7224-ton freighter Scottish Star while the freighter is en route from London to Buenos Aires. Some sources place this sinking on 19 February 1942. There are four deaths and 69 survivors.

German 1025-ton freighter Jason hits a mine and sinks near Calais.

SS Delplata, sunk on 20 February 1942.

Battle of the Mediterranean: After a day without any air raids for the first time in many weeks, the bombers return on 20 February 1942. They attack Senglea, Bighi, Cospicua, Luqa, Kalafrana, and Zeitun. There are no reports of any aircraft losses.

US/Soviet Relations: The United States offers the USSR a $1 billion loan.

US/Vichy France Relations: The US Ambassador to Vichy France, Admiral William D. Leahy, requests that he be recalled to the United States "for consultations." Leahy is concerned about a growing hardline Vichy French attitude against the United States. This request will be denied.

Portuguese/Japanese Relations: Portugal protests to the Japanese government over its seizure of Portuguese Timor and the airfield at Dili. Portugal is a neutral nation.

Scottish Star (previously the Millais), sunk by Italian submarine Luigi Torelli on 20 February 1942.

US Military: Major General Ira C. Eaker, commander of the USAAF VIII Bomber Command, arrives by air in the British Isles. Their first task is to select a headquarters site. Eaker reports to Commanding General U.S. Army Forces, British Isles (USAFI) Major General James E. Chaney, who arrived with U.S. Army troops in January.

The USAAF Fifth Air Force moves the A-24s of the air echelon of the 17th Bombardment Squadron, 27th Bomber Group, from Brisbane to Batchelor. The 22nd Bombardment Squadron B-17s complete a move from Fiji to Townsville.

Australian Military: Following the devastating Japanese air raid on the port of Darwin, the Allies abandon it as a naval base. The airfields remain operational.

The Paducah (Texas) Post notes large numbers of men being taken into the US military. Similar headlines play out all across the country.

American Homefront: Universal Pictures releases "Ride 'Em Cowboy." Directed by Arthur Lubin and starring the comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, the film becomes the eighth biggest film hit of 1942.

Future History: Philip Anthony Esposito is born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. Esposito develops an early interest in hockey and signs with the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League as a teenager. He is an immediate success in a junior league, scoring 12 points (goals and assists) in one playoff game and averaging 3.3 points per game. After three years in the junior leagues, the Black Hawks bring Esposito up to the parent club during the 1964 season. Centering for Bobby Hull, another NHL star, Esposito is among the league scoring leaders for the next three years. In 1967, the Black Hawks trade Esposito to the Boston Bruins. Esposito goes on to become one of the greatest scorers in NHL history. Among his other accomplishments is becoming the first NHL player in history to score 100 points in 1969 and leads the league in goals for six straight years. He leads the Bruins to Stanley Cup Championships in 1970 and 1972. Esposito later plays for the New York Rangers and becomes its captain. Esposito retires in 1981 and goes into Rangers management, then is elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984. As of this writing, Phil Esposito serves as a radio color commentator for the Tampa Bay NHL franchise.

Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr. is born in Sheffield Alabama. His family moves to Georgia, then Louisville, Kentucky when Mitch McConnell is eight years old. After graduating from the University of Louisville, McConnell interns for Senator John Sherman Cooper in 1964. After law school, he enlists in the U.S. Army Reserve as a private. However, he is deemed medically unfit later in the year and honorably discharged. McConnell continues his political development and is elected as Jefferson County Judge/Executive in 1977 and to the United States Senate in 1984. As of this writing, Mitch McConnell is the Senate Majority Leader.

The 20 February 1942 Daily News focuses on the cabinet shifts in Great Britain.

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

Sunday 8 February 1942

Firefighters in Singapore battle a fire set by Japanese bombs on 8 February 1942.

Battle of the Pacific: After hours of preliminary bombardment by Japanese artillery, on 8 February 1942 the invasion of Singapore Island at Lim Chu Kang begins at 20:30 when Japanese boats carrying troops approach northwest Singapore. The Japanese troops of the 5th and 18th Divisions land at Sarimbun Beach, which is defended by just three battalions Australian 22nd Brigade. The Japanese gradually expand their foothold throughout the night, eventually landing 4000 troops. By midnight, the Japanese invaders have local ascendancy and the overwhelmed Australian troops have lost communication with each other and are in full retreat.

A map of the Battle of Sarimbun, the invasion of Singapore Island. Shown as blue circles are troops of the Australian 22nd Brigade, with the red arrows indicating Japanese landings. The Australian troops are positioned at the shoreline but are overwhelmed and in retreat, before 8 February 1942 is done.

In the Philippines, Lieutenant General Homma Masaharu, the Commander of the Japanese 14th Army, is alarmed by reports that the Allies are exerting massive pressure on several pockets of Japanese Army troops behind the Main Line of Resistance (MLR). Homma suspends all offensive operations and orders withdrawal of his most exposed forces for rest and reinforcement. On the Allied side, US I Corps on the western half of the MLR makes good progress against two pockets, completely cutting off the Japanese. After dark, one of the Japanese forces, the one in the "Little Pocket," escapes through the jungle back to Japanese lines, thus ending resistance there. Further south, the Allies achieve a major victory when they eliminate a small Japanese pocket at Quinauan Point. This attack is assisted by men from US Navy submarine tender USS Canopus, who land on the beach in a motor launch and hem in the Japanese. The Japanese are squeezed between these men and units of the Philippine Army Scouts and 57th Infantry Regiment. All but 34 Japanese, who escape by sea, are killed or captured.

Japanese troops crossing the Singapore Strait to invade Singapore ca. 8 February 1942 (Australian War Memorial 129751).

The Japanese continue their gradual occupation of Borneo today when they land at Bandjermasin in southeast Borneo. US Army Force Fifth Air Force bombers based at Singosari Aerodrome, Java, mounts a raid on  Kendari II Airdrome on Celebes. The defending dozen Japanese fighters spot the force early and shoot down two of nine B-17 bombers and damage a third. The surviving bombers abort the mission and return to base.

Continuing a rather trendless pointless trend of the first few months after the Pearl Harbor attack, a Japanese submarine surfaces. It shells Allied installations. HIJMS I-69, which has been in the vicinity of Midway since 21 January 1942 and whose crew may simply be bored, shells Midway atoll to little purpose.

A Soviet Aerosan RF-8/GAZ-98 snowmobile in action, February 1942. They are powered by a propeller (not shown) in the rear, like an airboat in the Everglades.

Eastern Front: While the German troops in Demyansk have been isolated for some time, 8 February 1942 is regarded as the date on which the pocket there forms. The Soviets are under the command of General Kurochkin. Encircled are about 90,000 Wehrmacht troops and around 10,000 auxiliaries under the command of II Corps (General Walter von Brockdorff-Ahlefeldt). These men are members of the 12th, 30th, 32nd, 123rd and 290th infantry divisions, and the SS Division Totenkopf, as well as the Reich Labour Service, Ordnungspolizei (uniformed police), Organisation Todt, and other auxiliary units. Many have been swept into the pocket by the advance of the Soviet Northwest Front under the command of General Lieutenant Pavel Kurochkin. The Red Army successfully has severed the Demyansk position, which has been forbidden to withdraw due to Hitler's "stand fast" orders, from its railhead at Staraya Russa south of Lake Ilmen. While the Soviet advance has severed the German lines of communication, it has not captured any major German fortified positions, and eliminating the Demyansk pocket turns into their best chance to do that. The Luftwaffe already has an air supply to Demyansk in progress under the command of Luftflotte 1. Unlike some later and notorious airlifts, the Demyansk airlift (and the contemporaneous one to the smaller trapped garrison about 62 miles (100 km) to the south at Kholm) is successful. This is because it benefits from relatively short flights and a lack of concentrated Red Army anti-aircraft fire in the forested areas surrounding the pocket.

A Flak 88 artillery piece in the Demyansk pocket, February 1942.

European Air Operations: Weather conditions are poor, so an RAF mission by four Blenheim Intruders to the Netherlands is recalled while still over the English Channel.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-108 (KrvKpt. Klaus Scholtz), on its sixth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 7174-ton British freighter Ocean Venture about 100 miles northeast of Norfolk, Virginia (near Cape Hatteras). There are a dozen survivors and 31 deaths.

The ships which are slated to be involved in German Operation Cerberus, the Channel Dash, continue working up their seaworthiness after a year of inactivity at Brest, France. Adolf Galland, Luftwaffe Inspector of Fighters, prepares air cover for the mission. Operation Cerberus is scheduled for the night of 11 February due to lunar conditions.

SS Duino, sunk on 8 February 1942.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS Proteus collides with Italian torpedo boat Sagittario off the North African coast. Both ships make it back to port, the Proteus with bent hydroplanes.

1334-ton Italian freighter SS Duino hits a mine and sinks off Cape San Vito, near Bari, Italy. This sinking is sometimes credited to HMS Upholder, but it is usually attributed to a mine. Italian 2710-ton freighter Salpi is also damaged and perhaps sunk in this incident.

The Demyansk and Kholm pockets.

US/Philippine Relations: Philippine President Manuel Quezon asks President Franklin Roosevelt to grant his country independence and declare it a neutral area. Roosevelt ignores the request but gives the US area commander, General Douglas MacArthur, permission to surrender Filipino troops if he sees fit. This, of course, is not something the Filipino troops or MacArthur have any desire to do, as rumors of Japanese atrocities are floating throughout the theater.

US Military: A fire at Camp Edwards, Cape Cod, destroys 125 vehicles and causes an estimated $250,000 in damage. There are no injuries or deaths.

Canadian Military: The third contingent of Canadian troops lands in Great Britain.

A Todt Organisation fortification at Cap Gris Nez, France, in 1942/43 (Maier, Federal Archive Bild 146-1973-036-01).

German Government: Having spent an extended period at the Wolfsschanze ("Wolf's Lair") near Rastenburg in East Prussia, Dr. Fritz Todt perishes in an aircraft accident shortly after takeoff on 8 February 1942. Reich Minister for Armaments and Ammunition Todt recently had acquired new powers over the economy to improve war production. These powers would have impinged upon the fiefdoms of other top German officials, most significantly those of Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering, whose Reich Air Ministry investigates the crash and flatly denied "the possibility of sabotage." Regardless, there are suspicions of assassination. Todt's is one in a series of mysterious transport plane crashes, including those of General der Jagdflieger Werner Mölders and General Hans-Valentin Hube, which remove promising leaders of the Third Reich. Todt's name remains on structures throughout Europe by virtue of inscriptions commemorating their erection by military engineering company Organisation Todt.

Albert Speer, right, with Adolf Hitler.

Albert Speer, Adolf Hitler's favorite architect who has been working on civic improvements in Berlin, just happens to be at the Wolfsschanze. He arrived there the previous evening in order to accompany Todt back to Berlin. However, Speer canceled this trip with Todt a few hours before takeoff, claiming fatigue from a late-night discussion with Hitler. Upon learning of the crash, Hitler instantly offers the position to Speer., who accepts. There is speculation that Hitler made this uncharacteristically quick decision in order to forestall a major battle within his inner circle over the Ministry and its immense power over the Reich economy. In particular, Goering was known to covet the Ministry, which would solidify his growing empire of factories throughout Austra and the Balkans (the "Hermann Goering Works"). Hitler also appoints Speer to replace Todt as head of the Organisation Todt, which is tasked with building fortifications throughout Europe.

Albert Speer, left, famously accompanied Adolf Hitler, center, on an early-morning visit to Paris in mid-1940. Speer was there as Hitler's friend and architect, not for any military reason.

Everyone, on both sides of the conflict, ultimately agrees that this choice of Speer to replace Todt is among Hitler's most inspired appointments. An architect by training, Alber Speer has virtually no experience in the management of armaments. What he does have in abundance, though, is common sense and few scruples about fulfilling Hitler's wishes. Speer certainly has his detractors within the Reich leadership, where he is disparaged and lazy and not fully committed to ultimate victory. However, Albert Speer is ambitious and savvy enough to use his close relationship with Hitler (whom he has known since before Hitler became Chancellor when he was hired to renovate the Berlin NSDAP headquarters) to defend and even expand his powers. Speer ultimately may have cause to regret his appointment, as he is found guilty after the war of using slave labor and spends 20 years in prison. However, on 8 February 1942, Speer is merely one of Hitler's old cronies who finds himself with vast new powers through a stroke of fortune.

A Luftwaffe Junkers Ju-52 flying in the Demyansk airbridge operation, 1942.

New Zealand: The government of New Zealand announces a potato shortage.

Holocaust: Dawid Rubinowicz, a 12-year-old Jewish boy in Occupied Poland, records in his diary an incident that he is told by another boy. He writes that a German soldier had entered a Jewish family's house and:

turned everyone out of the place. He’d then ordered the snow to be shoveled into the house because it was so dirty inside. I didn’t believe it. In the evening, however, I went and saw with my own eyes that it was really true, what he’d told me in the morning. Everyone was terrified, as you can well imagine.

While not as famous as Anne Frank's diary, the stories in the Rubinowicz diary are just as tragic.

Separately, a transport train of 96 Soviet POWs arrives today at Auschwitz. Ultimately, about 15,000 Red Army POWs are sent there, and most perish.

American Homefront: Japanese nationals already are heading toward inland internment camps. As recalled by Toyojiro Suzuki, a member of the Japanese fishing settlement on Terminal Island in Los Angeles Harbor, he was imprisoned on 2 February by members of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation before being embarked on a train east on 6 February. His train arrives today, 8 February 1942, in Missoula, Montana en route to a destination unknown. With him are approximately 150 other future internees. They are being taken to a camp outside Bismarck, North Dakota, where they arrive on 9 February.

Times Square, New York City, February 1942 (John Vachon for Office of War Information).

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