Monday 23 February 1942

A Japanese propaganda photo (including a helpful map of the target in the upper right) of the 23 February 1942 attack on California by I-17. Is this an actual photo of I-17 firing its gun that night? It purports to be but probably is a "recreation."

Battle of the Pacific: Residents of Ellwood, California (near Santa Barbara), get a shock not long after dark on 23 February 1942 when Imperial Japanese Navy submarine HIJMS I-17 (Captain Kozo Nishino) starts lobbing shells at them. This attack at about 19:15 is a very rare attack by Axis forces on the United States mainland (this is not the only one). The area is the site of the Ellwood Oil Field, which Nishino once visited in peacetime. Standing just offshore, I-17 pumps about two dozen 5.5-inch (140 mm) shells at oil storage tanks and derricks. After causing some minor damage to things like catwalks, Nishino turns west and heads back to Japan. This attack receives a lot of publicity and causes many frightened residents to flee inland. This incident also stokes anti-Japanese feelings because witnesses claim to see the submarine flashing signals to allies onshore (which apparently is just a mistake by the witnesses). Since this comes very soon after President Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066, it gives new impetus to efforts to remove people of Japanese descent from the West Coast and put them in internment camps.

U-751 arrives at St. Nazaire, 23 February 1942 (Sheep, Federal Archive Picture 101II-MW-3691-05).

In Burma, the Japanese establish a strong bridgehead across the Sittang River despite the British blowing a key bridge. Remnants of the Indian 17th Division which fought unsuccessfully on the Bilin River cross the Sittang on boats or by swimming. They must leave all their equipment on the far shore and the division's fighting ability is destroyed. Only 1420 soldiers out of 3404 enlisted men and 80 officers even have rifles. Many also have lost their boots and some have even lost their uniforms due to having to swim the river, but the division remains in action. Since they are the only large force remaining between the Japanese and Rangoon, the city is in a lot of trouble. The Battle of Sittang River decides the fate of Burma in favor of the Japanese. The British are hurriedly evacuating Rangoon and having to decide either to ship out supplies destined for China immediately and at great risk or destroy them. The recently arrived British 7th Armored Brigade, which is completely unfamiliar with Burma and not fully equipped, proceeds immediately from its port of disembarkation to Rangoon in a last-ditch attempt to hold the capital.

The 23 February 1942 Adelaide, Australia, The Advertiser highlights Japanese losses off Bali. The truth is far grimmer, but people would rather read positive stories.

Despite fervent vows by the ABDA command to hold Java, it is becoming clear to everyone that the Allies cannot stay there for long. Evacuations begin despite the fact that many units have arrived on Java only recently. General Sir Archibald Wavell, Command in Chief ABDA Command, is ordered by the Combined Chiefs of Staff to move his headquarters from Java to Australia. The future for any Allied troops left on Java when the Japanese arrive is illustrated in Portuguese East Timor, where the Australian 2/2 Independent Company begins guerrilla operations with no hope of rescue or supply, and in Dutch West Timor, where the Australian 2/40th Battalion surrenders.

Early in the morning of the 23rd, six B-17s in two flights of 3 of the Kangaroo Squadron (435th Bomb Squadron of the 19th Bomb Group) based at  Garbutt Field, Townsville, Australia, bomb the Japanese fortress at Rabaul. This is the first such bombing mission. Only two of the bombers actually drop their bombs. One of these two B-17s is "Swamp Ghost." Due to weather and mechanical issues, only one bomber actually hits the target. "Swamp Ghost" has mechanical issues that prevent its bomb bay doors from opening on its first run, so it makes another pass and successfully drops its bombs. However, this second pass exposes "Swamp Ghost" to ground fire. It takes heavy damage (121 bullet holes) which forces its crew to crash-land in a swamp eight miles from the northern Papua New Guinea coast.

The "Swamp Ghost" crew survives an arduous six-week trek out of the swamp. The plane is left there virtually intact until being rediscovered by Australian Army troops in a helicopter in 1972. In 2006, "Swamp Ghost" is removed from the swamp by cargo helicopter and currently is on display in Hangar 19 at Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Reinhard Heydrich is on the cover of the 23 February 1942 Time magazine. Unknown to Time readers, an Allied plot to assassinate Heydrich, Operation Anthropoid, already is in progress (cover: Boris Artzybasheff).

Eastern Front: It is Red Army Day (the 24th) in the Soviet Union, so Joseph Stalin makes a radio broadcast to celebrate the occasion. He states that the Soviet People will have a "tremendous and hard fight" to evict the Germans from Russia, but their transient advantages such as the "element of surprise" are now gone. He promises that "the Red banner will fly everywhere it has flown before." Stalin also for the first time makes a distinction between the "Hitler clique" and the German people, a distinction which will become practically a Red Army battle cry. The Germans, meanwhile, well know this is a special day for the Soviets and are surprised that the fighting is fairly quiet on the Eastern Front. There are no new attacks and the German pockets at Demyansk and Kholm are holding their own. This gives many Germans confidence that the Red Army is the one that has lost its momentum after the surprising counteroffensive before Moscow and that the Wehrmacht can "run the table" over the coming summer.

Comrade Stalin is on the front page of the Moscow Bolshevik for 23 February 1942.

While there are no major Soviet attacks, there is some movement. The USSR announces that Red Army troops have taken Dorogobuzh, a village on the upper Dneipr River. It is another strategically non-essential place in German eyes, far from any main roads and not threatening any major German-held cities, but it is important enough to the Soviets for them to mention it. The Wehrmacht is happy to let the Soviets fritter away their momentum taking such outposts in the middle of nowhere while they maintain their supply lines along the highways.

European Air Operations: The RAF has a fairly light day of activity, sending only 23 Hampdens to drop mines off Wilhelmshaven and Heligoland, as new commander General Arthur "Bomber" Harris gets familiar with his forces. Harris has a mandate to turn the RAF as an instrument of vengeance against the Reich by launching terror raids against population centers rather than focusing on military targets as has been the case to date.

U-751 arrives at St. Nazaire, 23 February 1942. It is tieing up inboard of U-85 (right). (Sheep, Federal Archive Picture 101II-MW-3691-12).

Battle of the Atlantic: The British have known for several days that the Germans have sent a battle group of large ships to northern Norway. Attempts to attack the ships with aircraft have failed due to rough weather. However, today the British succeed through other means when HMS Trident (Cmdr. Sladen) spots the ships in the North Sea off the Trondheimsfjord. The ships are just on a normal patrol and are not heading out on a raiding mission. Sladen fires three torpedoes, one of which hits Prinz Eugen in the stern and seriously damages its rudder. The Germans take Prinz Eugen to Lo Fjord at Drontheim for temporary repairs. Eventually, Prinz Eugen must head back to Germany for full repairs and is out of service until October 1942.

U-129 (Kptlt. Asmus Nicolai Clausen), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, has a big day northeast of Barima, Venezuela. Attacking at 01:20, the submarine sinks 1754-ton Canadian freighter George L. Torian (15 deaths, 4 survivors). At 04:43, it spots and sinks 5658-ton US freighter West Zeda (all 35 survive). Then, at 15:04, Clausen torpedoes and sinks 1904-ton Canadian freighter Lennox (2 deaths and 18 survivors). All of these ships are independents, as convoys have not yet been organized this far south.

HMAS Ping Wo. A 3105-ton Chinese river steamer, Ping Wo is used on 23 February 1942 to tow the disabled HMAS Vendetta from the Javan port of Tanjung Priok to Fremantle, Western Australia. This is part of the general evacuation of Java. The tow to Fremantle takes 62 days, or 72 days if you count an additional tow to Port Phillip Bay (Royal Australian Navy).

U-502 (Kptlt. Jürgen von Rosenstiel), on its second patrol out of Lorient, also has a big day about 75 miles north of Aruba. After missing with two torpedoes, U-502 finally hits 8329-ton Panamanian tanker Thalia with a third at 10:32. Tankers are hard to sink, though, and another two torpedoes fail to sink it. Finally, von Rosenstiel surfaces and rakes the burning tanker with 103 rounds from his deck gun. This does the trick. There are 40 survivors and one dead. At 16:43, von Rosenstiel strikes again, torpedoing 9002-ton US tanker Sun (carrying only water ballast) with one torpedo. The explosion causes extensive damage that would sink a freighter, and the crew abandons ship. However, the compartmentalized structure of the tanker saves it, and the crew reboards it and they take she battered ship to an anchorage and eventually to Aruba.

U-161 (Kptlt. Albrecht Achilles), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 7001-ton US freighter Lihue about 275 miles west of Martinique. Lihue is another independent, which U-boat captains have found are easy targets. U-161 surfaces after hitting the Lihue with a single torpedo at 06:43 and engages in a brief gun duel with the freighter before submerging again and waiting for it to sink. All 45 men on board survive.

The 23 February 1942 Life magazine features guns at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on the cover.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Royal Navy submarine HMS P38 (Lieutenant Rowland Hemingway DSC, RN) spots a large Axis supply convoy heading from Naples to Tripoli about 90 nautical miles (170 km) east of Tripoli. It and moves into position to attack. However, before Lt. Hemingway can attack, the Italian escorts spot P38 with sonar and move into the attack with depth charges. Italian torpedo boat Circe launches all of its depth charges and forces P38 to broach the surface before settling back down. After further attacks, P38 rises again, stern first, before sinking. All 32 men aboard P38 perish. The Royal Navy knew about this convoy from intercepts or spies and specifically sent P38 from Malta to attack it, so this is a good example of one side having solid intelligence on exactly what has to be done, but being unable to do it.

British/Australian Relations: After urgent demands by Australian Prime Minister John Curtin, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill confirms that the Australian 6th and 7th Divisions which are at sea will be returned to Australia for the defense of the homeland.

Allied Relations: The United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand reach an agreement (Master Mutual Aid Agreement) regarding the conduct of the war in the Southwest Pacific.

On Malta, sailors draw their rum rations. "Wherever they find themselves the ratings draw their issue. In this case on the top of the RN Signal Station at Valletta Palace." 23 February 1942. © IWM (A 9244).

US Military: The US Navy reorganizes its pilot training program, dividing up pilots by the type of aircraft they will be flying. Pilots of one- or two-engine aircraft are to be put into a special 11-month program, while those destined for four-engine bombers are to go into a 12-month program. The latter group has four equal subdivisions of three months each: periods spent at Induction Centers, then Primary training, Intermediate Training, and finally Operational Training.

USAAF General Ira C. Eaker establishes the headquarters of his VIII Bomber Command at Daws Hill Lodge, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England.

Major General Lewis H Brereton, Commanding General USAAF 5th Air Force, departs from Australia to India. ABDA Vice Commander Major General George H. Brett assumes control of 5th Air Force Operations in Brereton's absence. Brett today flies from Java back to Australia as part of a broader evacuation of the island. Brereton's mission in New Delhi, India, is to begin to organize the new Tenth Air Force, which includes preparation for the famous "Hump" Airlift to China.

U-123 (28-year-old German Captain Reinhard Hardegen) returns to Lorient after a successful patrol off the east coast of the United States, February 1942 (Dietrich, Federal Archive Bild 101II-MW-3983-23).

Holocaust: The Italian government establishes a concentration camp near Gonars, Italy (near Trieste). It is primarily devoted to housing prisoners from Italy's sphere of influence in the Balkans (Slovenia and Croatia). Mussolini is not obsessed with putting Jewish people in concentration camps like his German allies, but hundreds of people die here of starvation and torture just like in Third Reich work camps. The Gonars camp never receives the notoriety of death camps like Auschwitz and Mauthausen but is quite brutal despite eventually fading away into obscurity.

Italian Homefront: It is a day of speeches by leaders around the world, and that includes Benito Mussolini. In Rome, he gives a typical lengthy speech during which he states:

We call bread, bread and wine, wine, and when the enemy wins a battle it is useless and ridiculous to seek, as the English do in their incomparable hypocrisy, to deny or diminish it.

Mussolini is expressing a common theme of the Axis leaders that the world media is not giving due credit for their successes, a refrain also heard often from Hitler. Of course, the media they are concerned about is the Western media, and it is difficult to imagine them saying anything positive about Axis successes.

President Roosevelt during his fireside chat on 23 February 1942. While the chat is only broadcast over the radio, FDR asks listeners to pull out a map - then gestures during his speech toward the places that he is talking about on his own map (Libary of Congress).

American Homefront: It is George Washington's birthday, so President Franklin D. Roosevelt makes one of his popular "fireside chats." He admits that the first few months of the war have been difficult:

We have most certainly suffered losses – from Hitler's U-Boats in the Atlantic as well as from the Japanese in the Pacific – and we shall suffer more of them before the turn of the tide. But, speaking for the United States of America, let me say once and for all to the people of the world: We Americans have been compelled to yield ground, but we will regain it. We and the other United Nations are committed to the destruction of the militarism of Japan and Germany. We are daily increasing our strength. Soon, we and not our enemies will have the offensive; we, not they, will win the final battles; and we, not they, will make the final peace."

President Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066, which authorizes the internment of anyone of Japanese ancestry, arrives at Lt. General John L. Dewitt's West Coast headquarters of the Western Defense Command. He is now free to intern practically anyone he sees fit.

On 23 February 1942, USAAF Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress (41-2446) ditched in Agaiambo swamp, Papua New Guinea after running out of fuel. It was rediscovered in 1972 and removed from the swamp in 2006. Swamp Ghost is now on display in the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor.

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

Thursday 29 January 1942

US Coast Guard Cutter USS Alexander Hamilton launching a boat as it sinks on 29 January 1942.

Battle of the Pacific: The Japanese continue tightening their grip on the Netherlands East Indies on 29 January 1942 by landing at Badoeng Island and Mampawan on Celebes Island. After RAAF aerial reconnaissance spots a Japanese convoy near Ambon Island, the Dutch order Australian engineers to destroy infrastructure on the island at Laha.

The headline of the Brooklyn Eagle on 29 January 1942 is "M'Arthur Routs Foe Again."

In the Philippines, the Allied troops battle ferociously to hold the Main Line of Resistance (MLR) and eliminate Japanese pockets to its south. In the western I Corps sector, Allied troops of the 1st and 11th Division of the Philippine Army battle the Big and Little Pockets, which are just south of the MLR. Further south, the Japanese bridgeheads at Canaan Point and Anyasan Bay continue to hold out. However, the Allies score a major success by eliminating the Japanese holdouts at Longoskawayan Point, where the 2d Battalion of the Philippine 57th Infantry is assisted by minesweeper USS Quail (AM-15).

Japanese prisoners are taken prisoner by the Chinese at the Battle of Changsha, January 1942 (Office of War Information Photograph Lot 11614-4, National Museum of the US Navy via Flickr).

On the Malay Peninsula, Commonwealth troops continue withdrawing to Singapore Island from the mainland. The pace of the retreat across the Straits of Johor is accelerating and local workers are building fortifications on the north shore of Singapore Island. US naval transports USS Wakefield and West Point, part of Convoy B.M. 11, arrive at Singapore carrying elements of the British 18th Division as reinforcements, and other ships from India bring light tanks to help in the defense. Also arriving in the convoy are ground elements of three RAF fighter squadrons. These are the only Allied tanks to participate in the campaign. In the air, USAAF FEAF B-17s are operating from Palembang, Sumatra, and attack Kuantan Airfield.

The Australian defenders on the mainland move into the "Outer Bridge Head" 2 miles outside Johore Bahru. The 2/19 Battalion hold to the right, the 2/20 is in the center, and the Gordon Highlanders are to the left. They have 2 regiments of artillery support. They will cross the Causeway to Singapore Island in phased withdrawals over the next two days.

On January 29, 1942, 210 Royal Marine survivors from Prince of Wales and Repulse, under Royal Marine Captain Bob Lang, join 250 men of Major Angus Rose’s 2nd Argylls to form "Roseforce." They carry out operations using boats to land 140 miles behind Japanese lines. Both detachments are from the Marine Plymouth Division, the composite unit, officially called the Marine Argyll Battalion. Thus, colloquially they become known as the Plymouth Argylls after the English soccer club of that name. Roseforce sets ambushes, destroys vehicles, and kills two senior Japanese staff officers in their cars.

"American sailors onboard a US destroyer sporting various beards and mustaches. Two American sailors, one with a mustache and one clean-shaven." This photograph, taken ca. 29 January 1942, is on the occasion of the arrival in Londonderry, Ulster, of the first US warships escorting a convoy all the way across the Atlantic. Previously, only Royal Navy ships served as escorts on the eastern half of the convoy. © IWM (A 9218).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Having pocketed Benghazi, the commander of Panzer Group Africa, Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel, contemplates his next move. The Axis forces have regained the initiative in North Africa for several reasons, including the British withdrawal of troops from the theater to shore up its Asian possessions against the Japanese and some recent success sending convoys across the Sicilian Strait to Tripoli. Rommel plans to strike quickly, before the end of the month, to take advance of his momentum. He plans to send one armored column along the coastal road toward Tobruk and another further inland to protect its flank. The British, meanwhile, are preparing a major defensive position at Gazala, where the Germans left behind usable fortifications. Some Axis advance elements continue chasing the Indian 4th Division from Benghazi toward Derna, but the majority is concentrated around Msus.

Treasury Class Cutter USCGC Alexander Hamilton (WPG-34), sunk by U-132 on 29 January 1942.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-132 (Oblt. Ernst Vogelsang) is on its second patrol out of Trondheim when it torpedoes and sinks 2216-ton US Coast Guard vessel Alexander Hamilton (WPG-34). The torpedo (one of four fired) hits at 13:12 around 20 miles (32 km) west of Reykjavik, Iceland. It takes some time for the ship to sink, but the weather is poor, so attempts to tow the Alexander Hamilton to port are unsuccessful and the Alexander Hamilton founders. There are 26-29 deaths, with about 20 perishing during the sinking and an additional six men dying of wounds after being picked up by an Icelandic fishing trawler. There are 101 survivors who are picked up by destroyer USS Gwin (DD-433). This is the first US Coast Guard vessel lost during World War II.

Reinhard Heydrich, 29 January 1942 (Bauer, Friedrich Franz, Federal Archive Bild 183-B20373). There already are assassins waiting for Heydrich in his new posting as Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia in Operation Anthropoid.

Eastern Front: Although Adolf Hitler wishes to use the recent relief of Sukhinichi as the springboard for further advances that can trap advanced Red Army troops, local commanders have the last say. They abandon Sukhinichi and the Soviets quickly take it.

Damage caused by the Luftwaffe raid on Rosehearty, Scotland, on 29 January 1942.

European Air Operations: A Luftwaffe bomber raids Rosehearty in Scotland at around 18:30. The plane drops five high explosive bombs, damaging the harbor wall, two small boats, and destroying several houses. There are eleven deaths, four women and seven children.

Damage caused by the Luftwaffe raid on Rosehearty, Scotland, on 29 January 1942.

Ecuadorian/Peruvian Relations: The foreign ministers of Ecuador and Peru, Julio Tobar Donoso and Alfredo Solf y Muro, respectively, sign the Rio Protocol (Protocolo de Río de Janeiro). This ends the July 1941 Ecuadorian–Peruvian War, known locally as the War of '41 (Guerra del '41). Militarily, Peru was the winner, taking almost the entire Ecuadorian coastal province of El Oro in addition to some towns in the Andean province of Loja. The Rio Protocol reverses most of those gains in exchange for Ecuador ending its claims for rights to direct land access to the Marañon and Amazon rivers. This gives Peru 200,000 km2 (77,000 sq mi) of hitherto disputed territory in the Maynas region of the Amazonian basin. There also are some other land swaps, with Ecuador ceding 18,552 km² of previously possessed territory to Peru, and Peru ceding 5,072 km² of previously possessed territory to Ecuador.

German emigre conductor Otto Klemperer (father of actor Werner Klemperer) conducts rehearsals of the National Youth's Administration Orchestra on 29 January 1942 that are turned into an album in 2012, "Klemperer Rarities."

In the broadest sense, the Rio Protocol is beneficial to the Allied war effort by helping to unite Latin America and redirect its energies toward less disruptive pursuits. There is a hint of this coming to fruition when Ecuador today also breaks diplomatic relations with Germany, Italy, and Japan. However, there are hard feelings on both sides, especially in Ecuador. Even as Peruvian forces withdraw in accordance with the terms of the treaty, there are "incidents" in which lives are lost. The Rio Protocol is not fully accepted by the Ecuadorian government itself, which disputes its validity for decades on the grounds that it was obtained by invasion and coercion. Further wars arising from the dispute will erupt in 1981 and 1995 before a definitive (so far, at least) resolution is reached in 1998 with the Brasilia Presidential Act.

A Dr. Seuss cartoon from 29 January 1942 (Mandeville Special Collections Library, UC San Diego). "Mein Early Kampf" by Adolf Hitler, "June 20, 1889: I cut my first tooth on a Bust of Bismarck."

US Military: At Hickam Field in Hawaii, the USAAF Hawaiian Air Force activates the VII Bomber Command in place of the 18th Bombardment Wing.

The US establishes a new war zone, the ANZAC Area. It covers the triangular area between Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia in the New Hebrides.

The US military successfully test-fires five-inch (12.7 cm) artillery shells containing new radio-proximity fuses. The test at the Naval Proving Ground, Dahlgren, Virginia, is considered satisfactory when 52% of the fuses fired five miles explode when the near water. The plan is to use the proximity fuses as anti-aircraft ammunition. Production begins immediately.

"Hospital base being constructed by Americans. 29 January 1942, Creevagh. Interior of a hospital ward. 3 section type." © IWM (A 9594).

Japanese Military: Japanese headquarters in Tokyo sets a new strategy in the Southwest Pacific. It orders the Navy to consolidate control of northern New Guinea at Lae and Salamaua, then to open a new campaign in the Solomon Islands by taking Tulagi, a small island north of Guadalcanal which can be used as a seaplane base. Port Moresby, a strategically important point on the southern coast of New Guinea, also is set as an objective. While Port Moresby is not very far from Salamaua as the crow flies, it is much further by ship and separated from the north shore by rugged mountains. Japanese possession of Port Moresby would make an invasion of Australia extremely likely and at the very least would serve as a defensive firewall for Japanese gains further north. The overall goal is to secure the southwest Pacific against recovery by the Allies.

Tempo Magazine, 29 January 1942. "Night war flights."

Australian Government: The Manpower Directorate comes into existence. It enacts measures to match citizens with war needs.

Iran: The Iranian government agrees to the partition of Iran between the Soviet Union and Great Britain for the duration of the conflict. It signs a treaty of alliance which establishes the Persian Corridor, a supply route from the Persian Gulf north to the Soviet Union. The Allied occupation is not entirely popular with the populace, who resent the Soviet Union buying up all of the grain and leading to food shortages. Ultimately, the United States solves the problem by shipping its own grain to Iran while Iranian grain finds its way north to feed the Red Army.

Bing Crosby and others (including Mary Martin) perform on The Kraft Music Hall (NBC) on 29 January 1942. The broadcast is recorded and turned into an album in 1977. Among the songs performed are "The Caissons Go Rolling Along," "Pledge to the Flag," and "Home on the Range" (one of Crosby's signature songs). The show is broadcast by short-wave radio to US troops in the Philippines "by special request of General MacArthur on the Bataan Peninsula."

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

Tuesday 20 January 1942

Bomb damage on 20 January 1942 to the residence in Pieta, Malta, of the Army General Commanding Major-General D.M.W. Beak. General Beak can be seen on the second floor stranded by the unexploded bomb. The general eventually escapes and the bomb is disarmed. There are heavy air attacks throughout the day, with nine people buried alive at the clothing store at Marina Pinto and only one being rescued.

Holocaust: In the Berlin suburb of Wannsee, director of the Reich Main Security Office SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich presides over a meeting on 20 January 1942 that has long-term consequences for millions of people. The meeting lasts only about ninety minutes, and in that time Heydrich speaks for about an hour, with the remainder of the time devoted to questions and informal discussion. As is typical during such meetings within the Third Reich, the conclusions and directives of the meeting have been formulated previously, and the meeting itself is more for informational purposes than arriving at a conclusion. At the conclusion of the meeting, Heydrich instructs SS-Obersturmbannführer (Lieutenant Colonel) Adolf Eichmann to draft a summary (or protocol) of the meeting that would convey the gist of the meeting's conclusions without being too explicit about who said what or unnecessary details. There is unanimous approval among the fifteen participants on the program set forth. The most general conclusion of the Wannsee Conference is that European Jewry must be exterminated and that this would be accomplished under the Third Reich primarily in extermination camps located in "the East."

The site of the Wannsee Conference held on 20 January 1942.

The Wannsee Conference occurs to begin implementing the "final solution of the Jewish question" ordered by Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering in a letter dated 31 July 1941. The protocol is only a little less vague than Goering's original order but does make clear that this "final solution" would involve millions of deaths. The exact procedure is left open to future refinements, but able-bodied Jews are to be used for their labor before eventually eliminating them. The intentional vagueness of the protocol is common within the Third Reich in situations where everyone tacitly understands that horrible consequences for many fellow human beings are not only intended but to be embraced. The top leaders such as Goering, Reichsführer-SS (Reich Leader SS) Heinrich Himmler, and Reich Foreign Minister Joachim Ribbentrop do not attend in person. Instead, they send representatives to "protect their interests," which is a common practice in staff meetings which may impinge on Third Reich fiefdoms. There is a heavy representation by the Schutzstaffel (SS), which is to be responsible for carrying out the exterminations. As is also typical, only a limited number of copies (30) of the protocol are prepared and almost all copies are destroyed before the end of the war. However, at least one copy (that of Martin Luther) survives to be discovered in 1947. Some people date the beginning of the Holocaust in its most virulent form from the Wannsee Conference.

USS S-36, which runs aground on 20 January 1942 and ultimately is lost, moored next to tender USS Canopus (AS-9) circa 1930. You can tell that it is peacetime due to the clothing hung out to dry on the submarine.

Battle of the Pacific: US Navy submarine USS S-36 (SS-141) runs aground on the Taka Bakang Reef in the Makassar Strait at 04:04. The forward battery generates chlorine gas which makes recovery attempts impossible. The crew sends out a plain-language distress call which is heard by nearby US submarine USS Sargo (SS-188). This message ultimately causes the Dutch at Makassar City to send out a launch that rescues the 42 officers and crew.

The Yoshida Battalion ambushing the retreating British troops in Parit Sulong on 20 January 1942. Credit: Takao Fusayama.

The fierce battle west of Yong Peng on the Malay Peninsula to hold open a line of retreat for Commonwealth troops further north continues on 20 January 1942. At dawn, the 3/16th Punjab Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Henry Moorhead, launches a desperate attempt to retake a critical bridge at Parit Salong which the British had been forced to surrender on the 19th. However, there is utter confusion in the area, and by the time they reach the bridge, Moorhead's troops come under friendly fire by nearby British troops of the 53rd Brigade. The Japanese then attack. Moorhead is killed and the counterattack, leaving the bridge in Japanese hands. Meanwhile, Muar Force (primarily 45th Indian Brigade) under Australian Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Anderson approaches the bridge from the north during a very costly retreat in men and equipment without any idea that it is now held by the Japanese. Anderson and his men fight desperately throughout the day, and Anderson personally leads a bayonet charge to get through a Japanese roadblock. Muar Force plans to cross the Parit Salong bridge at daybreak on the 21st.

Japanese planes preparing for attacks on Rabaul on 20 January 1942. This is Akagi's flight deck. The photo shows Vals, Kates, and Zeros. Credit: Famous Aircraft of the World # 55 (Bunrindo Co, Ltd.,1995).

The Japanese continue pressing the Commonwealth troops all across the Malay Peninsula. The RAAF attacks Japanese troops landing at Endau with Vildebeest bombers without success. The Commonwealth troops have barely had time to establish a defensive line in Johore, but already the Japanese are attacking it. The British have built no fortifications on the Batu Pahat–Kluang–Mersing line and many troops, such as the 45th Indian Brigade, are still struggling just to reach it. The rapid Japanese advance also is causing the Allied air commands in the area problems. Major General George H. Brett, Commanding General US Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA), makes the extremely difficult decision to halt all ferry flights of aircraft from India via Java in the Netherlands East Indies due to increasing losses to Japanese fighters based in southern Burma and the Malay Peninsula. The only route left for such flights now is across the southern Pacific from the United States.

A B5N2 "Kate" from the carrier Akagi over Rabaul on 20 January 1942. The Kate carries an 800-kg bomb. CREDIT: "SAMOURAI SUR PORTE-AVIONS - Les groupes embarqués japonais et leurs porte-avions (1922-1944)," by Michel Ledet.

In Burma, the Japanese to date have made relatively small incursions. However, today they send larger forces across the Thai border and attack north Tenasserim. The defending 16th Brigade, Indian 17th Division fights a delaying battle along the Myawadi-Kawkareik road, near the Thai border east of Moulmein.

The fierce battles on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines continue primarily in the center of the line. The main Japanese attacks are on the western flank of II Corps, which defends the eastern half of the defensive line along the neck of the peninsula. In the I Corps sector to the west, the most intense fighting dies down as the Japanese pull back and prepare for a coordinated attack. However, the Japanese continue to attempt to infiltrate troops in the central Mount Silanganan area.

A Japanese D3A1 EII-206 takes off from Zuikaku on 20 January 1942 to attack Rabaul.

A large Japanese invasion fleet led by two aircraft carriers - Akagi and Kaga - under the command of Vice-Admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue approaches New Ireland and New Britain in the Australian Territory of New Guinea. There are other Japanese ships already in place off the coast that have been launching constant attacks. The Japanese objective is the naval base at Rabaul. The Japanese have been attacking the port with multiple waves of aircraft every day and plan on invading on the 21st. Today, ninety Japanese planes attack, and RAAF No. 24 Squadron loses six of eight obsolete Wirraway fighters in a futile attempt to stop them.

The Japanese issue a demand for surrender to the Dutch Balikpapan, Borneo, Garrison Commander. They require that the Dutch surrender the oil refinery installation there intact. The Dutch refuse and prepare to defend it. Allied aerial reconnaissance spots a Japanese convoy in the Makassar Strait apparently heading toward Balikpapan.

"Western Desert, Egypt. 20 January 1942. Flying over Halfaya soon after the surrender of the garrison on 17 January 1942, an Air Ministry photographer took this aerial photograph which shows knocked out tanks, armored vehicles, and emplacements. To the right can be seen the graves of members of the garrison." Australian War Memorial MED0306.

Eastern Front: In the Crimea, the German 30th and 42nd Corps reach the Parpach Narrows after a brisk advance that already has recovered the port of Feodosia. The narrow front enables the Red Army troops under General Kozlov to hold here, and both sides quickly begin constructing fortifications. This ends the immediate sequence of events put into motion by the Red Army landings near Kerch in late December 1941. Both sides can claim a victory of sorts, but neither side has accomplished its main objectives (the Red Army to relieve Sevastopol, the Wehrmacht to clear the entire Crimea). Both intend to resume offensive operations after rebuilding their strength. Overall, over the last five days of the German counterstroke, the Red Army's 44th Army has lost about 6700 troops killed, lost 85 tanks, and lost about 10,000 prisoners and 177 guns. The Germans have lost 223 men killed or missing and 995 casualties overall. The recent battles have reinforced the general summer trend of the Germans winning limited objectives at a relatively small cost, but with the Red Army preventing far greater defeats at a very heavy cost. However, farther north around Moscow, the Red Army has completely turned the tables on the Germans and continues its counteroffensive.

"Vice-Admiral Sir Ralph Leatham, KCB, the new Vice Admiral for Malta, saying goodbye to Admiral Sir Wilbraham Ford, KCB, KBE (right) who is leaving Malta." 20 January 1942. © IWM (A 7230).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Having just received a large number of supplies at Tripoli on the 20th, which he has had unloaded and put into the line with his usual extreme speed, Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel now is ready to launch the counteroffensive that he has been planning in Libya. As is his usual practice, Rommel does not request permission from Rome for his attack. This prevents Allied "Ultra" codebreakers at Bletchley Park from learning of his plans. The British troops at the front do not expect a counterattack so soon after the successful Operation Crusader and are not in good defensive positions. Rommel plans to launch his attack from El Agheila early on the 21st.

"The ensign of HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH, the flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet, lowered to half-mast for the funeral of HRH The Duke of Connaught." 20 January 1942. © IWM (A 8016).

US Military: United States Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson notes in his diary that Pearl Harbor was "no longer a safe advance base for the Navy under the conditions of modern air and sea warfare." This reflects pessimism within the US Navy ever since Pearl Harbor about holding the Hawaiian Islands against a determined Japanese attack. Others within the US military, however, remain determined to hold Hawaii because it is the only base capable of sustaining an offensive against the Japanese. The War Department also is concerned about how to feed the 250,000 civilians on the island in addition to military personnel. Emergency food shipments have begun from San Francisco and are making headway in relieving that issue, but it remains a concern.

Shokaku's dive-bomber group leader Lt.Cmdr. Kakuichi Takahashi D3A1's EI-238 flying over Rabaul, January 20, 1942. Credit: "Famous Aircraft of the World" type 99 carrier dive-bomber #33 (Bunrindo Co, Ltd., 1992).

American Homefront: Rogers Hornsby is elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. He is the last inductee until 1946. Hornsby retired with a lifetime batting average of .358, second only to Ty Cobb's career average .367, and is considered one of the top hitters and second basemen to play the game.

President Roosevelt signs an Executive Order establishing Daylight Savings Time to go into effect on 9 February and remain in effect for the remainder of the war.

"Gun crews of the port gun turrets sponging out the barrels of the 4.5 guns. Two battleships are in line astern" Aboard HMS Victorious off Hvalfjord, Iceland on 20 January 1942. The Royal Navy is in the middle of a search for German battleship Tirpitz, which is believed to be at sea. © IWM (A 7277).

Attendees at the Wannsee Conference of 20 January 1942:

• SS-Obergruppenführer (Lieutenant-General) Reinhard Heydrich, Chief of the RSHA, Deputy Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, Presiding
• SS-Gruppenführer (Major-General) Otto Hofmann, Head of the SS Race and Settlement Main Office (RuSHA)
• SS-Gruppenführer (Major-General) Heinrich Müller aka "Gestapo Müller," Chief of Amt IV (Gestapo), Reich Main Security Office (RSHA)
• SS-Oberführer (Senior Colonel) Dr. Karl Eberhard Schöngarth, Commander of the SiPo and the SD in the General Government (Polish Occupation Authority)
• SS-Oberführer (Senior Colonel) Dr. Gerhard Klopfer, Permanent Secretary, NSDAP Party Chancellery
• SS-Obersturmbannführer (Lieutenant Colonel) Adolf Eichmann, Head of Referat IV B4 of the Gestapo, Recording Secretary
• SS-Sturmbannführer (Major) Dr. Rudolf Lange, Commander of the SiPo and the SD for Latvia; Deputy Commander of the SiPo and the SD for the RKO, Head of Einsatzkommando 2
• Dr. Georg Leibbrandt, Reichsamtleiter (Reich Head Office), Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories
• Dr. Alfred Meyer, Gauleiter (Regional Party Leader), State Secretary, and Deputy Reich Minister, Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories
• Dr. Josef Bühler, State Secretary, General Government (Polish Occupation Authority)
• Dr. Roland Freisler, State Secretary, Reich Ministry of Justice
• SS-Brigadeführer (Brigadier General) Dr. Wilhelm Stuckart, State Secretary, Reich Interior Ministry
• SS-Oberführer (Senior Colonel) Erich Neumann, State Secretary, Office of the Plenipotentiary for the Four Year Plan
• Friedrich Wilhelm Kritzinger, Permanent Secretary, Reich Chancellery
• Martin Luther, Under-Secretary, Reich Foreign Ministry

Norwegian freighter Herstein, bombed and sunk at Rabaul on 20 January 1942 by dive bombers flying from Japanese aircraft carrier Shokaku.

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

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