Wednesday 4 March 1942

A Japanese Kawanishi H8K is seen seconds before being shot down by a Navy aircraft in July 1944. COURTESY OF THE U.S. NAVY.

Battle of the Pacific: One of the forgotten facts of World War II is that there was not just one Japanese raid on Oahu, Hawaii, but two. Everyone remembers the 7 December 1941 raid on Pearl Harbor, but the 4 March 1942 raid is lost in the mists of time. It thus makes for a good trivia question if you are determined to stump someone who claims to know "everything" about World War II. Late on 3 March, two Kawanishi H8K "Emily" flying boats depart their refueling station at the French Frigate Shoals (refueled by submarines HIJMS I-15 and I-19) and embark on Operation K. They fly the 560 miles (900 km) to Oahu armed with four 250-kg (550 lb) bombs each. As on the first raid, US radar stations pick up the two approaching planes. This time, rather than ignoring them, the USAAF sends up Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters to intercept them and also Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boats to seek out their presumed aircraft carrier source. However, the weather is poor, and the US planes find nothing. The Japanese planes thus reach Oahu unmolested.

Soldiers inspect a crater left near Honolulu after a Japanese bombing raid on Hawaii, March 4, 1942, in this undated photo on display at the Pacific Aviation Museum in Honolulu. WYATT OLSON/STARS AND STRIPES.

The huge Japanese planes approach through a heavy cloud cover at 15,000 feet (4600 m). The Japanese pilots spot the Kaena Point lighthouse and their leader, Hisao Hashizuma, decides to attack from the north - the same direction as on 7 December 1941. However, for some reason, the crew of the other plane, commanded by Ensign Shosuke Sasao, does not hear this plan and instead approach Pearl Harbor from the south. Hashizuma cannot see through the clouds and the blackout on the island gives him no reference points. He winds up dropping his bombs at about 02:00 on the slopes of Tantalus Peak. These bombs shatter some windows at a nearby high school (Theodore Roosevelt High, which is still there) and create some craters nearby. According to eyewitnesses, this wakes up everyone in Honolulu. It is unclear where the second plane drops its bombs, either over the ocean or some uninhabited land. The two flying boats then slip away to the southwest, and Hashizuma returns to Jaluit Atoll in the Marshall Islands while the second plane lands at nearby Wotje atoll.

HMAS Yarra, sunk by Japanese cruisers on 4 March 1942.

Due to its lack of impact, this second raid on Hawaii becomes a footnote to history. However, it is a tremendous technical achievement and does have an impact. By flying from the French Frigate Shoals to Oahu, executing his attack, and then returning to Jaluit, Hashizuma successfully completes the longest bombing raid in history up to this point. The raid causes massive confusion in the United States, with the military claiming that it had dropped the bombs at Tantalus while a spurious Los Angeles radio news report claims there were 30 dead and 70 wounded. The Japanese, meanwhile, remain quite pleased with the raid despite not causing any real damage or obtaining useful visual data. They plan another one as soon as it can be readied. On 10 March, Hashizuma and his crew will also carry out that raid, but they are shot down near Midway Atoll. Propaganda broadcasts about the raid from Tokyo lead the US Navy to secure the French Frigate Shoals to prevent future attacks by stationing a destroyer there for the remainder of the war.

Dutch freighter Enggano, sunk by Japanese cruisers near Java on 4 March 1942.

At Java, Netherlands East Indies, the Dutch are busy blowing up installations of strategic importance as the Japanese advance. Blackforce, a unit composed of a hodgepodge of units from all the Allied combatants but principally Australian, withdraws from  Buitenzorg to Sukabumi, about 30 miles to the south. A top Japanese priority is the capture of the port of Tjilatjap on the south coast, from which Allied ships have been leaving for Australia, but that is not directly threatened yet.

A Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless ready for delivery at Douglas Aircraft Company's El Segundo, California (USA), plant on 4 March 1942. This is the type of plane used during the raid on Marcus Island (US Navy National Naval Aviation Museum).

At 06:30, Vice-Admiral "Bull" Halsey's Task Force 16 attacks Marcus Island (about 725 miles northwest of Wake Island). Launched from USS Enterprise, 32 SBD Dauntlesses along with 6 F4F Wildcats fly through some heavy antiaircraft fire, losing one SBD whose crew is captured. Marcus Island is within 1000 miles of Japan, which is closer than it may seem in the Pacific.

Tanker Francol, sunk south of Java on 4 March 1942.

The Japanese Navy continues its depredations against Allied ships evacuating Java. Heavy cruisers HIJMS Atago, May, and Takao, accompanied by two destroyers, pounces on a convoy of three merchant ships (depot ship Anking, tanker Francol, and minesweeper MMS.51)) escorted by Australian sloop HMAS Yarra. The convoy has left Tjilatjap, Java, bound for Fremantle, Australia. By about 08:00, all four ships are sunk. Of the 151 sailors aboard Yarra, only 13 survive (they are rescued by a Dutch submarine on 10 March). There are two survivors of Francol, 14 survivors from MMS.51, and 57 survivors of Anking (several of whom perish from exposure within days of being rescued). The Japanese also capture an unnamed freighter which is not officially part of the convoy but sailed at the same time and remained near it. There are other naval encounters south of Java in which Japanese heavy cruiser Chikuma and destroyer Urukaze sink 5412-ton Dutch freighter Enggano. Japanese submarine I-7 torpedoes and sinks 3271-ton Dutch freighter Le Maire near Cocos Island and uses its deck to sink 865-ton Dutch freighter Merkus in the same area.

Lieutenant Commander Robert Rankin, commander of HMAS Yarra, who goes down with the ship on 4 March 1942.

The Allies do have some naval successes today. Four U.S. Navy destroyers that left Surabaya late on 28 February arrive in Fremantle. The four ships of DesDiv 58 (USS John D. Edwards, John D. Ford, Alden, and Paul Jones) wisely avoided battle in the Bali Strait and are some of the very few Allied warships to escape intact from Java. US Navy submarine USS-S-39 (SS-144, Lt. J. W. Coe) torpedoes Japanese oiler Erimo south of Beltung Island (the oiler's captain beaches it, but it is a total loss), while US submarine Grampus (SS-207) torpedoes and sinks Japanese tanker Kaijo Maru No. 2 about 145 miles south of Truk. Numerous Allied ships arrive at Colombo in the Indian Ocean, including battleship Ramillies and several destroyers.

The German occupation newspaper on the Channel Island of Guernsey dated 4 March 1942 is full of good news for the Axis, such as "Japan Rules the Pacific Waves" and "Strong Soviet Tank Attacks Frustrated."

In the Philippines, the front along the Bataan Peninsula remains quiet as the Japanese continue building up their forces for a major offensive. General Douglas MacArthur (now holed up in the bunkers on the fortified island of Corregidor, which is often under air attack) is under orders to depart for Australia. Before he leaves, he reorganizes his command. He divides the Composite Visayan-Mindanao Force into two separate commands, with the Mindanao portion under Brigadier General William F. Sharp and the Visayan force under Brigadier General Bradford G. Chynoweth. General MacArthur's departure date to Australia is set for 14 March 1942.

Italian Navy officers at La Spezia, 4 March 1942.

Eastern Front: The German Fourth Army complete their evacuation of Yukhnov following Hitler's unexpected approval on 1 March. The men head for a new line behind the Ugra River which offers better defensive possibilities but is still a tenuous position. While this problem is "solved," the Germans still have bigger problems, one of which is the trapped garrison under the command of Generalmajor Theodor Scherer at Kholm. A relief force under Generalmajor Horst von Uckermann is almost within sight of the garrison but is stuck in deep snow and blocked by heavy Soviet tanks. The Luftwaffe finds it difficult to help Uckermann to move forward because the Soviet defenses are concealed under snow. As often happens in these types of situations, Uckermann begins attracting negative comments from the Luftwaffe, almost certainly to shield their own ineffectiveness from Hitler. They make the usual complaints that he isn't aggressive enough and "lacks confidence." On the Soviet side, Stalin is fixated on restarting his counteroffensive and places a priority on Second Shock Army and Fifty-fourth Army taking Lyuban. The Germans intend to save Lyuban by moving in behind these two armies by retaking the line of the Volkov River in proposed Operation Raubtier. However, the troops need at least another week to build up sufficient strength to surround the attacking Soviet troops.

Firefighting in Boulogne-Billancourt after air raid of 3-4 March 1942. Source: Archives municipales de Boulogne-Billancourt.

European Air Operations: RAF Bomber Command begins a four-day period of inactivity today as it recuperates from its all-out attack on the Billancourt Renault Factory on the night of 3/4 March. While the RAF loses two bombers during the night, this is an "acceptable" loss ratio of 0.8%.

A Free French soldier from Billancourt, Georges Gorse, pens an article for the British press which praises the raid despite the inevitable French civilian deaths, writing:

If we want the liberation of France, we must clench our teeth and accept that the British must bomb occupied Paris just as the Germans bombed London and that some French people will die under those Allied bombs. They are German casualties just as much as casualties during the 1940 campaign and the men shot by the Germans at Nantes and Paris. Boulogne-Billancourt workers rightfully see the March raids as a promise of liberation. Those who have perished have contributed to the war effort.

Gorse is elected mayor of Billancourt after the war.

A cropped photograph of the USS Hobson off Charleston, South Carolina, 4 March 1942. She is painted in camouflage Measure 12 (Modified). This photograph has been censored to remove radar antennas atop her foremast and Mark 37 gun director (Official U.S. Navy Photograph NH-53548, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.).

Battle of the Atlantic: It is a fairly quiet day in the North Atlantic. British 3915-ton freighter Gypsum Prince collides with fellow freighter Voco about 4 miles off Lewes, Delaware. British 6675-ton freighter Frumenton hits a mine and sinks near Orfordness.

There is a report published in the NY Times that "an enemy vessel, presumably a submarine," shelled the cliffs of Mona Island, about fifty miles southwest of Puerto Rico on 3 March. However, there is no confirmation from any other source that this actually happened. The paper touts this as the "First Land Attack on Us in Atlantic Waters."

A soldier's dog looks after his master's boots and rifle while he takes a shower provided by a mobile bath unit in the Western Desert, 4 March 1942. © IWM (E 9068).

Battle of the Mediterranean: Malta remains under heavy Axis air attack throughout the day. The War Office today places Malta under the direct supervision of Middle East Commander General Claude Auchinleck, with General Dobbie, the Malta commander, now reporting to him rather than directly to the War Office. There is a hint of annoyance in the telegram to Dobbie which suggests that his daily complaints about lack of supplies and military resources on the island led to this change. Dobbie remains as governor for the time being.

War Crimes: The Japanese conclude the Sook Ching massacre in Singapore. This elimination of ethnic Chinese considered potential threats or simply inconvenient began on 18 February and results in many thousands of deaths (actual totals are just estimates). This leads to bitter resentment by locals against both the Japanese who actually commit the crimes and the British for not doing enough to prevent them or later punish those who committed them. There is a war crimes trial after the war which is widely considered unsatisfactory for failing to dispense adequate punishments. The Sook Ching massacre influences events in Singapore for decades and remains a lingering issue.

US/Canadian Relations: The US and Canada sign a treaty "for the avoidance of double taxation."

Japanese freighter Erimo, sunk by a US Navy submarine on 4 March 1942.

Japanese Military: Flush with success, the Japanese High Command begins expanding the map of conquest. Its new targets include New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the Fiji Islands, and American Samoa. Most of these new objectives have little economic value, unlike the oil-rich Netherlands East Indies. The Japanese aim is to create a far-flung defensive perimeter to protect the homeland from any US Navy strikes in which to establish the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.

US Military: Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell establishes the Headquarters, American Army Forces, China, Burma, and India, at Chungking. It is staffed by Stilwell's U.S. Task Force in China and the American Military Mission to China (AMMISCA) personnel.

The USAAF Fifth Air Force in Australia continues its frantic reorganization following Japanese advances in the region, including the imminent fall of Java. The 11th and 22d Bombardment Squadrons of the 7th BG (Heavy) arrive in Melbourne, Australia, from Jogjakarta, Java. Also arriving at Melbourne are the air units (B-17s, B-24s, and LB-30s) of the 14th Bombardment Squadron, which is attached to the 19th Bombardment Group (Heavy), and the air units of the 28th Bombardment Squadron, 19th BG (Heavy, which left Singosari, Java. The ground units of most of these units remain trapped at Java or Bataan, Philippines, with little hope of rescue.

Canadian Military: The US/Canadian buildup of forces in the British Isles continues. The first 40 Canadian Cruiser Tank Mk. I Rams arrive in England today.

Jenny Jugo on the cover of Filmwelt Magazine, Germany, 4 March 1942. Jugo began acting for UFA in 1924, and by this point, she was a well-established star. Her career faded out after World War II and she retired in 1950. Jenny Jugo passed away in 2001 at the age of 97.

German Government: Either Adolf Hitler or Martin Bormann, Hitler's private secretary, sees a seemingly innocuous news item in the newspaper. It causes Bormann to fire off a sharply worded letter today. Bormann sends it to the head of the Reich Chancellery Hans Lammers, telling him that the Fuhrer noticed that the German Society for Mammalogy, which has passed a resolution changing the official names for bats and shrews. The name for bats has been shortened from Fliedermaus to Flieder, while the name for bats has been shortened from Spitzmaus to simply Spitz. Bormann writes:

The Führer subsequently instructed me to communicate to the responsible parties, in no uncertain terms, that these changes of name are to be reversed immediately. Should members of the Society for Mammalogy have nothing more essential to the war effort or smarter to do, perhaps an extended stint in the construction battalion on the Russian front could be arranged.

The changes are reversed immediately, and on 1 July 1942 the Society goes further and issues instructions that "terms that have become established over the course of many years are not to be altered."


US Government: The House of Representatives authorizes the construction of a "free highway bridge" from Needles, California. across the Colorado River to Arizona.

Canadian Homefront: All people of Japanese racial origin are told to leave the protected area of a 100-mile wide strip along the west coast of British Columbia. They are told to pack a single suitcase and proceed to waiting areas where trains will arrive to take them to the interior. These sealed trains arrive sporadically over the course of several months, and until then, the refugees are held in places such as local livestock buildings. All property that they leave behind, including homes and cars, will be sold at auction.

The site of the Rock End Hotel after it burned down on 4 March 1942 (Great Harbor Maritime Museum).

American Homefront: The Rock End Hotel of Northeast Harbor, Maine, burns to the ground. A very popular hotel, it lasted for 60 years. No cause for the fire is identified.

The first assembly line of the Arkansas Ordnance Plant (AOP) is completed. This is one of the first plants of its kind in the country, and the majority (about 75%) of production line workers will be women. By November 22, 1943, there are 14,092 employees at AOP. The plant is closed completely by early 1946, but in the 1950s part of it is absorbed into the Little Rock Air Force Base.

Future History: PT-109, a PT-103 class motor torpedo boat, is laid down on 4 March 1942 in Bayonne, New Jersey. Built by the Electric Launch Company (Elco), it is launched on 20 June 1942 and serves in the Pacific Theater of Operations. PT-109 becomes famous when future President John F. Kennedy writes about his adventures relating to PT-109 before and after its sinking on 2 August 1943. It also is the title of a 1963 motion picture depicting the life of JFK.

Joseph Goebbels at the world premiere at Ufapalast of "The Great King," 4 March 1942. Goebbels is the head of the German film industry. Also visible are Christina Söderbaum and Dr. Hippler (Schwahn, Ernst, Federal Archive Bild 183-J00575).

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

Sunday 1 February 1942

An SBD-2 Dauntless dive bomber of either VB-6 or VS-6 on the carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) prepares for takeoff during the 1 February 1942 Marshall Islands Raid (Barr, William, U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation photo No. 1996.253.599).

Battle of the Pacific: The American Volunteer Group (AVG) in Burma is continuing its dramatic successes today, claiming 16 more Japanese planes on 1 February 1942, but the Americans now are beginning to flex their muscles closer to Japan, too. Today, the US Navy launches the Marshalls-Gilberts Raids. Vice Admiral William F. Halsey stages one of the first U.S. counterattacks against the Japanese by sending multiple waves of carrier planes against the Marshall Islands. Planes from USS Enterprise focus on Wotje, Maloelap, and Kwajalein, while surface warships including heavy cruiser USS Chester shell the Taroa and Maloelap atolls (the bombardment force is under the command of Admiral Spruance). The Marshalls-Gilberts Raids are the first in a series of US Navy raids in early 1942, exemplified by the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, that are of little strategic consequence but help morale throughout the Allied world.

Lt. Cdr. Bill Burch and Ensign Thomas Reeves flying SBD dive bombers from USS Yorktown over Makin, Gilbert Islands, 1 February 1942.

At the same time, Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher's Task Force 17 also raids Makin in the Gilbert Islands. USS Yorktown's SBDs hit Jaluit, Makin, and Mili, sinking a gunboat at Makin and sinking two Kawanishi H6K, "Mavis" flying boats at anchor. Two F4F Wildcats of Squadron 42 down a Mavis flying boat of the Yokohama Kokutai near TF-17. Task Force 11, commanded by Vice Admiral Wilson Brown Jr., remains nearby in reserve near Christmas Island. Today's operations are the first example in the Pacific Theater of Operations of the tremendous resources of the US Navy being brought to bear in an offensive capacity and provides a clear warning to the Japanese as to the hard fight ahead of them. Everything is not perfect, however, as the TBD-1 Devastator Torpedo bombers perform poorly, scoring only one hit in nine drops under good conditions. Due to the low expectations of this mission and the sheer joy of simply striking back, however, nothing is looked at with a critical eye.

A quad-1.1"/75 cal Mk 1 anti-aircraft gun mount on Enterprise (CV-6), in early 1942.

The Japanese do not sit idly by during this attack. They launch five Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" land-based bombers and other planes and damage both the Enterprise (near-miss) and Chester (bombed). The Enterprise planes sink a transport and damage light cruiser HIJMS Katori (I-23), a minelayer, an auxiliary net-layer, an auxiliary submarine chaser, a submarine depot ship, an oiler, a tanker, and an army cargo ship. There are other American successes against Japanese shipping, too. Rear Admiral Sukeyoshi Yatsushiro (Commander Sixth Base Force) perishes in the attacks, the first Japanese flag officer to die in combat during World War I.

The Anniston (Alabama) Star correctly notes as its main headline "Siege of Singapore Gets Underway As Britain's Troops Quit Mainland."

In Singapore, the Japanese mount fierce air raids against the isolated Commonwealth forces on the island. There are so many corpses that the Air Raid Precautions (ARP) unit has to collect them in special daily truck collections and dump them in mass graves. Civilian laborers who have been half-heartedly building fortification along the water's edge have disappeared. Because the British always have assumed that Singapore would be defended on the mainland, very little planning has been done for defending the island itself and the defenses are ad hoc. Still, with the causeway cut, the Japanese will have to stage a major invasion to get across the Singapore Strait and claim final victory. The British do get good news when Convoy MS-1, composed of British freighters City of Manchester, Derrymore, and Gordon Peisander, and Norwegian freighter Pan Europe and tanks War Sirdar, arrive in Singapore escorted by light cruiser HMAS Hobart and destroyers Tenedos and Stronghold.

The 1 February 1942 Sunday News in New York shows the situation in Singapore, which has captured world attention.

In the Philippines, the situation has developed into a status quo. The US Army has only four USAAF P-40s left, which are able to help in critical situations but helpless against the incessant air raids. The Allies continue trying to reduce Japanese pockets behind the Main Line of Resistance (MLR), while the Japanese withdraw from an exposed position across the Pilar River on the eastern half of the Bataan Peninsula and prepare for a major offensive. A Japanese attempt to reinforce the Quinauan Point bridgehead by sea after dark is prevented and the Japanese are forced to land near Anyasan-Silaiim instead - creating yet another pocket which the Allies must confine and ultimately reduce.

The Canadian government publishes a pamphlet "Revised to February 1, 1942" which sets forth the official government position on such topics as "Aid to Britain" and "Canada, the United States, and War." The University of Toledo.

The Dutch retain a huge naval presence in the Netherlands East Indies which is one of the few things keeping the Japanese at bay. Today, the ABDA Combined Striking Force under Dutch Rear Admiral Karel Doorman becomes operational. It is composed of two heavy cruisers, six light cruisers, and 24 destroyers, though almost all of the ships are culls from the main Allied European navies.

A damaged U.S. Navy Douglas SBD-2 Dauntless of bombing squadron VB-6 on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6), 1 February 1942 (U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation photo No. 1996.253.624).

Eastern Front: On 1 February 1942, the Wehrmacht is beginning to recover its equilibrium after the successful Soviet counteroffensive around Moscow in December 1941. The Red Army remains on the offensive, but the rough weather all along the front and the long distances they must cover to achieve truly strategic victories have prevented Stalin's troops from truly decisive victories.

In the Army Group South sector, Field Marsh Fedor von Bock's troops (the von Mackensen Group) have stopped a dangerous Soviet attempt to encircle the 17th Army and 1st Panzer Army. Following General von Mackensen's success in stopping Soviet 1st and 5th Cavalry Corps on 31 January, von Bock has ordered a concentric attack on the dying Red Army spearhead from the south, west, and north against the German strongpoints to the east "with the aim of destroying the enemy." The von Mackensen Group pushes forward from the south toward Barvenkovo, while XI Corps moves in from the west and the "Dostler" and "Friedrich" Groups of regimental size drive from the north. The Germans do not destroy the Soviet spearhead, but they compress it and prevent its escape.

A flight deck scene aboard USS Enterprise, 1 February 1942, during the raids against the Japanese-held Marshall Islands. Note the belts of .50 caliber ammunition being carried around by the crewman in the foreground. The aircraft in the background are Douglass SBD-3 Dauntlesses.

Further north around Moscow, the Germans also are taking steps to restore order by accepting the new reality. The Soviets remain on the move, but, aside from encirclements at Demyansk and Kholm, have not put major German formations in true peril. Today, Headquarters, Third Panzer Army is shifted west by air to take command a threatened sector between Velikiey Luki and Belyy. There, the Soviet Fourth Shock Army has occupied a huge swathe of forests and fields without defeating the German forces staying in their strong points. Operating on the Yukhnov-Gzhatsk road, aka the Rollbahn, General Heinrici's Fourth Army and General Ruoff's Fourth Panzer Army attempt to clear the Rollbahn which is desperately needed to supply Fourth Army. This is making slow but steady progress. On the Soviet side, the need to refresh the general offensive is becoming clear. The Stavka reactivates the Headquarters, Western Theater. General Zhukov is put in command, giving him control of all operations against the German Army Group Center. This is significant because Zhukov is the only Red Army general who has freedom of action because Stalin trusts him, though Stalin still gives him direct orders when he gets the urge which must be obeyed without question.

An action shot of the USS Enterprise (CV-6) firing its .50 caliber anti-aircraft guns against attacking Japanese planes during the raid on the Japanese-held Marshall Islands, 1 February 1942. The wing seen in the background is from one of the Douglass SBD-3 Dauntless aircraft in the carrier’s air group.

European Air Operations: There is a lull in air operations on the Western Front for several days beginning on 1 February 1942 due to weather conditions.

Battle of the Atlantic: It is a quiet day in the Atlantic due to weather conditions. Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Trinidad arrives in the Clyde from Scapa Flow carrying Polish soldiers who embarked at Murmansk and now disembark.

U-109 (Kptlt. Heinrich Bleichrodt) torpedoes and sinks 7924-ton British refrigerated cargo ship Tacoma Star about 387 miles north of Bermuda (see 31 January 1942). Despite being seen to take to five lifeboats, all 97 men aboard the Tacoma Star perish because their radioed distress signal gave the wrong position.

Convoy HX-173 departs from Halifax bound for Liverpool.

German 1912-ton freighter SS Walter Ohlrogge, formerly the French Chateau Palmer, hits a mine and sinks off the west coast of Norway on 1 February 1942.

Battle of the Mediterranean: German Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps continues advancing out of Benghazi, chasing the British back toward Tobruk in two columns. The coastal column advancing along the Via Balbia takes Berta, but the British temporarily stop it twelve miles west of Derna. The inland column, however, continues advancing and ends the day south of Derna but still west of Martuba. The Germans are threatening to encircle Derna if the British don't abandon it. General Neil Ritchie, General Officer Commanding Eighth Army, realizes the danger and orders a general withdrawal of 13 Corps to the Gazala Line. Indian 4th Division completes its withdrawal into Derna after dark but must quickly continue heading toward Tobruk to escape.

Offshore, Royal Navy submarine HMS Thunderbolt torpedoes and sinks 4170-ton Italian freighter Absirtea about six miles (4.4 nautical miles) from Cape Dukato, Greece. The Absirtea is part of an Axis convoy from Brindisi to Corfu and Patras. The other ships in the convoy escape and some survivors of the Absirtea are picked up by Italian destroyers Turbine and Euro. The Italian destroyers also launch a 21-salvo depth charge attack on Thunderbolt which causes minor damage.

The February 1942 issue of National Geographic includes helpful maps of the Pacific and the Philippines (Volume 81, Number 2).

War Crimes: As the Japanese continue advancing on Ambon Island in the Netherlands East Indies, site of a major naval base,  they commit atrocities out of sight of prying eyes. This is becoming a familiar pattern when the Japanese achieve complete control in a former Allied territory. The Japanese commander orders ten Australian POWs bayoneted to death because they would constitute "a drag" on further operations.

Spy Stuff: The Germans upgrade their naval codes from the Hydra system (which the British call Dolphin) to Triton (which the British call the Shark code). This is accomplished by the addition of a fourth rotor. It takes the Enigma codebreakers at Bletchley Park almost a year, until December 1942, to crack Triton. Fortunately for the British, the change is not as effective as it might be because a lot of traffic continues on the old machine for some time. German intelligence breaks the British merchant ship code, further aiding the U-boats.

The 49th Fighter Group of the 5th Air Force arrived in Melbourne, Australia, on the USAT Mariposa on 1 February 1942. They are destined for Camp Darley, shown (7th Fighter Squadron Reunion Organization).

US Military: VIII Bomber Command is activated by the USAAF at Langley Field, Virginia, while VIII Interceptor is activated at Selfridge Field, Michigan; and the IX Interceptor Command at New Orleans AAB, Louisiana.

Chile:  Juan Antonio Ríos of the Radical Party wins the Presidency.

Norwegian Homefront: Vidkun Quisling, who is a German puppet heartily disliked by his countrymen, takes office as the Minister-President of Norway. Hitler likes Quisling, a minor figure in pre-war Norwegian politics, but is about the only person who does.

French Homefront: French collaborator Jacques Doriot speaks to tens of thousands of supporters of the ultra-nationalist Parti Populaire Français (PPF) at the Velodrome d'Hiver in Paris.

German Homefront: The government begins rationing tobacco, which becomes a prized object of looting from defeated Allied soldiers.

American Homefront: It is the first annual National Freedom Day, commemorating  Abraham Lincoln's signing of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on February 1, 1865.

Dodge ads are still appearing in the February 1942 Esquire magazine despite the fact that all passenger car production is being shut down for war work.

Future History:  Terry Jones is born in Colwyn Bay, Wales. He becomes an actor, comedian, writer, and a founding member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. His most famous achievement with Monty Python is directing their first film, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." Terry Jones has retired as of 2019 due to health issues.

Bibiana Maria Köchert is born in Vienna, Austria. As Bibi Besch, she becomes a famous Hollywood actress whose most famous films include "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" (1982) and "Steel Magnolias" (1989). Bibi Besch passes away on 7 September 1996 in Los Angeles.

Master Comics Vol. 1 No. 23, February 1942, featuring Captain Marvel, Jr.

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

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

Monday 27 October 1941

A Scharfschütze (sniper) team in action, October 1941. It is unclear if the propaganda photographer realized that they were using a captured Soviet Mosin-Nagant PU rifle. Both sides had outstanding snipers, and this was a virtual war-within-a-war. Some snipers preferred to work alone because that enabled them to get closer to the enemy in concealment, but a two-man team was standard.

Eastern Front: While much of the Eastern Front is bogged down by the annual fall Rasputitsa, or muddy season, on 27 October 1941 it has not yet reached its full level in the southernmost sectors. General Erich von Manstein's 11th Army busts into the Crimea after a long struggle against fierce Red Army resistance in the Perekop Isthmus. The Soviet 51st Army retreats in the fog and mud toward the bastion of Sevastopol in the southwest, and to the Kerch Peninsula in the east. Pretty much everyone expects a fairly quick German victory and occupation.

Bellows Field (Bellows  Air Force Station) in Waimanalo, Hawaii on 27 October 1941. The Imperial Japanese Navy attacks Bellows Field in addition to Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, though the Bellows Field attack receives little attention.

The Crimea is one of the foundations of von Manstein's reputation - it is the reason he becomes a field marshal. However, in the grand scheme of World War II, the Crimea is a sideshow. It is useful to capture the Soviet naval base at Sevastopol, but the Soviet Black Sea fleet is never much of a hindrance to German operations. Hitler, however, is fixated on the Crimea - as he tells Finnish Marshal Mannerheim in June 1942, worries about Soviet bombers operating from the Crimea against the Romanian oil fields were one of the reasons he invaded the USSR in the first place. So, while objectively it might make more sense to simply seal off the Crimea and instead focus on the drive into the Caucasus, where success would effectively surround the Crimea anyway, its capture and retention lead to a major campaign. This ultimately is profitless and strategically pointless but occupies some of the best Wehrmacht minds and troops throughout the war.

USS Solace (AH-5) at anchor in Hawaiian waters after her arrival there on 27 October 1941. The hospital ship is present at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 and saves many lives.

Elsewhere, the Germans make some small gains. Just to the north of the Crimea, the Soviet 12th Army of Soviet Southwest Front continues withdrawing gradually and exposes more cities for the Germans to capture. German Sixth Army, for instance, takes Kramatorsk in the Donetsk Oblast north of Stalino when the city surrenders without a fight. Italian troops are involved in the Wehrmacht's occupation of the industrial Donets Basin, and the OKW issues a communique about their efforts:

In the Donets Basin, an attempt to retard our advance was prevented by Italian troops. The enemy was thrown back with heavy and bloody losses and left several hundred prisoners in the hands of our allies

The Soviet defenders in the southern sector are outmatched at this stage. However, their retreat is orderly and efficient, preventing outright breakthroughs and forcing the Germans to advance at a measured pace.

"Photo #: 80-G-6678 Douglas SBD-2 Dauntless scout bombers, of Scouting Squadron Six (VS-6) Composite photograph of 9 planes in flight, with USS Enterprise (CV-6) and a plane guard destroyer below. The original photo is dated 27 October 1941. Note differences in ocean surface wave patterns between the upper and lower images skillfully blended to combine the two photographs. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives." (Navy History and Heritage Command).

Further north, the German attack on Moscow, Operation Typhoon, is mostly shut down pending an improvement in the weather but does make some gains in some places. On the extreme southern axis of the advance, General Guderian's 2nd Panzer Army continues up the road from Mtsensk toward Moscow, with the main forces of Kampfgruppe Eberbach at Plavsk south of Tula. On the northwest axis of the advance, the 4th Panzer Army makes progress at Volokolamsk, where it has been stalled for two weeks. At Mozhaysk, the 4th Army stops dead and is allowed by Army Group Center commander Field Marshal Fedor von Bock to dig trenches - when it is supposed to be attacking. The Wehrmacht is on the outskirts of Moscow and in a good position to attack the city, but past battles have worn it down so much that it cannot make significant progress until conditions improve.

Viktor Talalikhin, Hero of the Soviet Union, was most famous for ramming a Luftwaffe Heinkel He 111 bomber with his I-16 at night in August 1941, causing both planes to crash. On 27 October 1941, Talalikhin is attacked in his Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 near the village of Kamenka by a swarm of Bf-109 fighters. Talalikhin shoots down two of the fighters before being shot down in turn. Talalikhin is a permanent name on the muster list of the 1st Squadron of the 177th Fighter Aviation Regiment, with monuments to him in Moscow and Podolsk. KIA 27 October 1941 (colorized).

The Soviets defending Tikhvin, north of Moscow, are now under the command of General Fedyuninsky, and he makes an immediate impact. He orders three Red Army divisions to attack advance elements of General Harpe's 12th Panzer Division at the village of Sitomlia about 40 km northeast of Budogsh' (Budogoshch). While Harpe's small unit is wildly outgunned, its commander decides to fight and goes into a defensive crouch while calling for reinforcements. The Red Army units attack piecemeal, like the bad guys in a karate flick who attack the hero only one at a time. Harpe is able to shift his men around just enough to hold the attackers off until help arrives. General Rudolf Schmidt, commander of 39th Army Corps and the man in charge of this portion of the advance, quickly sends the 8th Panzer and 18th Motorized Divisions to rescue the trapped men, which is accomplished by nightfall. The 12th Panzer reconnaissance team winds up doing its job - identifying the enemy units - but not quite in the way it had planned.

The original caption reads (and these may offend readers, but this is what it says): "To make room for construction in the Poznan suburb of Wallischei, a number of houses must be demolished. For this work, columns of Polish Jews are used, who get to know manual labor for the first time in their lives." (Schwahn, Ernst, Federal Archive Picture 183-2006-0320-500).

US/German Relations: President Roosevelt, who on the 25th issued a strong statement condemning Wehrmacht atrocities on the Eastern Front, on 27 October 1941 continues his rhetorical onslaught. During a Navy Day speech (Roosevelt is a former Secretary of the Navy), Roosevelt says in part about recent U-boat attacks at sea:

I say that we do not propose to take this lying down. Our determination not to take it lying down has been expressed in the orders to the American Navy to shoot on sight. Those orders stand... [W]hen we have helped to end the curse of Hitlerism we shall help to establish a new peace which will give to decent people everywhere a better chance to live and prosper in security and in freedom and in faith. Each day that passes we are producing and providing more and more arms for the men who are fighting on actual battle-fronts. That is our primary task.

In reference to the recent U-boat torpedoing of destroyer USS Kearny, FDR adds, "Hitler’s torpedo was directed at every American….was to frighten the American people off the high seas - to force us to make a trembling retreat." This, he claims, has "aroused" the "American spirit" because "America has been attacked." However, despite this "attack," Roosevelt is not yet ready to declare war on the Reich.

Life Magazine of 27 October 1941, "Air-Raid Spotter."

October 1941

October 1, 1941: Germans and Finns Advance in USSR
October 2, 1941: Operation Typhoon Broadens
October 3, 1941: Air Battles Near Moscow
October 4, 1941: Stalin Contemplates Defeat
October 5, 1941: Hoth Goes South
October 6, 1941: First Snowfall After Dark
October 7, 1941: Stalin Gets Religion
October 8, 1941: FDR Promises Stalin Aid 
October 9, 1941: FDR Orders Atomic Bomb Research
October 10, 1941: Reichenau's Severity Order
October 11, 1941: Tank Panic in Moscow
October 12, 1941: Spanish Blue Division at the Front
October 13, 1941: Attack on Moscow
October 14, 1941: Germans Take Kalinin
October 15, 1941: Soviets Evacuate Odessa
October 16, 1941: Romanians Occupy Odessa
October 17, 1941: U-568 Torpedoes USS Kearny
October 18, 1941: Tojo Takes Tokyo
October 19, 1941: Germans Take Mozhaysk
October 20, 1941: Germans Attack Toward Tikhvin
October 21, 1941: Rasputitsa Hits Russia
October 22, 1941: Germans Into Moscow's Second Defensive Line
October 23, 1941: The Odessa Massacre
October 24, 1941: Guderian's Desperate Drive North
October 25, 1941: FDR Warns Hitler About Massacres
October 26, 1941: Guderian Drives Toward Tula
October 27, 1941: Manstein Busts Loose
October 28, 1941: Soviet Executions
October 29, 1941: Guderian Reaches Tula
October 30, 1941: Guderian Stopped at Tula
October 31, 1941: USS Reuben James Sunk

2020