Friday 6 February 1942

RAF reconnaissance photo showing Graf Zeppelin at Gotenhafen (Gdynia), 6 February 1942 (U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command NH 78306).

Battle of the Pacific: A Carley float is spotted near Flying Fish Cove, Christmas Island and recovered on 6 February 1942. This island is run by employees of the Christmas Island Phosphate Company, Lt. The float contains a body clothed in a white boiler suit which is buried but not identified, as the staff is preparing to evacuate (which is done by 23 February 1942). This random occurrence begins a mystery that continues into the 21st Century, as some people believe that the float and body came from lost Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney, sunk on 19 November 1941. Since there were no survivors of that ship's encounter with German raider Kormoran and no bodies were ever recovered, this would be the only remains ever found from the doomed ship. The body is exhumed and examined in 2006 with inconclusive results. This remains under review by the Australian government and a great deal of effort, time, and thought has been expended on the human remains. They also have been the foundation of various conspiracy theories, such as that the German machine-gunned any survivors of the Sydney (there is no proof of this aside from interpretations about the state of the remains). This is one of the longest-lasting investigations stemming from World War II.

On 6 February 2021, the Australian government announced that DNA testing has proven that the body was, in fact, a deceased crewman from HMAS Sydney. His name was Able Seaman (AB) Thomas Welsby Clark, a native of Brisbane.

"HMS UTMOST alongside the depot ship HMS FORTH." 6 February 1942 (© IWM (A 7726)).

General Tomoyuki Yamashita, General Office Commanding 25th Army, is safely ensconced in the royal palace directly across the strait from Singapore. The British know he is there, but do not shell the palace out of respect for the feelings of the local people. Yamashita's presence there serves multiple purposes, including suggesting to the British that the major Japanese invasion of Singapore will come in the eastern portion of the strait near the destroyed causeway. Yamashita summons his officers at 11:00 and gives them the plan of attack. He plans a feint in the northeast on the night of 7 February, when he will have the ceremonial Imperial Guards Division take Palau Ubin Island opposite Chang in the northeast of Singapore. On the 8th, the 5th and 18th Divisions will mount the main invasion in northwest Singapore. The more perceptive British strategists in Singapore, such as British chief engineer Brigadier Ivan Simson, divine this plan and warn Lieutenant General Ernest Percival, General Officer Commanding Malaya Command, that the danger lies in the northwest. Percival, however, is convinced that the attack will occur in the east, which provides a more direct route to the heart of Singapore, and continues reinforcing that area.

After dark, the Australian 22nd Brigade sends three small patrols across the strait to Johor. The Japanese spot one of them, sinking its ship and kill the commander. The other patrols manage to gather intelligence about Japanese troop concentrations. The Overseas Chinese Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army, supported by Australian troops, sink and kill a Japanese patrol that was attempting to cross the Strait for similar purposes.

The New York Times of 6 February 1942 provides on page 2 a helpful map of Singapore. The caption to the map begins, "In heavy shelling of Japanese position at Johore Bahru, Singapore's guns silenced some enemy batteries," which tells you straight off that we are dealing with fantasy.

Local Singapore workers do not want their home to become a battleground and have been causing labor issues to hamper the British. This has included demanding pay increases and a distinct lack of enthusiasm for any work directly related to the war. They take this passive-aggressive protest further today when local stevedores refuse to unload 16 tanks and 2000 tons of ammunition from freighter Empire Star. The ship's crew has to do the work themselves. Suspiciously, the lines holding the ship to the dock keep getting cast off without orders during Japanese air raids, causing it to drift off and delaying the unloading. Meanwhile, other ships depart as quickly as they can be unloaded and then embark on refugees. HMS Danae, Sutlej, and HMAS Yarra having escorted in Convoy BM-12 recently, quickly turn around and escort departing Convoy EMU to India. This includes ships Devonshire and Felix Roussel heading for India and the City of Canterbury heading for Batavia. At the end of the day, around midnight, HMAS Woolongong sails under cover of darkness. It is the last Allied ship to leave Singapore for years.

In the Philippines, the Japanese attack the US Army I Corps sector in the western half of the Bataan Peninsula. Their aim is to relieve two dwindling Japanese pockets just south of the Allied Main Line of Resistance (MLR). The Japanese attack gets within 800 years (meters) of the main pocket but then are stopped by elements of the 11th Division, Philippine Army. This Japanese wedge in the MLR becomes known as the "Upper Pocket," though this is a misnomer because it is not technically a pocket (though it is isolated by the river at its back). Further north, in Manila Bay, the US continues to hold isolated islands where Fort Drum and Fort Frank are located. The Japanese begin shelling these islands today from artillery positioned along the south shore of the Bay in the vicinity of Ternate.

The New York Times publishes on page 8 what it describes as the "First Pictures of Japanese Entering Manila."

The Allies continue to believe that the Bataan Peninsula can be held indefinitely. There is little sense of urgency, though everyone understands the seriousness of the battles underway. Thus, staff officers worry more about supplies and reinforcements there rather than an evacuation. Today, the Engineer, United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE), submits to G-4 (logistics), USAFFE, a detailed list of requested supplies for Bataan to be shipped "to whatever supply point may be most advantageous." This includes, among other things, camouflage nets, truck radiators, barbed wire, chemicals, paper, mapping and aerial reconnaissance supplies, construction supplies such as acetylene bottles, paintbrushes, and explosives for demolition work. The Engineer recommends that the supplies be sent on three ships so that some get through despite losses. There is nothing wrong with the list and it certainly comports with the army's basic requirements. However, its underlying premise is that the US presence on Bataan is stable and likely to last for a long time since, even if approved, these items would take months to procure and ship.

USS Downes (DD-375). "Being floated out of Pearl Harbor Navy Yard's Drydock # 1, while under salvage on 6 February 1942. Light-colored patches cover areas of severe damage to her hull. She had been bombed and burned out during the Japanese attack on 7 December 1941. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph." NH 54557.

Fierce air battles continue over Burma. At about 10:00, the American Volunteer Group (AVG) destroys four Nakajima Ki-27, Army Type 97 Fighters near Rangoon. Japanese forces are infiltrating across the Salween River but are not yet in a position to mount a major attack to dislodge the Indian defenders there.

The gradual Japanese occupation of the Netherlands East Indies continues as a detachment lands at Gorontalo on Minahassa Peninsula, west of Menado, on Celebes Island. Japanese bombers attack Palembang P1 Airfield on Sumatra at 1100 hours. During the attack, they shoot down two Blenheim bombers and four Hawker Hurricanes and destroy two Buffaloes on the ground. The Dutch receive reconnaissance reports of Japanese naval forces concentrating near the Anambas Islands. Agents in French Indochina report the presence of a Japanese airborne division which is prepared for action.

Reich Organization Leader Robert Ley speaks at a rally at the Berlin Sports Palace to employees of the Siemens company on 6 February 1942. Behind him is a propaganda poster that reads, "He fights harder! We increase our performance." The Winter Relief is in full swing, a little late but better late than never (Hoffmann, Federal Archive Fig. 183-J00340).

Eastern Front: The Germans have avoided disaster by reopening supply lines to the Fourth Army and other large formations that were isolated by the Soviet counteroffensive around Moscow in December and January 1942. However, large forces remain surrounded at Kholm and Demyansk and there are no plans to relieve them anytime soon. Instead, the Germans have decided to supply them by air in the first sustained airlift in military history. Hitler is solidly behind this idea, though his underlings sometimes advise him that the planes could be better used elsewhere and the pockets are unsustainable. The airlift is hampered by the absence of airfields, so many of the supply efforts must be made by airdrops. These drops are not always accurate, and fierce battles develop as both sides attempt to recover the crates in the contested fringe areas. Overall, though, the airlift idea works, though life inside the pockets is grim and the defenses barely hold. The Red Army also has troops behind German lines, most notably south of Rzhev, and they, too, survive only with airlifts. There Germans are astonished to see the Red Air Force transports landing within view and in all kinds of weather.

European Air Operations: The RAF resumes operations after a mid-winter break. During the day, it sends 33 Hampden and 13 Manchester bombers to lay mines in the Frisian Islands. The British lose one Hampden.

RAF Bomber Command also sends 57 Wellington and 3 Stirling bombers to attack the German naval base at Brest. The cloudy weather prevents precision bombing and only 21 bombers report dropping their bombs on the target. If the raid has any significance, it is to stimulate German plans for Operation Cerberus, the Channel Dash scheduled for four days before the new moon on 11 February 1942.

"Officers and members UTMOST's crew at their action stations in the interior of the submarine. The Commanding Officer, Lieut Cdr R D Cayley, is at the periscope." Taken upon HMS Utmost's arrival at Holy Loch on 6 February 1942 after a year of service in the Mediterranean. © IWM (A 7721).

Battle of the Atlantic: Operation Paukenschlag (Drumbeat) continues off the east coast of the United States with the arrival of the second wave of U-boats. The first wave of the operation sank 25 Allied ships in 25 days. The most successful U-boat was U-123, which sank nine ships. This next wave of the attack will, when it is completed, replace the original six U-boats with 15 submarines. The US Navy is overstretched and has not yet established a convoy system along the coast. The U-boats throughout the war enjoy their greatest success against "independents" and thus find great success with unescorted freighters and tankers which often are illuminated by cities behind them along the shore which are brightly lit.

U-82, sunk in the North Atlantic on 6 February 1942.

U-82 (Kptlt. Siegfried Rollmann), on its third patrol out of La Pallice, France, has sunk three ships of 19,307 tons on this patrol in the western Atlantic and is returning to France when it runs out of luck. After spotting Convoy OS-18 northeast of the Azore Islands (Rollmann informs his superiors of this and he is ordered to shadow the convoy), Rollmann is spotted by Royal Navy escorts sloop Rochester (L50) and corvette Tamarisk. They combine to sink U-82, and there are no survivors of the crew of 34 to add further details. With a total of 51,859 tons of cargo shipping sunk and one warship of 1190 tons sunk, along with damaging a 1999-ton freighter, U-82 is one of the more successful U-boats of World War II.

SS Major Wheeler, sunk on 6 February 1942.

U-107 (Kptlt. Harald Gelhaus), on its fifth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 3431-ton US freighter Major Wheeler in the Atlantic while en route from Fajardo, Puerto Rico to Philadelphia carrying 4,611 pounds of sugar. The ship sinks by the stern within two minutes. All 35 men aboard perished.

10,107-ton cargo liner MV Opawa, sunk on 6 February 1942.

U-106 torpedoes, shells, and sinks 10,107-ton refrigerated cargo liner Opawa MV about 400 miles northeast of Bermuda. There are 56 deaths and 15 survivors, including master Captain W.G. Evans.

In an incident that is sometimes reported as happening on either 5 or 6 February 1942, U-109 (Kptlt Bleichrodt) torpedoes and sinks 3530-ton Panamian freighter SS Halcyon. Search and rescue take place on 6 February 1942. A search plane finds the wreckage and directs British tanker British Prestige to the area. It spends the day hunting down and rescuing 27 survivors, one 73 years old.

British tanker British Prestige (courtesy of Eric Wiberg).

Battle of the Mediterranean: On land, the two sides settle down to garrison duties, the British on the Gazala Line and the Axis forces around Mechili.The Afrika Korps under Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel advance of 350 miles past Benghazi has been a bonanza for the Wehrmacht, as the British have not only abandoned their own supplies but also previously abandoned German supplies such as ammunition that the British did not have time to remove.

On Malta, planes of RAF No. 21 Squadron (Blenheim IV) is flying off the island of Filfla when some Bf 109s of JG 53 appear and shoot down three Blenheims. Lt. Hans, Oblt. Wittmeyer, Lt. Herbert Soukup, and Oblt. Helmut Belser all claim victories.

"The crew of a Crusader tank cleaning the barrel of the 2-pdr gun, 6 February 1942." © IWM (E 8078).

Arab/Axis Relations: Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, travels from Germany to Italy and confers with Benito Mussolini in Rome. Husseini, who previously has conferred with Hitler and other top German leaders, feels that they have a common enemy in the British, who he sees as protecting the Jewish people in the Middle East. It is a very fine point and perhaps a point without much of a distinction, but while Hitler and his cronies want to exterminate the Jewish people, Husseini only wants to destroy Zionism and expel all Jewish people from what he considers to be Arab lands. The Axis powers hope that Husseini can raise troops against the Allies and rise up in a giant Jihad against them throughout the Middle East. Husseini is willing to do this, but he has virtually no military power, only somewhat shaky moral authority and popular influence.

Allied Relations: The first meeting of the military leaders of the United Kingdom and the United States, the Combined Chief of Staff, takes place in Washington, D.C.

On page 4 of the 6 February 1942 New York Times, the headline screams, "Surabaya, Unawed, Awaits Japanese Invasion Attempt." The piece begins, "Eastern Java, of which the big naval base of Surabaya is the political and industrial center, is set to meet a Japanese attack." Well, how "set" they actually are remains to be seen, and very shortly. They could stand to be a bit awed.

US Military: The U.S. Navy designates certain areas as Naval Coastal Frontiers. This includes the Eastern, Gulf, Caribbean, Panama, Hawaiian, Northwest, Western, and Philippine Sea Frontiers.

A USAAF P-40 Kittyhawk piloted by 2nd Lieutenant Oscar W. A. Handy (0-425080) of the 3rd Pursuit Squadron (Provisional) crashes at Darwin, Northern Territory. Handy survives.

The 178th Signal Company is constituted at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. It will serve with distinction in the Rhineland in 1944 and Vietnam in the 1960s.

British Military: In a typical wartime accident, a Bristol Blenheim on a training mission crashes into a tree after taking off from Hinton-in-the-Hedges. The only man aboard, Sgt William Everard-Smith of 13 OTU RAF, is buried at Chorley (St. Gregory) Roman Catholic Churchyard nearby. These crashes happen through pilot error, strained maintenance servicing, poor visibility, and other factors that are not as pronounced during peacetime.

The New York Times, 6 February 1942. When the going gets tough, the media gets positive even when there isn't really anything positive to report. The main headline reads, "Singapore Silences Foe's Guns in Duel; U.S. Fighters over Java Bag 2 Planes; Japanese Span the Salween in Burma," almost all of which is nonsense.

German Military: Adolf Hitler orders Minister of Armaments Fritz Todt to chair a committee that will organize the chaotic armaments situation. German industry had cut back on munitions production during 1941 when it appeared that the Soviet Union would be quickly conquered, but the fierce winter fighting was not expected and supplies which were thought would be restocked during this period instead continue to be drawn down. There also are many different fiefdoms within the government which control different aspects of the war effect, such as Hermann Goering's position as plenipotentiary of the Four Year Plan, which destroy attempts at coordination toward efficiency. While Goering continues in this position and is allowed to continue building his personal empire primarily centered in Austria and the Balkans, Todt is given sweeping new powers over the wartime economy. This is a tacit recognition by Hitler that final victory is going to take more time than originally thought and the Reich has to prepare for a long and arduous war.

The crew of HMS Utmost hoists the Jolly Roger showing their victories while on patrol after arriving in port at Holy Loch, Scotland, 6 February 1942.

Egypt: Under intense pressure from the British (British ambassador Sir Miles Lampson has surrounded the royal palace with tanks in the "Abdeen Palace incident"), King Farouk organizes a new Wafd (nationalist) government. He appoints Mostafa El-Nahas to the position of Prime Minister. Nahas has a reputation for being corrupt (as just one example, he is accused of forcing landowners to sell him prime property), but he is acceptable to the British because his pecuniary motivations outweigh any pro-Axis sympathies that he may or may not have. He also was one of the signers of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936, which indicates some willingness to work with the British, though (long after the war) he later denounces that treaty during a low-point in Egyptian-British relations.

Korvettenkapitän (later Fregattenkapitän) Klaus Scholtz, commander of U-108, ends a period of fruitless hunting off the New England coast on 6 February 1942 and heads south, where he will find plentiful targets.

Australian Homefront: The Minister for the Army, Frank Forde, writes to Prime Minister John Curtin:

The attitude of those with near relatives in our Garrison at Rabaul is becoming bitter and hostile at the lack of any news of their sons, brothers and husbands, and of the feeling that is being created that although something could be done to assist them, nothing is being attempted. [NAA A2684/3 Item 749]

There indeed are many survivors of the invasion of Rabaul, but little is known about their fate and the vast majority simply disappear without a trace. It is worthwhile to note that Japanese soldiers in some other places at this time of the war (perhaps most notoriously at Hong Kong) have been proven to be torturing and killing prisoners and then burning the bodies to hide their crimes.

American Homefront: Monogram Pictures releases "Law of the Jungle" (1942), a wartime thriller directed by Jean Yarbrough about German spies in British Rhodesia, Africa.

"Doc Savage," Volume 18, No. 6, February 1942.

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

Saturday 31 January 1942

"Churchill tanks of 9th Royal Tank Regiment during an exercise at Tilshead on Salisbury Plain, 31 January 1942. The lead vehicle, 'Indus' of 'B' Squadron, is a Mk I with hull-mounted 3-inch close support howitzer." © IWM (H 16962).

Eastern Front: The weather on the Eastern Front on 31 January 1942 is horrible, with snowstorms that close roads throughout the sector. However, some Germans and Soviets formations have remained on the move through the worst of it, or at least some key elements have. The Soviets are trying to encircle German formations tied to strongpoints along their old front lines both by the weather and Hitler's firm orders to stand fast. The German-held towns are easy to encircle, but at least they provide some shelter from the blizzards. Elsewhere, the Wehrmacht is simply trying to block the worst of the Red Army advances while allowing them to occupy empty space. These conflicting strategies come into play today when the irresistible force of the Red Army is met by the immovable object of the German Army.

In the German Army Group South (von Kleist) sector, the Soviet 57th and 9th Armies and some cavalry corps have moved behind the front line of the German 17th Army (General Hoth). Hoth is holding the line in the center of the Army Group South sector, with Sixth Army to his north and First Panzer Army to his south and down to the Sea of Azov. The Soviet breakthrough has taken place in the northern part of Hoth's line, and the Red Army is trying to use two cavalry corps (I and V) to head south to the coast. This would effectively encircle two German Armies and blow a huge hole in the front.

A German war correspondent, holding a microphone, provides a report of the use of a grenade launcher at an undisclosed location on the front lines, January 1942 (Schröter, Federal Archive Picture 146-1976-128-18).

However, Hoth's men have found a copy of the Soviet plan on a dead Red Army officer. Thus, they know that the Soviet cavalry is heading for the coast. There's only one problem, and that is the complete absence of any Wehrmacht troops to block them. Kleist thus has ordered the "Von Mackensen" Group, a mixed force under the command of General von Mackensen (commander of III Corps) that is composed of the 14th Panzer Division, 100th Light Division, and Panzer Detachment 60, to intercept the fast Soviet cavalry. The fate of Army Group South rests on von Mackensen getting into position to block the Soviet advance before the Red Army cavalry opens a road for the two following Soviet armies. For three days, the Mackensen Group plows through the bitter landscape.

After the conquest of the "Westerplatte," General Eberhard von Mackensen, right, interrogates the captured Polish commander, September 1939.

Today, the issue is decided. Using any means available in blinding snowstorms, von Mackensen's Group arrives just in time to block the road south before the Soviet cavalry can get through. Fortunately for the Germans, the Soviet tanks have fallen behind in the horrible conditions, leaving more vulnerable Red Army cavalry units unsupported in the lead. The most mobile elements of the von Mackensen Group, Panzer Detachment 60 and 14th Panzer Division attack the leading Soviet elements about forty miles south of Barvenkovo. The Red Army tanks have lagged behind on the poor roads, so the German tank forces defeat the Soviet troops on their horses and send them reeling. This leads to an extended battle in zero-degree weather, with both sides gradually feeding in reinforcements but the Germans always holding the advantage because they only have to hold the ground, not take new ground in the whipping wind and driven snow.

"OHORE, MALAYA. 1942-01-31. JAPANESE TROOPS CROUCH LOW IN THE STREET DURING THE FINAL STAGES OF THEIR INVASION OF THE MALAYAN PENINSULA WHICH CULMINATED IN THE SURRENDER OF ALL BRITISH FORCES, AND THE OCCUPATION OF THE BRITISH NAVAL BASE ON SINGAPORE ISLAND." Australian War Memorial 127900.

Battle of the Pacific: The Malayan Campaign ends in Japanese victory when the last Commonwealth troops able to reach Singapore before the Japanese cross over the Singapore Strait causeway. At 0630 the 2/20 Battalion AIF begins to cross the Causeway. This is completed by 0800. The troops move across the Straits to the haunting strains of the bagpipes defiantly skirling the Argyll tune “Hielan Laddie.”

With this move completed, at 0800, British sappers blow a 70-foot (21 m) hole in the Johor-Singapore causeway. This temporarily keeps the Japanese at bay but also seals the fate of all Allied troops that have not yet made it across.

The British now have roughly 85,000 troops in Singapore, while the Japanese are attacking with only about 40,000. However, the Japanese control the mainland while the British effectively are trapped in a pocket with their backs to the sea. The British divide Singapore Island into three sectors: Indian 3 Corps in the North Area, Singapore Fortress troops in the South Area, and Australian troops with the Indian 44th Brigade in the West Area. There is little fighting for the time being, with activity confined to air attacks, patroling, and artillery exchanges. The British have a battery that can fire on the mainland, but it is equipped with armor-piercing ammunition that is of little use against anything but ships - and the Japanese have no ships. Most of the British shells explode relatively harmlessly in the jungle, while the Japanese artillery causes widespread damage on the island. Japanese troops, often disguised as civilians, quickly begin infiltrating across the strait in small groups.

Hong Kong News, 31 January 1942.

In the Philippines, the Japanese attack the US II Corps in the east section of the Bataan Peninsula. The attack, launched in the evening, is brought to a stop by artillery. A Japanese regiment that made it across the Pilar River on the 30th withdraws back across the river under cover of darkness. With the Allied Main Line of Resistance (MLR) firming, the Allies begin working on two Japanese pockets right behind the MLR and a third at Quinauan Point far to the south. The Quinauan Point beachhead poses little threat, but it draws off the US 192nd Tank Battalion (less one company) which could be put to better use further north.

Japanese enter Moulein, Burma, 31 January 1942 (Lost Footsteps).

In Burma, the Japanese continue their gradual movement toward the heart of the country. The British (actually 16th Brigade of the Indian Army's 17 Division, aka the "Black Cat" Division) Moulmein garrison withdraws across the Salween River to Martaban, with the Japanese maintaining pressure and infiltrating troops gradually across the Salween River to improve their position for a later advance.

The small US force of mostly radio operators on Howland and Baker Islands is evacuated aboard destroyer USS Helm. The Japanese send a flying boat to bomb it, but the attack fails. Howland is the island that Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan were trying to reach in July 1937.

European Air Operations: The RAF sends 50 bombers to attack the German naval base at Brest, France, where it loses five planes. Another 14 bombers attack St. Nazaire, six attack Le Havre, and one bomber attacks Cherbourg.

Japanese troops celebrate victory in Malaya, 31 January 1942. (Robert Hunt Library).

Battle of the Atlantic: U-82 (Kptlt. Siegfried Rollmann), on its third patrol out of La Pallice, torpedoes and sinks Royal Navy destroyer HMS Belmont (H 46) off Newfoundland. The Belmont was providing escort services for Convoy NA-2. This is the final victory for U-82, which is sunk later in the patrol. Including the Belmont, U-82 has sunk three ships of 19,307 tons on this patrol. The entire crew of the Belmont perishes. The Belmont was acquired by the Royal Navy from the US Navy on 8 October 1940 as part of the destroyers for bases deal and was formerly known as USS Satterlee (DD-190).

 U-107 (Oblt. Harald Gelhaus), on its fifth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 7419-ton British freighter San Arcadio about 590 miles southeast of New York City.

HMS Culver (Y 87). Commissioned: 30 Apr 1941. Fate: Sunk by U-105 on 31 January 1942.

U-105 (KrvKpt. Heinrich Schuch), on its fifth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks Royal Navy sloop HMS Culver (Y 87) about 450 miles southwest of Cape Clear, Ireland. There are 13 survivors and 127 deaths. The Culver is another formerly United States ship, having once been USCGC Mendota.

U-109 (Kptlt. Heinrich Bleichrodt), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 7924-ton British freighter Tacoma Star about 320 miles southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

U-333 (Kptlt. Peter-Erich Cremer), on its first patrol out of Kiel, mistakenly sinks 5,083-ton German blockade runner MV Spreewald north of the Azores.

"Western Desert, North Africa. 31 January 1942. Three Douglas Boston A-20 bomber aircraft of the Free French Air Force on patrol in the Middle East. These fast and easily handled American bombers have already proved their worth in desert warfare." Australian War Memorial MED0314.

Battle of the Mediterranean: German Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel begins the next phase of his offensive in Libya. Rommel splits his Afrika Korps forces into two columns, one following the Via Balbia along the coast and the other further inland. The British make a temporary stand at Marawa about 100 miles east of Benghazi but have no hope of holding there for long.

A French civilian in Paris shows a Wehrmacht sergeant a road route on a lighted display, 31 January 1942 (Hunter, Federal Archive Picture 146-1975-041-04).

US/Soviet Relations: A US Military Mission to the USSR is en route to Tehran, Iran to coordinate lend-lease issues with Soviet counterparts. Today, it arrives by sea at Basra, where it embarks on surface transportation.

US Army: Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell submits a memorandum to General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff U.S. Army, informing him of his requirements for a task force in China. This eventually leads to the designation of Stilwell's force as the U.S. Task Force in China.

Major General Ira C Eaker is designated Commanding General, Bomber Command, U.S. Army Forces in the British Isles (USAFBI). General Eaker receives orders to proceed immediately to the British Isles.

Michael Lee Morgan (January 31, 1942 – December 2, 1996) was a linebacker for the New Orleans Saints from 1969-1970.

American Homefront: US automakers continue shutting down production. Today, the last pre-war cars made by Chrysler, Plymouth, and Studebaker leave the plants. These assembly lines are quickly converted to produce military vehicles.

Future History: Daniela Bianchi is born in Rome, Italy. She goes on to study ballet for eight years, then is named first runner-up in the 1960 Miss Universe contest. A fledgling film actress in the early 1960s, Bianchi gets her career role as Tatiana Romanova, a naive Soviet cipher clerk of uncertain allegiance, in the James Bond film "From Russia With Love" (1963). Daniela Bianchi is still alive as of 2019 but retired from acting upon her marriage in 1970.

Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman is born in Northwood, Middlesex, England. His father is an RAF officer who was born in New Zealand. As Derek Jarman, he becomes a renowned film director,  stage designer, diarist, artist, gardener, and author. He passes away at age 52 in 1994.

Collier's, 31 January 1942.

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

Thursday 11 September 1941

Charles Lindbergh gives a speech for the America First Committee in Des Moines, Iowa, 11 September 1941.

Eastern Front: In a curt, don't-bother-me-again reply to General Kirponos' 10 September 1941 request to withdraw from Kyiv, Joseph Stalin personally responds:

Do not abandon Kiev and do not blow up the bridges without Stavka permission.

The Soviet troops stay put even as the German panzers continue driving toward each other to the east to close an encirclement.

Battle of the Atlantic: On 11 September 1941, Kriegsmarine Wolfpack Markgraf, composed of 14 U-boats in a picket line, confronts Convoy SC-42 in the North Atlantic 100 miles southeast of Greenland. The convoy departed from Nova Scotia on 30 August 1941 bound for Liverpool.

It is a wild affair, with ships sinking all around, some on fire, and men in the water and in lifeboats. The action is confusing and so are the historical records, with different sources identify different ships sunk on different days. However, it is confirmed across all sources that September 10 and September 11, 1941, are horrendous days for Convoy SC-42.

U-82 (Kptlt. Siegfried Rollmann), on its first patrol out of Trondheim, is in the thick of it. It sank 7,465-ton British freighter Empire Hudson on the 10th, and today sinks three ships and seriously damages a fourth in quick succession just after midnight:

• 7519-ton British freighter Bulysses
• 3915-ton British freighter Gypsum Queen
• 1999-ton Swiss freighter Scania (damaged)
• 5463-ton British freighter Empire Crossbill

However, that is not the only punishment that the Wolfpack inflicts today.

Swedish freighter SS Garm, sunk on 11 September 1941 by U-432. There are six deaths from a crew of 20.

Three other U-boats get in on the action:

• U-432 (Kptlt. Heinz-Otto Schultze) sinks 1231-ton Swedish freighter Garm
• U-207 (Oberleutnant zur See Fritz Meyer.) sinks British freighters 4924-ton Berury and 4803-ton Stonepool

U-207's crew does not have very long to celebrate its two kills. Convoy escorts HMS Leamington and Veteran launch depth charges and sinks U-207. There are no survivors among the 41-man crew.

To add to the devastation, U-105 (Kapitänleutnant Georg Schewe) finds a convoy straggler 1549-ton Panamanian-flagged freighter Montana (a Panamanian flag generally indicates that it is a United States ship).

To date, Convoy SC-42 has lost 15 of its 65 ships. It still has a long way to Liverpool, too. However, as reinforcements, the Admiralty sends naval trawler Buttermere and Flower-class corvettes HMCS Wetaskiwin, HMCS Mimosa, and HMS Gladiolus from convoy HX 147 and the 2nd Escort Group consisting of the Admiralty type flotilla leader HMS Douglas (Commander WE Banks senior officer), the Town-class destroyer HMS Leamington, the V and W-class destroyer HMS Veteran and S-class destroyers HMS Skate and HMS Saladin. This armada guards Convoy SC-42 the rest of the way but SC-42 will lose yet another ship on the way to its destination.

A barrage balloon station in England garrisoned by the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (AP Photo).

POWs: The commandant of Stalag 318 (later Stalag VIII-F and known as the "Russian Camp"), Colonel Falkenberg, notes on September 11, 1941:

These cursed Untermenschen [sub-humans] have been observed eating grass, flowers and raw potatoes. Once they can’t find anything edible in the camp they turn to cannibalism.

Hermann Goering hears of this comment and retells it, with some embellishments, often at parties.

Japanese Military: Emperor Hirohito takes personal command of the Japanese Imperial Army. This is merely a ceremonial command, but some analysts in the United States wrongly interpret this as a peaceful gesture.

Admiral Yamamoto and his staff continue planning the attack on Pearl Harbor as he begins ten days of meetings with the Imperial Japanese Navy's General Staff. The Japanese Combined Fleet conducts a training exercise in the North Pacific.

US Military: The ground-breaking ceremonies for the Pentagon building take place in Arlington, Virginia on a patch of farmland. It will take two years to build at a cost of $83 million. The Pentagon is planned to consolidate 17 War Department buildings into one complex. It has been ordered by Brig. General Brehon B. Somervell.

President Roosevelt with Microphones, September 11, 1941 (NARA).

American Homefront: President Roosevelt gives a Fireside Chat on the sinking by a U-boat of USS Greer, a US Navy destroyer sunk near Greenland on 4 September 1941. The Germans claim that the Greer shot first and the U-boat reacted in self-defense. Roosevelt calls the incident an "outrageous" incident of "piracy" and recites a list of other grievances at sea against the Germans. FDR gives the U.S. convoy escorts the right to fire at submarines on sight. He cautions, however, against overreacting to these "acts of international lawlessness."

We have sought no shooting war with Hitler, we do not seek it now.

Roosevelt vows to keep open the seas "no matter what it costs" and likens U-boats to rattlesnakes.

At an American First Committee rally in Des Moines, Iowa, Charles Lindbergh accuses President Roosevelt and his administration of engaging "subterfuge" and using "dictatorial powers" to push his "war party" toward war. His most controversial remark, however, follows:

The three most important groups who have been pressing this country toward war are the British, the Jewish and the Roosevelt administration.

This remark and others during the speech are similar to the public statements of Adolf Hitler.

Vizeadmiral Johannes Bachmann (KIA April 1945) inspects Schiermonnikoog 'Vredenhof' Cemetery in the Dutch Frisian Islands, 11 September 1941.

September 1, 1941: Two Years In
September 2, 1941: Germans Pushed Back at Yelnya
September 3, 1941: FDR Refuses to Meet with Japanese
September 4, 1941: Hitler Furious at Guderian
September 5, 1941: Germans Evacuate Yelnya
September 6, 1941: Japan Prepares for War
September 7, 1941: Hitler Orders Drive on Moscow
September 8, 1941: Leningrad Cut Off
September 9, 1941: Germans Attack Leningrad
September 10, 1941: Guderian Busts Loose
September 11, 1941: Convoy SC-42 Destruction
September 12, 1941: Starve Leningrad!
September 13, 1941: Zhukov at Leningrad
September 14, 1941: Germany's Growing Casualties
September 15, 1941: Sorge Warns Stalin Again
September 16, 1941: Soviets Encircled at Kiev
September 17, 1941: Iran Conquest Completed
September 18, 1941: Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in Action
September 19, 1941: Germans Take Kiev
September 20, 1941: Death at Kiev
September 21, 1941: Raging Soviet Paranoia
September 22, 1941: Defense of Nickel Mines
September 23, 1941: Air Attacks on Leningrad
September 24, 1941: Japanese Spying Intensifies
September 25, 1941: Manstein at the Crimea
September 26, 1941: Kiev Pocket Eliminated
September 27, 1941: Massacre at Eišiškės
September 28, 1941: Ted Williams Hits .400
September 29, 1941: Babi Yar Massacre
September 30, 1941: Operation Typhoon Begins

2020