Sunday 18 January 1942

"Malaya. Three Japanese Type 95 Ha-Go light tanks destroyed near Bakri by gunners from the 13th Battery, 4th Australian Anti-Tank Regiment." 18 January 1942. Australian War Memorial 011301.

Eastern Front: On 18 January 1942, Soviet paratroopers begin the next phase of the Red Army counteroffensive at Moscow by dropping behind German lines south of Vyazma. The landings are conducted by the 201st Airborne Brigade and the 250th Airborne Regiment under the overall command of Lieutenant General Ivan Zatevakhin. Their objective is to cut the Vyazma-Yukhnov highway and the Vyazma-Bryansk railroad.

Soviet paratroopers during 1942.

Following the pattern of German Fallschirmjaeger raids, these Red Army paratrooper landings make a big impact psychologically but do not lead to successes against key objectives. The Germans have few troops in the area - with all reserves having been committed at the front - and thus must redirect troops from the front to contain this unexpected threat. The major impact of the landings is to create a major distraction that helps the Red Army's 33rd Army and 1st Guards Cavalry Corps at the front further east.

"USS Arthur Middleton (AP-55). Departing New York on 18 January 1942 en route to the Pacific after interim conversion for Naval service at the Tietjen & Lang Dry Dock Co. yard in Hoboken, N. J. She operated as a civilian-manned convoy-loaded transport until arriving at San Francisco in June 1942 for final conversion to a combat-loaded (attack) transport." Photo No. 19-N-27271. Source: U.S. National Archives, RG-19-LCM.

On the high road to Moscow, a long, grueling battle at Borodino Field finally ends in a Red Army victory. The battle, which began on 13 October 1941 and technically won that month by the Germans, now is won for good by the 82nd Soviet Rifle Division as it takes back the field. This battle is particularly memorable to Russians because of its echoes of the 1812 battle on the spot which technically was won by the French but was so costly that it became a Pyrrhic victory.

"A two-pounder Anti-Tank Gun of the 4th Anti-Tank Regiment, 8th Australian Division, AIF, directed by VX38874 Sergeant (Sgt) Charles James Parsons, of Moonee Ponds, Vic, in action at a roadblock at Bakri on the Muar-Parit Sulong Road. In the background is a destroyed Japanese Type 95 Ha-Go Medium Tank. The Anti-Tank Gun was known as the rear gun because of its position in the defense layout of the area. Sgt Parsons was later awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) for his and his crew's part in destroying six of the nine Japanese tanks during this engagement." This appears to be another view of the ambush which resulted in the demise of the three Japanese tanks shown in the top photo on this page. Australian War Memorial 011302.

Army Group North also is facing mounting problems. A Red Army breakthrough south of Lake Ilmen works behind several German divisions ordered to hold Demjansk and surrounds them. Other Soviet troops are heading toward nearby Kholm to do the same thing. In Army Group South, however, the Germans are more successful and consolidate their hold on the key port of Feodosia, which they captured on the 17th. The focus of the battle there now shifts to the continuing assault on the Red Army line at the Parpach Narrows, which so far has been creaking but not giving way.

"The crew of the forward pom-pom pause for a cigarette while at their post." Aboard minesweeper HMS Beaumaris on 18 January 1942 (© IWM (A 7207)).

Battle of the Atlantic: Operation Drumbeat, the German U-boat offensive along the east coast of the United States, shifts into high gear. There are now several U-boats in position, and easy targets are everywhere. There are mounting successes on the far side of the Atlantic, with several today very close to Newfoundland:

• U-66 (KrvKpt. Richard Zapp) torpedoes and sinks 6635-ton US tanker Alan Jackson east of Cape Hatteras;
• U-86 (Kptlt. Walter Schug) torpedoes 4271-ton Greek freighter Dimitrios G. Thermiotis off Newfoundland (U-86 is not actually part of Operation Drumbeat and simply sinks a member of Convoy SC-63);
• U-333 (Kptlt. Peter-Erich Cremer) torpedoes and sinks 5851-ton US freighter Caledonian Monarch of Convoy SC-63 off Newfoundland (also not a part of Operation Drumbeat, and some sources place this sinking on 22 January);
• U-552 (KrvKpt. Erich Topp) torpedoes and sinks 2609-ton US freighter Frances Salman off Newfoundland (U-552 is operating as part of Wolfpack Ziethen);
• U-123 (Kptlt. Reinhard Hardegen), having headed south from New York City, shells and then torpedoes 8206-ton US freighter Malay. The tanker makes it to Hampton Roads. Some sources place this incident on 19 January.

Operation Drumbeat is turning into a dramatic overall success for the Kriegsmarine and is embarrassing the US Coast Guard. After a long quiescent period, the Battle of the Atlantic is picking up again.

"Gunner and look-out on the alert for any intruders." Aboard minesweeper HMS Beaumaris on 18 January 1942 (© IWM (A 7203)).

Battle of the Pacific: The Allied forces continue to try to restore their lines after recent Japanese incursions. On the eastern II Corps front, the US 31st Infantry Division continues attacking along the western portion of the front but makes little headway along the Balantay River. The Filipino 45th Infantry Division of the Philippine Scouts makes some ground to the west of the Balantay River and reaches the most advanced 31st Division troops. The fighting is savage and deadly in the thick forests. Further west, in the I Corps area, the Japanese along the coast in Morong Province send some troops east behind the Allies in order to isolate them and dislodge the entire Allied line. About 5000 Japanese troops under General Kimura capture Poblacion, Morong Province, and burn it almost entirely to the ground, leaving only a few buildings for their own use.

The Brooklyn Eagle of 18 January 1942 trumpets fake victories in Tokyo Bay while real victories are proving scarce. However, unknown to the media, a US submarine is, in fact, operating very close to Japan and is beginning to score successes.

US submarine USS Plunger (Capt. David C. White), on its first war patrol, claims a rare (so far) victory in Japanese territorial waters. Operating south of Kobe at the mouth Kii Suido, Honshu, it torpedoes and sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Eizon Maru. The success confirms the effectiveness of the new Mark VI magnetic exploder for the Mark 14 torpedoes. The Plunger also successfully uses a new sonar (SD radar) set which confirms that the Japanese themselves are using echo-ranging sonar ("pinging"). White and his crew survive a brutal depth charge attack before sinking the freighter.

"A two-pounder Anti-Tank Gun of the 4th Anti-Tank Regiment, 8th Australian Division, AIF, directed by VX38874 Sergeant (Sgt) Charles James Parsons, of Moonee Ponds, Vic (center), with two crew members, identified as Gunner (Gnr) Len Coutts and Gnr Ken Daniels, standing against their Anti-Tank Gun in a clearing near the roadblock at Bakri on the Muar-Parit Sulong Road. The Anti-Tank Gun was known as the rear gun because of its position in the defense layout of the area. Sgt Parsons was later awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) for his and his crew's part in destroying six of the nine Japanese tanks during this engagement." 18 January 1942. Australian War Memorial 011309.

On the Malay Peninsula, the battered Indian 45th Brigade continues a difficult defensive battle in the Muar/Yong Peng area. The troops destroy some Japanese tanks, but the Japanese bring reinforcements up by sea north of Batu Pahat. At the end of the day, the 45th Brigade comes under the command of Indian 3 Corps and ordered to withdraw. After dark, the Indian 9th Division and Australian 27th Brigade Group, in danger of being cut off, withdraw behind the Muar and Segamat Rivers, respectively. The 6/15th Infantry Brigade stands on the south bank of the Batu Pahat River - it is augmented during the day by D Company of the 2nd Battalion of the Malay Regiment, which retreats back across the river. The Japanese are right behind D Company and immediately begin infiltration operations.

At Muar, General Takuma Nishimura orders his 4th and 5th Guards Regiments to attack Bakri. The attack is led by nine Type 95 Ha-Gō light tanks under Captain Shiegeo Gotanda. The attack goes disastrously wrong, however, when the tanks unwisely advance without infantry support and are destroyed by Australian gunners of the 2/29th Battalion. However, the battle is not an unalloyed victory for the Australians, as the Japanese kill the commander of the battalion, Lieutenant Colonel John Robertson, while he is leading his troops during an attack along the main road. The battle is bloody, but the Australians succeed in halting the Japanese, who are forced to regroup now that they have no tanks left.

"Malayan Campaign, December 1941-January 1942. American Fighter Planes Over Malaya. American fighter planes have arrived in Malaya after month and assembly has continued at high speed but without publicity. Singaporeans have become used to the long, grey crates passing through the streets and hardly notice the roar of engine and whistle of wind past fuselage as the fighters are rested near and over the city. But the planes are here in great numbers – distributed strategically throughout Malaya. Shown are Brewster Buffalo fighters over the Malaya coasts. This photograph released circa 1942. Office War Information Photograph. Courtesy of the Library of Congress. (2016/01/22)." National Museum of the US Navy.

Back in Singapore, the daily Japanese bombing forces the RAAF to withdraw across the Malacca Strait to Sumatra. This drastically curtails Allied air defenses both over the fortress and the decisive battles underway just to the north.

Axis Relations: The main signatories of the Tripartite Pact - Italy, Japan, and Germany - sign a new military pact in Berlin. However, it is of little value given that there is little more they can do to help each other than they are doing already. In other words, the big decisions have all been made, and now it is just a question of fighting it out to victory or defeat.

A US Navy cable memo ordering destroyers to visit Londonderry. As the memo states, "These will be the first U.S. Warships officially to visit a British port in this war, except for the U.S. trawler Albatross which arrived at Londonderry a.m. today, 18th January, having been driven there by the stress of weather." Note that the typewriter paper of the day was very thin and showed pages below.

US Military: In order to protect Dutch Harbor, units of the US Army Corps of Engineer land at Umnak Island in the Aleutians to build an airfield. This becomes Otter Point Airfield (Cape Field), part of Fort Glenn.

British/Burmese Relations: Just like in other Asian colonies, there are pressures for independence in Burma. One of the most influential proponents of this policy is U Saw, Burma's prime minister. Saw has been in England negotiating openly with the British for promises of independence after the war and also secretly with the Japanese for promises of independence during the war. The British, through the Ultra service, learn about the latter and imprison U Saw during a stop at Haifa, Palestine.

"A big thrill, a young ATC boy has a parachute fitted and is shown how to use the safety cord in case." 18 January 1942 at the Royal Naval Air Station at Donibristle. © IWM (A 7201).

German Homefront: Publicized by the Ministry of Propaganda as a gesture of solidarity with the troops at the front, restaurant patrons now are served only "field-kitchen meals" every Monday and Thursday. Such meals typically consist of thin vegetable soup and a slice of bread. Customers are allowed, however, to bring their own ingredients with them and have the "field kitchens" prepare their meals any way they like. German civilians otherwise remain largely unaffected by the privations being suffered in England, Occupied Europe, and large swathes of the Soviet Union, as military conquest has brought vast new resources under German control. Hitler feels that it is important to the war effort to shield German civilians from the consequences of the war for as long as possible except in such "noble" ways.

American Homefront: New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio is named American League Player of the Year (his second of three such awards). This follows his unmatched 56-game hitting streak. Finishing second is Boston Red Sox slugger Ted Williams, who hit over .400. Neither feat has been equaled since. Both men wind up in the military during World War II.

Oliver Hardy, left, cuts the cake at this 50th birthday party on 18 January 1942 backstage at a Chicago theater while Stan Laurel looks on. As part of the act, Laurel wears a tag that says "Freight."

1942

January 1942

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

2020

Saturday 10 January 1942

MA and MB Jeeps built by Willys. Note that regular car production is continuing, which places this photo between November 1940 and before all US car production was banned on 5 February 1942 (Ron Szymanski).

USS San Diego (CL-53) in Boston Harbor on 10 January 1942, the date of its commissioning.

The War Department asks the Hawaiian commander, General Delos C. Emmons, an Air Corps officer, whether it would be feasible to relocate the entire Japanese population of Oahu to another island. Oahu, of course, is where the main naval base at Pearl Harbor is based. Emmons replies that this would not work because it would require the construction of facilities when construction units already were fully booked by the military. Emmons estimates that Oahu has a Japanese population of 118,000 that is composed of 20,000 Japanese aliens and 98,000 US citizens. These people, Emmons notes, provide the bulk of the island's skilled labor. Emmons concludes that while it would be theoretically beneficial to relocate the Japanese, in practical terms it would be almost impossible and certainly detrimental to the economy of Oahu. As an alternative, Emmons proposes that if it is deemed necessary to segregate the Japanese as a security risk, that they should be taken to the mainland for it to be done there.

Luftwaffe ace Günther Lützow on 10 January 1942. Lützow, commander of JG 3, became the second pilot (after now-deceased Werner Mölders) to notch 100 kills on 24 October 1941. It is hard to see, but Lützow has autographed the photo (Federal Archive Picture 146-2006-0126).

Eastern Front: There is a heavy blizzard in the Moscow sector that stops all movement throughout the day. Overall, the pause in operations helps the Germans, whose front is strained to the breaking point and needs time to bring in reinforcements and supplies. However, in certain places, such as the breakthrough into the German rear areas west of Ostashkov, the Red Army troops struggle through deep snow and attack isolated German outposts which have no hope of relief or reinforcement.

S.S. African Comet on 10 January 1942. It has just arrived at the Tietjen & Lang Dry Dock Co. yard in Hoboken, New Jersey. It is being converted to USS Arthur Middleton (AP-55) (Photo No. 19-N-27716 Source: U.S. National Archives, RG-19-LCM).

US Military: The U.S. Army awards Ford Motor Company a contract to build copycat versions of the Willys Jeep. The contract provides for the construction of 15,000 Ford GPWs, or General Purpose Willys. They are to be built at a cost of $14,623,900, or about $975 each. The Jeep's design was submitted by American Bantam, but it was then given to Willys-Overland to refine.

MA and MB Jeeps built by Willys. Note that regular car production is continuing, which places this photo between November 1940 and before all US car production was banned on 5 February 1942 (Ron Szymanski).

While the Army finds the Willys MB redesign acceptable, it is not required to have Willys actually build all of the Jeep (though Willys does receive a contract to build as many Jeeps as it can). The Army is hedging its bets because it does not believe that Willys has the capacity to produce enough Jeeps fast enough for the Army's needs. American Bantam, who submitted the first prototype that did eventually turn into the standard military Jeep, does not get a contract to build the Jeeps but instead gets a contract to build trailers as a sort of consolation prize.

"Bardia area, Cyrenaica, Libya. 10 January 1942. German Luftwaffe prisoners, wounded in the re-capture of Bardia, were allowed to write home at the first opportunity. They are sitting in the sunshine leaning against a building on which is painted a Mickey Mouse head, a heart with an arrow through it, an instruction to 'Please knock first' and a foaming beer mug." Australian War Memorial MED0292.

American Homefront: A day after knocking out Buddy Baer in the first round at Madison Square to defend his Heavyweight title, Boxer Joe Louis enlists in the U.S. Army. He enlists as a private at Camp Upton, Long Island. The fight against Baer had been a charity bout for the Navy Relief Society which raised $47,000 for the fund. The enlistment event naturally makes the newsreels, and they capture a soldier-clerk asking Louis his occupation. He replies, "Fighting and let us at them Jap[anese]."

"A Wren Bosun piping all hands at HMS UNICORN II, Cresent House, Dundee, 10 January 1942." Unicorn II is the Royal Navy Reserves Training Ship. © IWM (A 7026).

Louis fights occasionally for charity while in the service, but he falls deeply into debt in part because the IRS assigns to him as income the money that he "earns" for those fights which he never actually receives. This tax issue haunts Louis for the rest of his life. Joe Louis serves in the Army's Special Services Division until his honorable discharge effective 1 October 1945. He proves especially useful in recruiting African-Americans. Commenting on racial segregation in the military, Louis comments, "Lots of things wrong with America, but Hitler ain't going to fix them."

10 January 1942 New Yorker cover by Leonard Dove.

Mickey Rooney marries Ava Gardner at a Protestant church in Ballard, California. Rooney is currently headlining the top movie in the country, "Babes on Broadway" (1941), with Judy Garland. Gardner, an MGM contract player like Rooney, is still an ingenue who only broke into Hollywood in 1941 and is little known. The wedding is held in remote Ballard (in the Santa Ynez Valley) because Louis B. Mayer is concerned that a married Rooney will not be as popular at the box office, so he wants as little publicity for the marriage as possible. Rooney is 19 and subject to the draft, but his number has not come up yet.

"Wireless Telegraphists in training transcribe messages in Morse and transcribe them." HMS Unicorn III, Crescent House, Dundee, 10 January 1942. © IWM (A 7025).

"All Through the Night," starring Humphrey Bogart and Conrad Veidt, is released by Warner Bros. Bogardt and Veidt work well together and will appear again in 1942 in "Casablanca." Veidt, born in Berlin, is only in the United States because he fled Germany in 1933 due to his marriage to a Jewish woman, Ilona Prager.

Wedding of Royal Navy Lieutenant D. Campbell to Third Officer Joan Rouff. "The Bride and Bridegroom leaving the church after the wedding under a Guard of Honour of WRNS Officers holding cutlasses." © IWM (A 7000).

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