Wednesday 25 March 1942

A US Army soldier hands out copies of Civilian Exclusion Order No. 1 to Bainbridge Island, Washington, residents. All 227 Japanese-Americans on the island are required to vacate the island by the end of the month. The Seattle Daily Times, March 30, 1942, page 2.

Battle of the Pacific: Heavy fighting continues in Toungoo, Burma, on 25 March 1942 as the Allied defenses crumble save for desperate Chinese resistance. The Japanese attack the Chinese defensive perimeter at Toungoo on the north, west, and south, trying to overrun what has become a pocket. Behind the Chinese is the Sittang River, and trying to retreat across it while being attacked would be suicidal. The Chinese 200th Division at Toungoo, however, holds its ground for much of the day. Nighttime brings a different result. Around 22:00, Japanese infiltrators gain access through the carefully constructed defenses in the northwestern sector of the perimeter and a ferocious battle begins. A Chinese counterattack fails and they are forced to cede the lost ground, compressing the Chinese bridgehead even further. The Japanese airforce and artillery also manage to destroy a critical bridge over the Sittang, further reducing Chinese chances of retreat.

This photograph was taken 25 March 1942 on the foretop of USS Enterprise (CV-6). The three men (two reporters and an officer, center) are awaiting news of a strike against Marcus Island (US Navy History and Heritage Command).

It is a busy day in the Pacific for US submarines. They score three successes:

• USS Drum sinks a freighter about 120 miles southwest of Japan;
• USS Pompano sinks a tanker about 70 miles northwest of Okinawa;
• USS Tautog sinks a transport about 460 miles southeast of Ulithi.

The Japanese bombardment of the Allied position on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines continues. Lieutenant General Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright IV's United States Forces in the Philippines (USFIP) is hit with salvoes from 190 artillery pieces. These include some of the biggest guns of the war, including 150 mm cannons and even Type 42 240 mm howitzers. Japanese commanding General Homma, however, is not yet ready for a full-scale attack.

March 25, 1942, front page of the Joplin Globe, Joplin, Missouri is sunny and bright about the war situation - until you look a little closer. Aside from the tales of vanquishing hordes of Japanese, it also announces the loss of USS Edsall DD-219 and USS Pillsbury DD-227. While the paper "fears" the ships are lost, the US Navy knows full well the Edsall sank on 1 March 1942 and the Pillsbury sank on 2 March 1942. The Navy quickly names new destroyers after these two sunken ships.

The US 162nd Infantry Regiment of the 41st Infantry Division arrives at Bora Bora in French Polynesia. Companies C and D of the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion disembark from light cruiser USS St. Louis at Midway. They bring a 37 mm gun battery for the 3rd Defense Battalion.

Japanese submarine HIJMS I-9 launches an E14Y1 reconnaissance "Glen" aircraft to reconnoiter Kiska and Amchitka Islands.

Eastern Front: In the Crimea, Soviet General Kozlov readies his third offensive against the German 11th Army line on the Parpach Narrows for the morning of the 26th. This drive will be aimed at the German strongpoint at Koi-Asan. This will be a much smaller operation than the previous offensives due to the large losses Kozlov's 51st Army has suffered.

German coast batteries sink Soviet patrol boat CKA-121 off Musketeers Bay, Sevastopol.

Royal Navy ships performing high-speed maneuvers off Fort William, 25 March 1942. © IWM A 9340.

European Air Operations: During the day, nine Boston bombers with a fighter escort attack the Le Trait, France, shipyard. There are no losses.

After dark, RAF Bomber Command launches its first major attack in about two weeks. Things do not go particularly well. The RAF sends 254 aircraft (192 Wellingtons, 26 Stirlings, 20 Manchesters, 9 Hampdens, and 7 Lancasters) in a full-strength attack against Essen. Nine aircraft (5 Manchesters, 3 Wellingtons, and 1 Hampden) are lost. The attack is intended to hit the Essen Krupps works, but savvy German deception efforts lure most of the bombers to a phony site at Rheinburg some 18 miles to the west. Damage is extremely light in Essen itself, and the Germans exactly 1627 propaganda leaflets dropped on the town along with 9 bombs and 700 incendiaries. Only one house is destroyed, with five people killed and 11 injured. The Krupp works are undamaged. One bomber on this mission bombs Airfield Haamstede near the town of Haamstede on the island of Schouwen-Duiveland in the southwest of the Netherlands

In secondary operations, 27 bombers attack St. Nazaire, 38 lay mines off Lorient, and 30 bombers drop leaflets over France. A single bomber hits Lannion airport in Brittany. Two bombers, a Wellington and a Hampden, are lost on these secondary raids. Overall for the night, 11 out of 349 aircraft are lost, a 3.2% loss rate.

The day is notable for a "first" when US Army pilot Major Cecil P. Lessig becomes the first US Army Air Force pilot to fly a mission over France during World War II. He flies a Spitfire with RAF no. 64 Squadron out of Hornchurch, England. Lessig is part of an abortive sweep of 34 fighters that is recalled when 50 Luftwaffe fighters appear on the scene.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-105 (KrvKpt. Heinrich Schuch), on its sixth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 10,389-ton British tanker Narragansett about 400 miles east of Hampton Roads, Virginia. The ship sinks at 06:18, taking all 49 men with it. Schuch had a difficult time with the tanker, missing with two separate salvoes totaling five torpedoes in the early morning hours before finally getting the tanker with two torpedoes.

HMT Sulla, a minesweeper in the service of the Soviet Navy, sinks in the Arctic due to foul weather.

Some 500 new recruits in the Greek Free Navy marching in Alexandria after being sworn in, Egypt, 25 March 1942. © IWM A 8848.

Battle of the Mediterranean: Axis airforces have been pounding Malta ever since the Second Battle of Sirte a few days ago. Today, they score two victories, sinking Royal Navy destroyer Legion and submarine P39 in the Grand Harbor, Valletta. Attempts to repair P39 are considered, but later bomb damage seals her fate. She is finally scrapped in 1954. Legion, already damaged by previous bomb damage, also is considered for repair but the damage is too great. She is completely scrapped by 1946.

British tanker HMS Breconshire, badly damaged during the Second Battle of Sirte, finally is towed into Marsaxlokk Harbour, Malta. The ship carries 5000 tons of oil that are badly needed by the island garrison. The ship has been stranded offshore due to continual Axis air raids ever since the battle. Destroyer HMS Southwold had been protecting her, but it blundered into a British minefield and sank, leaving the tanker defenseless until today.

UK Government: The ruling Tories lose a by-election in Grantham. This is their first loss since September 1939.

US Government: The Department of War forms the White Hosue Communications Agency. This office is intended to create secure communications for the President wherever he is.

Finnish Government: President Risto Ryti writes a letter to Field Marshal Mannerheim at his headquarters at Mikkeli about a proposed offensive toward the Murmansk railway line that the Germans badly want. Ryti notes that "from an operative point of view" the offensive "can be carried out." While Ryti tells Mannerheim to "use your own discretion," he very strongly hints that it would be a better idea to not attack in order to husband Finland's resources. In addition, he mentions the possibility that "the Germans are forced to retreat on the St. Petersburg front," which would "cause us great difficulties and hazards." Among other considerations is the fear that the United States might declare war on Finland due to such an attack. Ultimately, Mannerheim decides to postpone the attack and, in fact, the attack is never made.

North American Aviation B-25B Mitchell 40-2291 at Eglin Field, Florida, March 1942. (U.S. Air Force).

German Military: An Me 262 fighter prototype is fitted with BMW 003 turbojet engines and flown at Rechlin Airfield north of Berlin. This is the plane's first test flight with its intended jet engines, and it does not go well. Shortly after takeoff, the compressor blades in the jet engine shatter, leaving the Me 262 powerless. However, fortunately for test pilot Fritz Wendel, the prototype still is equipped with a traditional propeller Junkers Jumo 210 G engine in the nose. He switches that on and lands safely. This mishap effectively ends the BMW engine as the one to be used on the plane. The engineers, fortunately, have another jet engine in development, the Junkers Jumo 004 A. They switch to that. Although this sets the program back a few months, that is what testing and test flights are for.

US Military: The US Army activates the 77th Infantry Division at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

Some B-26s of the 22nd Bomber Group (Medium) arrive from the United States at Archerfield Aerodrome, Brisbane. This is part of the standard ferry operation from the States to Australia via the South Pacific.

General Douglas MacArthur visits Lt. General George Brett, the man he replaced in charge of Allied forces in Australia. Brett, who still commands all air units in the Theater, recalls that MacArthur expressed "contempt" for the air units. Brett also recalls MacArthur saying that the Philippines were lost, but not due to anything MacArthur had done. Specifically, Brett recalls MacArthur saying about the air units, "They lack discipline, organization, purposeful intent." MacArthur has a reputation of preferring to deal only with his personal cronies, and Brett is not counted among them.

USS California, a battleship sunk during the 7 December 1941 Pearl Harbor raid, is re-floated today and dry-docked for repairs. Restoring her to service will take until 31 January 1944, after which she earns a total of seven battle stars during the war.

Twenty-two North American Aviation B-25B Mitchell twin-engine medium bombers of the 34th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 17th Bombardment Group (Medium), U.S. Army Air Force, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James Harold Doolittle, begin a two-day, low-level, transcontinental flight to the Sacramento Air Depot, McClellan Field, California. These bombers will participate in the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo.

Holocaust: A train carrying 997 young women departs from Poprad railway station in the Slovak Republic bound for Auschwitz. This is the first mass transport by trains of Jews to the extermination camp.

Greeks march in the streets of Athens to celebrate National Independence Day on 25 March 1942. They carry a large Greek flag and sing patriotic songs (National Museum of the US Navy).

Greece: Greeks defiantly march in the streets of Athens to celebrate National Independence Day. This is very dangerous due to the occupation and the parade is quickly dispersed.

Future History: Aretha Louise Franklin is born in Memphis, Tennessee. After singing gospel in her local church in Detroit, Michigan, Aretha becomes a recording artist at first Columbia Records and then Atlantic Records. She has a string of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, including "Respect," "Think," and "I Say a Little Prayer." Aretha Franklin passes away on 16 August 2018.

Sailing ships apparently in Boston Harbor, 25 March 1942. Boston Public Library.

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

Tuesday 28 October 1941

"Flight Lieutenant Wojciech Kołaczkowski of No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron, being kissed by his girlfriend after a decoration ceremony at RAF Northolt, 28 October 1941. Flying Officer Jan "Donald Duck" Zumbach, also decorated on that day, can be seen in the left background." © IWM (HU 128152).

Soviet Government: It is no secret that Joseph Stalin is a very hard man. No matter how you phrase that description, it can't quite capture the reality, so let's just leave it at that and let some of the facts speak for themselves. On 28 October 1941, Stalin demonstrates once again just how severe his methods can be. As usual, Stalin uses his chief henchman, Lavrentiy Beria, to rid him of underlings who have failed at their tasks. Whether these tasks were ever achievable in the first place is not the issue - men have failed, and they must die. That is how it is in the Soviet Union, and everybody knows it. Or, Stalin may just not like someone. That's how it rolls.

"A member of the ship's company of HMS BANGOR gets a warm welcome from the ship's mascot "Bebe." Portsmouth, 28 October 1941. © IWM (A 6068).

Six (former) top Soviets leaders perish at the hands of Beria's NKVD (actually, Beria also executes about 15 others, but most of them are simply nondescript minions). Their names are Smuschkevich, Shtern, Rychagov, Loktionov, Savchenko, and Proskurov, and the one thing that they have in common is that they are accused of treason. Now, treason in the Soviet Union is sort of a catch-all crime. It is not like in the West, where "treason" is understood to be an attempt to overthrow the legitimate government. In fact, none of the six men appear to have done anything of the sort. What exactly they did varies, but the only common denominator seems to be that it displeased Stalin. That is sufficient for execution in the Soviet Union in 1941.

"General Władysław Sikorski, the C-in-C of the Polish Armed Forces, addressing pilots and ground crew of No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron after decorating them with Crosses of Valour at RAF Northolt, 28 October 1941." © IWM (HU 128083).

For instance - and there is no point going through an endless series of names and stories, for they all are basically the same - General Yakov Vladimirovich Smushkevich earned the title Hero of the Soviet Union during the Spanish Civil War. That is the highest award in the USSR, akin to the United States Medal of Honor. Smushkevich followed up his Spanish Civil War heroics with the successful command of aviation for the 1st Army Corps at the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, one of the most significant military victories of the 20th Century (it convinced the Japanese to attack south instead of north into the Soviet Union). For this, Smushkevich earned the award of Hero of the Soviet Union - again. This guy, this Smushkevich, is like Audie Murphy and Sergeant York rolled into one man.

Yakov Smushkevich.

Due to his past success, Smushkevich has been promoted to commander of the entire Soviet Air Force from 1939 to 1940, and then Deputy Chief of the General Staff (Stavka) from 1940 to 1941. However, for unknown reasons, Stalin has Beria arrest Smushkevich on 8 June 1941, two weeks before the outbreak of Operation Barbarossa. The reason that Smushkevich's "crime" is unknown is that there is no trial - not even a show trial, as was common practice in the 1930s. It appears that Smushkevich was found guilty due to a Politburo inquiry in April-May 1941 into a high accident rate in the Red Air Force. In addition, a Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 52 lands in Moscow in May, undetected by the Soviet air defenses (ADF). Beria has his men execute Smushkevich on 28 October 1941 at Kuybyshev. Yakov Smushkevich is only 39.

Lieutenant General Rychagov.

Pavel Rychagov suffers a similar fate. He is arrested on 24 June 1941. Rychagov is another hero of the Spanish Civil War, a biplane fighter ace, who in 1940 is appointed to Head of the Red Army Air Force Administration and the Red Army Chief Military Council (predecessor to the Stavka). He follows Smushkevich into command of the Soviet Air Forces (VVS) on 28 August 1940, a position he holds until Operation Barbarossa. As with Smushkevich, it is unclear what Rychagov's crime is aside from the same general problems with the Red Air Force. In any event, Rychagov not only is arrested and held without trial, but he also is tortured - which is not particularly significant, because Stalin sometimes does that to his friends, too, who often are later restored to high ranks. However, Lieutenant General Rychagov does not earn a reprieve, and he is executed alongside Smushkevich. However, Rychagov does not die alone - his wife is executed alongside him. Yes, that Stalin, nice guy.

An F4F-3 Wildcat undergoing maintenance in USS Enterprise's hangar deck, 28 October 1941 (US National Archives).

Amidst the tens of millions of lives lost during World War II, it is easy to dismiss a relative handful of deaths at the hands of a dictator, names of people you will never know and never personally care about. However, some did not forget. Rychagov was exonerated posthumously in 1954, during the general cleansing of some of the sins of the Stalinist era. A fat lot of good that did him, and others have been rehabilitated as well, but it just shows the sheer arbitrariness of life and death in the Soviet Union during the chaotic days of 1941.

HMS Victorious underway at Scapa Flow, 28 October 1941. Coote, R.G.G. (Lt.), © IWM (A 6154).

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

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