Sunday 22 February 1942

A local St. Louis girl, Nurse Agnes Kozjak, in her field uniform at Ft. Benning, Georgia. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Pictures Section, page 1, February 22, 1942.

Battle of the Pacific: The loss of the Allied position on the Bilin River and the resulting approach of Japanese troops causes panic in Rangoon on 22 February 1942. Civilians evacuate west to India or leave by sea. On the Sittang River, the last strong natural barrier between the Japanese Army and Rangoon, the Japanese continue to make gains. Throughout the day, the British Indian Army continues to hold the Sittang River Bridge despite fierce Japanese attacks, often at close quarters. Finally, at 17:30, Brigadier Sir John George Smyth, V.C., orders his troops to blow up the bridge rather than allow it to fall into Japanese hands intact. This is done despite the fact that a large portion of the 17th Indian Division is still on the other side. Those men now are forced to get across the river in small groups without their equipment, and most of them do manage to reach the British lines. The overall commander in Burma, General Hutton, soon dismisses Smyth and replaces him as commander of the 17th Division with Brigadier David "Punch" Cowan. Since the 17th Division is the only large force available to defend the Sittang River, its struggles now for all intents and purposes doom Rangoon.

""Americans, Dutch Forces Now on Offensive," screams the headline of the 22 February 1942 The Ada (Texas) Evening News. The reality is a bit different, but it certainly sounds good and is better than reading about constant retreats.

Japanese air attacks on the Allied stronghold of Java increase in intensity as they begin to utilize newly acquired airbases in the region. Attacks today destroy four B-17's at Pasirian Airdrome and an LB-30 Liberator at Jogjakarta Airdrome. USAAF Fifth Air Force retaliates by destroying Japanese aircraft on the ground at Pasar Airfield.

US Navy submarine USS Swordfish disembarks Philippine President Manuel Quezon and his party at San Jose, Panay. Quezon wants to set up a new headquarters in Mindanao, but the Allies want him out of the Philippines and in Australia. They fear that Quezon may make a separate peace with the Japanese, which would remove from battle many troops fighting hard in the Bataan Peninsula. Area commander General Douglas MacArthur, meanwhile, also has orders to leave the Philippines and head to Australia.

After dark, two flights of 3 B-17Es of the Kangaroo Squadron (435th Bomb Squadron of the 19th Bomb Group), six bombers in all, set out from Townsville (Queensland) Field to bomb the Japanese fortress at Rabaul. The raid will actually take place early on the morning of the 23rd. One of these B-17s is "Swamp Ghost," which later becomes famous for being found in the swamps of New Guinea. The area has become too hot now for the US Navy to realize its plans of sending a carrier task force to attack the port, which rapidly is becoming the main Japanese base in the southwest Pacific.

A German poster, dated 22 February 1942, signed by Higher SS and Police Leader in General Government, SS-Obergruppenführer Friedrich Wilhelm Krüger. The poster sets forth penalties for aiding partisans or escaped Soviet prisoners.

Eastern Front: Adolf Hitler institutes a new practice by designating the Demyansk pocket a "fortress" (Festung). This makes the position there sound deliberate rather than unplanned and connotes a pleasing sense of permanence. He talks with the leaders of his army high command, OKH, about ways to restore contact with the large force at Demyansk. However, the smallest gap between the fortress and the German lines is about 20 miles to Staraya Russa to the north and the Polist River to the south. The troops outside the pocket, however, are busy holding their own lines, while the trapped German forces are barely surviving on less than half of the daily supplies they require from the Luftwaffe airlift. It will take a massive buildup nearby for the Germans to be able to stage a successful relief operation across the gap.

European Air Operations: After dark, RAF Bomber Command sends 50 bombers (31 Wellingtons and 19 Hampdens) to attack Wilhelmshaven. The targets are German heavy cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau ("Salmon and Gluckstein" as the British call them, after the tobacconist), which are believed to be at anchor. The weather is poor for bombing and bombers attempt to release their loads over the city instead (and, according to the Germans, they all miss Wilhelmshaven entirely). Seven bombers attack Emden, five bombers bomb the port of Ostend, five Manchesters lay mines off of Wilhelmshaven, and two Hampdens drop leaflets over Paris. The RAF loses no aircraft.

The Lone Ranger comic strip by Charles Flanders, illustrator. Taken from The Shreveport Times. February 22, 1942.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-504 (KrvKpt. Hans-Georg Friedrich Poske), on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 5287-ton US freighter Republic about 3 1/2 miles (5 km) northeast of Jupiter Inlet, Florida. While the Republic remains afloat for over 24 hours, it drifts onto reefs about five miles east of Hobe Sound and is lost. This is one of the famous incidents near Florida in which residents onshore are able to see the attack or its result. The surviving crewmen row ashore and are helped by local citizens. There are five dead and 29 survivors.

U-96 (Kptlt. Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock), on its third patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks 6,999-ton British freighter Scottish Standard, a straggler from Convoy ONS-67 The crew of Scottish Standard already has abandoned the ship after bombing by a German Focke-Wulf Fw200 Condor, but Lehmann-Willenbrock gladly administers the coup de grâce at 15:52. There are five dead and 39 survivors.

U-96 also hits 8888-ton British tanker Kars, another straggler, this one from Convoy HX-175 (convoys often overlap on the busy North Atlantic routes). The ship is abandoned and taken in tow. Kars makes it to Halifax and is beached on 27 February. There are 50 deaths and two survivors.

MV Adellen, sunk on 22 February 1942 by U-155.

U-155 (Kptlt. Adolf Cornelius Piening), on its first patrol out of Kiel, gets its first two victories of the war. They are 1799-ton Norwegian freighter Sama and 7984-ton British freighter Adellen. Both of these ships are part of Convoy ONS-67. Both ships are hit after U-155 firest three torpedoes into the convoy south of Cape Farewell. There are 36 dead and 12 survivors from the Adellen and 19 dead and 20 survivors from Sama.

U-128 (Kptlt. Ulrich Heyse),  on its second patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks unescorted 8103-ton US tanker Cities Service Empire about 25 miles north of Bethel Shoals, Florida. Heyse fires four torpedoes at the ship but misses with all four. He then fires two more torpedoes. These hit and immediately start a raging fire. There are 14 dead and 36 survivors.

British supply ship Hanne, sunk by Luftwaffe bombers off North Africa on 22 February 1942.

Battle of the Mediterranean:  The Luftwaffe bombs and sinks British 1341-ton freighter Hanne (formerly City of Bradford) in the Mediterranean about 77 miles east of Tobruk. The Hanne was carrying military equipment, something it had done 21 times already without incident. There are four deaths and 21 survivors.

U-83 (Kptlt. Hans-Werner Kraus), on its fifth patrol out of Salamis, claims to hit two ships near Sidi Barrani with torpedoes. This may be true, but there are no records of damaged ships at this time and place.

The 22 February 1942 L.A. Japanese Daily News reports on "Hundreds taken in round-up" by the FBI.

German Resistance: Ernst Junger, who maintains a personal diary, has tea with General of Infantry Carl-Heinrich Rudolf Wilhelm von Stülpnagel, who is the new military commander of Occupied France (succeeding his cousin, General Otto von Stülpnagel). Junger, who is on Stülpnagel's staff, finds that Stülpnagel is unexpectedly pessimistic about the military situation on the Eastern Front (where Stülpnagel commanded the 17th Army). Stülpnagel also complains about a hidden battle in France for power between the military occupation authority and the NSDAP. The former is acting in furtherance of military goals while the latter is more interested in political control. Stülpnagel is maintaining contacts with the anti-Hitler resistance through his friend, Lieutenant-Colonel Caesar von Hofacker. However, Stülpnagel is no angel and is alleged to authorize war crimes in his commands.

Holocaust: German Einsatzgruppe C sets up the Dzyatlava Ghetto (Zdzięcioł Ghetto) in Western Belarus when troops plaster city walls with posters directing the 4500 Jewish residents to relocate to an area around the synagogue and the Talmud Torah building within the streets of Łysogórska and Słonimska. Other residents are forced to evacuate their homes (which they gladly do so as to not be in the Ghetto themselves) and they are used for the new arrivals. The Ghetto is at least partially surrounded by barriers and barbed wire, with guards controlling access. Some trade is permitted between residents of the Ghetto and people outside for things like food and clothing, but these interactions are extremely limited. The Ghetto residents are used for building tasks outside the Ghetto under close guard.

The Seattle Sunday Times reports on FBI roundups of "Axis Spy Groups," 22 February 1942.

British Military: Air Marshall Arthur Harris becomes Head of Bomber Command for the RAF. He becomes known as "Bomber" Harris for his enthusiastic implementation of the RAF's new policy of terror bombings (the Area Bombing Directive of 14 February 1942).

Air Marshal Arthur "Bomber" Harris at his office during World War 2.

Harris puts forth his views on the upcoming bombing campaign by reference to the Bible:

The German people entered this war under the rather childish delusion they were going to bomb everyone else, and nobody was going to bomb them. At Rotterdam, London, Warsaw and half a hundred other places, they put their rather naive theory into operation. They sowed the wind, and now, they are going to reap the whirlwind.

There is no question that Harris' strategy is effective at destroying cities, though the scope of its effect on the overall German war effort is debatable. The strategy fails utterly at undermining the Reich's morale, just as Hermann Goering's terror bombing of London failed in 1940 and 1941. Bomber Harris becomes a controversial figure within Britain and elsewhere both during and after the war due to his uncompromising and unwavering attitude toward bombing civilians.

"Army's new dive bombers see action at Bali," says the caption to this photo in the 22 February 1942 Philadelphia Inquirer.

US Military: Recently arrived Major General Ira C. Eaker sets up the headquarter of U.S. Army Bomber Command, U.S. Army Forces, British Isles (USAFBI).

US Navy seaplane tender USS Langley leads a convoy of ships out of Freemantle, Australia, to India and Tjilatjap, Java. They carry 69 USAAF P-40s, motor vehicles, and U.S. Army troops

The A-24s of the 17th Bombardment Squadron, 27th Bomber Group, arrive at Batchelor from Brisbane, Australia. As with many air units in the region, their ground echelon is trapped in Bataan.

British Government: Prime Minister Winston Churchill continues his government shakeup following the loss of Singapore and the successful German Channel Dash. Among new appointees are Lord Wolmer as Minister of Economic Warfare and Sir James Grigg as Secretary of War. Everyone knows that Churchill, working very hard every day, is making all the big decisions and that his war cabinet basically exists to rubberstamp them.

"Corporate Cat," a Gold Seal Novel by Martin Flavin, reprint included with the 22 February 1942 Philadelphia Inquirer. Illustrator: Henry C. Pitz.

American Homefront: While the major auto manufacturers closed down their production lines by 10 February, a few have continued producing cars past that date. That production ends today. The remaining manufacturers all end their production of automobiles on February 22, 1942. Units manufactured at the beginning of February bring up the total number of vehicles in a newly established car stockpile to 520,000. These are available for the duration of the war for rationed sales by auto dealers to purchasers deemed “essential drivers.” Naturally, this makes obtaining a "new" car exceedingly difficult and reliant on "knowing the right people" and "pulling strings." Even if you have a car, gasoline to use it also is rationed.

"A String of Pearls" by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra is the number one song on the Billboard singles chart. It spends ten weeks there.

Future History: Christine Margaret Keeler is born in Uxbridge, Middlesex, England. She becomes a waitress, then a topless showgirl, in the late 1950s. Through this work, Keeler meets osteopath Stephen Ward, who introduces her to various government and entertainment figures. Keeler has affairs with several prominent men, including Secretary of State for War John Profumo and Soviet officer Yevgeny Ivanov. This leads to a major British government scandal that results in the resignation of Profumo and the suicide of Ward. After the Profumo Scandal, Keeler slips back into anonymity and passes away in obscurity on 4 December 2017.

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

Friday 20 February 1942

Lieutenant Butch O'Hare in the cockpit of his Grumman F4F Wildcat shortly after shooting down five Japanese bombers and becoming an ace-in-a-day on 20 February 1942. For his actions, O'Hare is promoted to lieutenant commander and receives the Medal of Honor (Office of War Information National Archives, via the Naval Historical Center website).

Battle of the Pacific: The Combined Chiefs of Staff announces on 20 February 1942 that Allied forces will remain on Java and will not be evacuated. At this point, Java is basically encircled, with new Japanese naval and air bases close by Portuguese Timor, Bali, Singapore, and Sumatra. So far, the ABDA forces have not succeeded in stopping the Japanese anywhere, and everyone expected Singapore to hold out, too. In a show of confidence, Governor of the Netherlands East Indies Dr. van Mook returns to Batavia from the United States today.

In Portuguese Timor, about 1500 troops of the Japanese 228th Regimental Group, 38th Division, XVI Army, continue their landings at Dili. Resistance is spotty, with some areas such as the airport fiercely defended by Australian commandos while others are abandoned. The Australian defenders are heavily outnumbered and retreat to the south and the ease toward the mountains. About 200 Dutch East Indies troops head southwest toward the border with Dutch Timor.

The first issue of the Singapore occupation newspaper The Shonan Times on Feb 20, 1942, celebrates Japan's victory and "impregnable" position. The last issue on 4 September 1945 will list reasons for Japan's defeat. PHOTO: NATIONAL LIBRARY, SINGAPORE.

In the Badung Strait, Vice Admiral Karel Doorman retreats with his battered force after the Battle of Badung Strait on 19 February 1942. At 06:00, Admiral Doorman sends seven torpedo boats to the Strait, but they do not find any targets. The failure of the ABDA forces at the Battle of Badung Strait leaves the Japanese in possession of Bali. The Japanese have suffered little damage during the engagement, while the ABDA forces have lost destroyer Piet Hein and suffered damage to cruiser Tromp and destroyer Stewart. Japanese aircraft of the Tainan Air Group land at Bali and begin operations.

Edward O'Hare, seen during a subsequent ticker-tape parade, becomes an ace-in-a-day on 20 February 1942 by shooting down five Japanese bombers (AP Photo).

USS Lexington, Task Force 11, is on a mission to penetrate waters north of New Ireland near Bougainville, Papua New Guinea and to attack Rabaul when it is attacked by Japanese bombers based at Rabaul. This is known as the Action off Bougainville. While most of the carrier's fighters are chasing them off, another group of Bettys from the 4th Kōkūtai's 1st Chuta is located only twelve miles away. Lieutenant Commander Edward Henry "Butch" O'Hare and his wingman, Marion "Duff" Dufilho, are the only two fighter pilots available when the second wave of Japanese bombers attack US Navy aircraft carrier USS Lexington. They take off together, and O'Hare shoots down five Betty bombers and he damages three more. This makes O'Hare the first U.S. flying ace of the war and he receives the Medal of Honor. O'Hare International Airport (ORD) in Chicago is named after Lt. O'Hare, and destroyer USS O'Hare (DD-889) also is named after him.

In the Philippines, Japanese artillery bombardment intensifies on fortified islands still held by the Allies in and near Manila Bay. US Navy submarine USS Swordfish departs from the Philippines with President Manuel Quezon, Vice President Sergio Osmea, their families, and other top government officials. Their first stop is Mindanao, where Quezon wants to stop in order to remain in the country that he governs. General MacArthur, the leader of Allied forces in the Philippines, orders that troops keep a close eye on Quezon to make sure that he does not attempt to make a separate peace with the Japanese. Since MacArthur, who is a Field Marshal in the Philippine Army, relies on Philippine troops to man the Main Line of Resistance (MLR) on the Bataan Peninsula, that would be a catastrophic development and almost certainly lead to a quick defeat. Whether or not Quezon's departure has an effect on morale remains to be seen.

The San Diego (California) Tribune-Sun of 20 February 1942 notes that United States citizens of Japanese descent are subject to internment pursuant to President Roosevelt's new Executive Order 9066.

In Burma, the Indian 17th Division continues to withdraw toward the Sittang River. Japanese aircraft strafe the fleeing troops, who are short of water and other essentials, and this leads to a lot of abandoned equipment. The campaign has for the moment become a race for a key bridge across the Sittang, with Japanese infiltrators closer to it than the main body of Allied troops. The British authorities order all civilians to evacuate Rangoon within 48 hours.

Japanese aircraft of the Tainan Kokutai strafe Singosari Airfield on East Java. They destroy numerous aircraft on the ground, including B-17E 41-2455, B-17E 41-2484, B-17E 41-2488, B-17E 41-2478, and B-17E 41-2498. Other Japanese bombers damage 4991-ton Dutch freighter Jalakrishna and sink 983-ton Dutch freighter Tobelo at Kupang. Japanese submarine I-65 torpedoes and sinks 5280-ton freighter Bhima in the Indian Ocean southwest of India, with all 70 people on board surviving. Japanese bombers sink 4068-ton Australian freighter Koolama off Wyndham, West Australia.

Generalmajor Theodor Scherer, the commander of the German troops encircled by the Red Army at Kholm, receives the Knight's Cross at the hands of the officers of his staff, 20 February 1942. Note they are all unshaven, reflecting their difficult situation. Scherer receives the award as Generalmajor and commander of the 281. Sicherungs-Division. The Germans hold approximately one square mile in Kholm at the confluence of the Lowat and Kunja rivers. They have been surrounded since 21 January 1942. The trapped force there has been designated Kampfgruppe Scherer.

Eastern Front: The German Army high command (OKH) compiles a report on casualties to date on the Eastern Front. So far, there are 199,448 dead, 708,351 wounded, 44,342 troops missing, and 112,627 cases of severe frostbite. Considering that the invasion began with approximately 3 million Axis troops, casualties after eight months of the war are about one-third. While many wounded men are able to return to duty, replacements have not matched losses.

European Air Operations: Activities on both sides are relatively quiet day due to weather conditions. There are no major operations.

A Mitsubishi G4M “Betty” medium bomber photographed from the flight deck of USS Lexington, 20 February 1942. (U.S. Navy).

Battle of the Atlantic: U-156 (Kptlt. Werner Hartenstein), which opened hostilities in the Caribbean as part of Operation Neuland,  continues its successful patrol when it torpedoes and sinks independent 5127-ton US freighter Delplata about sixty miles (97 km) west of Martinique. There are no deaths and all 53 men on board are picked up on the 21st by seaplane tender USS Lapwing (AVP 1). The Delplata does not sink right away, so the Lapwing sinks it on the 21st with gunfire. Following this further success, Hartenstein requests permission from the Vichy French authorities at Martinique to dock in order to put ashore their gunnery officer, who lost his right leg in an accident on 16 February. This request is granted, and U-156 docks there on the 21st.

U-129 (Kptlt. Asmus Nicolai Clausen), on its fourth patrol out of Lorient, torpedoes and sinks unescorted 2,400-ton Norwegian freighter Nordvangen near Trinidad. The ship sinks quickly and all 24 men aboard perish. An empty lifeboat washes ashore on Trinidad on 6 March.

SS Nordvangen, sunk by U-129 on 20 February 1942.

U-96 (Kptlt. Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock), on its third patrol out of Lorient, 2398-ton US freighter Lake Osweya off Nova Scotia. This sinking is sometimes dated as taking place on 19 February, but it appears that the torpedoes hit at 04:53 on 20 February. Lehmann-Willenbrock reports seeing three lifeboats launched, but the entire 39-man crew disappears.

Italian submarine Luigi Torelli torpedoes and sinks British 7224-ton freighter Scottish Star while the freighter is en route from London to Buenos Aires. Some sources place this sinking on 19 February 1942. There are four deaths and 69 survivors.

German 1025-ton freighter Jason hits a mine and sinks near Calais.

SS Delplata, sunk on 20 February 1942.

Battle of the Mediterranean: After a day without any air raids for the first time in many weeks, the bombers return on 20 February 1942. They attack Senglea, Bighi, Cospicua, Luqa, Kalafrana, and Zeitun. There are no reports of any aircraft losses.

US/Soviet Relations: The United States offers the USSR a $1 billion loan.

US/Vichy France Relations: The US Ambassador to Vichy France, Admiral William D. Leahy, requests that he be recalled to the United States "for consultations." Leahy is concerned about a growing hardline Vichy French attitude against the United States. This request will be denied.

Portuguese/Japanese Relations: Portugal protests to the Japanese government over its seizure of Portuguese Timor and the airfield at Dili. Portugal is a neutral nation.

Scottish Star (previously the Millais), sunk by Italian submarine Luigi Torelli on 20 February 1942.

US Military: Major General Ira C. Eaker, commander of the USAAF VIII Bomber Command, arrives by air in the British Isles. Their first task is to select a headquarters site. Eaker reports to Commanding General U.S. Army Forces, British Isles (USAFI) Major General James E. Chaney, who arrived with U.S. Army troops in January.

The USAAF Fifth Air Force moves the A-24s of the air echelon of the 17th Bombardment Squadron, 27th Bomber Group, from Brisbane to Batchelor. The 22nd Bombardment Squadron B-17s complete a move from Fiji to Townsville.

Australian Military: Following the devastating Japanese air raid on the port of Darwin, the Allies abandon it as a naval base. The airfields remain operational.

The Paducah (Texas) Post notes large numbers of men being taken into the US military. Similar headlines play out all across the country.

American Homefront: Universal Pictures releases "Ride 'Em Cowboy." Directed by Arthur Lubin and starring the comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, the film becomes the eighth biggest film hit of 1942.

Future History: Philip Anthony Esposito is born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. Esposito develops an early interest in hockey and signs with the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League as a teenager. He is an immediate success in a junior league, scoring 12 points (goals and assists) in one playoff game and averaging 3.3 points per game. After three years in the junior leagues, the Black Hawks bring Esposito up to the parent club during the 1964 season. Centering for Bobby Hull, another NHL star, Esposito is among the league scoring leaders for the next three years. In 1967, the Black Hawks trade Esposito to the Boston Bruins. Esposito goes on to become one of the greatest scorers in NHL history. Among his other accomplishments is becoming the first NHL player in history to score 100 points in 1969 and leads the league in goals for six straight years. He leads the Bruins to Stanley Cup Championships in 1970 and 1972. Esposito later plays for the New York Rangers and becomes its captain. Esposito retires in 1981 and goes into Rangers management, then is elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984. As of this writing, Phil Esposito serves as a radio color commentator for the Tampa Bay NHL franchise.

Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr. is born in Sheffield Alabama. His family moves to Georgia, then Louisville, Kentucky when Mitch McConnell is eight years old. After graduating from the University of Louisville, McConnell interns for Senator John Sherman Cooper in 1964. After law school, he enlists in the U.S. Army Reserve as a private. However, he is deemed medically unfit later in the year and honorably discharged. McConnell continues his political development and is elected as Jefferson County Judge/Executive in 1977 and to the United States Senate in 1984. As of this writing, Mitch McConnell is the Senate Majority Leader.

The 20 February 1942 Daily News focuses on the cabinet shifts in Great Britain.

February 1942

February 1, 1942: The US Navy Strikes Back
February 2, 1942: Germans Recovering in Russia
February 3, 1942: Japanese Shell and Bomb Singapore
February 4, 1942: Battle of Makassar Strait
February 5, 1942: Empress of Asia Sunk
February 6, 1942: The Christmas Island Body
February 7, 1942: The Double-V Campaign
February 8, 1942: Japan Invades Singapore
February 9, 1942: French Liner Normandie Capsizes
February 10, 1942: US Car Production Ends
February 11, 1942: Tomforce Fails on Singapore
February 12, 1942: The Channel Dash
February 13, 1942: Japanese Paratroopers In Action
February 14, 1942: RAF Orders Terror Raids
February 15, 1942: Japan Takes Singapore
February 17, 1942: Indian Troops Defect to Japanese
February 18, 1942: Battle of Badung Strait
February 19, 1942: FDR Authorizes Internment Camps
February 20, 1942: O'Hare the Hero
February 21, 1942: Crisis in Burma
February 22, 1942: Bomber Harris Takes Over
February 23, 1942: Bombardment of Ellwood, California
February 24, 1942: US Raid on Wake Island
February 25, 1942: Battle of Los Angeles
February 26, 1942: Gneisenau Eliminated
February 27, 1942: Battle of Java Sea
February 28, 1942: Battle of Sunda Strait

2020

Monday 29 December 1941

North American Aviation XP-51 41-038 at NACA Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, right profile. This plane arrives at Langley Field on 29 December 1941 for flight testing. (NASA).

Eastern Front: As German Lieutenant General Hans Graf von Sponeck, commander of 42nd Army Corps, prepares to finish off the tenuous Red Army landings on the Kerch Peninsula on 29 December 1941, the Soviets spoil his plans. Units of the Soviet 44th Army arrives at Feodosia (Feodosiya) on the south coast of the Crimea at around 05:00. There are few German troops in the town and the landings are virtually unhindered. Nearby Germany artillery units score some hits on Soviet cruiser Krasnyi Kavkaz and Luftwaffe attacks sink a minesweeper and patrol boat, but the Red Army units secure the port by 07:30 and begin receiving artillery and vehicles. Sponeck quickly calls off the attacks near Kerch and instead redirects Romanian 8th Cavalry Brigade and 4th Mountain Brigade to contain the dangerous new threat in Feodosiya.

General Douglas MacArthur on the cover of Time magazine, 29 December 1941. Covers such as this are quite rare and valuable if in good condition.

Sponeck realizes that his troops far to the east of Feodosiya are now in great danger. He requests permission from 11th Army Commander General der Infanterie Erich von Manstein to withdraw the 46th Infantry Division - the only full division under his command - west beyond Feodosiya to avoid encirclement. Manstein refuses and orders Sponeck to counterattack with every available unit. Manstein also orders the 170th Infantry Division and part of the 73rd Infantry Division to the area to help in the counterattack. In a very rare act of open defiance to direct orders within the Wehrmacht, Sponeck shuts down communications with the 11th Army at 08:30, and orders the 46th Infantry Division west.

On 29 December 1941, USS Swordfish, shown, becomes the last of eight U.S. submarines based in Manila Bay to depart for Australia. From this point on, U.S. submarines only return as blockade runners. Swordfish returns twice in February 1942 to evacuate Philippine President Quezon and other VIPs.

Sponeck's order unquestionably saves the German troops but also eliminates any possibility of preserving the German position east of Feodosiya. This order eventually leads to Sponeck's court-martial and disgrace. General Manstein now beings a long, slow process of assembling troops on a north-south line on the Crimea, essentially abandoning the Kerch Peninsula for the time being until a large-scale counterattack can be prepared. In Feodosiya, the returning Red Army soldiers are later accused by the Germans of committing atrocities against any German soldiers, including wounded left behind in hospitals, who fall into their hands. This includes beating and mutilating German soldiers and throwing wounded men from hospital windows, then pouring cold water on them to freeze them to death. A dozen German soldiers hide out in cellars and other places of concealment awaiting rescue, and they later testify to this alleged activity by Red Army troops in Feodosiya.

"Mr. Churchill on the steps of Government House, Ottawa, acknowledging the greetings from the crowd." Churchill is in Ottawa from 29-31 December 1941. © IWM (A 6722).

Further north around Moscow, the Germans also are in trouble. Army Group Center commander Field Marshal Guenther von Kluge feels hamstrung by Hitler's "no retreat" order. Kluge calls Hitler - not something that is ever done lightly, even by field marshals - and requests permission to order a general withdrawal. Kluge proposes to take the Fourth Army line due west of Moscow back about 10-15 miles. This, he says, will free three divisions for use shoring up the line further south at Yukhnov and Sukhinichi. Somewhat surprisingly, Hitler agrees after some back and forth, but limits the withdrawal to troops stationed at Kaluga. Kluge, who probably has accomplished more than he expected, sends the news to the local army generals. They, meanwhile, are somewhat bemused by this order because Kaluga already has been lost.

"Mr. Anthony Eden, Mr. Maisky, Lieut General Nye, and Sir Alexander Cadogan on the bridge of the tender." This is their return from Russia to Princes Pier, Greenock on 29 December 1941.  © IWM (A 6699).

Battle of the Pacific: In the Philippines, the Japanese anticipate the US endgame in Luzon and bomb Corregidor for the first time. US General George Parker continues moving supplies as fast as possible out of Manila, now an open city but still under US control, to the Bataan Peninsula. Lieutenant General Douglas MacArthur hopes to create a redoubt for an indefinite length of time. However, there are few if any usable airfields in Bataan suitable for large forces. Japanese bombers raid Mariveles and damage converted submarine tender USS Canopus (AS-9), wrecking her propeller shaft and starting fires. All US submarines now have left Manila Bay. Major General Lewis H Brereton, Commanding General Far East Air Force, leaves the Philippines and arrives in Darwin, Australia. The new local commander of US Army Air Force units is Colonel Harold H. George. All he has left are units at Del Monte Field on Mindanao. These, however, are able to accomplish little, so George has little to do. Colonel (later General) George, incidentally, eventually becomes the namesake of George AFB, formerly Victorville AFB, California, which is about 74 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

The Winnipeg Free Press for 29 December 1941 announces the arrival of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

In Borneo, the Japanese continue to advance from Kuching and take Singkawang. The British and Dutch troops in the area continue to retreat toward the Dutch airfield at Kotawaringin near Sampit and Pangkalanbun.

"The local inhabitants of Benghazi line the streets as the British troops arrive, 29 December 1941." The British captured Benghazi on 24 December. © IWM (E 7392).

US/Chinese Relations: US Ambassador to China Clarence Gauss sends a telegram to Secretary of State Cordell Hull on December 29, 1941, which references the Tulsa Incident. This is a misunderstanding that has arisen in Rangoon, Burma about the ownership of US Lend-Lease supplies destined for China. Local British officials have impounded these shipments from US freighter Tulsa on the theory that they need the supplies to try to hold Burma. Gauss notes that this has "aroused deep resentment on the part of Chiang against both America and Britain." Gauss suggests that "everything possible should be done by the British to make amends for their action" and that "it should be made known to Chiang that the matter has come to the attention of the President who confirms" that the supplies are for China, not the local British commanders. This is a seemingly minor diplomatic incident that has an outsized influence on future diplomatic relations between the three powers in Asia.

North American Aviation XP-51 41-038 in the collection of the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture Museum, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. (EAA AirVenture Museum).

US Military: The first North American Aviation XP-51 fighter prototype, Air Corps serial number 41-038, arrives at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, Langley Field, Hampton, Virginia, for flight testing. The RAF has placed an order for the plane, and this is the fourth production Royal Air Force Mustang Mk.I, RAF serial AG348 (North American serial number 73-3101). Testing of this plane lasts for a year, until 2 November 1942, and leads to the design of a new aileron. The engine is a liquid-cooled, supercharged 1,710.60-cubic-inch-displacement (28.032 liters) Allison Engineering Company V-1710-F3R (V-1710-39) single overhead cam 60° V-12 engine, with a compression ratio of 6.65:1 and a single-stage, single-speed supercharger. The XP-51, after much development and use of a new engine, becomes the legendary P-51 Mustang.

"U.S. Aerial Gunner" is the cover photo and story of the 29 December 1941 Life magazine.

American Homefront: World War I ace and Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Eddie Rickenbacker cancels the 1942 Indianapolis 500 due to the war situation.

Local authorities in California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington order all German, Italian and Japanese aliens to surrender contraband. Contraband is defined to include any weapons, binoculars, cameras, and short-wave radios.

A tourist snapshot of Freiburg im Breisgau showing the tram on Kaiserstraße. This was taken on 29 December 1941 by Italian embassy official Ugo Proietti. His photos show undamaged cities that wouldn't be like this for much longer (Federal Archive Bild 212-340).

December 1941

December 1, 1941: Hitler Fires von Rundstedt
December 2, 1941: Climb Mount Niitaka
December 3, 1941: Hints of Trouble in the Pacific
December 4, 1941: Soviets Plan Counteroffensive
December 5, 1941: Soviets Counterattack at Kalinin
December 6, 1941: Soviet Counterattack at Moscow Broadens
December 7, 1941: Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor
December 8, 1941: US Enters World War II
December 9, 1941: German Retreat At Moscow
December 10, 1941: HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse Sunk
December 11, 1941: Hitler Declares War on the US
December 12, 1941: Japanese in Burma
December 13, 1941: Battle of Cape Bon
December 14, 1941: Hitler Forbids Withdrawals
December 15, 1941: The Liepaja Massacre
December 16, 1941: Japan Invades Borneo
December 17, 1941: US Military Shakeup
December 18, 1941: Hitler Lays Down the Law
December 19, 1941: Brauchitsch Goes Home
December 20, 1941: Flying Tigers in Action
December 21, 1941: The Bogdanovka Massacre
December 22, 1941: Major Japanese Landings North of Manila
December 23, 1941: Wake Island Falls to Japan
December 24, 1941: Atrocities in Hong Kong
December 25, 1941: Japan Takes Hong Kong
December 26, 1941: Soviets Land in the Crimea
December 27, 1941: Commandos Raid Norway
December 28, 1941: Operation Anthropoid Begins
December 29, 1941: Soviet Landings at Feodosia
December 30, 1941: Race for Bataan
December 31, 1941: Nimitz in Charge

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