Timeline of World War II (1942)
Encyclopedia
This is a timeline of events that stretched over the period of World War II
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World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
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January 1942
- 2: ManilaManilaManila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
is captured by Japanese forces. They also take Cavite naval base, and the American and Filipino troops continue the retreat into Bataan. - 5: The beginning of a major Red Army offensive under General Zhukov.
- 6: The British advance continues to El Agheila, on the western edge of Libya.
: in his State of the Union speech, President Roosevelt promises more aid to Britain, including planes and troops. - 7: Siege of the Bataan PeninsulaBataan PeninsulaThe Bataan Peninsula is a rocky extension of the Zambales Mountains, on Luzon in the Philippines. It separates the Manila Bay from the South China Sea...
begins.
: Heavy air attacks on Malta; it is estimated that the bomb tonnage dropped on the island is twice that dropped on London. - 8: Japanese troops penetrated the outer lines of defense at Kuala Lumpur, Malaya.
- 9: Japanese advances in Borneo meet with little opposition.
- 10: Japan declared war on the Netherlands.
- 11: Japanese troops capture Kuala LumpurKuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, MalayaBritish MalayaBritish Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
; Japan declares war on the Netherlands and invades the Netherlands East Indies. - 12: Japanese invade Indonesia, landing on the island of Celebes.
- 13: Red Army take Kirov and Medya, as their counter-offensive continues.
: The German U-boat offensive comes closer to the US shores starting the Second Happy TimeSecond happy timeThe Second Happy Time , also known among German submarine commanders as the "American shooting season" was the informal name for a phase in the Second Battle of the Atlantic during which Axis submarines attacked merchant shipping along the east coast of North America...
. - 15: German authorities began to deport Jews from the Lodz ghettos to the Chelmno Concentration Camp.
- 19: Japanese forces take prisoner large numbers of British troops north of Singapore.
- 20: NazisNazismNazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
at the Wannsee conferenceWannsee ConferenceThe Wannsee Conference was a meeting of senior officials of the Nazi German regime, held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee on 20 January 1942. The purpose of the conference was to inform administrative leaders of Departments responsible for various policies relating to Jews, that Reinhard Heydrich...
in Berlin decide that the "final solutionFinal SolutionThe Final Solution was Nazi Germany's plan and execution of the systematic genocide of European Jews during World War II, resulting in the most deadly phase of the Holocaust...
to the Jewish problemJewish QuestionThe Jewish question encompasses the issues and resolutions surrounding the historically unequal civil, legal and national statuses between minority Ashkenazi Jews and non-Jews, particularly in Europe. The first issues discussed and debated by societies, politicians and writers in western and...
" is relocation, and later extermination.
: Japanese bomb Singapore as their troops approach the city. - 21: Rommel begins a surprising counter-offensive at El Agheila; his troops, with new reinforcements and tanks, capture Agedabia, then push north to Beda FommBeda FommBeda Fomm is a small coastal town in southwestern Cyrenaica, Libya located between the much larger port city Benghazi to its north and the larger town of El Agheila further to the southwest...
. - 23: The Battle of RabaulBattle of Rabaul (1942)The Battle of Rabaul, also known by the Japanese as Operation R, was fought on the island of New Britain in the Australian Territory of New Guinea, in January and February 1942. It was a strategically significant defeat of Allied forces by Japan in the Pacific campaign of World War II...
, New Guinea begins. - 24: American troops land in Samoa, as part of a strategy to stop the Japanese advance in the Pacific.
- 25: ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
declares war on the United States and United Kingdom; Japanese troops invade the Solomon IslandsSolomon IslandsSolomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
. - 26: The first American forces arrive in Europe landing in Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. - 27: The British withdraw all troops back into Singapore.
- 28: Brazil breaks off relations with the Axis powers.
- 29: Rommel enters Benghazi, Libya in his drive east. For the next few months, the two sides will rest and rearm.
- 30: Hitler speaks at the Berlin Sports Palace and threatens the Jews of the world with annihilation; he also blames the failure of the offensive in Soviet Union on the weather.
- 31: The Japanese take the port of Moulamein, Burma; they now threaten Rangoon as well as Singapore.
: On the Eastern front, the Germans are in retreat at several points.
: The last organised Allied forces leave MalayaBritish MalayaBritish Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
, ending the 54-day battleBattle of MalayaThe Malayan Campaign was a campaign fought by Allied and Japanese forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 31 January 1942 during the Second World War. The campaign was dominated by land battles between British Commonwealth army units, and the Imperial Japanese Army...
.
February 1942
- 1: Vidkun Quisling becomes the Nazi-aligned Minister-President of Norway
- 1: Rommel's forces reach El Gazala, Libya, near the border with Libya; during a "Winter lull" he will remain there.
- 2: General Joseph ("Vinegar Joe") StilwellJoseph StilwellGeneral Joseph Warren Stilwell was a United States Army four-star General known for service in the China Burma India Theater. His caustic personality was reflected in the nickname "Vinegar Joe"...
is named Chief of Staff to Chiang Kai-ShekChiang Kai-shekChiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
and Commander-in-Chief of the Allied forces in China. - 3: Japanese air power is thrown against Java, especially the naval base at Surabaya. Port Moresby, New Guinea is bombed, increasing the threat to Australia.
- 7: Americans continue their defence of Bataan against General Homma's troops.
- 8: The German armies in Soviet Union are driven from Kursk, an important point in the German strategy.
- 9: British troops are now in full retreat into Singapore for a final defence.
- 9: Top United States military leaders hold their first formal meeting to discuss American military strategy in the war.
- 10: The cruise liner "Normandie" catches fire and capsizes in New York harbour. Although the cause is probably a welder's torch, various conspiracies are imagined in the media.
- 11: The "Channel Dash." The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen rush out of BrestBrest, FranceBrest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
through the English ChannelEnglish ChannelThe English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
to northern ports, including Wilhelmshaven, Germany; the British naval units fail to sink any of them. - 13: The battle for BataanBattle of BataanThe Battle of Bataan represented the most intense phase of Imperial Japan's invasion of the Philippines during World War II. The capture of the Philippine Islands was crucial to Japan's effort to control the Southwest Pacific, seize the resource-rich Dutch East Indies, and protect its Southeast...
continues. - 15: SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
surrenders to Japanese forces; this is arguably the most devastating loss in British military history. - 16: Being discussed in high American government circles are plans for the internment of Japanese-Americans living generally in the western US.
- 16: The Japanese commit the Banka Island MassacreBanka Island massacreThe Bangka Island massacre took place on 16 February 1942, when Japanese soldiers machine gunned 22 Australian military nurses. There was only one survivor....
in which they open fire on Australian military nurses, killing 21. - 17: Orders are given for Rangoon to be evacuated as Japanese forces approach.
- 19: Japanese aircraft attack DarwinDarwin, Northern TerritoryDarwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
, in Australia's Northern TerritoryNorthern TerritoryThe Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
. - 19: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066Executive Order 9066United States Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942 authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe certain areas as military zones...
allowing the United States military to define areas as exclusionary zones. These zones affect the JapaneseJapanese American internmentJapanese-American internment was the relocation and internment by the United States government in 1942 of approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese who lived along the Pacific coast of the United States to camps called "War Relocation Camps," in the wake of Imperial Japan's attack on...
on the West Coast, and Germans and Italians primarily on the East Coast. - 19: A military conscription law is passed in Canada.
- 20: Japanese troops cross the important Salween River in Burma.
- 20: Japanese invade Bali and Timor by a combined use of paratroops and amphibious troops.
- 21: The American Air Corps is now firmly established at bases in the UK.
- 22: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt orders General Douglas MacArthurDouglas MacArthurGeneral of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
out of the PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
as American defence of the nation collapses. - 25: The internment of Japanese-American citizensJapanese American internmentJapanese-American internment was the relocation and internment by the United States government in 1942 of approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese who lived along the Pacific coast of the United States to camps called "War Relocation Camps," in the wake of Imperial Japan's attack on...
in the Western United States begins as fears of invasion increase. - 25: Princess ElizabethElizabeth II of the United KingdomElizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
registers for war service - 26: Vivian BullwinkelVivian BullwinkelVivian Bullwinkel, Mrs. Statham, AO, MBE, ARRC, ED was an Australian Army nurse during the Second World War. She was the sole survivor of the Banka Island Massacre, when the Japanese killed 21 of her fellow nurses on Radji Beach, Bangka Island on 16 February 1942.-Personal life:She was born as...
; the only survivor of the Banka Island MassacreBanka Island massacreThe Bangka Island massacre took place on 16 February 1942, when Japanese soldiers machine gunned 22 Australian military nurses. There was only one survivor....
is captured and imprisoned by the Japanese - 27: Battle of the Java SeaBattle of the Java SeaThe Battle of the Java Sea was a decisive naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, that sealed the fate of the Netherlands East Indies....
. Under a Dutch Admiral, the combined forces lose one aircraft tender (the Langley), six destroyers, and five cruisers off Java. - 28: Japanese land forces invade Java.
March 1942
- 1: A Red Army offensive in the Crimea begins; in the north, the siege of Leningrad continues with all its horrors.
- 3: Japanese aircraft make a surprising raid on the airfield and harbour at Broome, Western Australia.
- 4: By Executive decree, all Japanese-Americans, especially on the West coast, find themselves subject to relocation in special camps.
- 5: New conscription laws in the United Kingdom include women and men up to the age of 45.
- 6: Rangoon falls to the Japanese.
: Malta receives more fighters for its on-going defence. - 8; The Japanese land at Lae and Salamaua, on Huon Bay, New Guinea, beginning their move toward Port Moresby, New Guinea, and then Australia.
- 9: It appears that the Japanese are in control of Java, Burma, and New Guinea.
: The Secretary of WarUnited States Secretary of WarThe Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
reorganizes the General Headquarters (GHQ), United States ArmyUnited States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
into three major commands - Army Ground ForcesArmy Ground ForcesThe Army Ground Forces were one of the three autonomous components of the Army of the United States during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Service Forces. Throughout their existence, Army Ground Forces were the largest training organization ever established in the United...
, Army Air ForcesUnited States Army Air ForcesThe United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
, and Services of SupplyServices of SupplyThe Services Of Supply or "SOS" branch of the Army of the USA was created on 28 February 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department" and War Department Circular No. 59, dated 2 March 1942. Services of Supply became one of the three autonomous components of the...
, the later of which is later redesignated Army Service ForcesArmy Service ForcesThe Army Service Forces were one of the three autonomous components of the Army of the United States during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Ground Forces. They were created on February 28, 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department"...
. At the same time, the four Defense commands and all Theaters Of Operations (TOPNS) are subordinated to the War Department General Staff. - 11: General MacArthur is ordered by President Roosevelt to leave the Philippines; he will travel to Australia by PT boat and aircraft. He tells General Wainwright and the Filipino people "I shall return."
: The Japanese land on Mindanao, the southernmost island in the Philippines. - 12: American troops begin to land in Nouméa, New Caledonia; it will become an important staging base for the eventual invasion of Guadalcanal.
- 13: RAF launches an air raid against Essen, Germany.
- 14: Japanese land troops in the Solomons, underscoring Australia's dangerous situation, especially if, as it is soon made clear, an airfield is built on Guadalcanal.
: A Red Army offensive is started to retake Kharkov, lost to the Germans about a month ago.
: The Japanese are now threatening American forces around Manila BayManila BayManila Bay is a natural harbor which serves the Port of Manila , in the Philippines.The bay is considered to be one of the best natural harbors in Southeast Asia and one of the finest in the world...
; the retreat to CorregidorCorregidorCorregidor Island, locally called Isla ng Corregidor, is a lofty island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in southwestern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines. Due to this location, Corregidor was fortified with several coastal artillery and ammunition magazines to defend the entrance of...
begins. - 17: U.S. General Douglas MacArthurDouglas MacArthurGeneral of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
arrives in Australia, after leaving his headquarters in the Philippines.
: The United Kingdom institutes rationing of electricity, coal, and gas; the clothing ration is decreased as well. - 20: The bombing of Malta begun in December continues; an invasion is a possibility.
- 20: Operation OutwardOperation OutwardOperation Outward was the name given to the British World War II program to attack Germany by means of free-flying balloons. It made use of cheap, simple gas balloons filled with hydrogen...
begins - 22: A fractured convoy reaches Malta, after heavy losses to the Luftwaffe and an Italian sea force. Continued heavy bombing attacks on the island with slight opposition from overtaxed RAF air forces.
- 25: RAF sends bomber raids against targets in France and Germany.
- 26: Jews in Berlin must now clearly identify their houses.
- 28: The RAF sends a raid against LübeckLübeckThe Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
, destroying over 30% of the city, and 80% of the medieval centre. Hitler is outraged.
: British commandos launch the raid on Saint-NazaireSt. Nazaire RaidThe St Nazaire Raid or Operation Chariot was a successful British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire in German-occupied France during the Second World War. The operation was undertaken by the Royal Navy and British Commandos under the auspices of Combined...
. , filled with explosives on a time-delay fuse, rams the dock gates and commandos destroy other parts of the naval service area. The port is completely destroyed and does not resume service till 1947; however, around two-thirds of the raiding forces are lost.
April 1942
- 2: Over 24,000 sick and starving troops (American and Filipino) are now trapped on Bataan.
- 2: Japanese make landings on New Guinea, most importantly at Hollandia.
- 3: Japanese forces begin an all-out assault on the United States and FilipinoPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
troops on the Bataan PeninsulaBataan PeninsulaThe Bataan Peninsula is a rocky extension of the Zambales Mountains, on Luzon in the Philippines. It separates the Manila Bay from the South China Sea...
. - 4: Germans plan "Baedeker raids"Baedeker BlitzThe Baedeker Blitz or Baedeker raids were a series of Vergeltungsangriffe by the German air force on English cities in response to the bombing of the erstwhile Hanseatic League city of Lübeck during the night from 28 to 29 March 1942 during World War II.-Background:Lübeck was bombed on the night...
on touristy or historic British sites, in revenge for the Lübeck bombing. - 5: On Bataan, the Japanese overwhelm Mt. Samat, a strong point on Allied defensive line.
- 5: The Japanese NavyImperial Japanese NavyThe Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
attacks ColomboColomboColombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
in Ceylon (Sri LankaSri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
). Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
cruisers and are sunk southwest of the island. - 6: Japanese naval forces are observed on the Indian Ocean; they put troops ashore in the Solomon Islands.
- 8: Heavy RAF bombing of Hamburg.
- 8: German summer offensive in the CrimeaCrimeaCrimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
opens up. - 8: American forces are strained for one last offensive on Bataan.
- 8: With the withdrawal of the from Malta Force KForce KForce K was the designation for three British Royal Navy task forces during World War II. The first Force K operated from West Africa in 1939. The second and third Force Ks operated from Malta in 1941-1943.-First Force K:...
in malta comes to a close. - 9: The Japanese Navy launches air raid on TrincomaleeTrincomaleeTrincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...
in Ceylon (Sri Lanka); Royal Navy aircraft carrierAircraft carrierAn aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
and Royal Australian NavyRoyal Australian NavyThe Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
destroyerDestroyerIn naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
are sunk off the country's East Coast. - 9: Bataan falls to the Japanese. The "Bataan Death MarchBataan Death MarchThe Bataan Death March was the forcible transfer, by the Imperial Japanese Army, of 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war after the three-month Battle of Bataan in the Philippines during World War II, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of prisoners.The march was characterized by...
" begins, as the captives are taken off to detention camps in the north. Corregidor, in the middle of Manila Bay, remains a final point of resistance. - 10: Japanese land on Cebu IslandCebu IslandCebu is an island of the Philippines. It is the main island of Cebu Province at the center of the Visayan Islands, south of Manila.It lies to the east of Negros Island; to the east is Leyte and to the southeast is Bohol Island. It is flanked on both sides by the Cebu Strait and Tañon Strait...
, a large middle island of the Philippines. - 15: MaltaMaltaMalta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
is awarded the George CrossGeorge CrossThe George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
by King George VIGeorge VI of the United KingdomGeorge VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
for "heroism and devotion". - 17: French General Henri GiraudHenri GiraudHenri Honoré Giraud was a French general who fought in World War I and World War II. Captured in both wars, he escaped each time....
, who was captured in 1940, escapes from a castle prison at Konigstein by lowering himself down the castle wall and jumping on board a moving train, which takes him to the French border. - 18: Doolittle RaidDoolittle RaidThe Doolittle Raid, on 18 April 1942, was the first air raid by the United States to strike the Japanese Home Islands during World War II. By demonstrating that Japan itself was vulnerable to American air attack, it provided a vital morale boost and opportunity for U.S. retaliation after the...
on Nagoya, TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
and YokohamaYokohamais the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
; his B25's take off from the . The raids are a great boost of morale for Americans whose diet has been mostly bad news. - 19: At a press conference, President Roosevelt explains with some amusement that the Doolittle bombers took off from "Shangri-La", an allusion to James Hilton's popular novel.
- 23: Beginning of so-called Baedeker RaidsBaedeker BlitzThe Baedeker Blitz or Baedeker raids were a series of Vergeltungsangriffe by the German air force on English cities in response to the bombing of the erstwhile Hanseatic League city of Lübeck during the night from 28 to 29 March 1942 during World War II.-Background:Lübeck was bombed on the night...
by the Luftwaffe on English provincial towns like Bath, Norwich, and York; attacks continue sporadically until June 6. - 24: Heavy bombing of RostockRostockRostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
, Germany by RAF. - 26: Hitler assumes a kind of supreme authority over Germany.
- 27: RostockRostockRostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
is bombed for fourth night in a row. - 27: A national plebiscite is held in Canada on the issue of conscriptionConscriptionConscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
. French Canadians are main, though not the only, objectors to the draft. - 29: The "Baedeker raids" continue, focused on Norwich and York.
- 29: Japanese cut Burma RoadBurma RoadThe Burma Road is a road linking Burma with the southwest of China. Its terminals are Kunming, Yunnan, and Lashio, Burma. When it was built, Burma was a British colony.The road is long and runs through rough mountain country...
with the capture of Lashio.
May 1942
- 1: Rommel readies for a new offensive during the early part of this month.
: Japanese take Mandalay and other ports in Burma. - 3: The Japanese forces land on Tulagi Island in the Solomons, not far from Guadalcanal.
- 4: The Battle of the Coral SeaBattle of the Coral SeaThe Battle of the Coral Sea, fought from 4–8 May 1942, was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. The battle was the first fleet action in which aircraft carriers engaged...
begins: it will last four days and is a first in that the ships on both sides never are in sight of the other; the USS LexingtonUSS Lexington (CV-2)USS Lexington , nicknamed the "Gray Lady" or "Lady Lex," was an early aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. She was the lead ship of the , though her sister ship was commissioned a month earlier...
is sunk, but the Americans can claim an overall victory. - 5: Heavy Japanese artillery attack on Corregidor.
: British forces begin "Operation Ironclad": the invasion of MadagascarMadagascarThe Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
to keep the Vichy French territory from falling to a possible Japanese invasion.
: The city of ExeterExeterExeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
is bombed by the Luftwaffe, another "Baedeker RaidBaedeker BlitzThe Baedeker Blitz or Baedeker raids were a series of Vergeltungsangriffe by the German air force on English cities in response to the bombing of the erstwhile Hanseatic League city of Lübeck during the night from 28 to 29 March 1942 during World War II.-Background:Lübeck was bombed on the night...
". - 6: On CorregidorCorregidorCorregidor Island, locally called Isla ng Corregidor, is a lofty island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in southwestern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines. Due to this location, Corregidor was fortified with several coastal artillery and ammunition magazines to defend the entrance of...
, the last U.S. forces in the PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
surrender to the Japanese. About 12,000 are made prisoners. - 8: The Battle of the Coral SeaBattle of the Coral SeaThe Battle of the Coral Sea, fought from 4–8 May 1942, was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. The battle was the first fleet action in which aircraft carriers engaged...
comes to an end. This is the first time in naval history where two enemy fleets fought without seeing each other. In addition to the loss of the Lexington the Yorktown is badly damaged; it returns to Pearl HarborPearl HarborPearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
for repairs.
: The Germans take the Kerch peninsula in the eastern CrimeaCrimeaCrimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
. - 9: On the night of 8/9 May 1942, gunners of the Ceylon Garrison Artillery on Horsburgh Island in the Cocos Islands rebelled. Their mutiny was crushed and three of them were executed, the only British Commonwealth soldiers to be executed for mutiny during the Second World War.
- 11: Another first: An allied ship on the St. Lawrence River, Canada is sunk by a U-boat.
- 12: Second Battle of KharkovSecond Battle of KharkovThe Second Battle of Kharkov, so named by Wilhelm Keitel, was an Axis counter-offensive against the Red Army Izium bridgehead offensive conducted from 12 May to 28 May 1942, on the Eastern Front during World War II. Its objective was to eliminate the Izium bridgehead over Seversky Donets, or the...
- In the eastern UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, the SovietSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
Army initiates a major offensive. During the battle the Soviets will capture the city of Kharkov from the German Army, only to be encircled and destroyed. - 15: In the United States, a bill creating the Women's Auxiliary Army CorpsWomen's Army CorpsThe Women's Army Corps was the women's branch of the US Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps on 15 May 1942 by Public Law 554, and converted to full status as the WAC in 1943...
(WAAC) is signed into law. - 16: United States 1st Armored Division1st Armored Division (United States)The 1st Armored Division—nicknamed "Old Ironsides"—is a standing armored division of the United States Army with base of operations in Fort Bliss, Texas. It was the first armored division of the U.S...
arrives in Northern Ireland. - 18: The Red Army are in a major retreat at Kerch, after large numbers surrender.
- 20: The Japanese conquest of Burma is complete; it is called a "military catastrophe".
- 21: Invasion of Malta postponed indefinitely.
- 22: The battle of Kharkov continues; for the Germans it is an important step on the way to Stalingrad.
: Mexico declares war on the Axis. - 25: In preparation for the next battle, the Japanese naval strategists send diversionary forces to the Aleutians.
- 26: The Anglo-Soviet Treaty: their foreign secretaries agree that no peace will be signed by one without the approval of the other. (An important treaty since Himmler and others will attempt to separate the two nations at the end of the war.)
: Rommel begins a Spring offensive at the Gazala line (west of Tobruk). The battle lasts well into June and ends with a total victory for Rommel. - 27: Reinhard HeydrichReinhard HeydrichReinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
, head of Reich SecurityRSHAThe RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt was an organization subordinate to Heinrich Himmler in his dual capacities as Chef der Deutschen Polizei and Reichsführer-SS...
, is fatally hurt in PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
during Operation AnthropoidOperation AnthropoidOperation Anthropoid was the code name for the targeted killing of top German SS leader Reinhard Heydrich. He was the chief of the Reich Main Security Office , the acting Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, and a chief planner of the Final Solution, the Nazi German programme for the genocide of the...
by Czechoslovak soldiers; he will die on June 4 from his wounds.
: British use American Sherman tanks in attempts to stop Rommel's attacks on the Gazala line.
: The , damaged at the Coral Sea, limps into Pearl Harbor; it is ordered to get repaired and ready as fast as possible for the impending battle. - 29: The Jews in France are ordered to wear the yellow Star of David.
: Japanese forces have large successes south of Shanghai.
: Rommel turns his troops to Bir Hachim on the south edge of the Gazala line; once it is taken, he can move north and destroy the Allied emplacements in the line. - 30: "The Thousand Bomber Raid"Bombing of Cologne in World War IIThe City of Cologne was bombed in 262 separate air raids by the Allies during World War II, including 31 times by the Royal Air Force . Air raid alarms went off in the winter/spring of 1940 as enemy bombers passed overhead. However, the first actual bombing took place on 12 May 1940...
on Cologne, revealing new area bombing techniques.
: The leaves Pearl after hasty repairs and moves to join the for the next expected battle. - 31: Huge German successes around Kharkov, with envelopment of several Red Army armies.
: Japanese midget subs enter Sydney harbour and sink one support ship; fears of invasion grow.
June 1942
- 1: First reports in the West that gas is being used to kill the Jews sent to "the East".
: Mexico declares war on Germany, Italy, and Japan. - 2: Further heavy bombing of industrial sites in Germany, centred mainly on Essen.
- 3: The British coal industry is nationalised.
- 3: Japan launches air raids against AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
in the Battle of Dutch HarborBattle of Dutch HarborThe Battle of Dutch Harbor took place on 3-4 June 1942, and was a minor air and naval battle of the Aleutian Islands Campaign of World War II between Imperial Japanese Navy and United States Army and Navy forces.-Overview:...
, beginning the Aleutian Islands Campaign - 4: The Battle of MidwayBattle of MidwayThe Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
begins; The Japanese attack installations on the island, but only manage to detect one of the three nearby American carriers. American planes sink all four Japanese carriers present at the battle.
: Reinhard HeydrichReinhard HeydrichReinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
dies in Prague from medical complications that had arisen from injuries suffered from an attempted assassination by Czechoslovak patriots two weeks earlier (Operation AnthropoidOperation AnthropoidOperation Anthropoid was the code name for the targeted killing of top German SS leader Reinhard Heydrich. He was the chief of the Reich Main Security Office , the acting Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, and a chief planner of the Final Solution, the Nazi German programme for the genocide of the...
) - 5: United States declares war on Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania.
- 7: Japanese forces invade Attu and KiskaBattle of the Aleutian IslandsThe Aleutian Islands Campaign was a struggle over the Aleutian Islands, part of Alaska, in the Pacific campaign of World War II starting on 3 June 1942. A small Japanese force occupied the islands of Attu and Kiska, but the remoteness of the islands and the difficulties of weather and terrain meant...
. This is the first invasion of American soil in 128 years. Japanese occupation of AttuJapanese occupation of AttuThe Japanese occupation of Attu was the result of an invasion of the Aleutian Islands during World War II. Imperial Japanese Army troops landed on 6 June 1942 at the same time as the invasion of Kiska...
and Japanese occupation of KiskaJapanese occupation of KiskaThe Japanese occupation of Kiska took place between 6 June 1942 and 28 July 1943 during the Aleutian Islands Campaign of the Pacific War. The Japanese occupied Kiska and nearby Attu Island in order to protect the northern flank of the Japanese Empire....
begins.
: The Battle of Midway comes to a close; the USS Yorktown sinks; four Japanese carriers and one cruiser are sunk. The battle is viewed as a turning point in the Pacific war.
: The Greek People's Liberation Army makes its first appearance at DomnistaDomnistaDomnista is a village and a former municipality in Evrytania, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Karpenisi, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 2,163 . The seat of the municipality was in Krikello....
, where Aris VelouchiotisAris VelouchiotisAris Velouchiotis , the nom de guerre of Athanasios Klaras , was the most prominent leader and chief instigator of the Greek People's Liberation Army , the military branch of the National Liberation Front , which was the major resistance organization in occupied Greece from 1942 to 1945...
proclaims the start of armed resistance against the Axis. - 8: Malta receives a squadron of SpitfiresSupermarine SpitfireThe Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
.
: A Japanese submarine fires several shells into a residential area in Sydney but with little effect. - 9: NazisNazismNazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
burn the Czech village of LidiceLidiceLidice is a village in the Czech Republic just northwest of Prague. It is built on the site of a previous village of the same name which, as part of the Nazi Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, was on orders from Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, completely destroyed by German forces in reprisal...
as reprisal for the killing of Reinhard HeydrichReinhard HeydrichReinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
. All male adults and children are killed, and all females are taken off to concentration camps. - 10: Rommel pushes the Free French forces out of Bir Hakeim, a fortress south-west of Tobruk.
- 12: Heavy fighting in Sevastopol with serious losses of life on both sides.
: Rommel finally pushes Allies out of Gazala line. - 13: The United States opens its Office of War Information, a centre for production of propagandaPropagandaPropaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
. - 16: Two convoys moving toward Malta suffer heavy losses; German air forces continue to bomb the island itself.
- 17: The British pull out of the areas called "Knightsbridge" and "the Cauldron" in the Western desert area between Tobruk and El Gazala. Tobruk is now surrounded.
- 18: Manhattan ProjectManhattan ProjectThe Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
is started, the beginning of a scientific approach to nuclear weapons.
: Winston Churchill arrives in Washington for meetings with Roosevelt.
: The siege of TobrukTobrukTobruk or Tubruq is a city, seaport, and peninsula on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000 ....
intensifies; some defending forces are pulled back to EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. - 21: Afrika Korps recaptures Tobruk, with 35,000 men captured; the road to Egypt is now open as the British retreat deep into Egypt. Tobruk's loss is a grievous blow to British morale. German land forces have been assisted by Luftwaffe attacks.
- 23: Marsa Matruh, Egypt falls to Rommel, about 140 miles from Alexandria.
- 24: British fall back to El Alamein, 60 miles from Alexandria, for a "final stand".
- 25: General Eisenhower arrives in London ready to assume the post of Commander of American forces in Europe.
: Another massive "Thousand Bomber" raid, this time on BremenBremenThe City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
; the raiders suffer grievous losses. - 26: The Germans drive toward RostovRostovRostov is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population:...
. - 27: Doomed convoy PQ17 sets sail from Iceland; only 11 of 37 ships will survive.
- 28: Operation Blue, the German plan to capture Stalingrad and the Soviet Union oil fields in the Caucasus, begins. Generally, forces are shifted to the South.
- 30: Rommel reaches El AlameinEl AlameinEl Alamein is a town in the northern Matrouh Governorate of Egypt. Located on the Mediterranean Sea, it lies west of Alexandria and northwest of Cairo. As of 2007, it has a local population of 7,397 inhabitants.- Climate :...
.
: United States of America deploys II Corps to the European Theater.
July 1942
- 1: First Battle of El AlameinFirst Battle of El AlameinThe First Battle of El Alamein was a battle of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, fought between Axis forces of the Panzer Army Africa commanded by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, and Allied forces The First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942) was a battle of the Western Desert...
begins as Rommel begins first assault on British defences. - 1: SevastopolSevastopolSevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
falls to the Germans; the end of Red Army resistance in the Crimea. - 2: Churchill survives a censure motion in the House of Commons.
- 2: Allies experience heavy June losses of shipping to U-boats, including those of PQ17.
- 3: GuadalcanalGuadalcanalGuadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
is now firmly in the hands of the Japanese. - 4: First air missions by American Air Force in Europe.
- 11: Rommel's forces are now stalemated before El Alamein, largely because of a lack of ammunition.
- 12: It now becomes clear that Stalingrad is the largest challenge to the invaders.
- 12: A balloon from Operation OutwardOperation OutwardOperation Outward was the name given to the British World War II program to attack Germany by means of free-flying balloons. It made use of cheap, simple gas balloons filled with hydrogen...
knocks out a power station near LeipzigLeipzigLeipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing... - 15: The only action around El Alamein is light skirmishing.
- 16: On order from the Vichy FranceVichy FranceVichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
government headed by Pierre LavalPierre LavalPierre Laval was a French politician. He was four times President of the council of ministers of the Third Republic, twice consecutively. Following France's Armistice with Germany in 1940, he served twice in the Vichy Regime as head of government, signing orders permitting the deportation of...
, French police officers mass arrest 13,152 Jews and hold them at the Winter Velodrome before deportation to Auschwitz. (See: Vel' d'Hiv Roundup.) - 17: Battle of Stalingrad begins
- 18: The Germans test fly the Messerschmitt Me-262 V3 third prototype using only its jet engineJunkers Jumo 004The Jumo 004 was the world's first turbojet engine in production and operational use, and the first successful axial compressor jet engine ever built. Some 8,000 units were manufactured by Junkers in Germany during late World War II and powered the operational Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter,...
s for the first time. - 19: Battle of the Atlantic - German Grand Admiral Karl DönitzKarl DönitzKarl Dönitz was a German naval commander during World War II. He started his career in the German Navy during World War I. In 1918, while he was in command of , the submarine was sunk by British forces and Dönitz was taken prisoner...
orders the last U-boatU-boatU-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s to withdraw from their United States Atlantic coast positions in response to an increasingly effective American convoy system. - 20: After landing in the Buna-Gona area, the Japanese in New Guinea move across the Owen Stanley mountain range aiming at Port Moresby in the south-eastern part of the island, close to Australia; a small Australian force begins rearguard action on the Kokoda TrackKokoda TrackThe Kokoda Trail or Track is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs overland — in a straight line — through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea...
. - 22: The systematic deportation of Jews from the Warsaw GhettoWarsaw GhettoThe Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
begins. Treblinka, "a model" concentration camp is opened in Poland. - 24: Germans take Rostov-on-the-Don; the Red Army is in a general retreat along the Don River.
- 26: A second attack by the British under Auchinleck fails against Rommel. First Battle of El Alamein may be said to be over.
- 27: Heavy RAF incendiary attack on HamburgBombing of Hamburg in World War IIThe Allied bombing of Hamburg during World War II included numerous strategic bombing missions and diversion/nuisance raids. As a large port and industrial center, Hamburg's shipyards, U-boat pens, and the Hamburg-Harburg area oil refineries were attacked throughout the war...
. - 29: The Japanese take Kokoda, halfway along the Owen Stanley pass to Port Moresby.
- 30: Continuing stalemate at El Alamein between Rommel and Auchinleck.
August 1942
- 1: The Germans continue their successful advance toward Stalingrad.
- 3: A convoy to Malta is decimated by the Luftwaffe and U-boats
- 5: The U.S. planning team for Operation TorchOperation TorchOperation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
, which includes George S. PattonGeorge S. PattonGeorge Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...
; James DoolittleJimmy DoolittleGeneral James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle, USAF was an American aviation pioneer. Doolittle served as a brigadier general, major general and lieutenant general in the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War...
; Kent LambertKent Lambert-2004, 2006 legislative campaigns:After retiring from the Air Force at the rank of colonel in 2004, Lambert entered Colorado politics, challenging Mike Merrifield for the 18th house district seat in central Colorado Springs, losing with 42 percent of the vote...
; and Hoyt S. Vandenberg, meets in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to join the combined planning team from London, England. - 7: Operation Watchtower begins the Guadalcanal Campaign as American forces invade GavutuGavutuGavutu is a small islet in the Central Province of the Solomon Islands, some 500 metres in length. It is one of the Nggela Islands....
, Guadalcanal, TulagiTulagiTulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida Island. The town of the same name on the island Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island (5.5 km by 1 km) in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida...
and TanambogoTanambogoTanambogo is an islet in the Central Province of the Solomon Islands. It is one of the Florida Islands.Along with the nearby island of Gavutu, it played an important role in the Guadalcanal campaign during World War II. In 1942 the Japanese attempted to establish a seaplane base on the island. On...
in the Solomon Islands. - 8: In Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, six German would-be saboteurs are executed (two others were cooperative and received life imprisonment instead). - 8: The naval Battle of Savo IslandBattle of Savo IslandThe Battle of Savo Island, also known as the First Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the , was a naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II, between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval forces...
, near Guadalcanal; the Americans lose three cruisers, the Australians one. - 9: In their retreat out of the Crimean peninsula, the Red Army destroy oil refineries.
- 9: Numerous riots in favour of independence in India; Mahatma Gandhi is arrested.
- 10: Rommel begins an attack around El Alamein, but by September he is back to his original lines.
- 11: The HMS Eagle, a carrier on convoy duty to Malta, is torpedoed and sinks with heavy loss of life.
- 12: At a conference in Moscow, Churchill informs Stalin that there will not be a "second front" in 1942.
- 12: American forces establish bases in the New Hebrides islands.
- 12: Fighting increases as the Germans approach Stalingrad.
- 13: General Bernard Montgomery appointed commander of British Eighth Army in North Africa; Churchill is anxious to see more offensive action on the part of the British.
- 13: Disastrous end to the Malta convoy, but one tanker and four merchant ships get through.
- 15: Operation PedestalOperation PedestalOperation Pedestal was a British operation to get desperately needed supplies to the island of Malta in August 1942, during the Second World War. Malta was the base from which surface ships, submarines and aircraft attacked Axis convoys carrying essential supplies to the Italian and German armies...
arrives at the island fortress of Malta. - 17: Major US Air Force bombing on Rouen, France and its rail network.
- 18: Japanese reinforce New Guinea; Australians also land troops at Port Moresby. Meanwhile, American planes have destroyed Japanese air power at Wewak, New Guinea.
- 19: Operation Jubilee, a raid by British but mainly Canadian forces on Dieppe, France, ends in disaster; they come under heavy gunfire and eventually most are killed or captured by the German defenders.
- 20: Henderson Field on Guadalcanal receives its first American fighter planes.
- 21: Japanese counter-attack at Henderson Field; in another foray at the TenaruTenaru RiverThe Tenaru is the name of a river on the northern coast of Guadalcanal with a tributary at Savo Sound . During World War II, it was the site for the Battle of the Tenaru River.-References:...
(or Ilu) River, many Japanese are killed in a banzai charge. - 22: BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
declares war on the Axis countries, partly in response to numerous riots by a populace angry at the sinking of Brazilian ships. - 23: The Germans get closer to Stalingrad.
- 24: The naval battle of the Eastern Solomons; the USS Enterprise is badly damaged and the Japanese lose one light carrier, the Ryujo.
- 26: Battle of Milne BayBattle of Milne BayThe Battle of Milne Bay, also known as Operation RE by the Japanese, was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Japanese marines attacked the Australian base at Milne Bay on the eastern tip of New Guinea on 25 August 1942, and fighting continued until the Japanese retreated on 5...
begins: Japanese forces land and launch a full-scale assault on Australian base near the eastern tip of New GuineaNew GuineaNew Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. - 27: Marshal Georgii Zhukov is appointed to the command of the Stalingrad defence; the Luftwaffe is now delivering heavy strikes on the city.
- 28: Incendiary bombs dropped by a Japanese seaplane causes a forest fire in OregonOregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. - 30: The Battle of Alam Halfa, Egypt, a few miles south of El Alamein begins. This will be Rommel's last attempt to break through the English lines; British air superiority plays a large role.
- 30: LuxembourgLuxembourgLuxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
is formally annexed to the German Reich.
September 1942
- 1: US Navy Construction Battalion personnel, Seabees, began to arrive at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.
- 3: The Battle of Stalingrad proper may be said to have begun on this date, with German troops in the suburbs; even civilian men and boys are conscripted by the Red Army to assist in the defence.
- 4: There is IRA rioting in Belfast during the night.
: Manhattan Engineering DistrictManhattan ProjectThe Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
is formally created, full-effort production of the atomic bomb is begun.
: Chief of StateHead of StateA head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
of Vichy FranceVichy FranceVichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
Philippe PétainPhilippe PétainHenri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
and Prime MinisterPrime Minister of FranceThe Prime Minister of France in the Fifth Republic is the head of government and of the Council of Ministers of France. The head of state is the President of the French Republic...
Pierre LavalPierre LavalPierre Laval was a French politician. He was four times President of the council of ministers of the Third Republic, twice consecutively. Following France's Armistice with Germany in 1940, he served twice in the Vichy Regime as head of government, signing orders permitting the deportation of...
create what will become the Service du travail obligatoireService du travail obligatoireThe Service du travail obligatoire was the forced enlistment and deportation of hundreds of thousands of French workers to Nazi Germany in order to work as forced labour for the German war effort during World War II....
(STO) - 5: Australian and U.S. forces defeat Japanese forces at Milne Bay, Papua, the first outright defeat for Japanese land forces in the Pacific WarPacific WarThe Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
. Their evacuation and the failure to establish an airbase eases the threat to Australia. - 6: The Black Sea port of Novorossisk is taken by the Germans.
- 9: A Japanese plane drops more incendiaries on Oregon, but with little effect.
- 10: RAF blasts Düsseldorf with large incendiary bombing.
: (to the 14th). The Battle of "Bloody Ridge", Guadalcanal: Americans drive off Japanese forces attempting to recapture Henderson Field. - 12: , carrying civilians, Allied soldiers and Italian POWs, is torpedoed off the coast of West Africa and sinks.
- American troops push back the Japanese in the Battle for Edson's Ridge
- 13: The Battle for Stalingrad continues; it is now totally surrounded by the Germans. On the Soviet Union side General Vasily ChuikovVasily ChuikovVasily Ivanovich Chuikov was a Russian lieutenant general in the Red Army during World War II, twice Hero of the Soviet Union , who after the war became a Marshal of the Soviet Union.-Early life and career:Born into a peasant family in the village of Serebryanye Prudy, he joined the Red Army during...
is put in charge of the defence. - 14: The Japanese retreat again from Henderson Field, Guadalcanal.
: The Japanese are now within 30 miles of Port Moresby, New Guinea, on the Kokoda trail.
: Continued convoy losses in the Atlantic. - 15: Americans send troops to Port Moresby as reinforcements for the Australian defenders.
: Light carrier is sunk by a Japanese submarine off Guadalcanal. - 18: Battle of the "grain silo" in Stalingrad; the Germans are beaten back. The Red Army begins ferrying troops across the Volga at night.
- 19: The Allied attack on Jalo, Libya was called off.
- 20: RAF bombs MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
and SaarbrückenSaarbrückenSaarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
.
: The Greek PEAN group blows up the offices of the pro-Nazi ESPOESPOThe ESPO was a collaborationist, pro-Nazi organization created in the summer of 1941 in German-occupied Greece, under the leadership of Dr. Spyros Sterodimas...
group in central AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, thwarting attempts to raise a Greek volunteer legion for the Eastern Front. - 23: General Rommel leaves North Africa for medical treatment in Germany.
- 24: United States of America deploys the I Corps to the Pacific Theater.
- 27: The Battle of Matanikau River, Guadalcanal; Japanese naval bombardment and landing forces nearly destroy Henderson field in an attempt to take it, but the land forces are soon driven back.
- 28: The Japanese continue their retreat back down the Kokoda trail in New Guinea.
- 30: The Eagle SquadronEagle squadronThe Eagle Squadrons were 3 fighter squadrons of the Royal Air Force formed during World War II with volunteer pilots from the United States...
(American volunteers in the RAF) are officially transferred to the US Army Air Force.
: Hitler speaks to the nation and boasts that Stalingrad will be taken.
October 1942
- 3: First successful launch of A4-rocketV-2 rocketThe V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
at PeenemündePeenemündeThe Peenemünde Army Research Center was founded in 1937 as one of five military proving grounds under the Army Weapons Office ....
, Germany. The rocket flies 147 kilometres wide and reaches a height of 84.5 kilometres and is therefore the first man-made object reaching space. - 4: British CommandosBritish CommandosThe British Commandos were formed during the Second World War in June 1940, following a request from the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, for a force that could carry out raids against German-occupied Europe...
raid SarkSarkSark is a small island in the Channel Islands in southwestern English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. It is a royal fief, geographically located in the Channel Islands in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with its own set of laws based on Norman law and its own parliament. It has a population...
, a Channel Island, capturing one German soldier. - 6: By mutual arrangement, the Allies agree on a strategy whereby Americans will bomb in the daytime and the RAF at night.
- 7: Third Battle of the Matanikau
- 11: Battle of Cape EsperanceBattle of Cape EsperanceThe Battle of Cape Esperance, also known as the Second Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the , took place on 11–12 October 1942, and was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and United States Navy...
- On the Northwest coast of Guadalcanal, United States NavyUnited States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
ships intercept and defeat a Japanese fleet on their way to reinforce troops on the island. With the help of radar they sink one cruiser and several Japanese destroyers. - 12: The Red Army methods of ferrying troops across the Volga and into Stalingrad directly seems to be a success, as the German advance comes to a halt.
: The US 100th Infantry Battalion, a force of over 1,400 predominantly NiseiNiseiDuring the early years of World War II, Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated from their homes in the Pacific coast states because military leaders and public opinion combined to fan unproven fears of sabotage...
became active. - 13: Heavy bombardment of Henderson Field, Guadalcanal by the Japanese navy.
- 14: A German U-boatU-boatU-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
sinks the ferry SS CaribouSS CaribouThe SS Caribou was a passenger ferry used by the Newfoundland government's ferry service between Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and North Sydney, Nova Scotia....
, killing 137. - 18: Hitler issues Commando OrderCommando OrderThe Commando Order was issued by Adolf Hitler on 18 October 1942 stating that all Allied commandos encountered by German forces in Europe and Africa should be killed immediately, even if in uniform or if they attempted to surrender...
, ordering all captured commandos to be executed immediately.
: Admiral William "Bull" Halsey is given command of the South Pacific naval forces. - 21: Heavy RAF activity over El Alamein.
- 22: ConscriptionConscriptionConscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
age in Britain reduced to 18.
: American General Mark Clark secretly lands in Algeria to confer with Vichy officials and Resistance groups in preparation for impending Allied invasion. - 23: Second Battle of El AlameinSecond Battle of El AlameinThe Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...
begins with massive Allied bombardment of German positions. Then Australian forces, mainly, begin advance while offshore British naval forces support the right flank (n.b. the ongoing concurrent victories being prepared at Guadalcanal and Stalingrad). - 23: Battle for Henderson FieldBattle for Henderson FieldThe Battle for Henderson Field, also known as the Battle of Henderson Field or Battle of Lunga Point by the Japanese, took place from 23-26 October 1942 on and around Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands...
- 24: US Navy Task Force 34, consisting of aircraft carriers, a variety of support ships, including Troop Ships and other vessels, set sail from Hampton Roads, Virginia with Patton's forces for Operation TorchOperation TorchOperation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
, the landing in North Africa. The other two task forces of Operation Torch, the first American-led force to fight in the European and African theatres of war, depart Britain for MoroccoMoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
.
: Crisis at El Alamein: British tanks survive German 88mm fire; Montgomery orders the advance to continue despite losses. - 25: Rommel hurriedly returns from his sickbed in Germany to take charge of the African battle. (His replacement, General Stumme, had died of a heart attack).
: The Japanese continue their attacks on the Marines west of Henderson field. - 26: The naval Battle of Santa CruzBattle of Santa CruzThe Battle of Santa Cruz may refer to:*1656 Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife during the Anglo-Spanish War in the Canary Islands, Spain...
. The Japanese lose many aircraft and have two aircraft carriers severely damaged. The is sunk and the is damaged. - 29: The Japanese continue to send troops as reinforcements into Guadalcanal.
: In the United Kingdom, leading clergymen and political figures hold a public meeting to register outrage over Nazi GermanyNazi GermanyNazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
's persecution of Jews.
: United States 1st Armored Division1st Armored Division (United States)The 1st Armored Division—nicknamed "Old Ironsides"—is a standing armored division of the United States Army with base of operations in Fort Bliss, Texas. It was the first armored division of the U.S...
moves from Northern Ireland to England. - 31: The British make a critical breakthrough with tanks west of El Alamein; Rommel's mine fields fail to stop the Allied armour.
November 1942
- 1: Operation SuperchargeOperation SuperchargeOperation Supercharge may refer to:* Operation Supercharge , the second of three operations to relieve the Australian 9th Division during the siege of Tobruk...
, the Allied breakout at El Alamein, begins. - 1: The Americans begin the Matanikau OffensiveMatanikau OffensiveThe Matanikau Offensive, from November 1–4, 1942, sometimes referred to as the Fourth Battle of the Matanikau, was an engagement between United States Marine and Army and Imperial Japanese Army forces around the Matanikau River and Point Cruz area on Guadalcanal during the Guadalcanal campaign of...
against the Japanese - 3: Second Battle of El AlameinSecond Battle of El AlameinThe Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...
ends - German forces under Erwin RommelErwin RommelErwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
are forced to retreat during the night. - 3: American victory over the Japanese in the Koli Point actionKoli Point actionThe Koli Point action, from 3-12 November 1942, was an engagement between United States Marine Corps and United States Army forces and Imperial Japanese Army forces around Koli Point on Guadalcanal during the Guadalcanal campaign. The U.S...
- 6: Carlson's PatrolCarlson's patrolCarlson's patrol, also known as The Long Patrol or Carlson's long patrol, was an operation by the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion under the command of Evans Carlson during the Guadalcanal Campaign against the Imperial Japanese Army from 6 November-4 December 1942...
begins - 8: Operation TorchOperation TorchOperation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
, the Allied invasion of Vichy-controlled MoroccoMoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
and AlgeriaAlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, begins; French resistance coup in Algiers, consisting of about 400 fighters neutralise the Vichyist XIXth Army Corps and the Vichyist generals (Juin, Darlan, etc.), contributing significantly to the immediate success of the operation.
: the United States Combat Command "B" of the 1st Armored Division1st Armored Division (United States)The 1st Armored Division—nicknamed "Old Ironsides"—is a standing armored division of the United States Army with base of operations in Fort Bliss, Texas. It was the first armored division of the U.S...
Landed east and west of OranOranOran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
as part of Operation Torch. - 10: In violation of a 1940 armistice, Germany invades Vichy FranceVichy FranceVichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
; they are responding to the fact that French Admiral François DarlanFrançois DarlanJean Louis Xavier François Darlan was a French naval officer. His great-grandfather was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar...
has signed an armistice with the AlliesAllies of World War IIThe Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
in North Africa.
: OranOranOran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
, AlgeriaAlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
falls to US troops; 17 French ships are sunk at Oran, causing a rift between the French and the Allies. There are more Allied landings near the Tunisian border.
: Montgomery begins a major British offensive beginning at Sollum on the Libya/Egypt border. The British reach Bardia on the 11th, Tobruk on the 12th, and Benghazi on the 18th.
: Lieutenant General Montgomery is knighted and made a full General.
: Churchill speaks: "This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." - 11: Convoys reach Malta from Alexandria; an official announcement proclaims that the island is "relieved of its siege".
- 12: Battle of Guadalcanal - A climactic naval battle near Guadalcanal starts between Japanese and American naval forces. Notably, the is sunk with much of its crew, including the five Sullivan brothers.
: The Red Army makes an attempt to relieve Stalingrad at Kotelnikov. - 13: British Eighth Army recaptures TobrukTobrukTobruk or Tubruq is a city, seaport, and peninsula on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000 ....
. - 13: In the Battle of Guadalcanal - aviators from the sink the Japanese battleship HieiJapanese battleship Hieiwas a warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War I and World War II. Designed by British naval architect George Thurston, she was the second launched of four s, among the most heavily armed ships in any navy when built. Laid down in 1911 at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Hiei was formally...
. - 14: The sinks the .
- 15: The naval battle of Guadalcanal ends. Although the United States NavyUnited States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
suffers heavy losses, it still retains control of the sea around Guadalcanal.
: The British move westward in Tunisia .
: British Eighth Army recaptures Derna. - 17: Japanese send reinforcements into New Guinea; Americans are stymied at Buna.
- 18: Heavy British RAF raid on Berlin with few losses.
- 19: At Stalingrad the Soviet Union forces under General Georgy ZhukovGeorgy ZhukovMarshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov , was a Russian career officer in the Red Army who, in the course of World War II, played a pivotal role in leading the Red Army through much of Eastern Europe to liberate the Soviet Union and other nations from the Axis Powers' occupation...
launch Operation UranusOperation UranusOperation Uranus was the codename of the Soviet strategic operation in World War II which led to the encirclement of the German Sixth Army, the Third and Fourth Romanian armies, and portions of the German Fourth Panzer Army. The operation formed part of the ongoing Battle of Stalingrad, and was...
aimed at encircling the Germans in the city and thus turning the tide of battle in the USSR's favor. - 20: The Allies take BenghaziBenghaziBenghazi is the second largest city in Libya, the main city of the Cyrenaica region , and the former provisional capital of the National Transitional Council. The wider metropolitan area is also a district of Libya...
, Libya; the Afrika Corps continues the retreat westward. - 21: The Red Army attempt at encirclement of Stalingrad continues with obvious success.
- 21: American army moves to shove Japanese off the extreme western end of Guadalcanal.
- 22: Battle of StalingradBattle of StalingradThe Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...
- The situation for the German attackers of Stalingrad seems desperate during the SovietSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
counter-attack Operation UranusOperation UranusOperation Uranus was the codename of the Soviet strategic operation in World War II which led to the encirclement of the German Sixth Army, the Third and Fourth Romanian armies, and portions of the German Fourth Panzer Army. The operation formed part of the ongoing Battle of Stalingrad, and was...
and General Friedrich PaulusFriedrich PaulusFriedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus was an officer in the German military from 1910 to 1945. He attained the rank of Generalfeldmarschall during World War II, and is best known for having commanded the Sixth Army's assault on Stalingrad during Operation Blue in 1942...
sends Adolf HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
a telegram saying that the German 6th Army is surrounded.
: Red Army troops complete the encirclement of the Germans at Kalach, west of Stalingrad. - 23: "Der Kessel"-- the Cauldron, a description of the heavy fighting at Stalingrad; Hitler orders General Paulus not to retreat, at any cost.
- 25: The encirclement of Stalingrad continues to stabilise. Hitler reiterates his demand of Paulus not to surrender.
: Operation HarlingOperation HarlingOperation Harling was a World War II mission by the British Special Operations Executive , in cooperation with the Greek Resistance groups ELAS and EDES, which destroyed the heavily guarded Gorgopotamos viaduct in Central Greece on 25 November 1942...
: a team of British SOESpecial Operations ExecutiveThe Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
agents, together with over 200 Greek guerrillas from both ELAS and EDES groups, blow up the Gorgopotamos railway bridge, in one of the war's biggest sabotage acts. - 26: Hostilities erupt between the American and Australian soldiers in BrisbaneBrisbaneBrisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. Fighting breaks out which results in multiple fatalities, it is dubbed the Battle of BrisbaneBattle of BrisbaneThe "Battle of Brisbane" was violence between United States military personnel on one side and Australian servicemen and civilians on the other, in Brisbane, Australia on 26–27 November 1942, during World War II. Australia and the US were Allies at the time... - 27: At ToulonToulonToulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
, the French navy scuttles its ships (most notably the Dunkerque and Strasbourg) and submarines to keep them out of German hands; the French have declined another option --to join the Allied fleets in North African waters. - 29: The Allied offensive in Tunisia meets with only minimum success.
- 30: The naval battle of Tassafaronga Point (off Guadalcanal); this is a night action in which Japanese naval forces sink one American cruiser and damage three others.
December 1942
- 1: Gasoline rationing begins in the United States.
: The US cruiser is sunk as Japanese destroyers attempt to come down "the Slot" to Guadalcanal. - 2: Heavy fighting in Tunisia, as German forces are pushed into the final North African corner.
: Below the bleachers of Stagg Field at the University of ChicagoUniversity of ChicagoThe University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, a team led by Enrico FermiEnrico FermiEnrico Fermi was an Italian-born, naturalized American physicist particularly known for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1, and for his contributions to the development of quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics, and statistical mechanics...
initiate the first nuclear chain reactionNuclear chain reactionA nuclear chain reaction occurs when one nuclear reaction causes an average of one or more nuclear reactions, thus leading to a self-propagating number of these reactions. The specific nuclear reaction may be the fission of heavy isotopes or the fusion of light isotopes...
. A coded message, "The Italian navigator has landed in the new world" is sent to President Roosevelt. - 4: The first US bombing of mainland Italy --Naples.
- 4: Carlson's patrol ends
- 6: RAF bombs Eindhoven in Holland.
- 7: On the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, the , America's largest battleship is launched (commissioned five months later).
: British commandos conduct Operation FranktonOperation FranktonOperation Frankton was a commando raid on shipping in the German occupied French port of Bordeaux in the Bay of Biscay during the Second World War. The raid was carried out by a small unit of Royal Marines known as the Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment , part of Combined Operations.The plan was...
a raid on shipping in BordeauxBordeauxBordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
harbour. - 9: The Marines turn over Guadalcanal to the American army.
- 12: Rommel abandons El Agheila and retreats to Tripoli; the final stand will be at the Mareth line in southern Tunisia.
: In a large operation named "Winter Storm", the Germans attempt to break through to forces trapped in Stalingrad. - 13: The Luftwaffe flies in meagre supplies to the beleaguered Stalingrad troops.
- 14: Naval action off Cape Bon, northern Tunisia; British destroyers sink two Italian cruisers.
- 15: American troops finally push Japanese out of Buna, New Guinea.
- 15: Allies clash with Japanese troops in the Battle of the Gifu
- 22: The Germans begin a retreat from the Caucasus.
: The battle for "Longstop Hill" begins; a key position outside Tunis, the Germans eventually take it and hold it until April.
: The remainder of the United States 1st Armored Division1st Armored Division (United States)The 1st Armored Division—nicknamed "Old Ironsides"—is a standing armored division of the United States Army with base of operations in Fort Bliss, Texas. It was the first armored division of the U.S...
arrived at North Africa for Operation Husky. - 24: French Admiral DarlanFrançois DarlanJean Louis Xavier François Darlan was a French naval officer. His great-grandfather was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar...
, the former VichyVichy FranceVichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
leader who had switched over to the Allies following the Torch landings, is assassinated in AlgiersAlgiers' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
.
The United States of America reorganizes its Combat Arms Regiments with their Organic Battalions into Separate Groups and Battalions - 25: The British take Sirto, Libya.
: American bombers hit Rabaul. - 26: Heavy fighting continues on Guadalcanal, now focused on Mount Austen in the West.
- 31: As the year comes to an end, things look bright for the Allies: Rommel is trapped in Tunisia, the Germans are encircled at Stalingrad, and the Japanese appear ready to abandon Guadalcanal.