Chronology of World War II
Thursday, January 1, 1942
On the Eastern Front... German forces counterattack near Kerch in the Crimea. Soviet forces from the Kalinin Front retake Staritza.
In Washington... Representatives of 26 countries meet to endorse the principles of the Atlantic Charter. They agree to employ all there resources against the Axis power and to make no separate peace. This is the first step toward the establishment of a United Nations
Friday, January 2, 1942
On the Eastern Front... Soviet advances continues, this time south of Moscow when Maloyaroslavets is retaken from the Germans.
In North Africa... The Axis garrison at Bardia on the Egyptian border surrenders. It has held out since the beginning of Operation Crusader.
In the Philippines... Japanese troops occupy the capital city, Manila. The American and Philippino Allies establish their defenses on the approaches to the Bataan Peninsula.
In Malaysia... Continued Japanese advances force the British and Commonwealth forces to retreat southward. The 15th Indian Brigade is forced back from Kampar.
Saturday, January 3, 1942
From Washington... By the authority of the Arcadia Conference, Chiang Kai-shek is named Commander in Chief of Allied Forces in China. General Wavell is appointed to the newly establish American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDA). Wavell's task is to hold the Malay Barrier, the line from Malaya through the Dutch East Indies to Borneo against the Japanese.
Sunday, January 4, 1942
In Malaya... The 11th Indian division prepares to stand at the River Slim but is suffering losses from heavy Japanese air attacks, as the new Japanese air bases in Thailand become operational.
Monday, January 5, 1942
On the Eastern Front... Stalin overrules General Zhukov and his other military advisers to order offensives on all fronts rather than concentrating against the Germans in Army Group Center.
In the Philippines... The Americans begin to make final withdrawals to the main Bataan defensive positions.
Tuesday, January 6, 1942
In Washington... President Roosevelt submits the 1943 budget to Congress. The total of the appropriations is $59,000,000,000. War production in 1942 is to be 60,000 planes, 45,000 tanks, 8,000,000 tons of shipping. Forecasts for 1943 are 125,000 planes, 75,000 tanks and 11,000,000 tons of shipping.
In Malaysia... Japanese tanks and infantry attack the positions of the 11th Indian Division around Trolak and Kampong Slim. The two brigades most heavily engaged emerge at about 20 per cent of their original strength.
Wednesday, January 7, 1942
In China... The Japanese admit defeat by Nationalist Chinese forces in the battle of Changsha.
On the Eastern Front... Soviet forces attack to the north and south of Mozhaisk. Meshchovsk, on the southern flank of the advance is captured.
Thursday, January 8, 1942
On the Eastern Front... West of Moscow, Soviet troops attack Mozhaysk.
In Malaysia... A third wave of Japanese troops lands under heavy air and naval protection.
In Singapore... Visiting General Wavell, orders the Allied forces to withdraw to beyond the Muar River and prepare defenses there.
Friday, January 9, 1942
On the Eastern Front... The Soviet Northwest, Volkhov and Kalinin Fronts launch a major offensive in the Valdai Hill area west and northwest of Moscow. The Soviets have rapid success despite fierce German resistance.
In the Philippines... Japanese forces begin the assault on the Bataan Peninsula.
Saturday, January 10, 1942
In Germany... Berlin radio reports that German troops are defending their positions on the Eastern Front in a "wall of blood."
In the Dutch East Indies... Japanese forces land on Tarakan Island during the night (January 10-11). Dutch Martin bombers make repeated attacks on the invasion fleet. Meanwhile, Wavell arrives in Java and activates the ABDA Command.
Over Germany... British RAF bombers raid Emden during the night.
In the Arctic... Soviet submarine M-175 is sunk by German U-584.
Sunday, January 11, 1942
In the Dutch East Indies... Japanese forces begin their invasion. They make landings on Tarakan and Minahassa. The Japanese task force is under the command of Admiral Takahashi and General Yamashita.
In the Pacific... The American carrier Saratoga is severely damaged by Japanese submarine I.6 near Hawaii.
Monday, January 12, 1942
In North Africa... Rommel adopts his subordinates' plan to prepare a surprise counteroffensive against the British. Neither the German nor the Italian High Command are informed of the plans. Rommel has continued to receive new tanks during the retreat. The Australian divisions and the British 7th Armored Brigade have been scheduled to leave the area for service in the Far East against Japan.
From London... General Simovic resigns and Professor Yonvanvic becomes Premier of the Yugoslavian Government in exile. He takes Colonel Mihajlovic as Minister for War.
In the Dutch East Indies... After fierce fighting, the Japanese take Tarakan. Tarakan and Manado islands are quickly made into air fields to support the Japanese attack.
In Malaysia... Japanese troop enter Kuala Lumpur.
Tuesday, January 13, 1943
From Germany... Admiral Donitz despite opposition begins Operation Drumroll, the use of U-boats in the waters off the eastern coast of the United States. They are surprised to find peacetime conditions on the coast, with lighthouses and marker buoys still lit. In addition there is no radio silence and positions of merchant ships are frequently given away in radio communications. These conditions and the inexperience of the escort vessels lead to a loss of 150,000 tons in the first month.
In the Philippines... Japanese attacks on the Bataan peninsula continue with successes on the eastern side, the west side of the area is still holding.
From London... Allied representatives announce that Axis war criminals will be punished after the war.
Wednesday, January 14, 1942
On the Eastern Front... Soviet forces recapture Selijarovo, northwest of Rzhev.
In the North Atlantic... German U-boat ace Lt.Cdr. Luth, of U-43, attacks convoy ON-55 during a severe storm and sinks 3 ships.
Thursday, January 15, 1942
In Burma... Troops of the Japanese 55th Division advance into Burma north of Mergui.
In Occupied Norway... The German battleship Tirpitz is moved to Norwegian waters.
In Malaysia... Japanese troops are now south of Malacca. The Japanese 5th Division engages Australian troops at Batu Anam in heavy fighting. Japanese Imperial Guard troops breach the coastal section of the Allied area fighting against the 45th Indian Brigade.
Friday, January 16, 1942
From Moscow... The Soviet government publishes the contents of a document found at Klin, northwest of Moscow, and signed by deceased Field Marshal von Reichenau. It was prepared during his command of German 6th Army, earlier in the campaign, and instructs German troops to be "merciless" with the civil population.
In Malaysia... Fighting on the river Muar continues with Japanese making gains against the British and Commonwealth troops.
In the United States... Donald Nelson is appoint head of the newly created War Production Board.
From London... Cripps is replaced by Kerr as British ambassador in Moscow.
Saturday, January 17, 1942
In North Africa... British troops take Halfaya and capture 5500 German and Italian troops. The garrison at Halfaya has held out since the start of Operation Crusader under the leadership of Hauptmann Wilhelm Bach, a German pastor. On the Eastern Front... Field Marshal von Reichenau dies of a stroke while returning to Germany. In the Arctic... Convoy PQ-8 is attacked on course from Iceland to Archangel. It is the first such attack on an Arctic convoy. German U-boat U-454 sinks one destroyer and one merchant ship.
Sunday, January 18, 1942
On the Eastern Front... Troops from the South and Southwest Front attack crossing the Donets. Their aim is to swing south to the Sea of Azov trapping units from the German 6th and 17th Armies. In the Crimea, Germans have renewed their offensive to capture Feodosia. Northward, in the Moscow region, the Valdai Hill Offensive continues, Red Army units have reached to within 70 miles of Smolensk and threat Velikiye Luki.
Monday, January 19, 1942
On the Eastern Front... The Red Army recaptures Mozhaysk after fierce street fighting. Soviet paratroopers are landed south of Smolensk to help organize partisan action in the German rear.
From Berlin... Bock is appointed to succeed Reichenau in command of Army Group South.
Tuesday, January 20, 1942
From Berlin... At what will be known as the Wanasee Conference, Heydrich (the deputy leader of the SS) discusses plans for the "Final Solution" to the "Jewish Problem." The goal of the participants is the extermination of all Jews in Europe.
In New Britain... Japanese aircraft from four carriers bomb Rabaul.
Wednesday, January 21, 1942
In China... General Stilwell is nominated as Chief of Staff to Chiang Kai-shek.
In North Africa... Rommel's second offensive begins. Cautious probing reveals that the British are ill situated and the German attacks meet with quick success. The Germans employ 100 tanks in their drive advancing to El Agheila on the inland flank while German and Italian infantry advance along the coast. The British forward defenses are manned by a Guard Brigade and part of 1st Armored Division. The attack when it comes, comes as a surprise.
In Malaysia... the Allied forces begin a retreat south of the Muar River. They have taken heavy losses. The 45th and 15th Brigades have been almost wiped out in the fighting. Japanese air raids on Singapore increase in intensity, as the few British Hurricane fighters are outmatched by Japanese Zeros.
Thursday, January 22, 1942
On the Eastern Front... In Leningrad, the mass evacuation of civilians begins via the "ice road" across Lake Ladoga. (About 440,000 people are transported out of Leningrad between January 22nd and April 15th, 1942.) Meanwhile, Soviet forces recapture Uvarovo, 32km west of Mozhaisk.
In North Africa... The German offensive gathers pace taking both Antelat and Agedabia.
From Germany... The Axis troops in Africa are formally renamed Panzer Army Africa.
In Britain... The noted painter and eccentric W. R. Sickert dies at Bath, aged 82.
Friday, January 23, 1942
In the South Pacific... Japanese troops land at Rabaul in New Britain, at Balikpapan in Borneo, near Kavieng on New Ireland and on Bougainville in the Solomons.
Saturday, January 24, 1942
In the Philippines... The American forces begin withdrawals to their second line of defense.
On the Eastern Front... The Soviet offensive south of Kharkov has now crossed the Donets. Barvenkovo is retaken from the Germans.
In the Dutch East Indies... Four Dutch and American destroyers attack Japanese troop transports off Balikpapan sinking five ships.
In the South Pacific... Japanese troops land on Kenari in the Celebes and an important airfield is captured.
Sunday, January 25, 1942
In North Africa... The British 2nd Armored Brigade is almost completely destroyed near Msus as the German offensive continues.
In Burma... Visiting General Wavell while in Rangoon, issues orders for the defense of Moulmein despite the resistance of the local commander.
In Malaya... British and Allied troops abandon the last defensive position near the Maur River. General Wavell authorizes General Percivial to retreat to Singapore.
Monday, January 26, 1942
In Washington... The Board of Inquiry established to investigate Pearl Harbor find Admiral Kimmel, (then Commander in Chief, US Fleet) and General Short (then Commander in Chief, Hawaii Department) guilty of dereliction of duty. Both have already been dismissed.
In North Africa... The continuing German offensive recaptures Msus.
In Britain... The arrival of the first American soldiers in the Britain isles.
Tuesday, January 27, 1942
On the Eastern Front... Soviet troops, under General Timoshenko continue their advances into the Ukraine and capture Lozovaya. They now threaten Dnepropetrovsk, the main supply base for German Army Group South. German resistance is growing.
In London... Prime Minister Winston Churchill opens a major House of Commons debate with the report on Allied Cooperation. He details the Combined Chiefs of Staff, the Pacific Councils and the plans for the arrival of American land forces in Britain. The vote of confidence is opposed by one member of the House.
In Borneo... The Japanese land and capture Pemangkat and the airfield nearby.
In Malaysia... The British carrier Indomitable brings a cargo of 48 Hurricanes to Java, from here they be sent to augment the defenses at Singapore. The 22nd Indian Brigade is isolated by the fighting near Layang Layang, south of Kluang.
Wednesday, January 28, 1942
On the Eastern Front... Soviet forces make successful attacks in the Ukraine.
In the United States... The USAAF 8th Air Force is formed in Georgia.
In Brazil... Brazil breaks off diplomatic relations with the Axis powers.
In South Africa... Numerous bomb explosions disrupt electricity to the gold mines in the Rand.
Thursday, January 29, 1942
In North Africa... Rommel's forces retake Benghazi and continue to advance.
In Iran... a treaty of alliance is signed with Britain and the USSR, opening the supply route for Allied forces through Iran.
From Washington... General Harmon becomes Chief of Staff, USAAF, succeeding General Spaatz, who is moved to Air Force Combat Command.
Friday, January 30, 1942
In the Philippines... Japanese pressure on the American defensive positions in Bataan increase. As well the Japanese make successful amphibious landings along the coast of the peninsula.
In the Dutch East Indies... At Amboina, the Japanese attack the second largest naval base in the area.
In Burma... The Japanese 55th Division begins attacks on Moulmein.
Saturday, January 31, 1942
In Malaya... The remainder of the British and Australian troops are removed from the Malayan mainland to Singapore.
In Burma... There is heavy fighting at Moulmein in which the Japanese force the British to retreat northward. The Japanese capture the town.
Copyright © 2018 Ralph Zuljan