Military operations
Category
(1014)1942
January
- 07
- The siege of Bataan beginsOn 7 January 1942 Luzon's defenders manned the Abucay–Mauban line on Bataan. Hungry, they beat off the first attack but fell back to the Orion–Bagac line.
- Malta under air attack in January 1942In January 1942 the Luftwaffe in Sicily began bombing Malta's airfields systematically. The island had 263 alerts; its Hurricanes were outclassed by Bf 109s.
- 11
- The Japanese take Kuala LumpurOn 7 January 1942 Japanese tanks shattered the 11th Indian Division at the Slim River. Wavell gave up central Malaya; on 11 January Kuala Lumpur fell.
- The torpedoing of USS SaratogaOn 11 January 1942 the Japanese submarine I-6 torpedoed the carrier Saratoga off Hawaii. Six sailors were killed and the ship was out of action for five months.
- The Japanese invasion of the Dutch East IndiesOn 11 January 1942 the Japanese landed on Tarakan and near Manado, where they first used paratroops. The fight for the oil of the Dutch East Indies began.
- 13
- The Red Army retakes MedynIn mid-January 1942 the Western Front retook Kirov and Medyn and by the month's end stood before Vyazma. The Germans fell back but held Rzhev and Vyazma.
- Operation Drumbeat (Paukenschlag)On 13 January 1942 German U-boats began attacking shipping off the US East Coast. An unprepared America gave them their “second happy time”.
- 31
- The Japanese take MoulmeinOn 31 January 1942 the British garrison of Moulmein withdrew across the Salween and the Japanese 55th Division took the town. The road to Rangoon lay open.
- The retreat to SingaporeOn 31 January 1942 the last Commonwealth units crossed from Johor to Singapore Island and sappers blew up the Causeway. The Battle of Malaya was over.
February
- 01
- The front at GazalaIn early February 1942 Eighth Army stood on the Gazala–Bir Hakeim line, 60 km west of Tobruk. Rommel, out of fuel, halted near Timimi and Mechili.
- The Marshalls–Gilberts raidsOn 1 February 1942 aircraft from Enterprise and Yorktown struck Japanese bases in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands, the first US offensive of the war.
- 20
- The Sittang Bridge disasterOn 23 February 1942 the British blew the Sittang bridge with most of the 17th Indian Division still on the far bank. The road to Rangoon lay open.
- The Japanese on Bali and TimorOn 19–20 February 1942 Japan took Bali and landed on Timor. Doorman lost a night battle in the Badung Strait, and on 23 February Sparrow Force surrendered.
March
- 08
- The Japanese at Lae and SalamauaOn 8 March 1942 the Japanese took Lae and Salamaua on the Huon Gulf unopposed. On 10 March aircraft from Lexington and Yorktown sank three transports offshore.
- The Japanese take RangoonOn 8 March 1942 the Japanese 33rd Division entered abandoned, burning Rangoon. The British army in Burma lost its only port, and China its supply route.
- 28
- The bombing of LübeckOn the night of 28–29 March 1942, 234 RAF bombers burned the western part of Lübeck's old town. Over 300 died. Hitler demanded revenge on English cities.
- Key eventThe St Nazaire raidOn 28 March 1942 the explosive-laden destroyer Campbeltown rammed the gate of the Normandie dock at St Nazaire. The dock was wrecked; of 611 men, 169 died.
April
- 03
- The final offensive on BataanOn Good Friday, 3 April 1942, Homma's 14th Army attacked on Bataan. Mount Samat fell on 5 April, and by 8 April the starving defenders' front had collapsed.
- The bombing of MandalayOn Good Friday, 3 April 1942, Japanese bombers burned most of Mandalay. Accounts speak of some 2,000 dead, and the city emptied.
- 05
- The Easter Sunday raid on ColomboOn Easter Sunday, 5 April 1942, Nagumo's carrier aircraft bombed Colombo, and in the afternoon sank the cruisers Cornwall and Dorsetshire at sea.
- RAF raids on Cologne and HamburgOn the nights of 5/6 and 8/9 April 1942 Bomber Command sent its largest raids yet to Cologne and Hamburg. The bombing was scattered and the damage slight.
- 09
- The attack on TrincomaleeOn 9 April 1942 Nagumo's aircraft bombed the base at Trincomalee, then sank the carrier Hermes and the destroyer HMAS Vampire off the coast of Ceylon.
- Key eventThe fall of BataanOn 9 April 1942 General Edward King surrendered the forces on Bataan against orders. Some 75,000 men went into captivity; only Corregidor still held out.
May
- 08
- Key eventThe carrier clash in the Coral SeaOn 8 May 1942 US and Japanese carriers struck at each other. Lexington sank, Shōkaku was damaged and the landing at Port Moresby was called off.
- Operation TrappenjagdOn 8 May 1942 Manstein's 11th Army attacked the Crimean Front. In under two weeks it routed three Soviet armies and retook the Kerch Peninsula.
- 12
- The Battle of the St Lawrence beginsOn the night of 11–12 May 1942 U-553 sank the Nicoya and the Leto off the Gaspé Peninsula. The U-boat war had reached Canada's inland waters.
- The Kharkov offensiveOn 12 May 1942 Timoshenko's armies struck at Kharkiv from two sides. Within days the attack bogged down, while Kleist's counter-stroke loomed in the south.
- 31
- The attack on Sydney HarbourOn the night of 31 May/1 June 1942 three Japanese midget submarines broke into Sydney Harbour. They sank the depot ship Kuttabul, killing 21 sailors.
- The Cauldron at GazalaAt the end of May 1942 Rommel, cut off from supplies, dug in in “the Cauldron” at Gazala, forced gaps through the minefields and on 31 May struck 150th Brigade.
June
- 03
- The attack on Dutch HarborOn 3 and 4 June 1942 aircraft from Ryūjō and Jun'yō bombed Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians, opening the Aleutian campaign alongside Midway.
- The Battle of Midway beginsOn 3 June 1942 a Catalina sighted Japanese transports heading for Midway. B-17s hit no ship, and Nagumo's carriers were still hidden in the fog.
- 07
- The Japanese on Attu and KiskaOn 6–7 June 1942 the Japanese took Kiska and Attu unopposed. Attu's Aleuts were deported to Japan, and the US removed Aleuts from other islands.
- The end of the Battle of MidwayOn 5–7 June 1942 Yamamoto called off the Midway attack, US planes sank the cruiser Mikuma, and a Japanese submarine finished off Yorktown, which sank on 7 June.
- The first action of ELASOn 7 June 1942, in the village of Domnista in Evrytania, Aris Velouchiotis and a dozen partisans announced the start of ELAS's fight against Greece's occupiers.
- 14
- The retreat from the Gazala LineOn 14 June 1942 the Eighth Army began to abandon the Gazala Line. Churchill presumed Tobruk would not be given up; Auchinleck said he had no such intention.
- Operation VigorousOn 14 June 1942 the Alexandria–Malta convoy learned that the Italian fleet had sailed. After two days of air attacks and conflicting orders it turned back.
- 28
- Key eventCase Blue beginsOn 28 June 1942 Army Group Weichs struck from Kursk at Voronezh, opening the Wehrmacht’s great summer offensive in the southern USSR, aimed at Caucasus oil.
- The Battle of Mersa MatruhOn 26–29 June 1942 Rommel routed the badly co-ordinated Eighth Army at Mersa Matruh. The New Zealanders broke out, and the port fell on the morning of 29 June.
July
- 01
- The First Battle of El Alamein beginsOn 1 July 1942 Rommel attacked the El Alamein position. An Indian brigade at Deir el Shein fell but bought time, and by 4 July the Axis attack had stalled.
- Key eventThe fall of SevastopolOn 1 July 1942 Manstein’s troops entered ruined Sevastopol. The defence commanders were evacuated; tens of thousands of soldiers were left on Cape Khersones.
- 12
- The creation of the Stalingrad FrontOn 12 July 1942 the Stavka formed the Stalingrad Front from the shattered South-Western Front's command and three reserve armies to shield the Volga.
- An Operation Outward balloon over BöhlenOn 12 July 1942 a British balloon's wire shorted a 110 kV line near Leipzig. Post-war findings say a breaker failure then set the Böhlen power station on fire.
August
- 17
- The first B-17 raid on RouenOn 17 August 1942 twelve American B-17s of the 97th Bombardment Group bombed a rail junction near Rouen by day. All returned to England.
- The Makin Island raidOn 17 August 1942 Carlson’s Marines, landed from two submarines, struck the Japanese garrison on Makin. The withdrawal was a drama; nine men were left behind.
September
- 12
- Key eventThe sinking of the LaconiaOn 12 September 1942 U-156 sank the troopship Laconia with 1,800 Italian POWs aboard. The rescue that followed ended in Dönitz's Laconia Order.
- The Battle of Bloody RidgeOn the nights of 12–13 and 13–14 September 1942 Kawaguchi's brigade attacked the ridge south of Henderson Field. Edson's Marines barely held it.
- 14
- The Japanese at IoribaiwaOn 14 September 1942 the Japanese attacked at Ioribaiwa, in the mountains above Port Moresby. The Australians fell back to Imita, but the enemy got no further.
- Convoys PQ 18 and ON 127On 13–14 September 1942 aircraft and U-boats sank 12 ships of convoy PQ 18 to the USSR, while a wolf pack in the mid-Atlantic mauled convoy ON 127.
October
- 23
- Key eventThe Second Battle of El Alamein beginsAt 9.40 p.m. on 23 October 1942 almost 900 Eighth Army guns opened fire at El Alamein. The infantry of four divisions advanced into the Axis minefields.
- The battle for Henderson FieldOn 23–26 October 1942 the Japanese 2nd Division attacked the American perimeter around Henderson Field on Guadalcanal and was repulsed with heavy losses.
November
- 01
- Operation SuperchargeOn the night of 1/2 November 1942 the Eighth Army struck at Tel el Aqqaqir. The charge of the 9th Armoured Brigade and a tank battle broke the Afrika Korps.
- The Matanikau offensive and Koli PointOn 1 November 1942 the Marines crossed the Matanikau and crushed the Japanese at Point Cruz. From 3 November they tried to trap Shōji's regiment at Koli Point.
- 13
- The Eighth Army retakes TobrukOn 13 November 1942 the Eighth Army entered Tobruk for the third time. Two days later the pursuit of Rommel took Derna and the Martuba airfields Malta needed.
- The night battle off GuadalcanalOn the night of 12–13 November 1942 the Americans stopped Abe's battleships on their way to shell Henderson Field. Admirals Callaghan and Scott died; Hiei sank.
December
- 12
- Rommel leaves El AgheilaOn 12 December 1942 Rommel began pulling his last units out of El Agheila. A New Zealand outflanking move failed to cut off his army on its way west.
- Operation Winter Storm beginsOn 12 December 1942 a German relief force for the Sixth Army set out from Kotelnikovo. Hoth's tanks reached the Myshkova but never got through to the pocket.
- 15
- The fall of Gona and BunaOn 9 December 1942 the Australians took Gona, and on 14 December the Americans took Buna village. The Japanese fought on at Buna Station and Sanananda.
- The fighting for Mount AustenIn mid-December 1942 the Americans attacked Mount Austen on Guadalcanal. The 132nd Infantry stalled before the Japanese stronghold of the Gifu.
- 22
- The retreat from the Caucasus beginsIn late December 1942 defeats at Stalingrad and on the Don threatened to cut off Army Group A. On 28 December Hitler agreed to a withdrawal from the Terek.
- The Battle of Longstop HillOn 22–25 December 1942 British and US troops fought for Longstop Hill near Tunis. The Germans retook it on Christmas Day; Eisenhower postponed his offensive.