March 1942

March

• 01

  • The Crimean Front offensiveFrom 27 February 1942 the Crimean Front attacked the Germans and Romanians at Ak-Monai to relieve Sevastopol. By April it had stalled in mud and fire.
• 03

  • The attack on BroomeOn 3 March 1942 nine Japanese fighters from Timor strafed Broome. Flying boats full of refugees from Java burned; at least 88 people were killed.
• 04

  • Operation KOn the night of 4 March 1942 two Japanese flying boats, refuelled from submarines, bombed Oʻahu. The bombs fell on the slopes above Honolulu.
• 05

  • The fall of JavaOn 5 March 1942 the Japanese entered Batavia, declared an open city, without a fight. On 8 March at Kalidjati the Dutch accepted the demand to surrender Java.
  • Britain extends conscriptionOn 5 March 1942 the Commons debated the mobilisation of women. Registration reached women aged 41, and the first conscripts were to join the ATS within days.
• 07

  • The first Spitfires over MaltaOn 7 March 1942 fifteen Spitfires flew to Malta from HMS Eagle, the first such fighters outside the British Isles. Hurricanes were no match for the Bf 109.
• 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.
• 09

  • The reorganisation of the US ArmyOn 9 March 1942 the US Army was split into three great commands – Ground Forces, Air Forces and Services of Supply – and its General Headquarters was abolished.
• 11

  • MacArthur leaves CorregidorOn 11 March 1942 MacArthur left Corregidor by PT boat for Mindanao. Wainwright took over command in the Philippines, and Bataan fought on.
• 12

  • Americans in New CaledoniaOn 12 March 1942 a convoy carrying General Patch's American task force reached Nouméa. The Free French colony became a base on the route to Australia.
• 13

  • Gee raids on the RuhrIn March 1942 Bomber Command began flying over Germany with the Gee radio-navigation system. Smog shrouded Essen, but on 13/14 March bombs hit Cologne.
• 14

  • The Japanese in the Solomon IslandsIn March 1942 the Japanese reached for the northern Solomons. At the end of the month they took Buka and the Shortlands, Kieta in April and Tulagi in May.
• 17

  • MacArthur in AustraliaOn 17 March 1942 MacArthur landed near Darwin. Hailed as a saviour, he found no army to relieve the Philippines. At Terowie he vowed: “I shall return”.
  • Fuel rationing in BritainOn 17 March 1942 Hugh Dalton announced the rationing of coal, gas and electricity and cut the clothing coupon allowance. The fuel scheme was never introduced.
  • Killing begins at BełżecOn 17 March 1942 the first transports of Jews from Lublin and Lwów reached the Bełżec camp. They were murdered in the gas chambers soon after arrival.
• 20

  • Operation OutwardOn 20 March 1942 the first Operation Outward balloons were released from the Suffolk coast, to short out German power lines and set forests on fire.
• 22

  • The Second Battle of SirteOn 22 March 1942 Vian's cruisers and destroyers used smoke screens to keep the battleship Littorio off a Malta convoy. Axis aircraft then sank the ships.
• 26

  • The star on the doors of Jewish homesIn spring 1942 the Gestapo ordered Jews in the Reich to mark their front doors with a paper Star of David. In Berlin the order applied from 26 March 1942.
• 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.