August 1942

August

• 01

  • The fighting in the great bend of the DonIn August 1942 Paulus's 6th Army smashed Soviet forces at Kalach and crossed the Don, while Hoth's 4th Panzer Army advanced on Stalingrad from the south.
• 05

  • Planning Operation TorchIn August 1942 the Allies began planning a landing in North Africa. Patton moved from Washington to Eisenhower's headquarters in London.
  • The deportation of Janusz Korczak's orphanageOn 5 August 1942 the Germans deported Janusz Korczak, Stefania Wilczyńska, their staff and nearly 200 children from the Warsaw Ghetto to Treblinka.
• 07

  • Key eventThe landing on GuadalcanalOn 7 August 1942 US Marines landed on Guadalcanal, Tulagi, Gavutu and Tanambogo. The first American land offensive of the Pacific War had begun.
• 08

  • The execution of the Operation Pastorius saboteursOn 8 August 1942 six German saboteurs from Operation Pastorius, condemned by a military commission, were executed in the electric chair in Washington.
  • The Battle of Savo IslandOn the night of 8/9 August 1942 Mikawa's cruisers surprised the Allied screen of the Guadalcanal landing off Savo and sank four heavy cruisers.
• 09

  • The arrest of GandhiOn 9 August 1942, the day after the Quit India resolution, Gandhi and the Congress leaders were arrested. Riots, strikes and sabotage swept India.
• 11

  • The sinking of HMS EagleOn 11 August 1942 U-73 torpedoed the carrier Eagle, escorting the Pedestal convoy to Malta. She sank within minutes; about 130 men were lost.
• 12

  • Churchill in MoscowOn 12 August 1942 Churchill flew to Moscow and told Stalin in the Kremlin that there would be no second front in France in 1942.
  • Americans in the New HebridesOn 11 August 1942 a US Navy construction battalion landed on Espiritu Santo. The New Hebrides were becoming the rear base for the fight for Guadalcanal.
• 13

  • Montgomery takes command of the Eighth ArmyOn 13 August 1942 Lt Gen. Bernard Montgomery took command of the Eighth Army at El Alamein after Auchinleck’s removal and the death of Gott, the first choice.
• 15

  • Key eventThe Ohio reaches MaltaOn 15 August 1942 the sinking tanker Ohio, last of the five Pedestal ships to arrive, was brought into Valletta. Her fuel saved Malta.
• 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.
• 19

  • Key eventThe Dieppe RaidOn 19 August 1942 over 6,000 troops, mostly Canadians, landed at Dieppe. After the defeat 3,367 Canadians had been killed, wounded or captured.
• 21

  • The Battle of the TenaruOn the night of 20–21 August 1942 Colonel Ichiki’s detachment attacked the Marines guarding the Guadalcanal airfield. Nearly 800 Japanese were killed.
• 22

  • Brazil declares war on Germany and ItalyAfter U-507 sank five ships with over 600 dead, Brazil recognised on 22 August 1942 that it was at war with Germany and Italy.
  • The massacre of Jews in StanisławówOn 22 August 1942, in a “reprisal action”, the Germans shot over 1,000 Jews in Stanisławów and hanged the Judenrat chairman and about 20 policemen.
• 23

  • Key eventThe bombing of StalingradOn 23 August 1942 German tanks reached the Volga north of Stalingrad and the Luftwaffe reduced much of the city to ruins. The Battle of Stalingrad had begun.
• 24

  • The Battle of the Eastern SolomonsOn 24–25 August 1942 US aircraft sank the carrier Ryūjō and turned back a Japanese reinforcement convoy, but Enterprise was hit by three bombs.
• 26

  • The Battle of Milne BayOn the night of 25–26 August 1942 Japanese naval infantry landed at Milne Bay. The Australians held the airfields, and after 12 days the Japanese withdrew.
• 27

  • Zhukov becomes Deputy Supreme CommanderAt the end of August 1942 Stalin made General of the Army Georgy Zhukov his deputy and sent him to Stalingrad to coordinate the city's defence.
• 30

  • The Battle of Alam el Halfa beginsOn the night of 30–31 August 1942 Rommel struck the southern flank of the El Alamein front. His panzer divisions were halted before Alam el Halfa ridge.
• 31

  • The general strike in LuxembourgOn 31 August 1942 Luxembourgers struck against Gauleiter Simon's conscription into the Wehrmacht. The Germans executed 21 of the strikers.