December 1942

December

• 01

  • Gasoline rationing in the United StatesOn 1 December 1942 gasoline rationing covered the whole United States. The aim was not to save fuel but to save tyres after the loss of Asian rubber.
  • The Beveridge ReportOn 1 December 1942 the Beveridge Report on social insurance was published. Its plan to fight the “five giants” became the foundation of the welfare state.
• 02

  • The Battle of TebourbaOn 1–4 December 1942 the German 10th Panzer Division counter-attacked at Tebourba and drove the Allies back from Tunis. The Axis took the initiative in Tunisia.
  • Key eventThe first controlled chain reactionOn 2 December 1942, beneath the stands of Stagg Field in Chicago, Enrico Fermi's team started up Chicago Pile-1 – the first nuclear reactor.
• 04

  • The first American raid on NaplesOn 4 December 1942 twenty Liberators from Egypt bombed the port of Naples and sank a cruiser. It was the first US raid on mainland Italy.
  • The Council to Aid Jews “Żegota” is foundedOn 4 December 1942 the Council to Aid Jews “Żegota” was founded in Warsaw under the Government Delegation. It gave hiding Jews money, papers and shelter.
• 06

  • The raid on the Philips works at EindhovenOn 6 December 1942 nearly a hundred RAF bombers struck the Philips works at Eindhoven at low level. Production stopped, but some 140–150 residents died.
• 07

  • The launch of the battleship New JerseyOn 7 December 1942, the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, USS New Jersey was launched at Philadelphia – the second of the four Iowa-class battleships.
  • Operation FranktonOn 7 December 1942 HMS Tuna launched five Royal Marines canoes off the Gironde. On the night of 11–12 December two crews mined ships in Bordeaux.
• 09

  • The change of command on GuadalcanalOn 9 December 1942 Vandegrift handed command on Guadalcanal to General Patch, and the malaria-ravaged 1st Marine Division began to leave the island.
• 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.
• 13

  • The Stalingrad airliftIn mid-December 1942 the Luftwaffe flew only a fraction of the Sixth Army's needs into the pocket. On 16 December Little Saturn hit the Italians on the Don.
• 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.
• 17

  • Key eventThe Allied declaration on the extermination of the JewsOn 17 December 1942 Anthony Eden read to the Commons a declaration by 11 governments and the Free French condemning the murder of the Jews. MPs rose in silence.
• 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.
• 23

  • Japanese air raids on CalcuttaIn the last days of December 1942 Japanese bombers from Burma struck Calcutta several times by night. Damage was slight, but hundreds of thousands fled.
• 24

  • Key eventThe assassination of Admiral DarlanOn 24 December 1942 in Algiers, 20-year-old Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle shot Admiral Darlan. He was executed two days later; Giraud took power.
• 28

  • French Somaliland joins Free FranceOn 28 December 1942 Djibouti, Vichy's last colony in Africa, went over to Free France. After two years of blockade and hunger, not a single shot was fired.
• 31

  • The Battle of the Barents SeaOn 31 December 1942 British destroyers and two cruisers beat off an attack by Admiral Hipper and Lützow on convoy JW 51B. Every ship reached the USSR.
  • The balance of 1942The year 1942 began with Allied defeats and ended with Midway, El Alamein, Torch, encirclement at Stalingrad and Japan's decision to abandon Guadalcanal.