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((Short description|List of significant events occurring during World War II in 1942))
((More citations needed|date=June 2023))((WWII timeline))
((TopicTOC-World War II))
[[File:Timeline of World War II collage 1942.jpg|thumb|1942, clockwise from top left: British artillery barrage opens the [[Battle of El Alamein]]; the [[History of the Jews in Thessaloniki|Jews of Salonika]] are rounded up for deportation to [[extermination camp]]s; Soviet troops of the [[Great Patriotic War (term)|Great Patriotic War]] fight the [[Battle of Stalingrad]]; ((USS|Lexington|CV-2)) under fire at the [[Battle of the Coral Sea]]; [[Reinhard Heydrich]]'s car after [[Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich|attack by Czech resistance]]; [[5th SS Panzer Division Wiking]] troops work on the [[Case Blue]] plan to supply the [[Axis powers|Axis Powers]] with needed petroleum supplies  ]]

This is a '''timeline of events that occurred during [[World War II]] in 1942.'''

((horizontal TOC|nonum=yes))

==January==
:1: Twenty-six Allied countries signed the [[Declaration by United Nations]] during the [[Arcadia Conference]].<ref name="timeline">((cite web|url=http://ww2db.com/event/timeline/1942/ |title=1942 Timeline |publisher=WW2DB |access-date=2011-02-09))</ref>

:2: Manila is captured by Japanese forces. They also take [[Naval Station Sangley Point|Cavite naval base]], and the American and Filipino troops continue the retreat into Bataan.<ref name="timeline" />

:5: The beginning of a major Red Army offensive under [[Georgy Zhukov|General Zhukov]].

:6: The British advance continues to [[El Agheila]], on the western edge of Libya.

::In his State of the Union speech, President Roosevelt promises more aid to Britain, including planes and troops.

:7: The Soviet Winter counter-offensive comes to a halt, after having pushed the exhausted and freezing German Army back 62–155 mi from Moscow.  'Operation Barbarossa' had failed.

::Siege of the [[Battle of Bataan|Bataan Peninsula]] begins.

::Heavy air attacks on Malta; it is estimated that the bomb tonnage dropped on the island is twice that dropped on London.

:8: Japanese troops penetrated the outer lines of defense at [[Kuala Lumpur]], [[British Malaya|Malaya]].<ref name="timeline" />

:9: Japanese advances in Borneo met with little opposition.

:10: Japan declares war on the Netherlands.<ref name="timeline" />

:11: Japanese troops capture Kuala Lumpur, Malaya.

::Japan invades the [[Netherlands East Indies|Dutch East Indies]].

:13: The Red Army takes Kirov and Medya, as its counter-offensive continues.

::The German U-boat offensive comes closer to the US shores starting the [[Second Happy Time]].

::Allied governments-in-exile in London issue a declaration entitled [[Punishment for War Crimes]] demanding post-war legal retribution for atrocities in German-occupied Europe.

:15: German authorities begin to deport Jews from the Lodz ghettos to the Chelmno Concentration Camp.<ref name="timeline"/>

:19: Japanese forces take large numbers of British troops prisoner, north of Singapore.

:20: [[Nazism|Nazis]] at the [[Wannsee conference]] in Berlin decide that the "[[final solution]] to the [[Jewish Question|Jewish problem]]" is relocation, and later extermination.

::Japanese bomb Singapore as their troops approach the city.

:21: Rommel's Afrika Korps begins a surprise counter-offensive at El Agheila; his troops, with new reinforcements and tanks, capture [[Ajdabiya|Agedabia]], then push north to [[Beda Fomm]].<br>: At the [[Vilna Ghetto]] the [[Fareynikte Partizaner Organizatsye]] a Jewish [[Partisan (military)|partisan]] organisation is established, including [[Aba Kovner]].

:23: The [[Battle of Rabaul (1942)|Battle of Rabaul]], on New Britain begins.

:24: American troops land in Samoa, as part of a strategy to stop the Japanese advance in the Pacific.

:25: [[Thailand]] declares war on the United States and United Kingdom.

::Japanese troops invade the [[Solomon Islands]].

:26: The first American forces arrive in Europe landing in [[Northern Ireland]].

:27: The British withdraw all troops back into Singapore.

:28: Brazil breaks off relations with the Axis powers.

:29: Rommel's Afrika Korps recaptures Benghazi, Libya in his drive east. For the next few months, the two sides will rest and rearm.

:30: Hitler speaks at the [[Berlin Sportpalast]] and threatens the Jews of the world with annihilation; he also blames the failure of the offensive in The Soviet Union on the weather.

:31: The Japanese take the port of Moulamein, Burma; they now threaten Rangoon as well as Singapore.

::On the Eastern front, the Germans are in retreat at several points.

::The last organised Allied forces leave Malaya, ending [[Battle of Malaya|the 54-day battle]].

==February==
:1: [[Vidkun Quisling]] becomes the Nazi-aligned Minister-President of Norway

::Rommel's forces reach [[Battle of Gazala|El Gazala]], Libya, near the border with Egypt; during a "Winter lull" he will remain there.

::The [[United States Navy]] conducts the [[Marshalls-Gilberts raids]] attacking [[Jaluit]], [[Mili Atoll|Mili]], and [[Makin Atoll|Makin]] ([[Butaritari]]) islands as well as [[Kwajalein]], [[Wotje]], and [[Taroa]].

::United States automobile industry stops production and switches over the coming 12 months to producing war materials

:2: General [[Joseph Stilwell|Joseph ("Vinegar Joe") Stilwell]] is named Chief of Staff to [[Chiang Kai-shek]] and Commander-in-Chief of the Allied forces in China.

:3: Japanese air power conducts airstrikes against [[Java (island)|Java]], especially the naval base at [[Surabaya]].

::[[Port Moresby]], New Guinea is bombed by the Japanese, increasing the threat to Australia posed by Japan.

:7: Americans continue their defence of Bataan against General Homma's troops.

:9: British troops are now in full retreat into Singapore for a final defence.

::Top United States military leaders hold their first formal meeting to discuss American military strategy in the war.

:10: The cruise liner ((SS|Normandie)) catches fire and capsizes in New York harbour. Although the cause is probably a welder's torch, various conspiracies are imagined in the media.
[[File:Bosbritsurrendergroup.jpg|thumb|British soldiers captured by the Japanese after the [[Fall of Singapore]] on 15 February 1942]]
:11: The "[[Channel Dash]]" – The German battleships ((ship|German battleship|Scharnhorst||2)) and ((ship|German battleship|Gneisenau||2)), with the heavy cruiser ((ship|German cruiser|Prinz Eugen||2)), rush out of [[Brest, France|Brest]] through the [[English Channel]] to northern ports, including Wilhelmshaven, Germany; the British naval units fail to sink any of them.

:: ((USS|Saratoga|CV-3|6)) is torpedoed by the Japanese submarine [[Junsen type submarine#Junsen II .28I-6 class.29|''I-6'']] 480 miles southwest of [[Pearl Harbor]]

:13: The [[Battle of Bataan|battle for Bataan]] continues.

:15: [[Fall of Singapore|Singapore surrendered to Japanese forces]]; this is arguably the most devastating loss in British military history.

:16: Being discussed in high American government circles are plans for the internment of Japanese-Americans living generally in the western US.

::The Japanese commit the [[Banka Island Massacre]] in which they open fire on Australian military nurses, killing 21.

:17: Orders are given for Rangoon to be evacuated as Japanese forces approach.

:19: Japanese aircraft attack [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]], in Australia's [[Northern Territory]].

::President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] signs [[Executive Order 9066]] allowing the [[United States military]] to define areas as exclusionary zones. These zones affect the [[Japanese American Internment|Japanese]] on the West Coast, and Germans and Italians primarily on the East Coast.

::A military conscription law is passed in Canada.

:20: Japanese troops cross the important [[Salween River]] in Burma.

::Japanese invade [[Bali]] and [[Timor]] by a combined use of paratroops and amphibious troops.

:21: The American Air Corps is now firmly established at bases in the UK.

:22: President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] orders General [[Douglas MacArthur]] to [[Douglas MacArthur's escape from the Philippines|evacuate]] the [[Philippines]] as American defense of the nation collapses.

:25: The [[Japanese American internment|internment of Japanese-American citizens]] in the Western United States begins as fears of invasion increase.

::[[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Princess Elizabeth]] registers for war service.

:26: [[Vivian Bullwinkel]], the only survivor of the [[Banka Island Massacre]], is captured and imprisoned by the Japanese.

:27: [[Battle of the Java Sea]] – Under a Dutch Rear Admiral Karl Doorman, the combined forces lose 2 light cruisers and 3 destroyers.

:: ((USS|Langley|CV-1|6)) is attacked by nine Japanese [[Mitsubishi G4M|Betty bombers]] in the Java Sea, damaged and later scuttled to prevent capture.

:28: Japanese land forces invade Java.

==March==
:1: A Red Army offensive in the [[Crimea]] begins; in the north, the siege of [[Leningrad]] continues.

:3: Japanese aircraft make a surprising [[Attack on Broome|raid]] on the airfield and harbour at [[Broome, Western Australia|Broome]], [[Western Australia]].

:4: [[Japanese Imperial Navy|Japanese naval]] [[Operation K]] intended as a [[reconnaissance]] of [[Pearl Harbor]] and disruption of repair and salvage operations.

:5: The Japanese capture [[Jakarta|Batavia]], the capital of the [[Dutch East Indies]].<ref name="timeline" />

::New conscription laws in the United Kingdom include women and men up to the age of 45.

:6: Malta receives more fighters for its on-going defence.

:8: The Japanese land at [[Lae]] and [[Salamaua]], on Huon Bay, New Guinea, beginning their move toward Port Moresby, New Guinea, and then Australia.

:9: Japanese troops entered [[Yangon|Rangoon]], Burma, which was abandoned by the British two days earlier.<ref name="timeline" /> It appears that the Japanese are in control of Java, Burma, and New Guinea.

::The [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] reorganizes the General Headquarters (GHQ), [[United States Army]] into three major commands – [[Army Ground Forces]], [[United States Army Air Forces|Army Air Forces]], and [[Services of Supply]], the latter of which is later redesignated [[Army Service Forces]]. At the same time, the four Defense commands and all Theaters Of Operations (TOPNS) are subordinated to the War Department General Staff.

:11: The Japanese land on Mindanao, the southernmost island in the Philippines.

:12: American troops begin to land in [[Nouméa]], [[New Caledonia]]; it will become an important staging base for the eventual invasion of Guadalcanal.

:13: RAF launches an air raid against Essen, Germany.

:14: Japanese land troops in the [[Solomon Islands]], underscoring Australia's dangerous situation, especially if, as it is soon made clear, an airfield is built on Guadalcanal.

::The Japanese are now threatening American forces around [[Manila Bay]]; the retreat to [[Corregidor]] begins.

:17: U.S. General [[Douglas MacArthur]] arrives in Australia, after leaving his headquarters in the Philippines.

::The United Kingdom institutes rationing of electricity, coal, and gas; the clothing ration is decreased as well.

:20: [[Operation Outward]] begins, a program to attack Germany by means of free-flying balloons.

:22: A fractured convoy reaches Malta, after heavy losses to the Luftwaffe and an Italian sea force. Continued heavy bombing attacks on the island with slight opposition from overtaxed RAF air forces.

:25: RAF sends bomber raids against targets in France and Germany.

:26: Jews in Berlin must now clearly identify their houses.

:28: The RAF sends a raid against [[Lübeck]], destroying over 30% of the city, and 80% of the medieval centre. Hitler is outraged.

::British commandos launch [[St. Nazaire Raid|Operation Chariot]], a raid on the port at Saint Nazaire, France. ((HMS|Campbeltown|I42|6)), filled with explosives on a time-delay fuse, rams the dock gates and commandos destroy other parts of the naval service area. The port is completely destroyed and does not resume service till 1947; however, around two-thirds of the raiding forces are lost.

==April==
:1: The [[Eastern Sea Frontier]], desperately short on suitable escort vessels after the [[Destroyers for Bases Agreement]], institutes an interim arrangement known as the "Bucket Brigaid," wherein vessels outside of protected harbors are placed in anchorages protected by netting after dark, and move only under whatever escort is available during the day. As word of this and similar measures reaches [[Karl Doenitz|Dönitz]], he does not wait to test their effectiveness, but instead shifts his U-boats to the area controlled by the [[Gulf Sea Frontier]], where American anti-submarine measures are not as effective. As a result, in May more ships will be sunk in the Gulf, many of them off the Passes of the Mississippi, than off of the entire Eastern Seaboard.

::The [[Pacific War Council]] meets for the first time in Washington. Intended to allow the smaller powers involved in fighting the Japanese to have some input into US decisions, its purpose is soon outstripped by events, notably the collapse of the [[American-British-Dutch-Australian Command|ABDA Command]].

:2: Over 24,000 sick and starving troops (American and Filipino) are now trapped on the [[Bataan Peninsula]].

::Japanese make landings on New Guinea, most importantly at [[Jayapura|Hollandia]].

:3: Japanese forces begin an all-out assault on United States and [[Philippines|Filipino]] troops in Bataan.

::Sustained Japanese air attacks on [[Mandalay]] in [[Burma]].

:4: Germans plan [[Baedeker Blitz|"Baedeker raids"]] on touristy or historic British sites, in revenge for the Lübeck bombing.

:5: On Bataan, the Japanese overwhelm Mt. Samat, a strong point on Allied defensive line.

::The [[Imperial Japanese Navy|Japanese Navy]] attacks [[Colombo]] in [[Sri Lanka|Ceylon]]. [[Royal Navy]] heavy [[cruisers]] ((HMS|Cornwall|56|6)) and ((HMS|Dorsetshire|40|6)) are sunk southwest of the island.

::[[Hitler|Adolf Hitler]] issues [[Case Blue|Directive No. 41]], outlining his plans for the coming summer offensive in Russia. The main offensive is directed to seize the Russian oil fields in the [[Caucasus]]; a secondary thrust is to capture [[Stalingrad]] and protect the flank of the main advance.

:: [[RAF]] bombing raid on Cologne.

:6: Japanese naval forces put troops ashore on [[Manus Island]] in the [[Bismarck Archipelago]] (some sources give a date of 8 April for these landings).

:8: Heavy RAF bombing of Hamburg.

::American forces are strained for one last offensive on Bataan.

::With the withdrawal of ((HMS|Penelope|97|6)) from Malta, [[Force K]] in Malta comes to a close.

:9: The Japanese Navy launches an air raid on [[Trincomalee]] in Ceylon; Royal Navy [[aircraft carrier]] ((HMS|Hermes|95|6)) and [[Royal Australian Navy]] [[destroyer]] ((HMAS|Vampire|D68|6)) are sunk off the country's east coast.

::Bataan falls to the Japanese. The "[[Bataan Death March]]" begins, as the captives are taken off to detention camps in the north. Corregidor, in the middle of Manila Bay, remains a final point of resistance.

:10: Japanese land on [[Cebu Island]], a large middle island of the Philippines.

:12: Japanese forces capture Migyaungye in [[Burma]].

:13: [[Anton Schmid]] an Austrian soldier of the Wehrmacht is put to death, after witnessing the [[Ponary Massacre]] and saving Jews.

:14: [[Winston Churchill]], concerned that the situation in Malta will cause the Axis forces in North Africa to be better supplied than British forces, sends a telegram to [[Sir Stafford Cripps]] in Cairo, asking him to pressure [[Claude Auchinleck|General Auchinleck]] to take offensive action before this can occur.

::((USS|Roper|DD-147|6)) becomes the first American ship to sink a [[U-boat]].

:15: Malta is awarded the [[George Cross]] by [[George VI of the United Kingdom|King George VI]] for "heroism and devotion".

::Soldiers of the [[Burma Corps|I Burma Corps]] begin to destroy the infrastructure of the [[Yenangyaung| Yenangyaung oil fields]] to prevent the advancing Japanese from capturing them intact.

:17: French General [[Henri Giraud]], who was captured in 1940, escapes from a castle prison at Königstein by lowering himself down the castle wall and jumping on board a moving train, which takes him to the French border.

:18: [[Doolittle Raid]] on [[Nagoya]], [[Tokyo]] and [[Yokohama]]. [[Jimmy Doolittle]]'s B-25s take off from ((USS|Hornet|CV-8|6)). The raids are a great boost of morale for Americans.

::The [[Eastern Sea Frontier]], the [[United States Navy]] operational command in charge of the East Coast of the United States, somewhat belatedly forces a blackout along the East Coast. This deprives U-boat commanders of background illumination, but provides only a very little relief from U-boat attack; as the nights grow shorter more U-boat attacks are occurring in daylight hours.

:20: [[William Dobbie|General Dobbie]], Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief of [[Malta]], sends a message to [[Winston Churchill]] saying "it is obvious that the very worst may happen if we cannot replenish our vital needs, especially flour and ammunition, and that very soon...." Churchill concludes from this and other "disturbing news" that Dobbie is not capable enough for such an important job, and decides to replace him with [[Lord Gort]].

::((USS|Wasp|CV-7|6)) delivers 47 [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfire Mk. V]] fighters of [[No. 603 Squadron RAF]] to [[Malta]]; the planes are destroyed, mostly on the ground, by intense Axis air raids before they can affect the course of battle.

:23: Beginning of so-called [[Baedeker Blitz|Baedeker Raids]] by the Luftwaffe on English provincial towns like Exeter, Bath, Norwich, and York; attacks continue sporadically until June 6.

:24: Heavy bombing of [[Rostock]], Germany by RAF.

:26: Hitler assumes a kind of supreme authority over Germany.

:27: [[Rostock]] is bombed for fourth night in a row.

::A [[Referendums in Canada#Plebiscite on conscription|national plebiscite]] is held in Canada on the issue of [[conscription]]. It passes in favor of conscription; French Canadians are the main, though not the only, objectors.

::The finalized thirty-three page draft for the German ''[[Amerika Bomber]]'' trans-Atlantic range strategic bomber design competition is submitted to the [[Ministry of Aviation (Germany)|RLM]].

:28: The bulk of the British assault troops depart [[Durban]] in [[South Africa]] for [[Madagascar]]; the slower ships, carrying transport and heavy weapons, have departed in great secrecy some days earlier.

:29: The "[[Baedeker raids]]" continue, focused on Norwich and York.

:: The Japanese cut The [[Burma Road]] with the capture of [[Lashio]] in Burma.

::[[Adolf Hitler]] summons [[Benito Mussolini]] and [[Galeazzo Ciano]] to a summit conference at [[Salzburg]]. Like most Hitlerian conferences, this one is actually a thinly-disguised attempt to harangue the invitees into compliance with the Fuehrer's will; in this case, the Italians are to commit more troops to the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]]. Hitler is successful, and Mussolini agrees to send an additional seven divisions, as well as the two already promised. These unfortunate troops will be formed into the [[Italian Army in Russia|Eighth Italian Army]] and attached to [[Fedor von Bock|von Bock's]] (later [[Maximilian von Weichs|von Weichs's]]) [[Army Group B]].

==May==
:1: Rommel readies for a new offensive during the early part of this month.

::Troops of the [[Japanese Fifteenth Army]] under General [[Shojiro Iida]] take [[Mandalay]] and [[Monywa]], securing the western terminus of the [[Burma Road]].

:2: In response to American intelligence intercepts, which warn of the impending Japanese landings, the Australian garrison is evacuated from [[Tulagi]].

:3: In the initial move of the Japanese strategic plan to capture [[Port Moresby]], Japanese forces under Admiral [[Kiyohide Shima]] make unopposed landings on [[Invasion of Tulagi (May 1942)|Tulagi]], opening the [[Battle of the Coral Sea]].

::American General [[Joseph Stilwell]] decides that nothing more can be accomplished in Burma, and that the time has come to evacuate.

:4: US Rear Admiral [[Frank Jack Fletcher]]'s [[Task Force 17]] makes the first carrier strike of the [[Battle of the Coral Sea]], attacking Japanese naval targets near [[Invasion of Tulagi (May 1942)|Tulagi]].

::Howell and his party of 114, mostly Americans, begin their trek to the Indian border and safety. To reach India, Stilwell will not only have to stay ahead of the Japanese, but beat the coming monsoon.

:5: Heavy Japanese artillery attack on Corregidor.

::British forces begin "[[Operation Ironclad]]": the invasion of [[Madagascar]] to keep the [[Vichy French]] territory from falling to a possible Japanese invasion.

::The city of [[Exeter]] is bombed by the Luftwaffe, another "[[Baedeker Blitz|Baedeker Raid]]".

::In the [[Battle of the Coral Sea|Coral Sea]], both Japanese and American carrier aircraft spend this day and the following one searching for each other's ships, with no success, even though at one point the opposing carrier groups are separated by less than a hundred miles of ocean.

::General [[Joseph Stilwell|Stilwell]] abandons his trucks, which constantly become stuck and so are actually impeding progress rather than aiding it. He retains his [[Jeep]]s, which do better. Late in the day his party arrives at [[Indaw]].

:6: On [[Corregidor]], Lt. General [[Jonathan M. Wainwright (general)|Jonathan M. Wainwright]] surrenders the last U.S. forces in the [[Philippines]] to Lt. General [[Masaharu Homma]]. About 12,000 are made prisoners. Homma will soon face criticism from his superiors over the amount of time it has taken him to reduce the Philippines, and be forced into retirement (1943).

::After a pep talk, General [[Joseph Stilwell|Stilwell]] and his party of 114 set out from [[Indaw]] on foot, with only 11 Jeeps to carry their supplies and any incapacitated, to reach the Indian border. He sends a last radio message which ends, "Catastrophe quite possible." The radio is then destroyed.

:7: Vichy forces surrender [[Diego Suarez, Malagasy Republic|Diego Suarez]], the most important port in Madagascar, to British forces involved in [[Operation Ironclad]]. However, the Vichy forces are able to withdraw in good order.

::In the [[Battle of the Coral Sea|Coral Sea]], Japanese search planes spot refueling ship ((USS|Neosho|AO-23|6)) and destroyer ((USS|Sims|DD-409|6)), which have retired from [[Frank Jack Fletcher|Fletcher's]] [[Task Force 17]] into what should have been safer waters to refuel ''Sims''. They are mistaken for an aircraft carrier and a cruiser. Japanese Admiral [[Takeo Takagi|Takagi]], believing he has at last found the location of Fletcher's main force, orders a full out attack by carriers ((ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Shōkaku||2)) and ((ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Zuikaku||2)) and sinks both ships. This distraction helps prevent the Japanese from finding the real location of Fletcher's carriers. Meanwhile, Fletcher has a similar false alarm, the spotting of two cruisers and two destroyers being mistakenly encrypted as "two carriers and four cruisers." By chance, though, planes from ((USS|Lexington|CV-2|6)) and ((USS|Yorktown|CV-5|6)) stumble across light carrier ((ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Shōhō||2)) while pursuing the false lead and sink her, leading to the first use in the American Navy of the signal, "Scratch one flattop." Admiral [[Shigeyoshi Inoue|Inoue]] is so alarmed by the loss of ''Shōhō'' he halts the Port Moresby invasion group north of the [[Louisiade Archipelago|Louisiades]] until the American carriers can be found and destroyed.

::In Burma, General [[Joseph Stilwell|Stilwell]] must abandon his Jeeps. From here on all in the party will have to march. The fifty-nine-year-old General decides a cadence of one hundred five beats per minute will best match the disparate abilities of his party, and they march fifty minutes and rest ten each hour.

:8: In the [[Battle of the Coral Sea|Coral Sea]], each side finally locates the other's main carrier groups, consisting of Japanese carriers ''Shōkaku'' and ''Zuikaku'', and American carriers ''Lexington'' and ''Yorktown''. Several attacks follow. Only ''Zuikaku'' escapes unscathed; ''Shōkaku'' has her flight deck bent, requiring two months' repairs; ''Lexington'' is sunk and ''Yorktown'' damaged. Fletcher retires; this action closes the Battle. While arguably a stalemate or even tactical victory for the Japanese, who have sunk the most tonnage and the only large carrier, the Battle of the Coral Sea is usually seen as a strategic victory for the United States, as Admiral [[Shigeyoshi Inoue|Inoue]] cancels the Port Moresby operation, the first significant failure of a Japanese strategic operation in the [[Pacific War|Pacific Theatre]]. In addition, ''Yorktown'' will be repaired in time to make important contributions at [[The Battle of Midway|Midway]] (although she will not survive), whereas neither the damaged ''Shōkaku'' nor ''Zuikaku'' (which, although not directly attacked, has suffered unsustainable losses in aircraft), will be able to refit in time for Midway, giving the Japanese only four operable carriers available for that battle.

::The Germans take the Kerch peninsula in the eastern [[Crimea]].

:9: On the night of 8/9 May 1942, gunners of the [[Ceylon Garrison Artillery]] on [[Horsburgh Island]] in the Cocos Islands rebelled. [[Cocos Islands mutiny|Their mutiny]] was crushed and three of them were executed, the only British Commonwealth soldiers to be executed for mutiny during the Second World War.

:((USS|Wasp|CV-7|6)) and ((HMS|Eagle|1918|6)) deliver a second contingent of [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfires]] to [[Siege of Malta (World War II)|Malta]] in [[Operation Bowery]]. A few days later, a grateful [[Churchill]] will signal ''Wasp'' "Who says a ''Wasp'' can't sting twice?" These aircraft, employed more aggressively than those previously delivered, turn the tide in the skies over Malta during the next few days, and the Axis is forced to abandon daylight bombing. This is a major turning point in the Siege, and thus in the [[North African Campaign]], although the approaches to the island remain subject to deadly and accurate Axis air attack, preventing efficient re-supply of the island.

::In Burma, General [[Joseph Stilwell|Stilwell]] and his party begin crossing the [[Uyu River]]. Only four small rafts are available, and the crossing takes the better part of two days.

:10: Unaware that the tide is turning even as he speaks, [[Albert Kesselring|Kesselring]] informs [[Hitler]] that [[Siege of Malta (World War II)|Malta]] has been neutralized.

::[[Churchill]], growing ever more frustrated with [[Claude Auchinleck|General Auchinleck's]] inactivity, finally sends him a telegram with a clear order; attack in time to cover for the Harpoon/Vigorous convoys to [[Siege of Malta (World War II)|Malta]] during the dark of the moon in early June. This places Auchinleck in the position of complying or resigning. Auchinleck does not immediately reply, leaving Churchill, [[Chief of the Imperial General Staff|CIGS]], and the [[Churchill War Ministry|War Cabinet]] in a state of suspense.

:12: ((GS|U-553)), commanded by Kapitänleutnant Karl Thurmann, sinks British freighter ''Nicoya'' near the mouth of the [[St. Lawrence River]], signalling the opening of the [[Battle of St. Lawrence]].

::[[Second Battle of Kharkov]] – In the eastern [[Ukraine]], [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] forces of Marshal [[Semyon Timoshenko|Timoshenko's]] Southwest Theatre of Operations, including Gorodnyanski's [[6th Army (Soviet Union)|6th Army]] and Kharitonov's [[9th Army (Soviet Union)|9th Army]], initiate a major offensive to capture [[Kharkov]] from the Germans. 9th Army is to attack first, with a primary objective of Krasnograd, and a secondary one of Poltava; 6th Army is to follow immediately. After 9th Army has captured Krasnograd, 6th Army is to swing north and link up with [[28th Army (Soviet Union)|28th Army]] and 57th Army, the latter two formations having meanwhile cut the railway between Belgorad and Kharkov.

::The 33-page ''Amerika Bomber'' trans-Atlantic strategic bomber design competition proposal document makes it to ''Reichsmarschall'' Hermann Goering's offices, with ten copies printed — six of these were sent to the ''Luftwaffe'', and four held in reserve.

:13: General [[Joseph Stilwell|Stilwell]] and his party cross the [[Chindwin River]]. They are now almost certainly safe from the Japanese, but still dependent on their own supplies in a very remote area and racing to beat the monsoon.

:14: In response to the Soviet offensive in the [[Second Battle of Kharkov|Kharkov]] area, [[Hitler]] orders elements of [[Wolfram von Richthofen|Richthofen's]] [[8th Air Corps (Germany)|''Fliegerkorps VIII'']] north to do ground support missions. As a result, by the end of the day 14 May, the Germans have established a tentative but increasing air superiority over the Kharkov sector. In addition, on this day Hitler orders [[Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist|General Kleist]], whose command is in positions opposite and to the south of the Soviets' left flank, to quickly prepare and launch a strong armoured counter-offensive.

::In Burma, General [[Joseph Stilwell|Stilwell]] and his party begin ascending the [[Naga Hills]]. They are met at Kawlum by a relief expedition headed by British colonial administrator Tim Sharpe. "Food, doctor, ponies, and everything," notes a grateful Stilwell in his diary.

:15: In the United States, a bill creating the [[Women's Army Corps|Women's Auxiliary Army Corps]] (WAAC) is signed into law.

::General [[Joseph Stilwell|Stilwell]] crosses the border into India.

:16: United States [[1st Armored Division (United States)|1st Armored Division]] arrives in Northern Ireland.

:17: In the salient north of [[Second Battle of Kharkov|Kharkov]], Russian [[28th Army (Soviet Union)|28th]] and 57th Armies are having trouble making progress against [[Friedrich Paulus|General Paulus's]] [[6th Army (Wehrmacht)|(German) 6th Army]].

::For once, [[Adolf Hitler]] has not hobbled his local commander with a strict "no retreat" order, and Paulus is free to conduct an efficient delaying action. In addition, Paulus' troops are largely up to strength and fully equipped as a result of preparations for the upcoming drive to Stalingrad. In the south salient, Kharitonov's [[9th Army (Soviet Union)|9th Army]] has routed the Romanian (3rd and/or 4th Army; accounts differ) troops in his path and captured [[Krasnograd]], and is proceeding to [[Poltava]]; Gorodnyanski's [[6th Army (Soviet Union)|6th Army]] has made its planned turn to the north to link up with 28th and 57th Armies. 9th Army's impetus has stretched Kharitonov's armoured units out along a seventy-mile track, diluting their strength; and attempts to cover his left flank by driving the Germans back from it have been unsuccessful. The Russians take only a few prisoners along this flank, but [[Semyon Timoshenko|Timoshenko]] is dismayed by the variety of units, especially armoured units, this handful of men represent (this is because [[Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist|Kleist]] is concentrating troops in this area in preparation for his counter-offensive). Timoshenko loses confidence and has his Political Officer [[Nikita Khrushchev]] ring up the [[Stavka]] and ask for permission to halt while he secures his left flank; Stavka refuses.

::It has been a week since [[Winston Churchill|Churchill]] sent his ultimatum to [[Claude Auchinleck|General Auchinleck]], and he has not yet received a reply. He sends a terse follow-up: "It is necessary for me to have some account of your general intentions in light of our recent telegrams." Again there is no immediate reply.

:18: The Red Army is in a major retreat at [[Battle of the Kerch Peninsula|Kerch]], after large numbers surrender.((Citation needed|date=August 2008))

::In the salient north of [[Second Battle of Kharkov|Kharkov]], the Soviet offensive has bogged down. In the southern salient, [[Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist|Kleist]] has launched his counter-offensive. It is immediately successful and by the end of the first day the leading elements have reached the confluence of the [[Oskol River|Oksol]] and [[Donetz]] rivers, greatly narrowing the base of the salient. In the process the Germans traverse and disrupt so many lines of communication that Kharitonov's [[9th Army (Soviet Union)|9th Army]] begins to lose cohesion as a fighting force, and becomes useless as a screen to protect Gorodnyanski's [[6th Army (Soviet Union)|6th Army]] which, because of its northward progress, is badly disposed to repel the German attacks coming from the south.

::The [[Assam Rifles]] give General [[Joseph Stilwell|Stilwell's]] party a formal salute in honor of their arrival at [[Ukhrul]], but can offer no motorized transport; the nearest road passable by trucks is still a day's march away, and there are no Jeeps yet in this part of India.

:19: At [[Second Battle of Kharkov|Kharkov]], [[Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist|Kleist]]'s counter-offensive continues to prosper; and now [[Friedrich Paulus|Paulus]] launches a second counter-attack from the north, designed to link up with Kleist's and encircle as many Soviet troops as possible. The [[Stavka]], gradually becoming aware of the extent of the danger, orders Gorodnyanski's [[6th Army (Soviet Union)|6th Army]] to halt their advance. But by now [[Semyon Timoshenko|Timoshenko]] is planning to extricate what forces he can before the two German spearheads link up.

::General [[Joseph Stilwell|Stilwell]] and his party at last reach the truck roadhead at Litan; by this time the monsoon rains have started.

::General [[Claude Auchinleck|Auchinleck]] at last replies to Churchill's somewhat urgent telegram of the 10th, saying he will have an attack ready by the sailing of the Harpoon/Vigorous convoys for [[Siege of Malta (World War II)|Malta]].

:20: The [[Japanese conquest of Burma]] is complete; it is called a "military catastrophe". Coincidentally, on this same day General [[Joseph Stilwell|Stilwell]] arrives in [[Imphal]] and dismisses his evacuation party. All 114 have arrived, although some have to be hospitalized due to exhaustion; one of whom, Major [[Frank Merrill]], later commander of [[Merrill's Marauders]], is diagnosed to have had a mild heart attack en route.

::At [[Second Battle of Kharkov|Kharkov]], as [[Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist|Kleist]]'s and [[Friedrich Paulus|Paulus']] forward elements draw ever closer together, [[Semyon Timoshenko|Timoshenko]] sends his subordinate General Kostenko into the salient to organize a fighting retreat, or, failing that, maximize what can be saved.

::[[Vyacheslav Molotov|Molotov]] arrives in London, and high-level discussions begin the next day.

:21: Invasion of Malta postponed indefinitely.

::In discussions with [[Winston Churchill]] and [[Anthony Eden]], [[Vyacheslav Molotov|Molotov]] continues to press Soviet demands for territorial acquisitions made during the run-up to war, including the [[Baltic states]], Eastern [[Poland]], and [[Bessarabia]]. Churchill cannot or will not agree to these demands, and the talks become deadlocked.

:22: Mexico declares war on the Axis.

:23: [[Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist|Kleist]]'s and [[Friedrich Paulus|Paulus']] tanks meet up at [[Balakleya]], southeast of [[Second Battle of Kharkov|Kharkov]], encircling most of the Soviets' [[6th Army (Soviet Union)|6th]] and [[9th Army (Soviet Union)|9th Armies]].

::At the high-level Soviet/United Kingdom talks in London, [[Anthony Eden]] suggests abandoning attempts to reach territorial understandings, and instead conclude a twenty-years' alliance. Molotov, whose diplomatic position is weakening rapidly as the Soviet military situation deteriorates at [[Battle of the Kerch Peninsula|Kerch]] and [[Second Battle of Kharkov|Kharkov]], expresses interest.

:25: In preparation for the next battle, the Japanese naval strategists send diversionary forces to the Aleutians.

:26: The Anglo-Soviet Treaty: their foreign secretaries agree that no peace will be signed by one without the approval of the other. (An important treaty since Himmler and others will attempt to separate the two nations at the end of the war.)

::Rommel begins a Spring offensive at the Gazala line (west of Tobruk). It opens with "Rommel's Moonlight Ride," a dramatic mechanized dash around [[1st Free French Division|1st Free French Brigade Group]] positions at [[Battle of Bir Hakeim|Bir Hakeim]] on the British left (desertward) flank, conducted by moonlight during the night of 26/27 May. In the process Rommel disperses [[3rd Indian Motor Brigade|3rd Indian Motorized Brigade]], some six hundred of whom are taken prisoner and then released in the desert, and who will make their way to Bir Hakeim. The offensive lasts well into June and ends with a total victory for Rommel.

: The [[Free France|Free French]] land on [[Wallis and Futuna]] and get rid of the pro-[[Vichy France|Vichy]] government there.

:27: [[Reinhard Heydrich]], head of the [[Reich Security Main Office]], is fatally wounded in [[Prague]] during [[Operation Anthropoid]] by Czechoslovak soldiers; he would die on June 4 from his wounds.

::British use American Sherman tanks in attempts to stop Rommel's attacks on the Gazala line.

::((USS|Yorktown|CV-5|6)), damaged at the Coral Sea, limps into Pearl Harbor; it is ordered to get repaired and ready as fast as possible for the impending battle.

::In occupied Belgium, wearing of the "[[yellow badge]]" becomes compulsory for Jews.

:29: The Jews in France are ordered to wear the yellow Star of David.

::Japanese forces have large successes south of Shanghai.

::Rommel turns his troops to Bir Hachim on the south edge of the Gazala line; once it is taken, he can move north and destroy the Allied emplacements in the line.

:30: [[Bombing of Cologne in World War II|"The Thousand Bomber Raid"]] on Cologne, revealing new area bombing techniques.

:: ((USS|Yorktown|CV-5|6)) leaves Pearl after hasty repairs and moves to join ((USS|Enterprise|CV-6|6)) for the next expected battle.

:31: Huge German successes around Kharkov, with envelopment of several Red Army armies.

::Japanese midget subs enter Sydney harbour and sink one support ship; fears of invasion grow.

:So effective has been the use of the [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfires]] delivered to [[Siege of Malta (World War II)|Malta]] in [[Operation Bowery]] earlier in the month, that [[Albert Kesselring|Kesselring]] has only eighty-three serviceable aircraft left, as opposed to more than four hundred at the peak of Axis air strength earlier in the spring.

::[[Erwin Rommel|Rommel's]] offensive has stalled out well short of Tobruk, due to resistance by British [[1st Armoured Division (United Kingdom)|1st Armoured Division]] and [[7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)|7th Armoured Division]], partially equipped with the new American [[Sherman tank]]s. He is also confronted by a long supply line, which must reach around and is under constant threat from the [[1st Free French Division|1st Free French Brigade Group]] position at [[Battle of Bir Hakeim|Bir Hakeim]]. He orders two lanes cut through the British minefields which run from [[Gazala]] to Bir Hakeim, on either side of fortified positions held by the [[150th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|150th Brigade]] of [[50th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)|British 50th Infantry Division]]. He then gathers the bulk of his forces near the outlets of these two lanes, completing the process on the 31st. These tactics serve the triple purpose of shortening his supply line, encircling 150th Brigade, and allowing him to use the British minefields as part of his defences. The area of concentration, promptly nicknamed "the Cauldron" by British Command, will be the focus of the battle for the next few days.

==June==
[[File:Ww2 allied axis 1942 jun.png|thumb|upright=1.35|The state of the Allies and Axis powers in June 1942]]

:1: First reports in the West that gas is being used to kill the Jews sent to "the East".

::To further secure his supply lines, [[Erwin Rommel|Rommel]] launches an attack on [[150th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|150th Brigade]] of [[50th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)|British 50th Infantry Division]], whose position he has surrounded. Since he is attacking from the east against a position designed to defend against attacks from the west, and since there is scant hope of relief, there is little 150th Brigade can do and they are soon overwhelmed.

:2: Further heavy bombing of industrial sites in Germany, centred mainly on Essen.

:3: The British coal industry is nationalised.

::Japan launches air raids against [[Alaska]] in the [[Battle of Dutch Harbor]], beginning the [[Aleutian Islands Campaign]].

::The [[Battle of Midway]] opens with ineffective attacks by land-based American [[Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress|B-17s]] on the approaching Japanese fleet. Admiral [[Chuichi Nagumo|Nagumo]], in charge of the Japanese carrier force (((ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Hiryu||2)), ((ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Soryu||2)), ((ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Akagi||2)), and ((ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Kaga||2))) is unable to locate any American aircraft carriers and decides to attack Midway's land-based air defences the first thing the next morning, which in any event is one of his planned tasks.

:4: In the [[Battle of Midway]], the day opens with Admiral [[Chuichi Nagumo|Nagumo's]] attack on the air defences of the island.

::A good deal of damage is done and many aircraft destroyed on both sides, but in the end the island's airbase is still functional. Nagumo plans a second attack on the island, and begins refueling and rearming his planes. Meanwhile, attacks are launched from all three American aircraft carriers in the area. Planes from ((USS|Hornet|CV-8|6)), ((USS|Yorktown|CV-5|2)), and ((USS|Enterprise|CV-6|2)) all find the targets, although most of the planes from ''Hornet'' follow an incorrect heading and miss this attack. [[Torpedo Squadron 8]] from ''Hornet'' breaks and follows the correct heading. The [[TBD Devastator|Devastators]] of "Torp 8" are all shot down without doing any damage; there is only one survivor, [[George H. Gay, Jr.]] of Waco, Texas, who watches the battle unfold from the water. The torpedo attack fails, but draws the Japanese Combat Air Patrol down to low altitude, and they are unable to effectively repel the dive bombers from ''Yorktown'' and ''Enterprise'' when they arrive. The bombs find the Japanese flight decks crowded with fueling lines and explosive ordnance, and ''Akagi,'' ''Kaga,'' and ''Soryu'' are all soon reduced to blazing hulks, ''Akagi'' hit by only one bomb dropped by Lt. Commander [[Richard Halsey Best]]; only ''Hiryu'' escapes with no hits. Admiral Nagumo shifts his flag from ''Akagi'' to another ship, the cruiser ((ship|Japanese cruiser|Nagara||2)), and orders attacks on the American carriers, one by a group of [[Aichi D3A]] dive bombers and a second by [[Nakajima B5N]] torpedo bombers. The Japanese planes find ''Yorktown'' (thinking ''Yorktown'' already sunk, the second attack group assume it must be ''Enterprise'') and damage it so badly that ''Yorktown'' must be abandoned. Admiral [[Frank Jack Fletcher|Fletcher]] shifts his flag to cruiser ((USS|Astoria|CA-34|2)) and cedes operational command to Admiral [[Raymond Spruance|Spruance]]. The attacks on ''Yorktown'' give away ''Hiryu''(('s)) continued operations, though, and it is promptly attacked and will sink the next day, Admiral [[Tamon Yamaguchi|Yamaguchi]] choosing to go down with it. Of note, ''Hiryu'' and the other three destroyed Japanese carriers had participated in the attack on [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor]].

::[[Reinhard Heydrich]], a key architect of the Holocaust, dies in Prague from medical complications that had arisen from injuries suffered from an attempted assassination by Czechoslovak agents one week earlier during [[Operation Anthropoid]].

:5: At [[Battle of Gazala|Gazala]], British forces of the [[British Eighth Army|Eighth Army]] commanded by General [[Neil Ritchie|Ritchie]] launch a major counter-attack against [[Erwin Rommel|Rommel's]] forces in the Cauldron. The attack fails, partly because Rommel has already recovered his critical logistics situation and has established an excellent defensive position, but also in large part due to German anti-tank tactics; 32nd Army Tank Brigade, for example, loses 50 of 70 tanks. By early afternoon Rommel is clearly in control of the situation and attacks the British position known as "Knightsbridge" with the [[Italian Ariete Armoured Division|Ariete]] and [[German 21st Panzer Division|21st Panzer]] divisions. Several British tactical headquarters positions are overrun and command and control of the British forces becomes problematic; as a result, several brigades are stranded in the Cauldron when the British retirement begins. In addition, the British suffer further heavy tank losses.

::United States declares war on [[Kingdom of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]], [[Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)|Hungary]], and [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]].

:7: In the Aleutian Islands, [[Battle of the Aleutian Islands|Japanese forces invade Attu and Kiska]]. This is the first invasion of American soil in 128 years. [[Japanese occupation of Attu]] and [[Japanese occupation of Kiska|Kiska]] begins.

::The Battle of Midway comes to a close; USS ''Yorktown'' sinks; four Japanese carriers and one cruiser are sunk. The battle is viewed as a turning point in the Pacific war.

::The [[Greek People's Liberation Army]] makes its first appearance at [[Domnista]], where [[Aris Velouchiotis]] proclaims the start of armed resistance against the Axis.

:8: Malta receives a squadron of [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfires]].

::A Japanese submarine fires several shells into a residential area in Sydney but with little effect.

:9: At [[Battle of Bir Hakeim|Bir Hakeim]], [[Rommel]] renews his attacks on the 1st Free French Brigade's "box". Although the Free French continue to hold out, their perimeter, never the largest, is dangerously reduced in size, and their position becomes untenable. General [[Neil Ritchie|Ritchie]] orders 1st Free French Brigade to withdraw the following day.

:10: [[Nazism|Nazis]] burn the Czech village of [[Lidice]] as reprisal for the killing of [[Reinhard Heydrich]]. All male adults and children are killed, and all females are taken off to concentration camps.<ref>((Cite web|url=http://www.czech.cz/en/About-CZ/Facts-about-the-Czech-Republic/History/70th-anniversary-of-the-extermination-of-Lidice-vi|title = Czech.cz))</ref>

::Rommel pushes the Free French forces out of [[Battle of Bir Hakeim|Bir Hakeim]], a fortress south-west of Tobruk. Although the 1st Free French brigade is largely surrounded, their commander, General [[Marie Pierre Koenig|Koenig]], is able to find and fight his way through gaps in Rommel's widely dispersed forces.

:11: Two convoys set out for [[Siege of Malta (World War II)|Malta]], one from Gibraltar (code named [[Operation Harpoon (1942)|'Harpoon']]) and the other from Alexandria (code named [[Operation Vigorous|'Vigorous']]), with desperately needed supplies of food, fuel, and ammunition. The hope is that the Axis will concentrate their attacks on whichever convoy they find first, allowing the other one to get through.

:12: Heavy fighting in Sevastopol with serious losses of life on both sides.

::At [[Battle of Gazala|Gazala]], the British are forced out of the defensive position known as 'Knightsbridge;' it is only approximately fifteen miles from the Tobruk perimeter (some sources give a date of 13 June for this; the withdrawal may have been in operation on both calendar days).

:13: The United States opens its [[Office of War Information]], a centre for production of [[propaganda]].

::'Black Saturday' for the [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|8th Army]] at the [[Battle of Gazala]]; during the course of the day Rommel does great damage to the British armour. At the end of the day not only have unsustainably large amounts of British armour been destroyed, but both [[50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division|50th Division]] and [[1st Infantry Division (South Africa)|1st South African Division]], who have largely retained their forward positions along the Gazala Line, are threatened with envelopment. The position of 50th Division is especially grave since Rommel's armour now ranges freely between them and safety.

:14: At [[Battle of Gazala|the Gazala Line]], the British position has become untenable, and General [[Claude Auchinleck|Auchinleck]] authorizes General [[Neil Ritchie|Ritchie]] to make a concerted withdrawal from forward positions along the line.

::[[1st Infantry Division (South Africa)|1st South African Division]] is able to withdraw along the coastal road, but the road cannot accommodate all the troops at once, and this route is in any event is under threat of being cut by Rommel's forces; so troops including [[50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division|50th Division]] must first breakout to the southwest, through the area occupied by Italian X Corps, and then turn east to rejoin [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|8th Army]]. This somewhat daring operation is concluded successfully. The RAF forces available, although outnumbered, make a valiant effort to cover the retreat. [[Churchill]] sends Auchinleck a telegram beginning, 'To what position does Ritchie want to withdraw the Gazala troops? Presume there is no question in any case of giving up Tobruk.'

::The convoy [[Operation Vigorous|'Vigorous']], en route to [[Siege of Malta (World War II)|Malta]], sights a large Italian naval squadron headed toward it. [[Operation Harpoon (1942)|'Harpoon']] comes under attack for the first time; 'Vigorous' has been under air attack almost since leaving port.

:15: General [[Claude Auchinleck|Auchinleck]] sends [[Churchill]] a reply to the latter's telegram of the 14th, saying in part, "...I have no intention whatever of giving up Tobruk."

:16: Two convoys moving toward Malta suffer heavy losses; German air forces continue to bomb the island itself. [[Operation Harpoon (1942)|Operation Harpoon]] arrives in [[Siege of Malta (World War II)|Malta]], but only two of the six supply ships survive; one of them has lost part of its cargo due to mine damage. The sinking of the tanker ''Kentucky'' means that there will be precious little aviation fuel added to the dwindling RAF stocks on Malta. Late in the day, [[Operation Vigorous]] is cancelled; the convoy diverts back to Alexandria.

::[[Churchill]], about to leave for America, takes the unusual step of sending a letter to King George VI, advising him to make [[Anthony Eden]] Prime Minister should Churchill not survive the journey.

:17: Tobruk is now surrounded.

:18: The [[Manhattan Project]] is started, the beginning of a scientific approach to nuclear weapons in the US, building on research work done in the UK.

::Winston Churchill arrives in Washington for meetings with Roosevelt.

::The siege of [[Tobruk]] intensifies; some defending forces are pulled back to [[Egypt]].

:21: Afrika Korps recaptures Tobruk, with 35,000 men captured; the road to Egypt is now open as the British retreat deep into Egypt. Tobruk's loss is a grievous blow to British morale. German land forces have been assisted by Luftwaffe attacks.

:24: General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] arrives in London ready to assume the post of Commander of [[European Theater of Operations United States Army|American forces in Europe]].

:25: Another massive British "Thousand Bomber" raid, this time on [[Bremen]]; the raiders suffer grievous losses.

:26: The Germans drive toward [[Rostov-on-Don]].

:27: [[Convoy PQ 17]] sets sail from Iceland; only 11 of 37 ships will survive.

:28: [[Case Blue]], the German plan to capture [[Stalingrad]] and the Soviet Union oil fields in the [[Caucasus]], begins. Generally, forces are shifted to the South.

::[[Mersa Matruh]], Egypt, about 140 miles from Alexandria, falls to Rommel.

:30: United States deploys [[II Corps (United States)|II Corps]] to the European Theater.

==July==
:1: [[First Battle of El Alamein]] begins as Rommel begins first assault on British defences.

::[[Sevastopol]] falls to the Germans; the end of Red Army resistance in the Crimea.

:2: Churchill survives a censure motion in the House of Commons.

:3: [[Guadalcanal]] is now firmly in the hands of the Japanese.

:4: First air missions by the [[United States Army Air Forces]] in Europe.

:11: Rommel's forces are now stalemated before El Alamein, largely because of a lack of ammunition.

::[[1942 Eleftherias Square roundup]]: Jews are rounded up and humiliated at [[Thessaloniki]] in German-occupied Greece.

:12: It now becomes clear that Stalingrad is the largest challenge to the invaders.

::A balloon from [[Operation Outward]] knocks out a power station near [[Leipzig]].

:15: The only action around El Alamein is light skirmishing.

:16: [[Vel' d'Hiv Roundup]]: On order from the [[Vichy France]] government headed by [[Pierre Laval]], French police officers mass arrest 13,152 [[Jew]]s and hold them at the [[Winter Velodrome]] before deportation to [[Auschwitz]].

:18: The Germans test fly the [[Messerschmitt Me 262]] V3 third prototype using only its [[Junkers Jumo 004|jet engine]]s for the first time.

:19: [[Battle of the Atlantic (1940)|Battle of the Atlantic]]: German Grand Admiral [[Karl Dönitz]] orders the last [[U-boat]]s to withdraw from their United States Atlantic coast positions in response to an increasingly effective American convoy system.

:20: After landing in the Buna-Gona area, the Japanese in New Guinea move across the Owen Stanley mountain range aiming at Port Moresby in the south-eastern part of the island, close to Australia; a small Australian force begins rearguard action on the [[Kokoda Track]].

:22: The systematic deportation of [[Jew]]s from the [[Warsaw Ghetto]] begins.<br>: [[Treblinka]] II, "a model" extermination camp, is opened in Poland.

:23: Germans take Rostov-on-the-Don; the Red Army is in a general retreat along the Don River.

:26: A second attack by the British under Auchinleck fails against Rommel. First Battle of El Alamein may be said to be over.

:27: Heavy RAF [[Bombing of Hamburg in World War II|incendiary attack on Hamburg]].

:29: The Japanese take [[Kokoda]], halfway along the Owen Stanley pass to Port Moresby.

:30: Continuing stalemate at El Alamein between Rommel and Auchinleck.

==August==
:1: The Germans continue their successful advance toward Stalingrad.

:3: A convoy to Malta is decimated by the Luftwaffe and U-boats.

:5: The U.S. planning team for [[Operation Torch]], which includes [[George S. Patton]]; [[Jimmy Doolittle]]; [[Kent Lambert]]; and [[Hoyt S. Vandenberg]], meets in [[Washington, D.C.]] to join the combined planning team from London, England.<br>: Henrik Hersch Goldschmidt aka [[Janusz Korczak]] and almost 200 children of his orphanage, along with his staff, are led to [[Treblinka extermination camp|the Treblinka II death camp]], and killed there that day, probably with gas.<ref>[http://korczak.com/Biography/epiloque.htm Epilogue] Korczak communication website</ref>

:7: [[Operation Watchtower]] begins the [[Battle of Guadalcanal|Guadalcanal Campaign]] as American forces invade [[Gavutu]], [[Guadalcanal]], [[Tulagi]] and [[Tanambogo]] in the [[Solomon Islands (archipelago)|Solomon Islands]].

:8: Six of the eight German would-be saboteurs involved in [[Operation Pastorius]] are executed in [[Washington, D.C.]]

::The naval [[Battle of Savo Island]], near Guadalcanal; the Americans lose three cruisers, the Australians one.

:9: Numerous riots in favour of independence in India; [[Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi|Mahatma Gandhi]] is arrested.

:10: Rommel begins an attack around El Alamein, but by September he is back to his original lines.

:11: ((HMS|Eagle|1918|6)), a carrier on convoy duty to Malta, is torpedoed and sinks with heavy loss of life.

:12: At a conference in Moscow, Churchill informs Stalin that there will not be a "second front" in 1942.

::American forces establish bases in the [[New Hebrides]] islands.

::Fighting increases as the Germans approach Stalingrad.

:13: General [[Bernard Montgomery]] appointed commander of the Eighth Army, which encompassed Allied ground forces in Egypt and Libya; Churchill is anxious to see more offensive action on the part of the Allies in North Africa.

::Disastrous end to the Malta convoy, but one tanker and four merchant ships get through.

:15: Malta is supplied via [[Operation Pedestal]].

:17: First [[United States Army Air Forces|US Army Air Forces]] B-17 heavy bomber raid in Europe, targeting the Sotteville railroad yards at Rouen, France.

:Raid on Makin Atoll by elements of the US Marine 2nd Raider Battalion against the Japanese garrison.  The Marines are withdrawn the following day under difficult circumstances.

:18: In New Guinea, both Japanese and Australian reinforcements arrive.

:19: [[Dieppe Raid|Operation Jubilee]], a raid by British and Canadian forces on [[Dieppe, France]], ends in disaster; they come under heavy gunfire and eventually most are killed or captured by the German defenders.

:20: [[Henderson Field (Guadalcanal)|Henderson Field]] on Guadalcanal receives its first American fighter planes.

:21: Japanese counter-attack at Henderson Field; in another foray at the [[Tenaru River|Tenaru]] (or Ilu) River, many Japanese are killed in a [[banzai charge]].

:22: [[Brazil]] declares war on the Axis countries, partly in response to numerous riots by a populace angry at the sinking of Brazilian ships.

: Massacre of Jews at [[Stanislavov|Stanislau]], Poland (later Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine): in what the Nazi authorities describe as a "reprisal action", 1,000 Jews are shot, including women and girls who are raped beforehand at ''Gestapo'' headquarters; the head of the ''[[Judenrat]]'' (Mordechai Goldstein) is hanged publicly, along with 20 members of the Jewish police.<ref name="stanislau">[http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007236 Stanislawow] (Washington Holocaust Memorial Museum website)</ref>

:23: Massive German air raid on Stalingrad.

:24: The naval battle of the Eastern Solomons; USS ''Enterprise'' is badly damaged and the Japanese lose one light carrier, ''Ryujo''.

:26: [[Battle of Milne Bay]] begins: Japanese forces land and launch a full-scale assault on an Australian base near the eastern tip of [[New Guinea]].

:27: Marshal Georgii Zhukov is appointed to the command of the Stalingrad defence; the Luftwaffe is now delivering heavy strikes on the city.

:28: Incendiary bombs dropped by a Japanese seaplane cause a forest fire in [[Oregon]].

:30: The [[Battle of Alam el Halfa|Battle of Alam Halfa]], a few miles south of El Alamein begins. This will be Rommel's last attempt to break through the Allied lines in Egypt; the air superiority of the [[Desert Air Force]] will play a significant role for the Allies.

:In [[German occupation of Luxembourg during World War II|German-occupied Luxembourg]], the [[Civil Administration Area of Luxembourg|civil occupation administration]], in place since 1940, is abolished and the country annexed into Nazi Germany.

:31: Start of the [[1942 Luxembourgish general strike]] against conscription.

== September ==
:1: US Navy Construction Battalion personnel, [[Seabee (US Navy)|Seabees]], began to arrive at Guadalcanal.<ref name="timeline" />

:3: The [[Battle of Stalingrad]] proper may be said to have begun on this date, with German troops in the suburbs; even civilian men and boys are conscripted by the Red Army to assist in the defence.

:4: [[Irish Republican Army]] riots occur in Belfast during the night.

::[[Manhattan Project|Manhattan Engineering District]] is formally created, full-effort development of the [[atomic bomb]] and production of nuclear fuels is begun.

::[[Head of state|Chief of State]] of [[Vichy France]] [[Philippe Pétain]] and [[Prime Minister of France|Prime Minister]] [[Pierre Laval]] create what will become the [[Service du travail obligatoire]] (STO).

:5: Australian and U.S. forces defeat Japanese forces at [[Battle of Milne Bay|Milne Bay]], Papua, the first outright defeat for Japanese land forces in the [[Pacific War]]. Their evacuation and the failure to establish an airbase eases the threat to Australia.

:6: The Black Sea port of [[Novorossiysk]] is taken by the Germans.

:9: A Japanese plane drops more incendiaries on Oregon, but with little effect.

:10: RAF blasts [[Düsseldorf]] with large incendiary bombing.

:12: ((RMS|Laconia|1921|6)), carrying civilians, Allied soldiers, and Italian POWs, [[Laconia incident|is torpedoed off the coast of West Africa and sinks]].

::SS commander Brandt orders 3,000–4,000 Stanislau Jews deported to the [[Belzec extermination camp|Belzec death camp]] on [[Rosh Hashana]], the Jewish New Year holiday, and they were killed there that day.<ref name="stanislau" />

:12–14: American troops push back the Japanese in the [[Battle of Edson's Ridge]].

:13: The Battle for Stalingrad continues; it is now totally surrounded by the Germans. On the Soviet Union side General [[Vasily Chuikov]] is put in charge of the defence.

:14: The Japanese retreat again from Henderson Field, Guadalcanal.

::The Japanese are now within 30 miles of Port Moresby, New Guinea, on the Kokoda trail.

::Continued convoy losses in the Atlantic.

:15: Americans send troops to Port Moresby as reinforcements for the Australian defenders.

::Light carrier ((USS|Wasp|CV-7|6)) is sunk by a Japanese submarine off Guadalcanal.

:18: Battle of the "grain silo" in Stalingrad; the Germans are beaten back. The Red Army begins ferrying troops across the Volga at night.

:19: Allied attack on [[Jalu|Jalo]], Libya is repulsed by Germans.<ref name="timeline"/>

:20: RAF bombs [[Munich]] and [[Saarbrücken]].

::The Greek [[Panhellenic Union of Fighting Youths]] blows up the offices of the pro-Nazi [[National-Socialist Patriotic Organisation]] in central [[Athens]], thwarting attempts to raise a Greek volunteer legion for the Eastern Front.

:23: General Rommel leaves North Africa for medical treatment in Germany.

:23–27: In the [[Actions along the Matanikau|Third Battle of Matanikau River]], Guadalcanal, Japanese naval bombardment and landing forces nearly destroy Henderson Field in an attempt to take it, but the land forces are soon driven back.

:24: [[United States of America]] deploys the [[I Corps (United States)|I Corps]] to the Pacific Theater.

:28: The Japanese continue their retreat back down the Kokoda Track in New Guinea.

:30: The [[Eagle Squadron]] (American volunteers in the RAF) are officially transferred to the US Army Air Force.

::Hitler speaks to the nation and boasts that Stalingrad will be taken.

==October==
[[File:GuadNakagumaMatanikauDeadJapanese.jpg|thumb|Dead Japanese soldiers at the Matanikau River, Guadalcanal]]

:3: First successful launch of [[V-2 rocket|A4-rocket]] at [[Peenemünde]], Germany. The rocket flies 147 kilometres wide and reaches a height of 84.5 kilometres and is therefore the first man-made object reaching space.

:4: [[British Commandos]] raid [[Sark]], a Channel Island, capturing one German soldier.

:6: By mutual arrangement, the Allies agree on a strategy whereby Americans will bomb in the daytime and the RAF at night.

:7: [[Third Battle of the Matanikau]].

:11: [[Battle of Cape Esperance]].

::On the Northwest coast of [[Guadalcanal (Pacific Ocean island)|Guadalcanal]], [[United States Navy]] ships intercept and defeat a Japanese fleet on their way to reinforce troops on the island. With the help of radar they sink one cruiser and several Japanese destroyers.

:12: The Red Army methods of ferrying troops across the Volga and into Stalingrad directly seems to be a success, as the German advance comes to a halt.

::The US [[100th Infantry Battalion (United States)|100th Infantry Battalion]], a force of over 1,400 predominantly [[Nisei]] became active.

:13: Heavy bombardment of Henderson Field, Guadalcanal by the Japanese navy.

:14: A German [[U-boat]] sinks the ferry ((SS|Caribou)), killing 137.

:18: Hitler issues [[Commando Order]], ordering all captured commandos to be executed immediately.

::Admiral [[William "Bull" Halsey]] is given command of the South Pacific naval forces.

:21: Heavy RAF activity over El Alamein.

:22: [[Conscription]] age in Britain reduced to 18.

::American General [[Mark W. Clark|Mark Clark]] secretly lands in Algeria to confer with Vichy officials and Resistance groups in preparation for impending Allied invasion.

:: British bombers target [[Genoa|Genoa, Italy]], destroying the airport and hitting the city center, residential areas, hospitals and churches.

:23: '''[[Second Battle of El Alamein]]''' begins with massive Allied bombardment of German positions. Then Australian forces, mainly, begin advance while offshore British naval forces support the right flank (n.b. the ongoing concurrent victories being prepared at Guadalcanal and Stalingrad).

:23: [[Battle for Henderson Field]]

:24: US Navy Task Force 34, consisting of aircraft carriers, a variety of support ships, including troop ships and other vessels, set sail from [[Hampton Roads, Virginia]] with Patton's forces for [[Operation Torch]], the landing in North Africa. The other two task forces of Operation Torch, the first American-led force to fight in the European and African theatres of war, depart Britain for [[Morocco]].

::Crisis at El Alamein: British tanks survive German 88 mm fire; Montgomery orders the advance to continue despite losses.

:25: Rommel hurriedly returns from his sickbed in Germany to take charge of the African battle. (His replacement, General Stumme, had died of a heart attack).

::The Japanese continue their attacks on the Marines west of Henderson Field.

:26: The naval [[Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands|Battle of Santa Cruz]]. The Japanese lose many aircraft and have two aircraft carriers severely damaged. ((USS|Hornet|CV-8|6)) is sunk and ((USS|Enterprise|CV-6|6)) is damaged.

:29: The Japanese continue to send troops as reinforcements into Guadalcanal.

::In the United Kingdom, leading clergymen and political figures hold a public meeting to register outrage over [[Nazi Germany]]'s persecution of [[Jew]]s.

::United States [[1st Armored Division (United States)|1st Armored Division]] moves from Northern Ireland to England.

:31: The British make a critical breakthrough with tanks west of El Alamein; Rommel's mine fields fail to stop the Allied armour.

==November==
[[File:Ww2 allied axis 1942 nov.png|thumb|upright=1.35|The state of the Allies and Axis powers in November 1942]]

:1: [[Operation Supercharge (1942)|Operation Supercharge]], the Allied breakout at El Alamein, begins.

::On [[Guadalcanal]], the Americans begin the [[Matanikau Offensive]] against the Japanese

:3: [[Second Battle of El Alamein]] ends – German forces under [[Erwin Rommel]] are forced to retreat during the night.

::American victory over the Japanese in Guadalcanal in the [[Koli Point action]].

:5: German [[III Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|III Panzer Corps]] and Romanian 2nd Mountain Division capture the town of [[Alagir]], which is the furthest south the Axis would reach on the Eastern Front.<ref>((Cite web|url=http://www.worldwar2.ro/operatii/?article=11|title = WorldWar2.ro - the 3rd Army in the Caucasus - 1942))</ref>((self-published inline|date=January 2021))<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=UK48DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA136 2033-The Century After: How the World Would Look/Be If Nazi Germany & Empire]</ref>

:6: [[Carlson's Patrol]] begins.

:8: [[Operation Torch]], the Allied invasion of Vichy-controlled [[Morocco]] and [[Algeria]], begins.

::French resistance coup in Algiers, consisting of about 400 fighters neutralise the Vichyist XIXth Army Corps and the Vichyist generals (Juin, Darlan, etc.), contributing significantly to the immediate success of the operation.

::The United States Combat Command "B" of the [[1st Armored Division (United States)|1st Armored Division]] lands east and west of [[Oran]] as part of Operation Torch.

:10: In violation of a 1940 armistice, Germany invades [[Vichy France]]; they are responding to the fact that French Admiral [[François Darlan]] has signed an armistice with the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] in North Africa.

::[[Oran]], [[Algeria]] falls to US troops; 17 French ships are sunk at Oran, causing a rift between the French and the Allies. There are more Allied landings near the Tunisian border.

::Montgomery begins a major British offensive beginning at Sollum on the Libya/Egypt border. The British reach Bardia on the 11th, Tobruk on the 12th, and Benghazi on the 18th.

::Lieutenant General Montgomery is knighted and made a full General.

::Churchill speaks: "This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

:11: Convoys reach Malta from Alexandria; an official announcement proclaims that the island is "relieved of its siege".

:12: [[Battle of Guadalcanal]] – A climactic naval battle near [[Guadalcanal (Pacific Ocean island)|Guadalcanal]] starts between Japanese and American naval forces.

::The Red Army makes an attempt to relieve Stalingrad at Kotelnikov.

:13: [[British Eighth Army]] recaptures [[Tobruk]].

::Battle of Guadalcanal: aviators from ((USS|Enterprise|CV-6|6)) sink the ((ship|Japanese battleship|Hiei)). Notably, ((USS|Juneau|CL-52|6)) is sunk with much of its crew, including the five [[Sullivan brothers]].

:14: ((USS|Washington|BB-56|6)) attacks the ((Ship|Japanese battleship|Kirishima)); the Japanese ship would capsize at 03:25 on the morning of 15 November.

:15: The naval battle of Guadalcanal ends. Although the [[United States Navy]] suffers heavy losses, it still retains control of the sea around [[Guadalcanal (Pacific Ocean island)|Guadalcanal]].

::The British move westward to Tunisia.

::[[British Eighth Army]] recaptures [[Derna, Libya|Derna]].

:17: Japanese send reinforcements into New Guinea; Americans are stymied at Buna.

:18: Heavy British RAF raid on Berlin with few losses.

:19: At [[Stalingrad]] the Soviet Union forces under General [[Georgy Zhukov]] launch '''[[Operation Uranus]]''' aimed at encircling the Germans in the city and thus turning the tide of battle in the USSR's favor.

:20: The Allies take [[Benghazi]], Libya; the Afrika Corps continues the retreat westward.

:21: The Red Army attempt at encirclement of Stalingrad continues with obvious success.

::American army moves to shove Japanese off the extreme western end of Guadalcanal.

:22: [[Battle of Stalingrad]]: The situation for the German attackers of [[Stalingrad]] seems desperate during the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] counter-attack; General [[Friedrich Paulus]] sends [[Adolf Hitler]] a telegram saying that the German 6th Army is surrounded.

::Red Army troops complete the encirclement of the Germans at Kalach, west of Stalingrad.

:23: "Der Kessel"-- the Cauldron, a description of the heavy fighting at Stalingrad; Hitler orders General Paulus not to retreat, at any cost.

:25: The encirclement of Stalingrad continues to stabilise. Hitler reiterates his demand of Paulus not to surrender.

::[[Operation Harling]]: a team of British [[Special Operations Executive|SOE]] agents, together with over 200 Greek guerrillas from both [[Greek People's Liberation Army|ELAS]] and [[EDES]] groups, blow up the Gorgopotamos railway bridge, in one of the war's biggest sabotage acts.

:26: Hostilities erupt between the American and Australian soldiers in [[Brisbane]]. Fighting breaks out which results in fatalities, it is dubbed the [[Battle of Brisbane]].

:27: At [[Toulon]], the French navy scuttles its ships (most notably ''Dunkerque'' and ''Strasbourg'') and submarines to keep them out of German hands; the French have declined another option &ndash; to join the Allied fleets in North African waters.

:29: The Allied offensive in Tunisia meets with only minimum success.

:30: The naval [[Battle of Tassafaronga]] (off Guadalcanal); this is a night action in which Japanese naval forces sink one American cruiser and damage three others.

: The [[Free France|Free French]] [[Battle of Réunion|liberate]] the island of [[Réunion]] on the [[Indian Ocean]] from [[Vichy France|the Vichy regime]].

==December==
[[File:Ww2 allied axis 1942 dec.png|thumb|upright=1.35|The state of the Allies and Axis powers in December 1942, showing Allied progress in Northern Africa]]

:1: Gasoline rationing begins in the United States.

::The US cruiser ((USS|Northampton|CA-26|2)) is sunk as Japanese destroyers attempt to come down "the Slot" to Guadalcanal.

::Publication of the [[Beveridge Report]] in the [[United Kingdom]] on the post-war nature of [[social welfare]]

:2: Heavy fighting in Tunisia, as German forces are pushed into the final North African corner.

::Below the [[bleachers]] of Stagg Field at the [[University of Chicago]], a team led by [[Enrico Fermi]] initiates the first [[nuclear chain reaction]]. A coded message, "The Italian navigator has landed in the new world" is sent to President Roosevelt.

:4: The first US bombing of mainland Italy --Naples.

::[[Carlson's patrol]] ends.

:6: RAF bombs [[Eindhoven]], the Netherlands.

:7: On the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, ((USS|New Jersey|BB-62|6)), America's largest battleship is launched (commissioned five months later).

::British commandos conduct [[Operation Frankton]] a raid on shipping in [[Bordeaux]] harbour.

:9: The Marines turn over Guadalcanal to the American army.

:12: Rommel abandons El Agheila and retreats to Tripoli; the final stand will be at the Mareth line in southern Tunisia.

::In a large operation named "[[Operation Winter Storm]]", the Germans attempt to break through to forces trapped in Stalingrad.

:13: The Luftwaffe flies in meagre supplies to the beleaguered Stalingrad troops.

:15: American and Australian troops finally push Japanese out of [[Buna, Papua New Guinea|Buna]], New Guinea.

::Allies clash with Japanese troops in the [[Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse|Battle of the Gifu]].

:17: Allied powers issue the [[Joint Declaration by Members of the United Nations]] which is the first declaration to condemn [[the Holocaust]] in German-occupied Europe in response to [[Raczyński's Note|the first official report from the Polish government-in-exile]] on 10 December.

:22: The Germans begin a retreat from the Caucasus.

::The battle for "Longstop Hill" begins; a key position outside Tunis, the Germans eventually take it and hold it until April.

::The remainder of the United States [[1st Armored Division (United States)|1st Armored Division]] arrived at North Africa for [[Operation Husky]].

:23: Japanese air force planes begin bombing of Calcutta.

:24: French [[François Darlan|Admiral Darlan]], the former [[Vichy France|Vichy]] leader who had switched over to the Allies following the Torch landings, is assassinated in [[Algiers]].

::The United States reorganizes its Combat Arms Regiments with their Organic Battalions into Separate Groups and Battalions.

:25: American bombers hit [[Rabaul]].

:26: Heavy fighting continues on Guadalcanal, now focused on Mount Austen in the west.

:28: The governor of pro-Vichy [[French Somaliland]] surrenders to [[British invasion of French Somaliland|invading British and Free French forces]].

:31: In the [[Battle of the Barents Sea]], the British win a strategic victory, leading Hitler to largely abandon the use of surface raiders in favor of U-boats.

::As the year draws to a close, things look much brighter for the Allies than they did a few months ago: Rommel is trapped in Tunisia, the Germans are encircled at Stalingrad, and the Japanese appear ready to abandon Guadalcanal.

==See also==
* [[Strategic operations of the Red Army in World War II]]
* [[Timeline of World War II (1943)]]

==Notes and references==
((Reflist|2))

==External links==
* [http://www.worldwar-2.net/timelines/timelines-index.htm Timeline of WWII]
* [http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/ww2.htm Documents of World War II]
* [http://www.wwiiarchives.net/servlet/action/static/timeline World War II Timeline]

((World War II))

[[Category:Chronology of World War II]]
[[Category:1942 in military history]]
[[Category:World War II by year|1942]]
[[Category:United States military history timelines]]

[[de:Chronologie des Zweiten Weltkrieges#1942]]

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