| |
1942 WW2 Events Timeline
With American onboard now, the Allies go on the offensive with the Operation Torch landings in North Africa.
Total Events: 280
1942
Thursday
January 1st |
|
|
The German U-boat fleet now numbers some 331 operational vessels. |
1942
Thursday
January 1st - July 31st |
|
|
Some 800,000 of Leningrad's citizens are evacuated through the frozen passage above Lake Lagoda. |
1942
Thursday
January 1st - January 31st |
|
|
Over the course of the month, three Soviet armies, under the command of Major-General D.T. Kozlov, are called to the newly created "Crimea Front". |
1942
Thursday
January 1st - March 1st |
|
|
Off the east coast of the United States, some 216 vessels fall prey to the German U-boat scourge in this span. |
1942
Wednesday
January 7th |
|
|
With progress over the Germans being made on several fronts, Soviet forces launch another offensive to try and encircle Army Group Centre. |
1942
Wednesday
January 7th |
|
|
Along the Volkhov Front to the south of Novgorod, the Soviets launch a major offensive. |
|
|
The Japanese begin their offensive against the dug-in American forces on the Bataan Peninsula. |
|
|
Three Japanese amphibious forces take on the Dutch East Indies. |
|
|
Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaya, falls to the invading Japanese 5th Division. |
1942
Thursday
January 15th |
|
|
Japanese forces invade Burma beginning their assault at Victoria Point. |
|
|
The Japanese Army makes short work of the light British defenses, covering some 230 miles in reaching Tavoy. |
|
|
The American defensive lines finally break. |
|
|
The Soviet movement begins losing steam after consecutive weeks of fighting. Man and machine are beginning to show their limitations. |
|
|
Adolph Hitler approves of the order for retreat for German forces Rostov. |
1942
Thursday
February 5th |
|
|
Rostov is officially abandoned by General Manstein's forces. |
|
|
German General Manstein meets with Hitler and proposes a new German counter-attack against the Russians. |
|
|
The Soviet Army officially retakes the Russian city of Kursk. |
1942
Thursday
February 12th |
|
|
German Army Group B is renamed Army Group Center. |
1942
Thursday
February 12th |
|
|
German Army Group Don is renamed Army Group South. |
1942
Saturday
February 14th |
|
|
RAF Bomber Command issues its "Area Bombing Directive", allowing the legitimate bombing of civilian areas. |
1942
Saturday
February 14th |
|
|
Russian General Vatutin and his South-West Front army reach the city of Kharkov. |
1942
Saturday
February 14th |
|
|
The Russian Army recaptures Rostov. |
1942
Saturday
February 14th |
|
|
By this time, the Japanese have captured Borneo, Celebes and Sarawak. |
1942
Saturday
February 14th - February 18th |
|
|
Street fighting begins between the German I SS Panzer Corps and the Russian 3rd Tank Army and 40th Army forces in Kharkov. |
1942
Sunday
February 15th |
|
|
Singapore eventually falls to the might of the Japanese assault resulting in the capture of some 60,000 Allied prisoners against the cost of 2,000 Japanese soldiers. |
1942
Tuesday
February 17th |
|
|
Adolph Hitler meets with General Manstein to plan a German counter-offensive. |
1942
Wednesday
February 18th |
|
|
German forces are officially driven from the Russian city of Kharkov. |
1942
Thursday
February 19th |
|
|
The Japanese 1st Air Fleet conducts a surprise attack on Allied ships at Broome and Darwin. Twelve ships are sunk in the assault. |
1942
Friday
February 20th |
|
|
The Germans unleash their counterattack using the 4th Panzer Amry, 1st Panzer Army and the II SS Panzer Corps. |
1942
Saturday
February 28th |
|
|
The Germans recapture lost ground and push elements of the Russian Army back. The German army reaches as far in as the River Donets while General Vatutin's forces are surrounded. |
1942
Sunday
March 1st - March 30th |
|
|
The Soviet offensive near Novgorod is stopped by German ground and air elements. |
1942
Sunday
March 1st - April 30th |
|
|
Hitler and his commanders flesh out Operation Blue - in invasion of the oil-rich Russian-held Caucasus. |
|
|
The Avro Lancaster heavy bomber is inducted into RAF service. |
1942
Sunday
March 1st - March 30th |
|
|
The whole Soviet 2nd Shock Army is lost near Novgorod. |
|
|
German General Hoth and his 4th Panzer Army form up and launch an offensive against the Voronezh Front near Kharkov. |
|
|
By this date, the Japanese capture the Dutch East Indies with the occupations of Bali, Timor and Java. |
|
|
The British Burma Army escapes anhilation in Burma. |
|
|
Rangoon, Burma falls to the Japanese. |
|
|
Japan invades New Guinea. |
|
|
Street fighting throughout Kharkov erupts once more as German forces enter Kharkov. |
|
|
The 4th Panzer Army surrounds the city of Kharkov. |
1942
Wednesday
March 18th |
|
|
The Germans complete the retaking of Kharkov. |
1942
Wednesday
March 18th - March 26th |
|
|
The Soviets and Germans both dig in within and around the city of Kharkov, preparing to fight another day. |
|
|
British Convoy PQ13 sets sail for Russia but comes under fire from German U-Boats. Five of the 19 ships are lost. |
|
|
The British utilize the "Gee" electronic navigation system for the first time. |
|
|
234 RAF bombers drop incendiaries on Lubeck. 12 aircraft are lost. |
|
|
The Japanese aircraft carrier Ryujo enters the Bay of Bengal. |
1942
Wednesday
April 1st - May 31st |
|
|
Over a two month period, German forces are resupplied and strengthened before a major offensive - Operation Bustard - to remove the Soviets from the Kerch peninsula. Among the resupply deliveries are 33 massive artillery pieces meant to destroy the Soviet defensive works at the fort in Sevastopol. |
|
|
No fewer than five Japanese Navy aircraft carriers reach the Indian Ocean. |
|
|
Admiral Sir James Somerville detaches a force to intercept the arriving Japanese fleet. |
|
|
A small contingent of British Royal Navy vessels operating in the Indian Ocean are warned of the arriving Japanese Navy force. |
|
|
Hitler issues the official Fuhrer Directive for Operation Blue. |
|
|
The British Royal Navy destroyer HMS Tenedos is sunk by the Japanese air strike. |
|
|
The British Royal Navy cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire are sunk by the Japanese air strike. |
|
|
Twenty-six Allied aircraft are destroyed. |
|
|
The Imperial Japanese Navy unleashes a surprise attack, with some 120 aircraft, on British forces at Columbo Harbor, Ceylon. |
|
|
An 85-strong Japanese Navy aircraft contingent attacks airfields and targets of opportunity at Trincomalee, Ceylon. |
|
|
The HMS Hermes is one of four Royal Navy ships sunk by Japanese Navy aircraft. |
|
|
American forces fighting on the Bataan Peninsula finally surrender to the Japanese. |
|
|
German Army forces partially regroup and recover from the constant barrage of Soviet offensives. |
|
|
By this time, over 1 million German soldiers have been killed in action since the start of Operation Barbarossa. |
|
|
Spring over Russia brings about seasonal rains turning once solid and dependable ground into a muddy nightmare for both armies. As such, offensives are limited or stalled altogether. |
|
|
Forces of the Imperial Japanese Army land at Tulagi of the Solomons island group. Subsequent develop ensures a base of operations for Japanese logistics in the region. |
|
|
American intelligence intercepts various Japanese communications and is able to piece together the intention to invade Port Moresby, New Guinea. |
|
|
An Imperial Japanese Navy carrier force sets sail on patrol around the Solomons looking for American carrier battle groups. |
|
|
The Japanese invasion force leaves Rabaul, New Britain, heading towards Port Moresby, New Guinea. |
|
|
USS Yorktown launched strike aircraft south of Guadalcanal. At 6:30AM, the American Navy aircraft spot and subsequently target Japanese land emplacements and sea vessels in the area. |
|
|
The Japanese enact an offensive to take Corregidor Island, a strategic point providing access to Manila Bay. |
1942
Wednesday
May 5th - May 6th |
|
|
Foul weather limits detection of either carrier force across a two day span. |
|
|
Corregidor Island falls to the Japanese, giving the invaders control over Manila Bay. |
|
|
The USS Neosho and the USS Sims are sunk by Japanese aircraft. |
|
|
The Allies spot the Japanese Covering Group escorting the invasion force. |
|
|
The USS Lexington and the USS Yorktown launch their attack planes and sink the Japanese aircraft carrier Shoho in the process. |
|
|
The Japanese invasion of Port Moresby is called off. |
|
|
Allied Task Force 44, headed by Royal Navy Rear-Admiral Crace, moves in to intercept the Japanese invasion force. However, the force is prematurely spotted by Japanese reconnaissance aircraft resulting in a counter-assault of the Task Force by Japanese Navy warplanes. Crace and his force never make the intercept. |
|
|
Lieutenant-General von Manstein launches his assault. |
|
|
German General Manstein leads his 11th Army onto the Kerch Peninsula towards the city of Sevastopol. |
|
|
At 2:47PM, the American carrier USS Lexington is hit by a Japanese torpedo, causing a major explosion in her generator room. |
|
|
By 6:00PM that evening, nearly all of the USS Lexington's sailors have been rescued. |
|
|
At 11:40AM, US Navy warplanes manage to score devastating hits to the Japanese aircraft carrier Shokaku, severely damaging her. |
|
|
At 9:25AM, Japanese and American warplanes take to the skies. |
|
|
Just past dawn, the Japanese and American carrier groups spot one another. |
|
|
Some 27 Japanese aircraft are launched under the cover of darkness in the hopes of locating the Allied Task Force. They come up empty and only six aircraft return safely home. |
|
|
The Japanese invasion force heads back to New Britain. |
|
|
At 6:10PM, the USS Lexington is a complete loss. She is scuttled and sunk. |
|
|
Despite numbers against him, Japanese Vice-Admiral Takagi is ordered to send his warplanes aloft. |
|
|
The Japanese aircraft do not locate the American fleet and any further actions are called off, effectively ending the Battle of Coral Sea. |
|
|
German forces enact Operation Fridericus and attempt to take Izyum. |
|
|
Soviet ground forces launch a pre-emptive offensive against German-held Kharkov. |
|
|
The convoy system is formally adopted by the United States in an effort to protect its merchant shipping in the Atlantic. |
|
|
Burma falls to the Japanese. |
|
|
Sevastopol is cutt off from the rest of the Soviet Union by German Army elements. |
|
|
Manstein begins planning his next major offensive to take Sevastopol - this becomes Operation Sturgeon. |
|
|
Manstein's offensive results in the taking of the Kerch peninsula from the Soviets. |
|
|
The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division begins training for Operation Rutter on the Isle of Wight. |
|
|
A large Imperial Japanese Naval force sails for Japan towards Midway Island. The force Is made up of four task forces. One is charged with the invasion of the Aleutian Islands off of Alaska while the other three are to take Midway Island itself and assail the responding USN fleet. One group contains the required four aircraft carriers. |
|
|
Beginning at 7:00PM, the German 90th Infantry Division, the 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions and the Italian XX Corps under Rommel launch their offensive along the southern portion of the Gazala Line. |
|
|
Rommel begins his offense against the Gazala Line, made up of some 50 miles of British defenses. |
|
|
Group Cruewell, made up of the Italian X and XI Corps, launches an assault on the northern portion of the Gazala Line in an attempt to divert Allied forces from the real attack coming from the south. |
|
|
The 1st Free French Brigade at Bir Hacheim holds off the German progress. |
|
|
German forces south of Bir Hacheim make progress and begin to move northwards. |
|
|
While trying to take Sidra Ridge, German Panzer force casaulties begin to mount significantly. |
|
|
The final Imperial Japanese Task Force leaves mainland Japan. |
|
|
RAF Bomber Command attack Cologne with 1,046 aircraft in the first of their "1,000 Bomber" raids. |
|
|
Rommel orders his forces to begin defensive preparations across a 10 mile stretch. |
|
|
As the Allied defense along the Gazala line holds, Rommel is forced to change tactics, now concentrating his forces against the British 150th Brigade near Sidi Muftah. |
|
|
Nearly 30% of German tanks have been lost in Rommel's offensive. |
1942
Monday
June 1st - June 3rd |
|
|
A German pocket develops near Sidi Muftah. |
1942
Monday
June 1st - June 30th |
|
|
June of 1942 marks the single worst month of Allied shipping losses, totaling some 834,000 tons of goods at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. |
|
|
600 German artillery guns open fire on Sevastopol. |
|
|
The Northern Task Force begins its operation to take the Aleutian Island chain and divert USN forces to the region. |
|
|
By 3:00PM, the crew of the USS Yorktown has abandoned their carrier. The damaged vessel is towed by USN ships. |
|
|
Between 9:30AM and 10:00AM, Torpedo planes from the USS Enterprise and USS Hornet begin their attacks on the Japanese carriers. |
|
|
At 10:25AM, a follow-up strike made up of 37 Dauntless dive bombers finds the Japanese carriers - now stocked with armed and fueled aircraft on their decks. |
|
|
At 8:37AM, aircraft of the second Japanese strike force returns to their respective carriers for rearming and refueling. |
|
|
At 4:30AM, the bombing of Midway Island begins with aircraft from Vice-Admiral Nagumo's First Carrier Strike Force. |
|
|
At 7:52AM, USS Enterprise and USS Hornet launch their dive bombers and torpedo planes. |
|
|
At 9:18AM, Nagumo reacts to the American presence and changes the course of his Carrier Strike Force. |
|
|
American fighter aircraft take heavy losses but force the Japanese Navy to launch a second attack. |
|
|
At 7:28AM, a Japanese reconniassance plane spots spots ten undetermined USN surface ships 200 miles northeast of the Japanese Midway invasion force. |
|
|
By 2:30PM, the USS Yorktown is severely damaged bu does not sink. |
|
|
At 12:00PM, Imperial Japanese Navy bomber aircraft strike against the attacking USS Yorktown. |
|
|
At 8:20AM, a surprised Nagumo receives his first report of American carriers in the area. |
|
|
The first wave of USN carrier dive-bombers has difficulty in locating their Japanese targets. |
|
|
The three Japanese carriers - Kaga, Soryu and Akagi - are struck with bombs and ultimately sunk. |
|
|
The initial American assault on the Japanese carrier strike force is over by 10:00AM. |
|
|
At 9:00AM, USS Yorktown launches her aircraft with Nagumo's carrier force as the prime target. |
|
|
All incoming USN Devastator attackers are shot down by Japanese Zero fighters in the span of six minutes. |
|
|
At 5:00PM, the Imperial Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryu is set ablaze after being struck by no fewer than five direct bomb hits from aircraft of the USS Enterprise. |
|
|
The Allies attempt an offensive to drive the German pocket back from Sidi Muftah and fail. 230 Allied tanks are lost in the attack. |
|
|
The Japanese carrier Hiryu is scuttled. |
|
|
The USS Yorktown, now severely damaged an in tow of US Navy forces, is targeted and sunk by a Japanese submarine. |
|
|
The German Luftwaffe is called in to bomb Sevastopol. |
|
|
The British 150th Brigade is utterly destroyed under the German assault, resulting in 4,000 British prisoners of war. |
|
|
The island of Kiska is taken by Japanese forces. |
|
|
The island of Attu is taken by Japanese forces. |
|
|
The German artillery guns cease fire on Sevastopol. The bombardment on the Soviets has spanned five days. |
|
|
The German 11th Army begins their assault on Sevastopol from the north at 2:30AM. |
|
|
The 1st Free French Brigade at Bir Hacheim can hold no more and retreat under the mounting German pressure. |
|
|
The German-allied Romanian Mountain Corps and 30th Army Corps launch their attack on Sevastopol. |
|
|
The German Army breaks out of their pocket near Sidi Muftah. |
|
|
German forces breaking out near Sidi Muftah target the British 7th Armored Division near El Adem. |
|
|
The Allies go into full retreat as the Germans advance. |
1942
Friday
June 12th - June 16th |
|
|
The German offensive against Sevastopol is repulsed by the 180,000 or so Russian soldiers holed up in the city. |
|
|
Manstein launches another assault on Sevastopol. |
|
|
The city of Tobruk, defended by the 2nd South African Division, is completely surrounded by German forces. |
|
|
Artillery shells and Luftwaffe bombs rain upon Tobruk. |
|
|
At 7:00PM, the German 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions have made it past Tobruk's first line of defense, making headway into the city. |
|
|
Rommel begins his offensive against the defenders in Tobruk. |
|
|
The 2nd South African Division under Allied General Klopper officially concede defeat and hand control of Tobruk to the Germans. |
|
|
The Romanian and German army forces capture key hilltop positions near Sevastopol. |
|
|
German forces complete their capture of Izyum. |
|
|
British convoy PQ17 sets sail from Reykjavik, Iceland. |
1942
Saturday
June 27th - July 28th |
|
|
Convoy PQ17 loses 34 of its 36 ships to Geman U-Boats and surface ships. |
|
|
The Soviet Army is encircled and defeated at Kharkov, netting the Germans some 250,000 Soviet prisoners. |
|
|
German forces reach the outskirts of Sevastopol. |
|
|
By this date, over 90% of the Soviet defensive fortifications have fallen to the Germans. |
|
|
The German Army turns its attention towards the Volga. |
|
|
The German 2nd Army and 4th Panzer Army launch their attack towards Voronezh near Kursk. |
|
|
German General von Paulus attacks at Belgorod. |
|
|
Evacuation of Russian soldiers from Sevastopol begins with help from the Soviet Black Sea Fleet under Vice-Admiral F.S. Oktyabrsky. |
|
|
German General Erwin Rommel attempts to break through the Allied defensive perimeter at El Alamein. |
1942
Wednesday
July 1st - July 22nd |
|
|
The First Battle of El Alamein takes place with Erwin Rommel hoping to put a dent in the Allied defense near El Alamain. Rommel's forces consist of his Afrika Corps and three Italian troop corps. |
1942
Wednesday
July 1st - July 31st |
|
|
Hitler orders two directives in the operation against Leningrad. The first calls for its immediate encirclement and the second for its immediate destruction from land and air. |
|
|
One last German push secures strategic positions throughout the city of Sevastopol. |
|
|
The Soviet city of Sevastopol officially falls to the Germans. |
|
|
The last of the Soviet forces are evacuated by sea leaving little to stop the German onslaught. |
|
|
The Allies put up a stubborn defense, repelling Rommel's offensive. |
|
|
German control and the subsequent round up on the city nets some 90,000 Soviet army prisoners of war. |
|
|
Sevastopol officially falls to German control. |
|
|
The German 6th Army reaches the Don River. |
|
|
The German 6th Army moves on Stalingrad. |
|
|
The Soviet city of Voronezh falls to the German Army. |
|
|
German General Field Marshal List takes command of the new Army Goup A, made up of the 1st Panzer Army and the 17th Army. |
|
|
This date is set aside for Operation Rutter - the amphibious landing at the port city of Dieppe in occupied France. |
|
|
Bad weather cancels this original date for Operation Rutter. Discussions begin on whether or not to nix the entire endeavor. It returns to the planning stages under a new name - Operation Jubilee. |
|
|
German Army Group South is renamed Army Group B and placed under the control of Field Marshal von Bock. |
|
|
The German Army begins its move towards Rostov. |
|
|
Adolph Hitler assigns General von Paulus and his 6th Army to take Stalingrad. |
|
|
General von Weichs takes control of Army Group B from Bock. |
|
|
Hitler diverts the 4th Panzer Army away from Stalingrad and sends them towards the Caucasus. |
|
|
German U-boats off the eastern coast of the US are relocated to better assault the merchant fleets streaming across the Atlantic. |
|
|
Rostov falls to the German Army Group A, netting some 83,000 Soviet prisoners as a result. |
|
|
Hitler issues a supplemental directive to Operation Blue requiring his 6th Army to take Stalingrad. |
|
|
The macabre resolution of "not one step backwards" is issued by Stalin to his generals and troops. |
|
|
De Havilland DH 98 Mosquito twin-engine fighters are assigned as "Pathfinder" units charged with lighting up ground targets via flares and incendiary ordnance for ensuing RAF heavy bombers. |
1942
Saturday
August 1st - August 31st |
|
|
Any further convoys passing to the Arctic to Russia are suspended for the time being as resources are pressed for service in the Allied landings occurring in North Africa. |
1942
Saturday
August 1st - August 30th |
|
|
British Prime Minister relieves General Auchinleck with General Harold Alexander as Commander-in-Chief, Middle East. |
1942
Saturday
August 1st - August 30th |
|
|
German forces are strengthened by the arrival of another Italian division, a German parachute brigade and more tanks. |
1942
Saturday
August 1st - August 30th |
|
|
Churchill replaces 8th Army leader Major-General Neil Ritchie with General Bernard Montgomery. |
|
|
Elements of the German Army cross the Aksay River towards Stalingrad. |
|
|
The German Army crosses the Kuban River near Armavir. |
|
|
Elements of the German Army attack Soviet forces near Kalach. |
|
|
The German German Army captures the strategic port of Yeysk and Krasnador on the Sea of Azov. |
|
|
Army Group A captures the Maikop oil field on the Black Sea. |
|
|
German forces cross the Kuban river near Krasnador. |
1942
Wednesday
August 19th |
|
|
By 2:00 PM, all survivors of the Dieppe invasion have been rescued. Left behind are 3,367 casualties, wounded, prisoners of war or missing. |
|
|
German General Paulus and his 6th Army is ordered to attack the Soviet city of Stalingrad. |
1942
Wednesday
August 19th |
|
|
This date is targeted for Operation Jubilee. |
1942
Wednesday
August 19th |
|
|
Operation Jubilee is officially put into action. |
1942
Wednesday
August 19th |
|
|
4,962 Canadian soldiers, along with 1,000 British troops and a 50-man contingent of American US Army Rangers set sail on no fewer than 237 boats towards Dieppe. |
1942
Wednesday
August 19th |
|
|
At 3:48 AM, several Allied invasion vessels run into a German convoy, which actively engages the ships, ruining any chance the Allies held in the element of surprise. This event is a fore-telling of the day to follow. |
1942
Wednesday
August 19th |
|
|
At 4:30 AM, Canadian soldiers wade ashore and take on the German coastal batteries at Berneval, Puys, Pourville and Varengville. |
1942
Wednesday
August 19th |
|
|
At 5:20 AM, the main invasion force - made up of the 14th Army Tank Regiment, the Essex Scottish Regiment, and the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry - come ashore. |
1942
Wednesday
August 19th |
|
|
At 5:35 AM, Allied armor makes it to the beach. Over half of the tanks are lost in the action. |
1942
Wednesday
August 19th |
|
|
By 11:00 AM, disaster has completely befallen the invaders. Many are trapped, forced back or dead to a prepared German defense. |
1942
Wednesday
August 19th - September 30th |
|
|
A Soviet offensive aimed at smashing through the German lines fails. |
|
|
Nazi-allied French leader Marshal Petain celebrates the German victory over the Allied invasion at Dieppe. |
1942
Saturday
August 22nd |
|
|
German land forces advancing into the Caucasus are stopped. |
|
|
Army Group B reaches the Volga River. |
|
|
Stalingard is officially under siege by the Germans Army. |
|
|
Rommel begins a new offensive starting from Bab el Qattara that becomes the Battle of Alam Halfa near El Alamein. The objective is the high ridge at Alam Halfa some 13 miles through the Allied defensive perimeter in the south. |
|
|
By this date, the Japanese have completed their takeovers of the Caroline Islands, the Gilbert Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Marianas Islands and a portion of the Solomon Islands. This is the farthest that the Japanese Empire would reach in the Pacific. |
1942
Tuesday
September 1st |
|
|
Germany Army elements, backed by Romanians cross the Kerch Straits. |
1942
Tuesday
September 1st |
|
|
The Germans establish a bridgehead over the Terek River. |
1942
Tuesday
September 1st - September 30th |
|
|
German progress throughout the Casucasus is slowed by Soviet resistance and fuel/supply shortages. |
1942
Tuesday
September 1st - September 30th |
|
|
The month is spent ironing out plans for the Allied invasion of German-occupied North Africa. |
1942
Wednesday
Setember 2nd - September 26th |
|
|
Convoy PQ18 reaches Russia despite losing 13 of her ships. |
1942
Wednesday
September 2nd |
|
|
Convoy PQ18 sets sail for Russia, comprised of some 40 ships and beefed up protection through 17 destroyers. The escort carrier HMS Avenger provides air cover. |
1942
Wednesday
September 2 |
|
|
Rommel's assault is thwarted, his tank forces suffering high losses in the attack - and his army is pushed back to Bab el Qattara. |
1942
Thursday
September 3rd - October 23rd |
|
|
General Montgomery decides to make El Alamein a war of numbers and stockpiles his supplies to eventually try and overwhelm the Germans. |
1942
Thursday
September 3rd |
|
|
The Germans enact an offensive aimed at the heart of Stalingrad. |
1942
Sunday
September 6th |
|
|
The strategic Black Sea port city Novorossiysk falls to the Germans. |
1942
Thursday
September 10th |
|
|
100,000 incendiary bombs are dropped on Dusseldorf by no fewer than 476 RAF bombers. |
1942
Tuesday
September 15th |
|
|
The Soviet Army is unleashed on Voronezh. |
1942
Thursday
September 24th |
|
|
The German Army makes headway toward Tuapse. |
1942
Friday
September 25th |
|
|
With winter upon the German Army once more, Hitler orders a halt to any major offensives around Leningrad. |
1942
Thursday
October 1st - October 31st |
|
|
With a lull in the fighting, Soviet forces near Leningrad are able to receive much needed supplies and reinforcements. |
|
|
Malgobek falls to the German Army. |
|
|
The Soviet government hands all military powers to the Soviet Army. |
|
|
The German drive against Tuapse is stopped by the Soviets. |
|
|
The Allied counter-offensive begins through Operation Lightfoot, a massive artillery bombardment of dug-in German forces. |
|
|
At 10:00PM, British XIII Corps hits the German 21st Panzer Division and Italian Brescia and Folgore Divisions in the south of the German defensive wall as a diversion to its north-bound actions. |
|
|
XXX and X Corps begin their assault on Axis nothern positions. |
1942
Wednesday
October 14th |
|
|
Adolph Hitler stops all further offensives against Soviet targets in the region for the year and orders his commanders to hold their positions until 1943. |
|
|
Allied mine-clearing operations begin whiel combat continues |
|
|
Montgomery enacts Operation Supercharge and pulls some diversionary forces from his southern attacks to reinforce the north where losses continue to mount. |
|
|
The Germans enact a new offensive in the Caucasus. |
|
|
Four Allied brigades have managed to break through the German defensive lines. |
|
|
The Caucasus town of Alagir is captured by the Germans. |
|
|
As more and more Allied armor crosses through the German perimeter, Rommel orders his battle-weary forces on an eastward retreat, keeping his forces within easy access to the North African coast. |
|
|
The Caucasus town of Ordzhonikidse is captured by the Germans. |
1942
Wednesday
November 4th |
|
|
British X Corps makes a substantial gain in capturing Tel el Aqqaqir, running straight through the beleagured Axis lines, effectively ending the Battle of El Alamain in favor of the Allies. The victory is a major one for the Germans are in full retreat throughout North Africa. The action officially ends all Axis presence on the continent. |
1942
Saturday
November 7th |
|
|
Three Allied task forces - the US Western, Central and the British Eastern - approach the coast of North Africa. |
|
|
The Allied invasion forces reach North African shores. |
|
|
The US Western and Central task forces tangle with Vichy French opposition. |
|
|
At Oran, French coastal guns destroya US transport with 200 soldiers aboard. |
|
|
French General Mast surrenders to the British Eastern Task Force. |
|
|
The first French cease-fires begin to ring out across Algeria and Morocco. |
|
|
US forces tangle with a suprisingly stout French defense. It was believed that the two country's histories would have brought France to surrender rather than fight a former ally. |
1942
Wednesday
November 11th |
|
|
French Admiral Jean Francios Darlan joins French General Alphonse Juin in calling an all-out cease fire for French forces throughout Africa. |
1942
Wednesday
November 11th |
|
|
The British Eastern Task force capture the strategic airfield at Djidjelli via Bougie from Algiers. |
1942
Thursday
November 12th |
|
|
German paratrooper forces attack the British paratroopers near Bone but are repelled. |
1942
Thursday
November 12th |
|
|
German paratroopers move into the area near the airfield at Bone. |
1942
Thursday
November 12th |
|
|
British paratroopers land near Bone and take the nearby airfield. |
1942
Sunday
November 15th |
|
|
American paratroopers land at the airfield near Youks les Bains |
1942
Sunday
November 15th |
|
|
Army Group A reaches as far as Ordzhonikidze and Mt. Elbus. |
1942
Monday
November 16th |
|
|
British paratroopers land and capture the airfield at Soul el Arba. |
1942
Monday
November 16th |
|
|
Allied forces begin their move into German-held Tunisia. |
1942
Tuesday
November 17th |
|
|
The Allies capture Beja. |
1942
Wednesday
November 18th |
|
|
The Allies take Sidi Nsir. |
1942
Thursday
November 19th |
|
|
The Soviets push forward a new two-part offensive - Operation Uranus - north of Stalingrad and break through the Romanian-held defenses. |
1942
Friday
November 20th |
|
|
The Allied assault on the strategic city of Medjez el Bab begins. |
1942
Friday
November 20th |
|
|
Part 2 of Operation Uranus is enacted at the southern end of Stalingrad. |
1942
Friday
November 20th |
|
|
German General Manstein is appointed the commander of Army Group Don. |
1942
Sunday
November 22nd |
|
|
Two elements of the Soviet Army meets at Kalach, effectively encircling the German 6th Army at Stalingrad. |
1942
Wednesday
November 25th |
|
|
In an effort to resupply their troops, the German Luftwaffe is called upon to exercise airdrops of vital supplies to the German 6th Army. |
1942
Thursday
November 26th |
|
|
Medjez el Bab falls to the Allies. |
1942
Monday
November 30th |
|
|
German General von Paulus and his 6th Army is contained by the fierce resisting Soviets in Stalingrad, putting Hitler's plans on hold. |
1942
Monday
November 30th |
|
|
Despite the consistent progression throughout North Africa, the Allied invasion offensive grounds to a halt in the face of growing German resistance at key junctions. The total liberation of North Africa will have to wait. |
1942
Saturday
December 12th |
|
|
While Hitler rejects any plea from the German 6th Army to retreat from their position, the 4th Panzer Army is used through Operation Winter Storm in an attempt to relieve the beleaguered German troops at Stalingrad. |
1942
Wednesday
December 16th |
|
|
The Soviet Army puts Operation Little Saturn into effect and attacks Rostov. |
1942
Wednesday
December 16th |
|
|
German Army forces are called off from further offensives at Tuapse. |
1942
Wednesday
December 16th |
|
|
The Italian Army goes into full retreat from the Soviet advance. |
1942
Monday
December 21st |
|
|
Soviet relief forces and supplies headed for Stalingrad are stopped at Myshkova. |
1942
Wednesday
December 23rd |
|
|
All further attempts to relieve Stalingrad are put on hold, indefinitely. |
1942
Thursday
December 24th |
|
|
The Soviet Army launches a fresh attack at Kotelnikovo, routing its Romanian defenders and putting them into full retreat. |
1942
Monday
December 28th |
|
|
German Army Group A is given the official order to retreat from the Caucasus region. |
1942
Thursday
December 31st |
|
|
The Battle of Barents Sea takes place. Convoy JW51B comes under attack from German surface ships comrpised of the battleships KMS Admiral Hipper and KMS Lutzow along with 6 destroyers. Six British destroyers are up to the task as they repel the much larger force at the cost of two Royal Navy destroyers. No merchant vessels are lost to enemy fire. The loss in battle forces the resignation of German Navy Admiral Raeder and leaves Adolph Hitler hungry for blood. |
|
|
| All Events By Day of the Week |
|
|
