Year 1942

WW2 War Diary for Thursday, August 13, 1942: Sea War Mediterranean: Powerful force of Italian cruisers and destroyers departs Naples to strike battered Convoy Pedestal, but turns back when the

WW2 War Diary for Wednesday, August 12, 1942: Politics Russia – First Moscow Conference: Churchill informs Stalin that there can be no ‘Second Front’ in Europe until 1943 and reveals

WW2 War Diary for Tuesday, August 11, 1942: Sea War Mediterranean: Carrier Eagle sunk by U-boat U-73 north of Algiers (260 killed). Pacific: Japanese Combined Fleet leaves home waters for

WW2 War Diary for Monday, August 10, 1942: Sea War Mediterranean – OPERATION PEDESTAL: 14-ship British convoy leaves Gibraltar for Malta under heavy escort – only 4 transports and burning

WW2 War Diary for Sunday, August 9, 1942: Sea War Pacific: Following Savo Island debacle, all US transports and escorting warships have to be temporarily withdrawn from Guadalcanal area. Air

WW2 War Diary for Saturday, August 8, 1942: Sea War Pacific – BATTLE OF SAVO (night August 8-9): Japanese cruisers destroy 4 cruisers – USS Astoria, Quincey and Vincennes and

WW2 War Diary for Friday, August 7, 1942: Pacific Solomons – Operation Watchtower: US MARINES LAND ON GUADALCANAL and Tulagi. On the former the few Japanese construction troops and Korean

WW2 War Diary for Thursday, August 6, 1942: Politics Britain: Government formally denounces Munich Agreement of September 1938. Governments-in-Exile Holland: Queen Wilhelmina addresses joint session of US Congress.

WW2 War Diary for Wednesday, August 5m 1942: Africa Western Desert: Churchill visits 8th Army; decides to replace Auchinleck. Eastern Front Central Russia: Heavy fighting in Rzhev sector.

WW2 War Diary for Tuesday, August 4, 1942: Home Fronts Britain: House of Commons passes Bill transferring jurisdiction over offences committed by American service-men from British civil courts to US

WW2 War Diary for Monday, August 3, 1942: Air War Eatern Front: Russian naval planes attack Luftwaffe bomber base near Sea of Azov.

WW2 War Diary for Sunday, August 2, 1942: Home Fronts India: Mahatma Gandhi warns that Indian people will welcome Japanese invasion unless British grant full independence.

WW2 War Diary for Saturday, August 1, 1942: Sea War Indian Ocean – Operation Stab: British Eastern Fleet carries out protracted manoeuvres in Bay of Bengal in attempt to divert

WW2 War Diary for Friday, July 31, 1942: Eastern Front Southern Russia: German troops cross river Don on wide front. Air War Germany: 630 RAF bombers (including 211 bomber-trainers) make

WW2 War Diary for Thursday, July 30, 1942: Air War China: American P-40 fighters repulse series of Japanese raids on Hengyang air base, southwest China (July 30-31) Britain: New type

WW2 War Diary for Wednesday, July 29, 1942: Eastern Front South Russia: Hoth’s Panzers capture Tsimlyanskaya, on river Don, west of Stalingrad. Farther south Kleist’s Panzers capture Proletarskaya. Pacific New

WW2 War Diary for Tuesday, July 28, 1942: Home Fronts Britain: Death of Sir Matthew Flinders Petrie, archaeologist; aged 89.

WW2 War Diary for Monday, July 27, 1942: Air War Britain: 30 German raiders, operating singly in cloudy weather over many parts of England, bomb 2 airfields, 4 factories and

WW2 War Diary for Sunday, July 26, 1942: Air War Eastern Front: Russian 8th Air Army and 4-engined Pe-8s of the ADD (‘Long-range Bombing Force’) carry out round-the-clock operations in