Day 932 March 20, 1942

British destroyers HMS Avon Vale, Beaufort, Dulverton, Eridge, Heythrop, Hurworth and Southwold leave Alexandria, Egypt, on an anti-submarine sweep ahead of convoy MW10 (4 fast transport ships escorted by cruisers HMS Cleopatra, Dido, Euryalus and anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Carlisle, 10 destroyers and 6 submarines) leaving Alexandria that day for Malta. At 10.54 AM 40 miles Northeast of Bardia, HMS Heythrop is damaged by U-652 (15 dead and 151 survivors taken off by HMS Eridge). HMS Heythrop sinks 5 hours later while under tow by HMS Eridge.

At 8.54 PM, U-71 sinks US steamer Oakmar (carrying Manganese ore, burlap and rubber from Calcutta, India) just 450 miles short of its destination in Boston (6 killed, 30 survivors in 1 lifeboat picked up by Greek SS Stavros on March 22).

Transferring trains in Terowie, South Australia, General Douglas MacArthur makes a speech regarding the Battle of the Philippines “The President of the United States ordered me to break through the Japanese lines and proceed from Corregidor to Australia for the purpose, as I understand it, of organizing the American offensive against Japan, a primary objective of which is the relief of the Philippines. I came through and I shall return.” The event is commemorated by a plaque on the now disused railway platform.

After resupplying with fuel and ammunition, German armed merchant cruiser Michel departs La Pallice, France, in the Bay of Biscay, to patrol just South of the Equator.

Day 931 March 19, 1942

Siege of Leningrad Day 193. 50 miles Southeast of Leningrad, Soviet 2nd Shock Army is surrounded on the Volkhov River. 2nd Shock Army’s breakthrough of the German line on January 18 has become a deep salient pointing Northwest from Spasskaya Polisk on the Volkhov River towards Leningrad but they have been unable to widen the gap in the German line. A German counterattack launched on March 15 now closes the door behind them.

25 miles South of Cape Fear, North Carolina, U-124 sinks US tanker Papoose at 4.31 AM (2 killed, 32 survivors picked up by US destroyer USS Stringham 10 hours later) and US tanker W.E. Hutton carrying 65,000 barrels of heating oil at 5.38 AM (13 killed, 23 survivors rescued 12 hours later by British merchant MV Port Halifax). 87 miles Northwest, U-332 sinks American SS Liberator carrying 11,000 tons of sulphur at 4.19 PM (5 killed by the explosion and sulphur fumes, 30 survivors in 2 lifeboats picked up by US fleet tug USS Umpqua).

Philippines. The situation on Bataan is becoming critical. As food supplies dwindle, American and Filipino troops are put on quarter rations (35 ounces per day, about 1000 calories). Quinine to prevent malaria runs out, leading 1000 men per day to report sick with malaria, and dysentery is also endemic. Fighting strength is reduced by about 50% due to disease. Despite the departure of General MacArthur, many of the troops continue to believe that a relief force is on the way, unable to accept they have been abandoned. Although MacArthur plans to retain command of Bataan from Australia, US Army Chief of Staff General Marshall promotes General Wainwright to Lieutenant General and appoints him in overall command of US forces in the Philippines (USFIP).

Day 930 March 18, 1942

Atlantic. Off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, U-124 sinks Greek SS Kassandra Louloudis at 1.14 AM (all 35 survivors picked up by the US Coast Guard cutter USS Dione) and US tanker E.M. Clark at 8.27 AM (1 killed, 26 survivors in a lifeboat picked up by Venezuelan tanker Catatumbo, 14 survivors in another lifeboat picked up by US destroyer USS Dickerson).

Mediterranean. 2 miles off Brindisi, Italy, British submarine HMS Upholder sinks Italian submarine Tricheo which is traveling on the surface, breaks in 2 and sinks immediately (38 killed, the captain and 2 others survive).

Burma. Chinese Air Force 1st American Volunteer Group “Flying Tigers” fly 300 miles South from the British airfield at Magwe in Northern Burma to bomb the Japanese-held airfield at Moulmein (they claim 16 Japanese aircraft destroyed in the air and on the ground).

Day 929 March 17, 1942

At 6.40 AM 15 miles South of Calabria, British submarine HMS Unbeaten sinks Italian submarine Guglielmotti (46 killed). HMS Unbeaten surfaces to rescue 12 survivors but is driven off by an Italian aircraft. The 12 survivors are later rescued by 3 motor torpedo boats which also drop 24 depth charges causing no damage.

Off the East coast of America. At 2.16 AM, U-404 sinks British SS San Demetrio (19 killed, 32 survivors picked up after 2 days by American merchant Beta). At 2.26 AM, U-124 sinks Honduran banana boat SS Ceiba (44 killed including wives and children of the crew, 6 survivors picked up two days later by US destroyer USS Hambleton). At 6.50 AM in fog, US aircraft carrier USS Wasp collides with US destroyer USS Stack (flooding the boiler room). USS Stack is repaired the Philadelphia Navy Yard. At 3.08 PM, U-373 sinks Greek SS Mount Lycabettus (all 30 hands lost). At 6.58 PM, U-71 sinks Norwegian tanker Ranja (all 34 hands lost).

5 miles West of Chichi Jima, Bonin Islands (600 miles South of Tokyo), US submarine USS Grayback sinks Japanese collier Ishikari Maru. In Tayabas Bay, South of Luzon, Philippines, 3 Japanese destroyers depth charge US submarine USS Permit (carrying 40 officers and men from Corregidor and 7 crewmen from motor torpedo boat PT 32 as passengers). USS Permit suffers minor damage.

Off the coast of Tabou West Africa, near the border of Liberia and Ivory Coast, U-68 sinks 3 British freighters; SS Ile de Batz at 6.35 AM (4 killed, 39 survivors make land at Cape Palmas, Liberia), MV Scottish Prince at 1.26 AM, the unescorted (1 dead, 38 survivors make land at Cape Palmas) and SS Allende at 9.03 PM (6 killed, 33 survivors in 2 lifeboats make land at Tabou, Ivory Coast, but are interned by the Vichy French).

Day 928 March 16, 1942

Overnight 145 miles Northeast of Antigua, Italian submarine Morosini sinks Dutch tanker MV Oscilla (4 killed, 51 survivors).

With the Soviet offensive stalling and the front stabilizing, it is apparent that the Red Army has failed to remove the German threat to Moscow. Sevastopol is still besieged and the siege of Leningrad is in its 190th day. Stalin begins pressing Britain and America to open a second front with an invasion of Western Europe.

Philippines. US submarine USS Permit delivers ammunition to Corregidor. With Japanese in control of Manila Bay, this is the only way to get supplies to US troops on Bataan.

At 6.24 PM 300 miles North of San Juan, Puerto Rico, U-504 sinks British SS Stangarth on her maiden voyage from New York carrying ammunition, trucks and aircraft parts to Bombay, India (all 46 hands lost). At 7.55 PM 10 miles off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, U-332 sinks US tanker MV Australia (4 dead, 36 survivors picked up by American SS William J. Salman). At 11.17 PM 6 miles South of Cape Palmas, Liberia, West Africa, U-68 sinks British SS Baron Newlands (18 killed, 20 survivors).

Day 927 March 15, 1942

Soviet submarine ShCh210 goes missing off Cape Shabla, Bulgaria, presumably lost to a Romanian minefield.

In the North Sea, 20 miles off the English coast, German motor torpedo boats attack British coastal convoy FS749. Torpedo boat S-104 sinks British destroyer HMS Vortigern (110 killed, 14 survivors rescued by British patrol sloop HMS Guillemot).

245 miles Southeast of St. John’s, Newfoundland, a PBO-1 Hudson covering convoy ON-72 (Naval Squadron VP-82, from Argentia, Newfoundland) sinks U-503 with depth charges (all 51 hands lost). 15 miles off Cape Fear, North Carolina, U-158 damages US tanker SS Olean at 06.04 AM (6 killed, 36 survivors) and sinks US tanker SS Ario at 07.22 AM (8 dead, 26 survivors picked up by US destroyer USS Du Pont). 270 miles East of Palm Beach, Florida, Italian submarine Tazzoli sinks British SS Athelqueen (3 killed, 46 survivors). Tazzoli collides with SS Athelqueen, damaging the forward torpedo tubes, and is forced to abort the mission and arrives back at base in Bordeaux, France on March 31. At midday South of Haiti, U-161 sinks US Coast Guard lighthouse tender USCGC Acacia with 68 shells from the deck gun and 162 rounds from the 37mm & 20mm anti-aircraft guns (all 36 hands rescued by US destroyer USS Overton and taken to San Juan, Puerto Rico).

US Air Force 51st 67th Pursuit Squadron arrives by sea on the Free French island of New Caledonia, 950 miles East of Australia, to reinforce the Allied base with 45 P-40 fighters.

General MacArthur, his family and staff are evacuated from Mindanao Island, Philippines, to Australia on US B-17 bombers.

Day 926 March 14, 1942

At 3 AM in the English Channel off Dover, 6 British motor torpedo boats and 3 motor gunboats attack German armed merchant cruiser Michel but are driven off by the escorting minesweepers and torpedo boats. At dawn, British attack again with 5 destroyers (HMS Blencathra, Calpe, Fernie, Walpole & Windsor) and motor torpedo boats. Michel drops her disguise and opens fire with six 6-inch guns, damaging HMS Fernie and HMS Walpole. Michel escapes to Le Havre, France, with slight damage (1 killed).

Atlantic. 200 miles West of Caribbean island of Dominica, U-67 sinks Panamanian tanker Penelope at 2 AM (2 dead, 47 survivors) and U-161 sinks Canadian SS Sarniadoc (all 21 hands lost). At 8.28 AM off Atlantic City, New Jersey, U-404 sinks US freighter SS Lemuel Burrows (20 dead, 14 survivors). At 9.18 PM 260 miles North of Bermuda, U-124 ignites British tanker MV British Resource carrying 10,000 tons of volatile benzene and white spirit (46 killed, 5 survivors picked up by British corvette HMS Clarkia and landed at Hamilton, Bermuda). MV British Resource burns all night and sinks next day.

Mediterranean. 17 miles East of Gibraltar, Italian submarine Mocenigo sinks French vessel Ste. Marcelle. At 1.23 PM off Calabria in the Ionian Sea, British submarine HMS Ultimatum spots Italian submarine Millo returning to port at Taranto, running on the surface. HMS Ultimatum sinks Millo with 4 torpedoes (55 killed, 14 survivors picked up by HMS Ultimatum, 1 survivor rescued a few hours later by a coastal patrol boat). At 5 PM, U-133 leaves base at Salamis Island, near Athens, Greece, but hits a mine and sinks 2 hours later (all 45 hands lost). There is a myth that U-133 sailed up the Colorado River to destroy the Hoover Dam.

US Air Force 51st Pursuit Squadron, which was en route to Java with crated P-40 fighters, arrives by sea at Karachi, Northwest India (now Pakistan).

Day 925 March 13, 1942

Axis submarines continue to feast on unescorted shipping off the US East coast. 330 miles off Palm Beach, Florida, Italian Tazzoli sinks British SS Daytonian (1 killed, 58 survivors). At 4.41 AM 10 miles off Cape Guajaba, Cuba, U-126 torpedoes American SS Colabee which runs aground (23 killed, 14 survivors make land in a lifeboat). SS Colabee will be towed into Nuevitas by the Cuban Navy then repaired at Tampa, Florida, and returned to service in September 1942. At 5.05 AM 39 miles off Cape Fear, North Carolina, a torpedo from U-158 ignites US tanker John D. Gill carrying 141,981 barrels of crude oil from Texas to Philadelphia (23 dead, 26 survivors). At 6.43 AM 5 miles off Asbury Park, New Jersey, U-404 sinks neutral Chilean SS Tolten in ballast (26 killed, 1 survivor). 200 miles off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, U-332 sinks unarmed WWI-era 4-masted schooner Albert F. Paul at 7.20 AM (all 8 hands lost) and Yugoslavian SS Trepca at 5.47 PM (4 dead, 33 survivors picked up by a Swedish merchant).

Philippines. As PT boats evacuating MacArthur from Luzon pass through the Visayan Islands, two thirds of the way to Mindanao, PT-32 breaks down in rough seas and the passengers are taken off (US submarine USS Permit sinks PT-32 with the deck gun). Despite this, General MacArthur, Admiral Rockwell, their families and staff arrive safely at Cagayan on Mindanao in the remaining 4 PT boats.

Japanese submarine I-25 launches its floatplane to reconnoiter Auckland, New Zealand.

100 miles Northeast of Madras, India, Japanese submarine I-164 sinks Norwegian merchant Mabella en route from Colombo, Ceylon, to Calcutta, India.

100 miles South of Tokyo Bay near the tiny Japanese volcanic island of Mikura Jima, US submarine USS Gar sinks Japanese merchant Chichibu Maru.

5 miles off the coast of Tunisia, British submarine HMS Una sinks tiny Italian fishing boat Maria Immacolata with the deck gun.

In the evening, German armed merchant cruiser Michel (recently converted from hospital ship Bonn to replace worn out raider Widder) departs Vlissingen, Netherlands, escorted by 9 minesweepers and 5 torpedo boats. They head for the French port of Le Havre prior to Michel breaking out into the Atlantic.

Overnight, 135 RAF bombers attack Cologne, Germany, in the first raid guided by GEE radio navigation. 237 fires are started (62 killed, 84 injured), estimated by RAF as 5 times more effective than previous raids on Cologne.

Day 924 March 12, 1942

Dutch East Indies. Sumatra. Japanese troops from Singapore land at several sites in Northern Sumatra (Sabang at 2.35 AM, Koetaradja at 3.30 AM, Idi at 5.40 AM and Laboehanroekoe at 7 AM), meeting almost no resistance from Dutch forces. They advance 13 miles inland and capture the airfield at Medan. Java. Although Dutch have surrendered on Java, Japanese General Maruyama accepts the formal capitulation of British General Sitwell, Australian Brigadier Blackburn and US Colonel Searle at 7.30 AM at Bandoeng. At the Allied officers’ request, the text includes a Japanese promise to adhere to the Geneva Convention on the treatment of POWs. 60,000 Allied troops go into captivity but General Maruyama keeps the surrender document.

U-126 sinks 2 US freighters 20 miles North of Puerto Padre Bay, Cuba; SS Texan at 2.34 AM (all 47 crews abandons ship in 2 lifeboats but both capsize as Texan sinks, 9 drowned, 38 survivors picked up at 5.30 M next morning by Cuban fishing boat Yoyo) and SS Olga at 6.11 AM (1 dead, 32 survivors). In the early hours 520 miles Northeast of the British Virgin Islands, Italian submarine Morosini sinks British freighter Manaqui.

Allies establish a naval base on the Free French island of New Caledonia, 950 miles East of Australia, to prevent further Japanese expansion into the South Pacific around the Northwest corner of Australia. US Americal Division arrives at Nouméa (the capital of New Caledonia) from Melbourne, Australia, on troop transports escorted by US cruisers USS Honolulu & USS New Orleans and destroyer USS Mugford. Americal Division (abbreviated from American, New Caledonian Division) is 1 of only 2 un-numbered US Army divisions in WWII.

Day 923 March 11, 1942

Philippines. With no hope of relief from the Japanese assault on the Bataan peninsula, General Douglas MacArthur, Admiral Francis Rockwell, their families and staff leave the fortified headquarters on the island of Corregidor, at the Southern tip of Bataan. They will make the 560 mile trip to Cagayun on the island of Mindanao aboard 4 US motor torpedo boats PT-32, PT-34, PT-35 & PT-41 (Lieutenant John Bulkeley, commanding PT boat Squadron 3, wins the Medal of Honor). MacArthur will also be awarded the MOH for “conspicuous leadership in preparing the Philippine islands to resist conquest, for gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against invading Japanese forces, and for the heroic conduct of defensive and offensive operations on the Bataan peninsula” (at the time, Douglas MacArthur and his father Civil War General Arthur MacArthur are the only father & son MOH recipients). Although MacArthur intends to retain command from Australia as Allied Supreme Commander South West Pacific Area, General Wainwright is appointed as Allied commander in the Philippines.

At 2.11 AM 38 miles East of Iceland, U-701 sinks British anti-submarine trawler HMS Stella Capella (all 33 hands lost).

At 3.16 AM 2 miles East of Fenwick Island, Delaware, U-94 sinks Norwegian SS Hvoslef carrying sugar from Cuba to Boston (6 dead, 14 survivors in a damaged lifeboat make land 14 hours later). At 8 AM 14 miles East of Cape Lookout, North Carolina, U-158 sinks US steamer Caribsea carrying 3600 tons of manganese ore from Cuba to Baltimore (21 killed, 7 survivors on 2 rafts picked up 10 hours later by American SS Norlindo). Italian submarine Tazzoli sinks Panamanian SS Cygnet (all 30 hands survive) 5 miles East of San Salvador Island in the Bahamas.

British passenger freighter SS Chilka is heading to Padang, Sumatra, Dutch East Indies, to embark Allied civilians and troops evacuated from Singapore. At 2 PM 340 miles West of Padang, Japanese submarine I-2 shells SS Chilka with both deck guns (7 killed). After taking 14 hits in 25 minutes, SS Chilka signals surrender and survivors abandon ship before I-2 resumes shelling and sinks her.

At 8 PM 30 miles North of Sidi Barrani, Egypt, U-565 sinks British cruiser HMS Naiad (82 killed, 582 survivors rescued by destroyers HMS Jervis, HMS Kipling and HMS Lively).

220 miles West of the Southern tip of Japan, US submarine USS Pollack sinks Japanese merchant ship Fukushu Maru and passenger-cargo ship Baikal Maru.

Day 922 March 10, 1942

New Guinea. Japanese consolidate their beachhead in the Gulf of Huon with landings at Finschhafen. In the morning, US Dauntless dive bombers and Devastator torpedo bombers fly 120 miles from American carriers USS Lexington and USS Yorktown in the Gulf of Papua, South of New Guinea, over the Owen Stanley mountains for a surprise raid on Japanese invasion fleet in the Gulf of Huon. They sink armed merchant cruiser Kongo Maru, auxiliary minelayer Ten'yo Maru and transport Yokohama Maru. Cruiser Yubari, destroyers Yunagi, Asanagi, Oite, Asakaze & Yakaze, minelayer Tsugaru, seaplane carrier Kiyokawa Maru, transport Kokai Maru and minesweeper No.2 Tama Maru (which sinks 3 days later) are damaged. 1 Dauntless is shot down by anti-aircraft fire. President Roosevelt tells Churchill it is "the best day's work we've had" but Japanese will send in their own aircraft carriers to protect against further US carrier strikes, leading to the Battle of Coral Sea.

Burma. Japanese 55th Infantry Division begins chasing the British retreat North from Rangoon. In their path lies Chinese 200th Division which took up positions on March 8 at Toungoo, 180 miles North of Rangoon.

In the middle of the Bay of Bengal 470 mile East of Madras, Japanese submarine I-62 sinks tiny British sailing ship Lakshmi Govinda with shellfire.

At 4.49 AM, U-161 approaches the harbor at Port Castries, St. Lucia, and sinks Canadian passenger ship SS Lady Nelson (25 killed, 204 survivors) and British freighter SS Umtata (4 killed, 169 survivors). SS Lady Nelson will be salvaged on April 16 and sent to Mobile, Alabama, to be converted to a hospital ship. SS Umtata will be salvaged on May 2 but sunk on July 7 while under tow to Port Everglades for permanent repairs by U-571 Northeast of Key West, Florida. At 6.32 AM 2 miles East of Barnegat, New Jersey, U-588 sinks US tanker Gulftrade carrying 80,000 barrels of bunker oil (18 drown in the oil slick, 16 survivors rescued by US net tender USS Larch and Coast Guard cutter USCGC Antietam). At 11.10 PM 400 miles Northeast of British Virgin Islands, Italian submarine Finzi sinks Norwegian MV Charles Racine. All 41 hands escape in 4 lifeboats (34 in 3 boats stayed together and picked up on March 12 by US destroyer USS Moffet, 7 in another lifeboat rescued by an Argentinean steamer).

Overnight, 62 RAF bombers, including Avro Manchesters of 106 Squadron, bomb Essen, Germany. They have slightly more success than the previous 2 nights, hitting railway lines near the Krupp factory (6 civilians killed, 12 injured).

Day 921 March 9, 1942

German battleship Tirpitz fails to locate Allied convoys QP8 or PQ12 between Iceland and USSR but 12 Fairey Albacore torpedo bombers from British aircraft carrier HMS Victorious find Tirpitz off Vestfjord, Norway. They attack unsuccessfully and 2 Albacore are shot down. 3 German Ju88s unsuccessfully counterattack HMS Victorious.

Atlantic Ocean. 650 miles East of Florida, Italian submarine Tazzoli sinks Uruguayan SS Montevideo, previously Italian SS Adamello but seized by Uruguay in 1941 (14 killed, 35 rescued). At 2.25 AM 130 miles Southeast of New York, U-94 sinks Brazilian SS Cayrú (53 dead and 36 survivors). At 1.17 PM 10 miles off the East coast of Cuba, U-126 sinks Panamanian tanker MV Hanseat (all 39 crew escape in 4 lifeboats). At 6.45 PM 470 miles East of Halifax, Nova Scotia, U-587 sinks Greek SS Lily (all 32 crew escape in 2 lifeboats but 3 die of exposure, 29 picked up by Canadian corvette HMCS Sackville on March 13). At 9.09 PM 100 miles from Halifax, U-96 sinks Norwegian MV Tyr (all 31 crew abandon ship in 3 lifeboats, 18 men in 2 lifeboats rescued on March 10 and 11 but 13 men never found).

Overnight, 187 RAF bombers again inaccurately attack Essen, hitting 24 other towns the in Ruhr Valley (103 civilians killed, 336 injured).

Day 920 March 8, 1942

Invasion of New Guinea. Overnight, Japanese troops land unopposed, under cover of shellfire from escorting warships, at Lae and Salamaua in the Gulf of Huon on the Eastern end of the Australian Territory of New Guinea. They intend to construct an airfield to cover the advance into New Guinea and attack Northwest Australia.

At 00.39 AM 113 miles southwest of Iceland, U-701 sinks British anti-submarine trawler Notts County (all 41 hands lost). Off the Grand Banks, Newfoundland, U-587 sinks anti-submarine trawler HMS Northern Princess (all 38 hands lost).

Java. Dutch troops at Bandoeng wake up to find Japanese artillery looking down on the town from the Lembang Heights, 5 miles North. At 10 AM at the Isola Hotel in Lembang, Dutch commander at Bandoeng General Jacob J. Pesman surrenders to Japanese Colonel Toshishige Shoji of 230th Infantry Regiment. In the afternoon, Dutch Governor Dr. Tjarda Van Starkenborgh Stachouwer, Dutch General Hein Ter Poorten (Commander-in-Chief on Java) and General Pesman formally surrender all Allied forces to Japanese Commander-in-Chief General Hitoshi Imamura. At the Allied naval base at Soerabaja, the last Dutch warships are scuttled (minelayer HNMS Krakatau and HNMS Gouden Leeuw) or try to escape to the open sea to head for Australia (minesweepers HNLMS Eland Dubois and HNLMS Jan van Amstel). HNLMS Eland Dubois breaks down in Madoera Strait and is scuttled, transferring the crew to HNLMS Jan van Amstel which is then sunk by Japanese destroyer Arashio.

Japanese submarine I-25 launches its floatplane to reconnoiter Wellington, New Zealand.

Burma. General Hap Alexander’s deception has worked. Japanese do not realize that the entire British Army in Burma is withdrawing from Rangoon and is trapped at the Taukkyan Roadblock. Consequently, the Japanese continue their plan to circle around Rangoon and attack the city from the West. They abandon the roadblock overnight, leaving only a small garrison which is dislodged in the morning by a bayonet charge by the 1st/11th Sikhs. The British column proceeds North, molested only by Japanese air attacks. Meanwhile, Japanese troops occupy Rangoon and are amazed to find it abandoned.

RAF begins a new campaign of area bombing to destroy German industrial centers. Overnight, 211 RAF bombers attack Essen (home of the Krupp iron works and factories) but the raid is inaccurate and only destroys a few houses and a church (29 civilians killed).

Day 919 March 7, 1942

At 3 PM 82 miles Northeast of Tokyo Bay, Japan, US submarine USS Grenadier hits Japanese transport ship Asahisan Maru with 4 torpedoes (3 fail to explode). Asahisan Maru is only slightly damaged and reaches the naval base at Yokohama near Tokyo under her own steam.

U-126, U-129, U-155 and U-161 sink 5 merchant ships off the East coast of USA and in the approaches to the Caribbean.

At 11.14 PM 150 miles South of Iceland, U-701 sinks another tiny fishing trawler, Faroese SS Nyggjaberg (all 21 hands lost).

Japanese tighten their stranglehold on Allied forces on Java. Japanese Eastern Force crosses the island and approaches the naval base at Tjilatjap to block the escape route to Australia from the South side of Java. In the evening, Western Force captures the plateau at Lembang, 5 miles North of Bandoeng. As Allied troops withdraw to Bandoeng, Japanese artillery now overlooks the town. Dutch scuttle minelayer HNMS Gouden Leeuw at Soerabaja.

Burma. British evacuate Rangoon, sending civilians 800 miles by sea to Calcutta, India. The port and oil terminal plus oil stocks and refineries are destroyed by the troops as they leave. General Alexander and his Army HQ, Indian 17th Division and British 7th Armored Brigade head North out of Rangoon but the entire column is held up by a Japanese roadblock at Taukkyan. 7th Hussars and 2nd Royal Tank Regiment attack the roadblock all day but are repelled by Japanese 75mm artillery and machinegun fire from the flanks (1 Stuart tank is destroyed by a 75mm shell). Japanese counterattack overnight, with hand-to-hand combat on the British perimeter. However, the Japanese plan is not to hold the roadblock and they withdraw overnight.

Day 918 March 6, 1942

German battleship Tirpitz and 4 destroyers leave Trondheim, Norway, to intercept Allied convoy PQ12 from Reykjavik, Iceland to USSR (detected yesterday by German FW200 reconnaissance). Ultra intercepts alert Royal Navy which sends battleships HMS Duke of York, HMS King George V & HMS Renown, aircraft carrier HMS Victorious and cruisers HMS Kenya & HMS Berwick to seek the Tirpitz.

Burma. There is heavy fighting around Pegu where Japanese have constructed roadblocks to cut off the withdrawal of British 7th Hussars. Japanese push West from Pegu, intending to circle around Rangoon and attack the city from the West which they think will be less well defended. Consequently, Japanese hold the road North from Rangoon along which the British intend to withdraw.

Java. Dutch troops continue withdrawing to Bandoeng, covered by Australian Blackforce. Japanese Eastern Force continues advancing towards the naval base at Soerabaja where Japanese bombing damages Dutch minesweeper HNLMS Jan van Amstel (23 killed) and Dutch scuttle minesweepers HNLMS C and HNLMS Pieter de Bitter.

Italian submarines operate in the Atlantic Ocean South of Bermuda; Tazzoli sinks freighters Dutch SS Astrea in the morning (no casualties) and Norwegian MV Tønsberg Fjord at 10.15 PM (all 33 hands escape on lifeboats or rafts) while Finzi sinks French tanker Melpomene, which had been impounded by Britain in 1940 (all 49 hands survive).

At 11.31 AM off Sierra Leone, West Africa, U-505 sinks Norwegian tanker MV Sydhav carrying 11,400 tons of oil from the Caribbean (12 killed, 24 survivors picked up by British antisubmarine trawler HMS Kelt next day). At 11.06 PM 150 miles South of Iceland, U-701 sinks tiny British fishing trawler Rononia (all 11 hands lost). 50 miles South of Newfoundland, U-587 sinks Greenland sail/steam merchant Hans Egede (all 23 hands lost).

Day 917 March 5, 1942

British submarines have a busy day in the Mediterranean. Overnight, HMS Torbay enters the harbour on the Greek island of Corfu and, at 7.30 AM, sinks Italian merchant ship Maddalena G. and possibly one other (Lieutenant Commander Miers, commanding HMS Torbay, wins the VC for this attack). HMS Torbay escapes back to the Ionian Sea and is inaccurately attacked from 8.30 to 10 AM with 40 depth-charges but sustains no damage. HMS Uproar sinks Italian merchant Marin Sanudo 18 miles West of the Italian island of Lampedusa (depth charged by Italian torpedo boats Cigno and Procione, causing no damage). At 3 PM, HMS Thorn sinks Italian auxiliary patrol vessel AS91/Ottavia with the deck gun off the Greek island of Kefalonia (an Italian destroyer drops 2 depth charges, causing no damage).

Java. Japanese 2nd Division enters the capital Batavia, capturing the few remaining Dutch troops, and closes in on Buitenzorg (now Bogor) 25 miles South to cut off the retreat from Batavia.

4 Japanese troop transports leave Rabaul, New Britain, escorted by 6 cruisers and 8 destroyers for the invasion of New Guinea.

Burma. General Hon. Sir Harold Rupert Leofric George “Hap” Alexander is appointed General Officer Commanding Burma Command, replacing General Hutton who becomes his Chief of Staff. Despite Wavell’s orders to the contrary, Alexander immediately decides to abandon Rangoon as there is no hope of defending the city. He plans to convince the Japanese that Rangoon will be defended (and cover the British retreat North) by counterattacks against Pegu, 40 miles Northeast of Rangoon.

At 11.35 AM off Nova Scotia, U-404 sinks US steamer Collamer. At 3.33 PM 50 miles East of the Bahamas, U-128 sinks Norwegian tanker O.A. Knudsen. At 10.44 PM 30 miles North of Turks and Caicos Islands, U-126 sinks US steamer Mariana (all 36 hand lost). At 11.07 PM 100 miles off Sierra Leone, West Africa, U-505 sinks British SS Benmohr (all 56 hands rescued by a British Sunderland flying boat).

Day 916 March 4, 1942

Operation K. Overnight, 2 Japanese Kawanishi H8K flying boats arrive at French Frigate Shoals (each carrying 4 550-lb bombs), to refuel from submarines I-15 and I-19 having flown 1900 miles from the Marshall Islands. The flying boats then fly another 560 miles to Oahu, Hawaii. At 2 AM in heavy cloud, the flying boats drop their bombs harmlessly in the sea or onto an extinct volcano and then fly another 2400 miles back to the Marshall Islands.

At 6.30 AM, 300 miles South of Java, Japanese cruisers Atago, Takao, and Maya and 4 destroyers spot Australian sloop HMAS Yarra and British minesweeper MMS-51 escorting depot ship Anking, tanker Francol to Australia. HMAS Yarra charges the Japanese warships to fire her 4-inch gun but is sunk at 8 AM by 8-inch shellfire from the cruisers (158 killed, 13 survivors rescued on March 9 by Dutch submarine K-11). The 3 other ships are also sunk.

US submarines have a busy day. 600 miles North of New Guinea, USS Grampus sinks Japanese auxiliary fleet tanker Kaijo Maru (all 90 hands lost). 200 miles South of Japan, USS Narwhal sinks Japanese army cargo ship Taki Maru. In the Sunda Strait, Java, USS S-39 damages Japanese fleet oiler Erimo with 3 torpedoes (4 killed, Erimo is beached and cruiser Yura rescues survivors).

Java. Dutch troops withdraw from the capital Batavia to defend Bandoeng, 70 miles Southeast. The retreat is covered by Australian Blackforce, which withdraws from Leuwiliang after dark. Japanese Eastern Force continues advancing towards the naval base at Soerabaja.

Burma. British 7th Hussars withdraw through Pegu to rejoin 7th Armored Brigade at Hiegu. They arrive at Pegu at nightfall to find it in Japanese hands.

Day 915 March 3, 1942

Overnight, the first operational sortie by the Avro Lancaster is minelaying in the Heligoland Bight, Germany.

At 7 AM, In the Java Sea. US submarine USS Perch surfaces, badly damaged and unable to dive. Japanese destroyer Ushio attacks with shellfire and Perch’s crew abandons ship (all 59 crew rescued by Ushio but 6 will die in captivity).

Java. Australian Blackforce continues to hold up Japanese Western Force at Leuwiliang, preventing the advances towards the capital Batavia. Japanese Eastern Force advances towards the Allied naval base at Soerabaja, capturing Bojonegoro.

South of Java, Japanese destroyers Arashi and Nowaki sink US gunboat USS Asheville (all 170 crew lost).

Northwest Australia. At 9.20 AM, 9 Japanese Zero fighters from Koepang, Timor, strafe the Roebuck Bay flying boat anchorage at (destroying 15 flying boats) and RAAF airfield (destroying 2 USAAF B-17s, 2 RAAF Hudsons and a Dutch Lockheed Lodestar) at Broome. They also shoot down a USAAF B-24 Liberator (carrying 30 wounded personnel) which crashes into the sea 10 miles off Broome and a KLM Douglas DC-3 airliner (carrying refugees from Java) which crashes into the jungle 50 miles North of Broome (diamonds worth £150,000–300,000 are lost). In total, 88 Dutch, Australians and Americans are killed. 1 Zero is shot down.

Burma. Japanese capture Payagyi from Indian 17th Infantry Division. British 7th Queen's Own Hussars (7th Armored Brigade) arrive to reinforce the Indians in US-made Stuart “honey” tanks. In the first clash of British and Japanese armor, 4 Japanese Type 95 light tanks are knocked out by the Stuarts and 3 ‘honeys’ are hit by Japanese anti-tank guns.

At 5.05 PM 165 miles North of Suriname, U-129 sinks US SS Mary carrying Lend-Lease supplies from USA to Egypt (1 dead, 33 survivors in 2 lifeboats rescued 6 days later). At 5.21 PM 86 miles West of Monrovia, the capital of the Republic of Liberia, West Africa, U-68 sinks British SS Helenus carrying 4248 tons of rubber, 1350 tons of copper and 2 passengers from Malaya to Britain (6 killed including 1 of the passengers, 76 survivors rescued by British steamer Beaconsfield).

Day 914 March 2, 1942

US General John L. DeWitt, responsible for the defense of the American West coast, issues Public Proclamation No. 1 creating Military Areas 1 & 2 which includes the coastal part of Washington, Oregon, California States. Japanese-Americans will soon be excluded from these areas.

Java. Japanese Western force advances 40 miles from Serang, threatening to cut off the route South from Batavia, but they are held at Leuwiliang for 2 days by Australian Blackforce (under Brigadier Arthur Blackburn VC). The direct advance on Batavia is slowed by the marshy terrain and bridges blown up by retreating Dutch troops. At Soebang, 250 Dutch troops with 20 tanks attempt to retake Kalidjati airfield but they are repelled. Japanese Eastern Force captures the oilfields at Tjepoe (now Cepu). Dutch government moves from Batavia to a safer location 70 miles inland at Bandoeng and US B-17 bombers begin evacuating key personnel to Australia. Dutch scuttle warships at Soerabaja to prevent capture by the Japanese (destroyers HNLMS Banckert & Witte de With, non-functional submarines K-10, K-13 & K-18, minesweepers HNLMS B & D, minelayers HNLMS Rigel, Soemenep & Bangkalan). Damaged US destroyer USS Stewart is not demolished in dry dock as planned (will be repaired and commissioned into the Japanese Navy as Patrol Boat No. 102).

At 9 PM East of Bali in the Lombok Strait, US submarine USS Sailfish sinks Japanese auxiliary aircraft transport Kamogawa Maru (5 crew, 273 troops and 48 passengers lost). USS Sailfish is counterattack with 40 depth charges but suffers little damage.

In the Java Sea. Adding to yesterday’s damage, US submarine USS Perch is depth-charged again, this time by Japanese destroyer Ushio. Japanese destroyer Ikazuchi rescues 442 survivors from HMS Exeter, HMS Encounter and USS Pope who have been adrift for 20 hours.

A Japanese battle group lurks in the Indian Ocean to interrupt the escape route South from Java to Australia. At 7 PM, Japanese cruiser Maya and destroyers Arashi & Nowaki pummel British destroyer HMS Stronghold with 1,270 8-inch & 5-inch shells from 2,000 yards (75 killed, 50 survivors picked up by Japanese cruiser Maya next morning). At 9 PM 500 miles South of Java, Japanese cruisers Takao and Atago sink US destroyer USS Pillsbury, with 5 minutes of shellfire (all 145 crew and 28 sailors from USS Stewart killed).

Burma. Japanese 33rd and 55th Infantry Divisions cross River Sittang on ferries unopposed at Kunzeik and Donzayit, North of the demolished Sittang Bridge. They cross the irrigated rice paddies of the Sittang delta and push 2nd Battalion Royal Tank Regiment (7th Armored Division) out of the village of Waw. 2nd RTR withdraws 20 miles West to Payagyi, an important road junction protecting Rangoon held by the remnants of Indian 17th Infantry Division following their disaster at Sittang Bridge.

16 RAF Wellington bombers from Malta raid the harbour at Palermo, Sicily, hitting ammunition ship MV Cuma. The explosion damages 5 small warships (destroyers and torpedo boats) and 8 freighters.

At 8.47 PM in the Atlantic 370 miles South of Bermuda, U-126 sinks Norwegian SS Gunny (14 killed, 12 survivors on a raft rescued a week later by Swedish MV Temnaren).

Day 913 March 1, 1942

At dawn 300 miles South of Java near Christmas Island, US destroyers USS Whipple and USS Edsall transfer 453 survivors from USS Langley (which was sunk on February 27) to oiler USS Pecos. Whipple heads to Cocos Islands to escort a tanker while Edsall returns to Tjilatjap, Java, with 32 USAAC personnel to assemble and fly 27 P-40 fighters delivered on February 27 by freighter Sea Witch. At noon, 4 waves of Aichi D3A1 dive bombers from Japanese carriers Kaga and Soryu attack Pecos for several hours, scoring multiple hits on the undefended oiler. Pecos sinks at 3.48 PM. Whipple and Edsall receive distress signals and race back. Whipple picks up 232 survivors but leaves many men in the sea due to reports of 2 Japanese submarines in the area. However, Edsall is detected by the Japanese fleet and sunk by shellfire and divebombers from 4.03 to 5.31 PM (147 killed, 6 survivors picked up by Japanese cruiser Chikuma and treated well until handed over to Japanese Army on March 11 and decapitated).

Second Battle of the Java Sea. At 9 AM, British cruiser HMS Exeter and destroyers HMS Encounter & USS Pope 4 Japanese cruisers and 5 destroyers covering the Eastern Force and start evasive maneuvers. At noon 190 miles North of Soerabaya, Java, HMS Exeter (54 killed, 651 survivors) and HMS Encounter (7 killed, 166 survivors) are sunk by shellfire and torpedoes. At 12.50 PM, 12 dive-bombers from the aircraft carrier Ryūjō sink USS Pope (1 killed, 152 rescued and become POWs of which 29 die in captivity). Also in the Java Sea, US submarine USS Perch is damaged by depth-charges from Japanese destroyers Amatsukaze and Hatsukaze.

South of Java, Japanese warships and submarines cutting off the escape route to Australia sink 5 merchant ships including Dutch vessels Rooseboom, Pariji and Modjokerto.

Invasion of Java. Japanese Western force begins to close in on Batavia; 2nd Division from Bantam Bay move 10 miles inland and capture Serang, while 230th Infantry Regiment from Eretan Wetan captures Kalidjati airfield at Soebang (30 miles inland). Eastern Force (48th Division) moves 20 miles inland hampered by US B-17 bombers and strafing from Allied fighters. Japanese bombing of the Allied naval base at Soerabaja damages US destroyer USS Stewart (in dry dock for repairs following Battle of Badung Strait) and Dutch destroyer HNLMS Witte de With. Dutch minesweeper HNLMS A is scuttled by her crew to prevent capture by the Japanese.

Japanese submarine I-25 launches its floatplane to reconnoiter Hobart, Australia.

33 miles South of Cape Race, Newfoundland, a Lockheed Hudson patrol bomber (Naval Squadron VP-82) sinks U-656 on an anti-submarine sweep from Argentia (all 45 hands lost). VP-82 was equipped with 20 Hudsons diverted from Lend-Lease and claimed the first 2 U-boats ‘kills’ by US forces.

Day 912 February 28, 1942

At 10.57 AM 60 miles off Atlantic City, New Jersey, U-578 sinks US destroyer USS Jacob Jones with 2 torpedoes (138 killed, including many floating on rafts killed by primed depth charges exploding, 11 survivors picked up by patrol craft USS PE-56).

Burma. General Wavell relieves General Officer Commanding Burma Command General Hutton in public for planning to evacuate Rangoon (although the decision has already been made to replace Hutton with General Harold Alexander). Wavell orders Rangoon to be held, expecting reinforcements from the Middle East including Australian infantry.

Battle of Sunda Strait. At 7 PM Australian cruiser HMAS Perth and US cruiser USS Houston leave Batavia, Java, heading for the Indian Ocean through Sunda Strait to escape the Japanese Eastern Force fleet in the Java Sea. At 11 PM they run into Japanese Western Force landings at Bantam Bay. In the exchange of shells and torpedoes, HMAS Perth sinks at 11.42 PM (375 lost, 307 survivors) and USS Houston sinks 36 minutes after midnight (696 killed, 368 survivors). 1 Japanese minesweeper and 4 troop transports are also sunk, mostly by torpedoes from the Japanese cruisers. Dutch destroyer HNLMS Evertsen, which left Batavia at 8 PM, tries to avoid the fighting but is hit with several shells from 2 Japanese destroyers and then beached before the stern magazine explodes (9 killed, 159 get ashore safely and become POWs but 48 will die in captivity).

After emergency repairs following yesterday’s Battle of Java Sea, British cruiser HMS Exeter leaves Soerabaja, Java, at dusk, escorted by British destroyer HMS Encounter and US destroyer USS Pope. HMS Exeter will go to Ceylon for further repairs but they head North to go through the Sunda Strait as the nearby Bali Strait is too shallow.

Japanese submarines patrol South of Java to interrupt the escape route to Australia. I-153 sinks British freighter City Of Manchester (3 killed, 6 taken prisoner by I-153, 128 rescued by minesweepers USS Whippoorwill and USS Lark). I-4 sinks Singapore-based merchant steamer Ban Ho Guan.

Overnight, Japanese invade the North coast of Java. Western Force comes ashore at Bantam Bay, 50 miles West of the capital Batavia, and Eretan Wetan, 85 miles East of Batavia. Eastern Force lands 100 miles West of the main Allied naval base at Soerabaja. In all 35,000 Japanese troops come ashore and quickly overcome light resistance from Allied machineguns at all points.

Day 911 February 27, 1942

At 6.25 AM 20 miles off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, U-432 sinks American SS Marore carrying 23,000 tons of iron ore from Chile (all 39 crew rescued by Coast Guard vessels and tanker John D. Gill). At 6.36 AM 20 miles off Atlantic City, New Jersey, US tanker R.P. Resor is hit by one torpedo from U-578, despite steaming blacked out on a zigzag course. R.P. Resor carrying 78,729 barrels of crude oil from Houston, Texas to Fall River, Massachusetts, sinks (47 killed, 2 rescued by the Coast Guard). At 10.35 AM 20 miles North of the Dominican Republic, U-156 sinks British collier SS Macgregor with the deck gun (the barrel has been cut down since the explosion on February 16). 1 man is killed and 30 are rescued by a San Domingo Coast Guard cutter.

At 11.40 AM 58 miles South of Tjilatjap, Java, US seaplane tender USS Langley (carrying US P-40 fighters from Australia for the defense of Java) is attacked by 3 waves of Japanese dive bombers and immobilized with 5 bomb hits (16 killed). US destroyers USS Whipple and USS Edsall take off 308 and 177 survivors, respectively (and also sink USS Langley with shellfire and 2 torpedoes to prevent capture by the Japanese). However, US freighter Sea Witch arrives safely at Tjilatjap with 27 crated P-40s (these are never assembled and will be destroyed to prevent capture).

Battle of the Java Sea. At midday, Dutch Admiral Karel Doorman’s ABDA Combined Striking Force returns to Soerabaja, Java, but immediately sets out again, low on fuel, after a sighting of the Japanese invasion force. In a series of attempts to reach the Japanese troop transports from 4 PM to midnight, Doorman’s 5 cruisers (British HMS Exeter, American USS Houston, Australian HMAS Perth and Dutch HNLMS De Ruyter & HNLMS Java) and 9 destroyers (British HMS Electra, HMS Encounter & HMS Jupiter, Dutch HNLMS Kortenaer & HNLMS Witte de With and American USS Alden, USS John D. Edwards, USS John D. Ford, and USS Paul Jones) are outgunned by the Japanese cruisers Haguro and Nachi (each packing ten 8-inch guns) and 14 destroyers. From 4.30 – 6.30 PM, destroyer HNLMS Kortenaer is sunk by a torpedo (60 killed, 90 survivors), destroyer HMS Electra (136 killed, 42 survivors) is sunk in an exchange of shellfire and cruiser HMS Exeter is hit with a shell and returns to port. At 9.15 PM, destroyer HMS Jupiter sinks on a Dutch minefield laid earlier in the day near the coast of Java (83 killed, 100 survivors swim ashore). At 11.15 PM, torpedoes from the Japanese cruisers sink Dutch cruisers HNLMS De Ruyter (375 killed including Admiral Doorman, 115 survivors) & HNLMS Java (512 killed, 43 survivors). The last 2 cruisers HMAS Perth and USS Houston follow Doorman's last instruction and escape to Batavia, Java, without picking up survivors.

Operation Biting. Overnight, 120 British commandos parachute onto the German radar station at Bruneval on the Northwest coast of France. They capture the Würzburg radar and escape across the English Channel by sea with the radar equipment and 2 German POWs. British lose 2 killed and 6 captured while Germans have 5 killed and 2 wounded. As a result of the raid, British develop countermeasures to protect their bombers from radar detection while Germans surround other radar stations with barbed wire making them more visible to British air reconnaissance.

Day 910 February 26, 1942

Invasion of Java. Following air reconnaissance reports of ABDA ships in the Java Sea, Japanese Eastern Force (41 troop transports) turns around while cruisers and destroyers cover the East end of the Java Sea. ABDA Combined Striking Force, under Dutch Admiral Karel Doorman, sets out again from Soerabaja to seek the invasion force but again they find nothing.

Japanese submarine I-25 launches its floatplane to reconnoiter Melbourne, Australia.

At 7.13 PM 230 miles East of Florida, U-504 sinks Dutch tanker MV Mamura, which is carrying gasoline and explodes (all 49 crew killed).

American citizens of Japanese descent are arrested by the FBI and forcibly relocated from their homes in East San Pedro, Terminal Island, Los Angeles, beginning the internment of Japanese-Americans by the US government.

Overnight, 49 RAF bombers attack Kiel. German battleship Gneisenau, in dry dock after repairs caused by a mine during the Channel Dash on February 12, is hit by a bomb which penetrates the armored deck, explodes propellant charges in the forward turret and burns out the entire bow section (112 killed, 21 wounded). Gneisenau will go to Gotenhafen on April 4 for repairs and to install six 38 cm guns but this is never completed and she will not return to service.

Day 909 February 25, 1942

“Great Los Angeles Air Raid”. Overnight, air raid sirens sound in Los Angeles and anti-aircraft guns fire 1400 shells from 3.16 to 4. 14 AM, following a false sighting of Japanese aircraft. Several buildings are damaged, 3 civilians are killed by falling shells and 3 die of heart attacks. This is attributed to “war nerves” caused by the shelling of Elwood the previous night.

Axis submarines continue targeting South American sea routes. 70 miles South of Puerto Rico, U-156 sinks British tanker SS La Carriere with the last torpedo (15 killed, 26 survivors). 525 miles East of Trinidad, Italian Torelli sinks Panamanian tanker MV Esso Copenhagen (1 killed, 38 rescued). 800 miles East of Guadeloupe, Italian Da Vinci sinks Brazilian SS Cadebelo (no survivors).

Having swept down through Malaya, the Philippines and Dutch islands of Borneo and Celebes, Japanese prepare to crown their conquest of Dutch East Indies with the capture of the oil-rich island of Java in a massive naval pincer. Western Force (56 troop transports, aircraft carrier Ryūjō, 7 cruisers and 19 destroyers) departed on February 18 from Cam Ranh Bay, French Indochina, heading for the West tip of Java. Eastern Force (41 troop transports escorted by 5 cruisers and 16 destroyers) sails from Balikpapan, Borneo, to land on the East end of Java. In addition, aircraft carriers Akagi, Kaga, Hiryū and Sōryū, battleships Haruna, Kongo, Hiyei and Kirishima, 6 cruisers and 11 destroyers leave Kendari, Celebes, to patrol South of Java and prevent Allied ships escaping into the Indian Ocean. Allied submarines report these movements and ABDA surface ships set out at dusk from Batavia (now Jakarta) and Soerabaja to intercept the invasion force in the Java Sea. They find nothing and all ABDA warships converge overnight on the main naval base at Soerabaja.

Japanese submarines also swarm off the coast of Java, to intercept Allied naval and commercial shipping. At 10.15 AM, I-158 attacks Dutch freighter Boeroe, heading to Australia through the Sundai Strait, on the surface but I-158 is chased off by an escort warship. I-158 submerges and sinks Boeroe with 2 torpedoes at 11.30 AM South of Java (all 70 crew reach land safely).

Day 908 February 24, 1942

Overnight, E9W1 floatplane from Japanese submarine I-9 reconnoiters Pearl Harbor, Oahu, but cannot identify the ships in harbor due to poor visibility. Both wings of the plane are damaged during recovery onto the submarine.

Heading across the Atlantic to the US East coast, U-94 sinks British SS Empire Hail at 1.45 AM (all 42 crew and 7 gunners lost).

U-155 loses contact with convoy ONS-67 but calls in U-69, U-158, U-162, U-558, U-587 & U-588. Between 4.30 and 10.35 AM 525 miles Southeast of Newfoundland, U-158, U-162, U-558 & U-587 sink 5 ships and damage 1 more.

Soviet submarine SC-213 sinks passenger ship SS Struma, adrift in the Black Sea at the mouth of the Bosphorus carrying Jews from Romania to Palestine. SC-213 is under orders to prevent neutral ships carrying war material to German troops on the Black Sea. In the worst exclusively civilian naval disaster of WWII, 768 drown or freeze to death, including 100 children. 1 survivor is found clinging to wreckage next day. 19-year-old David Stoliar will get to Palestine, serve in the British Army during WWII and in the Israel Defense Force during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. He is still alive today.

US cruisers USS Northampton & USS Salt Lake City and destroyers USS Balch & USS Maury shell Japanese installations on Wake Island. Douglas Dauntless dive bombers and Douglas Devastator torpedo bombers from carrier USS Enterprise plus Curtiss Seagull biplanes from the cruisers bomb Wake. Japanese guardboats No.5 Fukyu Maru and No.1 Miho Maru are sunk. 1 Dauntless is shot down (crew of 2 taken prisoner).

Dutch East Indies. As the Japanese prepare for invasion of Java, General Wavell’s ABDA HQ withdraws in anticipation of disbanding ABDACOM into local commands. Wavell plans to return to his post as Commander-in-Chief India to prepare the defense of India. Japanese air attacks on Java destroy 3 US B-17 bombers on the ground and the remaining 5th US Air Force B-17s evacuate to Australia.

Day 907 February 23, 1942

Trondheim, Norway. British submarine HMS Trident torpedoes German cruiser Prinz Eugen, destroying her stern. Prinz Eugen is towed to Lofjord, where her stern is cut away and plated over. She will be steered back to Kiel with 2 manually-operated rudders (out of service for nearly a year until January 1943).

At 10 AM 90 miles East of Tripoli, Libya, British submarine HMS P38 prepares to attack Italian supply convoy K7 but is spotted by Italian torpedo boat Circe which drops depth charges. At 10.50 AM, P38 bobs up with her stern out of the water and sinks (all 32 hands lost). K7 arrives at Tripoli with supplies for Rommel.

Turkish troops board the disabled passenger ship SS Struma (ferrying Jews from Romania to Palestine, via the Black Sea and the Aegean) which has been at Istanbul for 2 months with engine trouble. SS Struma is towed back through the Bosphorus and abandoned to drift 10 miles into the Black Sea. Nearby, Soviet submarine SC-213 sinks Turkish vessel Çankaya, under orders to prevent neutral ships carrying war material to German troops on the Black Sea.

Burma. Indian 17th Infantry Division holds the Sittang River Bridge overnight, but in the morning it seems that Japanese troops will take the bridge with a clear path to Rangoon. British General Smyth, decides to detonate charges placed on the bridge stranding two-thirds of 17th Division on the far side. Despite delaying the Japanese advance, Smyth is relieved of command by his superior General Hutton (who previously ordered Smyth to stand on the Bilin River rather than falling back and preparing defenses at Sittang River) and ABDA commander General Wavell. Smyth is never given a command again and will return to Britain and go into politics.

Japanese aircraft again attack Allied airfields on Java, while 6 American B-17 bombers fly from Australia to bomb the airfield held by the Japanese at Rabaul, New Britain, in the Australian Territory of New Guinea.

Dutch West Timor. At 9 AM, Australian 2/40th Battalion led by Colonel William Leggatt (part of Sparrow Force) surrenders, ending Allied resistance around the capital Koepang. The Australians are trapped between the main Japanese force advancing with tanks and artillery from Koepang and Japanese paratroops landed at Usua 14 miles inland. At 10 AM, 2 waves of Japanese aircraft bomb both sides causing many casualties. The rest of Sparrow Force and other Australian units will conduct a guerilla war in West and East Timor for a year until February 10, 1943.

Caribbean. 125 miles southeast of Trinidad, U-129 sinks 3 small freighters. Off Martinique, U-161 sinks US freighter SS Lihue carrying 5000 tons of supplies and war material for British troops in Egypt. U-502 sinks Panamanian tanker Thalia and damages 1 tanker near Aruba. U-504 sinks US tanker W.D. Anderson off the coast of Florida.

At 7.10 PM, Japanese submarine I-17 surfaces off the coast of Santa Barbara, California. I-17 fires 17 shells from the deck gun at Ellwood oil fields, doing $500 damage to an oil rig and denting refinery equipment. I-17 departs at 7.35 PM, still on the surface.

Day 906 February 22, 1942

Overnight 675 miles East of Newfoundland, U-155 locates convoy ONS-67, sinking British tanker MV Adellen (36 killed, 12 survivors) and Norwegian MV Sama (19 dead, 20 survivors) at 7.03 AM.

U-boats feast on unescorted shipping off the US East coast and in the Caribbean. 20 miles South of Halifax, Nova Scotia, U-96 sinks Norwegian SS Torungen (all 19 hands lost) and British tanker MV Kars (50 killed, 2 picked up by Canadian minesweeper HMCS Melville). Off the East coast of Florida, U-504 sinks US tanker SS Republic (5 dead, 29 survivors many badly burned) and U-128 sinks US tanker SS Cities Service Empire (14 dead, 36 survivors). In the Caribbean 225 miles West of Aruba, U-67 sinks US tanker SS J.N. Pew (33 killed, 2 survivors in a lifeboat make land in Colombia 3 days later and 1 man out of 10 in another lifeboat survives 20 days at sea until found 500 miles West near the coast of Panama on March 14).

In the morning, German battleship Admiral Scheer, cruiser Prinz Eugen and 5 destroyers arrive at Bergen, Norway. They are located by RAF reconnaissance but attacks by 17 Fairey Albacore (FAA 817 & 832 Squadrons) from aircraft carrier HMS Victorious are unsuccessful (3 Albacore shot down). The German warships leave for Trondheim, Norway, overnight before bombers from RAF coastal command can find them.

Acting Commander-In-Chief of RAF bomber command J.E.A. Baldwin is replaced by Air Chief Marshal Arthur Harris, who says "The Nazis entered this war under the rather childish delusion that they were going to bomb everyone else, and nobody was going to bomb them. At Rotterdam, London, Warsaw, and half a hundred other places, they put their rather naïve theory into operation. They sowed the wind, and now they are going to reap the whirlwind”.

Burma. Leading elements of Indian 17th Division cross the Sittang River Bridge, but 16th and 46th Indian Brigades are cut off 10 miles East when Japanese troops reach the Bridge. Indian troops manage to hold the bridge in heavy fighting.

Dutch East Indies. American and Japanese bombers make tit for tat raids on each other’s airfields. US 5th Air Force attacks de Pasar Airdrome, Bali, destroying Japanese aircraft. On Java, Japanese aircraft destroy 4 B-17 bombers on the ground at Pasirian Airdrome and 1 LB-30 Liberator at Jogjakarta Airdrome. South of Java, Japanese submarine I-58 sinks Dutch passenger ship SS Pijnacker Hordikj. US seaplane tender USS Langley (previously used as an aircraft carrier) and freighter Sea Witch depart Fremantle, Southwest Australia, carrying 59 American P-40 fighters to reinforce Java 1700 miles North.

Philippines. With a renewed Japanese attack on Bataan imminent and no chance of sending reinforcements, President Roosevelt orders General MacArthur to leave for Australia and assume command of Allied forces in Australia.

Day 905 February 21, 1942

U-boats take a toll on Allied traffic through the Caribbean. At 1.23 AM 125 miles Southeast of Ocean City, Maryland, U-432 sinks US freighter Azalea City carrying 7806 tons of linseed from Trinidad to Philadelphia (all 38 hands lost). At 3.32 PM 7 miles off Dutch island of Curaçao, U-67 sinks Norwegian tanker Kongsgaard (38 killed by burning oil, 8 survivors). At 10.44 AM 300 miles Southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, U-107 torpedoes empty Norwegian tanker Egda, which counterfloods to correct a list to port and proceeds to Halifax under her own power. At 11.13 PM 20 miles West of Trinidad, U-161sinks British tanker Circe Shell (1 killed, 57 survivors).

German battleship Admiral Scheer, cruiser Prinz Eugen and 5 destroyers sail from Brunsbüttel (at the mouth of the Kiel canal), Germany, to Bergen, Norway. They are spotted in the North Sea off Denmark by a British reconnaissance aircraft which is shot down by German fighters. RAF coastal command dispatches bombers but only 1 bomber finds the ships and this is shot down by anti-aircraft fire.

Mediterranean. Italian resupply convoy K7 for Rommel leaves Messina, Sicily, and the Greek island of Corfu for Tripoli, Libya (5 freighters and a tanker escorted by 3 cruisers, 13 destroyers and 2 torpedo boats).

200 miles West of the Japanese island of Kyūshū, US submarine USS Triton encounters 2 Japanese freighters, sinking Shokyu Maru before being chased off by an aircraft.

Burma. As Indian 17th Division retreats to the Sittang River, in danger of being cut off by Japanese troops, British 7th Armored Brigade arrives at Rangoon by sea from Egypt.

Singapore. Japanese begin Sook Ching massacre, machinegunning Chinese nationals to impose order on the civilian population. Japanese claim 5000 Chinese are slaughtered but estimates range up to 100,000.

Day 904 February 20, 1942

Battle of Badung Strait continues. At 1.30 AM, Dutch cruiser HNLMS Tromp and 4 US destroyers USS John D. Edwards, Parrott, Pillsbury, and Stewart arrive in Badung Strait. In another an exchange of torpedoes and gunfire, USS Stewart is temporarily immobilised and HNLMS Tromp is badly damaged by 11 5-inch shells (10 killed, 30 wounded), while Japanese destroyers Asashio (4 killed) and Oshio (7 killed) are both hit. At 2.20 AM, 2 Japanese destroyers Arashio and Michisio join the fray. Michisio is pummeled by shells from all 4 US destroyers (13 dead, 83 wounded), which then retire to get away from the danger and confusion, allowing Michisio to be towed to safety.

Dutch East Indies. At dawn, Japanese troops land at Dili in Portuguese Timor and Koepang in Dutch Timor. The small Allied garrison at Dili is overrun but Koepang remains in Allied hands. At 10.45AM, 323 Japanese paratroops land near Koepang airfield but they are badly dispersed and Australian defenders kill 245. At Balikpapan, Borneo, Japanese are still angry over destruction of oil facilities by the Dutch, despite prior dire warnings to leave them intact. As threatened, they massacre all Dutch POWs (72 including 8 wounded men removed from the hospital). 2 civil administrators are beheaded first on the beach then the rest are forced into the sea and shot.

American aircraft carrier USS Lexington, en route to launch airstrikes on Rabaul escorted by 4 cruisers and 10 destroyers, is sighted by Japanese reconnaissance flying boats 450 miles East of Rabaul. At 4PM, 18 Japanese bombers from Rabaul attack but 16 are shot down by fighters from USS Lexington (Lieutenant Edward “Butch” O'Hare wins the Medal of Honor for destroying 3 bombers and damaging 2 more).

Burma. Indian 17th Division is harassed along the 30 mile retreat to the Sittang River (and in danger of being cut off) by Japanese troops who had moved past them during the brief stand on the Bilin River.

In the Indian Ocean, 30 miles North of the Maldive Islands, Japanese submarine I-65 sinks British merchant Bhima (all 68 crew and 2 passengers rescued).

U-boats start raiding shipping in the Lesser Antilles, following their success in the tanker lanes off Venezuela. At 4 AM 30 miles East of Trinidad, U-129 sinks Norwegian SS Nordvangen carrying bauxite from Paramaribo, Suriname, to USA (all 24 hands lost). At 11.31 AM 60 miles West of Martinique, U-156 damages American SS Delplata with 3 torpedoes (all 40 crew and 13 gunners abandon ship in 4 lifeboats & 3 rafts, picked up next day by WWI-era minesweeper converted to small seaplane tender USS Lapwing which also shells and sinks SS Delplata). U-156 then stops at Vichy French Martinique to put ashore Leutnant zur See von dem Borne wounded by the deck gun explosion 4 days ago (causing a minor diplomatic rift between USA and Vichy France). Italian submarine Torelli joins the Antilles cruise, sinking British SS Scottish Star (4 killed, 69 survivors) 770 miles East of Martinique.

Day 903 February 19, 1942

Overnight, Japanese troops land unopposed at Denpasar, Bali. At 7 AM, 13 US heavy bombers and 7 dive bombers attack the 4 Japanese destroyers and 2 transports in raids lasting all day (transport ship Sagami Maru is badly damaged by a bomb in the engine room). At 10 PM, Japanese destroyers Asashio and Oshio escort the crippled Sagami Maru through the Badung Strait when Dutch cruisers HNLMS De Ruyter and HNLMS Java and 3 destroyers arrive. In an exchange of torpedoes and gunfire, Dutch destroyer HNLMS Piet Hein is hit with torpedoes and sinks (64 killed). Cruisers De Ruyter & Java and US destroyers USS John D. Ford & USS Pope retire.

At 8.45 AM, Japanese aircraft carriers Akagi, Kaga, Hiryū and Sōryū launch 71 dive bombers and 81 bombers escorted by 36 Zero fighters. From 9.58 to 10.40 AM, they bomb the RAAF airfield, port facilities and ships in harbour at Darwin, Australia, sinking US destroyer USS Peary (93 killed, 49 are rescued or swim to shore), transport ships USAT Meigs, SS Zealandia & SS Mauna Loa, freighter MV Neptuna, tanker MV British Motorist and coal storage hulk Kelat. 7 Japanese aircraft and 4 American P-40 fighters are shot down (3 more P-40s destroyed on the ground). A second wave of 54 Japanese medium bombers from Kendari, Celebes, pummels the RAAF airfield, destroying 6 RAAF Hudson light bombers, a US B-24 Liberator bomber and 2 P-40 fighters.

Washington. President Roosevelt issues Executive Order 9066 authorizing exclusion of all persons from military zones, leading to internment of Japanese-Americans.

Day 902 February 18, 1942

German bombers sink British minesweeping trawler HMT Botanic in the North Sea.

WWI-era US destroyer USS Truxton runs aground and disintegrates in heavy weather on Ferryland Point, Placentia Bay, Newfoundland. Despite the help of locals, 119 crew die (33 survivors).

In the Gulf of Mexico 95 miles North of the Panama Canal, the massive Free French submarine Surcouf (an "underwater cruiser" armed with two 8-inch guns), en route for Tahiti via the Panama Canal, collides with American merchant ship Thomson Lykes and sinks (all 130 hands lost).

Dutch East Indies. Allied air reconnaissance spots Japanese troop convoys on the move towards Bali and Timor. ABDA Naval forces are scattered around Indonesia following their sortie into the Bangka Strait 3 days ago, so Dutch Admiral Karel Doorman orders them to converge in the Java Sea. Japanese bombers attack Surabaya harbor, Java. Dutch WWI-era coastal defense ship Surabaya (a pantserschip sporting a 75mm mortar and 2 Krupp 11-inch guns) is sunk in shallow water but will be raised by the Japanese and used as a floating battery. Dutch submarine K7 is submerged as protection from the bombs (unfortunately this does not work, K7 is destroyed with all 13 hands lost).

Burma. General Hutton, GOC Burma Command, visits the rapidly disintegrating defenses of Indian 17th Infantry Division along the Bilin River. He gives 17th Division’s commander General Smyth permission to fall back 30 miles to better defenses on the Sittang River.

Day 901 February 17, 1942

At 4.30 AM, Warrant Flying Officer Nobuo Fujita flies a two-seater Yokosuka E14Y floatplane from Japanese submarine I-25 over Sydney Harbour for reconnaissance of the airfield. By 7.30 AM, the floatplane is stowed and I-25 heads South towards Melbourne.

Dutch East Indies. At 8 AM, 9 Japanese troop transports depart Ambon for Timor, escorted by cruiser Jintsu and 8 destroyers.

In the Bangka Strait 67 miles West of Billiton Island, Dutch destroyer HMNS Van Nes, escorting Dutch troopship Sloet van Beele carrying troops from Billiton to Batavia (Jakarta), is sunk by Japanese bombers from aircraft carrier Ryujo (69 killed, 60 survivors).

Singapore. 3000 British civilians are sent to Changi prison while 50,000 British and Australian troops march to nearby Selarang Barracks to be interned as POWs (10,298 British and 7777 Australian POWs will die in Japanese work camps, many building the Burma Railway from Rangoon, Burma, to Bangkok, Thailand). Indian POWs are taken to playing fields at Farrer Park and addressed by Captain Mohan Singh who is collaborating with the Japanese. Thousands are persuaded to rebel against British rule and join the Japanese, leading to the formation of the Indian National Army (40,000 will join by the end of 1942).

Burma. Japanese cross Bilin River in strength and begin to encircle Indian 17th Infantry Division.

At 10.17 PM 250 miles South of Iceland, U-136 sinks British MV Empire Comet (all 38 crew and 8 gunners killed).

180 miles West of the Japanese island of Kyūshū, US submarine USS Triton sinks Japanese freighter Shinyo Maru No.5 and damages another.

Frequent bad weather at Kendari, Celebes, has frustrated Japanese bombing of Java causing them to seek alternative airfields on the island of Bali. Capture of Bali would also prevent air reinforcements to Java from Australia but an invasion fleet is vulnerable to attack due to proximity to ABDA air and sea forces on Java. Overnight, Japanese transports Sasego Maru and Sagami Maru escorted by cruiser Nagara and 7 destroyers depart Makassar, Celebes.

Day 900 February 16, 1942

In 71 days, Japanese have captured Hong Kong, advanced down the Malay peninsula and captured Singapore, invaded Southern Burma and threaten Rangoon, occupied most Philippines island and compressed the American defenders into the Southern Bataan peninsula, captured Borneo and several minor islands in the Dutch East Indies (although Sumatra and Java are still in Allied hands), captured Wake Island and occupied other outlying islands in the middle of the Pacific.

The island of Timor is important to ABDA as a staging post for flights from Australia to Java, Dutch East Indies. A troop convoy (4 transport ships carrying a battalion of Australian infantry, 1 anti-aircraft battery and US 147th/148th Field Artillery, escorted by US cruiser USS Houston & destroyer USS Peary plus Australian sloops HMAS Swan & HMAS Warrego but with no air cover) departed yesterday from Darwin, Australia to reinforce defenses on Timor. In the morning, the convoy is attacked in the middle of the Timor Sea by 36 Japanese bombers and 10 seaplanes flying from Kendari, Celebes. The convoy scatters and anti-aircraft fire from USS Houston keeps the bombers at a distance. Near misses damage US troop transport Miegs and US freighter Mauna Loa (2 killed, 18 wounded). Fearing further attack from Japanese aircraft carriers known to be in the vicinity, the convoy turns back to Darwin.

Following the success of Operation Drumbeat raiding shipping off the East coast of USA, U-67, U-129, U-156, U-161 and U-502 start coordinated attacks on Dutch and Venezuelan oil ports in the Southern Caribbean (Operation Neuland). U-156 torpedoes 3 tankers laying at anchor off the Dutch island of Aruba (sinking 2) and also shells the Lago oil refinery at San Nicolas, Aruba. The deck gun explodes because the gun crew forgets to remove the water plug (Matrosengefreiter Heinrich Büssinger is killed while gunnery officer Leutnant zur See Dietrich von dem Borne loses his right foot and will be dropped off at the French island of Martinique on February 21). U-502 sinks 3 small tankers in the Gulf of Venezuela.

10 miles off the coast of Virginia in the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, US tanker E.H. Blum hits a US mine and breaks in two (all 40 hands picked up from 4 lifeboats by Coast Guard cutter Woodbury). Both halves of the ship remain afloat and will be towed to Philadelphia and rejoined, allowing E.H. Blum to return to service.

Day 899 February 15, 1942

Singapore. Churchill gives General Wavell “discretion to cease resistance”, which Wavell passes on to Malaya commander General Percival. At 9.30 AM, Percival meets with senior military and civilian leaders. Low on ammunition, with dead and wounded piling up and no fresh water supply, they agree that further resistance is futile. Percival dispatches a delegation at 11.30 AM with a white flag and a Union Jack, following Japanese instructions, but they are sent back by the Japanese who want Percival to surrender in person. At 5.15 PM, Percival returns with the white flag and Union Jack to meet General Yamashita in the Ford Motor Factory at Bukit Timah. After 50 minutes of one-sided negotiations, Percival agrees to an 8.30 PM ceasefire and surrender. Japanese have 5092 casualties (1714 killed) but capture 500 mortars, artillery, anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns. 65,000 Indian, 35,000 British, 15,000 Australian and 15,000 Malay troops go into captivity, where many will die. Numerous Allied troops escape overnight on small boats including Australian General Gordon Bennett who will be reprimanded for not seeking permission from Percival, his superior officer. To impose order on the island, Japanese will slaughter 5000 Chinese civilians as an example.

Sumatra, Dutch East Indies. British tug HMS Yin Ping is sunk by Japanese naval gunfire in Bangka Straits (50 killed, 25 survivors). Japanese aircraft from Malaya and the carrier Ryūjō attack the ABDA fleet of 5 cruisers and 11 destroyers forcing them to return to Batavia, Java. Dutch destroyer HNMS Van Ghent runs aground on the Bamidjo reef off Billiton Island and is abandoned (all hands taken off by destroyer HNMS Banckert). The departure of the ABDA warships allows the Japanese amphibious landings to go ahead entering the mouth of the Musi River (40 miles North of Palembang). RAF send 22 Hurricanes, 35 Blenheims and 3 Hudsons to attack the landing craft, sinking 20 (100 Japanese killed). Another 100 Japanese paratroopers reinforce yesterday’s landing and prevent destruction of the oil refinery at Palembang by retreating Allied soldiers. British troop transport ship, the liner Ocrades, arrives at Oosthaven on Sumatra carrying Australian 3,400 troops but is sent on to Java without disembarking the troops

Burma. Japanese attack Indian 17th Infantry Division defenses on the Bilin River and immediately begin infiltrating across the narrow waterway.

Japanese submarine I-165 sinks Danish SS Johanne Justesen off the Southern tip of India (1 killed).

U-432 and U-566 each sink 1 merchant ship off the East coast of USA.

Day 898 February 14, 1942

At 3.37 AM Southeast of Nova Scotia, U-576 sinks British catapult armed merchant ship Empire Spring (all 53 hands lost).

At 8.17 AM in the Bay of Bengal 2 miles off the East coast of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Japanese submarine I-166 sinks British freighter SS Kamuning, carrying rice from Burma to Ceylon (6 killed, 63 survivors rescued by HMT Balta).

Hawaii. Japanese submarine I-23 disappears while patrolling South of Oahu (cause unknown).

Philippines. 91 miles East of Davao, Mindanao, US submarine USS Swordfish sinks Japanese transport ship Amagisan Maru.

Singapore. Mindful of Churchill’s orders (“fight to the bitter end, at all costs”), ABDA commander General Wavell refuses Percival’s request for permission to surrender, replying “you must continue to inflict maximum damage on the enemy as long as possible by house-to-house fighting if necessary…continued action essential”. Japanese push back 1st Malay Brigade on the coastal perimeter and reach the Alexandra Barracks Hospital at 12.30 PM (323 staff and patients massacred, including patients bayoneted on operating tables or in their beds).

The evacuation ships which left Singapore yesterday for Java run into the Japanese invasion fleet heading to Sumatra. Japanese cruiser Yura, destroyers Fubuki and Asagiri sink river gunboat HMS Scorpion. Japanese bombers from carrier Ryujo sink tugs HMS Pengawal, HMRT St. Breock and HMS St. Just, minelayer HMS Kung Wo and river gunboats HMS Grasshopper and HMS Dragonfly (Dragonfly’s mascot Judy, a pointer dog, is captured becoming the only dog registered as a Prisoner of War. Judy will be awarded the Dickin Medal, the animal VC). Auxiliary armed patrol vessel Li Wo rams a Japanese transport ship before being sunk by shellfire (74 killed including the captain Temporary Lt. Wilkinson who wins the VC, 10 rescued but 3 of those will die as POWs). The launch carrying Admiral Spooner and RAF Chief in Malaya Air Vice Marshall Pulford runs aground on a malarial island where both men will die in a few weeks. SS Vyner Brooke carrying wounded soldiers and Australian nurses is sunk by Japanese bombers in the Banka Strait (125 killed). 21 nurses and some injured men reach Bangka Island and surrender to the Japanese, who machinegun them on the beach (a nurse, Sister Lt Vivian Bullwinkel, is the only survivor).

Sumatra, Dutch East Indies. Japanese invasion begins with 360 paratroopers of 1st Airborne Division landing at Pangkalanbenteng airfield and oil facilities near the capital, Palembang. ABDA fleet of 5 cruisers and 11 destroyers sails from Batavia, Java, to meet the Japanese invasion fleet and prevents planned amphibious landings.

Burma. Indian 17th Infantry Division is ordered to stop the Japanese advance North towards Rangoon at the Bilin River. Their commander General George Smyth VC considers the river “a ditch” and has plans to hold the line at better defensive positions further North on the 1 mile-wide Sitttang River. However, he is overruled by General Thomas Hutton, GOC Burma Command, (a career staff officer and previously Wavell’s Chief of Staff in India).

Overnight, British submarine P38 sinks Italian steamer Ariosto which is carrying 410 men including 294 Allied POWs from Tripoli, Libya, to Palermo, Italy (252 survivors rescued by Italian destroyer Premuda and torpedo boat Polluce).

Day 897 February 13, 1942

At 3 AM in the Gulf of Taranto, Italy, Italian torpedo boat Circe spots British sub HMS Tempest on the surface and attacks. HMS Tempest dives but suffers repeated damage from multiple depth charges, finally surfacing at 9 AM due to chlorine gas leaking from a cracked battery. Tempest’s crew abandons ship but 39 men are lost (24 rescued and taken prisoner). Tempest sinks as Circe is preparing a tow.

Singapore. While the bombardment of the city continues, Japanese make small gains in the Western perimeter and dislodge British 55th Brigade (18th Division) from the last reservoir to deprive the city of water. General Percival confers with his senior Generals (Bennett, Heath and Key) who all recommend surrender. Percival loses their respect when he refuses adding “I have my honour to consider”. General Heath is openly contemptuous in reply “You need not bother about your honour. You lost that a long time ago up in the North (Malaya)”. Percival gives in and wires ABDA commander General Wavell for permission to surrender. British Admiral Spooner orders the final evacuation of Navy and merchant ships to Batavia (now Jakarta) on the island of Java, with estimated space for 3000 key military and civilian personnel. At 6.30 PM, a convoy of 44 ships leaves Singapore, including SS Vyner Brooke with wounded and 64 Australian nurses of the 2/13th Australian General Hospital. In their path lies a large flotilla of Japanese submarines and warships (1 aircraft carrier, 8 cruisers, 12 destroyers, 1 frigate, 5 minesweepers and 3 submarine chasers) preparing for the invasion of Palembang on Sumatra, Dutch East Indies. Japanese bombers (shore-based and from carrier Ryujo) sink freighter SS Subador, tankers Manvantara & Merula and numerous other ships.

Dutch Borneo. Japanese Land and Sea Drive Units converge on the capital Bandjarmasin, which is taken unopposed as 500 Dutch troops have orders to take to the jungle to fight a guerilla war. Japanese lose only 9 killed to Dutch fire but have 80% of their troops infected with malaria after the march through the jungle

Bataan. Battle of the Points. Despite a fierce counterattack yesterday by the remaining 200 Japanese troops, US/Filipino forces clear the last Japanese beachhead in Southern Bataan at Anyasan and Silaiim Points. 80 Japanese escape North heading to their own lines but are detected and annihilated 4 days later. 2 Japanese infantry battalions have been wiped out since the first landings behind US lines on January 23 (1800 killed). Battle of the Pockets. Big Pocket is finally eliminated as 500 Japanese troops break out North to return to their own lines, leaving behind 450 dead.

Java, Dutch East Indies. At 9 PM in the Java Sea 80 miles Northwest of Batavia, Japanese submarine I-55 sinks British ammunition ship Derrymore (9 killed, 236 rescued from rafts by Australian minesweeper HMAS Ballarat or reach a nearby island and picked up 3 days later by Dutch minesweeper Cheribon). On board is injured Australian RAF pilot John Gorton who will go on to be Prime Minister of Australia from 1968-1971.

Day 896 February 12, 1942

At 2 AM, German bombers sink British destroyer HMS Maori (at anchor in Malta’s Grand Harbour) with a bomb that explodes in the engine room (2 killed, 6 wounded but most crewmen are asleep ashore). Destroyer HMS Decoy moored nearby is damaged by the explosion (2 killed).

Channel Dash. At 10.42 AM in the English Channel off Dieppe, France, 2 RAF Spitfires on patrol spot German battleships Scharnhorst & Gneisenau and cruiser Prinz Eugen, escorted by 6 destroyers, 13 torpedo boats, 26 Schnellboot (motor torpedo boats) and heavily guarded by dozens of Luftwaffe fighters. British are taken completely by surprise (as they expect an overnight run through the Channel, under cover of darkness). Coastal 9-inch guns at South Foreland fire 33 rounds, scoring no hits as the German ships are too close to the French coast to spot the falling shells. Uncoordinated attacks by Fleet Air Arm Swordfish torpedo bombers, RAF medium bombers, Royal Navy motor torpedo boats and destroyers are all unsuccessful. 37 British aircraft are shot down (23 killed including FAA Lieutenant Commander Esmonde who wins the VC for leading the suicidal Swordfish attack). Destroyer HMS Worcester is pounded by Gneisenau’s 8-inch and 11-inch guns but does not sink (27 killed, 45 wounded, under repair until August). Scharnhorst hits 2 mines & Gneisenau hits 1 mine but the damage is repaired and all German ships reach their home ports safely.

In the Gulf of Taranto, British submarine HMS Una mistakenly sinks Italian tanker Lucania which had been given safe passage to refuel ships repatriating Italian civilians from Eritrea.

Singapore. Japanese are not prepared for a final offensive but probing attacks make some dents in the Allied line West of the city. General Percival takes the lull as an opportunity to give up more ground, abandoning the majority of the island to defend the city perimeter. He pulls back the rest of British 18th Division from the Northeast and brings in Malay and Singapore Volunteer forces from their pointless defense of the Southeast shore. Japanese concentrate bombing, strafing by fighters and long-range artillery (across the Johore Strait) on the city, flooding hospitals with civilians in addition to wounded soldiers from the perimeter. Cruiser HMS Durban, destroyers HMS Stronghold & HMS Jupiter and steamers Empire Star & Gorgon depart before daylight, carrying many Royal Navy personnel to Batavia (now Jakarta), Java. HMS Durban is attacked 17 times by Japanese bombers, losing her forward 6 inch gun (8 killed) and Empire Star is also hit by 3 bombs.

Day 895 February 11, 1942

At 1.33 AM South of Iceland, U-136 fires 4 torpedoes at convoy SC-67 sinking Norwegian MV Heina (all 30 hands picked up by Canadian corvette HMCS Dauphin) and Canadian corvette HMCS Spikenard (57 killed, 8 survivors on a raft picked up 19 hours later by British corvette HMS Gentian).

Dutch East Indies. At 1.37 AM in the Molucca Sea 20 miles West of the island of Halmahera, Japanese destroyer Yamakaze spots US sub USS Shark on the surface and sinks her with shellfire from the 5" guns (all 54 crew lost as survivors are left to drown). Japanese invasion force departs Cam Ranh Bay, French Indo-China, for Palembang on the island of Sumatra, Dutch East Indies.

Singapore. ABDA commander General Wavell, who visited Singapore yesterday, provides this encouragement “There must be no thought of sparing troops or the civil population. There must be no question or thought of surrender. Every unit must fight it out to the end”. Japanese lack artillery shells for a major offensive so General Yamashita bluffs by dropping 29 copies of a demand for the British surrender. General Percival, chastened by Wavell’s order, does not respond. Australian and British forces are thrown in piecemeal to retake the village of Bukit Timah, but they are picked off one-by-one by the Japanese (a scratch force “X Battalion” is surrounded and annihilated, with 150 killed). Although Percival finally brings the fresh British 18th Division into the action, Japanese probing attacks gradually push the Allied line back towards the city of Singapore. Australian troops, who have borne the brunt of the fighting so far, start abandoning the line and even boarding boats carrying civilians off the island.

US forces arrive to reinforce Dutch islands Curaçao, Bonaire and Aruba in the Southern Caribbean.

Operation Cerberus. At 11.30 PM, German battleships Scharnhorst & Gneisenau and cruiser Prinz Eugen leave Brest, France, heading for the English Channel (the “Channel Dash”). They are escaping regular RAF bombing, which has been ineffective so far, to safety in the German ports of Wilmshaven and Kiel (via the Kiel Canal). They set out on a moonless night to achieve surprise and get as far into the Straits of Dover before the British can attack.

Day 894 February 10, 1942

Singapore. In a series of organizational and communication disasters, Allied troops give up successive defensive positions despite limited Japanese pressure. As they fall back to the Jurong Line, Australian 22nd Brigade’s General Taylor misinterprets contingency plans and orders a retreat past Jurong Road. This exposes the flanks of neighbouring Indian units and precipitates an uncoordinated series of withdrawals to Woodland Road (the main road running South across the island from the causeway). Overnight, the pursuing Japanese outflank Woodland Road positions and capture the vital high ground at Bukit Timah, dominating the city of Singapore and 2 reservoirs on which the residents depend for water. Indicating the speed of the retreat, Japanese find a large cache of food and petrol in what had been considered an Allied rearguard area earlier in the day.

Battle of Bataan. Although the Japanese have halted their offensive on the Orion-Bagac line, 500 troops are still in the “Big Pocket”. US forces attempt to destroy the pocket, while Japanese try to extricate the trapped force.

Eastern Front. Luftwaffe begins flying supplies into the 2 airfields inside the Demyansk Pocket to feed and supply the 100,000 encircled German troops. A much smaller German force is also surrounded 55 miles Southwest at Kholm.

Merchant ships on the American East coast continue to sail individually along marked routes with normal lights ablaze, instead of grouping in convoys and dimming lights. Also, there is no shore blackout, easily silhouetting ships at night. To aid US defenses against the havoc being caused to East Coast shipping by U-boats, Britain offers to transfer anti-submarine ships to US Navy.

Day 893 February 9, 1942

U-85 and U-654 attack convoy ON-60 450 miles East of Cape Race, Newfoundland. Just after midnight, U-654 torpedoes Free French corvette Alysse, which was launched as HMS Alyssum for the Royal Navy and loaned to the Free French in June 1941 (36 killed, 34 survivors rescued by Canadian corvettes HMCS Moosejaw and HMCS Hepatica. HMCS Hepatica attempts to tow Alysse which sinks next day). At 8.20 PM, after a 7 hour chase, U-85 sinks British SS Empire Fusilier (9 killed, 32 crew and 6 gunners were picked up by Canadian corvettes HMCS Barrie).

Singapore. Japanese capture Tengah airfield, having secured 14 square miles on the West side of the island in 24 hours, then pause as 10,000 reinforcements pour onto their beachheads. British General Percival still believes a further attack will fall on the Northeast corner so he fails to move British 18th Division into the fight. At 9 PM, 4th Imperial Guard Regiment crosses Johore Strait and lands at Kranji in the middle of Singapore’s Northern shore, aiming to capture (and then repair) the damaged causeway. They are decimated by machinegun and mortar fire from Australian 27th Brigade as well as oil from opened storage tanks which ignites and incinerates the boats. Overnight Australian 27th Brigade unexpectedly pulls back 3 miles from the waterfront allowing subsequent waves of Japanese to land unopposed.

Celebes. At dawn, Sasebo Combined Special Naval Landing Force lands at Makassar. They capture the city almost unopposed as most Dutch forces have moved 50 miles inland to make a last stand at the fortifications at Tjama. Dutch native troops defending a bridge at Makassar are tied in groups of three after being captured and thrown into the water to drown.

In the Bangka Straits between the Dutch East Indies islands of Sumatra and Bangka, British river gunboat HMS Scorpion is damaged by Japanese bombers.

US submarine USS Trout torpedoes and sinks the Japanese auxiliary gunboat Chuwa Maru 50 miles Northeast of Formosa (Taiwan).

Japanese submarine I-69 shells Sand Island, Midway, but is strafed and damaged by US Marine Brewster Buffaloes of VMF 221.

In New York, French luxury liner SS Normandie (impounded by USA in May 1941) is being converted to troopship USS Lafayette. At 2.30 PM, a fire starts which spreads out of control. Lafayette capsizes at midnight.

In the Mediterranean, British cruiser HMS Cleopatra is damaged by a bomber (en route from Gibraltar to Malta) and destroyer HMS Farndale is heavily damaged by Luftwaffe aircraft off the coast of Egypt. Italian aircraft raid Alexandria, Egypt.

Day 892 February 8, 1942

Singapore. 30,000 Japanese face an Allied force of 90,000 (40,000 combat veterans, 35,000 poorly-trained and untested troops plus 15,000 rearguard non-combatants) across Johore Strait. The best landing sites are mangrove swamps in Northwest Singapore where the Strait is 600 yards wide. Contrarily, General Percival expects the attack to come on the Northeast side where the water is twice as wide (a notion reinforced by landings yesterday on the island of Pulau Ubin); consequently, a thick concentration of trained and rested British troops of 18th Division defends this sector. At 10.30 AM, Japanese artillery opens up on the entire North shore of Singapore and 5th & 18th Divisions begin loading into 300 small rubber boats with outboard motors plus some larger, slower barges. At 10.30 PM, shelling stops and first wave of 4000 troops gets ashore on the Northwest coast defended by Australian 22nd Brigade. Allied artillery is not called down on the landing fleet due to overground wires cut by Japanese shells; however, Australian machinegunners open up on 2nd and 3rd waves as the landing craft return. Searchlights placed to illuminate the mangrove swamps fail to come on, hindering defensive firing and allowing Japanese to infiltrate through the jungle and bypass the defenses. Overnight, Australian 22nd Brigadeis surrounded and overrun and 13,000 Japanese push towards their objective of Tengah airfield.

Battle of Bataan. At 8 AM, Filipino troops on top of the cliff lower sheets to mark the Japanese positions and 2 US naval motor launches wipe out the few remaining Japanese troops at Quinauan Point with 37mm shellfire and machineguns. Japanese have 600 killed (plus another 300 killed previously at Longoskawayan Point) while US/Filipino forces have 82 casualties at Longoskawayan and 500 casualties at Quinauan Point. Japanese General Homma meets with his commanders at San Fernando to discuss lack of progress on Bataan. He decides to withdraw his troops from the Orion-Bagac line, rest and reorganize his Army and call on Tokyo for reinforcements.

Dutch Borneo. Japanese Sea Drive Unit lands 50 miles Southeast of the capital Bandjarmasin, having sailed down the coast from Balikpapan moving only at night and hiding in river banks during the day camouflaged with mangrove branches. They will advance overland to the Martapoera airfield.

Celebes, Dutch East Indies. Japanese invasion force from Kendari arrives off Makassar. US submarine S-37 cannot reach the troop transports and attacks the destroyer screen at 8.36 PM, firing 1 torpedo at each of 4 destroyers. Destroyer Natsushio is hit, breaks in 2 and sinks immediately (10 killed, 229 survivors rescued by destroyer Kuroshio). S-37 dives and is depth charged by the other destroyers without damage.

Soviet 11th Army and 3rd/4th Shock Army meet at Zaluch’e, 30 miles West of Demyansk, encircling 100,000 German troops (12th, 30th, 32nd, 123rd and 290th Infantry Divisions and SS-Division Totenkopf plus auxiliary units) in the Demyansk Pocket.

Day 891 February 7, 1942

Siege of Leningrad Day 153. Eastern Front. Soviet offensive Northwest of Moscow to relieve Leningrad is also stalling out. Germans hold another salient South of Lake Ilmen, from their railhead at Staraya Russa to Demyansk. Soviet 11th Army, 34th Army, and 3rd Shock Army press in on the German defenses.

Dutch East Indies. Japanese aircraft bomb Palembang on Sumatra destroying 34 RAF aircraft. 30 miles off the North coast of Java, Japanese submarine I-55 sinks Dutch passenger ship Van Cloon with shellfire (all 187 on board rescued by American yacht USS Isabel). I-55 is attacked by USS Isabel and a PBY Catalina floatplane. Van Cloon will be raised and commissioned into Japanese Navy as transport ship Tatebe Maru. USAAF B-17 bombers from Java unsuccessfully attack Japanese shipping off Balikpapan, Borneo.

Singapore. Japanese shelling is getting heavier. In the evening, 400 Japanese Imperial Guards Division troops land unopposed on the island of Pulau Ubin in the Strait of Johore separating Singapore from Malaya. Pulau Ubin lies Northeast of Singapore and the landings are a feint for the main assault to come at the Western end.

Japanese submarine I-25 launches its floatplane to reconnoiter Sydney, Australia.

Libya. Panzer Army Afrika reaches the British defensive line running from Gazzala on the coast 30 miles inland to the fort at Bir Hacheim. Neither side has the resources and spirit to attack so here they will wait, recover and resupply. Despite losing many ships in recent months to German submarines and air attack, Royal Navy continues efforts to disrupt Rommel’s supply lines across the Mediterranean. British destroyers HMS Zulu and HMS Lively from Malta seek Italian merchant ships running to Libya but sink only trawler Grongo and tiny steamer Aosta (survivors rescued by Italian motor torpedo boats).

Day 890 February 6, 1942

Eastern Front. Soviet counteroffensive is running out of steam in a series of ragged engagements West of Moscow. German Gruppe Scherer continues to hold Kholm, supplied by airdrops, in the rear of Soviet 3rd Shock Army which is held up at the town of Velikie Luki. Germans hold a giant salient from Vyazma to Rzhev but Soviet infantry, cavalry and parachute attacks all fail to cut the supply route through Vyazma. Moreover, Model’s German 9th Army at Rzhev has cut off Soviet 29th and 39th Armies, which were themselves trying to surround Rzhev.

Battle of the Atlantic. Near Bermuda, U-106 sinks British MV Opawa (carrying 8575 tons of refrigerated food and 3000 tons of lead) and U-109 sinks Panamanian SS Halcyon. 420 Northeast of the Azores, U-82 (returning from operations off the US East Coast) attacks convoy OS-18. British sloop HMS Rochester and corvette HMS Tamarisk counterattack with depth charges and sink U-82 (all 45 hands lost).

Battle of Bataan. Filipino troops attempt to dislodge Japanese holed up in caves at the end of Quinauan Point by tossing sticks (or even whole 50-lb boxes) of dynamite on time fuzes over the cliff to the mouth of the caves. Despite continued assaults by both sides, a stalemate is developing at the Orion-Bagac line and around the Japanese “Big Pocket”.

Island of Celebes, Dutch East Indies. Japanese landing force (6 troop transports, escorted by cruiser Nagara, 11 destroyers and 2 minesweepers) leaves Kendari on the East coast heading for Makassar, the capital, on the West coast.

Singapore. Japanese artillery and aerial bombardment continues. Commercial vessels and Allied warships start leaving Singapore, many evacuating Western civilians while the Chinese and Indian populations are left to suffer the bombs and shells.

Overnight, 60 aircraft from RAF Bomber Command attack German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in dock at Brest, France, but do little damage.

Day 889 February 5, 1942

Soviet submarine Shch-421 sinks German steamer Konsul Schulte in the Porsanger Fjord, off Honningsvaag (Northernmost point of mainland Norway).

Battle of Bataan. Japanese continue to assault the Orion-Bagac line. However, the US-Filipino defenses hold out but cannot eliminate the Japanese “Big Pocket” behind their own lines.

Bali, Dutch East Indies. 25 USAAF Curtiss P-40 Warhawks (20th Provisional Pursuit Squadron), flying from Darwin Australia, to Java, stop to refuel in Bali. They are attacked by Japanese aircraft (4 P-40s destroyed on the ground, 4 P-40s and 4 Japanese shot down). Only 17 P-40s will reach Java.

Singapore. Japanese artillery and aircraft inflict heavy bombardment on docks and defenses. In the Strait of Singapore, 9 Japanese divebombers sink British troopship RMS Empress of Asia (1 crewman and 15 troops killed). Empress of Asia is sailing alone, carrying troops and supplies from Liverpool via Africa and Bombay, India, having fallen behind the rest of convoy BM12. Australian sloop HMAS Yarra comes alongside and takes off 1804 survivors but all the weapons and equipment are lost.

20 miles Southeast of Cape May, New Jersey, U-103 uses torpedoes and the deck gun to sink 2 large Mobil tankers (each carrying over 80,000 barrels of fuel); India Arrow at 1.53 AM (26 dead, 12 survivors picked up next day by 2 men out fishing in a 24-ft boat) and China Arrow at 6.08 PM (all 37 crew picked up from 3 lifeboats 3 days later by US Coast Guard cutter USS Nike).

At 10.36 PM 330 miles West of Ireland, U-136 sinks British corvette HMS Arbutus escorting convoy ON-63 (43 killed, 47 survivors).

Libya. Rommel’s Panzer Army Afrika captures Derna and Tmimi. They are only 20 miles from the British defenses on the Gazzala line.