10 April
Start of the Air War
Admiral Yamamoto creates the Japanese First Air Fleet, with four aircraft carriers and 200 carrier-based aircraft. Starting with Pearl Harbor, carrier-based aircraft will play an increasing role and ultimately end traditional ship-to-ship warfare.
13 April
Japan and Russia Sign Neutrality Pact
The USSR and Japan sign a five-year neutrality pact, allowing the Soviet Union to concentrate on imminent war with the Nazis.
22 June
Hitler’s Armies Invade Russia
Hitler breaks his neutrality pact with the Soviets and declares war. Nazis invade Russia and destroy Stalin’s air force.
11 July
Coming of the Spooks
William Donovan is named as the “coordinator of information” for President Roosevelt. This service is the forerunner of the OSS (Office of Strategic Services), a U.S. government agency, which in World War II eventually evolves into the CIA.
26 July
FDR Names Pacific Commander
President Roosevelt appoints General MacArthur as commander of the Philippine Islands; he officially commits Claire Chennault’s Flying Tigers as the “Chinese Air Force” using 100 pilots of the American Volunteer Group; he freezes Japanese assets in the U.S.; and he offers Japan a proposal for a neutral Indochina.
31 July
Hitler Gives “Final Solution” Order
Hitler issues an order for a “final solution” to deal with “Jews, gypsies, communists, and homosexuals” but which is primarily aimed at eliminating the Jewish race. A little more than a month later, the gas chambers at Auschwitz are used for the first time.
4 September
FDR Closes Panama Canal to Japan
President Roosevelt closes the Panama Canal to all Japanese shipping.
11 September
Hitler’s U-Boats Test U.S. Neutrality
The U.S. Navy is given orders to “shoot on sight” any U-Boats close to U.S. coasts or ships.
24 September
“Magic” Intercepts Attack Plan
Picked up this day, but not translated until 9 October, the message reveals ship berths, location of torpedo nets, and the harbor layout for an air attack on Pearl Harbor—but the warning is ignored by Washington.
16 October
Tojo Takes Over Japanese Government
Extremist Japanese army commander Hideki Tojo takes over as prime minister when former prime minister Fumimaro Konoye is dumped. Described as a dictator, Tojo becomes principal director of Japanese war operations.
3 November
Yamamoto’s Attack Plan Approved
The Japanese government approves Admiral Yamamoto’s War Plan, and decides to implement the plan by December. Yamamoto’s primary strategy lists the priorities of attacks: the First Air Fleet is to attack Pearl Harbor; the Second Air Fleet is to attack the Philippines, Malaya, and the East Indies; the Fourth Air Fleet is to attack the island of Guam. The Northern Force is to stay behind in Japanese waters to guard their national interests, along with the Main Force. U.S. Ambassador Joseph Grew says that war between the U.S. and Japan is not only likely but imminent.
10 November
Churchill Warns Japan
In a tone that departs from the usual British diplomacy of appeasement, Churchill warns Japan that a war with the United States will also mean war with Great Britain.
20 November
Final Plans for Pearl Harbor Attack
Japan’s impending attack of Pearl Harbor is made official and attack orders are issued, but military commanders are told to wait until diplomatic negotiations are completed before these orders are carried out.
26 November
Japanese Carrier Force “On the Move”
The Japanese First Air Fleet sets sail from the north coast of Japan with an armada of six aircraft carriers carrying 423 aircraft, twenty-eight submarines (including six SPS “midget” subs), eleven destroyers, two battleships, and two cruisers. The fleet is ordered to maintain strict radio silence. The next day, Secretary of War Henry Stimson sends a “hostile action possible” warning to U.S. Pacific bases. Pearl Harbor issues only sabotage alert; no anti-torpedo nets, ammo for AA guns, etc. It seems no one is seriously concerned about what the Japanese might do.
1 December
Heading for War
The Japanese set 7 December as the date to attack Pearl Harbor. Their diplomats are told not to end negotiations so the Americans won’t get suspicious.
7 December
The “Day of Infamy”
Pearl Harbor is attacked by two waves of Japanese dive-bombers and torpedo bombers led by Mitsuo Fuchida. The air attack on Pearl Harbor devastated the American fleet and killed 2,388, and 1,200 were wounded. Of the ninety-six ships in the harbor, eighteen are sunk, including the Arizona and Oklahoma, or suffer serious damage. Of 394 aircraft at Hickam, Wheeler, and Bellows airfields, the air attack destroys 188 and damages 159.
7 December
More Japanese Attacks
The Japanese Combined Fleet Order No. 1 also includes the invasion of Malaya. This invasion began twenty-five minutes before the first wave hit Pearl Harbor. An attack on Hong Kong begins six hours after Pearl Harbor. Another air attack, on the Philippine Islands, six hours after Pearl Harbor, destroys all the P-40s at Clark Field and pits 108 Japanese bombers and 84 Zeros against 107 P-40s and 35 B-17s, but most U.S. planes were caught on the ground and destroyed.
8 December
America At War
The U.S. and Allies (except Soviets) declare war on Japan. Japan promptly declares war on the U.S. and Britain; a Japanese air attack hits Wake Island. On tiny Wake Island, a small U.S. Marine detachment commanded by Major James Devereaux heroically fends off the aggressors and gives the only real opposition that the Japanese run into during their substantial attacks.
10 December
Japanese Troops Invade Philippines
General Masaharu Homma lands Japanese troops on Luzon and quickly moves south to Manila. Guam surrenders. On 22 December Homma will bring in another 43,000 troops, landing at Lingayen Bay.
11 December
Hitler Declares War on America
Nazi Germany declares war on U.S. The U.S. declares war against Germany and Italy.
23 December
Manila Evacuated
U.S. troops evacuate Manila and then fall back to Bataan. Japanese troops also take the American possession of Wake Island, which then surrenders.
24 December
MacArthur Forced to Flee to Corregidor
General MacArthur moves his headquarters to Corregidor, leaving General Jonathan Wainwright to defend Bataan.
1942
9 January
Manila Captured by Japanese
Enemy troops enter Manila, while nearly 80,000 U.S. and Filipino troops try to defend Luzon despite critical food and supply shortages and crippling diseases.
26 January
Japanese Troops Take Solomons
After a month-long swing through the South Pacific, the Japanese invade the Solomon Islands, after having captured the Dutch East Indies and Rabaul in New Britain. They also cause the American and Filipino armies to retreat into the Bataan Peninsula on Luzon, and capture the Manila naval base.
15 February
Singapore Falls Into Japanese Hands
The British possession is lost, due in part to improper dispersion of forces by the British army.
19 February
U.S. Internment Camps Begin
Executive Order 9066 signed by FDR orders internment of all Japanese-Americans. U.S. locks up 110,000 Japanese-Americans, mostly in California.
22 February
MacArthur Flees the Philippines
President Roosevelt orders General MacArthur to leave the Philippines and set up his command headquarters in Australia.
23 February
America Under Fire
A Japanese sub
marine shells Ellwood Beach, twelve miles west of Santa Barbara. The sixteen shells fired by the sub cause no injuries and only $500 damage along Goleta Beach, yet the appearance of the enemy so near creates fear.
25 February
U.S. Navy Raid on Rabaul
The USS Lexington tries to raid the Japanese supply port of Rabaul, but is driven off. Admiral Halsey and USS Enterprise raid Wake and Marcus Islands with only minimal success.
27 February
Battle of Java Sea
Results in the loss of USS Houston and HMS Perth.
10 March
Fall of Rangoon
The British close the Burma Road, giving way to the fear that invading Japanese troops may result in the Brits “losing India.”
2 April
Surrender of Bataan and Philippines
Japan begins final bombardment of Bataan. A Japanese offensive breaks through U.S. and Filipino lines on 9 April. General Ernest King surrenders Bataan against MacArthur’s orders. Two thousand escape in small boats, and 78,000 (66,000 Filipinos and 12,000 U.S.) troops surrender. It is the largest contingent of U.S. Army troops ever to surrender in history.
April–May
Bataan Death March
This horrible ordeal of atrocities is kept secret until 28 January 1944. Of the 80,000 Filipino and U.S. troops, along with 26,000 civilians who had surrendered, there are thousands who die during the Death March, and then 5,000 more Americans die in POW camps. Japan is not a signatory of 1929 Geneva agreement on treatment of POWs.
5 April
Indian Ocean Raid
Admiral Chiuchi Nagumo’s First Air Fleet attacks twenty-nine British warships, sinking seven, including two cruisers. Japanese plane losses are high. British are able to keep Japanese navy out of the Indian Ocean.
18 April
The Doolittle Raid
Eighty American fliers in sixteen B-25 two-engine bombers from USS Hornet, led by Colonel Jimmy Doolittle, fly over 700 miles to Tokyo in a daring bombing raid designed to create fear in the Japanese. The B-25s take off from a 470-foot carrier deck, drop their bombs in broad daylight, then escape to the coast of China. The mission’s success lifts Americans’ spirits when most war news is bad.
29 April
Station Hypo Breaks Japanese Codes
Lt. Commander Joseph Rochefort puts together “Station Hypo” code-breaking operation to break Japanese codes before the war. Rochefort and colleague Commander Edwin Layton work night and day on the codes, and in particular on a code called “JN-25.” The men ingeniously find a way to test their results in breaking the code and successfully learn intelligence about the Battle of Midway in time to give Americans an edge going in.
5 May
Luring the Americans Into a Trap
Imperial Japanese General HQ Order No. 18 expands their defensive perimeter to Midway and Samoa, forcing a decisive battle with the U.S. fleet. Japan is overconfident as they’ve had no losses of any of their eleven battleships, ten carriers, eighteen heavy cruisers, and twenty light cruisers. Their plan is to entice the U.S. fleet to areas near Midway where the ships and carriers can be picked off.
6 May
Wainwright Surrenders Corregidor
General Jonathan Wainwright and 15,000 troops have no choice but surrender after heavy Japanese bombardment and invasion that overwhelms the garrison on Corregidor.
7–8 May
Battle of the Coral Sea
This is the first naval battle fought without either party seeing the other. The enemy was beyond gun and torpedo range—but not beyond aircraft range. Admiral Nimitz sends the carriers Lexington and Yorktown under Admiral Jack Fletcher for the first naval action fought entirely with aircraft. U.S. loses thirty-three planes but shoots down forty-three Japanese planes. The Lexington sinks 8 May when an overheated motor ignites gasoline.
15 May
Women in the Military
President Roosevelt signs a bill creating WACs. The bill, opposed by the military, leads to WAVEs, WASPs, SPARs, and Women Marines. Some 300,000 women will eventually serve in the military during World War II.
23 May
Costs of A-Bomb Research Soar
On 6 December 1941 the government approved $2 billion for the Manhattan Project to build a secret bomb. J. Robert Oppenheimer’s physicists and scientists have spent much of this fund by this date.
1 June
Germans Work to Test “Flying Bomb”
At a site in Peenemünde, the Nazis are working to test their V-2 rocket to be used as a “flying bomb” by giving it a payload of explosives. The first fire test on 13 June fails, but the Germans will perfect the rockets to be used to rain terror bombs over London.
3–4 June
Battle of Midway
This is a turning point of the Pacific war. Before Midway, Japan’s legendary First Air Fleet was considered the strongest air unit in the world. After Midway the core carriers of the First Air Fleet are sunk and Japan’s offensive capabilities are severely weakened. Many American planes miss their targets completely, but enough are successful that in less than five minutes they sink three Japanese carriers (Akagi, Kaga, Soryu). U.S. bombers also sink a fourth carrier, Hiryu. However, Japanese planes sink the Yorktown in a counterstrike. U.S. loses 147 planes and 307 men while Japan loses 322 planes and 3,500 men—many are their best pilots. Japan failed to entice the U.S. Navy to engage them. The U.S. didn’t take the bait, and Japan never recovers from loss of its carriers and pilots at Midway.
7–9 August
Invasion of Guadalcanal
The 1st Marine Division and Allied units go ashore from eighty ships and are mainly unopposed on the beaches, but the U.S. Navy ships providing cover are routed by the Imperial Navy. Fierce fighting will be a sign of the overall Battle of Guadalcanal. Americans killed number 1,600 while 25,000 Japanese lose their lives. The Japanese also lose two dozen ships and 600 aircraft. The Japanese defeat at Guadalcanal marks the end of their efforts to take New Guinea.
11 October
Battle of Cape Esperance (Part of the Battle of Guadalcanal)
The U.S., unable to stop the Tokyo Express—troop transports making nightly trips through “the slot” between the islands—prompts Americans to attack and destroy two Japanese ships. U.S. loses two of its own ships by friendly fire. It was a victory for the Americans, but a bittersweet win. FDR is determined to hold Guadalcanal—the first “toehold in the South Pacific.”
24–25 October
Battle of Bloody Ridge (Part of the Battle of Guadalcanal)
Americans use new weapons—the flame-thrower and Garand M1 rifle—for the first time at Guadalcanal. Outgunned and outnumbered, the Americans hold their own in a Japanese suicide charge, where the enemy loses a fifth of their troops against Marines at the line protecting Henderson Field.
25–27 October
Battle of Santa Cruz Island
The two great naval forces meet near the 165° latitude near Santa Cruz Island and engage each other in another sea battle. It was fought south of the New Hebrides, 1,000 miles from Guadalcanal. U.S. carriers Hornet and Enterprise, along with their escort ships, take on the Japanese. The battle ends in a draw, but the Americans damage two Japanese carriers, two battleships, and three cruisers. They also shoot down a hundred enemy aircraft.
November
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
This is actually a series of five naval battles in which the U.S. loses nine ships, but prevents Japanese reinforcements from getting through, guaranteeing America’s eventual triumph in the battle for the island. New radar warns Americans of enemy approach fifteen minutes before they arrive, proving the worth of radar.
2 December
Manhattan Project
Enrico Fermi’s lab in Chicago makes an important stride in an effort to produce an A-bomb. Elements go “critical” for four-plus minutes, and produce neutrons.
1943
14 January
Casablanca Conference
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br /> The ten-day Allied conference regarding World War II in both theaters changes the allocation of resources for the Pacific from 15 percent to 30 percent.
February–December
Plan 9 Glider Operation
General Hap Arnold picks two brilliant young aviators, Phil Cochran and John Alison, to head a new risky operation called “Plan 9.” That proposal calls for using American-built CG-4A Waco gliders to ferry men, mules, supplies, and matériel behind enemy lines in Burma to attack Japanese and build jungle airstrips.
1–17 February
Japanese Evacuate Guadalcanal Troops
In between naval and air skirmishes with the Americans, Japanese commanders evacuate troops from Guadalcanal—a lost cause for them.
28 February
Nazi A-Bomb Research Setback
German scientists thought to be working on a nuclear bomb receive a major setback when commandos destroy their “heavy water” facility.
March
Japanese Occupation of Alaska Islands
Japan invades and occupies Attu and Kiska, the two westernmost islands of the Aleutian Islands, as the northern anchor of their “ribbon defense.”
2–4 March
Battle of Bismarck Sea
U.S. bombers destroy eight Japanese transport ships and four destroyer escorts while evading Zeros. It is a major defeat for Japan and ends the “Tokyo Express” means of bringing in supplies. Now they have to be brought in by subs.
12 March
South Pacific Strategy
The conference in Washington offers a plan called “Operation Cartwheel” to continue a dual advance against the Japanese in the Solomons and New Guinea.
18 April
Yamamoto Killed
American intelligence learns of a secret flight that includes Admiral Yamamoto. A squadron of P-38s shoots Yamamoto down, ending his illustrious military career.
8 May
Joint Strategic Plan
An Allied meeting in Cairo approves a plan putting MacArthur in charge of an area from the South Pacific to the Philippines; Chiang Kai-shek is named top military leader from China to Hong Kong (including the B-29 air bases in his area); Nimitz is to oversee the central Pacific area to Formosa (and the B-29 bases there). The goal is to retake Luzon, strategically located near China, Formosa, and Japan.
War Stories II Page 44
