Saturday, March 31, 2012

Day 944 April 1, 1942

In the Mediterranean, Italian cruiser Bande Nere leaves Messina, Sicily, heading North to La Spezia, escorted by destroyer Aviere and patrol boat Libra. At 9 AM just North of Sicily, Bande Nere is hit by 2 torpedoes from British submarine HMS Urge then breaks apart and sinks. 50 miles North of Sidi Barrani, Egypt, a British Swordfish bombs U-77, which is badly damaged and unable to dive. Italian bombers sink British submarines HMS P36 and HMS Pandora in Valetta Harbour, Malta.

In the Barents Sea 8 miles North of Kirkenes, Norway, Soviet submarine SC-404 sinks German freighter Michel (seized from USSR in 1941). Kriegsmarine anti-submarine trawler UJ-1203 sinks on a mine in the Gulf of Finland.

At 5.24 PM in the Atlantic, South of St Helena, German armed merchant cruiser Thor stops British freighter SS Willesden (carrying aircraft parts and military vehicles from USA to British troops in Egypt) with 128 shells 6 inch guns, setting the deck cargo of oil drums alight. SS Willesden is sunk with a torpedo (2 killed, survivors taken prisoner by Thor).

500 miles North of Bermuda U-71 sinks British SS Eastmoor at 4.03 AM (16 killed, 29 crew and 3 gunners picked up by British merchant SS Calgary) and U-202 sinks British SS Loch Don at 11.14 PM (3 killed, 38 crew and 6 gunners picked up by sailing schooner Helen Forsey). At 6.18 AM 10 miles off Virginia Beach, Virginia, U-754 sinks US tanker SS Tiger (1 killed, 36 crew and 6 passengers escape in lifeboats). At 4.22 PM 60 miles off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, U-160 sinks British SS Rio Blanco (19 killed, 21 survivors picked up by British anti-submarine trawler HMS Hertfordshire and Canadian destroyer HMCS Niagara).

South of Java, a torpedo from US submarine USS Seawolf severely damages Japanese cruiser Naka, covering the invasion of Christmas Island (Naka will be towed to Bantam Bay, Java, for repairs by cruiser Natori). In the Malacca Strait between Malaya and Sumatra (Dutch East Indies), British submarine HMS Truant sinks empty Japanese merchant ships Yae Maru and Shunsei Maru.

Friday, March 30, 2012

Day 943 March 31, 1942

14 ships from Allied convoy PQ13 arrive safely at Murmansk today and tomorrow, but 5 ships have been sunk by coordinated German action (2 by U-boats, 2 by aircraft, 1 by a surface vessel).

Operation Performance. 10 Norwegian freighters and tankers interned at Gothenburg, Sweden, attempt to breakout and sail to Britain under the guise of legal Swedish/British trade. However, both the Swedes and Germans know of this plan and are determined to contain or sink the Norwegian ships. Only 2 ships, MV Lind and tanker B.P. Newton (on her maiden voyage), make it to Britain. 6 are sunk by mines, Luftwaffe bombers or German warships while MV Dicto and MV Lionel return to Gothenburg.

At 8 AM, U-754 surfaces and attacks US tug Menominee in the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay 35 miles off Cape Charles, Virginia, raking the tug and her 3 barges with 88mm shellfire from the deck gun. Menominee and barges Allegheny and Barnegat (both carrying coal) sink but the barge Ontario remains afloat on her cargo of timber (in all 16 killed, 9 survivors picked up by US Coast Guard motor lifeboat CG-4063 and tanker Northern Sun). At 10.22 PM 480 miles further East, U-71 sinks British tanker SS San Gerardo (51 killed, 6 survivors British tanker MV Regent Panther).

Japanese extend their grip on the island chain North of Australia. At 9.45 AM, 850 Japanese troops land on Christmas Island, a strategically important island 225 miles south of Java, to observe sea routes between India and Australia. The landing is unopposed, due to a mutiny by Indian soldiers murdering the sleeping British officers on the night of March 10. Japanese also occupy Bougainville Island, Dutch East Indies, and Ceram Island, East of New Guinea.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Day 942 March 30, 1942

U-boats swarm around the scattered ships of convoy PQ13 in the Barents Sea 100 miles North of Murmansk, USSR. At 5.52 AM, U-209 misses British SS Induna with 2 torpedoes but U-376 sinks SS Induna at 8.07 AM (38 killed, 28 survivors in 2 lifeboats picked up by a Russian minesweeper on April 2). At 10.35 AM, a torpedo from U-456 stops American SS Effingham (2 drowned, 41 crew and gunners escape in 2 lifeboats), which is then sunk by U-435 at 12.19 PM. 1 lifeboat is found next day by British minesweeper HMS Harrier (17 men alive, 6 died of exposure). The other lifeboat is found on April 1 by a Soviet patrol vessel (14 men alive, 4 died of exposure). Many of the survivors from SS Induna and SS Effingham will lose limbs to frostbite, having been sprayed by icy water in temperatures of 20° below zero. U-585 is heading from Kirkenes (after repairs from depth charge damage on March 24) to join the hunt but sinks 72 miles North of Murmansk on a German mine which had drifted from the ´Bantos-A´ barrage (all 44 hands lost).

Burma. Overnight, Chinese 200th Division withdraws North across the Sittang River abandoning Toungoo by 4 AM. Japanese 55th Division attacks at dawn to find the town undefended. The road West through the Bago Yoma Forest is open to trap the retreating British in a pincer. At Shwedaung, British 7th Armoured Brigade breaks through the Japanese roadblock but a British tank is immobilised on the Irrawaddy River bridge by anti-tank fire. Burma National Army troops (collaborating with the Japanese) ambush the British as they cross open fields to get around the blocked bridge. In bitter fighting, both sides lose about 350 men killed and wounded.

Bataan. At 7.30 AM, Japanese bombers attack American field hospital No.1 which has large red crosses painted on the roof (15 killed). In the evening, Japanese radio broadcasts an apology.

20 miles off the Southwest corner of Celebes, Dutch East Indies, US submarine USS Sturgeon sinks Japanese transport ship Choko Maru.

US Army engineers arrive on Ascension Island in mid-Atlantic (1145 miles South of Freetown, Sierra Leone, and 1400 miles East of Brazil) to build an airbase. Wideawake Field (due to a nearby colony of Sooty Terns or 'Wideawake birds') will serve as an important refueling stop on the Southern Atlantic route from America to Europe and the Middle East via Africa.

At 2 PM in the Atlantic, 500 miles Southwest of St Helena, German armed merchant cruiser Thor uses machinegun fire from her Arado seaplane and 6 inch shellfire to stop British freighter SS Wellpark (carrying aircraft parts and military vehicles from USA to British troops in Egypt). SS Wellpark is scuttled with demolition charges (7 killed, 41 survivors taken prisoner by Thor).

At 10.43 PM 200 miles South of Monrovia, Liberia, U-68 sinks British MV Muncaster Castle carrying 265 passengers and 3000 tons of supplies and trucks from Freetown, Sierra Leone, to Colombo, Sri Lanka (4 crew, 1 gunner and 19 passengers killed, 70 crew, 13 gunners & signalmen, 246 passengers picked up by British corvette HMS Aubretia and Greek steamer Ann Stathatos and taken back to Freetown).

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Day 941 March 29, 1942

Battle of Convoy PQ13, in the Barents Sea 230 miles North of Murmansk, USSR. At 9.43 AM, British cruiser HMS Trinidad spots German destroyers Z-24, Z-25 and Z-26 on radar and immediately opens fire, hitting Z-26 numerous times. At 10.24 AM, HMS Trinidad fires a torpedo which becomes a circle runner and hits HMS Trinidad underneath the bridge (31 killed, temporary repairs in Murmansk until May 13). At 10.32 AM, British destroyer HMS Eclipse takes over the attack, hitting Z-26 with 6 more 4.7-inch shells. At 11.20 AM, Z-24 and Z-25 attack HMS Eclipse scoring 2 hits with 5-inch shells (23 killed, temporary repairs in Murmansk until April 6). Z-26 finally sinks (240 men die in the freezing water, 96 survivors rescued by Z-24 and Z-25).

At 7.36 PM 40 miles East of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, U-160 sinks US passenger ship MV City of New York (6612 tons cargo from South Africa including chrome and asbestos). Most of the 83 crew, 9 gunners and 41 passengers abandon ship in 4 lifeboats. 3 boats are picked up on March 31 but the last is not found until April 11 (11 survivors including 2 women passengers and a 3 year-old girl, 9 died of exposure including the child’s mother). In all, 24 are killed with 109 survivors. At 8.58 PM 350 miles East of Nantucket, Massachusetts, U-571 sinks British SS Hertford carrying 12,103 tons of general cargo including meat from Australia to Britain (4 killed, 58 survivors escape in lifeboats). In mid-Atlantic 1000 miles Southeast of Bermuda, Italian submarine Calvi sinks British SS Tredinnick (all 46 hands lost).

The hills of the Bago Yoma Forest run down the middle of Southern Burma. To the East (closest to China), the Chinese Expeditionary Force defends the Sittang River Valley at Toungoo where Japanese infantry and artillery finally overcome Chinese 200th Division, which withdraws overnight. To the West of the hills, British and Indian troops defend (or more accurately retreat along) the Irrawaddy River valley. Japanese troops disrupt the British withdrawal by infiltrating through the jungle to get astride the road at Shwedaung, 10 miles South of Prome. Shwedaung is attacked simultaneously by Indian 17th Division from Prome and British 7th Armoured brigade from the South, but the Japanese retain control of the road.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Day 940 March 28, 1942

Operation Chariot. At 1.22 AM British destroyer HMS Campbeltown enters the Loire estuary along with motor launches carrying Commandos plus 1 MTB and 1 MGB. They are illuminated with searchlights and fired on by German shore batteries, sinking many of the small vessels. Despite being hit a number of times, HMS Campbeltown rams the gates of the dry dock at 1.34 AM. Commandos on HMS Campbeltown and from the surviving launches go ashore to destroy pumping machinery and other dock installations. The MTB torpedoes the closed gate to the main marina (Basin de St Nazaire). Only 228 men return to England, 105 Royal Navy personnel & 64 Commandos are killed and another 106 sailors and 109 Commandos are taken prisoner by the Germans (5 VCs are awarded for the raid). A timer detonates the explosives on HMS Campbeltown at noon, killing 40 German officers and civilian administrators touring the ship plus 320 others nearby. The dry dock is flooded and put out of service for the rest of the war.

German aircraft, submarines and destroyers search for the ships of Allied convoy PQ-13 (from Iceland to Murmansk, USSR), which was scattered by a storm 3 days ago 100 miles North of Norway. At 7.04 AM, U-209 unsuccessfully attacks Polish SS Tobruk but is chased off by depth charges from British anti-submarine trawler HMS Blackfly. In the afternoon, Junkers Ju88 bombers sink Panamanian SS Raceland and British SS Empire Ranger. In the evening, German destroyers Z24, Z25 and Z26 leave Kirkenes and, overnight, Z-26 sinks Panamanian SS Bateau.

Burma. Japanese 6 inch howitzers and bombers bombard the Chinese positions in the fortress town of Toungoo, while small caliber artillery lobs in tear gas shells. Japanese infantry advance and make some local gains but again the Chinese hold their ground. Japanese motorized infantry (56th Division) rush North from Rangoon to reinforce the attack; they ford the Sittang River to outflank Toungoo from the East and encircle the entire Chinese 200th Division.

Hostilities cease on the island of Sumatra, Dutch East Indies. Dutch commander General Roelof T. Overakker and 2000 troops surrender to the Japanese at Kutatjane near Kabanjahe, Northern Sumatra.

Overnight, in the Ionian Sea 20 miles West of Greece, British submarine Proteus sinks Italian hospital ship SS Galilea, escorted by Italian destroyer Sebenico, auxiliary escort Città di Napoli and torpedo boats San Martino, Castelfidtardo, Mosto and Bassini. SS Galilea is carrying healthy troops of Italian Julia "Alpini" Division from Greece to Italy (on their way to fight the Soviets on the Eastern Front) as well as other Italian troops and some Greek POWs (991 killed, 284 survivors).

From 11.18 PM to 3 AM on this clear moonlit night, 234 RAF Wellington and Stirling bombers drop several 4000 pound Blockbuster landmines and 25,000 incendiary canisters followed by 400 tons of high-explosive bombs on Lübeck, Germany. Ancient wood-timbered houses create a firestorm that destroys or damages 62% of all buildings, severely damages the historic centre and destroys Lübeck Cathedral & 2 other churches (12 RAF bombers shot down).

Day 940 March 28, 1942

Operation Chariot. At 1.22 AM British destroyer HMS Campbeltown enters the Loire estuary along with motor launches carrying Commandos plus 1 MTB and 1 MGB. They are illuminated with searchlights and fired on by German shore batteries, sinking many of the small vessels. Despite being hit a number of times, HMS Campbeltown rams the gates of the dry dock at 1.34 AM. Commandos on HMS Campbeltown and from the surviving launches go ashore to destroy pumping machinery and other dock installations. The MTB torpedoes the closed gate to the main marina (Basin de St Nazaire). Only 228 men return to England, 105 Royal Navy personnel & 64 Commandos are killed and another 106 sailors and 109 Commandos are taken prisoner by the Germans (5 VCs are awarded for the raid). A timer detonates the explosives on HMS Campbeltown at noon, killing 40 German officers and civilian administrators touring the ship plus 320 others nearby. The dry dock is flooded and put out of service for the rest of the war.

German aircraft, submarines and destroyers search for the ships of Allied convoy PQ-13 (from Iceland to Murmansk, USSR), which was scattered by a storm 3 days ago 100 miles North of Norway. At 7.04 AM, U-209 unsuccessfully attacks Polish SS Tobruk but is chased off by depth charges from British anti-submarine trawler HMS Blackfly. In the afternoon, Junkers Ju88 bombers sink Panamanian SS Raceland and British SS Empire Ranger. In the evening, German destroyers Z24, Z25 and Z26 leave Kirkenes and, overnight, Z-26 sinks Panamanian SS Bateau.

Burma. Japanese 6 inch howitzers and bombers bombard the Chinese positions in the fortress town of Toungoo, while small caliber artillery lobs in tear gas shells. Japanese infantry advance and make some local gains but again the Chinese hold their ground. Japanese motorized infantry (56th Division) rush North from Rangoon to reinforce the attack; they ford the Sittang River to outflank Toungoo from the East and encircle the entire Chinese 200th Division.

Hostilities cease on the island of Sumatra, Dutch East Indies. Dutch commander General Roelof T. Overakker and 2000 troops surrender to the Japanese at Kutatjane near Kabanjahe, Northern Sumatra.

Overnight, in the Ionian Sea 20 miles West of Greece, British submarine Proteus sinks Italian hospital ship SS Galilea, escorted by Italian destroyer Sebenico, auxiliary escort Città di Napoli and torpedo boats San Martino, Castelfidtardo, Mosto and Bassini. SS Galilea is carrying healthy troops of Italian Julia "Alpini" Division from Greece to Italy (on their way to fight the Soviets on the Eastern Front) as well as other Italian troops and some Greek POWs (991 killed, 284 survivors).

From 11.18 PM to 3 AM on this clear moonlit night, 234 RAF Wellington and Stirling bombers drop several 4000 pound Blockbuster landmines and 25,000 incendiary canisters followed by 400 tons of high-explosive bombs on Lübeck, Germany. Ancient wood-timbered houses create a firestorm that destroys or damages 62% of all buildings, severely damages the historic centre and destroys Lübeck Cathedral & 2 other churches (12 RAF bombers shot down).

Monday, March 26, 2012

Day 939 March 27, 1942

Overnight, 24,000 pounds of frozen water buffalo meat is loaded onto a barge and ferried from Corregidor to Bataan. Japanese bombing prevents unloading during the day and by nightfall the meat has spoiled. It is unloaded and buried by the local Quartermaster.

North Atlantic Ocean. At 2.38 AM 60 miles off Virginia Beach, Virginia, U-160 sinks Panamanian SS Equipoise (41 dead, 13 survivors). At 10.30 AM, American Admiral John Wilcox Jr. is swept overboard from USS Washington, en route from USA to Britain in a snowstorm (his body is spotted face down an hour later but is not recovered). At 1.40 PM 380 miles off Virginia Beach, U-105 sinks Norwegian tanker MV Svenør (8 killed, Portuguese SS Cunene is directed to the location of the lifeboats by U-105 and rescues 29 survivors). 600 miles Southwest of Ireland, U-587 attacks troop convoy WS-17 but is detected by British destroyer HMS Keppel. Destroyers HMS Grove, HMS Aldenham, HMS Volunteer and HMS Leamington sink U-587 with depth charges (all 42 hands lost).

Operation Chariot. At 11 PM, British destroyer HMS Campbeltown (loaded with explosives) heads towards the Loire estuary escorted by the launches carrying Commandos plus 1 MTB and 1 MGB. Destroyers HMS Atherstone and HMS Tynedale remain off the coast of France as sea patrol.

Mediterranean. British aircraft carriers HMS Argus and HMS Eagle depart Gibraltar, escorted by battleship HMS Malaya, cruiser HMS Hermione and 9 destroyers, to fly off 16 Spitfire fighters to Malta.

US submarine USS Gudgeon sinks Japanese merchant Nissho Maru in the East China Sea 20 miles off the South coast of Korea. Dutch aircraft sink Japanese collier Yubari Maru off Koepang, Timor. Japanese transport ship Kitano Maru sinks on a Japanese mine in Lingayen Gulf, Philippines.

Toungoo, Burma. Japanese aircraft bomb and strafe Chinese positions and artillery fires tear gas shells, but the Chinese do not yield. Japanese await the arrival of 6 inch howitzers (3rd Field Artillery Regiment) to supplement the air strikes.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Day 938 March 26, 1942

British destroyer HMS Jaguar and anti-submarine whaler HMS Klo and Greek destroyer RHS Vasilissa Olga escort British fleet oiler Slavol bringing fuel to Tobruk for the 5th Destroyer Flotilla. At 2.27 AM 20 miles off Sidi Barani, Egypt, U-652 sinks HMS Jaguar (193 killed, 53 survivors picked up by HMS Klo while RHS Vasilissa Olga assists). U-205 takes advantage of the confusion and sinks the unescorted Slavol at 5.10 AM (36 killed, 20 survivors rescued by RHS Vasilissa Olga).

Operation Chariot. At 2 PM, 3 destroyers and 16 small boats (motor torpedo boats and Fairmile B motor launches) leave Falmouth, Cornwall, for St Nazaire, France, carrying 346 Royal Navy sailors and 265 Commandos. HMS Campbeltown has 4.5 tons of explosives concreted into the bows to destroy the giant dry dock at St Nazaire to prevent their use by the large German warships.

Siege of Leningrad Day 200. 350,000 – 460,000 civilians have died from cold, starvation and disease since the beginning of the siege. Many remain unburied, frozen in their homes. Lack of food causes some to resort to cannibalism either of frozen corpses or by hunting the living, often children.

Aftermath of 2nd Battle of Sirte, Malta. In the Grand Harbour, German bombers sink freighters Pampas & Talabot (before their cargo are fully unloaded) and British destroyer HMS Legion which has been towed in following damage on March 24 (2 bombs hit, causing the forward magazine to explode, 11 killed). Despite camouflage British submarine HMS P39 which is undergoing repairs on the beach at Kalkara is also found by German bombers (P39 is badly damaged and will not return to service).

Japanese bombing of Corregidor knocks out freezers storing 24,000 pounds of carabao (water buffalo) meat, representing 2 days’ rations for American and Filipino troops on Bataan.

At 2.59 PM 20 miles East of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, U-71 sinks US tanker SS Dixie Arrow carrying 86,136 barrels of crude oil (11 killed, 22 survivors picked up by US destroyer USS Tarbell). At 7.37 PM 300 miles East of Cape Hatteras, U-123 hits US armed merchant cruiser (Q-ship) USS Atik with 2 torpedoes. USS Atik drops her disguise and returns 50-cal machinegun fire, killing Fähnrich zur See Rudi Holzer on U-123's bridge, and inaccurate shellfire. USS Atik’s crew abandon ship in lifeboats but all 141 are killed when USS Atik sinks detonating her primed depth charges.

Overnight, RAF bombers (104 Wellingtons and 11 Stirlings) make another ineffective raid on Essen, Germany (2 houses destroyed, 6 civilians killed, 14 injured). 10 Wellingtons and 1 Stirling are shot down.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Day 937 March 25, 1942

Admiral Ernest King (Commander in Chief, United States Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations) plans to garrison the islands between Hawaii and Australia as staging posts to counter Japanese expansion in the South Pacific threatening Australia. US 162nd Infantry Regiment (41st Division) arrives to establish a refueling base at Bora-Bora in the French Society Islands (2500 miles South of Hawaii and 4150 miles East of Australia). A Marine brigade had already arrived in the Samoan Islands (2900 miles East of Australia) on March 20.

At 4.13 AM 50 miles South of Clark’s Harbour, Nova Scotia, U-552 torpedoes Norwegian tanker MV Ocana, which bursts into flames (53 killed, 4 survivors rescued US destroyer USS Mayo). MV Ocana will burn for days and be sunk by Canadian minesweeper HMCS Burlington on April 15. At 6.09 AM 400 miles East of Hampton Roads, Virginia, U-105 sinks British tanker MV Narragansett carrying 14,000 tons of refined petroleum from the Gulf of Mexico to Britain (all 49 hands lost in the explosion). At 6.16 AM in mid-North Atlantic 530 miles East of St. Johns, Newfoundland, U-94 hits British tanker MV Imperial Transport with 2 torpedoes. All 51 crew abandon ship but reboard and get going again at 8.30 PM, arriving at St. Johns on the morning of March 30. MV Imperial Transport had been torpedoed on Feb 11, 1940, destroying her bow section and then rebuilt at Glasgow, Scotland, and returned to service in June 1941.

Burma. Chinese troops fall back overnight into the walled Old City at Toungoo. At 8 AM, Japanese attack from North, West and South. There is fierce fighting all day until 8 PM when Japanese troops breach the defenses and penetrate the Northwest corner of Toungoo. Confused house to house fighting continues all night with counterattacks by both sides.

Overnight, 254 RAF Bomber Command aircraft (192 Wellingtons, 26 Stirlings, 20 Manchesters, 9 Hampdens & 7 Lancasters) bomb Krupp iron works and factories at Essen, Germany (5 civilians killed, 11 injured). 5 Manchesters, 3 Wellingtons & 1 Hampden are shot down.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Day 936 March 24, 1942

At 3 AM 365 miles North of Bermuda, U-123 attacks British tanker MV Empire Steel with torpedoes and the deck gun. Empire Steel, carrying 11,000 tons of aviation spirit and kerosene from the Gulf of Mexico to Britain, explodes and sinks (35 crew and 4 gunners lost, 7 crew and 1 gunner picked up by American tug Edmund J. Moran and landed at Norfolk, Virginia).

German bombers return to Malta to finish off British ships in convoy MW10. British destroyer HMS Legion is damaged by near misses and beached.

18 RAF Douglas A-20/DB-7 Boston light bombers mount daylight raid on targets in Northern France near the Channel coast with Spitfire fighter support. 12 Bostons bomb the power station at Comines and another 6 Bostons bomb railway yards at Abbeville.

Burma. Chinese defenses are well established at Toungoo behind the fortified wall and a moat. While Japanese 112th Regiment make a frontal attack on the road from Oktwin, 143rd Regiment infiltrates through jungle West of the town. They surprise an engineer battalion to capture the airfield and railway station 6 miles North, surrounding Toungoo on 3 sides.

Barents Sea. British minesweeper HMS Sharpshooter (escorting convoy QP9 160 miles North of Norway) spots U-655 on the surface nearby, then rams and sinks U-655 (all 45 hands lost). U-585 is damaged by depth charges from 3 Allied warships in the Barents Sea and forced to return to base at Kirkenes. Overnight, British minesweeping whaler HMS Sulla is lost in a gale in the Norwegian Sea en route for delivery to USSR in convoy PQ-13.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Day 935 March 23, 1942

In the aftermath of 2nd Battle of Sirte, convoy MW10 does not arrive at Malta overnight as planned and is still at sea at daybreak. The 4 British transport ships are attacked by German bombers, sinking Clan Campbell and badly damaging Breconshire (which is beached). British destroyer HMS Southwold hits a mine and sinks (6 killed, 80 survivors rescued by destroyer HMS Dulverton) while assisting Breconshire. Freighters Pampas and Talabot reach Malta and begin unloading their cargo.

At 10.23 AM 65 miles Southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina, U-124 torpedoes US tanker Naeco which is carrying 72,000 barrels of kerosene and 25,000 barrels of heating oil. Naeco explodes and breaks in two (24 dead, 14 survivors). At 3.31 PM 50 miles South of Newfoundland, U-754 sinks British tanker MV British Prudence (3 killed, 42 crew and 5 gunners were picked up by British destroyer HMS Witherington). After dark 680 miles Southeast of Bermuda, Italian submarine Morosini sinks British tanker Peder Bogen with 2 torpedoes and 70 rounds from the deck gun (all 53 hands rescued).

Burma. Japanese troops again attempt to get behind Chinese positions at Oktwin but they are again repulsed. Overnight, Chinese fall back to the main defensive line at Toungoo. Japanese bombing of British airfield at Magwe forces British aircraft and Chinese Air Force 1st American Volunteer Group “Flying Tigers” to abandon the airfield. With only 4 aircraft left, American Volunteer Group moves to Loiwing, just inside China.

To protect the seaward flank of Burma, Japanese capture the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean, 425 miles Southwest of Rangoon. Japanese 18th Infantry Division lands at Port Blair, Andaman Islands, unopposed by the British garrison of 300 Sikh militia and 23 British officers. Civilians and the British colonial administrators quickly suffer execution and torture which will continue for the next 3 years.

German armed merchant cruiser Thor has been in the South Atlantic Ocean since February 25, searching unsuccessfully for whaling ships. Thor stops Greek freighter SS Pagasitikos (carrying coal to Montevideo, Uruguay) with a shot across the bows. SS Pagasitikos is sunk with a torpedo after all 33 crew, including 1 woman, are taken off.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Day 934 March 22, 1942

2nd Battle of Sirte. At 2.30 PM, 1 Italian battleship, 3 cruisers and 10 destroyers intercept British convoy MW10 in the Gulf of Sirte (halfway between Benghazi, Libya, and Malta). 4 British cruisers and 17 destroyers fend off the superior firepower of the Italian ships, while the 4 freighters escape under cover of a smokescreen. In the exchange of shellfire and torpedoes lasting until 7 PM, Royal Navy has 3 cruisers and 6 destroyers damaged (39 killed) while Italian battleship Littorio is slightly damaged. The battle is interrupted by a gathering storm which sinks Italian destroyers Lanciere (201 killed, 5 survivors) and Scirocco (189 killed, 2 survivors).

At 11.50 AM 50 miles Northwest of Derna, Libya, an RAF Blenheim (203 Squadron) spots U-73 on the surface and drops four 250lb anti-submarine bombs. U-73 is severely damaged and forced to abort the patrol.

Eastern Europe. Aiming to link up with the German breakout from Demyansk, German troops attack Soviet 11th Army and 1st Shock Army at Staraya Russa. Germans begin mass exterminations of Jews at Auschwitz concentration camp, Poland, by dropping Zyklon B pellets, generating cyanide gas, into bunkers crowded with 800 - 1,200 Jews.

New Guinea. At 6.30 AM, 9 Australian RAAF Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks take off from Port Moseby (led by brothers John Jackson and Les Jackson) to strafe the Japanese airfield at Lae. They destroy 14 aircraft (9 fighters and 3 bombers) out of 26 standing on the airfield and 2 Zero fighter patrolling the skies above (1 P-40 shot down).

Burma. At dawn, Chinese troops (600th Regiment, 200th Division) ambush Japanese 122nd Regiment (55th Division) advancing into Oktwin. Japanese attempt to flank the Chinese positions but are pushed back by counterattacks.

Luzon, Philippines. Following the arrival of 60 twin-engine bombers from Malaya, Japanese bomb US artillery batteries, supply depots and command centers on Bataan and Corregidor, including night bombing. Americans correctly assume this is softening up for a renewed Japanese ground offensive.

At 5.09 AM 300 miles East of Atlantic City, New Jersey, U-373 sinks British MV Thursobank (30 killed, 22 Chinese crew and 4 British officers picked up after 3 days by Norwegian tanker MV Havsten). The Chinese crew will be arrested for mutiny after throwing away their oars and refusing to share food and clothing with the British officers. 200 miles further East at 5.56 PM, U-123 sinks US tanker Muskogee (all 34 hands lost).

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Day 933 March 21, 1942

USSR. German troops surrounded at Demyansk (since February 8) attempt to breakout Northwest towards Staraya Russa through the "Ramushevo corridor". The German assault is led by General Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach (promoted to General of the Artillery for his efforts) who will later advocate a similar breakout from Stalingrad.

25 miles off Southport, North Carolina, U-124 almost sinks US tanker Esso Nashville at 6.08 AM (all 37 hands rescued) and hits US tanker MV Atlantic Sun causing little damage at 10.05 AM.

Mediterranean. British aircraft carriers HMS Argus and HMS Eagle depart Gibraltar, escorted by battleship HMS Malaya, cruiser HMS Hermione and 9 destroyers, to fly off Spitfire fighters to Malta. The British force is attacked by Italian submarines Mocenigo and Dandolo without success and turns back. Off the coast of Libya, Italian submarines Onice and Platino spot British convoy MW10 from Alexandria, Egypt, to Malta. Italian battleship Littorio, 3 cruisers, 10 destroyers leave bases at Taranto and Messina, Sicily, to intercept. 3 Italian submarines and 3 U-boats are also deployed. The Italian battle fleet is likewise spotted by British submarine P36. Another clash seems likely in the Gulf or Sirte, between Italy and Libya.

Burma. 151 Japanese bombers with fighter support attack Chinese Air Force 1st American Volunteer Group “Flying Tigers” airfield at Magwe, Northern Burma, destroying 15 aircraft in the air and on the ground (2 Japanese aircraft shot down). Having advanced 160 miles North of Rangoon in pursuit of the retreating British, Japanese 55th Division troops in the Sittang River valley run into a forward Chinese outpost at Oktwin, 8 miles South of the main Chinese defenses at Toungoo.

Monday, March 19, 2012

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.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

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).

Saturday, March 17, 2012

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).

Friday, March 16, 2012

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).

Thursday, March 15, 2012

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).

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

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.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

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).

Monday, March 12, 2012

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.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

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.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

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.

Friday, March 9, 2012

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).

Thursday, March 8, 2012

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).

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

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.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

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).

Monday, March 5, 2012

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).

Sunday, March 4, 2012

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.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

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 Broome (destroying 15 flying boats) and RAAF airfield (destroying 2 USAAF B-17s, 2 RAAF Hudsons and a Dutch Lockheed Lodestar). 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).

Thursday, March 1, 2012

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).