May 7, 1942: US, Japanese Navies clash in Coral Sea May 8, 1942: Coral Sea battle result in strategic defeat for Japanese side May 9, 1942: Survivors are fished out of water after battle of the Coral Sea May 10, 1942: US troops on island of Corregidor, Philippines, enter into captivity May 11, 1942: Japanese…
April 30, 1942: Japanese Navy dispatches Shokaku, two other aircraft carriers, on mission to seize Port Moresby in New Guinea May 1, 1942: Japanese Army seizes strategically important city of Mandalay, Burma May 2, 1942: Japanese and British-led troops in vicious combat near Shweli river, Burma May 3, 1942: Japanese force under command of Vice…
April 23, 1942: Soviet authorities say they have seized B-25 bomber landing in Vladivostok after Doolittle raid against Japan, while detaining its crew, as no state of war exists between Moscow and Tokyo April 24, 1942: US Navy issues new color specifications for its aircraft, including matt blue-gray on surfaces visible from above April 25,…
April 16, 1942: Employing ‘scorched earth’ tactics, British forces set fire to oil fields at Yenangyaung, Burma, ahead of advancing Japanes April 17, 1942: End of Bataan Death March in the Philippines where thousands of American and Filipino prisoners die at the hands of the Japanese April 18, 1942: American bomber crews under command of…
April 9, 1942: Japanese Army victorious on Bataan peninsula after US and Philippine troops surrender April 10, 1942: More than 60,000 American and Filipino prisoners falling into Japanese hands in the Philippines begin what is later known as the Bataan Death March April 11, 1942: Japanese Army launches offensive towards oilfields at Yenangyaung, Burma April…
April 2, 1942: Aircraft Carrier USS Hornet, part of Task Force 18, leaves San Francisco Bay with modified bombers on board, on a secret mission led by Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle to launch surprise raid on Tokyo and other Japanese cities (see photo above) April 3, 1942: Japanese Army launches offensive along major parts of…
March 26, 1942: Japanese carrier force leaves Dutch East Indies for the Indian Ocean March 27, 1942: In Burma, Japanese Army continues onslaught on Toungoo while amassing forces on Irrawaddy front March 28, 1942: Last 2,000 Dutch defenders of Sumatra under command of Major General Roelof Theodorus Overakker surrender to the Japanese. Overakker is later…
March 19, 1942: Japanese forces prevail in Battle of Tachiao, the first struggle for control of the Yunnan-Burma Road March 20, 1942: General Douglas MacArthur, recently arrived in Australia after evacuation from the Philippines, utters famous words: “I came through and I shall return” March 21, 1942: General Joseph Stilwell, chief US commander in the…
March 12, 1942: British aircraft carrier HMS Formidable leaves Cape Town for the Indian Ocean in preparation of possible Japanese offensive there March 13, 1942: Japanese Army sends Sakaguchi Detachment from newly conquered Dutch East Indies to its parent unit, the 56th Division in Burma March 14, 1942: Soldiers of the 7th Australian Division return…
March 5, 1942: Lieutenant General Sir Harold Alexander arrives in Rangoon to take command of the Burma Army. Photo is from later in 1942, after Alexander assumes command in the Middle East March 6, 1942: Joseph Stilwell, senior US commander in China, confers with Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek for the first time March 7, 1942:…
