October, 1942
October 1, 1942
The Japanese ship Lisbon
Maru was torpedoed. 1816 British prisoners were on board as the ship
began to sink. They attempted to flee the holds but the Japanese crew locked
down the hatches. As the hold filled, several hundred attempted to break
out. The Japanese opened fire on them. Some escaped into the water and
when attempting to climb ropes to other Japanese ships standing by, they
were beaten and thrown back into the water. Some of the soldiers were rescued
by sympathetic Chinese vessels, but were then turned over to the Japanese.
The
first US jet fighter, the Bell XP-59, took the skies over the Mojave Desert.
No US Jet fighters would see action before the end of the war. Even so,
US forces would never use jet propelled aircraft operationally during the
war.
October 2, 1942
While making a 28-knot zig-zag course in clear weather off the coast of Ireland, the luxury liner, and now troop transport Queen Mary, bringing 10,000 Americans to Britain, rams her escort, the cruiser Curacao. The cruiser is literally cut in two and by the time the Queen Mary clears the wreck, the two halves are 100 yards apart. The captain of the Queen Mary, fearing the presence of German submarines, doesn’t even bother to slow down to determine the damage to here escort, let alone pick up survivors. 101 sailors were saved, and 338 lost their lives. After the war, a court of inquiry, incredibly, determined that the cruiser was at fault for not staying out of the way.
October 3, 1942
The latest German offensive
at Stalingrad begins to bog down as German forces have reached the Volga
at several points. Resistance by the 62nd Army remains strong
as several bridgeheads in the south and central sectors continue to hold
out. Casualties on both sides are very heavy.
German forces attacking in
the Caucasus capture Elkhotovo on the road to Drag Kokh.
Werner
von Braun makes the first successful launch of his A-4 rocket. The plan
for the rocket is to carry a 2000-pound warhead, 2000 miles. When put into
production, this rocket would be become the famous V-2.
October 4, 1942
The German forces in the
northern sector of Stalingrad, primarily the 14th Panzer Korp,
launch fresh attacks against the factory complexes. The massive Tractor
Factory is their objective.
The
British raid the Channel Island of Sark. In the attack, several Germans
were captured and bound for the march to the evacuation ship. During the
walk, the Germans attempted to escape and were shot. An incensed Hitler,
ordered the prisoners captured at the Dieppe raid to be manicaled and any
commando captured to be shot.
October 5, 1942
US aircraft based in the Aleutians bomb Japanese installations on Kiska Island.
October 6, 1942
4th Panzer Army continues its attacks in the Caucasus as 3rd Panzer Korps captures Malgobek at the bend of the Terek river. At Stalingrad, two German division hit the 37th Guard Rifle Division at the Tractor Worker Settlement. After gaining ground with heavy losses on both sides, a freak bombardment by Katusha rockets catches a German battalion in the open, annihilating it, and stopping the attack.
October 7, 1942
Marines on Guadalcanal launch
a new offensive to extend the perimeter around Henderson Field.
President
Roosevelt announced that at the end of the war all war criminals would
be surrendered to the United
Nations, and a commission would be set up to investigate war crimes.
(Just and sure punishment would be meted out to "ringleaders responsible
for the organized murder of thousands of innocent persons, and the commission
of atrocities which have violated every, tenet of Christian faith." There
would be no mass reprisals, however.
October 8, 1942 Nazi
High Command abandoned attempt to storm Stalingrad and announced a plan
to reduce the city by heavy artillery. (The change in program was adopted
to avoid "unnecessary sacrifice" of German blood. October 9, 1942
US
B-17 bombers hit industrial targets in Lille, France in the largest daylight
raid to date. RAF and US fighters provided escorts claiming 100 German
aircraft shot down.
October 10 1942
The
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet issued a decree establishing a single command
and abolishing political commissars in the army. (The commissars had
gained military experience and their former status had become superfluous.
The decree was issued to free responsible military commanders from any
hindrances in carrying out their duties and to add to their ranks German
and Italian bombers begin a major 10-day series of raids against Malta
in the Mediterranean October 11, 1942
The
Battle of Cape Esperance in the Solomons is fought. The Japanese heavy
cruiser Furutaka and three destroyers were sunk. The Japanese commander,
Aritomo Goto, was killed when his flagship Aoba was damaged. The
Americans lost the destroyer Duncan. Many of the Japanese sailors
refused to be rescued from the sea, preferring death in the shark-infested
waters to capture.
October 12, 1942
At
Stalingrad, the 37th Guards Rifle Division attacked out of their bridgehead,
now withing 300 yards of the Volga. The Soviet attack succeeded in pushing
the Germans back into the Tractor Factory Workers Settlement.
United
States Attorney General Francis Biddle announced that 600,000 Italians
living in the United States would no longer be regarded as enemy aliens.
(Due to the result of the "splendid showing the Italians of America have
made in meeting this test [loyalty to U. S.]." October 13, 1942
The Germans launches a major
attack against the factory district in northern Stalingrad. Von Paulus
unleashes two Panzer Divisions (14th and 24th) and three infantry divisions
(100 Jager, 60 Motorized and 389) hitting both the Tractor Factory and
Red Barricades Factory. Losses are very heavy on both sides as the Soviets
give ground.
The first US Army reinforcements
join the Marines on Guadalcanal as a regiment of the America Division reaches
the island. Soviet partisans launch an
operation to destroy the Bryansk-Lgov railroad. Specially trained sappers
were parachuted behind the lines and succeeded in blowing 178 gaps in the
rail line. Japanese forces around Guadalcanal
launch massive air and naval attacks. The 16-inch guns on the battleships
Kongo
and Haruna bombard the island for 90 minutes. Henerson Field is
closed for a short time and other damage is heavy. Only 42 planes remained
in service after the debris was cleared.
October 14, 1942
In
the northern part of Stalingrad, units of the 6th Army advance in bitter
fighting, following a series of devastating attacks by bombers where over
3000 sorties were flown. The massed armor succeeded in breaking through
the Soviet lines. 180 German tanks rush through the gap resulting in an
afternoon of chaotic fighting around the Tractor Factory. By nightfall,
the factory was surrounded on three sides and fighting was going on in
the outer workshops. That night, 3500 seriously wounded Soviet soldiers
were evacuated across the Volga.
October 15, 1942
The Germans reinforce the
attacks in the factory district with the 305th Infantry Division. 24th
Panzer Division succeeded in driving the 112th Rifle Division away from
the factory district and isolated them at Spartanovka. The lines at the
Tractor Factory broke again and fighting was reported 350 yards from the
Soviet 62nd Army HQ. The Army's guard company was thrown forward in a desperate
attempt to stem the German advance. It succeeded.
4000 Japanese reinforcements
are landed at Tassaforonga Point on Guadalcanal.
October 16, 1942
At Stalingrad, the Soviets
reinforced the northern flank with the newly arriving 138th Rifle Division.
As the troops came off the boats, they were immediately sent the short
distance to the front. Chuykov, Soviet 62nd Army commander, was informed
that ammunition allotments would be halved for his command in the city.
Normally this would be bad news, but Chuykov recognised this as a sure
sign that a supplies were being planned for major offensive in the area
and knew that this would releave the pressure on his forces.
The
naval convoys assemble for Operation 'Torch', the Anglo-American landings
in French North Africa. October 17, 1942
US
forces on Guadalcanal receive 32 aircraft.
October 18, 1942
German
attacks in the factory district at Stalingrad reached a crisis point for
the Soviets. Under severe attacks, Chuykov, for the first time in the six
week old battle ordered a withdrawal of 200 yards. The move stabilized
the front, but only just.
The
advance by Army Group A , 17th Army,toward
the Black Sea port of Tuapse is halted due to difficult terrain and stubborn
Soviet resistance. US submarines begin mining
the approaches to Bangkok in the Gulf of Siam. October 19, 1942
Commonwealth
forces break the French resistance on Madagascar and drive south.
October 20, 1942
The U.S. government, under
the Trading with the Enemy Act, ordered the seizure of Nazi German
banking operations in New York City that were being conducted by Prescott
Bush. The U.S. Alien Property Custodian seized Union Banking Corp.'s stock
shares, all of which were owned by Prescott Bush, Avrell Harriman, three
Nazi executives, and two other associates of Bush (see sidebar for details). October 21, 1942
At
Stalingrad, German forces launch a massive attack against the Soviet positions
in the Barricades and the Red October Factory. Little gains are achieved
for very heavy losses.
October 22, 1942 The Germans reinforce the
attacks on the Barricades Factory with the 79th Infantry division,
supported by armor. Heavy fighting broke the Soviet lines routing the Russians
from the complex. The Germans were not stopped before they secured a foothold
in the northwest corner of the Red October Factory. "However it would ultimately
destroy Hitler's Third Reich in taking Berlin in 1945. Today, many historic
hotels
in Berlin run tours of the old WWII battlegrounds.. Australian forces landed
on Goodenough Island off New Guinea October 23, 1942
The Battle of El Alamein
opens as Montgomery unleashes the British 8th Army. The attack
begins with a 1000-gun barrage. After 20 minutes, 30 Corps sends four of
its infantry divisions forward into the German minefields on a six mile
front. The 8th Australian and 51st Highland Divisions
attack toward “Kidney Ridge” while slightly to the south, the New Zealand
Division supported by 1st South African Division strike toward
the Miteirya Ridge. At Stalingrad, German attacks
in the factory district result in heavy fighting. Soviet forces are pushed
out of 2/3 of the Red October Factory. Japanese forces attempt to
cross the Mataniko River on Guadalcanal but are thrown back with heavy
loses (estimated at 600 killed). US forces under the command
of General George S. Patton, sail from Hampton Roads Virginia destined
to land on the North African coast in Morocco. October 24 1942
The Battle at El Alamein
continues as 1st (north) and 10th (south) Armored
Divisions are committed to the 30 Corp breaches in the German minefield.
Faint attacks to the south by 13 Corp keep the 21st Panzer Division
in place but by dawn, 15th Panzer Division is launching counterattacks
against the 30 Corp breaches. Fighting is intense throughout the day. By
nightfall, lead elements of the 1st Armored Divisions began
to immerge from the minefield, but 10th Armored to the south
was still mired in the mines. Congestion was severe and German artillery
was taking a heavy toll. October 25, 1942
During the night, mounting
casualties and delays in clearing the minefields in the southern corridor
leads to a crisis in the British command. Montgomery, orders the bloody
attack to continue. By morning, the lead brigade of 10th Armored
immerges into the clear. 15 Panzer Division redoubles it’s efforts against
the breakthroughs and the day is once again dominated by heavy fighting
around the ridges. Montgomery made one change in plan and sent the 9th
Australian Division north to cut off the Italian and German formations
still manning the lines between the northern breakthrough and the coast.
Rommel, on sick leave in Germany,
returns to the command of Panzer Armee Afrika. October 26, 1942
The Battle of Santa Cruz
was fought as the Japanese fleet of45
capital ships including two fleet carriers and four battleships met a US
fleet of 23 ships (2 carriers and one battleship). The attack began in
the morning hours as Enterprise planes bombed carrier Zuiho while
planes from Hornet severely damaged carrier Shokaku, and
cruiser Chikuma. Meanwhile, the American carriers came under attack.
Hornet
was attacked and damaged so badly that she had to be abandoned.
Enterprise
was hit twice by bombs that killed 44 killed and wounded 75, but she stayed
in action taking many of Hornet’s
orphaned planes on board. The
US destroyer Porter while running air-sea rescue operations was
sunk by a torpedo from the Japanese submarine I-21. Although the
American’s lost a carrier and a destroyer to the Japanese loss of a single
light cruiser, the battle was a strategic victory for the Americans. With
the loss of over a hundred planes and heavy damage to her carriers, the
Japanese were compelled to remove their carriers from the area leaving
the airspace over Guadalcanal in American hands. Heavy
fighting is once again reported in Stalingrad, as the German 79th
Infantry Division drives against the newly arrived 39th Guard
Rifle Division. The 62nd Army HQ once again comes under fire
and its Guard company is dispatched to shore up the lines. Both sides continued to attack
at El Alamein but the only advances made were by the 9th Australian
Division toward the coast. Allied air superiority began to show its effects
as German armored formation are ravaged. Fuel shortages are becoming critical
for the Axis armored formations and they only get worse when two tankers
– Proserpina and Tergesta – are sunk. Transport ships left British
ports for their invasion in North Africa. Operation Torch, the first Anglo-American
amphibious assault in Europe had begun. October 27, 1942
German forces drive hard
for the last ferry crossing not under direct German fire. Elements of the
45th Rifle Division are rushed across to the landing site and
as the soldiers leave the boats are rushed forward to the lines only a
few hundred meters ahead. Half of the men landed, did not survive to see
the sun set that day. By nightfall, the Germans are only 400 yards from
the landing. There is now no place in Stalingrad that the Germans cannot
direct fire. RAF air raids on staging
areas on the south end of the El Alamein line succeeded in wrecking German
armor concentrations. A counter-attack by the 21st Panzer-Division to push
the attacking British forces back into the German minefields fails, costing
them 50 tanks leaving Rommel with 81 operational panzers. Japanese forces began desperate
attempts to land troops on Guadalcanal. October 28, 1942
The
US government issued orders seizing two Nazi front organizations run by
the Bush-Harriman bank - the Holland-American Trading Corporation
and the Seamless
Steel Equipment Corporation.
October 29, 1942
Montgomery redirects his
attacks toward the center of the El Alamein line as the Germans reinforce
the north end along the coastal road. German counter attacks in that area
are stopped by tenacious Australian defenses. The Japanese reoccupied Attu
Island. The Germans capture Nalchik
in the Caucasus, only 50 miles from the Grozny oil fields. October 30, 1942
British naval forces in the
Mediterranean Sea near Port Said, track, attack and force the German submarine
U-559
to the surface. The German crew abandons the doomed vessel, but three men
from the HMS Petard jump overboard and enter the sinking sub. The
three daring swimmers rescue countless secret documents, among them the
Short Weather Cipher and Short Signal Book which would allow the wizards
at Bletchley Park to crack the German signals system. Two of the brave
sailors, Anthoney Fasson and Colin Grazier died when the submarine sunk
suddenly, but their efforts would save thousands of lives. The third sailor,
Tommy Brown, was found to have lied about his age and was discharged from
service. He was killed two years later attempting to rescue his two sisters
from a burning slum tenement. The Australian 9th
Division breaks the German lines at El Alamein and moves to blocking positions
along the coastal highway, cutting off several Axis formations. October 31, 1942
Luftwaffe
bombers hit Canterbury.
Strong
Japanese rearguard action against the Australians at Templeton Crossing
on the Kokoda Trail in New Guinea
Gahndi’s
birthday is celebrated in India by massive strikes and demonstrations amid
continuing calls for independence from Britain.
Convoy
SC-104, consisting of 44 merchant ships is attacked by 13 German U-boats
in the mid-Atlantic. This started a ten-day running battle. In the end,
eight merchants were sunik, but the Germans lost 3 submarines to the Allied
escorts.
The
Japanese are forced back by Australians at Templeton Crossing, New Guinea.
The shelling of Henderson Airfield continues.
The Soviet 62nd Army HQ
was relocated south of the Banny Gully between the Red October Factory
and Mamayev Kurgan.
Hitler
orders the execution of all British commandos captured.
Allied
aircraft start a four-day battle to smash Axis air power and gain air superiority
over the El Alamein area in preparation for Montgomery’s long awaited offensive.
A
US submarine lands General Mark Clark on Algiers in a secret mission to
meet with pro-Allied French officers in Algiers attempting to assist in
the upcoming landings in North Africa.
The
RAF launches bombing raids against Genoa and Turin, Italy.
Fighting
continues in the Red October and Barricades Factory in Stalingrad. The
Soviet 37th Guard, 193d and 308th Rifle division, numbering 20,000 men
a week ago, now field only a few hundred soldiers.
German
attacks on the northern end of Stalingrad concentrate on the salient at
Spartanovka. Initially, theattacks
succeeded in forcing the Soviets back, but the timely arrival of the Volga
Flotillia and direct fire from their guns saved the situation for the Russians.
The
British failed in an attempt to sink the German battleship Tirpitz.
A Norwegian naval officer, Leif Larsen, operating a fishing boat snuck
into the anchorage at Trondheim Fiord. The plan was to launch a pair of
Chariot manned torpedoes at the battleship, but just before the attack
was to commence, a squall came up and the torpedoes were lost.
German
attacks in the direction of Baku result in the rout of the Soviet 37th
Army.
The
War Department announced that the Canadian-Alaskan "Alcan" military
highway, which had been under construction since March, had been opened
to military use. One of the greatest feats of civil/military engineering
had been completed in record time.
German
forces clear the Red October Factory complex at Stalingrad.