View source for January 1942

{{short description|Month of 1942}}
{{Events by month|1942}}
{{calendar|year=1942|month=January}}

The following events occurred in '''January 1942''':

==[[January 1]], 1942 (Thursday)==
*The [[Declaration by United Nations]] was agreed upon during the [[Arcadia Conference]] in Washington, D.C. Representatives of 26 Allied nations pledged to employ their "full resources" until victory was won and not to make any separate peace agreements with Axis powers.
*An explosion at Sneyd Colliery in [[Burslem]], [[Staffordshire]], killed 57.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-30854429 |title=Burslem service marks Sneyd Pit disaster |date=January 18, 2015 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=February 1, 2016 }}</ref>
*The [[Oregon State Beavers football|Oregon State Beavers]] defeated the [[Duke Blue Devils football|Duke Blue Devils]] 20–16 in the [[1942 Rose Bowl|28th Rose Bowl]] game. The venue was moved from [[Rose Bowl Stadium]] in [[Pasadena, California]], to the Blue Devils' home stadium in [[Durham, North Carolina]], due to fears about a Japanese attack on the U.S. West Coast.
*During a driving rainstorm, the [[Fordham Rams football, 1940–49|Fordham Rams]] edged the [[Missouri Tigers football|Missouri Tigers]] 2–0 in the [[1942 Sugar Bowl|Sugar Bowl]].
*The [[Alabama Crimson Tide football|Alabama Crimson Tide]] beat the [[Texas A&M Aggies football|Texas A&M Aggies]] 29–21 in the [[1942 Cotton Bowl Classic|Cotton Bowl Classic]].
*The [[Georgia Bulldogs football|Georgia Bulldogs]] beat the [[TCU Horned Frogs football|TCU Horned Frogs]] 40–26 in the [[1942 Orange Bowl|Orange Bowl]].
*The [[Tulsa Golden Hurricane football|Tulsa Golden Hurricane]] beat the [[1942 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team|Texas Tech Red Raiders]] 6–0 in the [[1942 Sun Bowl|Sun Bowl]].
*The comedy film ''[[The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942 film)|The Man Who Came to Dinner]]'' starring [[Bette Davis]], [[Ann Sheridan]], [[Monty Woolley]] and [[Jimmy Durante]] premiered at the [[Strand Theatre (Manhattan)|Strand Theatre]] in New York City.
*'''Born:''' 
**[[Country Joe McDonald]], musician, in Washington, D.C.; 
**[[Gennadi Sarafanov]], cosmonaut, in Sinenkiye, [[Saratov Oblast]], [[Soviet Union|USSR]] (d. 2005)

==[[January 2]], 1942 (Friday)==
*Japanese forces entered [[Manila]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Sandler |first=Stanley |date=2001 |title=World War II in the Pacific: An Encyclopedia |url=https://archive.org/details/worldwariipacifi00sand|url-access=limited |location=New York |publisher=Garland Publishing |page=[https://archive.org/details/worldwariipacifi00sand/page/n847 830] |isbn=978-0-8153-1883-5 }}</ref>
*Axis forces surrendered at [[Bardia]], Libya. Some 2,200 German troops and 4,400 Italians were captured.<ref name="mitcham">{{cite book |last=Mitcham |first=Samuel W. |date=2008 |title=The Rise of the Wehrmacht: Vol. 1 |location=Westport, Conn. |publisher=Praeger Security International |pages=553–554 |isbn=978-0-275-99641-3 }}</ref>
*The [[Battle of Kampar]] ended in tactical Allied victory.
*The [[Foreign Claims Act]] went into effect in the United States.
*The marriage of [[Dorothy Thompson]] and [[Sinclair Lewis]] was legally dissolved.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lingeman |first=Richard J. |date=2002 |title=Sinclair Lewis: Rebel from Main Street |publisher=Borealis Books |page=460 |isbn=978-0-87351-541-2 }}</ref>
*{{warship|German submarine|U-603||6}} was commissioned. 
*'''Born:''' 
**[[Dennis Hastert]], politician and former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, in [[Aurora, Illinois]]; 
**[[Hugh Shelton]], military officer, in [[Tarboro, North Carolina]]
*'''Died:''' [[Henriette Gottlieb]], 57, German soprano (died in the [[Łódź Ghetto]])

==[[January 3]], 1942 (Saturday)==
*The Japanese made amphibious landings on the island of [[Labuan]] off the coast of [[Borneo]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Yenne |first=Bill |date=2014 |title=The Imperial Japanese Army: The Invincible Years 1941–42 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |page=124 |isbn=978-1-78200-932-0 }}</ref>
*The Soviet cruiser ''[[Soviet cruiser Krasnyi Kavkaz|Krasnyi Kavkaz]]'' was bombed and damaged by [[Junkers Ju 87|Stukas]] of [[Sturzkampfgeschwader 77|StG 77]] off the [[Kerch Peninsula]]. Repairs took until October to complete.
*Sir [[Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell|Archibald Wavell]] was named head of the [[American-British-Dutch-Australian Command]] (ABDACOM).<ref name="chronicle of the 20th c.">{{cite book |date=1989 |editor-last=Mercer |editor-first=Derrik |title=Chronicle of the 20th Century |location=London |publisher=Chronicle Communications Ltd. |page=561 |isbn=978-0-582-03919-3 }}</ref> 
*'''Born:''' 
**[[László Sólyom]], 3rd President of Hungary, in [[Pécs]], Hungary (d. 2023)
**[[John Thaw]], actor, in [[Longsight]], [[Manchester]], England (d. 2002)

==[[January 4]], 1942 (Sunday)==
*The Japanese 14th Army captured [[Guagua, Pampanga|Guagua]] in the Philippines.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19420104/ |title=War Diary for Sunday, 4 January 1942 |publisher=Stone & Stone Second World War Books |access-date=February 1, 2016 }}</ref>
*The Japanese seaplane tender [[Japanese aircraft carrier Chitose|Chitose]] was bombed by [[Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress|B-17 Flying Fortresses]] off [[Davao City]] but damage sustained was negligible.
*The [[1942 National Football League All-Star Game (January)|fourth National Football League All-Star Game]] was held at the [[Polo Grounds]] in New York City. The [[Chicago Bears]] defeated an all-star team 35–24. The game was originally scheduled to be held in Los Angeles where the first three all-star games were held, but it was moved to New York due to wartime travel restrictions.
*'''Born:''' [[Bolaji Akinyemi]], External Affairs Minister of Nigeria, in [[Ilesa]], [[Nigeria]]
*'''Died:''' 
**[[Volodia Dubinin]], 13, Russian partisan and [[Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization|Pioneer]] [[Hero of the Soviet Union]] (killed by a land mine); 
**[[Mel Sheppard]], 58, American athlete and four-time Olympic gold medalist; 
**[[Otis Skinner]], 83, American stage actor

==[[January 5]], 1942 (Monday)==
*American and Philippine forces on [[Luzon]] retreated to a defensive line at the base of the [[Bataan]] Peninsula.<ref>{{cite book |last=Perry |first=Mark |date=2007 |title=Partners in Command: George Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower in War and Peace |url=https://archive.org/details/partnersincomman00perr/page/60 |location=New York |publisher=Penguin Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/partnersincomman00perr/page/60 60] |isbn=978-1-59420-105-9 |url-access=registration }}</ref>
*The Soviet [[10th Army (Soviet Union)|10th Army]] retook [[Belyov]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19420105/ |title=War Diary for Monday, 5 January 1942 |publisher=Stone & Stone Second World War Books |access-date=February 1, 2016 }}</ref>
*[[Egypt]] broke off diplomatic relations with [[Bulgaria]] and Finland.<ref name="doody">{{cite web |url=http://worldatwar.net/timeline/other/diplomacy39-45.html |title=A Timeline of Diplomatic Ruptures, Unannounced Invasions, Declarations of War, Armistices and Surrenders |last=Doody |first=Richard |publisher=The World at War |access-date=February 1, 2016 }}</ref>
*'''Born:''' 
**[[Maurizio Pollini]], classical pianist, in [[Milan]], Italy (d. 2024)
**[[Charlie Rose]], television talk show host and journalist, in [[Henderson, North Carolina]]

==[[January 6]], 1942 (Tuesday)==
*U.S. President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] gave the [[State of the Union]] Address to Congress. "In fulfilling my duty to report upon the State of the Union, I am proud to say to you that the spirit of the American people was never higher than it is today—the Union was never more closely knit together—this country was never more deeply determined to face the solemn tasks before it", the president began. "The response of the American people has been instantaneous, and it will be sustained until our security is assured&nbsp;... We have not been stunned. We have not been terrified or confused. This very reassembling of the Seventy-seventh Congress today is proof of that; for the mood of quiet, grim resolution which here prevails bodes ill for those who conspired and collaborated to murder world peace. That mood is stronger than any mere desire for revenge. It expresses the will of the American people to make very certain that the world will never so suffer again."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=16253 |title=State of the Union Address - January 6, 1942 |last1=Peters |first1=Gerbhard |last2=Woolley |first2=John T. |publisher=The American Presidency Project |access-date=February 1, 2016 }}</ref>
*Japanese troops landed at [[Brunei Bay]] in British Borneo.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19420106/ |title=War Diary for Tuesday, 6 January 1942 |publisher=Stone & Stone Second World War Books |access-date=February 1, 2016 }}</ref>
*Australia declared war on Bulgaria.<ref name="doody" />
*'''Died:''' [[Henri de Baillet-Latour]], 65, Belgian aristocrat and the third president of the [[International Olympic Committee]]

==[[January 7]], 1942 (Wednesday)==
*The [[Battle of Moscow]] ended in strategic Soviet victory.
*[[Joseph Stalin]] ordered a general offensive along the entire front, over his generals' recommendations that he concentrate his forces.<ref name="megargee">{{cite book |last=Megargee |first=Geoffrey P. |date=2006 |title=War of Annihilation: Combat and Genocide on the Eastern Front, 1941 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |page=140 |isbn=978-0-7425-4482-6 }}</ref>
*The [[Battle of Bataan]] began.
*U.S. President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] presented Congress with the biggest budget ever seen up to that time. It called for the expenditure of $77 billion over the next 18 months, $56 billion of which was for the war effort.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 7, 1942 |title=56 Billions for War! |newspaper=[[Brooklyn Eagle]] |location=Brooklyn |page=1 }}</ref> The plan called for the production of 125,000 aircraft, 75,000 tanks, 35,000 guns and 8 million tons of shipping by the end of 1943.<ref name="davidson and manning">{{cite book |last1=Davidson |first1=Edward |last2=Manning |first2=Dale |date=1999 |title=Chronology of World War II |url=https://archive.org/details/chronologyofworl0000davi/page/98 |location=London |publisher=Cassell & Co. |page=[https://archive.org/details/chronologyofworl0000davi/page/98 98] |isbn=0-304-35309-4 }}</ref>
*'''Born:''' [[Vasily Alekseyev]], weightlifter, in Pokrovo-Shishkino, [[Ryazan Oblast]], [[Soviet Union|USSR]] (d. 2011)

==[[January 8]], 1942 (Thursday)==
*The [[Battles of Rzhev]] began on the Eastern Front.
*[[Adolf Hitler]] had ''[[Generaloberst]]'' [[Erich Hoepner]] sacked for ordering his forces to pull back on the Eastern Front without approval. Hitler not only had Hoepner removed from command but deprived him of his pension and the right to wear his uniform as well.<ref>{{cite book |last=Weinberg |first=Gerhard L. |date=1995 |title=Germany, Hitler, and World War II: Essays in Modern German and World History |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=65 |isbn=978-0-521-56626-1 }}</ref>
*German submarines {{warship|German submarine|U-604||2}} and {{warship|German submarine|U-660||2}} were commissioned.
*'''Born:''' 
**[[Stephen Hawking]], theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author, in [[Oxford]], England (d. 2018); 
**[[Junichirō Koizumi]], 87th [[Prime Minister of Japan]], in [[Yokosuka, Kanagawa]]

==[[January 9]], 1942 (Friday)==
*The [[Battle of Dražgoše]] began between the [[Slovene Partisans]] and Nazi occupying forces.
*The British destroyer {{HMS|Vimiera|1917|6}} struck a naval mine and sank in the [[Thames Estuary]].
*Admiral [[Isoroku Yamamoto]] made a statement to [[Taketora Ogata]] that may have been the basis for the apocryphal [[Isoroku Yamamoto's sleeping giant quote|sleeping giant quote]] attributed to him when he said, "A military man can scarcely pride himself on having 'smitten a sleeping enemy'; it is more a matter of shame, simply, for the one smitten. I would rather you made your appraisal after seeing what the enemy does, since it is certain that, angered and outraged, he will soon launch a determined counterattack."<ref>{{cite book |last=Agawa |first=Hiroyuki |editor=John Bester |title=The Reluctant Admiral: Yamamoto and the Imperial Navy |orig-year=1969 |edition=1st English |year=1979 |publisher=Kodansha International |page=[https://archive.org/details/reluctantadmiral00agaw/page/285 285] |location=New York |isbn=0-87011-355-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/reluctantadmiral00agaw/page/285 }}</ref>
*[[Joe Louis]] knocked out [[Buddy Baer]] in the first round at [[Madison Square Garden (1925)|Madison Square Garden]] to retain the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://boxrec.com/boxer/009027 |title=Joe Louis |publisher=[[BoxRec]] |access-date=February 1, 2016 }}</ref>
*'''Died:''' [[Heber Doust Curtis]], 69, American astronomer

==[[January 10]], 1942 (Saturday)==
*[[Port Klang|Port Swettenham]] 24 miles southwest of [[Kuala Lumpur]] was abandoned by British forces to the Japanese.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pwencycl.kgbudge.com/P/o/Port_Swettenham.htm |title=Port Swettenham |publisher=The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia |access-date=February 1, 2016 }}</ref>
*[[Joe Louis]] enlisted in the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]].<ref name="mead">{{cite book |last=Mead |first=Chris |date=2010 |title=Joe Louis: Black Champion in White America |location=Mineola, N.Y. |publisher=Dover Publications |page=213 |isbn=978-0-486-47182-2 }}</ref>
*Movie stars [[Mickey Rooney]] and [[Ava Gardner]] were married at a Protestant church in [[Ballard, California]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Evans |first1=Peter |last2=Gardner |first2=Ava |date=2014 |title=Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations |publisher=Simon & Schuster |page=141 |isbn=978-1-4516-2770-1 }}</ref>
*{{warship|German submarine|U-513||6}} was commissioned.
*The gangster-themed thriller film ''[[All Through the Night (film)|All Through the Night]]'' starring [[Humphrey Bogart]], [[Conrad Veidt]] and [[Kaaren Verne]] was released.<ref>{{cite book |date=1993 |editor-last=Hanson |editor-first=Patricia King |title=The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1941–1950 |url=https://archive.org/details/americanfilminst00amer/page/55 |location=Berkeley and Los Angeles |publisher=University of California Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/americanfilminst00amer/page/55 55] |isbn=0-520-21521-4 |url-access=registration }}</ref>

==[[January 11]], 1942 (Sunday)==
*Japan declared war on the Netherlands.<ref name="doody" /> The [[Battle of Tarakan (1942)|Battle of Tarakan]] began when the Japanese landed at [[Tarakan Island]] in northeastern [[Borneo]].
*The [[Battle of Kuala Lumpur]] was fought, with the city falling to the Japanese.
*The [[Battle of Manado]] began on the Minahasa peninsula on the northern part of the island of Celebes.
*The [[Battle of Dražgoše]] ended with brutal reprisals of German forces against the villagers and the destruction of the village.
*Soviet forces retook [[Lyudinovo]] on the rail line between [[Vyazma]] and [[Bryansk]].<ref>{{cite news |date=January 12, 1942 |title=Nazis' Retreat at Winter Line |newspaper=[[Montreal Gazette]] |page=1 }}</ref>
*The American cargo ship USAT ''[[USAT Liberty|Liberty]]'' was torpedoed by Japanese submarine ''I-166'' and beached on the island of [[Bali]].
*The British cargo steamship ''[[SS Cyclops (1906)|Cyclops]]'' was torpedoed and sunk off the coast of [[Nova Scotia]] by German submarine ''[[German submarine U-123 (1940)|U-123]]''. It was the first attack of the ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'''s [[Second Happy Time|Operation Drumbeat]] aiming to destroy Allied shipping in the Western Atlantic.
*'''Born:''' [[Clarence Clemons]], saxophonist, in [[Norfolk County, Virginia]] (d. 2011)

==[[January 12]], 1942 (Monday)==
*In combat in the [[Battle of Bataan]], 2nd Lt. [[Alexander R. Nininger]] was killed as he led his Philippine Scouts unit and attacked Japanese positions. A 1941 graduate of [[West Point]], "Sandy" Nininger would posthumously receive the first [[Medal of Honor]] of World War II.
*The [[Battle of Tarakan (1942)|Battle of Tarakan]] ended in Japanese victory.
*In North Africa, the British took [[Sallum]] after a 56-day siege when the Germans ran out of ammunition.<ref name="mitcham" />
*{{warship|German submarine|U-374||6}} was sunk in the Mediterranean by torpedoes from the British submarine {{HMS|Unbeaten|N93|6}}.
*The Roosevelt Administration created a [[National War Labor Board (1942–1945)|National War Labor Board]] to prevent strikes and reconcile wages with control over inflation and the war economy.<ref>{{cite book |last=Venn |first=Fiona |date=1998 |title=The New Deal |location=London and New York |publisher=Routledge |page=98 |isbn=978-1-135-94290-8 }}</ref>
*[[Joe Louis]] reported for duty at [[Camp Upton]]. A large contingent of reporters turned up to make photographs and newsreel film of the boxing champion in uniform.<ref name="mead" />

==[[January 13]], 1942 (Tuesday)==
*The [[Battle of Manado]] ended in Japanese victory.
*Representatives of Allied [[Government in exile|governments in exile]] signed the declaration on [[Punishment for War Crimes]] in London declaring that one of their principal war aims would be to ensure that those responsible for [[war crime]]s would be brought to justice.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/fdrwarcrimes.html |title=Statement on Punishment of War Crimes |publisher=[[Jewish Virtual Library]] |access-date=February 1, 2016 }}</ref>
*In the United States, the [[Sikorsky R-4]] helicopter had its first flight.
*[[Heinkel]] test pilot Helmut Schenck became the first person to escape from an aircraft using an [[ejection seat]] when his control surfaces iced up and became inoperative.

==[[January 14]], 1942 (Wednesday)==
*The [[Battle of Gemas]] was fought in Malaya, resulting in tactical Australian victory.
*The [[Battle of Muar]] began in the [[Malayan Campaign]].
*British forces conducted [[Operation Postmaster]] on the Spanish island of [[Bioko|Fernando Po]]. Two tugs and the Italian merchant vessel ''Duchessa d'Aosta'' were captured and sailed away.
*The [[Arcadia Conference]] concluded.
*[[Voćin massacre (1942)|Voćin massacre]], 350 Serbs were slaughtered by [[Ustashe]] in [[Independent State of Croatia|Croatia]].
*{{warship|German submarine|U-257||6}} was commissioned.
*'''Born:''' [[Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal]], 36th Chief Justice of India, in [[New Delhi]], [[British Raj|British India]] (d. 2015)
*'''Died:''' [[Porfirio Barba-Jacob]], 58, Colombian poet and writer

==[[January 15]], 1942 (Thursday)==
*The third [[Battle of Changsha (1942)|Battle of Changsha]] ended in a Chinese victory.
*The Germans launched [[Operation Southeast Croatia]], a counter-insurgency operation in the southeast portion of the [[Independent State of Croatia]].
*The British cargo ship ''[[SS Empire Bay|Empire Bay]]'' was bombed and sunk off [[Middlesbrough]] by a [[Dornier Do 217]].
*{{warship|German submarine|U-93|1940|6}} was depth charged and sunk by the British destroyer {{HMS|Hesperus|H57|6}} between Portugal and the [[Azores]].
*{{warship|German submarine|U-577||6}} was depth charged and sunk by [[Fairey Swordfish]] aircraft in the Mediterranean northwest of [[Mersa Matruh]].
*{{warship|German submarine|U-123|1940|6}} surfaced so close to [[New York Harbor]] that the rides at [[Coney Island]] could be seen silhouetted against the evening sky. Captain [[Reinhard Hardegen]] expected the U.S. east coast to be [[blackout (wartime)|blacked out]] after more than a month at war and was surprised to see the glow in the sky from Manhattan's millions of lights.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jaffe |first=Steven H. |date=2012 |title=New York at War: Four Centuries of Combat, Fear, and Intrigue in Gotham |publisher=Basic Books |page=241 |isbn=978-0-465-03642-4 }}</ref>
*Field Marshal [[Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb]] insisted he either be relieved of command or given freedom to direct his forces as he wanted. Hitler chose the former.<ref name="megargee" /> 
*The ninth [[Pan-American Conference]] opened in [[Rio de Janeiro]].
*[[Mahatma Gandhi]] named [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] as his successor.<ref name="chronicle of the 20th c." />
*President Roosevelt sent a letter to baseball commissioner [[Kenesaw Mountain Landis]] saying that baseball should continue in wartime. "I honestly feel that it would be best for the country to keep baseball going", Roosevelt wrote. "There will be fewer people unemployed and everybody will work longer hours and harder than ever before. And that means that they ought to have a chance for recreation and for taking their minds off their work even more than before."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/prz_lfr.shtml |title=President Franklin Roosevelt Green Light Letter – Baseball Can Be Played During the War |publisher=[[Baseball Almanac]] |access-date=February 1, 2016 }}</ref>
*{{warship|German submarine|U-605||6}} was commissioned.

==[[January 16]], 1942 (Friday)==
*[[TWA Flight 3]] crashed into a cliff on [[Potosi Mountain (Nevada)|Potosi Mountain]] in [[Nevada]] shortly after takeoff during a passenger flight to [[Burbank, California]]. All 19 passengers and 3 crew aboard were killed, including the actress [[Carole Lombard]] and her mother.  
*[[Georg Lindemann]] replaced [[Georg von Küchler]] as commander of the German [[18th Army (Wehrmacht)|18th Army]].<ref name="stone books jan 16">{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19420116/ |title=War Diary for Friday, 16 January 1942 |publisher=Stone & Stone Second World War Books |access-date=February 1, 2016 }}</ref>
*In the [[Battle of Muar]] in Malaya, the Japanese 5th Infantry Division crossed the [[Muar River]] and captured [[Muar (town)|Muar]] itself.<ref name="stone books jan 16" />
*President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9024, creating the [[War Production Board]].
*Prime Minister Winston Churchill became the first head of state to cross the Atlantic Ocean by plane, following the First Washington Conference with President Franklin Roosevelt.
*'''Born:''' [[René Angélil]], record producer, talent manager and husband of [[Celine Dion]], in [[Montreal]], Canada (d. 2016)
*'''Died:''' 
**[[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn]], 91, British royal and 10th Governor General of Canada; 
**[[Carole Lombard]], 33, American film actress (died in TWA Flight 3 crash)

==[[January 17]], 1942 (Saturday)==
*The last Axis troops at [[Halfaya Pass]] surrendered. [[Erwin Rommel]] had now lost 32 percent of his forces since [[Operation Crusader]] began.<ref name="mitcham" />
*The British destroyer {{HMS|Gurkha|G63|6}} was torpedoed and sunk off [[Sidi Barrani]] by German submarine ''[[German submarine U-133 (1941)|U-133]]''.
*{{warship|Japanese submarine|I-60||6}} was forced to the surface and sunk in the [[Sunda Strait]] by the destroyer {{HMS|Jupiter|F85|6}}.
*British destroyer {{HMS|Matabele|F26|6}} was torpedoed and sunk in the [[Arctic Sea]] by {{warship|German submarine|U-454||6}}.
*'''Born:''' [[Muhammad Ali]], born Cassius Clay, boxing champion, in [[Louisville, Kentucky]] (d. 2016)
*'''Died:''' [[Walther von Reichenau]], 57, German field marshal (heart attack)

==[[January 18]], 1942 (Sunday)==
*The [[Battle at Borodino Field]] ended in Soviet victory.
*The Red Army began the [[Vyazma airborne operation]], an airborne landing in the rear of German lines during the [[Battles of Rzhev]].
*Japanese forces captured [[Dawei|Tavoy]], Burma.<ref name="chronology and index">{{cite book |date=1990 |title=Chronology and Index of the Second World War, 1938–1945 |publisher=Research Publications |pages=102–103 |isbn=978-0-88736-568-3 }}</ref>
*The Dutch cargo ship ''[[SS Bantam (1930)|Bantam]]'' was torpedoed and sunk in the [[Banda Sea]] by the Japanese submarine ''I-121''.
*'''Died:''' [[James P. Parker]], 86, United States Navy officer

==[[January 19]], 1942 (Monday)==
*An Axis convoy docked at [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]] providing Rommel with 55 new panzers, 20 armoured cars, and a large quantity of fuel, food and ammunition. Rommel immediately began planning a new offensive.<ref name="mitcham" />
*President Roosevelt approved the [[Manhattan Project]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.atomicarchive.com/History/mp/chronology.shtml |title=Manhattan Project Chronology |publisher=Atomic Archive |access-date=February 1, 2016 |archive-date=October 30, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081030013430/http://www.atomicarchive.com/History/mp/chronology.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*The German [[11th Army (Wehrmacht)|11th Army]] recaptured [[Feodosia]].<ref name="stone books jan 19">{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19420119/ |title=War Diary for Monday, 19 January 1942 |publisher=Stone & Stone Second World War Books |access-date=February 1, 2016 }}</ref>
*The ocean liner RMS ''[[RMS Lady Hawkins|Lady Hawkins]]'' was torpedoed and sunk in the North Atlantic by German submarine ''[[German submarine U-66 (1940)|U-66]]''.
*United States [[VIII Bomber Command]] was established.
*'''Born:''' [[Michael Crawford]], actor, comedian and singer, in [[Salisbury]], England

==[[January 20]], 1942 (Tuesday)==
*Senior Nazi officials met at the [[Wannsee Conference]] to agree on the implementation of the [[Final Solution]], whereby Jews in German-occupied territories would be deported to Poland and systematically murdered in extermination camps.
*The Soviet [[4th Shock Army]] took [[Toropets]] while the West Front captured [[Mozhaysk]] from the German [[4th Army (Wehrmacht)|4th Army]]. [[Gotthard Heinrici]] replaced [[Ludwig Kübler]] as the commander of the 4th Army that same day.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19420120/ |title=War Diary for Tuesday, 20 January 1942 |publisher=Stone & Stone Second World War Books |access-date=February 1, 2016 }}</ref>
*The Norwegian cargo ship [[MV Eidsvold (1934)]] was torpedoed and sunk at [[Flying Fish Cove]], [[Christmas Island]] by the Japanese submarine ''{{warship|Japanese submarine|I-159}}''.
*The American submarine {{USS|S-36|SS-141|2}} ran aground on the Taka Bakang Reef in the [[Makassar Strait]] and was scuttled the following day.
*The Australian coal hulk {{SS|Westralia|1897|6}} was bombed and sunk by the Japanese in [[Simpson Harbour]].
*[[Rogers Hornsby]] was elected to the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite news |date=January 20, 1942 |title=Rogers Hornsby Voted into Baseball Hall of Fame |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1913&dat=19420120&id=Uqg0AAAAIBAJ&pg=879,1558622&hl=en |newspaper=Lewiston Evening Journal |location=Lewiston, Maine |page=8 }}</ref> Hornsby was the only player inducted between 1939 and 1945.

==[[January 21]], 1942 (Wednesday)==
*Rommel began his counteroffensive in North Africa, taking the enemy by complete surprise.<ref name="mitcham" />
*Over 100 Japanese warplanes conducted the first air attack on [[Rabaul]] on the island of [[New Britain]] in the Australian [[Territory of New Guinea]].<ref name="diamond">{{cite book |last=Diamond |first=Jon |date=2015 |title=New Guinea: The Allied Jungle Campaign in World War II |publisher=Stackpole Books |page=2 |isbn=978-0-8117-1556-0 }}</ref>
*{{warship|Japanese submarine|I-124||6}} was sunk by Australian corvettes at [[Beagle Gulf]] near [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]]. It was the first time a Japanese warship was sunk by the [[Royal Australian Navy]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/I-124.htm |title=IJN Submarine I-124: Tabular Record of Movement |publisher=Imperial Japanese Navy Page |access-date=February 1, 2016 }}</ref>
*[[Sonderkommando Blaich|''Sonderkommando'' Blaich]]: One [[Heinkel He 111]] medium bomber raided the [[Free France|Free French]]-controlled [[N'Djamena|Fort Lamy]] in [[French Equatorial Africa]]. The plane bombed the fort unchallenged but then ran low on fuel and had to make an emergency landing, leaving the crew stranded some 120 miles from their airstrip in southern Libya until a [[Junkers Ju 52]] transport aircraft arrived a week later with fuel.
*{{warship|German submarine|U-409||6}} was commissioned.
*'''Born:''' 
**[[Mac Davis]], country musician, in [[Lubbock, Texas]] (d. 2020); 
**[[Martin Sharp]], pop artist and underground cartoonist, in [[Bellevue Hill, New South Wales]]. Australia (d. 2013)

==[[January 22]], 1942 (Thursday)==
*The [[Battle of Muar]] ended in Japanese victory.
*The Japanese landed on [[Mussau Island]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ww2timelines.com/1942/january/01221942.htm |title=Events occurring on Thursday, January 22, 1942 |date=2011 |publisher=WW2 Timelines |access-date=February 1, 2016 }}</ref>
*5,300 Japanese troops commanded by Major General [[Tomitarō Horii]] steamed into Rabaul Harbor during the night.<ref name="diamond" />
*German submarine {{warship|German submarine|U-606||2}} was commissioned.
*'''Died:''' 
**[[Louis Santop]], 52, African-American baseball player and 2006 inductee to the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]]; 
**[[Walter Sickert]], 81, German-born English Impressionist painter; 
**[[Reimond Tollenaere]], 32, Belgian fascist and SS-''[[Untersturmführer]]'' (killed by friendly fire in the Leningrad sector)

==[[January 23]], 1942 (Friday)==
*The [[Battle of Rabaul (1942)|Battle of Rabaul]] began.
*The [[Battle of Balikpapan (1942)|Battle of Balikpapan]] began off [[Balikpapan]] in eastern Borneo.
*The [[New Guinea Campaign]] began with the start of the [[Battle of Rabaul (1942)|Battle of Rabaul]].
*[[Operation Southeast Croatia]] ended with the [[Yugoslav Partisans]]' withdrawal.
*Japanese soldiers carried out the [[Parit Sulong Massacre]] in [[Johor]], Malaya.
*The Spanish freighter {{SS|Navemar}} was torpedoed and sunk in the [[Strait of Gibraltar]] by the Italian submarine ''[[Italian submarine Barbarigo|Barbarigo]]''.
*The American oiler {{USS|Neches|AO-5|6}} was torpedoed and sunk 120 nautical miles west of [[Pearl Harbor]] by the Japanese submarine ''I-72''.
*Japanese troop transport {{ship|MS|Nana Maru}} was bombed and sunk by Dutch aircraft in the [[Makassar Strait]].
*The three-act play ''[[Cafe Crown]]'' by [[H. S. Kraft|Hy Kraft]] premiered at the [[Cort Theatre]] on Broadway.
*The war film ''[[Joan of Paris]]'' starring [[Michèle Morgan]] and [[Paul Henreid]] premiered in New York City.

==[[January 24]], 1942 (Saturday)==
*The Battle of Balikpapan ended in a Japanese victory on land but a tactical Allied victory at sea.
*German forces relieved an encirclement of the garrison at [[Sukhinichi]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19420124/ |title=War Diary for Saturday, 24 January 1942 |publisher=Stone & Stone Second World War Books |access-date=February 1, 2016 }}</ref>
*[[Peru]] broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, Italy and Japan.<ref name="doody" />
*The British cargo ship ''[[Empire Wildebeeste]]'' was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean by {{warship|German submarine|U-596||6}}.
*The American submarine {{USS|S-26|SS-131|6}} was accidentally rammed and sunk in the [[Gulf of Panama]] by the submarine chaser {{USS|Sturdy|PC-460|6}}. 46 men were lost.
*A committee assigned by President Roosevelt on December 18, 1941 to investigate the Pearl Harbor attack issued its report, putting the blame on Admiral [[Husband E. Kimmel]] and Lieutenant General [[Walter Short]] for failing to coordinate their defenses appropriately or taking measures reasonably required in the light of the warnings they had been given. Both men would receive death threats as a result of the report.<ref>{{cite book |last=Johnson |first=William Bruce |date=2006 |title=The Pacific Campaign in World War II: From Pearl Harbor to Guadalcanal |publisher=Routledge |page=76 |isbn=978-1-134-00382-2 }}</ref>
*German submarines {{warship|German submarine|U-218||2}}, {{warship|German submarine|U-440||2}} and {{warship|German submarine|U-514||2}} were commissioned.

==[[January 25]], 1942 (Sunday)==
*The Japanese landed at [[Lae]], capital of New Guinea.<ref name="chronology and index" />
*During the [[Battle of Borneo (1941–42)|Battle of Borneo]], the Japanese 56th Mixed Infantry Group captured the seaport city of [[Balikpapan]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/balikpapan.html |title=The capture of Balikpapan, January 1942 |work=Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942 |access-date=February 1, 2016 |archive-date=July 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726051615/http://www.dutcheastindies.webs.com/balikpapan.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*The Japanese puppet regime in [[Thailand]] declared war on the Allies.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/thailand-declares-war-on-the-united-states-and-england |title=Thailand declares war on the United States and England |publisher=[[History (U.S. TV channel)|History Channel]] |access-date=February 1, 2016 }}</ref>
*Britain, New Zealand and South Africa declared war on Thailand.<ref name="doody" />
*[[Uruguay]] severed diplomatic relations with Germany, Italy and Japan.<ref name="doody" />
*The {{warship|German destroyer|Z8 Bruno Heinemann}} was sunk by naval mines off the coast of Belgium.
*The [[Kholm Pocket]] was formed when German troops were encircled by the Red Army around [[Kholm, Kholmsky District, Novgorod Oblast|Kholm]] south of Leningrad.
*Australia ordered full mobilization.<ref name="chronology and index" />
*'''Born:''' 
**[[Carl Eller]], American football player, in [[Winston-Salem, North Carolina]];
**[[Eusébio]], footballer, in [[Maputo|Lourenço Marques]], [[Mozambique]] (d. 2014)

==[[January 26]], 1942 (Monday)==
*The [[Battle off Endau]] began as part of the [[Battle of Malaya]].
*Japanese troops occupied the [[Anambas Islands]] in the South China Sea.<ref name="borneo">{{cite web |url=https://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/borneo.html |title=The conquest of Borneo Island, 1941–1942 |work=Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942 |access-date=February 1, 2016 |archive-date=November 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111194622/https://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/borneo.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*The first American soldiers to land in the [[European theatre of World War II|European theatre of operations]] disembarked at [[Belfast]], [[Northern Ireland]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/archive/all-our-yesterdays-us-troops-in-northern-ireland-28600542.html |title=All Our Yesterdays: US Troops in Northern Ireland |date=January 2, 2013 |newspaper=[[Belfast Telegraph]] |access-date=February 1, 2016 }}</ref> Their arrival was kept a secret right up until the first ship docked.<ref name="chronicle of the 20th c." />
*'''Born:''' [[Soad Hosny]], actress and singer, in Bulaq, [[Cairo]], [[Egypt]] (d. 2001)
*'''Died:''' [[Felix Hausdorff]], 73, German mathematician

==[[January 27]], 1942 (Tuesday)==
*The [[Battle off Endau]] ended in Japanese victory. The British destroyer {{HMS|Thanet|H29|6}} was sunk.
*Japanese troops in [[Borneo]] occupied [[Singkawang]].<ref name="borneo" />
*[[Hermann Göring]] visited Italy for high-level talks lasting through February 5.<ref name="chronology and index" />
*{{warship|Japanese submarine|I-73}} was torpedoed and sunk 240 miles west of [[Midway Atoll]] by the {{USS|Gudgeon|SS-211|6}}. This marked the first time in the war that a United States Navy submarine sank an enemy warship. 
*The British oil tanker ''[[MV Harpa|Harpa]]'' struck a mine and sank in the [[Singapore Strait]] with the loss of 39 out of 40 crew.
*'''Born:''' [[Steve Wynn]], American business mogul
*'''Died:''' [[Wilhelm Spies]], 28, German Luftwaffe ace (shot down on the Eastern Front)

==[[January 28]], 1942 (Wednesday)==
*German and Italian forces recaptured [[Benghazi]].<ref>{{cite book |date=2007 |editor1-last=Kennedy |editor1-first=David |title=The Library of Congress World War II Companion |publisher=Simon & Schuster |page=536 |isbn=978-1-4165-5306-9 }}</ref>
*The ninth [[Pan-American Conference]] adjourned after the representatives of 21 countries signed an agreement to sever diplomatic, financial and commercial relations with the [[Axis powers]].<ref>{{cite news |date=January 30, 1942 |title=Americas Break With Axis Powers |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2594211 |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |page=1 }}</ref>
*Brazil and [[Paraguay]] broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, Italy and Japan.<ref name="doody" />
*German submarine ''[[German submarine U-91 (1941)|U-91]]'' was commissioned.
*The [[Preston Sturges]]-directed comedy film ''[[Sullivan's Travels]]'' starring [[Joel McCrea]] and [[Veronica Lake]] was released.
*'''Died:''' 
**[[Lionel Nathan de Rothschild]], 60, English banker and politician; 
**[[Tamaki Tokuyama]], 38, Japanese baritone (complications from sepsis)

==[[January 29]], 1942 (Thursday)==
*[[Peru]] and [[Ecuador]] signed the [[Rio Protocol]] formally ending the [[Ecuadorian–Peruvian War]].
*In the Battle of Borneo, Japanese troops captured [[Pontianak, Indonesia|Pontianak]].<ref name="borneo" />
*The German [[2nd Panzer Army]] withdrew from [[Sukhinichi]] after relieving the garrison there.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19420129/ |title=War Diary for Thursday, 29 January 1942 |publisher=Stone & Stone Second World War Books |access-date=February 1, 2016 }}</ref>
*The U.S. Coast Guard ship ''[[USCGC Alexander Hamilton (WPG-34)|Alexander Hamilton]]'' was torpedoed and sunk near [[Reykjavík]] by the German submarine ''[[German submarine U-132 (1941)|U-132]]''.
*{{warship|German submarine|U-607||6}} was commissioned.

==[[January 30]], 1942 (Friday)==
*The [[Battle of Ambon]] began on the island of [[Ambon Island|Ambon]] in the Dutch East Indies.
*Rommel retook [[Benghazi]] by noon.<ref name="mitcham" /> Just as he entered the city, he received a message from [[Benito Mussolini]] suggesting that he should launch an offensive to take Benghazi. Rommel sent back a curt response: "Benghazi already taken." 1,000 men of the [[4th Infantry Division (India)|4th Indian Division]] were still trapped in the city and surrendered when it fell.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mitcham |first=Samuel W. |date=2007 |title=Rommel's Desert War: The Life and Death of the Afrika Korps |location=Mechanicsburg, Penna. |publisher=Stackpole Books |isbn=978-0-8117-4152-1 }}</ref>
*Adolf Hitler made a speech in the [[Berlin Sportpalast]] on the ninth anniversary of the Nazis coming to power. He declared, "We are fully aware that this war can end only either in the extermination of the Teutonic peoples or in the disappearance of Jewry from Europe." Hitler predicted that "the outcome of this war will be the annihilation of Jewry."<ref>{{cite book |date=1999 |title=Hitler's Professors: The Part of Scholarship in Germany's Crimes Against the Jewish People |url=https://archive.org/details/hitlersprofessor00wein|url-access=limited|publisher=Yale University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/hitlersprofessor00wein/page/n172 160] |isbn=978-0-300-14409-3 }}</ref>
*The [[United States Coast and Geodetic Survey]] ship ''[[USC&GSS Pathfinder (1899–1941)|Pathfinder]]'' was beached at [[Corregidor]] after taking indirect damage from Japanese bombing.
*[[1942 Qantas Short Empire shootdown|Qantas Short Empire shootdown]]: A [[Short Empire]] flying boat airliner was shot down by Japanese aircraft off the coast of [[West Timor]]. 13 of the 18 passengers and crew were killed.
*The Irish government claimed that its neutrality was being violated by the American troop presence in Northern Ireland. An official statement declared that the United States had recognized a "[[Vidkun Quisling|Quisling]] government" in Northern Ireland by sending troops there and that the British were making a new attempt to force Ireland into the war on the side of the Allies.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 31, 1942 |title=Dublin Government Says U.S. Recognizing 'Quislings' by Sending Troops |newspaper=[[The San Bernardino Sun]] |location=San Bernardino, California |page=2 }}</ref> 
*In the United States, the Emergency Price Control Act made the [[Office of Price Administration]] an independent agency.
*{{warship|German submarine|U-461||6}} was commissioned.
*'''Born:''' [[Marty Balin]], singer, songwriter and member of [[Jefferson Airplane]] and [[Jefferson Starship]], in [[Cincinnati]] (d. 2018)
*'''Died:''' [[Frederick W. A. G. Haultain]], 84, English-born Canadian lawyer, politician and judge

==[[January 31]], 1942 (Saturday)==
*The [[Malayan Campaign]] ended in a Japanese victory. The retreating British set off two explosions destroying the [[Johor–Singapore Causeway]].
*The British destroyer {{HMS|Belmont||2}} was sunk off [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]] by {{warship|German submarine|U-82|1941|6}}.
*The German cargo ship {{ship|MV|Spreewald}} was mistaken for a British ship, torpedoed and sunk north of the [[Azores]] by German submarine {{warship|German submarine|U-333||2}}.
*{{warship|German submarine|U-217||6}} was commissioned.
*'''Born:''' 
**[[Daniela Bianchi]], actress, in Rome, Italy; 
**[[Derek Jarman]], director, stage designer and author, in [[Northwood, London]], England (d. 1994)

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Events by month links}}

[[Category:January|1942]]
[[Category:1942|*1942-01]]
[[Category:Months in the 1940s|*1942-01]]