1942 January - May

Japan invades and occupies, New Guinea, many Pacific Islands and Burma to complete its empire of conquests and (2). US prevents Japanese further expansion by the naval battles of the Coral Sea and Midway. The Battle of Guadacanal is the first successful offensive against Japan's empire, which from that point will remain on the defensive for the rest of the war.

January.  Pearl Harbor HI:   US cryptanalysts, in a program called Magic, decipher the Japanese military cipher, JN-25. Information gained is called Ultra. This feat will enable American forces to anticipate Japanese military movements throughout the war. In the early months of the war, when Japanese military might surpasses that of US, codebreaking partially evens the odds against US military. Later, it will contribute to many victories in battles between US and Japan in the Pacific Ocean.

January - July.   Pacific Ocean:   Japan invades and occupies many Pacific islands (2) controlled by Dutch, UK, Australia, and US. Those in the Dutch East Indies provide substantial natural resources, such as oil, food, tin, rubber, iron, and coal. Others are used for defense of the Japanese empire. New Britain is occupied and its Rabaul will become a major military base. The northern coast of New Guinea is occupied to defend Japan's conquests from Allied invasions based in Australia.

January 2 - May 6.   Luzon, Philippines:   Fighting begins on Bataan Peninsula until Allies surrender or retreat to Corregidor island. Gen. Douglas McCarthur moves his headquarter to Corregidor island, but is ordered to Australia on March 11 when it appears that the island soon will be surrendered. Allies surrender Bataan on April 9, but some troops retreat to Corregidor island when fighting continues to May 6 when Gen. Jonathan Wainwright surrenders all American and Filippino troops. Betwen April 12 and 24, Japanese troops march 72,000 prisoners 61 and 86 miles from Corregidor and Bataan to prisons in what will be called the Bataan Death March. Only 54,000 reach there alive, the remaining 18,000 being murdered on the way. Those who arrive alive had experienced little rest, beatings, and denial of food and water. Some Americans and Filippinos hide and become guerillas and continue to harass the occupying troops.

January 8 - April 20.   Moscow:   German forces are pushed back from Moscow and the German Rzhev-Vyasma Salient is formed that threatens Moscow.

January 15 - 28.   Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:   Representatives from 21 American republics meet in Rio de Janeiro for an Inter-American Conference to unite the American republics in defense of the Western Hemisphere. The delegates unanimously adopt a resolution that calls for all of the American states to sever diplomatic relations with the Axis powers. All of the governments at the conference, with the exceptions of Argentina and Chile, break relations with the Axis. ^League

January 25.   Bangkok, Thailand:   After wresting territory from Vichy France and signing a 10-year Treaty of Alliance with Japan, Thailand declares war on UK and US. This will give Japan a convenient base from which to attack British forces in Singapore and Burma.

February 1 - 7.   Oslo, Norway:   Germany appoints Vidkun Quisling as the new Minister-President of the National Socialist government in Norway. President Quisling abolishes the Norwegian constitution on February 7 and establishes a dictatorship. (Quisling will be executed for treason after thw war.)

February 4 - March1.   Java Sea:   WWI-vintage American, Dutch, UK, and Australian warships attempt to slow down the Japanese convoys that are advancing to invade the Dutch East Indies. The Allies' ships are no match for more modern Japanese warships and are soundly defeated in 4 battles: Makassar Strait (#1), (#2), (#3), and (#4). Japanese forces continue to overrun the Indies with little further opposition.

February 6.   Washington:   US and UK establish a Combined Chiefs of Staff for the Joint Anglo-American War Council to coordinate Allied war campaigns. Its headquarters will be in Washington.

February 8 - May 2.   Burma:   Japanese forces based in Thailand invade Burma on February 8. They capture its capital, Rangoon, on March 8. Lashio falls on April 30, which closes the Burma Road that ends overland supply to the Nationalist Chinese at their capital, Chungking. India is threatened by Japan.

February 15.   Singapore:   After defeating British forces on the Malay Peninsula and moving south, Japanese forces capture the island fortress and major port of Singapore with 60,000 British and allied troops. The loss of pivotal Singapore eliminates British defense strategy in Southeast Asia.

February 19.   Washington:   With the US alarmed over a possible west coast Japanese invasion, Pres. Roosevelt orders Japanese-Americans excluded from the west coast and relocated into "War Relocation Camps". 120,000 JAs, 62% of whom are citzens, are interred. A small number of JAs living in Hawaii (a US territory at the time) also are interred. JAs with at least 1/8 Japanese ancestry are eligible for internment. Japanese businessmen are forced to sell or rent. Since they are forbidden to own land, farmers must sell it. Many JAs lose personal property because there are limintation on what can be brought into the camps. Other property is stolen or destroyed. A few JAs are killed by sentries. Meanwhile, JAs serve in the military in Europe and as linguists and translators in non-combat zones in the US and Pacific Ocean. The internment order will be rescinded on January 2, 1945 and interees began to make their way home with stipends of $25 and a train ticket. To compensate former interness for lose of property, US Congress will pass the American Japanese Claims Act, but that will return only $37 million of the $148 million claimed. In 1988, US Congress will pass the Civil Liberties Act that provides $20,000 for each surviving detainee, a total of $1.2 billion.^Wiki

February 27 - March 1.   Java Sea:   US, UK, Dutch, and Australian ships consisting of 2 heavy cruisers, 3 light cruisers and 9 destroyers attack a Japanese invasion convoy of 1 light aircraft carrier, 2 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, 14 destroyers and 10 transports headed for Java. In what will be called the Battle of the Java Sea (#3), allies suffer disasterously with 2 cruisers and 3 destroyers sunk. Only 1 Japanese destroyer is damaged.

March 8.   UK & Washington:   UK lends £50 million and US lends $500 million to Nationalist China to reduce inflation. The Allies want to keep China solvent so that it can pursue the war against Japan and keep a million Japanese troops tied down.

March 8.   New Guinea:   Japanese forces land at Huon Bay, Lae, and Salamaua northeastern New Guinea. They extend their gains across the northern rim in both direction through March. Japan intends to control this large island to prevent attacks from Australia on its Pacific empire.

March 31 - April 10.   Indian Ocean & Ceylon:   A large Japanese naval force raids UK, Dutch and Australian ships and bases of the coast of Indian and Ceylon. The Japanese intention is to destroy Allied seapower and support the Burma invasion. Allies lose 7 warships, 23 merchant ships and over 40 airplanes. The Japanese lose over 20 airplanes. The raid again proves the superiority of Japanese aircraft carrier operations. Ceylon is not invaded, but Japan occupies the Andaman Islands. Wanting to use its naval might against the US at Midway, the fleet moves east never to attack here again.

April 11.   India:   In an effort to maintain Indian support for UK war effort against Japanese forces in nearby Burma, UK offers India independence to the Nationalists after the war. Indian Nationalist leaders reject the offer and instead demand immediate independence. As disturbances spread across India, UK arrest Mohandas K. Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Abdul Kalam Azad, and other Indian independence leaders. The British will release these leaders later in 1942.^League

April 18.   Pacific Ocean:   Pres. Roosevelt wants to avenge the Pearl Harbor catastrophe, sow discord among the Japanese, and boost US morale by a bombing strike on Japan. Soon, Lt. Col. James Doolittle submits a plan to accomplish this wish. 16 B-25 bomers, each with a 5-man crew are led by Doolittle are launched from the aircraft carrier, USS Hornet in the Pacific Ocean miles from Japan. On a one-way flight, they bomb 10 military and industrial targets on Honsu island in Japan, inflicting little damage, and then 15 bombers with 80 crew fly onto China. (One bomber, low on fuel, lands in Russia where the crew are interred, but later escape.) After running out of fuel, the China-bound crew parachute or crash land in China. Of the 80 crew, 70 survive, 2 die on crash-landing, and 8 are captured by Japanese and then mistreated and kept on low rations. Of the 8 captured, 3 are executed, 1 dies, and 4 survive as POWs.^Wiki

May 4-8.   Coral Sea:   Japan attempts to strengthen the periment of its empire by invading the important Australian base of Port Moresby, New Guinea, not far from Australia, and tiny Tulagi Island, with its deep harbor, in the Solomon Islands and (2). Its invasion force is defended by the 128 airplanes on 2 large and 1 small carriers with supporting ships. The Japanese plan was discovered earlier by American codebreakers and the Allies attempt to thwart the landings with 127 airplanes on 2 large and 1 small carriers wit supporting ships. The Battle of the Coral Sea is fought for the first time between carrier airplanes and the first time from ships that never are close enough to see or fire on each other, again demonstrating the power of airplanes. Allies lose 1 large carrier Lexington, and 2 other ships sunk and 1 damaged, 69 airplanes and 656 killed. Japan loses 1 small carrier and 4 other ships sunk, 1 large carrier, 3 other ships and 1 transport damaged, 92 airplanes destroyed and 966 killed. Tulagi is occupied successfully , but the invasion of Port Moresby is cancelled. This is the first campaign in which Japanese forces abandon an operation.The damage inflicted on the Japanese carriers and the destruction of many of their airplanes will weaken it in the upcoming Battle of Midway. While the Allies sink more ships, the Japanese sink more tonnage by sinking the Lexington, leaving only 3 carriers to continue fighting in the Pacific Ocean.

May 5 - November 6.   Madagascar:   Believing that Madagascar ports might be used by Japan following Japanese raids in the Indian Ocean and thereby threatening the British fleet at Kilindini, Kenya, and sea routes from the Atlantic Ocean to the Middle East, UK launches an amphibious invasion of Madagascar. Vichy French defenders offer considerable resistance, but surrender on November 6.

May 12-17.   Karkov, USSR:   On May 12 Soviet forces launch an offensive against the German 6th Army from a salient created during the winter offensive. German forces counter with air support and surround Soviet forces, killing 20,000 and 180,000 POWs. Thus, the Soviet Winter Offensive ends.

May 26.   Moscow:   UK and USSR sign a 20-year Mutual Aid Treaty to cooperate in the war against the Axis.