14 - 20 March 1942

merdiolu · March 14, 2021, 7:59am

14 March 1942

Atlantic Ocean : German submarine U-404 torpedoed anbd sank US collier Lemuel Burrows 5 kilometers southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States at 0828 hours; 20 were killed, 1 survived. German submarine U-124 set British tanker British Resource on fire with a torpedo 260 miles north of Bermuda at 2118 hours; 46 were killed, 5 survived.

Caribbean Sea : German submarine U-67 torpedoed and sank Panamanian tanker Penelope 200 miles west of Dominica at 0200 hours; 2 were killed, 47 survived. Afterwards in the same general area, U-161 torpedoed and sank Canadian cargoship Sarniadoc, killing the entire crew of 21.

Mediterranean Sea : Italian submarine Mocenigo torpedoed and sank French cargo vessel Ste. Marcelle 17 miles east of Gibraltar.

Further east, at 1323 hours, Royal Navy submarine HMS Ultimatum torpedoed and sank Italian submarine Ammiraglio Enrico Millo off Calabria, Italy with four torpedoes on the surface; 55 from Italian submarine crew were killed, 15 survived (14 of whom were captured by HMS Ultimatum).

At 1700 hours, German submarine U-133 struck a mine and sank two hours after departing her base at Salamis Island, Greece; all 45 aboard were killed.

North Sea : German cargo ship Kellerward struck a mine and sank off Heligoland.

Berlin , Germany : Adolf Hitler outlines a new spring and summer offensive in Eastern Front this time in South towards Caucaus to capture Caucausian oilfields to knock Soviet Union out of war and a future possible advance to Iran and Middle East. He also ordered the German naval and air forces to focus on hitting the Allied Arctic convoys.

London , UK : The decrypted German Enigma messages in Bletchley Park revealed to the British intelligence a build up of German rail traffic, as well as airfield construction, in the Ukraine, especially south of Kharkov. On March 14 the War Cabinet’s Joint Intelligence Committee concluded that the next major German offensive would be against the Russian southern front. Further Enigma messages showed that it was being fixed for May 15. Churchill, knowing the Russian disappointment that no Anglo-American landing in northern Europe was possible that summer, offered Stalin a massive British bomber offensive against German industrial targets, with the aim, Churchill explained on March 14 to the Chiefs of Staff representative in Washington, of ‘taking the weight off Russia by the heaviest air offensive against Germany which can be produced, having regard to other calls on our air power’.

Washington, USA : Combined Chiefs of Staff agree to build up US forces in Britain toopenupa Second Front against Germany in Western Europe while fighting a defensive and a limited offensive campaign in Pacific Theater.

Port Moresby , New Guinea : Nine Japanese bombers attacked Port Moresby, Australian Papua while five bombers attacked the airfield on Horn Island, Queensland, Australia.

Melbourne , Australia : Two US convoys bringing 30.000 American military servicemen arrived to Melbourne. Two more US divisions and one Australian division from Middle East are due to arrive shortly so concentration of Allied base of operations and defense of Australia is assured.

Mindanao , Philippines : Douglas MacArthur and his entıourage arrived at Del Monte Airfield in Bukidnon province, Mindanao, Philippine Islands.

merdiolu · March 14, 2021, 10:07am

15 March 1942

Atlantic Ocean : After dawn, a US Navy PBO-1 Hudson aircraft flying cover for Allied convoy ON-72 located , depth charged and sank German submarine U-503 on the surface 245 miles southeast of St. John’s, Newfoundland, killing the entire crew of 51.

At 0604 hours, German submarine U-158 torpedoed and sank US tanker Olean 15 kilometers southeast of Swansboro, North Carolina, United States; 6 were killed, 36 survived.
At 0722 hours, U-158 struck again in the same area, torpedoed and sinking US tanker Ario; 7 were killed, 26 survived.

Italian submarine Tazzoli torpedoed and sank British ship Athelqueen 270 miles east of Palm Beach, Florida, United States (3 were killed, 46 survived), but would collide with the wreck of Athelqueen, forcing her to end her patrol early for repairs in Bordeaux, France.

At about 1200 hours, U-161 sank US Coast Guard lighthouse tender Acacia with her surface guns off Haiti ; all 36 aboard survived and were rescued by destroyer USS Overton.

British cargo ship Dago was bombed and sunk by Luftwaffe FW-200 Condor aircraft in Atlantic Ocean.

North Sea : German motor torpedo boats attacked British coastal convoy FS749 20 miles off of England, United Kingdom in the North Sea, German motor torpedoboat S-104 torpedoed and sank Royal Navy destroyer HMS Vortigern; 110 were killed, 14 survived.
In exchange Royal Navy motor gunboats MGB 88 and MGB 91 escorting the convoy intercepted and sank German motor torpedoboat S-111 with gunfire , most of the crew of German torpedoboat were killed. The convoy survived the attack without any damage on merchant vessels.

Royal Navy motor torpedoboats MTB 43 and MTB 67 torpedoed and sank German cargoship Nicole Schiffiano off Norway.

Mediterranean Sea : Royal Navy light cruisers HMS Dido and HMS Euryalus bombarded German occupied Greek island of Rhodes.

Black Sea : Soviet submarine ShCh-210 became missing while operating off Cape Shabla, Bulgaria; she had likely struck a Romanian naval mine.

Poland : At Auschwitz I Concentration Camp, 28 prisoners died in the hospital. At Auschwitz II-Birkenau, SS guards killed 131 prisoners without reason before noon, and in the afternoon about 250 prisoners (including 103 Soviet prisoners of war) died from wounds sustained during torture.

Philippines : US Army General MacArthur and his entourage departed Philippine Islands by B-17 bomber for Australia.

Japanese start a heavy artillery bombartment over Manila Bay towards Bataan and Corregidor

Burma : General Harold Alexander of Burma Command admitted to General Joseph Stilwell that the British had only 4,000 well-equipped fighting men in Burma.

merdiolu · March 14, 2021, 8:54pm

16 March 1942

Atlantic Ocean : Italian submarine Morosini torpedoed and sank Dutch tanker Oscilla 145 miles northeast of Antigua; 4 were killed, 51 survived.

At 1824 hours, German submarine U-504 torpedoed and sank British cargo ship Stangarth 300 miels north of San Juan, Puerto Rico on her maiden voyage, killing all 46 aboard.

German submarine U-332 torpedoed and sank US tanker Australia 20 kilometers off North Carolina, United States at 1955 hours; 4 were killed, 36 survived. To the northeast, U-404 torpedoed and sank British tanker San Demetrio 60 kilometers east of Hampton Roads, Virginia, United States.

At 2317 hours, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, German submarine U-68 torpedoed and sank British cargo ship Baron Newlands 6 miles south of Cape Palmas, Liberia; 18 were killed, 20 survived.

Baltic Sea : German cargoship Utlandshorn struck a mine and sankoff Gulf of Finland

Poland : Belzec Concentration Camp was established in occupied Poland for the purpose of holding and exterminating Jews from Lublin and Galicia. As first batch , 6.000 Polish Jews from Mielce region were transferred to be murdered there

Berlin , Germany : ‘The activity of the partisans has increased notably in recent weeks,’ Nazi Propaganda Joseph Goebbels noted in his diary on March 16. ‘They are conducting a well-organized guerrilla war.’ To combat partisan activity, a special air detachment had been set up two days earlier in Bobruisk, to bomb partisan camps and seek out from the air the movement of partisan units. This air detachment was to be made ready for action as part of Operation Munich, an anti-partisan sweep planned to begin in the third week of March.

London , UK : Ivan Masky , Soviet ambassador in London, England, United Kingdom expressed wish for a second front in Europe.

Corregidor , Philippines : American submarine USS Permit arrived at Corregidor in the Philippine Islands, delivering ammunition and evacuated 36 US Navy cryptanalysts and ten additional wounded.

merdiolu · March 14, 2021, 9:10pm

17 March 1942

Atlantic Ocean : German submarine U-124 torpedoed and sank Greek freighter Kassandra and Honduran freighter Ceiba (44 were killed, 6 survived) at 0226 hours off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, United States; US tanker Acme was also damaged during this attack.

On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, German submarine U-68 torpedoed and sank British freighters Ile de Batz at 0635 hours (4 were killed, 39 survived), Scottish Prince at 1326 hours (1 was killed, 38 survived), and Allende at 2103 hours (6 were killed, 33 survived) off Liberia and French West Africa.
In South Atlantic , German submarine U-373 torpedoed and sank Greek cargoship Mount Lycabettus at 1508 hours, killing all 30 aboard. And German submarine U-71 sank Norwegian tanker Ranja at 1858 hours, killing all 34 aboard.

Mediterranean Sea : Royal Navy submarine HMS Unbeaten torpedoed and sank Italian submarine Guglielmotti between Sicily and Calabria in Italy at 0640 hours, killing 46. HMS Unbeaten surfaced and captured 12 survivors before being driven off by Italian aircraft; Italian torpedo boats rescued another 12 survivors.

German cargo ship Achaia struck a mine and sank off Tripoli , Libya.

Poland : Sobibór concentration camp in occupied Poland conducted its first experimental gassing. Between 30 to 40 Jewish women from the Krychów forced labor camp were killed.

Baltics and Belarussia : Further behind the lines, in Kovno, twenty-four Jews who were found outside the ghetto on March 17 trying to buy food from local Lithuanians were shot by the Gestapo. That same day, in Ilja, north of Minsk, nine hundred Jews were rounded up and shot, despite a courageous attempt at collective resistance.

Pacific Ocean : American submarine USS Grayback torpedoed and sank Japanese collier Ishikari Maru 20 kilometers south of Kikajima island, Ryukyu Islands, Japan.

merdiolu · March 15, 2021, 9:25pm

18 March 1942

Atlantic Ocean : German submarine U-124 torpedoed and sank Greek ship Kassandra Louloudis off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, United States at 0114 hours; all 35 aboard survived. At 0827, U-124 struck again, torpedoed sinking US tanker E. M. Clark; 1 was killed, 26 survived.

Mediterranean Sea : Royal Navy submarine HMS Upholder torpedoed and sank Italian submarine Tricheco on the surface , 2 miles off of Brindisi, Italy; 38 were killed, 3 survived (including the commanding officer). NOTE : This is the third Italian submarine that went down in Mediterranean within four days

London , UK : Lord Louis Mountbatten was appointed as the British Chief of Combined Operations.

Australia : Douglas MacArthur officially accepted the position of the Supreme Commander of Southwest Pacific Area while still aboard a train traveling for Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Burma : Chinese troops ambushed 200 Japanese reconnaissance troops near Pyu in Battle of Tachiao, killing 30. Meanwhile, aircraft of the 1st American Volunteer Group “Flying Tigers” bombed the Japanese airfield at Moulmein, claiming 16 Japanese aircraft destroyed on the ground. Of the Burmese coast, troops from India reinforced the garrison on Akyab Island.

Washington , USA : US President Roosevelt signed an Executive Order for the establishment of the War Relocation Authority, which led to the internment of Japanese-Americans during WW2.

merdiolu · March 16, 2021, 8:35pm

19 March 1942

Atlantic Ocean : German submarine U-124 torpedoed and sank US tanker Papoose 25 miles south of Cape Fear, North Carolina, United States at 0431 hours; 2 were killed, 32 survived. To the northwest, German submarine U-332 torpedoed and sank US freighter Liberator off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina at 0419 hours; 5 were killed, 30 survived. At 0538 hours, U-124 attacked again off Cape Fear, torpedoed sinking US tanker W. E. Hutton; 13 were killed, 12 survived.

Eastern Front : Operations Munich and Bamberg were launched against Soviet partisans, though tactical successes turned out to be counter-productive, encouraging more civilians to join the partisans.
Supported by the newly created air detachment, German troops struck at partisan bases throughout the Yelnya—Dorogobuzh area. In a further sweep, near Bobruisk, code-named Operation Bamberg, Russian villages were set on fire and their inhabitants killed in raids which, though punitive in the extreme, and killing 3,500 villagers, served only to intensify the hatred of the occupier, and to intensify the determination to help the partisans, who almost invariably escaped the net to fight again, and to return. However ferociously the Germans struck, the partisans fought back, reinforced by parachute drops of arms and men. ‘There are indications’, the Third Panzer Army reported later in March, ‘that the partisan movement in the region of Velikiye Luki, Vitebsk, Rudnya, Velizh is now being organized on a large scale. The fighting strength of the partisans hitherto active is being bolstered by individual units of regular troops’—men trained in the use of heavy weapons, artillery and anti-tank guns. A similar accretion of Soviet partisan strength was reported near Polotsk.

Leningrad Front , Russia : German Army Group North cut off General Vlasov’s Soviet 2nd Shock Army in a salient on the Volkhov River near Novgorod 50 miles southeast of Leningrad, Russia.

Yugoslavia : A German Army directive issued to all occupation troops in Serbia and Croatia, insisting that wherever Yugoslav partisan activity had taken place, the houses, and even the villages, suspected of having been used by the partisans were to be destroyed. ‘Removal of the population to concentration camps can also be useful,’ the directive added. If it was not possible to ‘apprehend or seize’ the partisans themselves, ‘reprisal measures of a general nature may be in order, for example the shooting of male inhabitants of nearby localities’. This shooting was to be done, the directive explained, ‘according to a specific ratio, for example, a hundred Serbs for one German killed, fifty Serbs for one German wounded’.

Burma : Lieutenant General William Slim was ordered to lead the Burma Corps. Both divisions in the corps are extremely weak though and Japanese have total air dominance
Japanese troops captured Pyu, Burma.

Philippines : At Bataan Peninsula at Luzon, Philippine Islands, US and Filipino troops were put on quarter rations (1000 calories) as the food supplies dwindled. The supply of quinine, a medicine for malaria, had also depleted.

merdiolu · March 17, 2021, 6:15pm

20 March 1942

Atlantic Ocean : German submarine U-71 torpedoed sank US tanker Oakmar over 200 kilometers east of Hampton Roads, Virginia, United States at 2054 hours, killing 6 of 36 aboard.

Mediterranean Sea : German submarine U-652 torpedoed and badly damaged Royal Navy destroyer HMS Heythrop 40 miles northeast of Bardia, Libya at 1054 hours, killing 15; HMS Heythrop was sailing with 6 other destroyers on an anti-submarine sweep for Allied convoy MW10. At about 1600 hours, after 151 survivors had been taken off by destroyer HMS Eridge, Heythrop sank while under tow.

Malta : Malta has suffered heaviest Axis air raid yet , 143 Luftwaffe bombers and fighters attacked on three islands , Valetta harbour city and defences whole day. Only 30 RAF Hurricane interceptors remained intacts , anti aircraft ammunition dangerously deplated and two airfields badly damaged , the island is unoperable as an offensive base in Mediterranean for now.

Crimea , Ukraine : Soviet Army’s Kerch offensive in Russia was defeated with heavy losses. To the west, German counter attack at Sevastopol failed, resulting in the loss of the 22nd German Infantry Division when it was lured to a Russian assembly area.

New Zealand : The United States and New Zealand completed a discussion which concluded that the US would be responsible for defending the Samoan islands.

Burma : Japanese 143rd Regiment and a cavalry formation of the Japanese 55th Division attacked troops the Cavalry Regiment of the Chinese 5th Army north of the Kan River in Burma.

Bataan , Philippines : General Jonathan Wainwright received the official US War Department order promoting him to the rank of lieutenant general and placing him charge of US troops in the Philippine Islands, replacing Douglas MacArthur, who had been ordered to go to Australia by Franklin Roosevelt.

Alice Springs , Australia : Douglas MacArthur made the “I came through and I shall return” speech at Terowie, South Australia, Australia while transferring trains.

Poland : Gas chambers of Block I of Auschwitz II (Birkenau) Concentration Camp began extermination operations.

In the Polish town of Zgierz, a hundred Poles were taken from a nearby labour camp to be shot; all six thousand inhabitants of Zgierz and its surrounding villages being driven to the market place and forced to watch the execution. That same day, at Rastenburg, Hitler spoke to his guest, Dr Goebbels, of the Jews. ‘Here the Führer is as uncompromising as ever,’ Goebbels noted in his diary. ‘The Jews must be got out of Europe, if necessary by applying the most brutal methods.’