World War Two 1942

The events of World War Two were largely led by the aggression of the Axis until 1942, when the newly-engaged Soviet Union and United States started to put their military forces to good use. Having been targeted by the Axis the previous year, they became the two newest members of the Allied forces, providing military might that allowed the Allied nations to begin considering their offensive push.

Despite the addition of these two large nations to the Allies, the year began with another strong push from Japan, which targeted United States defensives around America and British forces located in Asia. The Japanese naval and air strikes that followed dessimated Britain's forces, and held US forces in a fierce battle throughout the year. However, as 1941 came to an end the US was beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

In the Soviet Union, towns and cities came under relentless attack from the Germans, falling one by one as the Axis forces consistently outnumbered and outfought the Soviet defences. However, the Soviet military soon gained the aid of the British, Canadian and US military, which resulted in a brighter outlook as the year drew to a close.

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World War Two 1944

9 January	Japan began attacking the Philippines.
10 January	The south-west Pacific Allies formed a combined command - ABDA (American, British, Dutch and Australian). General Sir Archibald Wavell became the force’s overall commander.
11 January	The island of Tarakan and Manado faced attacks by the Japanese, which led to the start of their campaign in the Dutch East Indies.
14 January	The Germans developed strength on the Arctic Convoy routes and the 'Tirpitz' moved into Trondheim, Norway.
15 February	Singapore surrendered to the Japanese on 'Black Sunday'.
19 February	135 Japanese planes attacked Darwin in northern Australia. 240 people were killed and 10 wounded.
27 February	The Allies attempted to stop Japan attacking Java with the Battle of Java Sea without much success.
6 March	The 'Tirpitz' sailed to intercept Convoy PQ-12 but was driven off by torpedo-bombers from 'HMS Victorious'.
8 March	The Dutch East Indies gave an unconditional surrender.
12 March	The Battle of Coral Sea ended in a US victory.
15 May	The Red Army failed to re-take Kharkov.
4 June	Japan were defeated by America whilst they tried to capture Midway Island.
7 June	The Siege of Sebastopol started in the Crimea.
10 June	The massacre of Lidice occurred.
21 June	Churchill called the capture of Tobruk by Rommel a "disgrace".
25 June	General Auchinleck took over the command of 8th Army in North Africa.
27 June	Convoy PQ-17 sailed from Iceland for Archangel and this included 33 merchant ships.
28 June	Rommel captured 7,000 prisoners from the 8th Army.
30 June	Russia began evacuating Sebastopol.
4 July	Torpedo-bombers and dive-bombers attacked Convoy PQ-17. Two merchant ships were sunk and another two got damaged. The convoy had orders from the Admiralty to scatter.
5 July	Germany launched an all-out assault on Convoy PQ-17.
10 July	Only two out of the 33 ships reached Archangel and more ships arrived later. In total the convoy lost 23 merchant ships which carried 430 tanks, 210 planes, 3,350 vehicles and nearly 100,000 tons of cargo.
17 August	The Americans landed at Guadalcanal.
17 August	The Allied attack of Dieppe commenced.
19 August	The decision was made to evacuate the survivors from Dieppe.
19 August	The Russians started attempts for Leningrad’s freedom. However this had previously failed by 26 September. The Germans began trying to take Stalingrad.
23 August	The German Army arrived at the backs of the River Volga in Stalingrad.
25 August	Heavy Russian fighting halted the German advance in Stalingrad.
13 September	Americans faced severe attacks from the Japanese at Guadalcanal but sustained heavy casualties.
25 September	The Germans began their "final" attack on Stalingrad but it was quickly stopped by the Russians.
4 October	Stalingrad faced its fourth attack by Germany, leading to three weeks of major fighting.
23 October	The British attack on the Afrika Korps began at El Alamein in North Africa.
4 November	Rommel began his North African retreat when Montgomery had his victory at El Alamein.
8 November	Operation Torch began, which was the Allied invasion of North Africa. Allied troops landed near Casablanca, Oran and Algiers. Rommel was caught between two large forces: a vast Allied army lay in the west of North Africa and Montgomery was advancing from the east.
19 November	The German advance in south Russia was held up at Stalingrad.
24 November	An attack was inflicted by the Russians which would surround the Germans at Stalingrad.
12 December	‘Operation Winter Storm’ was launched by the Germans to help relieve the VI Army in Stalingrad. However after 11 days it failed, which meant the VI Army were still trapped in Stalingrad.
31 December	Japan laid out a plan to take their troops away from Guadalcanal after major losses occurring in several battles. All German troops at Stalingrad had been moved away by the Russians, and this left the city vulnerable to a significant attack.

World War Two 1942

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