:1942

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2019}}

{{Events by month|1942}}

{{About year|1942}}

{{Year nav|1942}}

{{C20 year in topic}}

{{Year article header|1942}}

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The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was the deadliest such year. Death toll estimates for both 1941 and 1942 range from 2.28 to 7.71 million each.{{Cite web |title=Deaths in conflicts by source |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/deaths-in-conflicts-by-source |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=Our World in Data |archive-date=June 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607131919/https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/deaths-in-conflicts-by-source |url-status=live }}

Events

Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.

File: World War II in Europe, 1942.svg

=January=

{{Main|January 1942}}

=February=

{{Main|February 1942}}

=March=

{{Main|March 1942}}

=April=

{{Main|April 1942}}

  • April
  • The Holocaust: the Nazi German extermination camp Sobibór opens in occupied Poland, on the outskirts of the town of Sobibór. Between April 1942 and October 1943, at least 160,000 people are killed here.
  • 77 Uzbek prisoners of war held at Amersfoort concentration camp in the occupied Netherlands are shot by Nazi German guards, 24 of their compatriots having previously died there as a result of forced starvation.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-39849088 |publisher=BBC |date=2017-05-09 |access-date=2017-05-09 |title=Why were 101 Uzbeks killed in the Netherlands in 1942? |first=Rustam |last=Qobil |archive-date=March 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330201803/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-39849088 |url-status=live }}
  • April 3 – WWII: Japanese forces begin the last phase of the Battle of Bataan, an all-out assault on the United States and Filipino troops on the Bataan Peninsula.
  • April 5 – WWII: Easter Sunday Raid – Aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy attack Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Royal Navy cruisers {{HMS|Cornwall|56|6}} and {{HMS|Dorsetshire|40|6}} are sunk southwest of the island.
  • April 9 – WWII:
  • Battle of Bataan: The Bataan Peninsula falls, American and Filipino forces (some 75,000 soldiers) surrender to the Japanese 14th Army under General Masaharu Homma.
  • Bataan Death March: American and Filipino prisoners of war are forced to march from San Fernando to Capas (some 65 miles). During the march some 15,000 soldiers are killed by severe physical abuse and wanton killings.
  • The Japanese Navy launches an air raid on Trincomalee in Ceylon (Sri Lanka); the Royal Navy aircraft carrier {{HMS|Hermes|95}} and Royal Australian Navy destroyer {{HMAS|Vampire|D68|6}} are sunk off the country's east coast.
  • April 10The Holocaust: Construction of the Nazi German extermination camp Treblinka II commences in occupied Poland near the village of Treblinka. Between July 23, 1942, and October 1943, around 850,000 people are killed here,{{cite book |chapter=Treblinka – ein Todeslager der "Aktion Reinhard" |title=Aktion Reinhard" – Die Vernichtung der Juden im Generalgouvernement |editor-link=Bogdan Musial |editor=Musial, Bogdan |location=Osnabrück |year=2004 |pages=257–281}} more than 800,000 of whom are Jews.{{cite book |first1=Donald L. |last1=Niewyk |first2=Francis R. |last2=Nicosia |url=https://archive.org/details/columbiaguidetot00niew |url-access=registration |quote=Treblinka Treblinka. |title=The Columbia Guide to the Holocaust |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2000 |isbn=0-231-11200-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/columbiaguidetot00niew/page/210 210]}}
  • April 13
  • WWII: Japanese forces of the 56th Division under General Masao Watanabe cross the Sittang River and defeat the Chinese 6th Corps in the Karen Hills area battles of Mawchi.
  • The United States Federal Communications Commission's minimum programming time required of television stations is cut from 15 hours to 4 hours a week during the war.
  • April 14
  • WWII: British submarine {{HMS|Upholder|P37|6}} is probably sunk by Axis forces in the Mediterranean.
  • WWII: {{GS|U-85|1941|6}} is sunk by {{USS|Roper|DD-147|6}} off North Carolina.
  • April 15 – WWII: Award of the George Cross to Malta: King George VI awards the George Cross to the island of Malta to mark the Siege of Malta, saying, "To honor her brave people I award the George Cross to the Island Fortress of Malta, to bear witness to a heroism and a devotion that will long be famous in history" (from January 1 to July 24, there is only one 24-hour period during which no bombs fall on this tiny island).
  • April 17 – WWII: Henri Giraud, French general captured in 1940, escapes from Königstein Fortress near Dresden. He lowers himself down the cliffside fortress with a 50-meter 'rope' he made with odds and ends smuggled in to him. After traveling for three days, Giraud safely reaches the Swiss border.
  • April 18 – WWII: Doolittle Raid: Lieutenant Colonel James "Jimmy" Doolittle leads a bombing mission against Japan, along with 79 airmen of the US. Air force, flying 16 B-25 Mitchell land-based bombers. They take off from the USS Hornet in the Pacific Ocean, some 700 miles (1,126 km) east of Tokyo. Thirteen of the B-25 bombers fly over Tokyo and drop their bombs on oil storage facilities, factories and military targets. The other three B-25s drop their bombs over Yokohama, Nagoya and Kobe. All but one of the B-25s run out of fuel before reaching friendly forces in western China and are forced to land in Japanese-occupied China. With the support of Chinese farmers, 71 airmen reach free China. Eight airmen are captured by the Japanese – who execute four of them in retaliation for the raid.
  • April 20 – WWII: Operation Calendar: The American aircraft carrier USS Wasp, escorted by the British battlecruiser HMS Renown, two cruisers and six destroyers, brings 47 planes (Spitfires) to Malta. They are successfully delivered – but 30 of them are immediately destroyed on the ground by German bombers. Within 48 hours all planes are destroyed.Woodman, Richard (2000). Malta Convoys 1940-1943, p. 320. London: John Murray. {{ISBN|0-7195-6408-5}}.
  • April 23
  • WWII: Exeter becomes the first historic English city bombed as part of the Baedeker Blitz, in retaliation for the British bombing of Lübeck.
  • Exeter-born William Temple is enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury.
  • April 25Princess Elizabeth registers for war service in the U.K.
  • April 26
  • WWII: The Reichstag meets for the last time, dissolving itself and proclaiming Adolf Hitler the "Supreme Judge of the German People", granting him the power of life and death over every German citizen.
  • A gas and coal dust explosion at Benxihu Colliery in Manchukuo kills as many as 1,549 workers, the world's all-time worst mining disaster.
  • April 27
  • WWII: A national plebiscite is held in Canada on the issue of conscription.
  • The Jewish Star of David is required wearing for all Jews in the Netherlands and Belgium; Jews in other Nazi-controlled countries have already been wearing it.
  • April 29 – WWII:
  • Burma campaign: Japanese forces of the 15 Army under General Shōjirō Iida capture Lashio. The allies are in full retreat.
  • An explosion at a chemical factory in Tessenderlo, Belgium leaves 200 dead and 1,000 injured.

=May=

{{Main|May 1942}}

=June=

{{Main|June 1942}}

File: Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryu maneuvers to avoid bombs on 4 June 1942 (USAF-3725).jpg under attack by US aircraft at the Battle of Midway]]

  • June 1
  • WWII: Mexico declares war on Germany, Italy and Japan.
  • The Grand Coulee Dam is finished on the Columbia River in the United States.
  • June 34 – WWII: The Aleutian Islands campaign opens with the Battle of Dutch Harbor, Japanese Navy aircraft carrier raids on the Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears, U.S. Army at Dutch Harbor on Amaknak Island in the Aleutian Islands, in the United States Territory of Alaska.
  • June 4 – WWII: Reinhard Heydrich succumbs to wounds sustained on May 27, from Czechoslovakian paratroopers acting in Operation Anthropoid.
  • June 47 – WWII: Battle of Midway: An American naval victory halts the Japanese advance in the Pacific.{{cite book|last=Keegan|first=John|author-link=John Keegan|title=The Second World War|location=New York|publisher=Penguin|date=2005|isbn=978-0-14-303573-2|oclc=904565693|page=275|quote=the most stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval warfare.}}
  • June 5 – WWII: The United States declares war on Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania.
  • June 6 – WWII: Aleutian Islands campaign: Japanese occupation of Kiska.
  • June 7 – WWII:
  • Siege of Sevastopol (1941–1942): German forces of the 11th Army under General Erich von Manstein begin renowned infantry attacks against the fortress city of Sevastopol. The Germans advance cautiously behind air and artillery support. Manstein has enough firepower to destroy the Soviet fortifications: some 1,300 guns and Heavy Artillery Battalion 833 (including a Karl-Batterie with three howitzers of 54 cm nicknamed "Thor", "Odin" and "Loki"). Firing in support, the German 80 cm Schwerer Gustav railway gun fires seven shells.
  • Aleutian Islands campaign: Japanese occupation of Kiska.
  • June 8 – WWII: Attack on Sydney Harbour: The Australian cities of Sydney and Newcastle are shelled by Japanese submarines. The eastern suburbs of both cities are damaged, and the east coast is blacked out.
  • June 10 – WWII:
  • Free French forces (some 2,700 men) evacuate Bir Hakeim and escape through a minefield, where they are picked up by British patrols of the 7th Armoured Division.
  • Lidice massacre: Units of the Nazi Ordnungspolizei and Sicherheitsdienst shoot all 173 male residents of the Czech village of Lidice in retaliation for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. Of 503 inhabitants, a total of around 340 are killed, including 82 children deported to Chełmno extermination camp, and the remainder are removed. All domestic animals are killed and graves despoiled, the village is burned, remains blown up and the site landscaped out of existence; Nazi propaganda (which is open about the event) states "The name of the village was immediately abolished."{{cite news|newspaper=The New York Times|title=Nazis Blot Out Czech Village; Kill All Men, Disperse Others|date=11 June 1942}}
  • June 11 – WWII: German forces of the 15th Panzer Division together with the 90th Light Division reach El Adem. Panzer Army Africa captures the area around El Adem, and the 29th Indian Brigade, which has defended El Adem is almost wiped out by the Germans.
  • June 12The Holocaust: On her 13th birthday, Anne Frank receives the book that she will use to keep her diary in occupied Amsterdam.
  • June 1215 – WWII: Operation Harpoon: An Allied convoy under Admiral Alban Curteis leaves from Gibraltar with 6 merchant ships escorted by the British battleship HMS Malaya, aircraft carriers HMS Argus and HMS Eagle, 4 cruisers and 17 destroyers to Malta. Two of the six merchant ships completes the journey, at the cost of several Allied warships.
  • June 13 – WWII:
  • German forces of the 21st Panzer Division advance from the west and attack the British tanks of the 22nd Armoured Brigade. Erwin Rommel demonstrates superiority in tactics, compressing the British armoured forces between two Panzer Divisions of the Panzer Army Africa and the Italian Ariete and Trieste Divisions. By the end of the day, the British tank strength is reduced from 300 tanks to about 70. Rommel establishes armour superiority and surrounds the "Knightsbridge" positions. Due to the many losses, this defeat becomes known as "Black Saturday" to the Eighth Army.Clifford, Alexander (1943). Three Against Rommel: The Campaigns of Wavell, Auchinleck and Alexander, p. 264. London: Harrap. {{OCLC|186758297}}.
  • German scientists under Ernst Steinhoff at Peenemünde Army Research Center tests a 12-ton rocket (known later as the V-2 rocket) with a one-ton warhead.
  • The United States opens its Office of War Information, a propaganda center.
  • June 14 – WWII: The British Eighth Army under General Neil Ritchie is forced with two divisions to withdraw from the Gazala Line. The defenders of El-Adem and two neighbouring boxes hold out against the Germans. The South African 1st Division retreats along the coast road, practically intact. General Claude Auchinleck orders Ritchie to hold the line south-east from Acroma (west of Tobruk) through El-Adem to Bir El Gubi.Mackenzie, Compton (1951). Eastern Epic: September 1939 – March 1943 Defence, pp. 554–555. Vol. I. London: Chatto & Windus. {{OCLC|59637091}}.
  • June 15 – WWII: Erwin Rommel sends German forces from the 21st Panzer Division and 90th Light Division to attack the defensive boxes at El-Adem and Sidi Rezegh. In the evening, Point 650 box at El-Adem is overrun.
  • June 1721 – WWII: Siege of Tobruk: German forces of Panzer Army Africa led by Erwin Rommel attack Tobruk with massed air support. On June 21, they penetrate a weak spot on the eastern defensive perimeter, capturing the port and 33,000 prisoners.
  • June 18 – WWII: The SS surrounds the church in Prague where Jan Kubiš and Jozef Gabčík, the assassins of Reinhard Heydrich, are hiding. Kubiš is fatally wounded in the ensuing shootout, and Gabčík commits suicide to avoid capture.
  • June 21 – WWII: Japanese submarine I-25 surfaces off the US Pacific Coast and bombards Fort Stevens at the mouth of the Columbia River. The fort itself is not damaged, though a nearby baseball field is destroyed.
  • June 23 – WWII:
  • Erwin Rommel arrives in Bardia and gives the 90th Light Division orders to attack eastwards. The British 8th Army withdraws to Mersa Matruh, where the Indian 10th Division, elements of the Indian 5th Division and the British 50th Division take up positions.
  • The experimental early-type nuclear reactor L-IV has an accident, becoming the first nuclear accident in history and consisting of a steam explosion and reactor fire in Leipzig.
  • June 24 – WWII: Units of the Nazi Gestapo, SS and Czech collaborators shoot all 33 adult residents of the Czech village of Ležáky in retaliation for the presence of a Czech resistance operative in the aftermath of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. 11 children are deported to Chełmno extermination camp and gassed. The village is demolished and will never be rebuilt. Nazi propaganda openly announces the event on June 26.{{cite book|last=Gerwarth|first=Robert|authorlink=Robert Gerwarth|year=2011|title=Hitler's Hangman: the life of Heydrich|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven, CT|isbn=978-0-300-11575-8}}
  • June 2629 – WWII: Battle of Mersa Matruh: German forces of the Panzer Army Africa under Erwin Rommel pursues the Eighth Army as it retreats into Egypt. On June 28, the fortress port of Mersa Matruh and more than 6,000 prisoners are captured, along with plenty of supplies and equipment.
  • June 27 – WWII: Allied Convoy PQ 17 sails from Iceland, with 35 merchant ships and 3 passenger ships that have been refitted for rescuing the crews of torpedoed ships. There are also one tanker, 6 destroyers and 13 smaller ships for close escort. The convoy is destined for the Soviet port of Archangelsk.
  • June 28 – WWII: Operation Blue: German forces of Army Group South under Generalfeldmarschall Fedor von Bock drive to Stalingrad and the Baku oil fields. Spearheads of the 4th Panzer Army under General Hermann Hoth drive towards Voronezh, advancing nearly 50 km on day one. They crossed two rivers and cut the link one between the Soviet 13th and 40th armies.
  • June 30 – WWII:
  • German forces of the 11th Army under General Erich von Manstein take Sevastopol, although fighting rages until July 4. The city is evacuated by the Soviets, some 90,000 prisoners are taken and von Manstein is promoted to Field Marshal.
  • German forces of Panzer Army Africa under Erwin Rommel approach the Alamein positions, only 106 km from Alexandria. The Axis forces are exhausted and Rommel has supply problems, because the RAF attacks his supply lines.

=July=

{{Main|July 1942}}

= August =

{{Main|August 1942}}

=September=

{{Main|September 1942}}

=October=

{{Main|October 1942}}

=November=

{{Main|November 1942}}

=December=

{{Main|December 1942}}

=Date unknown=

Births

{{BDToC|births}}

=January=

File:Stephen Hawking.StarChild.jpg]]

File:Junichiro Koizumi 20010426 (cropped).jpg]]

File:Muhammad Ali NYWTS.jpg]]

File:Michael Crawford2012.jpg]]

File:Eusebio (1963 version2).jpg]]

File:Tasuku Honjo 201311.jpg]]

=February=

File:Terry Jones Monty Python O2 Arena (cropped) (2).jpg]]

File:Graham Nash Rudolstadt 06 (cropped).jpg]]

File:Carole King 2002 (cropped).jpg]]

File:Ehud Barak 2016 - Herzliya Conference 2016 3015 (cropped).jpg]]

File:Brian-Jones-1965 (cropped).jpg]]

=March=

File:MichaelEisnerOct10.jpg]]

File:John Cale (2006).jpg]]

File:Michael York 1999.jpg]]

=April=

File:Leon Russell Billboard.jpg]]

File:Jeetendra 2012 ekta birthday.jpg]]

File:Malcolm Turnbull and Jacob Zuma in Jakarta 2017 11 cropped.jpg]]

File:David Bradley by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg]]

File:Geoffrey Palmer.jpg]]

File:Barbra Streisand with Francis Collins and Anthony Fauci (27806589237) (cropped).jpg]]

=May=

File:Tammy Wynette 1977.jpg]]

File:Ian Dury 1.jpg]]

File:Jusuf Kalla 2016 vice-presidential portrait.jpg]]

File:Taj Mahal (musician).jpg]]

=June=

File:Curtis Mayfield.png]]

File:Teodoro Obiang 2019 (cropped).jpg]]

File:Muammar al-Gaddafi at the AU summit.jpg]]

File:Thabo Mbeki 2003.jpg]]

File:Paul McCartney 2021 (cropped).jpg]]

File:Brian Wilson (7314673472) (tall).jpg]]

File:Eduardo Frei Chiledebate.jpg]]

=July=

File:Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri portrait.png]]

File:Vicente Fox Official Photo 2000 (Cropped).jpg]]

File:Richard Roundtree 1973.JPG]]

File:Harrison Ford by Gage Skidmore 3.jpg]]

File:Roger McGuinn - Natick, MA (2011).jpg]]

File:Javier Solana 1999.jpg]]

File:Mil Mascaras 1 (cropped).jpg]]

File:Chris Sarandon by Gage Skidmore.jpg]]

=August=

File:Jerry-Garcia-01cropped.jpg]]

File:Isabel Allende Frankfurter Buchmesse 2015 (cropped).JPG]]

File:David Lange (cropped).jpg]]

File:Tobin Bell At For The Love Of Horror 2019 (cropped 3).jpg]]

File:President Hissène Habré of Chad.jpg]]

File:Issac Hayes 1998.jpg]]

File:José Eduardo dos Santos 2.jpg]]

=September=

File:Al Jardine 2019 by Glenn Francis.jpg]]

File:Werner Herzog Venice Film Festival 2009.jpg]]

File:Emmerson Mnangagwa Official Portrait (cropped).jpg]]

File:4th EPP St Géry Dialogue; Jan. 2014 (12189287345) (cropped).jpg]]

File:McShaneTamLinRio311022 (1 of 21) (52470810951) (cropped).jpg]]

=October=

File:Britt Ekland 2 Allan Warren.jpg]]

File:Joybeharpic (cropped).jpg]]

File:Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan.jpg]]

File:MichaelCrichton 2.jpg]]

=November=

File:Martin Scorsese MFF 2023.jpg]]

File:Joe Biden presidential portrait (cropped).jpg]]

File:Bob Einstein 1970.JPG]]

File:Guion Bluford.jpg]]

File:Billy Connolly Festival Cine Sidney.jpg]]

File:Jimi Hendrix 1967.png]]

=December=

File:Muhammadu Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (cropped3).jpg]]

File:Paul Butterfield 79.jpg]]

File:Hu_Jintao_2012.jpg]]

File:The Monkees 1966 - Nesmith.JPG]]

Deaths

{{BDToC|deaths}}

=January=

File:Mel Sheppard.jpg]]

File:Henri de Baillet-Latour.jpg]]

File:Emil Szramek.png]]

File:Carole Lombard 1940.jpg]]

File:Racho Petrov.jpg]]

File:Lu%C3%ADs de Saxe-Coburgo e Bragan%C3%A7a.jpg]]

=February=

File:Ado Birk (cropped).jpg]]

File:Lauri Kristian Relander, 1920s.jpg]]

File:Malta - Floriana - Triq Sarria - The Mall 31 ies.jpg]]

File:Epit%C3%A1cio Pessoa (pintura).jpg]]

=March=

File:Amadeo Aosta3rd 01.jpg]]

File:Robert Bosch mit Hut 1888 - 10031.jpg]]

File:Marcelo T. de Alvear, ca. 1915.jpg]]

=April=

File:LMM signed photo.jpg]]

=May=

File:Stauning i1920-erne.jpg]]

File:José Abad Santos.jpg]]

File:Actor John Barrymore (SAYRE 2535).jpg]]

=June=

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1969-054-16, Reinhard Heydrich.jpg]]

File:1908 Frank Irons.JPG]]

File:Pope John XIX of Alexandria.jpg]]

=July=

File:Refik Saydam.jpg]]

File:Santa Paulina 1.jpg]]

File:S%C3%A1nchez Toca.JPG]]

File:Robertomortiz.jpg]]

File:TitusBrandsma.jpg]]

File:Louis Borno.jpg]]

File:Sveti Leopold Bogdan Mandic Rijeka.jpg]]

=August=

File:Richard Willstätter.jpg]]

File:Edith Stein (ca. 1938-1939).jpg]]

File:George 1st Kent.png]]

=September=

File:Ks. Adam Bargielski.jpg]]

File:Bronis%C5%82aw Kostkowski patron Slupska.jpg]]

|title=黄少强(1901-1942) 谱家国哀愁 写民间疾苦

|trans-title=Huang Shaoqiang (1901-1942) Wrote About the Sorrow of the Country and the Suffering of the People

|language=zh

|date=23 March 2009

|ref={{SfnRef|Southern Metropolis Daily, 2009}}

|work=Southern Metropolis Daily

|url=https://www.gzlib.org.cn/gzlp/151908.jhtml

|access-date=5 September 2024

|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105062211/https://www.gzlib.org.cn/gzlp/151908.jhtml

|archivedate=5 January 2024

}} (via Guangzhou Library)

=October=

File:Blessed Maria Antonina Kratochwil.jpg]]

=November=

File:Heinrich XXXIII RjL - Zum Besten der Kriegswaisen.jpg]]

File:Hernando Siles Reyes - CROPPED.jpg]]

File:Mohammad Ali Foroughi.jpg]]

=December=

File:Fran%C3%A7ois Darlan 1942 USA-MTO-NWA-p266.jpg]]

References

{{Reflist}}

{{Events by month links}}

{{Authority control}}