Editing 1942 (section)

==Events==
Below, the events of [[World War II]] have the "WWII" prefix.
[[File: World War II in Europe, 1942.svg|thumb|Map of Europe at the height of German control in 1942, Britain remains the only country in Western Europe held by Allied forces]]

===January===
{{Main|January 1942}}
* [[January 1]] &ndash; WWII: The [[Declaration by United Nations]] is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in which they agree "not to make any separate peace with the [[Axis powers]]".
* [[January 5]] &ndash; WWII: Two prisoners, British officer [[Airey Neave]] and Dutch officer [[Anthony Luteyn]], escape from [[Colditz Castle]] in [[Germany]]. After travelling for three days, they reach the Swiss border.<ref>{{cite book | last = Levine | first = Alan | title = Captivity, flight, and survival in World War II | publisher = Praeger | location = Westport, CT | year = 2000 | isbn = 9780275969554 | page=119}}</ref>
* [[January 7]] &ndash; WWII:
** [[Battle of Slim River]]: Japanese forces of the [[5th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|5th Division]], supported by tanks, sweep through sixteen miles of British defenses, shattering the exhausted [[11th Infantry Division (India)|11th Indian Division]] and inflicting some 3,000 casualties.<ref>{{cite book | last = Hack | first = Karl | title = Did Singapore have to fall?: Churchill and the impregnable fortress | publisher = RoutledgeCurzon | location = London New York | year = 2004 | isbn = 9781134396382 | page=224}}</ref>
** [[Operation Typhoon]], the German attempt to take Moscow, ends in failure.<ref>{{cite book |author=David M. Glantz |title=Colossus Reborn: The Red Army at War: 1941-1943 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YwBoAAAAMAAJ |year=2005 |publisher=University Press of Kansas |isbn=978-0-7006-1353-3 |page=215}}</ref>
* [[January 11]] &ndash; WWII:
** [[Dutch East Indies campaign]]: Japan declares war on the [[Netherlands]] and the [[Dutch East Indies]]. Japanese forces invade [[Borneo]] and [[Sulawesi|Celebes]].
** [[Malayan Campaign]]: The Japanese [[Battle of Kuala Lumpur|capture]] [[Kuala Lumpur]], the capital of the [[Federated Malay States]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Asian Profile |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m9UtAQAAIAAJ |year=1997 |publisher=Asian Research Service |page=458}}</ref>
* [[January 12]] &ndash; WWII:
** New Zealand [[No. 488 Squadron RNZAF|Squadron No. 488]] loses two aircraft and five damaged against a force of 27 Japanese fighters, in their first combat mission in [[Singapore]].<ref>Clayton, Graham (2008). ''Last Stand in Singapore: The Story of 488 Squadron RNZAF'', p. 83. Auckland, New Zealand: Random House. {{ISBN|978-1-86979-033-2}}.</ref>
* [[January 13]]
** [[Heinkel]] test pilot Helmut Schenk becomes the first person to escape from a stricken aircraft with an [[ejection seat]].
** [[Henry Ford]] patents a plastic automobile that would be 30% lighter than a conventional car.
* [[January 14]]
** WWII: "[[Second Happy Time]]", the German submarine commanders' name for ''Operation PP'' (Operation Drumbeat), the phase in the [[Battle of the Atlantic]] during which German submarines are successful in attacking Allied shipping along the [[East Coast of the United States]], opens early this morning when [[German submarine U-123 (1940)|German submarine ''U-123'']] under the command of [[Reinhard Hardegen]] sinks a Norwegian tanker within sight of [[Long Island]], before entering [[New York Harbor]] and sinking a British tanker off [[Sandy Hook, New Jersey|Sandy Hook]] the following night, as she leaves heading south along the coast. U-boat successes continue until around June 12.
** The [[Sikorsky R-4]] first flies in the United States; it will become the first mass-produced [[helicopter]].
* [[January 16]] &ndash; American film actress [[Carole Lombard]] and her mother are among all 22 killed aboard [[TWA Flight 3]] when the [[Douglas DC-3]] plane crashes into [[Potosi Mountain (Nevada)|Potosi Mountain]] near [[Las Vegas]] while she is returning from a tour to promote the sale of war bonds.
* [[January 17]] &ndash; WWII: South African forces of the British [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|8th Army]] conquer the [[Halfaya Pass]] ("Hellfire Pass"). The Halfaya garrison of 4,200 men of the Italian [[55th Infantry Division "Savona"|55th Division "Savona"]] and 2,100 Germans surrender. 
* [[January 19]] &ndash; WWII:
** Japanese forces invade [[Burma]].
** The following Commands of the United States [[Eighth Air Force]] are established: VIII Bomber Command initially at [[Langley Field]] in Virginia, and [[VIII Fighter Command]] at [[Selfridge Air National Guard Base|Selfridge Field]] in Michigan.
* [[January 20]] &ndash; [[The Holocaust]]: [[Nazism|Nazis]] at the [[Wannsee Conference]] convened by [[Reinhard Heydrich]] in Berlin decide that the "[[Final Solution]] (''Endlösung'') to the Jewish problem" is deportations to extermination camps.
* [[January 21]] &ndash; WWII: [[Erwin Rommel]] launches his new offensive in [[Cyrenaica]].
* [[January 23]] &ndash; WWII: The [[Battle of Rabaul (1942)|Battle of Rabaul]] begins. Before dawn, 5,000 troops of Japan's elite [[South Seas Detachment]] storm ashore at [[Rabaul]] on the island of [[New Britain]]. With control of the air and support from the guns of their own ships, the Japanese overwhelm the small Australian garrison: the majority are either killed or captured. This marks the start of the [[New Guinea campaign]].
* [[January 25]] &ndash; WWII: 
** German forces under Erwin Rommel of [[Panzer Army Africa|Panzer Group Afrika]] reaches [[Msus]]. General [[Alfred Reade Godwin-Austen|Alfred Godwin-Austin]] orders the [[4th Infantry Division (India)|4th Indian Division]] from the British [[XIII Corps (United Kingdom)|13th Corps]] to evacuate [[Benghazi]].
** [[Thailand]] declares war on the United States and the United Kingdom.
* [[January 26]] &ndash; WWII: The first American forces arrive in Europe, landing in [[Northern Ireland]].
* [[January 31]] &ndash; WWII: [[Malayan Campaign]]: The last organized Allied forces leave [[British Malaya]], ending the 54-day campaign, and the [[Johor–Singapore Causeway]] is severed.

===February===
{{Main|February 1942}}
* [[February 1]]
** WWII: [[Marshalls–Gilberts raids]]: Admiral [[William Halsey Jr]] sends airstrikes from the carrier [[USS Enterprise (CV-6)|USS ''Enterprise'']] against [[Kwajalein Atoll|Kwajalein]], [[Taroa Island|Taroa]], [[Wotje Atoll|Wotje]] in the [[Marshall Islands]]. At the same time, cruisers and destroyers bombard Taroa and Wotje. The strikes inflict light to moderate damage on the three islands' naval garrisons, sink three warships and damage several others, including the light cruiser [[Japanese cruiser Katori|''Katori'']] and damage 15 Japanese aircraft. Further south, the carrier [[USS Yorktown (CV-5)|USS ''Yorktown'']] attacks [[Jaluit Atoll|Jaluit]], [[Mili Atoll|Mili]] and [[Butaritari|Makin]] in the [[Gilbert Islands]]. They inflict moderate damage to the Japanese naval installations and destroy three aircraft. 
** WWII: The ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'' introduces the [[Cryptanalysis of the Enigma#M4 (German Navy 4-rotor Enigma)|M4 (German Navy 4-rotor)]] [[Enigma machine]] for [[U-boat]] traffic, blinding Allied [[cryptanalyst]]s to their radio signals for most of the year.
** WWII: The Command staff of the United States [[VIII Bomber Command|Eighth Air Force]] reaches England.<!-- becomes active in the [[European Theater of Operations]], but won't fly missions until July 4, 1942, using borrowed British planes[http://www.taphilo.com/history/8thaf/index.shtml] --->
** [[Mao Zedong]] makes a speech on "Reform in Learning, the Party and Literature", starting the [[Yan'an Rectification Movement]] in the [[Chinese Communist Party]].
* [[February 3]] &ndash; WWII: Rommel suspends his offensive in Cyrenaica.
* [[February 7]] &ndash; [[United States Maritime Commission]] fleet operations are transferred to the [[War Shipping Administration]] (lasting until [[September 1]], [[1946]]).
* [[February 8]]
** WWII: [[Fall of Singapore|Battle of Singapore]]: Japanese forces of the [[5th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|5th Division]] and [[18th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|18th Division]] (some 23,000 men) begin to cross the [[Straits of Johor|Johor Strait]] and attack the Australian [[22nd Brigade (Australia)|22nd Brigade]] (some 3,000 men) at [[Singapore in the Straits Settlements|Singapore]]. 
** WWII: [[Daylight saving time]] goes into effect in the United States.
** WWII: Top United States military leaders hold their first formal meeting to discuss American military strategy in the war.
** [[António Óscar Carmona]] is elected president of Portugal.
* [[February 9]] &ndash; The [[ocean liner]] {{SS|Normandie}} catches fire while being converted into the troopship USS ''Lafayette'' (AP-53) for WWII at Pier 88 in New York City; she capsizes early the following morning.
* [[February 11]]&ndash;[[February 13|13]] &ndash; WWII: [[Operation Cerberus]]: A [[Kriegsmarine]] (German navy) squadron comprising the [[German battleship Scharnhorst|''Scharnhorst'']] and [[German battleship Gneisenau|''Gneisenau'']], heavy cruiser [[German cruiser Prinz Eugen|''Prinz Eugen'']] and their escort, dash from [[Brest, France|Brest]] through the [[English Channel]] to German ports; the British fail to sink any of them.
* [[February 14]]&ndash;[[February 18|18]] &ndash; WWII: [[Battle of Bilin River]]: Indian forces of the [[17th Infantry Division (India)|17th Division]] under General [[Sir John Smyth, 1st Baronet|John Snyth]] are ordered to halt the Japanese advance but are outflanked and retreat to the [[Sittaung River|Sittang River]]. 
* [[February 14]] &ndash; WWII: 
** [[Battle of Palembang]]: Japanese paratroopers (240 men) are dropped near [[Palembang]], and capture the oil refinery complex undamaged. Dutch forces counter-attack and manage to retake the complex but take heavy losses. A planned demolition fails to do any serious damage to the refinery, but the oil stores are set ablaze.
** The {{SS|Vyner Brooke}}, Scottish steamship, is bombed and sunk by Japanese planes while evacuating nurses and wounded servicemen from Singapore. Rescue boats with many survivors reach [[Bangka Island]].
* [[February 15]] &ndash; WWII: [[Fall of Singapore]]: Commonwealth forces under General [[Arthur Percival]] surrender to the Japanese [[Twenty-Fifth Army (Japan)|25th Army]]. About 80,000 British, Indian, Australian, and local troops become prisoners of war, joining the 50,000 soldiers taken in the [[Malayan campaign]]. 
* [[February 16]] &ndash; WWII: [[Bangka Island massacre|Bangka Island Massacre]]: Japanese soldiers [[Machine gun|machine-gun]] 22 [[Australian Army Nursing Service|Australian Army nurses]] and 60 Australian and British soldiers and crew who have survived the sinking of SS ''Vyner Brooke''.
* [[February 18]] &ndash; WWII:
** [[Japanese occupation of Singapore]]: ''[[Sook Ching]]'' &ndash; Japanese forces begin the systematic extermination of perceived hostile elements among [[Chinese Singaporeans]].
** More than 200 American sailors die in [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]] when {{USS|Truxtun|DD-229|6}} runs aground near Chambers Cove and {{USS|Pollux|AKS-2|6}} runs aground at Lawn Point.
* [[February 19]] &ndash; WWII:
** [[Bombing of Darwin]]: The Japanese [[1st Air Fleet]] under Admiral [[Chūichi Nagumo]] bombs [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]], Australia. This force comprises the aircraft carriers [[Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi|''Akagi'']], [[Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga|''Kaga'']], [[Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū|''Hiryū'']] and [[Japanese aircraft carrier Sōryū|''Sōryū'']] and a powerful force of escorting surface ships. During the attack, 188 planes led by [[Mitsuo Fuchida]] destroy 11 vessels and wreck a lot of the harbor infrastructure, killing some 240 people.
** A returning Japanese fighter plane crashes on [[Melville Island (Australia)]] and its pilot, [[Hajime Toyoshima]], becomes the first Japanese captured on Australian soil, when [[Indigenous Australians|indigenous resident]] [[Matthias Ulungura]] takes him prisoner. 
** President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] signs [[Executive Order 9066]], allowing the United States military to define areas as exclusionary zones. These zones affect the [[Internment of Japanese Americans|Japanese]] on the West Coast, and [[Internment of German Americans|Germans]] and [[Internment of Italian Americans|Italians]] primarily on the East Coast.
* [[February 19]]–[[February 23|23]] &ndash; WWII: [[Battle of Sittang Bridge]]: Indian forces of the 17th Division are ordered to defend the Sittang Bridge, but eventually blow up the bridge to halt the Japanese advance to [[Yangon|Rangoon]]. Survivors of the 17th Division (some 3.500 soldiers) swim and ferry themselves over the Sittang River.
* [[February 20]] &ndash; Lieutenant [[Edward O'Hare]] becomes America's first U.S. Navy [[flying ace]] of the war.
* [[February 21]] &ndash; WWII: [[Invasion of Sumatra]]: Japanese forces of the [[38th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|38th Division]] under General [[Tadayoshi Sano]] capture [[Bandar Lampung|Tanjungkarang]] airfield, which is put to work for air operations against [[Java]].
* [[February 22]] &ndash; WWII: General [[George Marshall]] transmits a direct order to [[Douglas MacArthur|General MacArthur]] in [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|President Roosevelt]]'s name, ordering MacArthur himself to turn over command of the [[Philippines]] to a subordinate, and report to Australia to assume command of the large American force being built up there. The orders are worded to allow MacArthur to choose the exact moment of his [[Douglas MacArthur's escape from the Philippines|departure]]; for various reasons, he will not leave until March 11.
* [[February 23]] &ndash; WWII: {{Ship|Japanese submarine|I-17||2|up=yes}} fires 17 high-explosive shells toward an [[oil refinery]] near [[Santa Barbara, California]], causing little damage.
* [[February 24]]
** [[Struma disaster|'' Struma'' disaster]]: {{MV|Struma}}, carrying Jewish refugees from Axis-allied Romania to British-administered Palestine, is torpedoed and sunk by {{Ship|Soviet submarine|Shch-213||2|up=yes}}, killing about 791 men, women, and children, with only 1 survivor.
** [[Propaganda]]: The [[Voice of America]] begins broadcasting.
** [[Internment of Japanese Canadians]] is ordered.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sugiman |first=Pamela |year=2004 |title=Memories of internment: narrating Japanese Canadian women's life stories |journal=The Canadian Journal of Sociology |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=359–388 |jstor=3654672 |doi=10.1353/cjs.2004.0049|s2cid=144013114 }}</ref>
* [[February 25]] &ndash; "[[Battle of Los Angeles]]": Over 1,400 AA shells are fired at an unidentified, slow-moving object (probably a meteorological balloon) in the skies over Los Angeles. The appearance of the object triggers an immediate wartime blackout over most of [[Southern California]], with thousands of air raid wardens being deployed throughout the city. At least 5 deaths are related to the incident. Despite the several-hour barrages no planes are downed.
* [[February 26]] &ndash; The [[14th Academy Awards]] ceremony is held in Los Angeles; ''[[How Green Was My Valley (film)|How Green Was My Valley]]'' wins [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]].
* [[February 27]] &ndash; WWII: 
** [[Battle of the Java Sea]]: An allied ([[ABDA]]) task force of 14 vessels under [[Netherlands|Dutch]] command, trying to stem a Japanese invasion of the [[Dutch East Indies]], is defeated by a 19-vessel Japanese task force in the [[Java Sea]]; 2.300 sailors die, including the commander, Admiral [[Karel Doorman]]; Japanese attain naval hegemony in East-Asia.
** The [[USS Langley (CV-1)|USS ''Langley'']], first aircraft carrier of the [[United States Navy]], is attacked by 9 Japanese bombers while ferrying a cargo of USAAF [[Curtiss P-40 Warhawk|P-40]] fighters to Java. ''Langley'' is so badly damaged that she has to be [[Scuttling|scuttled]] to avoid falling into Japanese hands.

===March===
{{Main|March 1942}}
* [[March 1]] &ndash; WWII: Japanese forces of the [[2nd Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|2nd Division]] land in [[Port of Merak]] on western [[Java]] with the intention to advance on [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies|Batavia]].
* [[March 4]] &ndash; WWII: [[Operation K]]: The Japanese launch an unsuccessful attack carried out by two [[Kawanishi H8K]] ("Emily") flying boats at [[Pearl Harbor]]. This is the longest distance ever undertaken by a two-plane bombing mission, and one of the longest bombing sorties ever planned without fighter escort.
* [[March 5]] &ndash; WWII: Japanese forces of the [[Sixteenth Army (Japan)|16th Army]] under General [[Hitoshi Imamura]] enter triumphantly the Dutch colonial capital of Batavia without opposition.
* [[March 6]] &ndash; WWII: [[Yugoslav Partisans]], operating in [[Nazi-occupied Serbia]], assassinate Đorđe Kosmajac in [[Belgrade]]. 
* [[March 8]]&ndash;[[March 13|13]] &ndash; [[Invasion of Salamaua–Lae]]: Japanese forces invade and occupy the [[Salamaua]]–[[Lae]] area in the [[Territory of New Guinea]] to establish an air base for the support of further operations in the region. A small Australian garrison (some 200 men) in the area withdraws to [[Wau, Papua New Guinea|Wau]] after executing demolition operations to prevent the use of their facilities for the invaders. In response to the Japanese landings, [[Task Force 17]] with aircraft carriers [[USS Lexington (CV-2)|''Lexington'']] and [[USS Yorktown (CV-5)|''Yorktown'']] led by Admiral [[Wilson Brown (admiral)|Wilson Brown]], attacks the invading naval forces and destroys three transports, and damages the cruiser [[Japanese cruiser Yūbari|''Yūbari'']] and several other ships.
* [[March 8]] &ndash; WWII:
** Japanese forces of the [[33rd Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|33rd Division]] under General [[Shōzō Sakurai]] capture [[Yangon|Rangoon]]. The Allies manage to escape and try to make a stand in central [[Myanmar|Burma]].
** [[NIROM]], the Dutch East Indies' privately funded broadcaster, closes.
* [[March 9]] &ndash; WWII: 
** [[Executive order]] 9082 (February 28, 1942) comes into effect, reorganizing the United States Army into three major commands: [[Army Ground Forces]], [[United States Army Air Forces|Army Air Forces]], and [[Services of Supply]], later redesignated [[Army Service Forces]], with [[Henry H. Arnold]] as Commanding General of the [[United States Army Air Forces]].
** The Dutch Commander-in-Chief of the Allied forces on Java, General [[Hein ter Poorten|Ter Poorten]], surrenders to the Japanese. Ter Poorten's surrender announcement is made without consulting the commanders of the British and US forces, who want to continue the war. 
* [[March 11]] &ndash; WWII: [[Douglas MacArthur's escape from the Philippines]] &ndash; U.S. General [[Douglas MacArthur]], his family and key members of his staff are evacuated by [[PT boat]], under cover of evening darkness, from [[Battle of Corregidor|Corregidor]] in the [[Philippines]]. Command of U.S. forces in the Philippines passes to [[Jonathan M. Wainwright (general)|Major General Jonathan M. Wainwright]].
* [[March 12]] &ndash; WWII: American troops land at [[Nouméa]] on [[New Caledonia]] to build a base and garrison the island. This landing includes the first [[Seabees in World War II|Seabees]] that are out on active service. The Seabees are Naval Construction battalions, and their name comes from the C and B in construction battalion.
* [[March 15]] &ndash; WWII: [[Dünamünde Action]]: 1,900 central European Jews are shot dead north east of [[Riga]], 1,840 are killed on the 26th.
* [[March 16]] &ndash; WWII: New Zealand and Australia declare war on [[Thailand]].
* [[March 17]] &ndash; [[The Holocaust]]: [[Operation Reinhard]] &ndash; The [[Nazi Germany|Nazi German]] [[Bełżec extermination camp]] opens in [[Occupation of Poland (1939–45)|occupied Poland]], about 1&nbsp;km south of the railroad station at [[Bełżec extermination camp|Bełżec]] in the [[Lublin]] district of the [[General Government]]. At least 434,508 people are killed here up to December 1942.
* [[March 18]] &ndash; [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], President of the United States, signs [[Executive Order 9102]], creating the [[War Relocation Authority]] (WRA), which becomes responsible for the internment of Americans of Japanese and, to a lesser extent, German and Italian descent, many of them legal citizens.
* [[March 19]]&ndash;[[March 30|30]] &ndash; WWII: [[Battle of Toungoo]]: Chinese forces under General [[Dai Anlan]] set up a perimeter around [[Taungoo]]. The Japanese [[55th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|55th Division]] bombards the positions on the west bank of the [[Sittaung River]] with artillery. The Japanese [[56th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|56th Division]] links up with the 55th and crosses the river. Taungoo is surrounded and finally taken, while the remnants of the Chinese [[200th Division (National Revolutionary Army)|200th Division]] withdraws to new defensive positions at [[Yedashe]].
* [[March 20]] &ndash; WWII: After being forced to flee the Philippines, U.S. General [[Douglas MacArthur]] announces (in [[Terowie, South Australia]]), "I came through and I shall return."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48749454 |title=I Came Through; I Shall Return |newspaper=[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)|The Advertiser]] |location=Adelaide |date=March 21, 1942 |access-date=2013-03-20 |page=1 |archive-date=March 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320165840/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/48749454 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[March 22]] &ndash; WWII: [[Second Battle of Sirte]]: Escorting warships of a British convoy to [[Malta]] ward off a much more powerful ''[[Regia Marina]]'' (Italian Navy) squadron, north of the [[Gulf of Sirte]].
* [[March 23]] &ndash; WWII: The Germans burn down the Ukrainian village of Yelino ([[Koriukivka Raion]]), killing 296 civilians.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.russia-today.ru/2012_13_37.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130113222535/http://www.russia-today.ru/2012_13_37.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 13, 2013 |script-title=ru:Великая Отечественная: когда захороним последнего солдата? |language=ru |work=Russia Today |access-date=September 21, 2012}}</ref>
* [[March 24]] &ndash; The evacuation of Polish nationals from the Soviet Union begins. It is conducted in two phases: until April 5; and between August 10 and 30, 1942, by sea from Krasnovodsk to Pahlavi (Anzali), and (to a lesser extent) overland from Ashkabad to Mashhad. In all, 115,000 people are evacuated, 37,000 of them civilians, 18,000 children (7% of the number of Polish citizens originally exiled to the Soviet Union).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parstimes.com/history/polish_refugees/exodus_russia.html |title=Iran and the Polish Exodus from Russia 1942 |publisher=parstimes |access-date=October 25, 2012 |archive-date=October 30, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030164045/http://www.parstimes.com/history/polish_refugees/exodus_russia.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[March 25]]&ndash;[[March 26|26]] &ndash; The Holocaust: [[First mass transport of Jews to Auschwitz concentration camp]], 997 women and girls from [[Poprad]] transit camp in the [[Slovak Republic (1939–1945)|Slovak Republic]].
* [[March 28]] &ndash; WWII:
** [[St Nazaire Raid]] (Operation Chariot) &ndash; British Commandos raid [[Saint-Nazaire]] on the coast of Western France, to put its dockyard facilities out of action.
** [[Bombing of Lübeck in World War II]]: [[St. Mary's Church, Lübeck]] is destroyed by an Allied bombing raid.
* [[March 29]] &ndash; WWII: Following a coup d'état, the Free Republic of Nias is proclaimed by a group of freed Nazi German prisoners in the Indonesian island of [[Nias]]; the republic exists for less than a month until the island is fully occupied by Japanese troops.
* [[March 31]] &ndash; WWII: [[Battle of Christmas Island]] &ndash; Japanese troops occupy [[Christmas Island]] without resistance, following a mutiny by [[British Indian Army]] troops against their British officers.

===April===
{{Main|April 1942}}
* [[April]]
** [[The Holocaust]]: the [[Nazi Germany|Nazi German]] [[extermination camp]] [[Sobibór extermination camp|Sobibór]] opens in [[Occupation of Poland (1939–45)|occupied Poland]], on the outskirts of the town of [[Sobibór, Lublin Voivodeship|Sobibór]]. Between April 1942 and October 1943, at least 160,000 people are killed here.
** 77 [[Uzbeks|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.<ref>{{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 }}</ref>
* [[April 3]] &ndash; WWII: Japanese forces begin the last phase of the [[Battle of Bataan]], an all-out assault on the United States and [[Philippines|Filipino]] troops on the [[Bataan Peninsula]].
* [[April 5]] &ndash; WWII: [[Easter Sunday Raid]] &ndash; 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]] &ndash; WWII:
** [[Battle of Bataan]]: The [[Bataan]] Peninsula falls, American and Filipino forces (some 75,000 soldiers) surrender to the Japanese [[Japanese Fourteenth Area Army|14th Army]] under General [[Masaharu Homma]]. 
** [[Bataan Death March]]: American and Filipino prisoners of war are forced to march from [[San Fernando, Pampanga|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 10]] &ndash; [[The Holocaust]]: Construction of the [[Nazi Germany|Nazi German]] [[extermination camp]] [[Treblinka II]] commences in [[Occupation of Poland (1939–45)|occupied Poland]] near the village of [[Treblinka, Masovian Voivodeship|Treblinka]]. Between July 23, 1942, and October 1943, around 850,000 people are killed here,<ref name="Generalgouvernement, 2004, pp. 257–281">{{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}}</ref> more than 800,000 of whom are Jews.<ref name=CGH>{{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]}}</ref>
* [[April 13]]
** WWII: Japanese forces of the [[56th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|56th Division]] under General [[Masao Watanabe]] cross the [[Sittaung River|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]] &ndash; 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 (World War II)|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]] &ndash; 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]] &ndash; WWII: [[Doolittle Raid]]: Lieutenant Colonel [[Jimmy Doolittle|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 (CV-8)|USS ''Hornet'']] in the [[Pacific Ocean]], some 700 miles (1,126&nbsp;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]] &ndash; WWII: [[Operation Calendar]]: The American aircraft carrier [[USS Wasp (CV-7)|USS ''Wasp'']], escorted by the British battlecruiser [[HMS Renown (1916)|HMS ''Renown'']], two cruisers and six destroyers, brings 47 planes ([[Supermarine Spitfires|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.<ref>Woodman, Richard (2000). ''Malta Convoys 1940-1943'', p. 320. London: John Murray. {{ISBN|0-7195-6408-5}}.</ref>
* [[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 in World War II|bombing of Lübeck]].
** Exeter-born [[William Temple (bishop)|William Temple]] is enthroned as [[Archbishop of Canterbury]].
* [[April 25]] &ndash; [[Elizabeth II|Princess Elizabeth]] registers for war service in the U.K.
* [[April 26]]
** WWII: The [[Reichstag (Nazi Germany)|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 [[Conscription Crisis of 1944|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]] &ndash; WWII: 
** [[Burma campaign]]: Japanese forces of the [[Fifteenth Army (Japan)|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}}
* [[May]] &ndash; [[Operation Pluto]]: The plan to construct oil pipelines under the [[English Channel]], between England and France, is tested in the [[River Medway]].
* [[May 3]]&ndash;[[May 4|4]] &ndash; WWII: [[Invasion of Tulagi (May 1942)|Tulagi is invaded]] by Japanese forces in the [[British Solomon Islands]] of the South Pacific, as part of [[Operation Mo]].
* [[May 5]] &ndash; WWII: [[Battle of Madagascar]] (Operation Ironclad) begins when British forces land on the [[Vichy French]] colony of [[Madagascar]]. On May 7 the northern city of [[Diego-Suarez|Diego Suarez]] surrenders.
* [[May 7]] &ndash; WWII: On [[Corregidor]], the last American and [[Philippines|Filipino]] forces in the [[Philippines]] under command of 2LT Robert L. Obourn ([[92nd Coast Artillery (United States)|92nd Coast Artillery Regiment]], G Battery) from [[Fort Mills]], surrender to the Japanese as directed by Lt. Gen. [[Jonathan M. Wainwright (general)|Jonathan M. Wainwright]], the overall commander.<ref name="ref1">{{cite book |last=Quigley |first=Carroll |title=Tragedy And Hope |year=1966 |publisher=Macmillan |location=New York |isbn=0-945001-10-X |page=745 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KQZxAAAAIAAJ&q=tragedy+and+hope |access-date=September 21, 2016 |archive-date=December 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207090537/https://books.google.com/books?id=KQZxAAAAIAAJ&q=tragedy+and+hope |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[May 8]] &ndash; WWII:
** The [[Battle of the Kerch Peninsula]]: The German [[11th Army (Wehrmacht)|11th Army]] with Romanian forces launches ''Unternehmen Trappenjagd'' (Operation Bustard Hunt) and destroys the [[bridgehead]] of the three Soviet Armies (44th, 47th, and 51st) defending the [[Kerch Peninsula]] in the eastern part of the [[Crimean Front]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Robert |last=Forczyk |year=2008 |title=Sevastopol 1942, Von Manstein's triumph |url=https://archive.org/details/sevastopolvonman00forc |url-access=limited |pages=[https://archive.org/details/sevastopolvonman00forc/page/n18 35]–37 |publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=978-1-84603-221-9}}</ref> The battle ends in an Axis victory.
** The [[Battle of the Coral Sea]] between Japanese and American/Australian fleets, the first battle in naval history where the opponents fight without seeing each other's fleets. The Japanese achieve a tactical victory in terms of tonnage lost (including aircraft carrier [[USS Lexington (CV-2)|USS ''Lexington'']]) but are prevented from invading [[Port Moresby]].
* [[May 8]]&ndash;[[May 9|9]] &ndash; WWII: At night, gunners of the [[Sri Lanka Artillery|Ceylon Garrison Artillery]] on [[Horsburgh Island]] in the [[Cocos (Keeling) Islands|Cocos Islands]] revolt. The mutiny is crushed, and 3 soldiers are executed (the only British Commonwealth soldiers to be executed for mutiny).
* [[May 9]] &ndash; WWII: [[Operation Bowery]]: Aircraft carriers [[USS Wasp (CV-7)|USS ''Wasp'']] and [[HMS Eagle (1918)|HMS ''Eagle'']] bring 61 Spitfires to Malta ([[Club Run|"Club Runs"]]). The fighter aircraft are desperately needed to bolster the island's defense against German [[Luftwaffe]] air raids.
* [[May 12]] &ndash; WWII:
** [[Second Battle of Kharkiv|Second Battle of Kharkov]]: In the eastern [[Ukraine]], the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] Army initiates a major offensive to capture the city of [[Kharkiv|Kharkov]] from the German Army, only to be encircled and destroyed.
** Japanese minelayer [[Japanese minelayer Okinoshima|''Okinoshima'']] is sunk by American submarine {{USS|S-42|SS-153|6}}.
* [[May 15]] &ndash; WWII: In the United States, a bill creating the [[Women's Army Corps|Women's Auxiliary Army Corps]] (WAAC) is signed into law.
* [[May 20]] &ndash; The first African-American seamen are taken into the [[United States Navy]].
* [[May 21]] &ndash; WWII: Mexico declares war against [[Nazi Germany]], after the sinking of the Mexican tanker ''[[Faja de Oro]]'' by {{GS|U-160|1941|6}} off [[Key West]].
* [[May 23]] &ndash; WWII: German forces of the [[6th Army (Wehrmacht)|6th Army]] under General [[Friedrich Paulus]] and the [[1st Panzer Army]] led by General [[Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist|Ewald von Kleist]] meet up at [[Balakliia|Balakleya]], southeast of Kharkov, and encircle most of the Soviet 6th and 9th armies, capturing a 250,000-strong Soviet force inside the pocket.
* [[May 26]] &ndash; WWII:
** [[Battle of Gazala]]: German forces of [[Panzer Army Africa]] led by General Erwin Rommel launch a frontal attack on the central [[Gazala]] positions. During the day, the bulk of Rommel's forces move forward, giving the British the impression that this is the main Axis assault. When night falls, the armoured formations turn south in a sweeping move around the southern end of the Gazala line.
** [[Battle of Bir Hakeim]]: The Free French and British troops slow the German advance in North Africa.
** The [[Anglo-Soviet Treaty of 1942]], to help establish a military and political alliance between the [[USSR]] and the [[British Empire]], is signed in London by foreign Secretary [[Anthony Eden]] and Soviet foreign minister [[Vyacheslav Molotov]].
* [[May 27]] &ndash; WWII: [[Operation Anthropoid]]: Czech paratroopers acting for the Czech government in exile and trained in Britain attempt to assassinate [[Reinhard Heydrich]], acting ''Reichsprotektor'' of the Nazi [[Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia]], in [[Prague]], and succeed in wounding him.
* [[May 29]] &ndash; [[Thai spelling reform of 1942]] is initiated by the government of Prime Minister Field Marshal [[Plaek Phibunsongkhram]] with his office announcing a simplification of the Thai alphabet. The announcement is published in the Royal Gazette on June 1. The reform is canceled by the government of [[Khuang Aphaiwong]] on August 2, 1944.
* [[May 30]]&ndash;[[May 31|31]] &ndash; WWII: [[Bombing of Cologne in World War II|Bombing of Cologne]] &ndash; British [[RAF Bomber Command]]'s "Operation Millennium", its first "1,000 bomber raid", with associated fires make 13,000 families homeless and kills around 475 people, mostly civilians; 3,330 non-residential buildings are destroyed.
* [[May 31]]&ndash;[[June 1]] &ndash; WWII: [[Attack on Sydney Harbour]]: Japanese [[midget submarine]]s infiltrate Sydney Harbour in Australia, in an attempt to attack Allied warships.

===June===
{{Main|June 1942}}
[[File: Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryu maneuvers to avoid bombs on 4 June 1942 (USAF-3725).jpg|thumb|300px|June 4: [[Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū|Japanese aircraft carrier '' Hiryū'']] 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 3]]–[[June 4|4]] &ndash; 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]] &ndash; WWII: [[Reinhard Heydrich]] succumbs to wounds sustained on [[May 27]], from Czechoslovakian paratroopers acting in [[Operation Anthropoid]].
* [[June 4]]–[[June 7|7]] &ndash; WWII: [[Battle of Midway]]: An American naval victory halts the Japanese advance in the Pacific.<ref>{{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.}}</ref>
* [[June 5]] &ndash; WWII: The [[United States]] declares war on [[Tsardom of Bulgaria (1908–1946)|Bulgaria]], [[Hungary]] and [[Romania]].
* [[June 6]] &ndash; WWII: Aleutian Islands campaign: [[Japanese occupation of Kiska]].
* [[June 7]] &ndash; WWII: 
** [[Siege of Sevastopol (1941–1942)]]: German forces of the [[11th Army (Wehrmacht)|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&nbsp;cm nicknamed "Thor", "Odin" and "Loki"). Firing in support, the German 80&nbsp;cm [[Schwerer Gustav]] railway gun fires seven shells.
** Aleutian Islands campaign: [[Japanese occupation of Kiska]].
* [[June 8]] &ndash; WWII: [[Attack on Sydney Harbour]]: The Australian cities of Sydney and [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]] are shelled by Japanese submarines. The eastern suburbs of both cities are damaged, and the east coast is blacked out.
* [[June 10]] &ndash; 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 (United Kingdom)|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."<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The New York Times|title=Nazis Blot Out Czech Village; Kill All Men, Disperse Others|date=11 June 1942}}</ref>
* [[June 11]] &ndash; WWII: German forces of the [[15th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|15th Panzer Division]] together with the [[90th Light Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|90th Light Division]] reach [[Gamal Abdel Nasser Airbase|El Adem]]. Panzer Army Africa captures the area around El Adem, and the [[29th Indian Infantry Brigade|29th Indian Brigade]], which has defended El Adem is almost wiped out by the Germans. 
* [[June 12]] &ndash; [[The Holocaust]]: On her 13th birthday, [[Anne Frank]] receives the book that she will use to keep her [[The Diary of a Young Girl|diary]] in occupied [[Amsterdam]].
* [[June 12]]&ndash;[[June 15|15]] &ndash; WWII: [[Operation Harpoon (1942)|Operation Harpoon]]: An Allied convoy under Admiral [[Alban Curteis]] leaves from [[Gibraltar]] with 6 merchant ships escorted by the British battleship [[HMS Malaya|HMS ''Malaya'']], aircraft carriers [[HMS Argus (I49)|HMS ''Argus'']] and [[HMS Eagle (1918)|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]] &ndash; WWII: 
** German forces of the [[21st Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|21st Panzer Division]] advance from the west and attack the British tanks of the [[22nd Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom)|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 [[132nd Armored Division "Ariete"|Ariete]] and [[101st Motorized Division "Trieste"|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 (United Kingdom)|Eighth Army]].<ref>[[Alexander Clifford|Clifford, Alexander]] (1943). ''Three Against Rommel: The Campaigns of Wavell, Auchinleck and Alexander'', p. 264. London: Harrap. {{OCLC|186758297}}.</ref>
** 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]] &ndash; 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 Infantry Division (South Africa)|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.<ref>Mackenzie, Compton (1951). ''Eastern Epic: September 1939 – March 1943 Defence'', pp. 554–555. Vol. I. London: Chatto & Windus. {{OCLC|59637091}}.</ref>
* [[June 15]] &ndash; 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 17]]&ndash;[[June 21|21]] &ndash; WWII: [[Axis capture of Tobruk|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]] &ndash; 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]] &ndash; WWII: Japanese submarine [[Japanese submarine I-25|''I-25'']] surfaces off the US [[Pacific coast|Pacific Coast]] and [[Bombardment of Fort Stevens|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]] &ndash; 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 Indian Infantry Division|10th Division]], elements of the Indian [[5th Infantry Division (India)|5th Division]] and the British [[50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division|50th Division]] take up positions. 
** The experimental early-type nuclear reactor L-IV has [[Leipzig L-IV experiment accident|an accident]], becoming the first nuclear accident in history and consisting of a steam explosion and reactor fire in [[Leipzig]].
* [[June 24]] &ndash; 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref>
* [[June 26]]&ndash;[[June 29|29]] &ndash; 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]] &ndash; 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 [[Arkhangelsk|Archangelsk]].
* [[June 28]] &ndash; WWII: [[Case Blue|Operation Blue]]: German forces of [[Army Group South]] under Generalfeldmarschall [[Fedor von Bock]] drive to [[Volgograd|Stalingrad]] and the [[Baku]] oil fields. Spearheads of the [[4th Panzer Army]] under General [[Hermann Hoth]] drive towards [[Voronezh]], advancing nearly 50&nbsp;km on day one. They crossed two rivers and cut the link one between the Soviet 13th and 40th armies.
* [[June 30]] &ndash; 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 [[El-Alamein|Alamein]] positions, only 106&nbsp;km from [[Alexandria]]. The Axis forces are exhausted and Rommel has supply problems, because the [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] attacks his supply lines.

===July===
{{Main|July 1942}}
* July &ndash; [[The Holocaust]]: Inmates of [[Westerbork transit camp]] in the occupied [[Netherlands]] begin to be shipped to Nazi [[extermination camp]]s. From now until 1944 around 107,000, mostly Jewish, from here will be killed.
* [[July 1]]&ndash;[[July 27|27]] &ndash; WWII: [[First Battle of El Alamein]]: British forces prevent a second advance by Axis forces into Egypt. The 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions are halted and Erwin Rommel orders his forces to regroup. The panzer strength of the German ''[[Afrika Korps]]'' has been reduced to only 26 vehicles.<ref>Franz Kurowski (1986). ''Das Afrika Korps: Erwin Rommel and the Germans in Africa, 1941–1943'', p. 150. {{ISBN|978-0-8117-4033-3}}.</ref>
* [[July 3]] &ndash; WWII: [[Guadalcanal]], occupied only by native Solomon Islanders, falls to the Japanese Naval construction force deployed to construct an airfield on the island.
* [[July 4]] &ndash; WWII in the [[European Theater of Operations]]:
** Twenty-four ships are sunk by German bombers and submarines after [[Convoy PQ 17]] to the Soviet Union is scattered in the Arctic Ocean to evade the [[German battleship Tirpitz|German battleship ''Tirpitz'']].
** The United States [[Eighth Air Force]] inauspiciously flies its first mission in Europe, using borrowed British planes, and bombs targets in the Netherlands, such as De Kooy Airfield, attached to the [[Den Helder]] Naval Base. Three of six aircraft return;<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.taphilo.com/history/8thaf/index.shtml |title=8th Air Force during WWII in the ETO: facts, statistics, history, and useful information |website=www.taphilo.com |access-date=July 1, 2009 |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716193024/http://www.taphilo.com/history/8thaf/index.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref> For this mission, Captain Charles C. Kegelman is the first member of the Force to be awarded the U.S. [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fpmedia.club.officelive.com/EersteaanvalVIIIBomberCommand.aspx |title=Eerste aanval VIII Bomber Command |date=August 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816165404/http://fpmedia.club.officelive.com/EersteaanvalVIIIBomberCommand.aspx |archive-date=August 16, 2011}}</ref>
* [[July 5]] &ndash; German forces of the 4th Panzer Army under General Hermann Hoth reach the [[Don (river)|Don River]] near Voronezh and become embroiled in the [[Battle of Voronezh (1942)|battle to capture the city]].
* [[July 6]] &ndash; [[The Holocaust]]: [[Anne Frank]]'s family goes into hiding in an attic above her father's office in an [[Amsterdam]] warehouse.
* [[July 7]] &ndash; German forces of the 4th Panzer Army reach the outskirts of Voronezh, but the Soviet army mounts a successful counterattack that ties up Hoth's forces for days.
* [[July 8]] &ndash; Turkish prime minister [[Refik Saydam]] dies while working in the office. For one day he is succeeded by [[Ahmet Fikri Tüzer]].
*[[July 9]] &ndash; [[Şükrü Saracoğlu]] forms the new (13th) government in [[Turkey]].
* [[July 13]] &ndash; WWII: [[U-boat]]s sink three merchant ships in the [[Gulf of St. Lawrence]].
* [[July 14]] &ndash; WWII:
** [[Bastille Day]] [[Gaullist]] demonstrations in [[Vichy France]]; 2 women are shot dead by members of the fascist [[French Popular Party]] (PPF) in [[Marseille]].
** Germany introduces the [[Ostvolk Medal]] for Soviet personnel in the [[Wehrmacht]].
* [[July 16]]
** [[The Holocaust]]: By order of the [[Vichy France]] government headed by [[Pierre Laval]], French police officers round-up 13,000–20,000 Jews and imprison them in the [[Winter Velodrome]].
** [[Georges Bégué]] and others escape from the [[Mauzac, Haute-Garonne|Mauzac]] prison camp.
* [[July 18]] &ndash; WWII: The Germans test fly the [[Messerschmitt Me 262]] (using only its [[jet engine]]s) for the first time.
* [[July 19]] &ndash; WWII: [[Battle of the Atlantic]]: German Grand Admiral [[Karl Dönitz]] orders the last [[U-boat]]s to withdraw from there the United States Atlantic coast positions, in response to an effective American convoy system.
* [[July 21]] &ndash; WWII: The Japanese establish a beachhead on the north coast of [[New Guinea]] in the Buna-Gona area; a small Australian force begins a rearguard action on the [[Kokoda Track campaign]].
* [[July 22]] &ndash; WWII: [[The Holocaust]]: The systematic deportation of Jews from the [[Warsaw Ghetto]] begins.<ref>{{cite book |title=Days of Remembrance, April 26-May 3, 1992: Fifty Years Ago : in the Depths of Darkness : Commemoration Planning Guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fzWBAAAAIAAJ&pg=PR5 |year=1992 |publisher=United States Holocaust Memorial Council |pages=5 |access-date=April 6, 2021 |archive-date=December 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207100449/https://books.google.com/books?id=fzWBAAAAIAAJ&pg=PR5 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[July 23]] &ndash; WWII:
** Adolf Hitler issues [[List of Adolf Hitler's directives|Directive 45]], ordering the seizure of the [[Black Sea]] coast down to [[Batumi|Batum]], and taking the oilfields of [[Maykop|Maikop]], [[Grozny]] and [[Baku]].
** The Holocaust: The [[gas chamber]]s at [[Treblinka extermination camp]] begin operation, killing 6,500 Jews newly arrived from the Warsaw Ghetto.
* [[July 25]] &ndash; WWII: [[Battle of Kalach]]: German forces of the [[6th Army (Wehrmacht)|6th Army]] under General [[Friedrich Paulus]] attack the [[Stalingrad Front]] and manages to surround part of the Soviet [[62nd Army (Soviet Union)|62nd]] and [[64th Army (Soviet Union)|64th armies]] in the [[Kalach-na-Donu|Kalach]] Pocket.
* [[July 29]] &ndash; The [[Presidium of the Supreme Soviet]] of the [[Soviet Union]] institutes the [[Order of Suvorov]] and [[Order of Kutuzov]] and reinstates the [[Order of Alexander Nevsky]].
* [[July 30]] &ndash; WWII:
** [[WAVES]] (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), the United States Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve), is signed into law.
** The [[SS Robert E. Lee (1924)|SS ''Robert E. Lee'']] is sunk in the [[Gulf of Mexico]] by {{GS|U-166|1941|2}}, which is itself sunk by the escorting patrol craft.
* [[July 31]] &ndash; The [[Oxford Committee for Famine Relief]] (Oxfam) is founded in England.

=== August ===
{{Main|August 1942}}
* [[August 1]] &ndash; The [[1942–44 musicians' strike]] begins. The American Federation of Musicians goes on strike against the major U.S. recording companies because of disagreements over royalty payments.
* [[August 3]]&ndash;[[August 15|15]] &ndash; WWII: [[Operation Pedestal]]: A British convoy of 14 merchant ships with a massive escort of two battleships, 4 aircraft carriers, 7 cruisers, 32 destroyers and smaller ships commanded by Admiral [[Edward Neville Syfret]], sets sail to [[Malta]] under relentless attacks by day and night from enemy submarines, aircraft and Axis surface forces. The 55,000 tons of food and fuel delivery by this convoy saves Malta from surrender and allows Malta-based aircraft and submarines to resume their attacks against Rommel's supply lines.
* [[August 4]] &ndash; WWII: Operation Letica: An assassination attempt on Serbian fascist Minister of Finance [[Dušan Letica]], by a group [[Yugoslav Resistance]] fighters, fails.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}}
* [[August 5]] &ndash; WWII: German forces of the [[4th Panzer Army]] under General [[Hermann Hoth]] resume their advance and reach [[Abganerovo, Svetloyarsky District, Volgograd Oblast|Abganerovo]], 70&nbsp;km southwest of [[Stalingrad]]. They are stopped by the Soviet 64th Army under General [[Vasily Chuikov]], who defend the southern approach to Stalingrad.
*[[August 7]] &ndash; WWII: [[Guadalcanal Campaign]] &ndash; The [[U.S. Navy]] and the [[U.S. Marine Corps]] start the first American offensive of the war, with an [[Amphibious warfare|amphibious]] landing on the island of [[Guadalcanal]] in the [[Solomon Islands]].
* [[August 8]]
** WWII: [[Battle of Savo Island]]: The Japanese Imperial Navy under Admiral [[Gunichi Mikawa]] wins a spectacular victory over the US Navy and the Australian Navy at [[Savo Island]]. Five cruisers and one destroyer are sunk, Mikawa's decision to withdraw under cover of the night rather than attempt to destroy the Allied invasion transports is primarily because of a possible Allied carrier strike against his fleet.  
** WWII: Allied North Atlantic [[convoy SC 94]] loses 10 ships, as the first to be heavily attacked by [[U-boat]]s resuming mid-Atlantic [[Wolfpack (naval tactic)|wolf pack]] attacks, through the climactic winter of 1942–43.<ref>{{cite book |title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945 |author1=Rohwer, J. |author2=Hummelchen, G. |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-1-55750-105-9 |page=153}}</ref>
** WWII: In Washington, D.C., six German [[sabotage|saboteurs]] are executed for their role in the failed mission [[Operation Pastorius]] (2 others are cooperative and receive sentences of life imprisonment instead, being freed a few years after the end of the war).
* [[August 9]]
** Indian leader [[Mohandas Gandhi]] is arrested in [[Bombay]], by British forces.
** ''Start'', led by the goalkeeper Nikolai Trusevich, [[The Death Match|play football against the German Luftwaffe team Flakelf in Nazi-occupied Kyiv]]. Against all odds, they win 5–3. Eight of them are later arrested and tortured, and at least four are killed.
** [[Leningrad première of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7]], with the city still under siege.
* [[August 11]] &ndash; [[Hedy Lamarr]]'s and her friend [[George Antheil]]'s frequency-hopping system for radio-controlled torpedoes is granted a patent under {{US patent|2,292,387}}.<ref>{{cite web |last1=USPTO |title=Patent 2,292,387 Full Text |url=http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=02292387&IDKey=F01524164BEB&HomeUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fpatimg.htm |website=United States Patent and Trademark Office |publisher=USPTO |access-date=August 20, 2019 |archive-date=January 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200110223615/https://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=02292387&IDKey=F01524164BEB&HomeUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fpatimg.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1962 (at the time of the Cuban missile crisis), an updated version of their design will at last appear on Navy ships.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Tony |last=Long |url=https://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2011/08/0811hedy-lamar-george-antheil-torpedo-patent |title=This Day in Tech: Aug. 11, 1942: Actress + Piano Player=New Torpedo |magazine=Wired |date=August 11, 2011 |access-date=October 17, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110910052538/http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2011/08/0811hedy-lamar-george-antheil-torpedo-patent/ |archive-date=September 10, 2011 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}</ref>
* [[August 13]] &ndash; A [[Quit India]] resolution is passed by the [[Bombay]] session of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), which leads to the start of a historical civil disobedience movement across India.
* [[August 15]] &ndash; WWII: American tanker {{SS|Ohio||2}} reaches Malta, as part of the convoy of ''[[Operation Pedestal]]''.
* [[August 16]]
** [[Polish-Jewish]] teacher [[Janusz Korczak]] follows a group of Jewish children into the [[Treblinka extermination camp]].
** U.S. Navy blimp ''[[L class blimp|L-8]]'' (Flight 101) comes ashore near San Francisco, eventually coming down in [[Daly City, California|Daly City]] (the crew is missing).
* [[August 17]] 
** WWII: [[Raid on Makin Island]]: US Marines of the [[Marine Raiders|2nd Raider Battalion]] (211 men) under Lt. Col. [[Evans Carlson]] embark aboard the submarines [[USS Argonaut (SM-1)|''Argonaut'']] and [[USS Nautilus (SS-168)|''Nautilus'']] at [[Pearl Harbor]]. The aim is to destroy the Japanese installations and gather intelligence. Only the first of these objectives is achieved, but the raid does boost morale and provide a test for Raider tactics.
** WWII: Heavy bombers of the U.S. [[Eighth Air Force]], based in England, conduct their first raid against occupied France.
* [[August 19]] &ndash; WWII: [[Dieppe Raid]]: An Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of [[Dieppe]] in northern France is repulsed. Some 6,000 men of the Canadian [[2nd Canadian Division during World War II|2nd Infantry Division]] under General [[John Hamilton Roberts|John Roberts]], supported by [[No.3 Commando|3]] and [[No.4 Commando|4 Commando]], 50 or so [[United States Army Rangers|US Rangers]] and Free French Commandos, are put ashore. The raid is designed to provide battle experience for the troops and to gain information about German defense methods. The casualties are some 3,600 men, 1 destroyer, 30 tanks and 33 landing craft.
* [[August 20]] &ndash; [[Plutonium]] is isolated for the first time, at the [[Metallurgical Laboratory]] of the [[University of Chicago]].
* [[August 21]] 
** WWII: [[Battle of the Caucasus#Preparations|Operation Edelweiss]]: German forces (''[[Gebirgsjäger]]'') of the [[1st Mountain Division (Wehrmacht)|1st Mountain Division]] place the Nazi [[swastika]] flag on the summit of [[Mount Elbrus]], a prominent peak of the [[Caucasus]] at 5.629 meters.
** WWII: [[Battle of the Tenaru]]: The Americans defeat Japanese land forces on [[Guadalcanal]].
* [[August 22]] &ndash; WWII: [[Vargas Era#World War II|Brazil declares war]] on Germany and Italy.
* [[August 23]] &ndash; WWII: [[Battle of Stalingrad]]: German forces of the [[16th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|16th Panzer Division]] reach the suburbs of [[Stalingrad]]. The German 6th Army under General [[Friedrich Paulus]] stabilishes the frontier and takes up positions at the [[Volga|Volga River]].
* [[August 24]]
** WWII: [[Charge of the Savoia Cavalleria at Izbushensky]]: An Italian [[cavalry]] regiment attacks Soviet forces with drawn [[Sabre|sabers]] at Izbushensky, Russia, one of the last major cavalry [[Charge (warfare)|charge]]s.
** WWII: Allied North Atlantic [[convoy ON 122]] is attacked by [[U-boat]]s, which sink 4 ships.<ref>{{cite book |title=North Atlantic Run |author=Milner, Marc |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=1985 |pages=148–150 |isbn=0-87021-450-0}}</ref>
** WWII: The 2-day [[Battle of the Eastern Solomons]] begins: Bombers from carrier [[USS Saratoga (CV-3)|USS ''Saratoga'']] sink [[Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō|Japanese aircraft carrier ''Ryūjō'']] near [[Santa Isabel Island]], helping to lead to an Allied victory.
* [[August 25]]
** WWII: [[Battle of Milne Bay]] opens, when Japanese marines land at [[Milne Bay]].
** [[Dunbeath air crash]]: [[Prince George, Duke of Kent]], brother to King [[George VI]] and King [[Edward VIII]], is among 14 to die in a military aircraft accident at [[Morven, Caithness|Morven]], Scotland, at the age of 39.
* [[August 26]]&ndash;[[August 31|31]] &ndash; WWII: [[Battle of Isurava]]: Japanese forces (some 2,100 men) of the [[South Seas Detachment]] under General [[Tomitarō Horii]] defeat the Australian [[Maroubra Force]] at [[Isurava, Papua New Guinea|Isurava]], who fights delaying actions on the [[Kokoda Track]].
* [[August 27]]&ndash;[[August 28|28]] &ndash; [[Sarny Massacre]]: Nazi troops and the [[Ukrainian Auxiliary Police]] systematically execute more than 14,000 people, mostly Jews, in and around [[Sarny]] in [[History of Poland (1939–1945)|German-occupied Poland]].
* [[August 29]] &ndash; WWII: [[Tokyo Express]]: The Japanese navy starts night-time delivery of reinforcements, supplies and equipment to the Japanese forces operating in and around [[New Guinea]] and the [[Solomon Islands]].
* [[August 30]] &ndash; WWII: [[Luxembourg]] is formally annexed to the German Reich.
* [[August 30]]&ndash;[[September 5]] &ndash; WWII: [[Battle of Alam el Halfa]] &ndash; British forces in the Western Desert resist a German attack under Erwin Rommel. German tanks get slowed down in the minefields around Alam el Halfa Ridge and are forced to withdraw.
* [[August 31]] &ndash; The [[1942 Luxembourgish general strike]] is launched, to protest against forced conscription in Luxembourg.

===September===
{{Main|September 1942}}
* [[September 2]] &ndash; WWII: The island of [[Les Casquets]] in the Channel Islands is raided by the forerunner of the British [[Special Air Service|SAS]], the [[No. 62 Commando|SSRF]], led by Major [[Gus March-Phillipps]]; this is one of the first raids by [[Anders Lassen]] VC. In the raid, the entire garrison of 7 is abducted and returned to England as prisoners, and the radio and lighthouse are wrecked.<ref>{{cite book |title=Anders Lassen VC MC |first=Mike |last=Langley |location=London |publisher=New English Library |year=1988 |isbn=0450424928}}</ref>
* [[September 3]]
** WWII: Erwin Rommel orders a general retreat and carries the German forces of [[Panzer Army Africa]] back to the line running from Tel el Eisa – Deir el Shein - west of Deir el Munassib down to the [[Qattara Depression]]. Allied forces of the [[2nd New Zealand Division]] and the British [[7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)|7th Armoured Division]] ("Desert Rats") begin an assault, but they are repelled in a fierce rearguard action by the German [[90th Light Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|90th Light Division]]. During the attack, Rommel loses some 2,900 men, 50 tanks, a similar number of guns, and 400 vehicles.<ref>Carver, Michael (1962). ''El Alamein'', p. 70. Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions. {{ISBN|978-1-84022-220-3}}.</ref>
** [[The Holocaust]]: A German attempt to liquidate the Jewish [[Łachwa Ghetto]] in [[Occupation of Poland (1939–45)|occupied Poland]] leads to an uprising, probably the first [[ghetto uprising]] of the war.
* [[September 5]]
** WWII: [[Battle of Milne Bay]]: Japanese forces suffer their first defeat on land.
** [[The Holocaust]]: The Jews of [[Wolbrom]] in occupied Poland are rounded up by the Germans and their Ukrainian collaborators.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/wolbrom/index.asp?WT.mc_id=wiki |title=On One Clear Day: The Story of Jewish Wolbrom |access-date=September 5, 2012 |archive-date=September 3, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903150755/http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/wolbrom/index.asp?WT.mc_id=wiki |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[September 9]] &ndash; WWII: A Japanese [[floatplane]] drops [[incendiary device]]s at [[Mount Emily]], near [[Brookings, Oregon]], in the first of two "[[Lookout Air Raids]]", the first bombing of the continental United States.
* [[September 10]]
** WWII: North Atlantic [[convoy ON 127]] is attacked by [[U-boat]]s, sinking 6 ships.<ref>{{Cite book |title=North Atlantic Run |author=Milner, Marc |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=1985 |pages=159–163 |isbn=0-87021-450-0}}</ref>
** The [[Women Airforce Service Pilots|Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron]] (WAFS) begins operation in the United States.
* [[September 12]] &ndash; WWII: The {{RMS|Laconia}}, carrying civilians, Allied soldiers, and Italian prisoners of war, is torpedoed off the coast of West Africa and sinks, killing 1,649 people.
* [[September 14]]&ndash;[[September 16|16]] &ndash; WWII: [[Battle of Ioribaiwa]]: Australian forces (some 3,000 men) under Major-General [[Selwyn Porter]] are forced to withdraw to Imita Ridge, due to supply problems. 
* [[September 15]] &ndash; WWII: The [[Women's Flying Training Detachment]] (WFTD) is established in the United States.
* [[September 24]] &ndash; WWII: [[Andrée Borrel]] and [[Lise de Baissac]] become the first female [[Special Operations Executive|SOE]] agents to be parachuted into occupied France.
* [[September 26]] &ndash; [[The Holocaust]]: Nazi official [[August Frank]] issues the [[August Frank memorandum]], setting out how the belongings of "evacuated" (i.e. murdered) Jews are to be disposed of.
* [[September 27]] &ndash; WWII: Both the [[commerce raiding]] [[German auxiliary cruiser Stier|German auxiliary cruiser ''Stier'']] and American [[Liberty ship]] {{SS|Stephen Hopkins}} sink, following a gun battle in the South Atlantic. ''Hilfskreuzer'' ''Stier'' is the only commerce raider to be sunk by a [[defensively equipped merchant ship]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Muggenthaler |first=August Karl |title=German Raiders of WWII |publisher=Prentice-Hall |year=1977 |isbn=0-13-354027-8 |pages=241–242}}</ref>

===October===
{{Main|October 1942}}
* [[October 2]]
** British cruiser {{HMS|Curacoa|D41|6}} collides with liner {{RMS|Queen Mary}} (carrying troops from the United States) off the coast of [[Donegal (town)|Donegal]] and sinks; 338 drown.
** WWII: Japanese troopship ''[[Lisbon Maru]]'' sinks, following a torpedo attack the previous day by submarine {{USS|Grouper}} off the coast of China; 829 are killed, mostly British prisoners of war who (unknown to the attacker) were being held on board.
** The first American-built [[turbojet]] aircraft, the [[Bell P-59 Airacomet]] fighter prototype, makes its first official flight.<ref>{{cite book|last=Angelucci|first=Enzo|title=The American Fighter: the Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft from 1917 to the present|location=New York|publisher=Orion Books|year=1987|page=50}}</ref>
* [[October 3]] &ndash; The first [[V-2 rocket|A-4 rocket]] is successfully launched from [[Test Stand VII]] at [[Peenemünde]], Germany. The rocket flies 147 kilometers and reaches an altitude of 84.5 kilometers, becoming the first man-made object to reach space.
* [[October 9]]
** WWII: [[Third Battle of the Matanikau]] on [[Guadalcanal]]: American forces defeat the Japanese.
** The [[Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942|Statute of Westminster Adoption Act]], passed by the [[Parliament of Australia]], formalizes Australian autonomy from the United Kingdom.
* [[October 11]] &ndash; WWII: [[Battle of Cape Esperance]]: On the northwest coast of [[Guadalcanal]], [[United States Navy]] ships intercept and defeat a Japanese fleet, on their way to reinforce troops on the island.
* [[October 13]] &ndash; WWII: North Atlantic [[convoy SC 104]] is attacked by [[U-boat]]s, sinking seven ships.<ref>{{cite book |title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945 |author=Rohwer, J. |author2=Hummelchen, G. |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=1992 |page=167 |isbn=1-55750-105-X}}</ref>
* [[October 14]]
** [[The Holocaust]]: The [[International Committee of the Red Cross]], meeting in special session at the Hotel Métropole, [[Geneva]], Switzerland, declines to issue an international appeal condemning the holding of civilians in [[Nazi concentration camps]].<ref>{{cite book |first=John |last=Simpson |author-link=John Simpson (journalist) |title=A Mad World, My Masters |year=2000 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=9780333724200 |location=London}}</ref>
** WWII: A [[U-boat]] sinks the ferry {{SS|Caribou}} off [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]], killing 137.
* [[October 16]]
** A [[cyclone]] and consequential floods in the [[Bay of Bengal]] kill 40,000 people, with particularly heavy damage around [[Contai]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Longshore |first=David |date=2008 |title=Encyclopedia of Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Cyclones |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediahurr00long |url-access=limited |edition=New |location=New York |publisher=Facts On File |page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediahurr00long/page/n270 258] |isbn=978-1-4381-1879-6}}</ref>
** Animated short film ''The Mouse of Tomorrow'', featuring the debut of [[Mighty Mouse]] (as "Super Mouse"), is released in the United States.
* [[October 18]] &ndash; WWII: Hitler issues the [[Commando Order]], which stipulates that all Allied [[commando]]s encountered by German forces should be executed immediately without trial, even in proper uniforms, in response to the [[Dieppe Raid]] and [[Operation Basalt]] conducted by the Allies. After the war, the [[Nuremberg trials]] finds this order a direct violation of the [[laws and customs of war]].
* [[October 21]] &ndash; A [[Royal New Zealand Air Force]] [[torpedo bomber]] sinks the German [[Motor ship|MS]] [[MS Palatia (1928)|''Palatia'']], with a loss of 946 lives.
* [[October 23]] &ndash; Award-winning composer and songwriter [[Ralph Rainger]] ("Thanks for the Memory") is among 12 people killed in a mid-air collision between an [[American Airlines Flight 28|American Airlines]] [[Douglas DC-3|DC-3]] and a U.S. Army bomber near [[Palm Springs, California]].
* [[October 23]]&ndash;[[October 26|26]] &ndash; WWII: [[Battle for Henderson Field]]: Japanese forces fail to recapture [[Honiara International Airport|Henderson Field]] airfield in [[Guadalcanal]] from the Americans.
* [[October 23]]&ndash;[[November 4]] &ndash; WWII: [[Second Battle of El Alamein]]: British troops go on the offensive against the Axis forces.
* [[October 26]] &ndash; WWII: [[Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands]]: Two Japanese aircraft carriers are heavily damaged and one U.S. Navy carrier is sunk.
* [[October 28]] 
** Film actor [[Errol Flynn]] is accused of statutory rape by two teenage girls. 
** The [[Alaska Highway]] is completed.
* [[October 29]] &ndash; [[The Holocaust]]: In the United Kingdom, leading clergymen and political figures hold a public meeting to register outrage over [[Nazi Germany]]'s persecution of Jews.
* [[October 30]] &ndash; WWII:
** [[U-boat]]s sink 11 ships, attacking diversionary [[convoy SL 125]], but move out of the path of approaching [[troopship]]s, carrying Allied [[Operation Torch]] invasion forces.<ref>{{cite book |title=Dönitz and the Wolf Packs |author=Edwards, Bernard |publisher=Brockhampton Press |year=1999 |page=[https://archive.org/details/donitzwolfpacks0000edwa/page/115 115] |isbn=1-86019-927-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/donitzwolfpacks0000edwa/page/115}}</ref>
** British sailors board {{GS|U-559||2}} as it sinks in the Mediterranean and retrieve its [[Enigma machine]] and codebooks.

===November===
{{Main|November 1942}}
* [[November 1]] &ndash; WWII: North Atlantic [[convoy SC 107]] is heavily attacked by [[U-boat]]s, sinking 15 ships.<ref>{{cite book |last=Waters |first=John M. Jr. |title=Bloody Winter |publisher=D. Van Nostrand Company |date=1967 |pages=38–55 |location=Princeton, NJ}}</ref>
* [[November 2]] &ndash; A [[United States Army Air Forces|USAAF]] squadron, including [[B-24 Liberator]]s, intercepts many [[Luftwaffe]] patrols off the coast of [[Oran, Algeria]].
* [[November 3]] &ndash; WWII: [[Second Battle of El Alamein]]: German forces under [[Erwin Rommel]] are forced to retreat during the night.
* [[November 6]] &ndash; WWII: [[Battle of Madagascar]] ends when [[Vichy French]] forces on [[Madagascar]] sign an [[armistice]] with the Allies.
* [[November 8]] &ndash; WWII:
** [[Operation Torch]]: Elements of the Allied expeditionary force (some 105,000 men) under Lieutenant General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] lands simultaneously along the coastline of [[Morocco]] and [[Algeria]] in [[French North Africa]].
** French Resistance Coup in [[Algiers]]: 400 French civil resisters neutralize the Vichyist XIXth Army Corps and the Vichyist generals (Juin, Darlan, etc.), thus allowing the immediate success of Operation Torch in Algiers, and ultimately the whole of [[French North Africa]].
* [[November 9]] &ndash; WWII: 
** German forces of the 6th Army under general Friedrich Paulus reach finally the river bank of the Volga, capturing 90% of the ruined city of Stalingrad and splitting the remaining Soviet forces into two narrow pockets.
** U.S. serviceman [[Edward Leonski]] is hanged at Melbourne's Pentridge Prison, for the "Brown-Out" murders of three women in May.
* [[November 10]] &ndash; WWII: In violation of a [[1940]] armistice, Germany invades [[Vichy France]], following French Admiral [[François Darlan]]'s agreement to an armistice with the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] in [[North Africa]].
* [[November 11]] &ndash; The [[Turkish Parliament|Turkish parliament]] passes the [[Varlık Vergisi]],<ref>{{cite book |last= Guttstadt |first= Corry |title= Turkey, the Jews, and the Holocaust |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=oebVDvecEGMC |publisher= Cambridge University Press |date= May 2013 |page= 73 |isbn= 978-0521769914 |access-date= October 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 7, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231207090519/https://books.google.com/books?id=oebVDvecEGMC |url-status= live }}"After preliminary propaganda, the Turkish Parliament passed Law No. 4305, which introduced the Varlık Vergisi, on November 11, 1942."</ref> a capital tax mostly levied on non-Muslim citizens with the unofficial aim to inflict financial ruin on them and end their prominence in the country's economy.<ref>{{cite book |last= Ince |first= Basak |title= Citizenship and Identity in Turkey: From Atatürk's Republic to the Present Day |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Ydpiawe35DwC |publisher= I. B. Tauris |date= April 2012 |page= 75 |isbn= 978-1780760261 |access-date= October 10, 2023 |archive-date= December 7, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231207090520/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ydpiawe35DwC |url-status= live }}"However, the underlying reason was the elimination of minorities from the economy, and the replacement of the non-Muslim bourgeoisie by its Turkish counterpart."</ref>
* [[November 12]] &ndash; WWII: [[Guadalcanal Campaign]]: A naval battle near [[Guadalcanal]] starts between Japanese and American forces.
* [[November 13]] &ndash; WWII:
** [[Guadalcanal Campaign]]: Aviators from the {{USS|Enterprise|CV-6|6}} sink the Japanese [[battleship]] ''[[Japanese battleship Hiei|Hiei]]''.
** British forces capture [[Tobruk]].
* [[November 15]] &ndash; WWII:
** The [[Naval Battle of Guadalcanal]] ends: Although the [[United States Navy]] suffers heavy losses, it retains control of [[Guadalcanal]].
** British forces capture [[Derna, Libya]].
* [[November 18]] &ndash; WWII: North Atlantic [[convoy ON 144]] is attacked by [[U-boat]]s, sinking 5 ships.<ref>{{cite book |title=Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunted 1942–1945 |author=Blair, Clay |publisher=Random House |year=1998 |pages=118–120 |isbn=0-679-45742-9}}</ref>
* [[November 19]] &ndash; WWII: [[Battle of Stalingrad]]: [[Soviet Union]] forces under General [[Georgy Zhukov]] launch the [[Operation Uranus]] counter-attacks at [[Stalingrad]], turning the tide of the battle in the USSR's favor.
* [[November 20]] &ndash; WWII: British forces capture [[Benghazi]].
* [[November 21]] &ndash; The completion of the [[Alaska Highway]] (also known as the Alcan Highway) is celebrated (however, the "[[highway]]" is not usable by general vehicles until [[1943]]).
* [[November 22]] &ndash; WWII: [[Battle of Stalingrad]]: The situation for the German attackers of [[Stalingrad]] seems desperate during the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] counter-attack [[Operation Uranus]], and General [[Friedrich Paulus]] sends [[Adolf Hitler]] a [[telegram]], saying that the [[6th Army (Wehrmacht)|German Sixth Army]] is surrounded.
* [[November 23]] &ndash; WWII
** A [[U-boat]] sinks the {{SS|Benlomond|1922|6}} off the coast of Brazil. One crewman, Chinese second steward [[Poon Lim]], is separated from the others and spends 130 days adrift, until he is rescued on [[April 3]], [[1943]].
** Legislation approves the [[United States Coast Guard]] Women's Reserve, to help fill jobs and free men to serve during the war effort. They are known as the [[SPARS]] ("Semper Paratus, Always Ready!")
* [[November 25]]&ndash;[[November 26|26]] &ndash; WWII: [[Operation Harling]]: A British [[Special Operations Executive]] team, together with [[Greek Resistance]] fighters, blows up the [[Gorgopotamos]] viaduct, in the first major sabotage act in occupied continental Europe.
* [[November 26]] &ndash; The movie ''[[Casablanca (film)|Casablanca]]'' premières at the Hollywood Theater in New York City.
* [[November 27]] &ndash; WWII: At [[Toulon]], the French navy [[Scuttling of the French fleet at Toulon|scuttles its ships and submarines]], to keep them out of Nazi hands.
* [[November 28]]
** [[Cocoanut Grove fire]]: A fire in the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], kills 491.
** The large-scale German "pacification" of the Zamojszczyzna region of Poland begins.
* [[November 29]] &ndash; The [[Blue Star Line]] [[cargo liner]] {{MV|Dunedin Star}} runs aground on the [[Skeleton Coast]] of [[Namibia]]. Crew and passengers survive, following a 26-day overland trek to [[Windhoek]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Dead Reckoning: The Dunedin Star Disaster |first=Jeff |last=Dawson |year=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=naMFHgAACAAJ |location=London, UK |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |access-date=2008-03-31 |isbn=0-7538-2044-7}}</ref>
* [[November 30]] &ndash; WWII: [[Battle of Tassafaronga]] &ndash; In a nighttime naval battle as part of the [[Guadalcanal Campaign]], ships of the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] defeat those of the [[United States Navy]].

===December===
{{Main|December 1942}}
* [[December 1]] &ndash; [[Gasoline]] rationing begins in the United States.
* [[December 2]] &ndash; [[Manhattan Project]]: Below the bleachers of Stagg Field at the [[University of Chicago]], a team led by [[Enrico Fermi]] initiates the first self-sustaining [[nuclear chain reaction]] (a coded message, "The Italian navigator has landed in the new world" is then sent to U.S. President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]).
* [[December 4]]
** [[The Holocaust]]: In [[Warsaw]], two women, [[Zofia Kossak]] and Wanda Filipowicz, risk their lives by setting up the Council for the Assistance of the Jews.
** WWII: USAAF bombers make their first raid on Italy.
* [[December 6]] &ndash; [[Stary Ciepielów and Rekówka massacre]]: 5 families in [[Occupied Poland]] are executed by the ''[[Ordnungspolizei]]'' as part of the [[German retribution against Poles who helped Jews]].
* [[December 7]] &ndash; WWII: 
**British commandos conduct [[Operation Frankton]], a raid on shipping in [[Bordeaux]] Harbour.
**The [[battleship]] {{USS|New Jersey|BB-62}} is launched at [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]].
* [[December 8]] &ndash; A fire at [[Seacliff Lunatic Asylum]] in New Zealand kills 39 patients.
* [[December 10]] &ndash; [[The Holocaust]]: The [[Polish government-in-exile]] sends copies of ''[[The Mass Extermination of Jews in German Occupied Poland]]'', including [[Raczyński's Note]], the first official report on The Holocaust, to 26 governments who signed the [[Declaration by United Nations]].
* [[December 11]] &ndash; WWII: [[Operation Lilliput]]: The Allies start a convoy operation for transportation of troops, weapons and supplies in a regular transport service between [[Milne Bay]] and [[Oro Bay]] in [[New Guinea]]. The first vessel to arrive at Oro Bay is [[SS Karsik (1938)|''Karsik'']], escorted by [[HMAS Lithgow (J206)|HMAS ''Lithgow'']], with four [[M3 Stuart|Stuart]] [[light tank]]s.<ref>Gill, G. Hermon (1968). ''Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945'', pp. 244–245. Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 2 – Navy: Volume II. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. {{OCLC|65475}}.</ref>
* [[December 12]] &ndash; WWII: German troops began [[Operation Winter Storm]], an attempt to relieve encircled Axis forces during the [[Battle of Stalingrad]].
* [[December 15]] &ndash; WWII: [[Guadalcanal Campaign]] &ndash; [[Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse]]: the United States and allied forces begin to attack Japanese positions near the [[Matanikau River]].
* [[December 17]] &ndash; The Allies issue the [[Joint Declaration by Members of the United Nations]] (as the answer to [[Raczyński's Note]]), the first time they publicly acknowledge the [[Holocaust]].
* [[December 20]] &ndash; WWII: [[Arakan Campaign 1942–43|First Arakan Campaign]]: Allied forces begin a counter-offensive into [[Burma]]. During the offensive, Japanese defenders occupying well-prepared positions repeatedly repulse the British and Indian forces.
* [[December 22]]
** An avalanche in [[Aliquippa, Pennsylvania]], kills 26, including Vulcan Crucible Steel heir-apparent Samuel A. Stafford Sr., when two 100 ton boulders fall on a bus filled with wartime steelworkers on their way home.
** An airplane carrying prominent Ustashe general [[Jure Francetić]] crashes. Francetić dies as a result of the injuries on [[December 27]].
* [[December 24]] &ndash; French [[François Darlan|Admiral Darlan]], the former [[Vichy France|Vichy]] leader who has switched over to the Allies following the Torch landings, is assassinated in [[Algiers]].
* [[December 27]] &ndash; The [[Union of Pioneers of Yugoslavia]], a communist youth movement, is founded.
* [[December 28]] &ndash; North Atlantic [[Convoy ON 154]] is heavily attacked by [[U-boat]]s, sinking 13 ships.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gordonmumford.com/m-navy/ons154-0.htm |title=Convoy ONS 154 |publisher=J. Gordon Mumford |access-date=2010-12-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110111050815/http://www.gordonmumford.com/m-navy/ons154-0.htm |archive-date=January 11, 2011 |url-status=usurped}}</ref>
* [[December 31]] &ndash; The [[Times Square Ball]] in [[Times Square]], New York City is not dropped for the first time. Instead, there is a [[moment of silence]] at midnight, followed by the sound of bells playing from sound trucks at the base of [[One Times Square]].

===Date unknown===
* [[DDT]] is first used as a [[pesticide]].
* circa June{{spnd}}The 1942 [[FIFA World Cup]] competition in [[Association football]], which [[Nazi Germany]] sought to host, is not held, due to World War II.