Editing 1942 (section)

===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.