EVENTFUL YEAR

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 5, 16 September 1942, Page 2

EVENTFUL YEAR

WAR IN ALL THEATRES DIARY OF CHIEF EVENTS The third year of the second world war has boon completed. [n perhaps the mosl eventful year in all iLs hislory the British Empire has had lo face many reverses and ! disadvantages, an.l on the whole the | scales have weighed heavily in lavour of tiie Axis in land battles. -On the other side, the entry of Ununited Stales into the war Following the sudden Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7 opened vast resources of men and machines to the Allied cause, and the influence of those resources was shown in the Midway Island and Coral Sea battles. and the recent Allied landings in the Solomon Islands. The stubborn resistance of the Russians to the German attacks has kept vast Nazi armies occupied, in battle in the east when they might have been used against Britain. The loss of the island fortress of Singapore was a heavy blow lo the strategical position of tlie Allies. Signs of Belligerence The non-appearance ol the longawaited '"second I rout'' has created some impatience, hut the four-lig--11 re bombing ■ raids on the great industrial centres of the Rhur. the commando raids of increasing violence on the Lofoten Islands and the French coast did much to restore confidence in the belligerence ol the British forces. In the Middle Fast theatre the British land forces were unexpectedly pushed baciv from Cyrenaica to Egypt. The third year closed with the reopening of the struggle, for Euypt. which will no doubt have a marked effect on the hislory of the fourth year. Following is a summary of the main even's which occurred in the third year of war-:— November 11: President Roosevelt s'gns Amendment to the Neutrality Act. Novemb.)r 20: Allied drive into Libya commences ami 50 miles covered. in one day. November 28: New Zealanders after capturing Capuzzo, Bnrdia, Gahbut and Sidi Rezegh link up with defenders of Tobruk. November 30: Gondar. last Italian stronghold in East Africa, surrenders. December 1: Russians retake Rostov. December 7: Japanese attack Pearl Harbour, Hawaii and declare Avar. December 10: Prince of Wales and Repulse sunk ol! Malaya. December 11c Germany and Italy declare war on U.S.A. December 18: Russians retake Kalinin and Germans fall back in retreat. December 22: Large scale attacks on Philippines begin. December 25: Fall of Hongkong and Benghazi re-occupied. December 29: British commandos raid Lofoten Islands. January 2, 1942: Another raid on. the Lofoten Islands. January 3: Fall of Manila. ! January 12: Kuala Lumpur in Malaya falls., | January 17: Halfaya surrenders in Libya and Japanese cross into Burma. January 23: Japanese land in New Guinea and Solomons. . January 28: Announced that 000 Japanese drowned in the Macassar battle. Rommel recaptures Benghazi. February 1: Allied forces evacuate Malaya and take up position on Singapore. Americans raid Marshall and Gilbert Islands. February 9: Japanese land on Singapore. February 13: Prinz Eug.cn and Scharnhorst and Gneisenau dash from Brest through Straits of Dover' February 15: Japanese 'land in Sumatra. February 10: Fall ol' Singapore. February 19: Japanese raid Darwin. February 22: Japanese take Bali and Timor. March 9: New Guinea invaded. March 13: Heavy Allied losses in Java Sea battle. March 29: British Comarando raid on St. Nazaire. April 9: Resistance at Batan ends. April 12: India rejects offer of Dominion status. April 16: Malta receives George Cross for heroic resistance. April 17: Laval takes over premiership of Vichy France. April 19: Bombs fall on Tokio, Yokohama, Nagoya and Kobe.

May British land at. Madagascar. May (>: Corregidor falls.. Japanese reach China through Burma. Timoshenko launches offensive on Kharkov . May 8: Battle of.Coral Sea" reported .1 May 23: Russians evacuate Kerch, Burma campaign over. May 28: Rommel opens offensive in Libya. May 31: Over 1000 bombers attack Cologne. June 1: I'hree midget submarines attack Sydney and all destroyed. June 20: Over 1000» bombers attack K'ssen. June 22: Fall of Tobruk. Anniversary of Russian entry into war. June 25: IQOO bombers over Bremen . June 29: Evacuation of Mersa Matruli. July 1: Bottleneck at El Alamein holds Axis offensive. July 4: Russians admit fall of Sebastopol. Jul}' 28: Fall,of Rostov. August 10: Ghandi, Nehru and other Indian Congressmen arrested. Allies attack and occupy the Solomon Islands. August 20: British raid Dieppe and spend nine hours ashore. August 26': Duke of Kent killed in air crash in Scotland. August 30: Surprise Allied victory at Milne Bay. August 31: Germans renew attack in Egypt.