| 1942
Timeline
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| January
5, 1942 |
The
US government rations tires. The military needs rubber to make tires
for jeeps, tractors, and airplanes. |
| January
13, 1942 |
German
U-boats begin patrolling the East Coast of the US and attack merchant
shipping. |
| January
15, 1942 |
The
US government bans the production of new automobiles because it wants
manufacturers to produce airplanes and tanks. |
| March
7, 1942 |
Japanese
forces invade New Guinea. They intend to capture the island and use
it as a staging area for an invasion of Australia. |
| April
9, 1942 |
American
troops surrender at Bataan in the Philippines. The Japanese force
US soldiers to march 100-miles to a prisoner of war camp. Japanese
soldiers torture and murder many Americans along the way. Survivors
call the march the "Bataan Death March." |
| April
18, 1942 |
Sixteen
American airplanes bomb Tokyo in the Doolittle Raid. The raid causes
little damage, but inspires the American public. The raid becomes
the first US attack on Japan's homeland. |
| May
4, 1942 |
The
US government begins sugar rationing because the war in the Pacific
slows the import of sugar into the country. |
| May
8, 1942 |
American
forces stop a Japanese invasion of Port Morseby, New Guinea, in the
Battle of the Coral Sea. The Japanese wanted to use the port as a
staging area to attack Australia. |
| June
7, 1942 |
The
US Navy wins its first victory against the Japanese in the Battle
of Midway. The Navy stops the Japanese from occupying the US's most
westerly Pacific outpost and ends the Japanese offensive in Asia. |
| July
4, 1942 |
US
bombers participate in raids over Europe with the British Bomber Command. |
| August
7, 1942 |
US
forces land on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. They capture the
island on December 31. The victory further helps secure Australia
from Japanese invasion. |
| October
7, 1942 |
President
Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Churchill announce that a key
provision of any surrender will be the trial of Axis war criminals. |
| November
8, 1942 |
The
Allies invade French North Africa under the name Operation Torch.
The invasion begins the first Allied land attack on German forces
from the west. German forces surrender in North Africa on May 12,
1943. |
| November
23, 1942 |
Soviet
forces encircle Germany's 6th Army at Stalingrad. The Soviets begin
to push the Germans out of the region on January 30, 1943. |
| December
1, 1942 |
The
US begins gas rationing to save wear on tires and help conserve rubber. |
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