World war II chronology - January 1942

1 January 1942	Japanese forces enter Manila in the Philippines. Soviet forces retake Kalinin, 100 miles north-west of Moscow, and Kaluga, 100 miles south-west. In Washington, D.C., representatives of 26 countries sign the Declaration of United Nations. Japanese submarine I-9 launches a Yokasuka E14Y floatplane for aerial reconnaissance of Pearl Harbor. It completes its survey and returns undetected to its mother submarine.
2 January 1942	Invading Japanese forces occupy the Treasury Building in Manila, capturing about US$20 million of currency.
5 January 1942	In Canada, Cabinet accepts the proposal for "Big Army", with additional divisions for overseas duty, through either voluntary enlistment or conscription. US President Franklin Roosevelt gives a special citation to Marine group VMF-211 that had defended Wake Island with "devotion to duty and splendid conduct." In North Africa, German forces fall back to El Agheila. (This is the first British victory over a German land force in the war.)
7 January 1942	Soviet forces launch counteroffensives along the whole German/Russian front. [277.109] US and Filipino forces withdraw to Bataan.
10 January 1942	Japanese submarine I-6 torpedoes US aircraft carrier Saratoga 500 miles south west of Oahu. (The carrier is put out of action for five months.) Planes from the US carrier Enterprise sink Japanese submarine I-70, 200 miles north-east of Oahu.
11 January 1942	Japanese forces invade the Netherlands East Indies on Borneo.
13 January 1942	The Dutch garrison surrenders Borneo to the Japanese. At the Washington Conference, Britain and the US formally ratify a plan for American long-range bomber forces to operate alongside British Bomber Command in Europe. The plan calls for an American bomber force of 3500 by April 1943. German submarines begin an assault on coastal shipping on the east coast of the United States.   In Canada, the Vice Chief of the General Staff directs that the idea of a Canadian paratroop force be shelved indefinitely.
18 January 1942	German submarine U-66 torpedoes and sinks Canadian passenger freighter Lady Hawkins 250 miles off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, USA. Of 212 passengers and 109 crew, 71 survive five days in a life boat.
20 January 1942	Soviet forces recapture Mozhaisk, near Moscow. The Wannsee Conference is held in Germany, chaired by Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich. The conference is held to co-ordinate inter-agency co-operation and discuss strategy and financing of the Final Solution. Japanese forces cross the Thai border into Burma, making a major thrust toward Rangoon.
21 January 1942	German forces under Erwin Rommel in North Africa strike back at British forces.
22 January 1942	In Canada, Parliament opposition leader R.B. Hanson demands an inquiry into the Canadian loss to Japanese forces at Hong Kong. Prime Minister King agrees.
23 January 1942	British aircraft spot German battleship Tirpitz near Trondheim, Norway.
25 January 1942	Siam declares war on the United Kingdom.
26 January 1942	The first American soldiers arrive in Britain, landing in Belfast, Northern Ireland. (With American forces stationed in the south-east and British forces concentrated in the south-west, this logically leads to the June 1944 European invasion alignment, leading to the American occupation of southern Germany, something the American president wanted to avoid.)
28 January 1942	In Malaya, British troops begin a retreat from the mainland.
29 January 1942	Iran, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union sign a treaty in which Iran promises full access to its facilities to defend the country from aggression. Britain and the Soviet Union promise to respect Persian independence and integrity.