This day in the war in the Pacific 65 years ago.

[syscom3]

BORNEO: Japanese troop occupy the towns of Ledo, Singkawang, Pemangkat, Sambas with its Naval Air Station, and Singkawang II airfield located near Ledo. All Dutch aircraft had been transferred to Sumatra prior to the Japanese invasion.
USAAF Far East Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses based in Java bomb and damage a Japanese seaplane carrier off Balikpapan.

MALAYA: Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, General Officer Commanding Malaya Command, having received permission from General Archibald Lord Wavell, Commander in Chief ABDA Command, to retire to Singapore Island at his discretion, decides to withdraw at once through Johore Bahru and across the causeway to the island. Withdrawal is to be accomplished under cover of darkness and completed during the night 30/31 January.
East Force meets no opposition as it pulls back. While elements of the Indian 11th Division's Batu Pahat force fall back to Benut, the rest move to the mouth of the Ponggor River, from which they are withdrawn by sea during the following nights. West Force fights local actions while retiring along the main road and railroad.
No. 36 and 100 Squadron's RAF fly their last missions with the venerable Vickers Vildebeest biplanes against Japanese landings at Endau.
Off Endau, the destroyers HMAS Vampire and HMS Thanet encounter three Japanese destroyers and a minesweeper. HMS Thanet is sunk by gunfire but HMAS Vampire escapes to Singapore. The Japanese 96th Airfield Battalion completes their landing at Endau with much-needed supplies and ammunition.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: On Java, General Archibald Lord Wavell, Commander in Chief ABDA Command, tells Lieutenant General Sir John Lavarack, General Officer Commanding I Australian Corps, that he must hold Sumatra with one Australian division and central Java with another.
The British aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable brings a cargo of 48 Hawker Hurricane fighters to Java, for shipment to Singapore.

PACIFIC: Submarine USS Gudgeon torpedoes and sinks Japanese submarine HIJMS I-73 240 miles west of Midway Island; the Japanese submarine had shelled Midway two days earlier. This is the first Japanese submarine sunk by a USN submarine.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: In the II Corps area on Bataan, the Japanese begin an assault against the main line of resistance (MLR) in the afternoon.
After a feint down the East Road, the main attack is made against Sectors C and D. Sector C is thinly manned and in the process of being reinforced by the 41st Infantry, Philippine Army (PA), from Sector D.
The Japanese force the outposts back and get a small advance group across the Pilar River. In the I Corps area, the Japanese renew efforts to break through the MLR on the west coast and is again brought to a halt by the 91st Division, PA. In the South Sector, Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright, Commanding General I Corps, sends the 3d Battalion of the 45th Infantry, Philippine Scouts (PS), to Quinauan Point and the 2d Battalion of the 57th Infantry, PS, to Longoskawayan Point to dislodge or
destroy the Japanese along the southwestern coast. Meanwhile, after preparatory fire from all available guns is conducted against Longoskawayan Pt, the infantry attacks but is unable to clear it. Scouts of 2d Battalion, 57th Infantry, relieve the naval battalion there during the
night of 27/28 January. The Japanese are contained but cannot be cleared from Quinauan Point. Water-borne reinforcements for this position land short of their objective, between the Anyasan and Silaiim Rivers, before dawn and put beach defenders, the 1st Battalion of the 1st Philippine Constabulary, to flight. The ground echelon of the USAAFâs 17th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) , from reserve, and the 2d Battalion of the 2d Philippine Constabulary, from the MLR to the north, move against the Japanese but are halted about 1,000 yards (914 meters) from the shore. The Japanese are ordered, upon reinforcing the Quinauan beachhead, to drive to Mariveles.
Four USAAF Far East Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses based in Java stage through Del Monte Airfield on Mindanao and attack Japanese targets on Luzon. One B-17 is shot down.
Submarine USS Seawolf delivers ammunition to Corregidor Island, and evacuates naval and army pilots.

PHOENIX ISLAND: The USAAF's Hawaiian Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses of Task Group 8.9 return to Canton Island.

U.K.: Prime Minister Winston Churchill opens a major House of Commons debate with the report on Allied Cooperation. He details the Combined Chiefs of Staff, the Pacific Councils and the plans for the arrival of American land forces in Britain, and that an Australian representative is to join the war cabinet. The vote of confidence is opposed by one member of the House.

U.S.: President Franklin D. Roosevelt announces that the Office of Price Administration (OPA) will ration all retail goods and commodities until the end of the war.

 

[syscom3]

PACIFIC: The British carrier HMS INDOMITABLE delivers 48 Hurricane fighters, destined for Singapore to Java.

AUSTRALIA: The USAAF activates the first U.S. air transport unit in Australia. None of its original complement of 14 officers and 19 enlisted men had been trained for transport operations; they just happened to be available. The aircraft assigned to the unit are two old Douglas B-18 Bolo bombers, one Douglas C-39 (Model DC-2-243) transport which had been flown down from the Philippines and five new Douglas C-53 (Model DC-3A-405) transports recently arrived from the U.S. None of these aircraft
has a cargo door, i.e., one wide enough to load and unload cargo other than humans.

BRAZIL: The Third Conference of Foreign Ministers of the (21) American Republics at Rio de Janeiro is concluded. Despite the efforts of Argentina and Chile, Pan-American unity is preserved; within days, all Latin American nations that had not already done so (except Argentina and Chile) sever ties with Germany, Italy, and Japan. Today, Brazil and Paraguay break diplomatic relations with Germany, Italy and Japan.

BURMA: Pilots of the 1st and 2d Fighter Squadrons, "The Flying Tigers" shoot down six Nakajima "NATE" fighters over and near Mingaladon Airdrome, Rangoon, between 1150 and 1210 hours local.

LOUISADE ARCHIPELAGO: The Japanese land on Rossel Island, the easternmost island of this archipelago. The island is located about 490 miles ESE of Port Moresby, New Guinea, and 420 miles WSW of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, an ideal position to block shipping from either point. The Japanese immediately begin building an airfield.

MALAYA: East Force continues their unopposed withdrawal toward Singapore Island. The Japanese reach Benut and continue southward behind the Indian 11th Division. A gap develops between the two brigades of the Indian 9th Division withdrawing along the railroad and the 22d Brigade becomes isolated from the main body. In Singapore, Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, General Officer Commanding Malaya Command, summons his commanders and finds he has no reserves and only one of the island's 15-inch guns points northward.
Four USAAF Far East Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses from Java stage through Palembang Airdrome on Sumatra and attack Kuala Lumpur.
Only 21 of the 51 Hawker Hurricane fighters that arrived in Singapore on 13 January are still serviceable.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: USAAF Far East Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses based at Singosari Airdrome, Java, attack Kendari Airdrome on Celebes Island.
The RAAF begins evacuating the two flights of No. 13 Squadron, with its few remaining Lockheed Hudson bombers, from Laha Airdrome on Ambon Island.

PACIFIC: The aircraft carrier USS Enterprise becomes the first heavy ship to refuel at sea by night, doing so in the central Pacific at 2000 hours local from the oiler USS Platte, under blackout conditions. The successful evolution takes five hours.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: In the II Corps area on Bataan, the 41st Infantry, Philippine Army (PA), completes its movement into the Sector C line, taking up positions between 31st and 51st Divisions, PA, elements.
The Japanese renew their attack against the corps in the evening: some Japanese troops cross the Tiawir River in front of Sector D, where they are halted; others attempt to move forward in Sector C without success.
From the west coast, in the I Corps area, the Japanese move eastward along the corps' main line of resistance to the 1st Division, PA, sector, where defense preparations are not yet completed; during the night of the 28/29th, the Japanese breach the main line of resistance (MLR) there and pour southward through the gap. As the enemy force becomes divided in dense jungle, two pockets, called the Little Pocket and the Big Pocket, are formed, Little Pocket about 400 yards below the MLR and Big Pocket nearly a mile behind the MLR.
In the South Sector, Scouts of 2d Battalion, 57th Infantry, Philippine Scouts (PS), attack Longoskawayan Point and advance two thirds of its length before artillery support is obstructed by Pucot Hill. The 3d Battalion of the 45th Infantry, PS, attacks the enemy beachhead at Quinauan Point, but jungle terrain and the enemy make progress slow and costly.
At night the 3d Battalion is reinforced by Company B of the 57th Infantry, PS. In the Anyasan-Silaiim sector, the ground echelon of the USAAF's 17th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) and Philippine Constabulary elements push almost to the coast of Anyasan Bay, but the Constabulary troops, fearing a counterattack, withdraws in confusion after dark.

 

[syscom3]

AUSTRALIA: The government establishes the Manpower Directorate to ensure the organization of all citizens, in the best possible way to meet all defence requirements and the essential needs of a community who overriding purpose, for the duration, of the war.

BORNEO: The Japanese occupy Pontianak, on the west coast of Dutch Borneo site of a Dutch Naval Air Station.

BURMA: Pilots of the 1st and 2d Fighter Squadrons, American Volunteer shoot down 12 "Nates" over Rangoon during the afternoon.

ECUADOR: The government breaks diplomatic relations with Germany, Italy and Japan.

FIJI ISLANDS: The USAAF 70th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) arrives at Suva on Viti Levu Island from the U.S. with 25 crated P-39s Airacobras.

HAWAII: At Hickam Field, the USAAF Hawaiian Air Force inactivates the 18th Bombardment Wing and activates the VII Bomber Command; the new command will control all bomber units.

JAPAN: Imperial General Headquarters orders the Navy to secure Lae and Salamaua, New Guinea and then Tulagi, Solomon Islands. The Army and Navy are ordered to combine their efforts and seize Port Moresby, New Guinea.

MALAYA: The withdrawal towards Singapore Island continues. West Force is ordered to accelerate its withdrawal by one day. Major Angus Rose of the 2nd Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders tries to set up a strongpoint on a golf course; the club secretary says, "Nothing can be done until we've called a meeting of the committee." Additional elements of the British 18th Division arrive at Singapore; two of the ships that transported the troops are the USN transports, USS Wakefield, and USS West Point; also, a squad of obsolete light tanks arrives from India, the only tanks to reach Malaya.
Four USAAF FEAF B-17's, striking out of Palembang, Sumatra, attack Kuantan Airfield scoring numerous hits on runways and hangars.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: The Japanese land at Badoeng Island and Mampawan on Celebes Island.An estimated five Japanese warships and seventeen transports,
with five unidentified vessels, are reported to be approaching Ambon Island by RAAF airmen. On Dutch orders Australian engineers destroy naval oil reserves, bomb dumps, hangers and other equipment at Laha, and attempt to make the airfield unusable. Ships are sighted before dusk off the coast of Laitimor Peninsula.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: On Bataan, the II Corps withstands further efforts of the Japanese to breach the main line of resistance.
In the I Corps area, troops of 1st and 11th Divisions, Philippine Army (PA), operate against the Little and Big Pockets, respectively, in an effort to determine their strength and disposition, and evoke sharp opposition. Scouts of 1st Battalion, 45th Infantry, Philippine Scouts (PS), prepare to assist the 11th Division in an attack on Big Pocket. In the South Sector, after a half-hour artillery preparation augmented by fire of theminesweeper USS Quail (AM-15), the 2d Battalion of the 57th Infantry, PS, attacks and clears Longoskawayan Point; enemy remnants are being mopped up. The 3d Battalion of 45th Infantry, PS, continues to make slow and costly progress at Canaan Point. In the Anniston-Psyllium sector, scouts of 2d Battalion, 45th Infantry, PS, prepare for an attack and are reinforced by 1st Battalion of the Philippine Constabulary and 1st Battalion of the 12th Infantry, PA, both of these having been relieved at Canaan Point. Company A of the 57th Infantry, PS, is to guard West Road.

U.S.: The Combined Chiefs of Staff establish the ANZAC Area, covering ocean expanses between Australia, New Zealand, and the French territory of New Caledonia in the New Hebrides Islands. This area is to be under U.S. naval command.
Five-inch projectiles containing radio-proximity fuzes are test fired at the Naval Proving Ground, Dahlgren, Virginia, and 52 percent of the fuzes functioned satisfactorily by proximity to water at the end of a 5-mile trajectory. This performance, obtained with samples selected to simulate a production lot, confirmed that the radio proximity fuze would greatly increase the effectiveness of anti-aircraft batteries and led to immediate small scale production of the fuze.

 

[syscom3]

BURMA: The Japanese open a strong attack on Moulmein and seize the airdrome.

HAWAII: USAAF Hawaiian Air Force B-17's of Task Group 8.9 return to Hawaii, having completed a mission (began on 16 January 42) which afforded a pioneer look at the problem of air operations over vast Pacific areas, especially the problems of navigation and the servicing of aircraft.

MALAYA: The British withdrawal to Singapore Island reaches its final stage. East Force is the first unit to cross the causeway and is followed by the Indian 11th Division and West Force. West Force delays withdrawal as long as possible in a futile effort to recover the 22d Brigade of the Indian 9th Division. Remnants of this brigade are eventually ferried across the Strait of Singapore. It is decided to withdraw the Malaya Air Force to the Netherlands East Indies except for a single squadron. )
At 1100 hours local, 27 Japanese naval land attack planes bomb Allied shipping at Keppel Harbor; the transport USS Wakefield (AP-21, ex-SS Manhattan), waiting to embark 400 British women and children being evacuated to Ceylon, is damaged by a bomb which kills 5 crewmen; three British transports are also hit. The transport USS West Point (AP-23, ex-SS America) is straddled and showered with fragments, but suffers no damage and provides medical assistance to the crew of USS Wakefield.
Both U.S. transports subsequently embark passengers that include dockyard workers from Singapore and their families, in addition to Royal Navy officers and enlisted men and a small RAF contingent. The ships will then proceed to Batavia, Java, Netherlands East Indies for additional evacuees, and thence on to Colombo, Ceylon, arriving there on 6 February.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: The Japanese invade 314 square mile Ambon Island which has the second largest naval base in the East Indies. The defenders include Dutch troop and the Australian 2/21 Battalion plus supporting troops. During the night of 30 January two Japanese landings are launched; the 1st Kure Special Landing Force lands at Hitu-Iama and the 228th Infantry lands on the southern coast of Laitimor. The defenders are at a disadvantage to contest the landings, only a few Dutch detachments were in the area. At Hitu-Iama on the north coast the defending infantry and machine-gun crews are quickly overwhelmed and bridges on the road leading to the town of Paso are left intact allowing the Japanese to speedily advance south across the Hitu Peninsula. Other landings occurred around Hutumori; the Japanese split westward to the town, and northward to Paso using captured Ambonese compelled to act as guides.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: In Sector C of II Corps on Bataan, efforts to dislodge the enemy from the Pilar River bridgehead fail and indecisive fighting continues along the main line of resistance (MLR). The I Corps makes slow progress against enemy pockets behind the MLR. While the 1st Division, Philippine Army (PA), attempts to reduce Little Pocket, elements of the 11th Infantry, PA, and 45th Infantry, Philippine Scouts (PS), attack Big Pocket from the north and south, respectively. In the South Sector, the 3d Battalion of the 45th Infantry, PS, reinforced, continues to attack the Quinauan Point beachhead. The 2d Battalion of the same regiment, reinforced, supported by the 88th Field Artillery battery, PS, pushes slowly toward the mouth of the Silaiim River.
General Douglas MacArthur, Commander in Chief US Army Forces Far East (USAFFE), takes control of all naval forces in the Philippines.

U.S.: The last pre-war automobiles produced by General Motors' Chevrolet Division and Chrysler's DeSoto Division roll off the assembly lines today.
California Governor Culbert Olson revokes the professional and business licenses of 5,000 Japanese, German and Italian aliens in California. The revocations mostly affect Japanese-Americans.
The Congress passes the Emergency Price Control Act which allows the Office of Price Administration (OPA) to place ceilings on prices and rents.

 

[syscom3]

BORNEO: The Japanese continue their conquest of Borneo; they occupy the town of Ngabang, and a battalion size unit with ca. 400 men lands in Adang Bay (Teluk Adang) without opposition before daybreak.

BURMA: The Moulmein garrison withdraws across the Salween River to Martaban. The 48th Brigade of the Indian 19th Division arrives in Rangoon and is held in reserve. Another brief lull ensues in ground action as the Japanese prepare for further attacks, infiltrating across the Salween and bombing and shelling Martaban.

HAWAII: Task Force Eleven (TF 11) (Vice Admiral Wilson Brown Jr.), formed around the aircraft carrier USS Lexington, departs Pearl Harbor to cover the retirement of TF 8 (Vice Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr.) and TF 17 (Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher) from the Marshall and Gilbert Islands.

MALAYA: Allied defense forces complete their withdrawal to Singapore Island at 0800 hours and blows the causeway. There are 85,000 men from 38 battalions, 13 British, six Australian, 17 Indian, and two Malay, on the island; The Japanese are attacking with less than 40,000 men.
For defense purposes, Singapore is divided into three sectors. The Indian 3 Corps, under command of Lieutenant General Sir Lewis Macclesfield Heath, consisting of the Indian 11th and British 18th Divisions and corps troops, is responsible for the North Area. The South Area, which includes Singapore town, is the responsibility of Major General F. Keith Simmons, commander of Singapore Fortress troops, who has under his command in addition to fixed defenses, the 1st and 2d Malayan Brigades and Strait Settlements Volunteer Force. The West Area, under command of Lieutenant General Henry Bennett, General Officer Commanding Australian Imperial Force Malaya, is manned by Australians and the Indian 44th Brigade, with attachments. Activity from this time until the Japanese invasion is confined to artillery exchanges, air attacks, and patrolling. The chief targets for Japanese aircraft are the docks and Kalang Airdrome.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: On Ambon Island, the Japanese attack Laha late in the afternoon; they are repulsed by an outnumbered platoon of Australians on the northeast of the airfield.

NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand continues to dig in for war by introducing air-raid shelter regulations, and inviting women to join the Emergency Precaution Service as fire-watchers. All men must register for the Emergency Defence Corps.

PACIFIC: The destroyer USS Helm evacuates civilian radio operators and weather observers from Howland and Baker Islands; she is bombed by a Japanese reconnaissance flying boat off Baker, but is not damaged.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: On Bataan, the Japanese begin an attack on II Corps in the evening after air and artillery preparation but are halted by corps fire. A Japanese regiment concealed in the bridgehead across the Pilar River begins withdrawing under cover of darkness. The I Corps continues the battle against enemy pockets in sectors of 1st and 11th Divisions, Philippine Army; the pockets are now cut off from supply. In the South Sector, operations against the enemy beachhead at Quinauan Point continue with little change in positions. Japanese reinforcements are ordered to the area. The U.S. 192d Tank Battalion (less one company) is sent to the west coast to help reduce the Quinauan Point beachhead.

U.S.: Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell, in a memo to General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff U.S. Army, estimates his needs for China assignment and requests that his staff and any forces that may join it be called a task force. The War Department subsequently approves designation of Stilwell's forces as U.S. Task Force in China.
The last pre-war automobiles produced by Chrysler, Plymouth, and Studebaker roll off the assembly lines today.

 

[renrich]

You do good work syscom 3. Do you ever get writer's cramp.

 

[renrich]

My uncle was a CGM in CA Salt Lake City in Halsey's TF8.

 

[syscom3]

You do good work syscom 3. Do you ever get writer's cramp.

I do a copy and paste from an e-mail thread I subscribe too.

But I do need to edit the full e-mail to divide the European and pacific items.

Plus I do this in the morning while my fingers are at full strength.

 

[syscom3]

My uncle was a CGM in CA Salt Lake City in Halsey's TF8.

Well, lets see some pics or hear some stories!!!

I wonder if Leonards dad was on one of the carriers your father was escorting.

 

[syscom3]

BURMA: Pilots of the American Volunteer Group shoot down 16 more Japanese planes.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: The ABDA"Combined Striking Force" is established with Rear Admiral Karel Doorman, Royal Netherlands Navy, in command. The force consists of two heavy cruisers, nine light cruisers and 24destroyers. In reality, five of the light cruisers and 14 of the destroyers are obsolete and not fit for modern naval warfare.
On Ambon Island, the Japanese capture 10 Australian soldiers and bayonet them to death. The Japanese commander says the POWs would be "a drag" on his advance.

PACIFIC: USN Task Force Eight (Vice Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr.), formed around the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, raids the Marshall Islands concentrating on Kwajalein and Wotje, with the heavy cruiser USS Chester bombarding Maleolap Atoll. At Kwajalein, SBD Dauntlesses of Bombing Squadron Six and Scouting Squadron Six and TBD Devastators of Torpedo Squadron Six from USS Enterprise sink a transport and damage the light cruiser HIJMS Katori, submarine HIJMS I-23, a minelayer, an auxiliary netlayer, an auxiliary submarine chaser, a submarine depot ship, an oiler, a tanker, and an army cargo ship; in the bombing of shore installations, Rear Admiral Sukeyoshi Yatsushiro (Commander Sixth Base Force) becomes the first Imperial Navy flag officer to die in combat when an SBD scores a direct hit on his headquarters. Off Wotje, gunfire from heavy cruisers USS Northampton and USS Salt Lake City sink a gunboat while the destroyer USS Dunlap shells and sinks an auxiliary submarine chaser. Japanese retaliatory air attacks by six Mitsubishi G3M, "Nell" medium bombers of the Chitose Kokutai (Chitose Naval Air Corps) on TF-8 results in damage
to USS Enterprise (near-miss of a crashing land attack plane) and heavy cruiser USS Chester (by bomb dropped by carrier fighter). Three SBDs are shot down over Roi Island by Mitsuibishi A5M, Navy Type 96 Carrier Fighters and one "Claude" is shot down by a VS-5 SBD gunner.
USN TF-17 (Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher), formed around aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, raids the Gilbert Islands targeting enemy installations on Jaluit, Makin, and Mili. Aircraft from USS Yorktown cause less damage than the attacks on the Marshall Islands, due to a scarcity of targets at the objective; nevertheless, SBDs of VS-5 bomb and strafe a gunboat at Makin and destroy two Kawanishi H6K, "Mavis" flying boats at anchor, while SBDs of VB-5 bomb and strafe a cargo ship at Jaluit. Rear Admiral Fletcher detaches three of his four destroyers to look for downed TBD of VT-5 reported in the water astern of TF-17. During the search, a Japanese "Mavis" flying boat of the Yokohama Kokutai attacks (but does not damage) destroyer USS Sims. Soon thereafter, two F4F Wildcats of Fighting Squadron Forty Two splash the flying boat. The TBD crew, however, is never found in the prevailing poor weather.
TF-11 (Vice Admiral Wilson Brown Jr.), formed around aircraft carrier USS Lexington supports the operations from the vicinity of Christmas Island in the Line Islands.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: On Bataan, the II Corps prepares to attack in Sector C to clear the enemy bridgehead from which Japanese continue to withdraw. I Corps continues its efforts to reduce pockets south of the main line of resistance with negligible success.
In the South Sector, Philippine Scouts renew the battle against the Quinauan Point beachhead but progress is still limited. Scout casualties by this time are estimated at 50 percent. Japanese reinforcements for Quinauan Point are spotted, during the night of 1-2 February and attacked by the remaining four P-40s of the USAAF FEAF, motor torpedo boats, and artillery and infantry weapons from shore. The Japanese are forced to land instead in the Anyasan-Silaiim area.

SINGAPORE: The British defenders finally dig entrenchments, but because of the panic and retreat, there's no civilian labor. Daily air raids sap morale and impede work. After the daily attacks, Air Raid Precautions (ARP) trucks pick up bodies and dump them in communal graves. Aviation fuel is dumped instead of being used to set the Johore Straits afire. Singapore's defenses are being prepared at the last minute.

 

[syscom3]

AUSTRALIA: HQ of the USAAF's 49th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) , with its three subordinate squadrons, arrives at Melbourne, Victoria, from the U.S. with P-40s. The aircraft are in crates and must be assembled and the vast majority of the pilots do not have the skills to survive in combat and must undergo combat training. The first squadron will fly their first mission in March.

HAWAII: The Hawaiian Air Force activates the VII Interceptor Command at Ft Shafter.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: The Japanese begin a combined, concentrated attack against Australian troops at Laha Airdrome on Ambon Island using infantry, dive-bombers, fighter planes, warships and artillery; the Japanese capture the airfield by mid-morning. Later in the day, the surviving Australians at Laha approached the Japanese with surrender negotiations, sending at least ten representatives under the commanding officer at Laha, Major Newbury, waving a white flag. The Australian party was escorted to the village of Suakodo, where the local Japanese HQ was located, and held captive for the night at the village school.
Japanese minesweeper W.9 is sunk, and minesweepers W.11 and W.12 are damaged, by Dutch mines off Ambon Island.

PACIFIC: The submarine USS Seadragon sinks a Japanese army cargo ship off Cape Bolinao, Luzon.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: On Bataan, the II Corps attacks to clear the Japanese bridgehead, at first employing the 31st Engineer Battalion, Philippine Army (PA), and then reinforcing with elements of the 41st Infantry, PA, after Japanese opposition proves stubborn. The Japanese completes withdrawal from the bridgehead during the of night 2-3 February. In the I Corps area, an armored platoon of U.S. 192d Tank Battalion and a platoon of the 1st Battalion, 45th Infantry, Philippine Scouts, attempt unsuccessfully to reduce the Big Pocket.
In the South Sector, Company C of the 192d Tank Battalion assists the Scouts in another attack on the Quinauan Point beachhead, but results are no more satisfactory. Other Scout battalions (2d Battalion of the 45th Infantry; 3d and 1st Battalions of the 57th Infantry) attack abreast to clear the Anyasan-Silaiim sector, making slow progress except on left, where no opposition is met.

U.S.: Major General Joseph W. Stilwell is designated Chief of Staff to Supreme Commander, China Theater, and is directed by the War Department to "increase the effectiveness of United States assistance to the Chinese Government for the prosecution of the war and to assist in improving the combat efficiency of the Chinese Army."

 

[syscom3]

AUSTRALIA: Thirteen P-40s of the USAAF Far East Air Force's 20th Pursuit Squadron (Provisional) depart Darwin, Northern Territory, for Java.

BURMA: Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek agrees to let the Chinese 5th Army take over the Toungoo front and the balance of the Chinese 6th Army is ordered to move into Burma. The Indian 48th Brigade is ordered to the zone of the Indian 17th Division, under which it is to fight.
Pilots of the 2d Fighter Squadron, "The Flying Tigers" shoot down a Japanese Army bomber over Toungoo Airdrome at 1600 hours local.

CANADA: The Canadian Women's Auxiliary Air Force is renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force (Women's Division).

INDIAN OCEAN: Port T, a top secret British naval base on Addu Atoll, in the Indian Ocean, becomes operational.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: The Japanese begin preinvasion air attacks on Java. Japanese Navy aircraft from Kendari on Celebes Island attack Soerabaja, Madionen, and Malang. While returning to base, the crew of a Japanese aircraft reports the presence of Allied naval off Madoera.
At Singosari Airdrome, four fully loaded USAAF Far East Air Force B-17s are destroyed and a fifth B-17 is shot down. Three Royal Netherlands Navy Catalina flying boats are destroyed at Soerabaja and a FEAF B- 18 Bolo bringing radar technicians from Australia to Java is shot down with the loss of everyone aboard the aircraft. At the fighter base, Blimbing Airdrome, FEAF P-40s are unable to climb to altitude to intercept the bombers but they manage to shoot down two Japanese fighters and a bomber vs. one P-40 lost.

NEW GUINEA: Japanese aircraft bomb Port Moresby, New Guinea.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: On Bataan, the II Corps, finding the enemy bridgehead clear, advances the outpost line in that sector. I Corps continues to make little headway against enemy pockets in sectors of the 1st and 11th Divisions, Philippine Army. In the South Sector, Philippine Scouts and tanks are still unable to make much progress against the Quinauan Point beachhead. Progress is also limited in Anyasan-Silaiim sector although tanks of the U.S. 192d Tank Battalion and artillery assist the Scouts there.
The submarine USS Trout unloads 3,500 rounds of ammunition; refuels; loads two torpedoes, and requests additional ballast. Since neither sandbags nor sacks of concrete are available, she is given 20 tons of gold bars and silver pesos to be evacuated from the Philippines.
She also loads securities, mail, and State Department dispatches before submerging shortly before daybreak to wait at the bottom in Manila Bay until the return of darkness. She gets underway that night using the gold as ballast on the return voyage to Pearl Harbor.

U.S.: The major league baseball club owners hold a special meeting to discuss wartime regulations, they decide to allow 14 night games for each club, with the Washington Senators allowed 21. Two All-Star Games will be played, one with a military All-Star team. Curfews are set for night games with no inning to start after 0050 hours local.

 

[syscom3]

AUSTRALIA: The USAAF Far East Air Force's 7th Bombardment Group, 9th Bombardment Squadron and 88th Reconnaissance Squadron begin a movement from Brisbane, Queensland, to Karachi, India. The 9th is operating from Jogjakarta, Java with B-17s; the 88th is operating from Hickam Field, Territory of Hawaii with B-17s.

JAVA SEA: Japanese reconnaissance flying boats of the Toko Kokutai (Naval Air Corps) contact and shadow the allied force (Rear Admiral Karel W.F.M. Doorman, RNN) of four cruisers and accompanying destroyers, sighted yesterday by 1st Kokutai aircraft, attempting the transit of Madoera Strait to attack the Japanese Borneo invasion fleet. The Allied fleet is now south of the Greater Sunda Islands, about 190 miles east of Surabaya, Java.
On the strength of that intelligence, Japanese naval land attack planes of the Takao, Kanoya, and 1st Kokutais bomb Doorman's ships, damaging the heavy cruiser USS Houston and light cruiser USS Marblehead. Dutch light cruisers HNMS De Ruyter and HNMS Tromp are slightly damaged by near-misses. USS Marblehead's extensive damage (only by masterful seamanship and heroic effort does she reach Tjilatjap, Java, after the battle) results in her being sent back to the United States via Ceylon and South Africa; despite the loss of turret III (one-third of her main battery), USS Houston, however, remains.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: The small Australian garrison on Ambon Island, largely the 2/21 Battalion, surrenders to the Japanese. What followed the surrender of the Australians has become known as "The Carnage at Laha." Up to 100 of the allied prisoners were seriously wounded or ill at the time of surrender and died shortly after. According to Japanese accounts ten men were summarily executed after falling into Japanese hands during the attacks, another 20 to 40 Australians were held at Suakodo
for a few days then executed between the 6 and 8 February.
These unfortunate POWs (ca. 30 Australian POWs), said a Japanese Warrant Officer after the war, were led one by one away from the native school and a little way along the road into the jungle near Laha with their hands tied behind their back. Lieutenant Nakagawa Ken-ichi, the head executor made each kneel down with a bandage over his eyes. The Japanese troops then stepped out of ranks to behead each POW or bayonet him one by one. Each Australian was decapitated by a sword blow to the neck severing the head, death was almost instantaneous, and carried out by about ten samurai wielding Japanese having despatched two or three prisoners. The remaining Australians at Laha perished over the next two weeks, once the dead had been burned and the battleground debris cleared by the captives.

PACIFIC: Asiatic Fleet (Admiral Thomas C. Hart) ceases to exist. Units of Asiatic Fleet are organized into Naval Forces, Southwest Pacific Area under Vice Admiral William A. Glassford.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: HQ US Army Forces, Far East (USAFFE) takes direct control of the Panay and Mindoro garrisons, which were previously part of the Visayan-Mindoro Force, established early in January under command of Brigadier General William F. Sharp.
On Bataan, the II Corps front is relatively quiet. In the I Corps area, the Japanese in Big Pocket repel still another tank-infantry attack. In the South Sector, Philippine Scouts and tanks continue their attack against Canaan Point and this time succeed in compressing the Japanese into a small area at the tip. In the Anyasan-Silaiim sector, tank-infantry attacks against the Japanese still make slow progress.

SINGAPORE ISLAND: The Japanese demand the surrender of the Allied forces. The government refuses. Tengah Airfield is abandoned after intense shelling and bombing by the Japanese.

U.K.: Canadian press baron Max Beaverbrook is appointed Britain's Minister of Production. His steamrolling determination as Minister of Aircraft Production has already resulted in Britain producing more fighters than Germany.

U.S.: Attorney General Francis Biddle orders Japanese, German and Italian aliens to leave 31 areas in the states of Washington and Oregon by 15 February.

 

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AUSTRALIA: The air echelon of the USAAF 5th Air Force's 91st Bombardment Squadron (Light), 27th Bombardment Group (Light), ceases operating from Brisbane, Queensland, with A-24 Dauntlesses and begins a movement to Malang, Java. The ground echelon is based on Bataan, Luzon, Philippine Islands.

BURMA: General Archibald Wavell, Commander in Chief ABDA Command, again visits Burma and inspects the situation west of the Salween River opposite Moulmein.

MALAYA: In Malaya the Commonwealth army has retreated into Singapore and the causeway is breached by explosive demolition. Only 14 serviceable Hurricanes remain on the Island along with 6 or so Buffaloes all other aircraft have been pulled back to P1 P2 on Sumatra. Japanese recon reported over 50 aircraft at Palembang and an air strike was planed for the following day.
General Yamashita moves into the former Imperial Palace of the Sultan of Johore on the northern side of the causeway looking down on Singapore Island. The assault across the causeway was planed for the 9th of February.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: Twelve P-40s of the USAAF 5th Air Force's 20th Pursuit Squadron (Provisional) are refueling at den Pasar Airdrome on Bali when the field is attacked by 20 Japanese aircraft. Four P-40s are destroyed on the ground and seven get airborne; the seven shoot down four Zero fighters while the Zero pilots shoot down four of the seven P-40s. Later in the day, the four surviving P-40's arrive at Blimbing Airdrome on Java and are merged with the 5th Air Force's 17th Pursuit Squadron (Provisional) .
Japanese planes bomb Allied shipping off Soembawa Island; after destroyer USS Paul Jones is damaged by a near-miss, she then rescues survivors of a Dutch merchantman, which had run aground in an attempt to avoid Japanese bombs.
Offshore NEI: USS Houston and Dutch cruiser Tromp arrived in Tjilatjap via the Lumbok Straits; Houston has 60 dead and 100 or so wounded and her aft 8 inch gun turret is destroyed after being hit by air attacks while patrolling north of Java. The cruiser USS Marblehead arrives in the same port just after midnight. She is so badly damaged that she returns to the US via India for repair. The remaining ships in the Strike Force ~ De Ruyter and a squadron of Dutch destroyers continues on to Batavia. HMAS Vampire leaves Batavia for East Indies Station, she escorts two ships of trade Melchior Treub (3,242 tons) and Ophir (4,115 tons) to Colombo, Vampire was the only ship from Admiral Phillip's Force Z to survive the campaign, although she did not survive the war.
The mine sweepers HMAS Ballarat and Toowomba rescue survivors of themerchant Loch Ranza (4,958 Tons) along with radar gear contained within that ships cargo manifest.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: On Bataan, the I Corps plans to attack with all available forces against enemy pockets. In the South Sector, the Japanese are driven to the edge of a cliff overlooking beaches at Quinauan Point. Little progress is made against the Japanese in the Anyasan-Silaiim sector.
Submarine USS Seadragon evacuates 21 Army and Navy personnel; 23 torpedoes; 4,000 pounds of submarine spares; and 3,000 pounds of radio equipment. The radio equipment and some of the Navy personnel are from the naval communications/ radio intelligence unit on Corregidor; they will set up facilities on Java.

SINGAPORE: The Canadian Pacific liner Empress of Asia (17,000 tons) was hit by incendiary bombs dropped by Japanese aircraft. The ships were moored off Sultan Shoal in Singapore Roads. The big liner was ablaze from bow to stern, HMAS Bendigo, Yarra and Woolongong pulled along side to take off survivors, while at the same time fighting off enemy aircraft. On board were troops of the British 18th Division, most of whom at been aboard ship for three months, after an odyssey that took the ship from the UK to Halifax, Nova Scotia, then back to the Pacific via South Africa.Yarra was taking troops off the stern while Bendigo worked her way to the bow, but due to the liners bow flare couldn't get close enough; the Australian sailors told the soldiers to jump, not realizing, that being "poms" most of the soldiers couldn't swim. The medical officer aboard Yarra commented that the surf life saving resuscitation skills acquired earlier in life by some members of the crew came in handy on this day. During this action Acting Leading Seaman Taylor the captain of No.2 gun aboard HMAS Yarra was Mentioned in Dispatches for keenness, courage and the example he set to all ratings. This was the first of two MIDs for Taylor. After the Yarra took the last two survivors, the Master and the Chief Engineer off the bow of the liner Yarra had on board no less than 1,804 survivors. Yarra's Captain stated "I was becoming a little dubious of the stability of HMAS Yarra, and on getting clear gave orders for all hands to sit."
Leading Seaman Ronald Taylor refused to obey the order to abandon ship when HMAS Yarra was sinking on 4 March 1942. As captain of the last operating gun on the ship he continued in action until he was killed and his gun silenced. Although not mentioned in dispatches, his action was not forgotton and his name and deeds were included in the official Australian Navy history of WW2.The commanding officer of HMAS Yarra singled out Taylor for 'for keenness, courage and the example he set to all ratings' in the
Empress of Asia blaze. On neither occasion was he mentioned in dispatches. HMAS Yarra was a modified Grimsby class escort sloop HMAS Yarra (II) was constructed as ship number 114. It was laid down on 24 May 1934, launched on 28 March 1935, and completed on 12 December 1935. Its overall length was 266 feet and 3 inches, and full load displacement was 1,339 tons.
Commander Rankin the Commander of HMAS Yarra is honoured in HMAS Rankin - a Collins Class Submarine.

In WW2 a British Commonwealth sailor could be awarded one of four awards for gallantry in action; the Victoria Cross, the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal or be mentioned in dispatches. Only the Victoria Cross or the mentioned in dispatches could be awarded posthumously in WW2.

U.S.: HQ USAAF redesignates the four named overseas air forces with an Arabic numeral: the Alaskan Air Force becomes the 11th Air Force; the Caribbean Air Force becomes the 6th Air Force; the Far East Air Force becomes the 5th Air Force; and the Hawaiian Air Force becomes the 7th Air Force.

 

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BURMA: Two P-40 pilots of the 1st Fighter Squadron, AVG, shoot down four Nakajima Ki-27, Army Type 97 Fighters near Rangoon at 1000 hours. One pilot shoots down one while the second gets three.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: A small Japanese force lands and occupies the town of Gorontalo on Minahassa Peninsula, west of Menado, on Celebes Island. On Sumatra, the first Japanese air raids hit Palembang P1 Airfield at 1100 hours; two Blenheims and four Hurricanes are shot down and two Buffaloes are destroyed on the ground.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: In the I Corps area on Bataan, the Japanese receive reinforcements and attack late in the day to relieve pockets. While some elements increase pressure against the1st and 11th Divisions, Philippine Army, others drive toward Big Pocket until stopped by the 11th Division 800 yards from their objective. A small salient in the corps main line of resistance is thus formed and called Upper Pocket. In the Manila Bay area, Japanese artillery, emplaced along the south shore of the Bay in the vicinity of Ternate, begins a daily bombardment of fortified islands. Forts Drum and Frank receive the main weight of shells.

SINGAPORE: General Yamashita Tomoyoki, General Office Commanding 25th Army, summons his top officers at 1100 hours to give them their orders. The Imperial Guards Division, whose men are 6 feet tall and drilled for ceremonial, will feint on the evening of 7 February, by taking Palau Ubin Island opposite Changi (today the international airport) in the northeast. Next day, the 5th and 18th Divisions will assault Singapore Island's northwest corner. The plan is a replica of British Field Marshal Allenby's victory in Palestine in 1918. That evening, British chief engineer Brigadier Ivan Simson tells Lieutenant General Ernest Percival, General Office Commanding Malaya Command, that the Japanese will probably attack the northwest corner of Singapore Island. So Percival orders Simson to concentrate supplies in the East.
Men of the 2/29th Battalion AIF take up positions in reserve between the22nd Brigade on the northwest coast and the 27th brigade positions on the north coast near the Causeway. [Between Singapore Island and the Mainland]
The merchant ship Empire Star is finally allowed the berth along side the wharves, she had a cargo of 16 tanks and 2,000 tons of ammunition. The local dock workers stevedores know her cargo and refuse to unload the ship so the ships crew had to do the work themselves. As soon as the ship made fast to the docks Japanese aircraft appeared overhead and attacked the ship, in a panic lines were cast off and the ship made clear of the docks. Each time the ship tried to unload the same thing happened, the master suspected Japanese fifth columnists were to blame.
After off loading the survivors of Empress of Asia, HMAS Woolongong's crew spent the their last day in Singapore. Her captain, Lt Gordon Keith RANR purchased a 40mm Bofors from the army store for a crate of Gin.
Japanese plans are now in place, staff advise General Yamashita to leave the Sultans palace because it comes under frequent enemy artillery fire.Yamashita refuses!
The evacuation of Singapore continued unabated, HMS Danae, Sutlej and HMAS Yarra left Singapore escorting convoy E.M.U. consisting of Devonshire and Felix Roussel for India and City of Canterbury for Batavia. These ships had arrived the previous day as part of BM.12A with the 18th Division aboard. At midnight HMAS Woolongong departed Singapore Harbor, she would be the last allied warship to enter or leave the harbor for 4 years.

US: The first Combined Chief of Staff Conference in Washington, DC. begins. [This conference is the combined high military leaders of the UK and the US.] This is a followup to the Arcadia Sumit of December, 1941.
The Navy Department redesignates Naval Coastal Frontiers--Eastern, Gulf, Caribbean, Panama, Hawaiian, Northwest, Western, Philippine's Sea Frontiers.

 

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1942: AUSTRALIA: The Japanese submarine HIJMS I-25 launches a Yokosuka E14Y1, Navy Type 0 Small Reconnaissance Seaplane to reconnoiter Sydney, New South Wales.

BORNEO: Nine USAAF 5th Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses based at Singosari Airdrome on Java, attempt to bomb Japanese shipping at Balikpapan but are driven off by fighters.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: Four additional USAAF 5th Air Force P-40s arrive at Blimbing Airdrome on Java from Australia.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: On Bataan, the I Corps opens an all-out attack against enemy pockets and partially encircles both. The 1st Division, Philippine Army (PA) is employed against Little Pocket. The 92d Infantry of the 91st Division, PA, makes the main attack against Big Pocket from the west and is supported by elements of the 11th and 51st Divisions, PA.
In the South Sector, after the Philippine Scouts on the left flank come up against enemy positions in the Anyasan-Silaiim area and are brought to a halt, Filipino air corps troops and a Philippine Constabulary battalion are committed to form a continuous line from Silaiim Bay to Quinauan Point. The methodical destruction of Japanese remnants at Quinauan Point continues. A Japanese relief force attempting to evacuate troops from the southwestern coast is attacked by P-40s and shore guns and forced back to Olongapo.

U.S.: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9054 establishing the War Shipping Administration (WSA) to bring the control and operation of all U.S. merchant shipping under a single head. The WSA's most pressing task is to mobilize the shipping capacity of the country (the majority of which is still in private hands by the end of the
year 1941) to bring it under single control so that vessels can be allocated more readily on the basis of overall shipping needs of the U.S. and the Allies.
The federal government orders passenger car production stopped and the automobile industry converted to wartime purposes. The government offers automakers guaranteed profits regardless of production costs throughout the war years. Furthermore, the Office of Production Management allocates US$11 billion to the construction of war manufacturing plants that would be sold to the automobile manufacturers at remarkable discounts after the war.

 

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BORNEO: Japanese troops land at Bandjermasin, a small town in southeast Borneo.

MIDWAY: Japanese submarine HIJMS I-69, which has been reconnoitering the atoll since 21 January, shells the islands.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: Nine USAAF 5th Air Force B-17's based at Singosari Airdrome, Java, attempt to bomb Kendari Airdrome on Celebes. The flight is intercepted by Japanese fighters over the Java Sea and six B-17s are lost.
Off Makassar City on Celebes Island, the submarine USS S-37 torpedoes and sinks Japanese destroyer HIJMS Natsushio.

NEW ZEALAND: The government announce a potato shortage, which will continue through 1942.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: Lieutenant General Homma Masaharu, Commander of the Japanese 14th Army, orders a general withdrawal northward to more favorable positions where troops can be rested and reorganized while awaiting reinforcements for the final assault on Bataan.
The Allied I Corps continues their battle to destroy Little and Big Pockets and completely encircles the latter. The Japanese escape from Little Pocket through a small gap on the east during the night of the 8-9th. In the South Sector, resistance on Quinauan Point ends after armed motor launches from submarine tender USS Canopus neutralize the beaches, then land a party of the ground echelon of the 21st Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) , which works inland and meets the Philippine Scouts (PS) pushing toward the beaches. A company of the 57th Infantry, PS, and a platoon of 37-mm. guns are released at Quinauan for action against the Japanese in the Anyasan-Silaiim sector. The Japanese make a final attempt to withdraw their force from southwestern coast by water and succeed in rescuing 34.
Filipino President Manuel Quezon, watching his country disintegrate under bombs and occupation, asks President Franklin D. Roosevelt to grant the Philippines their independence and declare it a neutral area. FDR, seeing the absurdity of the idea, gives General Douglas MacArthur, Commanding General, US Army Forces, Far East, the power to surrender Filipino troops, but not American. This calls Quezon's bluff. Privately FDR tells his advisors that the idea the Japanese would recognize an independent Philippine nation's neutrality is absurd.

SINGAPORE: The Japanese intensify their artillery bombardment and at about 2230 hours begin landing in force on the northwestern coast of the island in the Australian sector; in this sector, three depleted Australian battalions are facing 16 Japanese battalions. The first two waves of assault craft are almost annihilated, mainly by machine gun fire, but the third wave manages to land in force and fierce hand-to-hand combat ensues. Despite opposition at the beaches, the Japanese gain a firm bridgehead and start toward Tengah airfield, driving a wedge in the Australian line in the West Area.

U.S.: A congressional committee recommends that all Japanese-Americans on the west coast be interned in camps located at least 500 miles inland.

 

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ALASKA: ALASKA - 36th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 28th Composite Group, transfers from Elmendorf Field, Anchorage to Ft Greeley, Kodiak with B-18's.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA - Between this day and 18 Feb, heavy bombers fly at least 14 missions, but they result in claims of only 3 hits on shipping.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Four destroyers from Rabaul land troops of the Japanese 144th Infantry at Gasmata, a coastal town on southern New Britain Island.

CANADA: Canadian Anti-conscription candidates are soundly defeated in four by-elections.

EAST INDIES: About 8,000 Japanese troops land near Makassar City and south of Makassar at Jeneponto on Celebes Island. They immediately head for Makassar City, where they capture a bridge and the Dutch troops who were guarding the bridge. A company of native soldiers opens fire on the Japanese causing casualties and in reprisal, the Japanese tie the Dutch soldiers in groups of three and throw them from the bridge into the water to drown.
A flight of three 5th Air Force A-24 Dauntlesses, nine P-40s and an LB-30 Liberator guide, on a flight from Australia to Java, arrives over Koepang Airdrome on Timor and finds the base closed by weather.
The LB-30 returns to Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, but the A-24s and P-40s must land. All nine P-40s are destroyed while attempting to land and the three A-24s are shot up by Dutch AA gunners. One A-24 continues to Java tomorrow but the other two must return to Australia for repairs.
Japanese aircraft bomb Batavia, Surabaya, and Malang, Java.

HAWAII: 12 USAAF 7th Air Force B-17's are detached and released to the USN's Commander-in- Chief, Pacific (CINCPAC); they will cover the advance of Task Force Eleven (TF 11) (Vice Admiral Wilson Brown Jr.) into the South Pacific.

INDIA: From India, Chiang Kai-shek arrives to urge nationalists to join the fight against Japan.

PACIFIC: Submarine USS Trout torpedoes and sinks a Japanese gunboat 53 miles off Keelung, Formosa.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: In the I Corps area on Bataan, Japanese remnants from Little Pocket are destroyed while seeking to escape. 1st Division, Philippine Army, is now free to join in the battle against Big Pocket, which is being compressed and from which the Japanese are trying to escape. In the South Sector, the 2d Battalion, 57th Infantry,
Philippine Scouts, replaces the 3d Battalion in the center of the line in the Anyasan-Silaiim region and makes limited progress against the Japanese.
The Japanese get radio station KZRH in Manila on the air again, and broadcast propaganda to the embattled American and Filipino forces, playing American songs to make GIs feel homesick, including "Waiting for Ships That Never Came in."

SINGAPORE: Although reinforcements are sent to the West Area from other sectors, the Japanese reach Tengah airfield. Beginning at 2100 hours, the Japanese 4th Guards Regiment lands in the area just west of the causeway. Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, General Office Commanding Malaya Command, orders the garrison to defend the southern part of the island, where Singapore town, Kalang airdrome, the reservoirs, and supply depots are located. The Far East War Council meets for the last time.

U.K.: The Pacific War Council, composed of representatives from the U.K., Australia, Netherlands East Indies, and New Zealand, is formed in London.

U.S.: On this day, Congress pushes ahead standard time for the United States by one hour in each time zone, imposing daylight saving time--called at the time "war time."
The Screen Actors Guild rejects General Hershey's plan to defer movie stars that was announced yesterday.

 

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BURMA: The 46th Brigade, Indian 17th Division, which has recently relieved the Indian 16th Brigade along the Salween River in the Martaban area, begins a fighting withdrawal from Martaban toward Thaton, since theJapanese have bypassed Martaban.

EAST INDIES: On Borneo, a Japanese landing force takes Banjarmasin and a nearby airfield on the south coast. The Japanese are only 280 miles from Java and their planes soon will dominate the Java Sea.
5th Air Force LB-30's bomb and damage the Japanese seaplane carrier HIJMS Chitose in Makassar Strait south of Celebes Island.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): Air echelon of the 88th Reconnaisssance Squadron (Heavy), 7th BG (Heavy), begins a movement from Hickam Field on Hawaii to the Fiji with B-17's. The ground echelon is enroute from Australia to India.

LINE ISLANDS 1,320 miles south of Honolulu at about 01.57N 157.27W: A small U.S. Army defense force arrives on Christmas Island. The force consists of 2,000 troops (one each infantry, coast artillery and antiaircraft artillery battalions) plus the USAAF 7th Air Force's 12th Pursuit Squadron , 50th Pursuit Group, arrives on Christmas Island, Line from the US with P-39's.

MIDWAY: The Japanese submarine HIJMS I-69 shells Midway but is immediately bombed and damaged by F2A Buffaloes of Marine Fighting Squadron VMF-211 based on the island.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: On Bataan, the I Corps is rapidly reducing Big Pocket while South Sector forces are compressing the Japanese in the Anyasan-Silaiim area.

SINGAPORE: General Sir Archibald Wavell, Commander in Chief ABDA, visits Singapore and orders the island held and all remaining RAF personnel withdrawn to the Netherlands East Indies. The Japanese deepen their penetration to the supply depot area. The Australian Imperial Force Malaya, which is further reinforced in the Western Area, begins withdrawing from the Causeway sector at 0430 hours and fall back to the line Kranji-Jurong. Between 1900 and 2000 hours, Japanese infantry and tanks attack the Australian 2/29th Battalionand since the battalion lacks anti-tank weapons, the Japanese break through the line and head down the road towards Bukit Timah.

UK: The 1st meeting of the Pacific War Council in London begins. Represented are Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Holland.

 

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RAAF - First mast height attack on enemy shipping of the New Guinea campaign: three Hudsons attacked and sunk two transports at Gasmata. They are attacked by A6M4 Claudes that shoot down two: Hudson A16-91 and Hudson A16-126.

AUSTRALIA: American supply officers struggle to find charter boats and pilots who can sail supplies through the Japanese blockade to Bataan. They have no luck.
Eleven 5th Air Force A-24's depart Darwin, Northern Territory, for a two-day flight to Java.

BURMA: Additional Japanese forces cross the Salween River in the Paan area and engulf a battalion of the Indian 46th Brigade.

CANADA: In Montreal, Quebecois riot against conscription plans that may call for Canadian draftees to be sent overseas to fight, in violation of government policy. Canadian troops who cannot be sent overseas are called "Zombies."

EAST INDIES: Nine 5th Air Force P-40s arrive at Blimbing Airdrome on Java after flying from Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, via Timor Island.

PACIFIC: Submarine USS Shark is sunk by Japanese destroyer HIJMS Yamakaze about 120 miles E of Menado, Celebes Island, Netherlands East Indies. There are no survivors from Shark's 58-man crew.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: On Bataan, the I Corps makes substantial progress against Big Pocket, but the enemy succeeds in withdrawing through a gap on the north side. In the South Sector, the Japanese fall back to Silaiim Point, between the Silaiim and Anyasan Rivers, underpressure.

SINGAPORE: At 0300 hours, a Japanese force advancing along the Jurong Road eastward towards the village of Bukit Timah, encounters and virtually annihilates an Australian battalion. The Japanese then pass through the village. The Allies make four counterattacks against the Japanese invaders but all fails with heavy losses and they must retreat to their final perimeter around the city itself. Lieutenant General Yamashita Tomoyuki, Commander of the 25th Army, now has 30,000 men on the island and calls on the British commander to surrender. Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, General Officer Commanding Malaya Command, who has 85,000 men, rejects the demand.