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

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AUSTRALIA: An advanced flight echelon of B-26s assigned to the 22d BG (Medium) arrives at Archerfield Airdrome, Brisbane via the Pacific ferry route.

General Douglas MacArthur finally consents to see Lt. General George Brett who commands all Allied air units in Australia. Brett later recalls, "MacArthur went into a dissertation on the air forces. It was evident that he had nothing but contempt and criticism for them. `They lack discipline, organization, purposeful intent,' he said." Brett's assessment is that the key to MacArthur's speech is that the Philippine campaign had been lost-but "through no fault of his."
Jean MacArthur goes shopping in Melbourne, Victoria, to buy clothes, and finds out that most Australians have no idea of what they've been through. The Myer Emporium salesgirl looks her over, shakes her head sadly, and says, "SSW. Well, I don't know whether we've got anything." What does SSW mean? "Small-sized woman. They're
hard to fit." Another shopper recognizes Mrs. MacArthur, and says, sympathetically, "Won't your clothes soon be arriving from Manila?"
An advance air echelon of the USAAF 22d BG (Medium) equipped with B-26 Marauders arrives at Archefield Airdrome near Brisbane, Queensland, via the South Pacific ferry route. These are the first B-26s to reach an active war zone. The ground echelon has been in Australia for a month.

NEW GUINEA: On 21 March, RAAF No. 75 Squadron arrived at Seven Mile Aerodrome at Port Moresby with 17 Curtiss Kittyhawk Mk. IA (= USAAF P-40E) fighters. Today, only seven of the original aircraft are operational.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): 16th and 17th Bombardment Squadrons , 27th Bombardment Group, cease operating from Brisbane with A-24s and begin moving to Charters Towers.

PACIFIC: Three Japanese merchant ships are sunk by U.S. submarines:
(1) USS Drum sinks a cargo ship about 120 miles south southwest of Tokyo, Japan;
(2) USS Pompano sinks a tanker about 70 miles NW of Naha, Okinawa; and
(3) USS Tautog sinks a transport about 460 miles SE of Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands.

SOCIETY ISLANDS: The U.S. 162d Infantry of the 41st Infantry Division, arrives at the 14 square mile Bora Bora Island in French Polynesia. Bora Bora Island is about 2,650 miles SSE of Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii.

BURMA: The Chinese 200th Division is virtually besieged in Toungoo. Elements of the Temporary 55th Division (T-55th) of the Chinese 6th Army, arrive north of the town but do not attack. The Burma I Corps is ordered to concentrate in the Prome-Allanmyo area.

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS: Japanese submarine HIJMS I-9 launches a E14Y1, "Glen" , to reconnoiter Kiska and Amchitka Islands.

CANADA: British Columbia Security Commission initiates scheme of forcing men to road camps and women and children to "ghost town" detention camps.

MIDWAY ISLANDS: Light cruiser USS St. Louis arrives and disembarks Companies "C" and "D," 2d Marine Raider Battalion, and a 37 mm gun battery of the 3d Defense Battalion.

 

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AUSTRALIA: At a meeting with the Australian Advisory War Council, General Douglas MacArthur gives his views on the situation in Southeast Asia and the southwest Pacific. He doubts that the Japanese are able to undertake an invasion of Australia, and believes that it would be a great blunder on their part if they attempted it. However, he believes that the Japanese "might try to overrun Australia in order to demonstrate their superiority over the white races." He suggests that the main danger is from isolated raids and attempts to secure air bases in the country and therefore, the first step is to make Australia secure.
General Douglas MacArthur receives the citation for his Medal of Honor at a formal dinner in Melbourne, Victoria. He tells the audience, "I have come as a soldier in a great crusade of personal liberty as opposed to perpetual slavery. My faith in our ultimate victory is invincible, and I bring you tonight the unbreakable spirit of the free man's military code in support of our joint cause." The Australians are delighted. MacArthur continues, that the medal is not "intended so much for me personally as it is a recognition of the indomitable courage of the gallant army which it was my honor to command."
Three USAAF 3 B-17s evacuate Philippine President Manual L Quezon and his family to Australia.

BURMA: Continuing pressure against the Chinese in Toungoo, the Japanese seize the town as far as the railroad line. The Chinese 22d Division, which has previously been ordered to the Pyinmana-Yedashe area, north of Toungoo, to counterattack in support of the Chinese 200th Division, arrives in position but fails to take the offensive.

EAST INDIES: A Japanese carrier force leaves the naval base at Kendari on Celebes Island, Netherlands East Indies, for the Indian Ocean.

U.S.: Admiral Ernest J. King relieves Admiral Harold R. Stark as Chief of Naval Operations and thus becomes Commander in Chief U.S. Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations; Vice Admiral Frederick J. Horne (Vice Chief of Naval Operations) and Vice Admiral Russell Willson (COMINCH Chief of Staff) are his principal assistants.

The presidents of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) promise to do all they can to curb the rash of strikes that has slowed industrial production. They oppose strikes for the duration.

 

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AUSTRALIA: Elements of the Australian 6th Division arrive in Perth, Western Australia, from the Middle East. General Sir Thomas Blamey is named Commander-in-Chief of Australian Military Forces.
Philippine President Manuel Quezon and members of his cabinet, recently evacuated from Corregidor by the submarine USS Swordfish', arrive at Fremantle, Western Australia,. He subsequently goes to the U.S. and forms a government in exile but could do no more than try to boost the morale of the people he left behind. While in the U.S., Quezon serves as a member of the Pacific War Council. He dies of tuberculosis in Saranac Lake, New York, U.S.A., on 1 August 1944, 18 days short of his 64th birthday.
The air echelon of the USAAF 30th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) transfers from Melbourne, Victoria, to Cloncurry, Queensland, with B-17's; the ground echelon is on Bataan and Mindanao, Philippine Islands.

BURMA: The Chinese 200th Division continues to resist the Japanese onslaughts against Toungoo. On the Irrawaddy River front, the Japanese are massing forces south of Prome.

INDIA: RAF planes withdraw from Akyab Airfield as a result of heavy enemy bombing.

PACIFIC: Submarine USS Gudgeon sinks a Japanese merchant cargo ship in the East China Sea about 140 miles (225 kilometers) west northwest of Sasebo, Japan. A Japanese collier is sunk by Dutch aircraft off Koepang Timor, Netherlands East Indies.

 

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AUSTRALIA: P-40 pilots of the USAAF 9th Pursuit Squadron based at Darwin, Northern Territory, shoot down three Japanese twin-engine bombers over Darwin at 1310 hours.
The air echelon of the USAAF 28th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) transfers from Melbourne, Victoria, to Cloncurry, Queensland, with B-17 Flying Fortresses; a detachment begins operating from Perth, Western Australia; the ground echelon is in the Philippine Islands.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): HQ 43d BG and 63d and 65th Bombardment Squadrons arrive at Sydney, Australia from the US with B-17's; first mission is 14 Aug and 12 Nov respectively.
28th Bombardment Squadron, 19th BG (Heavy), transfers from Melbourne to Cloncurry with B-17's; a detachment begins operating from Perth; ground echelon is on Bataan on Mindanao.
80th Pursuit Squadron, 8th Pursuit Group, transfers from Brisbane to Lowood, Australia with P-39's; first mission is 22 Jul.

BURMA: General Harold Alexander, General Officer Commanding Burma Army, at the request of Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell, Commanding General American Army Forces, China, Burma and India and Chief of Staff of the Chinese Army, agrees to attack on the Irrawaddy River front. Reconnaissance elements of the Burma I Corps clash with the Japanese at Paungde, southeast of Prome.

HAWAII: U. S. Navy codebreakers at Pearl Harbor decipher a message that reveals the Japanese plan a major offensive north of Australia in early May.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: The Japanese, moving into position for all-out offensive against Bataan, feint against I Corps and push in the outpost line of Sector D on the II Corps front. Increasingly heavy air and arty bombardment of Bataan is lowering efficiency of defense force as well as destroying badly needed materiel. Efforts to run the blockade and supply the garrison with necessary items have virtually failed, and supply situation is growing steadily worse.

 

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AUSTRALIA: General Sir Thomas Blamey, Commander-in-Chief of Australian Military Forces, meets General Douglas MacArthur, Commanding General
U.S. Army Forces, Far East, for the first time in MacArthurâs rooms in the Menzies Hotel in Melbourne, Victoria.

SWPA, 5th Air Force: 19th Bombardment Squadron, 22d BG (Medium), transfers from Ipswich to Townsville with B-26's; first mission is 6 Apr. 93d Bombardment Squadron, 19th BG (Heavy), transfers from Melbourne to Cloncurry, Australia with B-17's; ground echelon is on Bataan and Mindanao; first mission is 23 Jul.

BURMA: Going on the offensive to relieve pressure on the Chinese at Toungoo and restore communications, a task force of the Burma I Corps attacks and clears Paungde, but its situation becomes precarious as the Japanese establish themselves a few miles north at Patigon and on the east back of the Irrawaddy River at Shwedaung.

NEW HEBRIDES ISLANDS: The Marines 4th Defense Battalion (reinforced) and the forward echelon of Marine Fighting Squadron (VMF-212) arrive at Vila on Efate Island. The troops of VMF-212 are to construct an air strip from which the squadron initiates operations in the New Hebrides on 27 May.

U.K.: The text of the "Draft Declaration of Discussion, with Indian Leaders," taken to India by Sir Stafford Cripps is published simultaneously in India and Great Britain. The British Government had decided to lay down in clear terms the steps to be taken for the earliest possible realization of self-government in India. "The object is the creation of a new Indian union which shall constitute a Dominion, associated with the United Kingdom and the other Dominions by a common allegiance to the Crown but equal to them in every respect, in no way subordinate in any aspect of its domestic or external affairs"

 

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BURMA: The Chinese 200th Division withdraws from Toungoo under pressure and fails to destroy the bridge over the Sittang River thus leaving the way to the Chinese border wide open for the Japanese. On the Irrawaddy River front, the Burma I Corps task force falls back to Prome from the Paungde area, leaving vehicles behind at Shwedaung. During the night 30th/31st, the Japanese attack the Indian 63d Brigade at Prome and soon breach their defenses, exposing the right flank of the Indian 17th
Division.

CHRISTMAS ISLAND: Nine hundred Japanese troops land on the British controlled, 52 square mile Christmas Island located about 225 miles south of the western end of Java, Netherlands East Indies. The island is rich in phosphates.

NEW GUINEA: Reinforcements for the RAAF's No. 75 Squadron operating from Seven Mile Aerodrome at Port Moresby arrive in the form of five Kittyhawk Mk. IAs (= USAAF P-40E).

PACIFIC: Submarine USS Sturgeon sinks a Japanese transport 33 miles southwest of Makassar City, Celebes, Netherland East Indies.

U.S.: Directives are drafted designating General Douglas MacArthur as Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA), and Admiral Chester Nimitz as Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Area (CINCPOA), for submission to the Allied governments concerned. SWPA is to include Australia, the Philippines, New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomons, and most of the Netherlands East Indies.
As Supreme Commander of SWPA, General MacArthur is to maintain positions in the Philippines and bases in Australia; guard approaches to SWPA; halt the Japanese advance on Australia; protect communications within the theater; support POA forces; and be prepared to take the offensive. POA comprises the North Pacific Area (north of 42N), Central Pacific Area (between 42N and the equator) and South Pacific Area (south of the equator between the eastern boundary of the SWPA and 110W), all under overall command of Admiral Nimitz, and the first two under his direct command. As CINCPOA, Admiral Nimitz, who also remains Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet, is to maintain communications between the U.S. and SWPA; support operations in the SWPA; and be prepared to take offensive action. In addition to SWPA
and POA, Pacific Theater is to include the Southeast Pacific Area, i.e., the ocean stretches west of Central and South America.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt announces the creation of The Pacific War Council in Washington, D.C. The Council membership consists of the President, Rooseveltâs unofficial advisor on foreign affairs Harry Hopkins, and political representatives of the U.K., China, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Canada. Representatives of India and the Philippines are added later.
The Inter-American Defense Board holds its first meeting in Washington, D.C. The Board was created to study and recommend measures for the defense of the hemisphere.
The War Production Board bans the production of certain electric appliances, notably toasters, stoves and razors.

 

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BURMA: The Chinese 200th Division makes contact with the Chinese 22d Division north of Toungoo and withdraws north of Pyinmana as a reserve. With the loss of Toungoo, the road to Mawchi is left undefended and the Japanese, during the next few days, overrun the small Chinese garrison at Mawchi and then continue east, forcing elements of the Chinese Temporary 55th Division (T-55th ) of the Chinese 6th Army back to Bawlake.

CEYLON: The British Eastern Fleet under the command of Vice Admiral Sir James Somerville consisting of the aircraft carriers HMS Formidable, Hermes and Indomitable; five old battleships; six British and two Dutch cruisers; and 15 destroyers, sail from Colombo after being warned of the approach of a Japanese fleet. The Japanese force under Vice Admiral KONDO Nobutake consists of the battleships HIJMS Haruna, Hiei, Kirishima and Kongo; the aircraft carriers HIJMS Akagai, Hiryu, Shokaku, Soryu and Zuikaku; heavy cruisers HIJMS Chikuma and Tone; light cruiser HIJMS Abukuma; and nine destroyers.

EAST INDIES: Four RAAF Hudsons of Nos. 2 and 13 Squadrons operating from Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, bomb Penfui Airfield on Dutch West Timor Island. The Australians destroy at least six aircraft on the ground and four flying boats in the harbor.

INDIA: The Congress Party demands immediate independence.

NEW GUINEA: The 8th Bombardment Squadron (Light) transfers from Charters Towers, Queensland, Australia to Port Moresby, New Guinea, with six A-24 Dauntlesses; they fly their first mission tomorrow.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): 8th Bombardment Squadron, 3d BG, transfers from Charters Towers to Port Moresby with A-20's; first mission is 1 Apr.

NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand now has 61,368 servicemen overseas, 52,712 of them in the Army. Home Guard strength is 100,000.

 

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BRITISH SOLOMON ISLANDS: In the Solomon Islands, Japanese forces occupy Buka Island off the north coast of Bougainville Island.

USA: US goverment begins the relocation of Japanese-Americans to interment camps in the United States.

(SWPA, 5th Air Force): During Apr, HQ 16th, 17th and 91st Bombardment Squadrons , 27th BG, are established at Charters Towers, Australia; ground echelon remains on Bataan.

BURMA: General Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief India, visiting the front, agrees to the immediate withdrawal of Burma I Corps to the Allanmyo area, north of Prome. The Japanese continue to press in on Prome. Wavell sends a message to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill stating that the Japanese command of the air is setting the Allied command in Burma an extremely difficult task. Lieutenant General William J Slim, General Officer Commanding Burma Corps, and Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell, Commanding General American Army Forces, China, Burma and India and Chief of Staff of the Chinese Army, meet for the first time and are impressed with each other.

CHINA: After meeting with British General William J Slim in Burma, Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell flies to Chungking to meet with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek. The meeting is stormy. Stilwell tells Chiang he will resign because the Chinese generals won't obey his orders. "What a gag," Stilwell writes. "I have to tell Chiang Kai Shek with a straight face that his subordinates are not carrying out his orders, when in all probability they are doing just what he tells them. In justice to all of them, however, it is expecting a great deal to have them turn over a couple of armies in a vital area to a foreigner."

EAST INDIES: During the night of 31 March/1st, the Japanese land on Ceram Island, Netherlands East Indies. The 1st Detachment occupies the town of Fakfak and the small Dutch garrison surrenders without a fight. RAAF Hudsons of Nos. 2 and 13 Squadrons operating from Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, bomb Penfui Airfield on Dutch West Timor Island. The Australians destroy six and damage six aircraft on the ground.

JAPAN: Japanese Combined Fleet Headquarters submits a draft of an operational plan for the Second Phase of operations, in which the Aleutian Operation (AL-GO) will be followed by a Midway Operation.

NEW GUINEA: Japanese troops from the Netherlands East Indies land at a number of points on the Dutch New Guinea coast, from Sorong on the northwestern tip to Hollandia, during the period 1-20 April; the landings are virtually unopposed.
Six USAAF A-24 Dauntlesses based at Port Moresby attack the Japanese at Lae.

PACIFIC: Submarine USS Seawolf torpedoes Japanese light cruiser HIJMS Naka 50 miles NW of Christmas Island south of Java. British submarine HMS Truant sinks two Japanese merchant cargo ships in Malacca Strait, 60 miles off the coast of Sumatra.

PHILIIPINE ISLANDS: The Japanese Army resumes major attacks against the US and Filipino forces on Bataan. The 24,000 men there are on ¼ rations.

U.S.: The Pacific War Council holds its first meeting at Washington, D.C. Presided over by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and attended by representatives of Australia, Canada, China, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines and the U.K., this is the first of more than 30 meetings held during the war.
The USAAF's Air Corps Proving Ground is redesignated Proving Ground Command, with its main base at Eglin Field, Valpariso, Florida. The command performs operational tests and studies of aircraft and aircraft equipment.
Transport Squadron Two (VR-2), the first Naval Air Transportation Service (NATS) squadron for Pacific operations, is established at NAS Alameda, California.

 

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BURMA: The British Burma Corps retreats from Prome.
In the Andaman Islands off the south coast of Burma, the 10th Air Force flies its first combat mission; the mission is lead by Major General Lewis H Brereton, Commanding General 10th Air Force. Two B-17's and an LB-30 Liberator attack shipping during the night of 2/3 April and claim hits on a cruiser and a transport; 2 B-17's are damaged by AA and fighters, but all return to base.

CHINA: Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek gives Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell, Commanding General American Army Forces, China, Burma and India and Chief of Staff of the Chinese Army, a new executive officer, General Lo Cho-Ying, who is mature and experienced. Stilwell and Lo hurry back down to the disintegrating Burma front.

INDIA: In India, US 10th Air Force B-17s are dispatched to attack Rangoon, Burma. The mission is aborted when 1 B-17 crashes on takeoff, killing the entire crew, and the other returns to base with mechanical troubles.

INDIAN OCEAN: Vice Admiral Sir James Somerville, Commander of the British Eastern Fleet, changes course for Addu Atoll with the main part of his fleet. Two heavy cruisers are detached,
(1) HMS Dorsetshire is sent to Colombo, Ceylon, to resume an interrupted refit and
(2) HMS Cornwall is sent to escort convoy SU-4 bound for Aden. The aircraft carrier HMS Hermes with Australian destroyer HMAS Vampire is detached to return to Trincomalee, Ceylon.

U.S.: The USAAF changes the designation of Observation Aircraft ("O") being delivered to Liaison Aircraft ("L") resulting in the following changes:
Stinson O-49 Vigilant redesignated L-1;
Taylorcraft O-57 Grasshopper redesignated L-2;
Aeronca O-58 Grasshopper redesignated L-3;
Piper O-59 Cub redesignated L-4;
Stinson O-62 Sentinel redesignated L-5;
and Interstate O-63 redesignated L-6.
The aircraft carrier USS Hornet and escorting vessels, sail from San Francisco, California, with 16 USAAF B-25 Mitchells of the Doolittle attack group on her deck; Hornet's aircraft are in the hanger deck. That afternoon, Captain Marc Mitscher informs his men of their mission: a bombing raid on Japan.
The U.S. Army begins the mass evacuation of all people of Japanese ancestry from the Pacific Coast.

 

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AUSTRALIA: The USAAF's Air Transport Command activates two transport squadrons, one at Archerfield Aerodrome near Brisbane, Queensland, and the second at Essendon Aerodrome near Melbourne, Victoria. The squadrons are equipped with various transport aircraft.

BURMA: The Burma I Corps continues a northward withdrawal from the Allanmyo area although not under enemy pressure. In the Sittang Valley, Lieutenant General Joseph Stilwell, Commanding General American Army Forces, China, Burma and India and Chief of Staff of the Chinese Army, begins deploying the Chinese for a stand at Pyinmana. The Chinese 22d Division is to fall back gradually on Pyinmana, where the Chinese 96th Division is to take over.
Japanese bombers attack Mandalay, killing 2000 and destroying much of the city.
Six 10th Air Force B-17's from Asansol Airdrome, India, bomb warehouses and docks at Rangoon starting three large fires; one B-17 fails to return.

EAST INDIES: RAAF Hudsons of Nos. 2 and 13 Squadrons operating from Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, bomb Penfui Airfield on Dutch West Timor Island. The Australians destroy four and damage two aircraft on the ground.

HAWAII: Admiral Chester W Nimitz assumes command of Pacific Ocean Areas (POA). POA comprises North, Central, Southeast and South Pacific Areas, all under overall command of Admiral Nimitz as Commander-in-Chief POA.
The Southeast Pacific Area had been established on 8 December 1941 and is commanded by Rear Admiral John F Shafroth. The South Pacific Area is officially established on 20 April and North Pacific Area on 17 May.
Nimitz retains his position as Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet (CINCPAC).

Light minelayers USS Pruitt, Preble, Sicard, and Tracy mine French Frigate Shoals, Hawaiian Group, to prevent Japanese submarines from using the area as a refueling point for flying boat raids on Oahu.

See my thread on airfields of the pacific to see what this atoll looks like

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: The Japanese open an all-out offensive against the Bataan line, which is by now under strength, undernourished, poorly clothed and equipped, and battle weary.
After air and artillery bombardment, lasting from 1000 until 1500 hours, the Japanese move forward, making their main effort against Sector D, the west flank of the II Corps, where the 41st and 21st Divisions, Philippine Army (PA), are thinly spread and dazed as result of the preliminary bombardment. The 41st, on the west, gives way and is rendered virtually ineffective as a fighting force, although a regiment on extreme west succeeds in withdrawing in an orderly fashion.
A battalion on the flank of the 21st Division is forced to pull back. An effort to re-establish the line of the 41st Division after dark is partially successful. The only corps reserve unit, the 33d Infantry (PA), less the 1st Battalion, is released to Sector D as is the Provisional Tank Group (-) of the Luzon Force reserve. In the I Corps sector to the west, the Japanese succeed in reaching the main line of resistance on the eastern flank but are unable to pierce it.

(SWPA, 5th Air Force): 21st and 22d Transport Squadrons, Air Transport Command, US Army Forces in Australia, are activated at Archerfield and Essendon Airdrome, Australia respectively with various transport aircraft. 39th Pursuit Squadron, 35th Pursuit Group, transfers from Mount Gambier to Williamstown, Australia with P-39's; first mission is 2 June.

 

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AUSTRALIA: P-40E pilots of the 9th Pursuit Squadron based at Darwin, Northern Territory, shoot down seven "Nell's" and two "Zero's" over Darwin between 1330 and 1405 hours.

(SWPA, 5th Air Force): 36th Pursuit Squadron, 8th Pursuit Group, transfers from Lowood to Townsville, Australia with P-39's and P-400's; first mission is 30 Apr.

CEYLON: British heavy cruisers HMS Cornwall and Dorsetshire sail from Colombo at 2200 hours to rejoin the British Eastern Fleet.

JAPAN: After a heated debate, Admiral NAGANO Osami, Chief of the Navy General Staff, agrees to a simultaneous Aleutian-Midway operation.

MALDIVE ISLANDS: The crew of an RCAF Catalina Mk. I of No. 413 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron based at Koggala, Ceylon, on a reconnaissance flight reports sighting a Japanese fleet in the Indian Ocean about 360 miles southeast of Ceylon. Vice Admiral Sir James Somerville, Commander of the British Eastern Fleet, sails from Addu Atoll in the Maldive Islands, located about 400 miles southwest of Ceylon, with the faster ships (Force "A") to attack and orders the heavy cruisers HMS Cornwall and Dorsetshire to join him southwest of Ceylon. The two cruisers are at Colombo, Ceylon.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: In the II Corps area on Bataan, the Japanese attack is again preceded by a demoralizing artillery bombardment in conjunction with air attacks. The main line of resistance of Sector D collapses as the 41st Division, Philippine Army (PA), withdraws again and the 21st Division, PA, is forced from their main line of resistance to the reserve line in front of Mt Samat. After nightfall, the Japanese regroup for an assault on Mt Samat. Sector C has to refuse its left flank because of enemy breakthrough. The Luzon Force sends two regiments of the Philippine Division, the U.S. 31st Infantry and the 45th Infantry, Philippine Scouts, to support the II Corps.

U.S.: The Allies concur in the establishment and divisions of the Southwest Pacific Area and the Pacific Ocean Area proposed on 30 March.

 

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ADMIRALTY ISLANDS: Japanese forces occupy Lorengau on Manus Island without opposition. Several hundred Japanese troops of a Special Naval Landing Force are landed by a naval force consisting of the light cruiser HIJMS Tatsuta, destroyer HIJMS Mutsuki and a troop transport ship SS Mishima Maru. The island is defended by No. 4 Section, 'B' Platoon, First Independent Company, Australian Imperial Force. With little and limited resources the Australian Independent Company Section smartly withdraws to prepared positions in the jungle.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: In their combat debut, nine B-26's attack Lakunai and Vunakanau Aerodromes at Rabaul on New Britain island.

BURMA: Pilots of the American Volunteer Group's 1st and 3d Fighter Squadron shoot down 12 Japanese fighters near Loiwing Airdrome during the afternoon.

CANADA: The port of Port Rupert, British Columbia, is opened to the U.S. for shipment of supplies to the Territory of Alaska, thus avoiding a logistics jam at Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.

INDIAN OCEAN: The Japanese fleet that sailed from Kendari, Celebes, Netherlands East Indies, has reached a point about 200 miles south of Colombo and commences Operation C. The Japanese force under Vice Admiral KONDO Nobutake consists of the battleships HIJMS Haruna, Hiei, Kirishima and Kongo; the aircraft carriers HIJMS Akagai, Hiryu, Shokaku, Soryu and Zuikaku; heavy cruisers HIJMS Chikuma and Tone; light cruiser HIJMS Abukuma; and nine destroyers. At dawn, the carriers launch 127 aircraft [53 "Kate"'s, 38 "Val"'s and 36 "Zero's] Of these, seven are lost (6 "Vals" and a "Zeke") and 15 damage (five "Kates", seven "Vals" and three "Zekes"). Two additional "Zekes" are damaged downing an RAF Catalina over the Japanese fleet.
In spite of the prior days warning of the approaching Japanese Task Force, the Royal Air Force fighter units are caught fairly unprepared. In the massive air battle that follows, the RAF and Fleet Air Arm (FAA) losses a total of 30 aircraft, six Swordfish, four Fulmars, 17 Hurricanes, a Catalina, an Albacore and a Walrus. The FAA's No. 788 Squadron, the Eastern Fleet Torpedo Bomber Reconnaissance Pool unit equipped with Swordfish Mks I and II and based at China Bay, Ceylon, is caught unaware in transit from the Trincomalee area and loses all six Swordfish and their pilots. FAA Nos. 803 and 806 Squadrons operating two sub-flights together while based at Ratmalana, Ceylon, each lose two of three Fulmar Mk. II fighters and four crewmen. RAF No. 258 Squadron operating from Colombo Racecourse had 9 Hurricanes Mk. IIBs forced down of the 14 that sortied with the loss of five pilots, while No. 30 Squadron based at Ratmalana, had 8 Hurricanes Mk. IIA and IIBs forced down although the actual number that sortied is unclear; four pilots were killed and one later died of his wounds. Meanwhile, a Catalina of the morning search found the Japanese fleet, but was shot down by the Japanese Combat Air Patrol (CAP) before getting off a report; all eight crewmen were killed. Also an FAA No. 700 Squadron Walrus operating from the light cruiser HMS Glasgow is dispatched on a search after the raid but on its return, it crashes while landing, killing the pilot. The Japanese also sink the destroyer HMS Tenedos and the armed merchant cruiser HMS Hector.
A Japanese scout plane from the heavy cruiser HIJMS Tone sights two British cruisers southwest of Ceylon and the Japanese aircraft carriers launch 53 "Vals." The two heavy cruisers, HMS Dorsetshire and Cornwall, had sailed from Colombo, Ceylon, at 2200 hours yesterday and during the night orders were received from the commander in chief Eastern Fleet to join him at 1600 hours today. Starting at 1100 hours, aircraft, some friendly, were sighted but none attacked. At about 1340 hours, both ships were attacked by the Vals and both were severely damaged. HMS Dorsetshire sank at 1351 hours and HMS Cornwall at 1355 hours. Between the two ships, 424 crewmen were lost and 1,122 are rescued tomorrow after spending 30 hours in the water. No Japanese aircraft were lost in this attack.
After the attack, the Japanese Second Expeditionary Fleet, Malay Force (Vice Admiral OZAWA Jisaburo) is divided into three groups to disrupt Allied shipping in the Bay of Bengal. The British also are active after the attack. RAF No. 11 Squadron, based at Colombo Race course, dispatches ten Blenheim Mk. IVs on a retaliatory strike but estimates of the Japanese position are off and, with no further reports being received, the target is not found. During the day, a pair of No. 827 Squadron Albacore Mk. Is from the aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable, on a reconnaissance flight, run into the Japanese CAP and one is shot down with the loss of three crewmen. Later in the day another No. 827 Albacore is intercepted by the CAP, but escapes. Unfortunately, the lack of a proper sighting report from the later plane (its radio had been destroyed) left Admiral Somerville to assume no contact had been and thus he did not change course to close. By the time his scout returned two hours later, the Japanese Force had doubled back and further FAA search efforts failed to make the contact necessary for Somerville to execute his planned night aerial torpedo attack.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: After air and artillery preparation, the Japanese resume their offensive in the II Corps area on Bataan, concentrating on the 21st Division, Philippine Army, which yields Mt Samat and is left virtually ineffective as a fighting force. The Corps prepares to counterattack tomorrow with all available forces.
A Japanese invasion force of 4,852 troops sails from Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, toward Cebu Island, in the Visayan Islands, east central Philippines.

 

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AUSTRALIA: Headquarters of the 41st Infantry Division, the 163d Infantry, the 167th Field Artillery Battalion and other units arrive in Melbourne, Victoria, and are assigned to Army Forces in Australia.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: USAAF B-25s bomb Gasmata on New Britain Island. A small Japanese naval force from Truk Atoll in the Caroline Islands lands on the eastern tip of Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, and captures the town of Lorengau.

(SWPA, 5th Air Force): 11th and 22d Bombardment Squadrons, 7th BG (Heavy), begin a transfer without personnel and equipment to the US. They will be established at Columbia, AAB, South Carolina on 26 Apr, be re-equipped with B-25's and transfer to India in Jul 42.

BURMA: The Japanese land reinforcements at Rangoon. Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, visiting Maymyo, urges that Taungdwingyi be held and agrees to provide a Chinese division to assist the Burma I Corps. The Chinese 200th and 96th Divisions are in position to defend Pyinmana.

INDIAN OCEAN: Japanese Operation C continues: The Second Expeditionary Fleet, Malay Force (Vice Admiral OZAWA Jisaburo) raids Allied shipping off the east coast of India. The Japanese Northern Group (Rear Admiral KURITA Takeo) attacks an Allied convoy about 36 miles SE of Puri, India; an unarmed U.S. freighter and four British merchantmen are sunk by gunfire of heavy cruisers HIJMS Kumano and Suzuya, and destroyer HIJMS Shirakumo. The Southern Group (Captain SAKIYAMA Shakao), consisting of heavy cruisers HIJMS Mogami and Mikuma and destroyer HIJMS Amagiri, sink three British merchantmen. The Central Group, formed around the aircraft carrier HIJMS Ryujo, heavy cruiser HIJMS Chokai, light cruiser HIJMS Yura, and destroyers HIJMS Yugiri and Asagiri, attacks shipping in a third area. After aircraft from the carrier HIJMS Ryujo attack an unarmed U.S. freighter, heavy cruiser HIJMS Chokai shells and sinks the American merchantman; Japanese gunfire renders all lifeboats useless and kills 19 of the 41-man crew. Five more crewmen die later of wounds suffered in the attack. Lost with the ship is its cargo of 500 monkeys (which are most likely earmarked for infantile paralysis research in the United States).
Floatplanes from the heavy cruiser HIJMS Chokai bomb an unarmed U.S. freighter 11 miles off the coast of India and a British freighter, sinking both. Light cruiser HIJMS Yura and destroyer HIJMS Yugiri, meanwhile, sink two Dutch motorships and a British steamer. Planes from HIJMS Ryujo bomb and sink a British steamer and a Dutch motorship and, at Vizagapatam, India, bomb and damage a British motorship. The Allies lose 83,000 tons of shipping in the well-executed attacks. Ironically, many of the ships sank were those dispersed from Colombo, Ceylon, earlier due to the threat of the Japanese Fleet's attack.
Japanese submarine HIJMS I-5 sinks an unarmed U.S. freighter, en route from Suez to Ceylon, about 216 miles north northwest of the Maldive Islands.

INDIA: Japanese bombers conduct their first bombing raids on India attacking Coconada and Madras. Ten Pan American World Airways Douglas DC-3s of the USAAF's Assam-Burma- China Ferry Command begin hauling 30,000 U.S. gallons of aviation fuel and 500 U.S. gallons of lubricants from Calcutta to the airstrip at Asansol, completing the mission tomorrow. This fuel, subsequently transferred via Dinjan to China, is for use by Lieutenant Colonel James H Doolittle's Tokyo raiders, already at sea aboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: On Bataan, the II Corps counterattacks north toward the reserve line in Sector D but meets a Japanese attack head on and falls back. On the corps eastern flank, the U.S. 31st Infantry and 21st Division, Philippine Army (PA), directed to drive north in the region east of Mt Samat, are unable to reach the line of departure.
In the center, the 33d Infantry, PA, followed by the 42d and 43d, endeavors to drive north between Catmon and the western slopes of Mt Samat, but the 33d is surrounded and presumed lost and units to the rear are routed.
Headquarters of Sector D and the western flank troops are thus separated from rest of II Corps. On the west, the 41st Infantry, PA, followed by the 45th, makes limited progress, but the 45th is unable to overtake the 41st and the 41st becomes isolated. The U.S. 31st Infantry and a battalion of the 57th Infantry, Philippine Scouts, are assigned to Sector C, where the line is withdrawn to the San Vicente River. The Japanese receive effective air and artillery support throughout day.
River gunboats USS Mindanao and Oahu engage Japanese landing barges, claiming the destruction of at least four, in a night surface action in Manila Bay. USS Mindanao is damaged by return fire.

 

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ALASKA: By proclamation, the 263 Japanese-Americans living in the territory are notified that they may be relocated to the continental U.S.

HQ 22d Bombardment Group (Medium) and 2nd Bombardment Squadron transfers from Ipswich to Townsville with B-26's; first mission is 8 Apr.
8th Photographic Squadron, Fifth Air Force (attached to Allied Air Forces) arrives at Melbourne, Australia from the US with F-4's; 2 flights remain at March Field, Riverside, California until 16 Jun. 18th Reconnaissance Squadron, 22d BG (Medium), transfers from Brisbane to Townsville, Australia with B-26's; first mission is 21 Apr. 33d Bombardment Squadron, 22d BG (Medium), transfers from Ipswich to Antil Plains with B-26's; first mission was 6 Apr.

BURMA: IJA 18th Division arrives in Rangoon, Burma from Singapore.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: On Bataan, the Japanese, attacking again in the II Corps area with air and artillery support, force the entire corps main line of resistance back to the Mamala River line; this line, too, becomes untenable, and Americans and Filipinos withdraw under cover of darkness, during the night of the 7th/8th, to the Alangan River. The 26th Cavalry, Philippine Scouts, released to the II Corps from the I Corps reserve, establishes a holding position while the line is formed along the Mamala River. Meanwhile, attempts by Philippine Division units to form a continuous line prove futile. Philippine Constabulary regiments defending the beaches are ordered into the battle line. The I Corps is directed to withdraw southward to the Binuangan River line.
The remaining USAAF P-40 fighters on Bataan are ordered flown to Mindanao Island. During the next three days, the P-40s will fly reconnaissance, cover heavy bombers sent to Mindanao from Australia operating against concentrations at Legaspi, Cebu, Iloilo, and Davao, and carry out a strafing attack aircraft at Davao. After the heavy bombers return to Australia on 12 April, the fighters will continue to fly reconnaissance until Japanese forces envelop the troops on Mindanao on 1 May.

 

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BURMA: Pilots of the 1st and 3d Fighter Squadrons, AVG shoot down 12 Japanese fighters near Loiwing Airdrome in northern Burma during the afternoon.

EAST INDIES: Japanese forces landed and occupied, without a fight, the town of Djailolo on Halmahera Island.

HAWAII: At 1200 hours, the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, with the heavy cruisers USS Salt Lake Cit and Northampton, four destroyers, and the oiler USS Sabine, sortie from Pearl Harbor to rendezvous with the aircraft carrier USS Hornet which is carrying USAAF B-25s to attack Japan.

INDIA: A USAAF cargo plane makes the first flight over "The Hump," the 22,000-foot high Himalayan mountain range that separates India and China. During the next four years, more than 650,000 tons of supplies will be flown over the Hump to Kunming, China. More than 450 planes will crash during the airlift, giving the route over the mountains the nickname "The Aluminum Trail."

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: On Bataan, the II Corps disintegrates completely under sustained Japanese attacks from the ground and air. The Japanese soon discover gaps in the Alangan River line held by the U.S. 31st Infantry and 803d Engineer Battalion; the Philippine Scouts 57th Infantry, 26th Cavalry and 14th Engineer Battalion; and Philippine Constabulary troops, and stream southward at will. In a final effort to stem the enemy advance, the Provisional Coast Artillery Brigade (Antiaircraft), serving as infantrymen, forms a weak line just north of Cabcaben, but other units ordered to extend this line are unable to do so. Major General Edward King, Commanding General Luzon Force, decides to surrender his troops and orders equipment destroyed during the night of the 8th/9th. Of the 78,000 men of the Luzon Force, about 2,000 succeed in escaping to Corregidor Island in Manila Bay.
Submarine USS Seadragon delivers food to Corregidor, and evacuates the final increment of naval radio and communications intelligence people.
The air echelons of the 3d, 17th and 20th Pursuit Squadrons, 24th Pursuit Group, and the 21st and 34th Pursuit Squadrons, 35th Pursuit Group based on Bataan begin operating from Del Monte Field on Mindanao with whatever aircraft are left.

U.S.: The War Production Board accelerated the transformation of the nation's economy by ordering a halt to all production that was not deemed necessary to the war. The War Production Board's mandate quickly took hold; at the peak of the war, the military utilized nearly half of the nation's production and services. Far from causing fiscal woe, World War II proved to be a great boon to the economy: unemployment, which had climbed up to 14 percent in 1940, all but evaporated, while the gross national product doubled by the close of the war.

 

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CEYLON: Trincomalee, is attacked by a/c from Nagumo's carriers. 112,000 tons of shipping, 2 British CA, and 1 CV are sunk along with 4 smaller ships.
Amplifying the above: This is a continuation of the Japanese "C" Operation which began on 5 April. All of the shipping had been cleared from Trincomalee harbor in anticipation of the raid but Japanese carrier-based aircraft still manage to sink the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes, the destroyer HMAS Vampire, the corvette HMS Hollyhock, the depot ship HMS Athelstane and RFA oiler British Sergeant.

PHILIPPINES LUZON: General King unconditionally surrenders US forces on Luzon, Philippine Islands. This involves 75,000 men, 12,000 Americans. These troops begin the 100 mile march to San Fernando which will be known is history as "The Bataan Death March".
Officially this day in the Philippines is designated as "Araw ng Kagitingan." In English, this roughly translates into "Day of Valor", an official holiday in honor of all Filipinos who fought in World War II.

PHILIPPINES: USN facilities at Mariveles are demolished to prevent enemy use: Navy forces scuttle submarine tender USS Canopus, minesweeper USS Bittern, tug USS Napa, and drydock Dewey. Ferry launches San Felipe, Camia, and Dap Dap, and Canopus motor launches, evacuate men and equipment to Corregidor.
The submarine USS Snapper delivers food to Corregidor. Motor torpedo boats PT-34 and PT-41 engage the Japanese light cruiser HIJMS Kuma and torpedo boat Kiji in a running fight off Cape Tanon, the southern tip of Cebu Island; Kuma is hit by a dud torpedo and machine gun fire. Later that same day, PT-34 is bombed and strafed by floatplanes from Japanese seaplane carrier HIJMS Sanuki Maruand and is beached off Cauit Island. A second bombing and strafing attack by Sanuki Maru's planes destroys PT-34, which suffers two dead and three wounded from her six-man crew in the action.

 

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CEYLON: The British Far East Fleet withdraws from Ceylon, in the face of the Japanese Forces. As the British move west, the Japanese force moves east.

PHILIPINES: the crews of the river gunboats USS Oahu and USS Mindanao are transferred ashore to man the guns at Fort Hughes in Manila Bay.
The Japanese Army lands 12,000 soldiers on Cebu in the Philippine Islands.

BURMA: Pilots of the American Volunteer Group's 2d and 3d Fighter Squadrons shoot down 4 Japanese aircraft over Loiwing at 1545 hours local.

JAPAN: The submarine USS Thresher torpedoes and sinks a Japanese (ex-Portuguese) merchant cargo ship 6 miles north of Oshima, near the entrance to Tokyo Bay, Honshu.

PHILIPPINES: The submarine USS Snapper evacuates military personnel from Corregidor. The minesweeper USS Finch is sunk by aerial bombs off Luzon.

U.S.: The Pacific Fleet is reorganized into type commands: Battleships (Rear Admiral Walter S. Anderson); Aircraft Carriers (Vice Admiral William F. Halsey Jr.); Cruisers (Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher); Destroyers (Rear Admiral Robert A. Theobald); Service Force (Vice Admiral William L. Calhoun); Amphibious Force (Vice Admiral Wilson Brown, Jr.); Submarine Force (Rear Admiral Thomas Withers); and Patrol Wings (Rear Admiral John S. McCain). The old titles Battle Force and Scouting Force are abolished.

 

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PACIFIC: The submarine USS Trout torpedoes a Japanese fleet tanker west of Shionomisaki, Japan.

 

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SWPA: Royce Mission Australia-based B-25's, staging through Mindanao, hit the harbor and shipping at Cebu while B-17's carry out single-bomber strikes from Mindanao against Cebu Harbor and Nichols Field.

18th Reconnaissance Squadron, 22d BG (Medium), transfers from Townsville to Reid River with B-26's; first mission is 21 Apr; 18th is redesignated 408th Bombardment Squadron on 22 Apr.

BURMA: American Volunteer Group P-40s attack Toungoo Airfield and destroy 3 Japanese bombers..

PHILIPPINES: Motor torpedo boat PT-35, undergoing repairs on the marine railway at the Cebu Shipyard and Engineering Works, is destroyed by crew as the Japanese capture Cebu Island.

 

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UK: Rear Admiral Lord Mountbatten is appointed Chief of Combined Operations and functions as a member of the British Chiefs of Staff Committee. This appointment announced today was effective March 18.

(SWPA, 5th Air Force): Royce Mission Australia-based B-25's hit targets in the Philippines for the second consecutive day. Staging through Del Monte Airfield, the B-25's take off just after midnight during 12/13 Apr and bomb shipping at Cebu and installations at Davao. Later in the day the B-25's again attack Davao, bombing the dock area. Lost is B-17E 41-2447.

NG: 5th AF - Seven A-24s of the 3rd BG escorted by 8 P-40Es of 75 Squadron attack Lae. Lost is P-40E Kittyhawk A29-15

PACIFIC: Submarine USS Grayling torpedoes and sinks a Japanese merchant cargo ship off the southwest tip of Shikoku, Japan.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: Australia-based B-25 Mitchells bomb targets in the Philippines for the second consecutive day. Staging through Del Monte Airfield on Mindanao, the B-25s take off just after midnight on 12/13 April and bomb shipping at Cebu on Cebu Island and installations at Davao on Mindinao. Later in the day the B-25s again attack Davao, bombin the dock area.

SOUTH PACIFIC: Vice Admiral Robert L Ghormley, USN, is assigned as Commander-in-Chief South Pacific (COMSOPAC). He is to command all Allied base and local defense forces (land, sea, and air) in the South Pacific Islands, with the exception of New Zealand land defenses.

U.S.: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandates that the minimum program time required of TV stations is cut from 15 hours to four hours a week for the duration of the war.