Air Operations, Europe

The Germans drop a few bombs over the Isle of Wight and Dorset and claim to have 'blown up an ammunition dump near Portsmouth'. There is also a night raid on Moscow.

Barents Sea

The German steamer Argus, with a supply of munitions, is lost in an explosion of her cargo at Hamnbukt, Norway.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The unarmed US freighter Collamer, straggling from convoy HX-178, is torpedoed and sunk by U-404 off the coast of Nova Scotia. The British freighter Empire Woodcock rescues the 24 survivors from the crew of 31.
• U-126 torpedoes and sinks the unarmed US freighter Mariana east of Nassau, Bahamas. There are no survivors from the 36-man crew.

Britain, Home Front

Conscription extends to men aged 41-45 and woment between 20 and 30.

Britain, Command

Gen Sir Alan Brooke replaces Adm Sir Dudley Pound as Chairman of the British Chiefs of Staff Committee. Brooke works well with Churchill and his all-around qualities are an improvement on Pound's more strictly maritime viewpoint.

Racial Prejudice Against the Japanese

This political cartoon, drawn by Dr. Seuss during WWII, is indicative of the racial prejudice against the Japanese that was evident in the United States at that time. While the point of the cartoon on the surface is to encourage American assistance in the war effort to protect America against the Axis Powers, it is likely that Dr. Seuss engrained within it a deeper message. Although Hitler is portrayed quite clearly, the Japanese man in the cartoon does not appear to be a depiction of any well-known leaders during the war. Rather, the exaggerated elongation of the eyes and scrunched up nose create a character made up of racial stereotypes, highlighting American distrust of the Japanese population as a whole, as well as the Japanese-American population, rather than just the Japanese government.

Burma

Gen Sir Harold Alexander arrives in Rangoon to take command of the troops in Burma. He replaces Gen Thomas Hutton. Martial law is declared in southern Burma. He orders an immediate counter-offensive to close the gap between the 1st Burma and the 17th Indian Divisions. The Japanese attack Pegu from the west and succeed in entering the town.

Dutch East Indies

Fighting contiues in Java. The Dutch announce that Batavia has been evacuated and Batavia becomes an 'open city'.

Eastern Front

In the central sector the Soviets recapture Yukhnov, an important rail center northwest of Kaluga and east of Smolensk.

CENTRAL SECTOR

The West Front captures Yukhnow after a bitter struggle.

A Soviet Scouts Company, the first to enter the town, advances cautiously through the ruined streets.

Soviets Enter Yukhnow

Camouflaged infantry mopping-up

On March 5 Soviet forces under General Golubov recaptured Yukhnov, 125 miles east of Smolensk, an important rail center and supply base for the German armies on the Central Front. The town, which was protected by a formidable double row of fortifications, fell after a fierce struggle lasting several days, during which Soviet troops fought their way through the battered streets and engaged in house-to-house fighting.

Mediterranean

The British submarine P-31 sinks the Italian steamer Marin Sanudo (5081t) about 10 miles southeast of Lampedusa.

New Britain

A Japanese invasion convoy sails from Rabaul heading for the Gulf of Huon in New Guinea.

North Africa

Air and naval installations at Benghazi are again hit by RAF aircraft.

Soviet Union, Home Front

At Kuibyshev, Shostakovich's 7th, or 'Leningrad', Symphony is performed for the first time.

Yugoslavia

Patriot forces under Gen Mihailovic rout Italian troops at Nikshich in Montenegro.