Admiralty Islands

A small Japanese contingent from Truk lands at Lorengau, at the extreme northeast of Manus Island. The Admiralty Islands are part of the Bismarck Archipelago, north of New Guinea. The Japanese threat to Australia grows stronger.

Air Operations, Asia

The Japanese carry out their first bombing raids on India hitting Coconada and Vizagupatam, Madras.

Air Operations, Europe

In the ongoing campaign against Essen, 157 aircraft are sent including 110 Wellingtons, 19 Stirlings, 18 Hampdens and 10 Manchesters. The weather is bad with severe storms and icing and the target area is under cloud cover. 49 aircraft claim to have reached the target, but ground reports only a few bomb hits with light damage and no casualties. 5 aircraft are lost: 2 Hampdens, 1 Manchester, 1 Stirling and 1 Wellington.

Air Operations, North Africa

There is a night raid on Alexandria causing 132 casualties.

Air Operations, Pacific

B-25s of the 3rd Light Bomb Group's 13th Light Bomb Squadron attack Gasmata, New Britain.

Axis Diplomacy

The Italian liners Saturnia and Vulania arrive at Gibraltar en route to Somaliland where they are to repatriate 11,000 Italian colonists. 2 other passenger ships are sent later in the month. They return to Italy in July 1942.

Battle of the Atlantic

The unarmed US tanker Bidwell (6837t) is torpedoed by U-160 about 30 miles east of Cape Lookout, North Carolina with the loss of one crew member. In spite of being damaged the ship makes it to Hampton Roads under her own power.

Burma

Reinforcements for the Japanese land at Rangoon. Chiang Kai-shek visits the Chinese division and recommends that the Shan States, on the Chinese frontier, should be defended to the last man. He gives orders to the Chinese 96th and 200th Divisions for the defense of positions around Pyinmana in the Sittang Valley almost half-way between Rangoon and Mandalay.

Eastern Front

Red Army units advance in the area of Smolensk.

Hitler Visits Finland on Marshal Mannerheim's Birthday

Hitler visits Finland on 6 April 1942 on the occasion of the 75th birthday of Marshal Mannerheim, modern Finland's most famous soldier (middle). To the right is Finnish Presidet Ryti. To the right of Hitler stands Field Marshal Keitel, chief of the OKW. The meeting took place at Imatra, 200 km north-west of Leningrad. The Hitler visit also focused on efforts to convince Finland to a take a more energetic stance in the war against the Soviets.

Germany, Home Front

Bread, meat and margarine rations are cut including quantities allowed to heavy industrial workers and infants.

India, Home Front

Because of air attacks by the Japanese on India proper, the India Congress Party leader subsequently pledges full military support for the Allied resistance.

Indian Ocean

• Japanese naval force of cruisers and a small carrier under Vice-Adm Jisaburo Ozawa attacks shipping in the Bay of Bengal sinking 16 vessels and causing heavy damage. The 83,000(92,000?) tons of shipping sunk are largely the vessels dispersed from Colombo on the 4th. The attacks are extremely efficiently carried out. Planes from the carrier Ryujo sink 3 more and also bomb the small Indian ports of Cocanada and Vizagapatam.

  The Japanese light carrier Ryujo suffered from stability problems, stemming largely from the topweight of a double hangar upon what was in essence a slim cruiser hull.

  Japanese Light Carrier Ryujo

• The Indian sloop Indus is sunk by Japanese bombing at Akyab, Burma. 10 of the crew are wounded.

Dive-bombers were again used by the enemy [Malta, Sunday] in full-scale attacks on the harbour, and more damage was done to civilian buildings. 1 bomb crushes a civilian shelter killing 18.

Air Attack on Malta

Mediterranean

The British destroyer Havock is wrecked on the Tunisian coast with the loss of 1 crewman. About 250 on board on interned, but are liberated 11 November after the invasion of North Africa.

Philippines

Heavy Japanese attacks continue in the Bataan peninsula. The Americans and Filipinos carry out fruitless counterattacks but are driven back by the Japanese, who have overwhelming air and artillery support. At the end of the day the defenders have to withdraw further in the San Vicente area.

Solomons

The Japanese land at Bougainville.