Air Operations, Europe

RAF bombers mount various attacks on targets in Germany and France, especially in the middle and at the end of the month. Kiel, Mannheim and Cologne are among the targets. (See February 14 and 22 for important developments.)

Battle of the Atlantic

On Febrary 1 the Germans begin to use a new cipher, Triton, for the radio traffic of their U-boats operational in the Atlantic. This will not be broken by the British until almost the end of the year. Since the German codes were first broken regularly, however, the British have improved their radio direction finding techniques and their photo-reconnaissance capabilities. They are still able to read most of the other German naval codes and, from all these sources and the insight their long period of knowledge has given, are still able to make useful guesses about the German moves.

The submarine campaign off the United States continues with great success and is being extended to take in the Caribbean also. One of the few battles about this time is around ON-67 when 5 U-boats sink 8 ships in 3 days - with 6 of the casualties being large tankers. Altogether Axis submarines sink 85 ships of 476,500 tons this month out of a total Allied loss of 154 ships of 679,600 tons (54 ships of 181,200 tons are sunk in the Pacific).(Allied Ships Lost to U-boats this month)

Air Operations, Asia

The Japanese begin a series of day and night raids on Rangoon.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-109 sinks the British steamer Tacoma Star (7924t) 387 miles north of Bermuda with the loss of all 97 on board.

Britain, Home Front

An RAF regiment is formed for local defense of airfields in Britain.

Eastern Front

In the southern sector the Russians reinforce their troops in the Crimea, but their efforts to relieve Sevastopol break down against the Germans' increasingly firm resistance. They also achieve no positive results from their attempts to relieve Leningrad and from other offensives that they open on several fronts, which will last the entire month of February.

The LIX Corps is incorporated into the 3rd Panzer Army. The 3rd Panzer Army holds off Soviet attacks before Vitebsk, while between Rzhev and Vyazma the 9th and 4th Armies stabilize their lines. Near Rzhev, the 9th Army succeeds in encircling the 29th and 39th Armies.

The Stavka re-activates Glavkom West under Marshal Zhukov. The new theater incorporates the West, Kalinin and Bryansk Fronts. Zhukov continues to command the West Front with Golikov as his deputy.

Japan, Home Front

Clothing rationing begins.

Malta

The first air raids in another month of severe air raids begins for the island.

Mediterranean

The British submarine Thunderbolt sinks the Italian steamer Absirtea (4170t) 6 miles north-northwest of Cape Dukato, Greece.

North Africa

Gen Ritchie orders the British XIII Corps of 8th Army, which is in danger of being surrounded, to withdraw to the Gazala-Bir Hacheim line. The 4th Indian Div, attached to the XIII Corps for operations, falls back to Derna. Having taken Cyrene, Derna becomes Rommel's next objective.

Norway, Politics

Vidkun Quisling is appointed to head the Nazi puppet government. Josef Terboven, Reich commissar for Norway, makes the appointment. Quisling proclaims, 'Hitler's victory is Norway's victory.' A month later when he fails utterly to win support, Quisling says 'There's no use appealing to the Norwegian people's intelligence. In Norway it has become necessary to impose the new order by force.'

Pacific

Two American naval task forces under Vice-Adm Halsey and Rear-Adm Fletcher, consisting of 2 aircraft carriers, 5 cruisers and 10 destroyers, attack air bases on Kwajalein, Wotje, Jaluit and Mili in the Marshall Islands and Makin in the Gilbert Islands.

American Ships in Action

Carrier Action

The naval aircraft inflict severe damage during the first air attack of the war against Japanese positions. The aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) is damaged by a suicide bomber, the earliest example of kamikaze air raids in the war. The attack is more likely opportunistic rather than planned. The cruiser Chester (CA-27) is also damaged by a dive bomber.

Getting Planes Ready on the Enterprise

Air Operations, Pacific

During the night the first regular bombing attack on Port Moresby is carried out by Japanese Navy planes.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-103 sinks the American tanker W. L. Steed (6182t) 90 miles off the mouth of the Delaware River with the loss of 34 of her crew. The crew left the ship in 4 lifeboats, but there are only 4 survivors because of the rough weather when the boats are found up to 2 weeks later.

Hedgehog, an Anti-Submarine Mortar

• U-581 is off the Azores with the intention of attacking the damaged troopship Llangibby Castle. An escort of the troopship, the destroyer HMS Westcott, sights the conning tower of the U-boat heading toward Pico Island. An attempt to ram is missed, but the destroyer fires a pattern of depth charges as she passes by. The destroyer turns back and makes another attempt at ramming. Striking the U-boat just aft of the conning tower, U-581 rolls over and sinks with the loss of 5 of her entire crew.

  U-581

  Class	Type VIIC
  CO	Kapitänleutnant Werner Pfeifer
  Location	Atlantic, off Pico Island in the Azores
  Cause	Ramming/depth charge
  Casualties	4
  Survivors	39

China

Maj-Gen Joseph W. Stilwell is named Chief of Staff to Chiang Kai-shek and is instructed '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.' Stillwell, who is fluent in Chinese, will become one of the most successful commanders in the Far East. Stilwell and the Joint Chiefs of Staff agree that the overland route to China through Burma is the most important priority. Stilwell is to work toward improving the training of Chinese forces in India and overseeing the effort to equip the units properly for combat in Burma. Additional Chinese divisions will be trained and equipped in China to support future operations in Burma.

Dutch East Indies

The resistance of the Dutch-Australian forces on Amboina Island is overcome by the Japanese.

Eastern Front

The Russians reoccupy Feodosiya on the Black Sea.

Heavy fighting rages along the Volkhov as the 18th Army pounds the 2nd Shock Army. Neither the 52nd nor 59th Armies are able to break through on the flanks, leaving the 2nd Shock in isolation. Farther south, the fighting around Demyansk and in the Valdai Hills intensify as the Soviets strike the left flank of the 16th Army. There is continued fighting around Kholm as Group Scherer repulses repeated attacks by the 3rd Shock Army.

Egypt, Politics

The cabinet resigns after a petty dispute with King Farouk over his pro-Axis sympathies.

North Africa

With both Barce and Cyrene in the hands of Axis troops, they continue their advance towards Derna. Gen Auchinleck orders the British 8th Army to hold the Tobruk fortress at all costs as a supply base for future operations.

Pacific

• The US submarine Seadragon (SS-194) sinks the Japanesee army cargo ship Tamagawa Maru (6441t) off Cape Bolinao, Philippines.
• The Japanese minesweeper W-9 is sunk, and minesweepers W-11 and W-12 are damaged by Dutch mines off Ambon, Dutch East Indies.

Air Operations, CBI

A 2nd AVG Fighter Squadron pilot downs a Japanese Army bomber over Toungoo Airfield, Burma at 1600 hours.

Air Operations, Pacific

• The Japanese bomb Port Moresby, New Guinea and Surabaya naval base on Java. 31 people are killed and 139 are injured.
• Japanese Navy aircraft based at Celebes/Kendari Airfield in the East Indies open a preinvasion offensive against Allied ground targets in Java. 4 19th Heavy Bomb Group B-17s are destroyed in the attack and a fifth is shot down. Also downed near Soerabaja is a USAAC B-18. 3 Royal Netherlands Navy Catalina flying boats are also destroyed at Soerabaja. 17th Provisional Pursuit P-40s arrive too late to prevent that attack, but do shoot down 2 Japanese fighter and 1 Japanese bomber in the first air action of the Java campaign.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-106 sinks the Swedish steamer Amerikaland (15,355t) about 90 miles east of Virginia Beach with the loss of 5 crewmen. 34 survivors are picked up by the British steamer Port Halifax and the Dutch steamer Castor.
• The Panamanian freighter San Gil (3627t) is torpedoed, shelled and sunk by U-103 about 15 miles south of Fenwick Island light. 2 crewmen are killed in the attack. 38 survivors are rescued by the Coast Guard cutter Nike (WPC-112).

Britain, Home Front

Sir Arnold Bax is appointed Master of the King's Music.

Burma

Chiang Kai-shek sends his 5th Army and the remainder of his 6th Army to reinforce the British forces.

Dutch East Indies

The Japanese begin major air attacks on Java preparing for their invasion. Their bombers, taking off from Kendari in the Celebes, hit the bases at Surabaya, Madionen and Malang. There is severe damage to the port installations and all Dutch aircraft on the ground are destroyed.

Eastern Front

The Russians re-capture Lozovaya in the Barvenkovo salient, southwest of Kharkov.

Lead units of the 1st Shock Army enter the line east of Staraya Russa, deploying on the northenr base of the exposed Demyansk salient.

Soviet forces encircling Velizh launch strong attacks in an effort to take the town, but Group Sinzinger (Gen Adolf) repels them each time. Continued Soviet thrusts though also encircle Demidov and begin to hit Velikiye Luki and Surazh. Fighting is intense as both sides struggle in the minus 40 degree Centigrade temperatures. As fighting rages around Velizh, Demidov and Velikiye Luki, the 9th Army redeploys its forces in the Rzhev sector. Model plans to strike at the exposed Soviet positions near Rzhev to break up the encircled elements of the 29th and 39th Armies.

The 4th Panzer Army launches a ferocious counterattack and closes the line between itself and the 4th Army to the south. The result is the encirclement of Gen Mikhail Efremov's 33rd Army, together with the paratroopers and men of the XI Cavalry Corps around Vyazma.

Mediterranean

The British submarine P-35 sinks the Italian steamer Napoli (6142t) off Kuriat Island, Tunisia.

New Guinea

The Japanese begin the bombardment of Port Moresby, capital of Papua, where there is a small Australian garrison.

North Africa

British forces evacuate Derna as the Germans fight their way there.

Pacific

The British steamer Katong is sunk by Japanese bombing 4 miles from Bar Light Vessel, Palembang. Only 5 crew members survivr. The British steamer Loch Ranza (4958t) is also sunk by Japanese bombing in the same area with the loss of 9 crewmen. 41 survivors are picked up by the British steamer Subador.

Allied Command

The Australia-New Zealand Naval Command is established and will be commanded by US Navy Admiral H. F. Leary.

Axis Diplomacy

Göring completes an 8-day visit to Italy which includes talks with Mussolini and the King and a tour of Luftwaffe bases in Sicily.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-751 sinks the British steamer Silveray (4535t) south of Halifax, Nova Scotia with the loss of 8 of her crew. 41 survivors are picke up by the American coast guard cutter Campbell and the Canadian fishing vessel Lucille M..
• The US tanker India Arrow (8327t) is torpedoed, shelled and sunk by U-103 about 20 miles south of Cape May, New Jersey. 2 crewmen are killed in the attack, 24 others drawn when 2 lifeboats are swamped. 12 survivors are rescued by the fishing skiff Gitana.

Borneo

A Dutch and American naval squadron with 4 cruisers and 7 destroyers, commanded by Rear-Adm Karel W. Doorman, passes through the Strait of Madura to attack the Japanese forces landing at Balikpapan, but is spotted and attacked from the air. The mission has to be abandoned. The heavy cruiser Houston (CA-30) and the light cruiser Marblehead (CA-12), both American, are seriously damaged by horizontal bombers. One Dutch cruiser is also damaged.

Crew Inspects Damage From Japanese Bombs

Britain, Home Front

Beaverbrook is appointed Minister for Production.

Dutch East Indies

The Japanese have now completed the capture of Amboina, an island in the Banda Sea, despite brave resistance by the mixed Australian and Dutch garrison.

Eastern Front

As the Soviet situation around Vyazma deteriorates, Marshal Zhukov orders a general attack upon the town in an effort to smash throught the German defenses. The XI Cavalry Corps, only 6 miles to the west, is unable to make any progress, while to the south and southeast, Belov (Gen Pavel) Group and the 33rd Army fight in encirclement.

RAF Hurricane Makes Emergency Landing

Air Operations, Pacific

While 12 20th Provisional Pursuit Squadron P-40s are refueling at Bali/den Pasar Airfield, the base is attacked by an estimated 20 Japanese aircraft. 7 P-40s get airborne are able to down 4 A6M 'Zeros' at a cost of 4 P-40s and 1 pilot. 4 other P-40s are destroyed on the ground by the Japanese twin-engine bombers. Later in the day, the surviving 4 P-40s reach Java/Blimbing Airfield, where they are incorporated into the 17th Provisional Pursuit Squadron.

Air Operations, Europe

The RAF drops 1.4 million American leaflets describing gigantic US arms programs over 8 French cities.

Barents Sea

The Russian submarine SHCH-421 sinks the German steamer Konsul Schulte (2975t) off Honningsvag, Norway.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-136 sinks the British corvette Arbutus, escorting Convoy ON-63, 295 miles west of Erris Head, Ireland with the loss of 43 crew members.
• U-109 sinks the Canadian tanker Montrolite (11,309t) northeast of Bermuda with the loss of 28 crewmen. 20 survivors are picked up by the British steamer Winkleigh.
• U-103 sinks the American tanker China Arrow (8403t) off Winter Quarter Shoals. All 37 crew members are picked up by the American coast guard cutter Nike.
• The British steamer Corland (3431t) is sunk by German bombing off Grimsby. The entire crew of 27 are rescued.

Diplomatic Relations

The US declares war on Thailand.

First US C-47 Lost in Combat

Eastern Front

As heavy attacks pound Velizh and Demidov, the 9th Army launches a concerted counterattack, units from Olenino and Rzhev attacking and forcing apart the encircled 29th and 39th Armies. The bulk of the 29th Army is lost during the fighting, only 5,000 men escaping to the tenuous safety of the 39th Army. The Germans also attack the 39th Army, preventing it from lending any support to the hard pressed 29th.

Soviet forces outside the pocket launch a new attack upon Rzhev but can not break through the firmly established German positions. There are also fierce battles around Vyazma.

Indian Ocean

The Dutch steamer Tidore (872t) is sunk by Japanese bombing south of Sumbawa, Indonesia. The US destroyer Paul Jones is damaged by a near-miss, then rescues survivors of the Tidore.

North Africa

In order to avoid being surrounded, the British holding El Mechili, southwest of Derna, are forced to retire. On the coast the Italians and Germans take Tmimi, only a short distance from Gazala.

Philippines

The defenders of Bataan succeed in driving the Japanese who landed at Point Quinauan, back to the beaches. There is limited action along the rest of the front.

Air Operations, CBI

1st AVG Fighter Squadron P-40s down 4 Japanese Ki-27 fighters near Rangoon during the morning.

Air Operations, Europe

• Daylight minelaying operations in the Frisians are carried out by 33 Hampdens and 13 Manchesters. 1 Hampden is lost in the action.
• There is a night raid on the German battlecruisers at Brest by 57 Wellingtons and 3 Stirlings. In thick cloud cover only 21 aircraft claim to have hit the main target area. 1 Wellington is lost in the raid.

Allied Planning

The first meeting of the Combined Chiefs of Staff, the highest level of Allied joint command, takes place in Washington. This is 'to insure complete coordination of the war effort of Great Britain and the United States, including the production and distribution of war supplies, and to provide for full British and American collaboration with the United Nations.' (See Arcadia Conference, December 22, 1941.)

Axis Diplomacy

In Rome the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Sayed Emin El Husseini, has talks with Mussolini, who is putting himself forward as champion of the Arab cause. Also arriving in Rome is the exiled Iraqi leader, Raschid Ali.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The British corvette Genista shoots down a Focke-Wulf Condor.
• U-109 sinks the Panamanian steamer Halcyon (3531t) 300 miles east-northeast of Bermuda with the loss of 3 crewmen. 27 survivors are picked up by the British steamer British Prestige.
• U-106 sinks the British steamer Opawa (10,354t) 400 miles north-northeast of Bermuda with the loss of 56 on board. 15 survivors are picked up by the Dutch steamer Hercules.

• U-107 sinks the American steamer Major Wheeler (3431t) east of Cape Hatteras with the loss of her entire crew of 35.
• U-82 is sunk while returning from operations off the east coast of the US. Coming upon convoy OS-18, it is sunk by depth charges from the British sloop HMS Rochester and the corvette HMS Tamarisk.

  U-82

  Class	Type VIIC
  CO	Oberleutnant zur See Siegfried Rollmann
  Location	North Atlantic
  Cause	Depth charge
  Casualties	45
  Survivors	None

Borneo

The Japanese capture Samarinda north of Balikpapan.

Eastern Front

The 4th Shock Army launches strong attacks against Velizh, almost succeeding in breaking into the center, but Group Sinzinger (Gen Adolf) repels the attack after close quarters fighting. The Germans are hampered by the extreme cold, lack of food and warm clothing, and scarcity of ammunition, Sinzinger's men becoming weaker with each day. Army Group Center decides that the situation must be restored as quickly as possible and both Demidov and Velizh relieved. The heavy fighting in the Rzhev and Vyazma sectors continue without pause as the Germans pile pressure on the encircled Soviet units.

The 3rd and 4th Shock Armies have lost 10,400 killed and missing and 18,810 wounded during the month long Toropets-Kholm Offensive Operation.

Egypt, Politics

Nahas Pasha, leader of the nationalist, anti-British, Wafd Party, forms a new government.

Air Operations, Europe

There is another minelaying operation in the Frisians carried out by 32 Hampdens. German fighters attack and 3 Hampdens are shot down.

Air Operations, Pacific

• 34 British aircraft are destroyed as the Japanese bomb Palembang.
• 9 5th Air Force B-17s based at Java/Singosari Airfield attempt to attack Japanese shipping at Balikapan, Borneo but are turned back by Japanese fighers.

Battle of the Atlantic

• German submarines end their first big 'hunt' off the east coast of the United States that began January 7th.
• U-751 sinks the British steamer Empire Sun south of Halifax, Nova Scotia with the loss of 11 crewmen. 54 survivors land at Liverpool, Nova Scotia.

Eastern Front

The Soviet forces attack Rzhev in the battles west of Moscow. Rzhev is 209 km northwest of Moscow. In the Ukraine, Timoshenko recaptures Trosna, southwest of Orel and Krasnograd, southwest of Kharkov. There is heavy fighting on the Leningrad front.

Soviet forces smash through the base of the Demyansk salient and penetrate into the rear of the 16th Army. Elements of the 3rd Shock Army, 11th and 34th Armies draw closer together, and the encirclement of the II Corps and part of the X Corps becomes imminent.

The LIX Corps attempts to relieve the encircled battle groups at Velizh and Demidov, elements of the 4th Shock Army fighting fiercely near Dukhovschina. The 3rd Panzer Army is unable to support the LIX Corps. Further bitter fighting rages around Rzhev as the Soviets try to overrun the town. The 9th Army beats off each attempt, inflicting heavy casualties upon Koniev's tired armies.

Minister Todt, in charge of war production and munitions, is killed in a flying accident. Albert Speer is appointed his successor. Formerly Hitler's personal architect, Speer overhauls the German war industry and increases production substantially, particularly in the latter years of the war. It is under his auspices that German industry is placed on a war footing, leading to total war.

Egypt, Politics

Parliament is dissolved.

Germany, Production

The German minister of munitions, Todt, is killed in an air crash. Dr Albert Speer, Hitler's architect, is appointed to replace him. The German war industries have been fairly inefficiently run until Todt's brief appointment when more sensible priorities were established. At this time, when compared with Britain or the USSR, Germany is not well mobilized for war. As yet the German people have had no real cuts in their standard of living when compared with peace-time conditions. This is gradually changing under the impetus of Todt's measures and the effect of the first defeats in the USSR. Speer will prove to be brilliant at continuing and extending the process.

North Africa

Rommel's forces stop their advance near Gazala, on a line of strongpoints and minefields that runs from Derna on the coast to Bir Hacheim inland. The Axis forces stop here, having learned like the British, not to overstretch their supply lines. In a lightning campaign they have recovered almost all of the ground so dearly won by the British at the end of 1941. They have completely disrupted the British 1st Armored Div and severely damaged 8th Army morale.

Command Vehicles Captured by the Germans

Rommel Advances with his Forward Troops

Air Operations, Pacific

• The Japanese bomb Surabaya, Java. 51 people are killed and 54 are injured in the bombing.
• 9 5th Air Force B-17s based at Java/Singosari Airfield attempt to attack Celebes/Kendari Airfield, but they are met over the Java Sea by as many as 12 Japanese fighters. 6 of the B-17s are lost against claims by bomber gunners amounting to 5 A6M 'Zeros'.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-108 sinks the British steamer Ocean Venture (7174t) near Cape Hatteras with the loss of 31 of her crew. 14 survivors are picked up by the American destroyer Roe (DD-418).

Celebes

The Japanese land at Makassar.

Eastern Front

Lead elements of the 1st Shock and 11th Armies link up near Saluchi and Ramushevo on the Lovat, encircling the II Corps and part of the X Corps of the 16th Army. Over 90,000 men in the 12th, 30th, 32nd, 123rd and 290th Infantry Divisions and part of the 3rd SS Motorized Division Totenkopf are cut off in the Valdai Hills and become reliant upon Luftwaffe supply drops. It is estimated that the trapped force needs a minimum of 200 tons of supplies per day to stay in action. The Luftwaffe will succeed in reaching this figure and on some days exceed it by upwards of 100 tons. The surrounding Soviet forces, despite having suffered heavy casualties during the fighting, launch strong attacks upon the German pocket. There is further heavy fighting around Kholm as Group Scherer (Gen Theodor) is pounded by elements of 3rd Shock Army.

The isolation of the X Corps around Demyansk was crucial in a number of respects. Primarily it proved that the Red Army was able to effectively carry out an offensive operation which led to the isolation of sizeable enemy forces. At this early stage of the campaign, however, the Soviet forces laced both the expertise and the strength needed to destroy the surrounded units.

Secondly, the pocket presented the Germans with a unique problem. A force of nearly 100,000 men had never been supplied solely from the air and the airlift that followed was to lay the foundation for a defeat of catastrophic proportions later in the year. Had Demyansk not occurred, Hitler's decision to accept Göring's assurances over the success of the Stalingrad airlift might never have been taken. Little did the combatants realize the importance of this diversionary battle.

The Soviets press the LIX Corps hard as the fighting at Velizh, Demidov, Dukhovschina and Velikiye Luki intensifies.

Germany, Home Front

Fritz Todt, Minister of Armaments and Munitions

Malaya

After dark and following a considerable bombardment, Japanese troops of the 5th, 18th and Imperial Guards Divs make successful landings on Singapore. The landings are made in the northwest of the island in the sector defended by 22nd Australian Brigade. Despite tenacious resistance they establish a strong bridgehead and advance towards Tengah airfield, the biggest on the island. The garrison of the island is about 85,000 strong, including administrative units. The attacking Japanese force is considerably smaller. The guns of the Singapore fortress can only make a small contribution to the defense because their positions and the ammunition supplied are designed with a seaborne attack in mind.

Mediterranean

The British submarine Upholder sinks the Italian steamer Salpi (2710t) off Cape San Vito, Sicily.

New Britain

The Japanese take Gasmata.

Pacific

The Japanese destroyer Natsushio is sunk by the US submarine S-37 in Makassar Strait, Dutch East Indies area.

Air Operations, Pacific

The airfields near Batavia, the capital of the Dutch East Indies on the island of Java, are hit in raids by the Japanese.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The French corvette Alysse, escorting Convoy ON-60, is sunk by U-654 420 miles east of Cape Race, Newfoundland with the loss of 36 of her crew. 34 survivors are picked up by the Canadian corvettes Moosejaw and Hepatica.
• U-85 sinks the British steamer Empire Fusilier (5408t) southeast of St John's, Newfoundland with the loss of 9 crewmen. 38 survivors are picked up by the Canadian corvette Barrie.
• U-108 sinks the Norwegian steamer Tolosa (1974t) off the coast of North Carolina with the loss of her entire crew of 22.

Britain, Home Front

Soap is rationed: 4 oz (113g) per household or 2 oz (56g) toilet per person per month.

Burma

The Japanese cross the Salween River.

Canada, Home Front

In 4 by-elections the 'Anti-Conscriptions' candidates are heavily defeated.

Diplomatic Relations

Chiang Kai-shek visits Delhi. He confers with British officials and urges Indian national leaders, particularly Jawaharlal Nehru, to lay aside political differences and join in the military effort against Japan.

Roosevelt calls on the Vichy French government to reaffirm its position of neutrality. He notes reports of supplies being sent from France to Axis troops in North Africa.

Eastern Front

There is heavy fighting along the Volkhov as the 18th Army pounds the 2nd Shock Army in its vulnerable salient. The Soviets dig in around the Demyansk pocket and prepares to attack the encircled forces.

Indian Ocean

I-65 sinks the Dutch steamer Meroendoeng south of Ceylon.

Mediterranean

The German steamer Sullberg (1551t) is sunk by torpedo from the British submarine Umbra south of Hammamet, Tunisia.

North Africa

Italian bombers attack naval and air installations at Alexandria.

Air Operations, Europe

• There is another RAF night raid on the German battlecruisers at Brest. This one is carried out by 12 Wellingtons and 8 Stirlings, but clouds completely covered the target area.
• A larger bombing operation involving 55 planes is made to Bremen. There are no losses in this evening's actions.

Air Operations, Pacific

The last RAF fighters on Singapore are tranferred to Sumatra.

Allied Planning

There is the first meeting of the Pacific War Council in London. Representatives of Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Holland are present.

Battle of the Atlantic

Churchill offers to transfer immediately to the US Navy 34 anti-submarine vessels and trained crews. The first will arrive in New York in early March.

Burma

The Indian troops defending the Salween River line near Martaban are forced to fall back under Japanese pressure. They abandon the town and carry out a fighting withdrawal to Thaton. The Japanese troops begin to cross the Salween near its mouth at Martaban and Pa-an. Reinforcements are ready to follow.

Canada, Home Front

French-Canadian M.P. Pierre Gautier speaks out against a Canadian $1 billion grant to Britain. He says 'so-called patriots' supporting such aid will 'throw this country into the arms of the United States sooner than we expect.'

Dutch East Indies

The Japanese continue their occupation of Borneo and the Celebes by landing in force at Makassar. The Japanese continue their southward-moving consolidation of the area.

Eastern Front

Col Fritz Morzik is the Luftwaffe chief of air transport responsible for supplying the troops inside the Demyansk Pocket. He has estimated that, to deliver 300 tons daily, he will need at least 150 operational aircraft. The commander of the 1st Air Fleet, Gen Alfred Keller, is cooperating fully with Morzik. Inside the pocket the landing airfields are Demyansk, Pieski (which will be completed in March), Supply Drop Area Demyansk (a marked open area used to drop supplies during the coming muddy season) and Cholm. Unfortunately, the Junkers Ju-52 transport aircraft earmarked for the supply operation will have little fighter support. The air fleet staff urge Morzik to 'select that route which offers the best chance of avoiding losses'. In response to this and growing losses, Morzik will order his planes to fly at an altitude of 2,500m (8,200ft) and in groups of 20-30 aircraft to battle enemy fighters with concentrated fire.

The Soviet 4th Shock Army penetrates into Velizh, but its units are repelled by counterattacks. The 3rd Panzer Army is now approaching the town, albeit slowly.[MORE]

Russian Troops with German Prisoners

Midway

While shelling Midway, the Japanese submarine I-69 is attacked and damaged by Marine F2A Buffalo fighters.

North Sea

The German steamer Wolfram (3648t) is sunk by torpedo off Borkum Island.

Air Operations, Europe

• There is another RAF night raid, this by 18 Wellingtons, on the German battlecruisers at Brest. The 'Blockade of Brest' ends. Since March 1941 the RAF has flown 3,299 sorties and dropped 4,000t of bombs. They have lost 43 aircraft.
• In other operations this night, there is a raid on Mannheim by the 49 aircraft and and on Le Havre by 25 Wellingtons and 6 Whitleys. 1 Wellington is lost in the Le Havre raid.

Air Operations, Pacific

Japanese planes bomb Samaria Island, 380 miles north of Australia.

Allied Command

Vice-Adm Helfrich of the Royal Netherlands Navy succeeds Adm Hart of the US Navy as Allied Supreme Naval Commander in the Pacific.

Australia, Home Front

The Australian government calls up all married men up to 35 years of age and unmarrieds up to 40.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-136 sinks the Norwegian steamer Heina (4028t) from Convoy SC-67 south of Iceland. All 30 of her crew are rescued by the Canadian corvette Dauphin.
• U-564 sinks the Canadian tanker Victolite (11,410t) 260 miles north-northwest of Bermuda with the loss of all 47 of her crew.

Burma

The Japanese cross the Salween River.

Electrical Equipment Burning in 'Scorched Earth' Policy

Canada, Home Front

French-Canadians in Montreal protest military conscription which is proposed by the government. Demonstrations escalate into full-scale rioting. Shouting 'A bas la conscription,' a thousand people, mostly students, smash windows, attack streetcars, and battle police, 12 of whom receive injuries. The issue of French-Canadians serving as draftees remains a hot one throughout the war.

Diplomatic Relations

Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, head of the Portuguese government, and Francisco Franco, Caudillo of Spain, meet at Seville and make a declaration confirming the neutrality of their countries.

London claims that during December and January 5,500 tons of gasoline and aviation fuel had been sent from France to Axis forces in Libya.

Dutch West Indies

The islands of Aruba and Curaçao are occupied by the US.

English Channel

The German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen along with 13 motor torpedo boats and 5 destroyers make the run home from Brest up the English Channel. It is a carefully prepared and well-executed operation. News of the preparations does not reach Britain and the Germans choose a day when bad weather and low cloud cover help to conceal the move. A German fighter escort is provided throughout the voyage. The ships are not reported until late morning when a Spitfire of Fighter Command spots them off Le Touquet.

Gneisenau

Scharnhorst

Planned British counter-measures, Operation FULLER, involve cross-Channel guns, MTBs, destroyers and heavy torpedo planes fail miserably. By a combination of luck and slackness, British forces only make a few piecemeal attacks. The first Bomber Command aircraft do not get airborne until 1:30pm and 242 sorties are flown by the squadrons before dark. It is the largest Bomber Command daylight operation of the war to date.

Air Operations, Mediterranean

The destroyer Maori is bombed and sinks at Malta.

Damage from Massive Air Raid on Grand Harbour, Malta

Battle of the Atlantic

U-108 sinks the Norwegian steamer Blink (2701t) 160 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina with the loss of 24 crewmen. 6 survivors are rescued by the American steamer Monroe.

Dutch East Indies

The Japanese occupy Bandjarmasin, the capital of Borneo, and Makassar, the capital of the Celebes.

Eastern Front

Heavy fighting continues in the Leningrad sector, while in the south Berlin radio admits the Russians have broken through north of Taganrog on the Sea of Azov.

The Germans begin the Demyansk airlift, just as Soviet forces surrounding the 16th Army begin their artillery bombardment and launch probing attacks upon the perimeter of the pocket. Bitter fighting ensues, but the Germans hold their positions in the majority of sectors.

The 4th Shock Army keeps Group Sinzinger (Gen Adolf) pinned down in Velizh with repeated infantry and tank assaults. The relief attacks toward the town by the 3rd Panzer Army continue but make slow progress in the deep snow and amid concerted Soviet counterattacks. Farther east, the 9th Army is involved in heavy fighting around Rzhev and Olenino as the German and Soviet forces launch repeated attacks. The Germans pound the 29th and 39th Armies, while the Kalinin Front attempts to smash those German units in the exposes Olenino salient.

Mediterranean

• A three-ship British convoy left Alexandria for Malta. The ships are attacked and all three are sunk.
• The British destroyer Maori is sunk by German bombing at Malta with the loss of 2 of her crew.
• British submarine Una sinks the Italian tanker Lucania (8106t) in the Gulf of Taranto.

Pacific

• The 'Anzac Squadron' is formed at Suva, Fiji. Included are the cruisers Australia, the Chicago (CA-20) of the US Navy, the Achilles and Leander and 2 US destroyers.
• The US destroyer Whipple (DD-217) is damaged in a collision with the Dutch light cruiser De Ruyter in Prigi Bay, Java.

Axis Diplomacy

Quisling and Terboven, Reichskommissar in Norway, visit Hitler.

Hitler and Quisling in the Reich Chancellery

Quisling and Terboven Inspect Hirden

Rumanian Premier Antonescu meets with Hitler. Hitler calls for more Rumanian troops for service in Russia.

Eastern Front

The Russian offensives continue in all sectors against increasing German resistance. Despite this Russian spearheads have now reached Byelorussia or White Russia.

The Soviets throw the 1st Shock Army into new attacks west toward the Polist River, the intention being the annihilation of German units deployed on the southern shores of Lake Ilmen, preventing the relief of the Demyansk pocket.

Germany, Planning

Operation SEA LION, the invasion of Britain, is formally cancelled by the German High Command. Until now it had merely been postponed numerous times.

Vice-Admiral Ciliax Addresses the Crew

Mediterranean

The British submarine Tempest is sunk by the Italian torpedo boat Circe in the Gulf of Taranto with the loss of 38 of her crew. 24 survivors are made prisoners of war.

Pacific

• The British gunboat Scorpion is sunk by Japanese destroyers in the Banka Strait with the loss of 115 of her crew. 26 survivors are made prisoners of war.

Air Operations, Europe

The Area Bombing Directive is issued to RAF Bomber Command. The attacks 'should now be focused on the morale of the enemy civil population and, in particular, of the industrial workers'. It is understood that the aiming points for the attacks will be produced by destroying the workers' houses rather than the means of production.

There is a night raid on Mannheim by the RAF.

Allied Command

Vice-Adm C. E. L. Helfrich of the Royal Netherlands Navy takes over as C-in-C Allied Naval Forces, South West Pacific, relieving Adm T. C. Hart of the US Navy.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-576 sinks the British steamer Empire Spring (6946t) southeast of Sable Island with the loss of her entire crew of 53.

Dutch East Indies

360 Japanese paratroopers land at Palembang on Sumatra. The small Dutch garrison is forced to retire. They destroy 1 oil refinery but the second and the airfield are captured. Other units of Adm Ozawa's Western Force are en route to Sumatra by sea. An Allied task force tries to engage the enemy ships in the Banka Strait, but is heavily attacked by Japanese aircraft and is forced to withdraw.

Japanese Paratroopers Land at Palembang

Oiltanks Burning at Palembang

Indian Ocean

I-66 sinks the British steamer Kamuning (2076t) off Trincomalee with the loss of 3 crewmen.

Mediterranean

• The British steamer Clan Chattan (7262t) of Convoy MW-9B is sunk by German bombing. All 128 crew and 230 passengers are rescued.

• The British submarine P-38 sinks the Italian steamer Ariosto en route from Tripoli to Palermo. Of the 410 men on board, including 294 prisoners of war, 252 are picked up by escorts Atlas and Polluce.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The Brazilian ship Buarque (5152t) is sunk by U-432 30 miles off Cape Henry on the American east coast with the loss of 1 on board. 84 survivors are picked up at different times by the American coast guard cutter Calypso (47), the American destroyer Jacob Jones (16) and the American patrol craft Eagle (21).
• U-98 sinks the British steamer Biela (5298t), from dispersed Convoy ON-62, 400 miles southeast of Cape Race with the loss of all 50 crew members.
• U-566 sinks the Greek steamer Meropi (4181t), a straggler from Convoy ON-60, 35 miles east-southeast of Sambro Lighthouse, Nova Scotia with the loss of 24 of her crew. 15 survivors are picked up by the Canadian corvettes Sherbrooke and Barrie.

Britain, Home Front

Mrs Churchill's Red Cross Fund for Russia reaches 1.5 million pounds.

Burma

Because the Japanese are now over the Salween in force, the outpost units of 17th Indian Div abandon Thaton and are pulled back west of the Bilin River.

Dutch East Indies

The Japanese forces attacking Palembang receive reinforcements via an invasion fleet and compel the garrison to retreat before they have finished destroying the great oil refinery.

An Allied convoy sails from Darwin, in northern Australian, with reinforcements for Kupang on the island of Timor. The object of the mission is to occupy Penfoie airfield, the only airfield on Timor which could be used for operations against the Japanese in Java.

Thai Aircraft Bombing Dutch Cruiser

Allied forces on Sumatra are ordered to the west coast for evacuation.

Eastern Front

In a bold attempt to bring about a decisive decision in the Demyansk pocket, the Soviets drop paratroopers behind the German line. The Germans, however, bring heavy fire to bear, inflicting terrible casualties. Virtually the entire force is lost and the few who do survive the landing are captured.

Soviet forces on the Moscow axis have been substantially reinforced during the first half of February. The Kalinin Front receives 7 new rifle divisions, a guards rifle corps and 4 air regiments, while the West Front takes over 60,000 men into its ranks, 3 rifle divisions, 1 guards rifle corps and 2 parachute brigades. In line with the developing offensive, Marshal Zhukov issues a new set of directives to the forces of Glavkom West. The Kalinin Front is to capture the Olenino region with the 22nd, 30th and 39th Armies, destroying the German 9th Army. The West Front is to attack with its 43rd, 49th and 50th Armies, taking Yukhnow, and 16th and 61st Armies are to capture Bryansk. At the same time, the IV Airborne Corps is to complete its drop in the Yukhnow area to threaten the rear of the German 4th Army. The 50th Army is to support the airborne forces, attacking toward Yukhnow.

At the front, Group Sinzinger (Gen Adolf) comes under fierce attack while new Soviet attacks push toward Surazh.

Indian Ocean

I-65 sinks the British steamer Johanne Justesen (4681t) off the west coast of India with the loss of 1 crewman. There are 58 survivors.

Pacific

The British auxiliary anti-submarine ship Mata Hari is sunk by Japanese gunfire at Banka. 15 of the crew are made prisoners of war.

Australia, Home Front

Prime Minister Curtin declares that the fall of Singapore is 'Australia's Dunkirk' and the prelude to the 'Battle of Australia'.

Battle of the Atlantic

• In Operation NEULAND German U-boats shell important oil installations at Aruba and Curaçao. Seven tankers are torpedoed, 3 sink. U-156 sinks the British tanker Oranjestad (2396t) and damages the British tanker Pedernales (4317t) and the American tanker Arkansas (6452t) off San Nicholas, Aruba. 15 of a crew of 25 are lost on the Oranjestad. U-502 sinks 2 British tankers 25 miles southwest of Point Macolla, the Tiajuana (2395t) and the San Nicolas (2391t). 17 are lost on the Tiajuana with 9 survivors. 7 are lost on the San Nicolas with 19 survivors. U-502 also sinks the Venezuelan tanker Monagas (2650t) in the Gulf of Venezuela with the loss of 5 crewmen. There are 26 survivors. U-67 damages the Dutch tanker Rafaela (3177t) 1 miles off Curaçao.

Unexploded Torpedo from U-67

• U-108 sinks the Panamanian steamer Ramapo (2968t) west of Bermuda with the loss of the entire crew of 38.

Burma

Fighting continues for the next few days along the Bilin River as the Japanese try to advance.

Dutch East Indies

British aircraft and air crews leave Sumatra and cross to Java. The Allied convoy making for Timor has to change course on account of heavy Japanese air attacks.

Eastern Front

The LIX Corps repulses Soviet attacks toward Surazh, but at Demidov the 4th Shock Army penetrates into the town.

Air Operations, Mediterranean

There is a British air raid in the area of Castelvetrano, Sicily.

Air Operations, East Indies

8 17th Provisional Pursuit Squadron P-40s attemp a low-level bombing and strafing attack on shipping at Palembang, Sumatra, but are attacked by Japanese fighters before they can release their bombs. 3 of the P-40s make their bomb run while the others defend themselves against the Japanese aircraft shooting down 5 of them. No P-40s are lost.

Australia, Home Front

Prime Minister Curtin orders 'total mobilization'.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-136 sinks the British steamer Empire Comet (6914t), a straggler from Convoy HX-174, 33 miles north of Rockall with the loss of all 46 of her crew.

Britain, Politics

There is debate in the House of Commons on the escape of the German battlecruisers from Brest. Churchill announces a commission of inquiry will be set up under Justice Sir Alfred Bucknill.

Eastern Front

The German relief force from Velikiye Luki links up with Group Sinzinger (Gen Adolf) at Velizh, The 4th Shock Army, however, remains at the gates, making an all-out effort to overrun the garrision before it can be reinforced. The 4th Shock also attempts to overcome Demidov, but agains the Germans beat back each attack.

Fighting erupts around Rzhev as the 30th and 39th Armies attempt to relieve the remnants of the 29th Army trapped near the town. A counterattack by the 1st Panzer Division isolates the 29th west of Rzhev. The Soviets attack with the 39th Army and 30th Army from the west and north to try to free the 29th.

The next phase of Marshal Zhukov's attack begins as the 14th Airborne Brigade drops west of Yukhnow. Losses are again heavy, many of the men being scattered on landing. Over the next few days, the Soviets will continue to drop paratroopers into the Yukhnow area.

North Africa

Gen Auchinleck receives orders to transfer two divisions to the Far East. The British 70th Div leaves, but the 9th Australian Div stays in Africa. Axis aircraft bomb Tobruk and an airfield near Mersa Matruh. Rommel has been called to the Führer's headquarters at Rastenburg in East Prussia. He asks Hitler for reinforcements trying to convince him of the importance of the African front to the war generally. The Führer, however, is now concentrating on the Russian front and does not want his forces to be dispersed. Rommel is only given the 15th Parachute Brigade, which is sent to him from Greece by Gen Harmann Ramcke.

Grant Tanks of 5th Royal Tank Regiment

Air Operations, East Indies

During the morning, 17th Provisional Pursuit Squadron P-40s attack 9 Japanese bombers over Soerabaja, Java and shoot down 6 of them for the loss of 1 P-40. 3 Japanese fighters are also shot down in separate actions over Soerabaja.

Air Operations, Pacific

RAF and RAAF units are withdrawn from Sumatra to Java.

Atlantic

The Free French submarine Surcouf, the world's largest, sinks after colliding with the US merchant ship SS Thompson Lykes near the Panama Canal. All hands are lost.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The Brazilian ship Olinda (4053t) is sunk by U-432 off the American east coast. All 46 of the crew are rescued by the American destroyer Dallas.
• U-108 sinks the British steamer Somme, from dispersed Convoy ON-62 southeast of Sable Island with the loss of her entire crew of 52.
• The American destroyer Truxtun and cargo ship Pollux run aground and break up in a storm in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland. 110 crew members of the destroyer are lost along with 93 on board the Pollux.

Burma

The Japanese cross the Bilin River and the situation begins to deteriorate in all sectors. British authorities order mass evacuations from Rangoon.

Air Operations, East Indies

During the afternoon 9 5th Air Force B-17s bomb Japanese ships off Bali claiming hits on 3 cruisers, a destroyer and a transport. Ship identification from the air was notoriously bad in the early stages of the war as smaller craft were frequently identified as bigger warships. There were no Japanese warships damaged on this day.

In other action, 30 Japanese bombers attack the Java/Bandoeng Airfield and destroy 2 5th Air Force B-17s and several Dutch Air Force fighters on the ground. A Japanese bomber attack against the Java/Singosari Airfield is deterred by 17th Provisional Pursuit Squadron P-40s. No Japanese bombers are downed, but 5 A6M escorts are against a loss of 3 P-40s.

Australia

150 carrier-borne aircraft attack Darwin in Northern Australia, damaging the harbor installations and sinking 12 warships including the US destroyer Peary (DD-226) and damaging 4 others. Among civilians 240 people are killed and 150 are injured. Aboard the ships 172 are killed and 349 are injured (See Pacific). Four carriers from the Pearl Harbor force lead the attack under the command of Adm Nagumo.

US Destroyer Peary On Fire

Battle of the Atlantic

• Shipping in Port of Spain, Trinidad is attacked by U-161. Damaged are the American steamer Mokihana (7460t) and the British tanker British Consul (6940t). British troopships are temporarily diverted elsewhere for refueling.
• U-432 sinks the British steamer Miraflores (2158t) about 50 miles east of Atlantic City, New Jersey with the loss of her entire crew of 34.
• U-128 sinks the American tanker Pan Massachusetts about 20 miles off Cape Canaveral, Florida with the loss of 20 of her crew. 18 survivors make it on board the British tanker Elizabeth Massey.
• U-96 sinks the British steamer Empire Seal (7965t) southeast of Sable Island with the loss of 1 crewman. 56 survivors are picked up by the British CAM ship Empire Flame.
• The US freighter Lake Osweya is torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-96 in the North Atlantic. Although the U-boat see three lifeboats pull away from the ship, no survivors are ever found.

Britain, Politics

Churchill announces changes in his War Cabinet, Sir Stafford Cripps, formerly ambassador in Moscow, replaces Arthur Greenwood as Lord Privy Seal. Attlee becomes Deputy Prime Minister and Dominions Secretary. Beaverbrook leaves the government.

Burma

The Japanese cross the Bilin River near Bilin and attack the 17th Indian Div on the flank forcing it to retire. Mandalay is bombed for the first time.

Canada, Home Front

The Canadian Parliament votes to begin conscription.

Dutch East Indies

The Japanese invade the island of Bali, east of Java. The British and Dutch destroy bridges and military installations. A confused naval engagement known as the Battle of Badoeng Strait begins in the evening and continues into the next day. This encounter is between the escort vessels of a Japanese convoy carrying infantry through the Strait of Lombok and an Allied squadron under the Dutch Rear-Adm Karel Doorman. The Allies lose the Dutch destroyer Piet Hien while 2 Dutch cruisers and 1 American destroyer, the Stewart (DD-224), is damaged. The Japanese destroyers Ushio and Michisio are damaged by Allied gunfire.

Japanese troops land on the Portuguese island of Timor. Tokyo says the action is taken in self-defense and that its forces will withdraw when the area is secure. The neutral Portuguese accept the occupation.

Germany, Home Front

The German press is criticized by the Reich Press Secretary for publishing stories about Churchill which are too positive and may cause the German population to believe in his leadership. It is urged to stress that he is a liar and is conducting the war like an amateur.

Malta

The island continues receiving daily attacks from Axis aircraft.

Pacific

• In Japanese carrier based air attacks on Port Darwin, Australia, the American destroyer Peary, the British tanker British Motorist (6891t), the British steamers Zealandia (6683t) and Neptunia (5592t), the American steamer Mauna Loa (5436t) and the British army transport Meigs (7358t) are sunk. 80 on board the Peary are lost, the British Motorist loses 2 crewmen, Zealandia 3, Neptunia 45, Mauna Loa 5 and Meigs 2.

Air Operations, Australia

Japanese aircraft attack transports in Darwin loaded with troops bound for Koepang, Timor. Nearly all 10 of the 5th Air Force P-40s assigned for defense of the transports are lost.

Air Operations, East Indies

5th Air Forces aircraft based in Java attack Japanese transports landing troops on Bali. 2 A-24s are lost, but 5 hits on a Japanese cruiser are claimed in the attack. 2 P-40s are also lost in the action.

Air Operations, Pacific

Lt Edward 'Butch' O'Hare in a Wildcat from the Lexington shoots down 5 Mitsubishi G4M bombers in about 10 minutes near the Gilbert Islands.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The Italian submarine Torelli sinks the British steamer Scottish Star (7224t) east of Barbados. 4 of a crew of 73 are lost.
• U-129 sinks the Norwegian steamer Nordvangen (2400t) near Trinidad with the loss of her entire crew of 24.
• U-156 badly damages the American steamer Delplata (5127t) 60 miles west of Martinique. The crew of 54 is picked up the next day by the American minesweeper Lapwing. After is is determined the ship cannot be salvaged, she is sunk by gunfire.
• The German steamer Jason (1025t) sinks on a mine near Calais.

Burma

The evacuation of the civilian population of Rangoon is ordered within 48 hours.

Caribbean

From this date until March 24 the Italian submarine group Da Vinci consisting of 4 boats, will sink 14 merchantmen in the Caribbean.

East Indies

Portugese Timor, north of Australia, is invaded by the Japanese, which for the past month has had a small Allied garrison. Australia is now directly threatened. The Japanese will complete their occupation on the 24th.

Japanese Paratroopers Landing on Dutch Timor

Eastern Front

Hitler receives a report on the staggering number of German casualties suffered thus far in the Russian campaign: 199,448 dead, 708,351 wounded, 112,627 cases of severe frostbite of which 14,357 have required amputations, and 44,342 missing.

He is nonetheless optimistic saying, 'Now that January and February are past, our enemies can give up hope of our suffering the fate of Napoleon. . . . Now we're about to switch over to squaring the account. What a relief!'

The Demiansk Airlift begins. A force of 40 Ju-52s maintains the trapped German 16th Army in the Demiansk 'Cauldron', north of Smolensk. By May 300 aircraft will be involved. During this time the Germans will lose 262 aircraft.

Since February 17 the Soviets have landed nearly 7,000 paratroopers west of Yukhnow but have been contained by the Germans.

Air Operations, CBI

1st AVG Fighter Squadron P-40s destroy 2 bombers and 1 fighter on the ground at Rahaeng/Tak Airfield, Thailand during the early afternoon.

Air Operations, East Indies

Java-based 5th Air Force bombers attack Japanese shipping in the Java Sea and ground forces wherever they can be located on Bali. 17th Provisional Pursuit Squadron P-40s down 5 A6Ms over Java during morning action.

Arctic

The pocket-battleship Admiral Scheer and the cruiser Prinz Eugen leave Germany for bases in Norway.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-432 sinks the American steamer Azalea City (5529t) 125 miles east-southeast of Ocean City, Maryland with the loss of the entire crew of 38.
• U-502 sinks the American tanker J. N. Pew (9033t) 225 miles west of Aruba with the loss of 33 of her crew. 2 survivors make it by lifeboat to Colombia and 1 is picked up by the Panamanian steamer Annetta I.

• U-161 sinks the British tanker Circe Shell (8207t) 20 miles west-northwest of Port of Spain, Trinidad with the loss of 1 crewmen. 57 survivors are picked up by the British tug Busy.
• The Greek steamer Atlanticos (5446t) sinks on a mine off Barrow Deep. 1 crewman is lost of a crew of 40.
• The German steamer Amerika (7463t) sinks on a mine near Terschelling, Netherlands.

Burma

The 17th Indian Div begins to fall back on Mokpalin toward the Sittang River through Kyaikto. At one point, British forces crossing the river using a single bridge are forces to blow it up with large numbers of men stranded on the other side. Allied losses are heavy, many men drowning when attempting to swim the Sittang. Elements of the Japanese 15th Army are now free to turn west and drive for Rangoon. A brigade from the Middle East arrives in Rangoon.

Diplomatic Relations

Salazar makes 'energetic protest' against the Japanese occupation of Portuguese Timor.

In a message to the people of India, Chiang Kai-shek calls for their wholehearted support in the war and indicated Britain 'without waiting for any demands on the part of the people of India, will as speedily as possible give them real political power.'

Air Operations, East Indies

Japanese aircraft destroy 4 5th Air Force B-17s on the ground at Java/Pasirian Airfield and 1 LB-30 at Java/Jogjakarta Airfield. In return, 5th Air Force heavy bombers destroy Japanese aircraft on the ground at Bali/den Pasar Airfield.

Air Operations, Pacific

B-24s of the US 10th Air Force drops 40 British magnetic mines in the mouth of the Rangoon River in Burma, the beginning of a campaign to interfere with Japanese shipping in occupied areas.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-502 sinks the Norwegian tanker Kongsgaard (9467t) 7 miles west of Noordpunt, Curaçao with the loss of 37 of her crew. 9 survivors are picked up by a fishing vessel.
• U-96 sinks the Norwegian steamer Torungen (1948t) off Nova Scotia with the loss of her entire crew of 19.
• U-504 sinks the American tanker Republic (5287t) with the loss of 5 crewman. 22 survivors row to shore, 7 others are picked up by the American tanker Cities Service Missouri.
• In an attack on Convoy ON-67 U-155 sinks the British tanker Adellen (7984t) and the Norwegian steamer Sama (1799t) south of Cape Farewell, Greenland. 36 are lost on the Adellen, 12 survivors are picked up by the Canadian corvette Algoma. 19 are lost on the Sama, 20 survivors are picked up by the American destroyer Nicholson (DD-442).
• U-128 sinks the American tanker Cities Service Empire (8103t) 25 miles north of Bethel Shoals off the Florida coast with the loss of 14 of her crew. 36 survivors are picked up by the American destroyer Biddle (DD-151).
• U-129 sinks the Canadian steamer George L. Torian (1754t) and the American steamer West Zeda (5658t) about 120 miles south-southeast of Trinidad. 15 crewmen are lost on the Canadian ship, 4 survivors are rescued by a US Navy flying boat. All 35 of the crew of the West Zeda are picked up by the schooner Emeralda.

Britain, Command

Air Marshal A. T. Harris is appointed to lead RAF Bomber Command. He will become a controversial figure but his early record will be good. He will succeed in reviving Bomber Command morale and developing a policy suited to the limitations of the force. He will be especially good at the public relations side of his job. The bomber offensive will be the only weapon with which Britain can strike directly at Germany until 1944, and it will be important to convince the British people and the leaders of the USSR that as much as possible is being done.

Britain, Home Front

More changes are made in the British War Cabinet. Col John Llewellin is appointed Minister of Aircraft Production. Sir Percy Grigg becomes Secretary for War. Dr William Temple is nominated Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of all England.

Burma

Japanese troops attack the positions of 17th Indian Div around Mokpalin on the Sittang River. There is heavy fighting near the one bridge over the river which is essential for the passage of troops.

General Yamashita Touring Occupied Territory

Japanese Tank Column

Japanese Troops Passing through a Burmese Village

The RAF Taking Off from a Burmese Airfield

On January 30 the Japanese forces in Burma occupied Moulmein and the British retired to the west bank of the Salween river. On February 10, however, the enemy crossed the river north-west of Martaban and after fierce fighting occupied the town. Farther north other attempts to cross the river in the Paan area were repulsed, but on the 15th, the British were withdrawn to the line of the Bilin river after evacuating Thaton. Here strong counter-attacks, in which the R.A.F., the Indian Air Force and the American Volunteer Group gave valuable support, slowed down the Japanese advance, but on the 22nd a fresh attack was mounted by the enemy who forced a crossing of the Bilin and made heavy assaults on a bridgehead on the east bank of the Sittang river, the next obstacle in their way. The town of Pegu, forty miles north of Rangoon, fell, and the railway from Rangoon to Mandalay and the road to China were thereby cut.

Air Operations, East Indies

During the morning, 17th Provisional Pursuit Squadron P-40s down 4 G3M 'Nell' bombers, 1 A6M 'Zero' and 1 B5N 'Kate' bomber over Java.

Air Operations, Pacific

Japanese positions in Rabaul are attacked by US bombers from Australia.

Battle of the Atlantic

• The British submarine Trident torpedoes the Prinz Eugen off Trondheim.
• U-504 sinks the American tanker W. D. Anderson (10,227t) 12 miles north of Jupiter Light, Florida with the loss of 35 of her crew. 1 survivor is picked up by a small fishing boat and transferred to the American coast guard vessel Trouper.
• U-161 damages the American steamer Lihue (7001t) 275 miles west of Martinique. She diverts to St Lucia, but sinks in tow on the 26th.
• U-502 sinks the Panamanian tanker Thalia (8329t) 80 miles from Aruba with the loss of 1 crewman. There are 40 survivors.
• U-129 sinks the Canadian steamer Lennox (1904t) northeast of Barima, Venezuela with the loss of 2 of her crew. 18 survivors are picked up by the British tanker Athelrill.

Bismarck Archipelago

6 American B-17 bombers take off from an Australian base and bomb Rabaul, New Britain, for the first time. It is the first Allied raid on the newly-established Japanese base.

Brazil, Home Front

Stefan Zweig exiled Austrian author and his wife commit suicide at Petropolis. He was 60.

Burma

The only accessible bridge over the Sittang is blown up by Indian troops, leaving a large part of the 17th Indian Div cut off on the east bank. Most of the men manage to escape but all heavy equipment is lost.

Diplomatic Relations

A Mutual Aid Agreement is reached between Britain, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

Dutch East Indies

A Japanese war communiqué announces that the island of Amboina is now entirely in Japanese hands. The Allies headquarters staff evacuates Java, already in severe danger, for Australia.

Eastern Front

Dorogobuzh, east of Smolensk, is recaptured by the Russians. The Russians reach the Dniepr River in strength.

Assault of Russian T-34 Tanks

Germany, Home Front

Professor August von Parseval dies at age 81. He was an aeronautical engineer and inventor of the Parseval 'kite balloon' used on the Western Front during World War I.

Mediterranean

The British submarine P-38 is sunk by the Italian destroyers Pigafetta, Pessagno and the torpedo boat Circe north of Misrata, Libya with the loss of 32 of her crew.

Air Operations - East Indies

• Japanese aircraft destroy 3 5th Air Force B-17s on the ground at the advance depot at Bandoeng, Java.
• 5th Air Force bomber crews claim the sinking of 2 Japanese ships off Makassar, Celebes and 17th Provisional Pursuit Squadron P-40s shoot down 2 Japanese bombers over Java around 1000 hours.

Atlantic

The US destroyer Truxton and the naval transport Pollux are reported wrecked in a gale off the St Lawrence River. 189 are missing.

Axis Diplomacy

Franz Von Papen, German Ambassador in Turkey, narrowly escapes an assassination attempt.

Vichy France reaffirms her neutrality following a US protest against incidental aid given to the German Afrika Korps.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-94 sinks the British steamer Empire Hail (7005t) east of St John's, Newfoundland with the loss of all 49 of her crew.
• In attacks on Convoy ON-67 U-558 sinks the British tanker Inverarder (5578t) southeast of St John's, Newfoundland and the Norwegian tanker Eidanger (9432t) in the same area. The entire crews of both ships survive the sinkings. U-158 sinks the British tanker Empire Celt (8032t) 420 miles south-southeast of St John's with the loss of 6 of her crew. 47 survivors are picked up by the Canadian rescue ship Citadelle and the British anti-submarine trawler St Zeno. In further attacks on the convoy U-558 sinks the British tankers Anadara (8080t) and Finnanger (9551t) and the steamer White Crest (4365t) east of Halifax. The crews of all 3 ships are lost: 62 on Anadara; 39 on the Finnanger; and 47 on the White Crest.

Black Sea

The Russian submarine Shch-213 sinks the decrepit Bulgarian SS Struma carrying 764 Rumanian Jews. There is only 1 survivor. Turkish authorities had earlier forced the vessel's crew to put to sea because none of the passengers had visas.

The Struma

Canada, Home Front

The War Measures Act authorizes the relocation of Japanese Canadians to internment camps.

Diplomatic Relations

Vichy France responds to Roosevelt's note of the 9th stating its desire to remain neutral and not assist belligerents in any theater of operations.

East Indies

Japanese paratroops land on Kupang airfield, Timor.

Eastern Front

The German resistance to Russian attacks grows firmer, but in the northern sector the Russians have surrounded II Corps of the German 16th Army just south of Lake Ilmen in the Demyansk area. Air supply, which can average of 270 tons a day, will enable this unit to hold out until relieved in April. In the central sector the Germans contain the Russian pressure on Smolensk. In the south they offer firm resistance as the Russians try to break out into the great bend of the Dniepr River

German Infantry Ready to Attack

Russian Sappers Clearing a Passage Through Enemy Wire

Air Operations, CBI

1st AVG Fighter Squadron P-40s down 3 Ki-27 'Nate' fighters over Rangoon about noon and 23 Japanese Army fighters and 1 Japanese Army bombers around 1700 hours, also over Rangoon.

Air Operations, East Indies

During the morning, 17th Provisional Pursiut Squadron P-40s down 3 Japanese A6M 'Zeros' over Soerabaja, Java.

Air Operations, Europe

There is an RAF night raid on Kiel.

Allied Command

The unified ABDA Command is dissolved. The ABDA proved to be too complicated for the effective coordination of forces and was unable to overcome national animosities and suspicions. Gen Wavell again becomes Commander-in-Chief, India. The Dutch Gen Ter Poorten takes command in Java.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-156 sinks the British tanker La Carriere (5685t) 70 miles southwest of Guanica, Puerto Rico with the loss of 15 of her crew. 21 crew members make it to Guanica in life boats, 5 others are picked by an American coast guard cutter.

Burma

The Japanese infiltrate through a gap opened between Nyaunglebin and Pegu, threatening the Rangoon-Mandalay railway. Retreating British troops use 'scorched earth' tactics in Rangoon setting fire to oil installations.

Bomb Damage in Rangoon

Tragedy from a Japanese Bomb

In view of the proximity of Japanese forces to Rangoon, a curfew was imposed and a military governor appointed, on February 25 in order to prevent looting. On the same day the R.A.F. and the American Volunteer Group scored a notable success by shooting down thirty Japanese bombers attempting to raid the capital. Meanwhile, in India, the evacuation of part of the Chittagong district, on the shores of the Bay of Bengal, was carried out as a precautionary measure.

Indian Ocean

• The Italian submarine Torelli sinks the Panamanian tanker Esso Copenhagen (9245t) off the coast of Somalia with the loss of 1 crewmen.
• I-58 sinks the Dutch steamer Boero (7135t) south of the Sunda Strait. There are no casualties among the crew of 70.

Malta

Axis bombers attack the naval base at Valletta and the airfields at Hal Far and Luqa.

United States, Home Front

There is an air raid scare in Los Angelese with a heavy anti-aircraft barrage. Secretary of War Stimson announces that '15 commercial planes operated by enemy agents' have flown over the city. It was a false alarm; no bombs were dropped.

Air Operations, CBI

1st AVG Fighter Squadron P-40s down 1 Japanese Army bomber and 19 Ki-27 'Nate' fighters over the Rangoon area during the morning hours.

Air Operations, East Indies

During the morning, a 17th Provisional Pursuit Squadron P-40 downs an A6M over Soerabaja, Java.

Air Operations, Europe

There is an RAF night raid on Kiel heavily damaging the Gneisenau. A complete rebuilding is planned but never implemented.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-504 sinks the Dutch tanker Mamura (8245t) 230 miles off the coast of Florida with the loss of the entire crew of 49.

Burma

The Japanese continue to infiltrate west of the Sittang. They now threaten the Rangoon-Mandalay railroad. There is violent fighting in the area of Waw, northeast of Pegu.

Diplomatic Relations

Litvinov, speaking in Washington, demands effort from the Allies, saying that, 'only by simultaneous offensive operations on two or more fronts can Hitler's armed forces be disposed of'.

Eastern Front

The Soviets inflict heavy casualties on the German 16th Army around Staraya Russa.

The 2nd Shock and 54th Armies launch new attacks to break through to Lyuban, while the 59th Army attacks toward Chudovo. Both armies fare badly as the Germans pin down the attacking forces. The 2nd Shock penetrates the German positions at Krasnaya Gorka but is quickly brought to a halt. Gen Kirill Meretskov proposes to strengthen the 2nd Shock with the IV Guards Rifle Corps.

Heavy fighting rages at Velizh as the 4th Shock Army launches repeated attacks.

North Africa

The British XIII Corps takes up positions defending the Gazala-Bir Hacheim line. XXX Corps prepares a defensive position along the Egyptian frontier and in the Jarabub oasis. For the second day in a row British aircraft bomb Benghazi and Tripoli.

Air Operations, Asia

Japanese bombers make devastating a incendiary raid on the Burma Road and Toungoo. 400 people are killed.

Air Operations, Europe

There is an RAF night raid on Kiel.

Andaman Islands

Indian territory is attacked for the first time as the Japanese raid these islands in the Bay of Bengal south of Burma.

Battle of the Atlantic

• U-578 sinks the American tanker R. P. Resor (7451t) 20 miles east of Manasquan Inlet, New Jersey with the loss of 47 of her crew. 2 survivors are picked by the American Coast Guard picket boat CG-4344.

  The R. P. Resor

• U-432 sinks the American steamer Marore (8215t) off Wimble Shoals, North Carolina. The 39 crew members are picked up by American Coast Guard vessels and the American tanker John D. Gill.
• U-156 sinks the British steamer Macgregor (2498t) 15 miles northeast of Cabo Frances Viejo, Dominican Republic with the loss of 1 crewmen. 30 survivors are rescued by a San Domingo Coast Guard cutter.

Battle of the Java Sea

An Allied squadron, commanded by Adm Doorman, comprising 5 cruisers and 11 destroyers of 4 nationalities, tries repeatedly to intercept an invasion force bound for Java and, in a series of running battles lasting for two days, is almost totally eliminated. 2 Dutch cruisers, the Java and the De Ruyter, and 2 British, the Jupiter and the Exeter, and 1 Dutch destroyer, the Kortenaer, are sunk. 1 American, the Houston (CA-30), and 1 British cruiser are damaged. The Japanese heavy cruiser Haguro torpedoes and sinks the Dutch destroyer Kortenaer. Survivors are rescued by the British destroyer Encounter. Japanese destroyer gunfire sinks the British destroyer Electra while the British destroyer Jupiter sinks on a mine laid earlier in the day by the Dutch minelayer Gouden Leeuw. Allied gunfire damages the Japanese destroyers Asagumo and Minegumo. The US destroyers torpedo attack proves ineffective.

The Japanese, aided by their superior torpedo equipment, the Type-91 oxygen torpedo with a range of 25 miles or 5 times that of British and American models, and their superior night-fighting skills, suffer only slight damage which will not affect their invasion plans. Their force includes 4 cruisers and 14 destroyers. Adm Takagi is in command. They lose 2 transports with 1 cruiser and 6 destroyers receiving damage. (Summary)

The American flying-boat support ship Langley (AV-3), on the way to deliver 32 P-40s to Tjilatjap, Java, is sunk by 9 twin-engine Japanese aircraft 75 miles south of Tjilatjap with a loss of 16.

USS Langley off Java

USS Langley Being Abandoned

Eastern Front

The Stavka orders the Volkhov Front to form shock groups to break the German lines. The 2nd Shock forms a group of 4 divisions, 59th Army one of 3 divisions and 4th Army one of 2 divisions. Gen Kirill Meretskov visits the 2nd Shock Army headquarters and finds its command disorganized and demoralized. Gen Andrey Vlasov is appointed commander in place of Gen Nikolai Klykov.

The relief attack toward Demidov succeeds, as the garrison is relieved.

The Soviets begin a new attack in the Crimea aimed at dislodging the 11th Army from the Kerch peninsula and relieving Sevastopol. On the Kerch peninsula, the 51st Army attacks in unwieldy columns, supported by tanks, but is smashed by German artillery fire and air strikes. The costly attacks continue for the next two weeks. The Sevastopol garrison also attacks but is unable to break through the ring of forces around the city.

Germany, Home Front

Orders are given for the building of 5 crematoria at Auschwitz with the capability of 'processing' 12,000 gas chamber victims per day.

Indian Ocean

The British steamer Nam Yong is sunk by a Japanese submarine south of Christmas Island. 5 surviving crew members are made prisoners of war.

Axis Diplomacy

Subhas Chandra Bose broadcasts from Berlin on India's wish for freedom and consequent readiness to co-operate with Germany. This speech will be repeated on March 11. (see April 26, 1943.)

Battle of the Atlantic

• During the month of February U-boats have sunk 69 ships, mainly tankers, off the American east coast and in the Caribbean.
• The US destroyer Jacob Jones (DD-130) is sunk by torpedoes from U-578 while steaming off Delaware Bay. The blasts caused heavy casualties among the crew and completely wrecked the ship. There are only 11 survivors.
• U-129 sinks the Panamanian steamer Bayou 140 miles north of Paramaribo, Suriname with the loss of 24 of her crew. 1 survivor is rescued and taken to Georgetown.
• The Italian submarine Da Vinci sinks the Latvian steamer Everasma (3644t) in the middle of the Atlantic. 15 of the crew are rescued.
• U-653 sinks the Norwegian steamer Leif (1582t) east of Cape Hatteras with the loss of 15 of her crew. 10 survivors are picked up by the Swedish tanker Sveadrott.
• U-156 sinks the American tanker Oregon (7017t) north of the Dominican Republic with the loss of 6 crewmen. 26 survivors make it to the Dominican Republic in lifeboats, 4 others are picked up by the American tanker Gulfpenn.
• The Swedish steamer Thyra (1796t) sinks on a mine off Yarmouth. All 24 of the crew are rescued.

Battle of the Java Sea

The Japanese heavy cruiser Haguro torpedoes and sinks the Dutch light cruiser De Ruyter while the Japanese heavy cruiser Nachi torpedoes and sinks the Dutch light cruiser Java. Adm Doorman's flagship is the De Ruyter and he is lost with the ship.

The 4 American destroyers that escaped from the Battle of the Java Sea head for the Sunda Strait.

Shortly before midnight while attempting to retire from Java, part of the Allied force encounters the Japanese transport force and their escorts at Benten Bay on the west end of Java in the Sunda Strait. What results is the naval battle referred to as the Battle of Sunda Strait. The Allied cruisers wreak havoc on the transports, sinking 3 and damaging 3 others, but they themselves are sunk by an overwhelming force or 3 cruisers and 9 destroyers. The Allied ships lost are the American cruiser Houston, the Australian cruiser Perth, and the Dutch destroyer Evertsen.

Burma

British troops fall back on Pegu, the prelude to general retirement. The Japanese cut the road north of Rangoon.

Eastern Front

The Stavka orders the 2nd Shock and 54th Armies to link up and encircle the German forces in the Lubansk area.

The Germans launch a fierce counterattack at Demidov, forcing back the 4th Shock Army.

The 51st Army repeats its attacks on the Kerch peninsula, suffering terrible casualties as the 11th Army rains fire down upon it.

During February the Germans commit 8 infantry divisions to the east, bringing their strength up to 19 panzer, 15 motorized and 123 infantry divisions. A casualty return by the Ostheer records that up to the end of February the war in the east has cost 394,000 killed (44,000 in February), 725,000 wounded, 414,000 captured, 46,000 missing and 112,000 injured through frostbite and illnesses. Army Group Center alone has suffered a staggering 357,000 casualties but has received only 130,000 replacements. The field armies have also lost 3,240 tanks and assault guns but have received only 840 replacement vehicles. This leaves the panzer divisions with fewer than 900 vehicles, of which only 465 are operational. Combined with the depletion of its offensive capability, the supply and logistic services have lost 74,000 motor vehicles since October 1941 but replaced only 7,500. The already inadequate motor pool has been reduced to less than a quarter of its June 1941 complement. Since the beginnig of Operation TYPHOON in October, the Ostheer has also lost 180,000 horses but has replaced only 20,000.

Germany, Home Front

Dr Mansfield is appointed Reich Labor Controller with overall responsibility for the exploitation of foreign workers and PoWs in the armaments industry and agriculture.