December 1942
- 1: Gasoline rationing begins in the United States.
: The US cruiser Northampton is sunk as Japanese destroyers attempt to come down "the Slot" to Guadalcanal. - 2: Heavy fighting in Tunisia, as German forces are pushed into the final North African corner.
: Below the bleachers of Stagg Field at the University of Chicago, a team led by Enrico Fermi initiate the first nuclear chain reaction. A coded message, "The Italian navigator has landed in the new world" is sent to President Roosevelt. - 4: The first US bombing of mainland Italy --Naples.
: Carlson's patrol ends - 6: RAF bombs Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
- 7: On the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, the USS New Jersey, America's largest battleship is launched (commissioned five months later).
: British commandos conduct Operation Frankton a raid on shipping in Bordeaux harbour. - 9: The Marines turn over Guadalcanal to the American army.
- 12: Rommel abandons El Agheila and retreats to Tripoli; the final stand will be at the Mareth line in southern Tunisia.
: In a large operation named "Winter Storm", the Germans attempt to break through to forces trapped in Stalingrad. - 13: The Luftwaffe flies in meagre supplies to the beleaguered Stalingrad troops.
- 15: American troops finally push Japanese out of Buna, New Guinea.
: Allies clash with Japanese troops in the Battle of the Gifu - 22: The Germans begin a retreat from the Caucasus.
: The battle for "Longstop Hill" begins; a key position outside Tunis, the Germans eventually take it and hold it until April.
: The remainder of the United States 1st Armored Division arrived at North Africa for Operation Husky. - 24: French Admiral Darlan, the former Vichy leader who had switched over to the Allies following the Torch landings, is assassinated in Algiers.
: The United States reorganizes its Combat Arms Regiments with their Organic Battalions into Separate Groups and Battalions - 25: American bombers hit Rabaul.
- 26: Heavy fighting continues on Guadalcanal, now focused on Mount Austen in the west.
- 31: In the Battle of the Barents Sea, the British win a strategic victory, leading Hitler to largely abandon the use of surface raiders in favor of U boats.
: As the year comes to an end, things look bright for the Allies: Rommel is trapped in Tunisia, the Germans are encircled at Stalingrad, and the Japanese appear ready to abandon Guadalcanal.
Read more about this topic: Timeline Of World War II (1942)
Famous quotes containing the word december:
“Work—work—work,
In the dull December light,
And work—work—work,
When the weather is warm and bright—
While underneath the eaves
The brooding swallows cling
As if to show me their sunny backs
And twit me with the spring.”
—Thomas Hood (1799–1845)