Timeline of World War II (1942) - March 1942

March 1942

1: A Red Army offensive in the Crimea begins; in the north, the siege of Leningrad continues.

3: Japanese aircraft make a surprising raid on the airfield and harbour at Broome, Western Australia.

5: The Japanese capture Batavia, the capital of the Dutch East Indies.
: New conscription laws in the United Kingdom include women and men up to the age of 45.

6: Malta receives more fighters for its on-going defence.

8: The Japanese land at Lae and Salamaua, on Huon Bay, New Guinea, beginning their move toward Port Moresby, New Guinea, and then Australia.

9: Japanese troops entered Rangoon, Burma, which was abandoned by the British two days earlier. It appears that the Japanese are in control of Java, Burma, and New Guinea.
: The Secretary of War reorganizes the General Headquarters (GHQ), United States Army into three major commands - Army Ground Forces, Army Air Forces, and Services of Supply, the later of which is later redesignated Army Service Forces. At the same time, the four Defense commands and all Theaters Of Operations (TOPNS) are subordinated to the War Department General Staff.

11: The Japanese land on Mindanao, the southernmost island in the Philippines.

12: American troops begin to land in Nouméa, New Caledonia; it will become an important staging base for the eventual invasion of Guadalcanal.

13: RAF launches an air raid against Essen, Germany.

14: Japanese land troops in the Solomon Islands, underscoring Australia's dangerous situation, especially if, as it is soon made clear, an airfield is built on Guadalcanal.
: The Japanese are now threatening American forces around Manila Bay; the retreat to Corregidor begins.

17: U.S. General Douglas MacArthur arrives in Australia, after leaving his headquarters in the Philippines.
: The United Kingdom institutes rationing of electricity, coal, and gas; the clothing ration is decreased as well.

20: Operation Outward begins

22: A fractured convoy reaches Malta, after heavy losses to the Luftwaffe and an Italian sea force. Continued heavy bombing attacks on the island with slight opposition from overtaxed RAF air forces.

25: RAF sends bomber raids against targets in France and Germany.

26: Jews in Berlin must now clearly identify their houses.

28: The RAF sends a raid against Lübeck, destroying over 30% of the city, and 80% of the medieval centre. Hitler is outraged.
: British commandos launch the raid on Saint-Nazaire. HMS Campbeltown, filled with explosives on a time-delay fuse, rams the dock gates and commandos destroy other parts of the naval service area. The port is completely destroyed and does not resume service till 1947; however, around two-thirds of the raiding forces are lost.