Author Archives: secondbysecond

This week in the War, 6–12 April 1942: Bataan—The march of death

Posted on April 9, 2014 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 9 April 1942, forces in the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines commanded by Major General Edward P. King Jr. surrendered unconditionally to the Japanese. A terrible ‘march of death’ began that day. Over 75,000 … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 30 March–5 April 1942: Preserving the Eastern Fleet

Posted on March 31, 2014 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, 31 March 1942, having been warned of an imminent Japanese attack, Admiral James Somerville sailed his fleet—the British Eastern Fleet—out of Colombo, Ceylon, to a secret base at Addu Atoll in the Maldives. His intent … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 23–29 March 1942: The Saint-Nazaire raid

Posted on March 26, 2014 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 26 March 1942, a force of British commandos left Falmouth in Cornwall on board a flotilla of destroyers and motor-torpedo boats heading for the German naval base at Saint-Nazaire on the Loire estuary on … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 16–22 March 1942: Alexander and Slim

Posted on March 21, 2014 by secondbysecond

In the spring of 1942, with the Japanese invasion of Burma well under way, Harold Alexander—who was to acquire something of a reputation as Churchill’s ‘fire brigade chief’ was sent to Burma with the rank of full general and orders … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 9–15 March 1942: “I shall return!”

Posted on March 12, 2014 by secondbysecond

Following President Roosevelt’s orders, General Douglas MacArthur left the island of Corregidor in the Philippines on 12 March 1942. He was bound for Australia to assume command of Allied forces in the Pacific. His phrase “I shall return!” subsequently became … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 2–8 March 1942: The Fall of Rangoon

Posted on March 3, 2014 by secondbysecond

Burma: This week in the war, 7 March 1942, British forces evacuated Rangoon, the Burmese capital. Before leaving, they destroyed the dockyard installations and the oil refineries. Japanese troops had landed in the Irrawaddy delta. Next day, 8 March, the … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 23 Feb–1 March 1942: Battle of the Java Sea

Posted on February 27, 2014 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 27 February 1942, the Japanese navy defeated an Allied naval squadron commanded by the Dutch admiral Karel Doorman in the Battle of the Java Sea. Rear-Admiral Doorman’s five cruisers and eleven destroyers attacked a … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 16–22 February 1942: The bombing of Darwin

Posted on February 21, 2014 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 19 February 1942, fighters and bombers from the carrier force of Vice-Admiral Chuichi Nagumo—who in November had launched his planes against Pearl Harbour—attacked Darwin, the largest city of northern Australia. The bombing of Darwin … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 9–15 February 1942: The Fall of Singapore

Posted on February 12, 2014 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, Singapore—often described as Britain’s ‘Gibraltar of the East’—fell to the Japanese. The British commander, Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival, signed the unconditional surrender document on 15 February 1942. Over 120,000 British, Indian and Australian troops became prisoners-of-war. … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 2–8 February 1942: Death of Fritz Todt

Posted on February 6, 2014 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on Sunday 8 February 1942, Reichsminister Fritz Todt was killed when the plane flying him back to Berlin crashed while taking off from the airstrip at Hitler’s Wolfsschanze headquarters in East Prussia. Todt had been … Continue reading →

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