World War II Chronicles

On December 31, an Allied convoy bound for Russia was intercepted by a fleet of large Nazi warships. Over a three hour period, the British destroyer escort fought with the Germans. The conflict came to be known as the Battle of the Barents Sea, and the German Navy had been routed.

To help finance the enormous cost of the Second World War, the federal government began to sell loans to private citizens and corporations known as "war bonds." In December 1942, the Department of Treasury launched the first War Loan Drive.

With each passing month of war, rationing became more of a necessity. After rubber and gasoline were rationed, the next item was shoes. Coffee and butter were also in short supply during the winter of 1942-1943.

The majority of fighting against Japan was conducted on tropical islands, such as Guadalcanal or the Solomon islands. On some of these islands, Malaria was the most common cause of death or illness, proving to be another challenge for Allied Forces to overcome.

The year of 1942 saw the race for the atomic bomb between the Allied and Axis powers. Throughout the year, as scientists gathered throughout the country, the possibility of the bomb moved closer to becoming a reality.

On November 19, a Soviet counteroffensive was being launched to the north of the city of Stalingrad. The following day, the Red army attacked to the south of Stalingrad. Within a week, the German Sixth army was in danger of being cut off.

On November 15, 1942, in a naval battle off the coast of the Solomon Islands, the USS Juneau was one of two cruisers attacked. On board Juneau were the Sullivan brothers, five brothers who joined the Navy to avenge the death of a childhood friend at Pearl Harbor. It was the first time since the Civil War that a single family suffered such a great loss.

In the fall of 1942, the Japanese managed to bring only a trickle of supplies and men to the island of Guadalcanal. To achieve a decisive victory in the battle, the Japanese sent enough reinforcements to outnumber the Americans. However, American radar installations detected the Japanese advances.

On November 8, 1942, the greatest amphibious operation to date, Operation Torch, commenced. 60,000 troops advanced in an effort to liberate Nazi and Vichy French controlled North Africa.

By mid-October, General Bernard Montgomery had amassed an enormous superiority in North Africa. The British 8th Army prepared for the next round in the Battle for Egypt.

World War I Flying Ace Eddie Richenbacher was asked to examine aircraft in 1942, when on an inspection trip in the South Pacific, his plane lost navigational capabilities. Running out of fuel, the B-17 crash landed on October 21. He would spend almost two weeks at sea, until the brutal conditions took their toll.

During World War II, few Americans were allowed to travel outside of the States if they were not engaged in government business. However on August 20, 1942, Wendle Wilke was announced to be President Roosevelt's Goodwill Ambassador and embarked on a World Tour. He returned home on October 13, reporting to the President the state of global affairs during the war.

Five weeks after the Battle for Bloody Ridge on Guadalcanal in the South Pacific, the Marines defeated an all-out offensive launched by the Japanese. By November, the war had become one of attrition.

During 1942, in an effort to conserve rubber, the Office of Price Administration had instituted gas rationing, or mileage rationing as it was officially called. This was part of the greater effort on the home front to contribute to the global war that was consuming the lives of Americans.

All Americans participated in total war as a wartime economy took over the United States home front. Supplies of oil, tin, and rubber were cut off, while the rationing of other good such as aluminum took place. By the fall of 1942, scrap & salvage drives had become a patriotic duty.