America in WWII - (Page 6) A WORLD AT WAR September–October 1942 September 6 The last Japanese leave Milne Bay in New Guinea after fighting with an Allied garrison they had underestimated and attacked. September 8 The War Production Board in Washington, DC, closes gold mines to free up men and equipment for the military. September 9 A Japanese sub off Oregon releases a plane that drops two fire bombs over forest areas near Brookings the next day. It is the only time the continental United States will be bombed during the war. September 12 A U-boat sinks the British liner Laconia off Ascension Island and surfaces to rescue survivors only to be attacked by an American plane. Nazi Admiral Karl Doenitz responds by forbidding subs to rescue enemies, a crime he will be charged with in the Nuremberg Trials. September 15 A Japanese sub off San Cristobal Island unleashes one of the most effective torpedo flurries of the war, sinking the US carrier Wasp, fatally damaging a destroyer, and damaging a battleship as they escort transports filled with reinforcements for the Allied effort to take Guadalcanal from the Japanese. September 16 Having set out for Stalingrad in late August, German forces reach the suburbs of the Soviet industrial city. September 16 British command in London announces that three Eagle Squadrons of American pilots that had begun flying with the Royal Air Force before the United States entered the war will become part of the US Army Air Forces. September 17 Amid growing security fears, the US command in Washington takes the atomic bomb program out of civilian hands and puts it under military control. October 7 Citing reports of “barbaric crimes” committed by the Nazis on civilians, President Franklin Roosevelt announces from the White House that an international commission will investigate war criminals after the war. October 11-12 US ships defeat a Japanese task force in a battle off Cape Esperance, Guadalcanal. October 13 The 164th Infantry Regiment lands on Guadalcanal to reinforce the marines—the first US Army unit to do so. October 18 Hard-hitting Vice Admiral William “Bull” Halsey takes command of the South Pacific Area to make US forces in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea more aggressive. October 18 Responding to incidents of tied-up German POWs being shot, Adolf Hitler orders that Allied special operations men in Europe and Africa be killed on sight. October 23 British forces attack Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps in Egypt to begin the Second Battle of El Alamein. October 23 Convoys leave the US Navy base at Hampton Roads, Virginia, to join the Allied effort in North Africa. October 26 The Japanese take out the US carrier Hornet in the Battle of Santa Cruz, a clash in the continuing struggle for Guadalcanal. A DREAMLINE CARTOGRAPHY/ DAVID DEIS 6 AMERICA IN WWII OCTOBER 2007
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