World War II Database

• Home
• » Events
• » WW2 Timeline
• » 22 Jan 1942

• American carrier Lexington departed to raid Wake Island. ww2dbase [Lexington (Lexington-class) | CPC]
• Soviet cruiser Molotov was damaged by a storm, causing her to be out of commission until 18 Feb 1942. ww2dbase [Molotov | CPC]
• In the Philippine Islands, an attempted Japanese landing from fishing boats on the west coast of the Bataan Peninsula was wiped out; the Japanese 20th Infantry Regiment would continue to try to gain a foothold. Meanwhile, Douglas MacArthur ordered the Abucay-Mauban defensive line abandoned as the Japanese had penetrated its western end; the troops fell back about 5 miles to the new line from Bagac to Orion. ww2dbase [Invasion of the Philippine Islands | AC]
• The Russians commenced a mass evacuation of civilians from besieged Leningrad across the ice road. By Apr 1942, 440,000 would have been withdrawn from the city. ww2dbase [Siege of Leningrad | AC]
• The Japanese executed 161 Australian, Indian, and Dutch prisoners at Parit Sulong, Malaya, and then burned the bodies. After the war, the officer responsible was sentenced to life imprisonment by the British for earlier crimes committed in Singapore. But in 1950, while he was being transferred to a Japanese prison, Australian authorities "kidnapped" him, took him to Australia, and hanged him for the Parit Sulong massacre. ww2dbase [AC]
• Cut off after destroying ten enemy tanks during the Parit Sulong battle in Malaya, South African-born Australian Colonel Charles Anderson took his men to safety through 15 miles of hostile territory. For his leadership he was awarded the Victoria Cross. ww2dbase [AC]
• German submarine U-123 sank US freighter Norvana off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, United States, killing the entire crew. ww2dbase [Second Happy Time | CPC]
• Two RAF Albacore aircraft from Singapore attacked the Japanese positions at the Parit Sulong bridge in Malaya in an attempt to relieve the Indian and Australian troops being blocked there; failing to break through the Japanese lines, the Allied troops decided to break up to small groups and take the risk of fleeing through the jungle. Nearby, 110 captured Australian and 40 captured Indian troops were executed by the Japanese by machine gunning, bayoneting, beheading, and burning. ww2dbase [Invasion of Malaya and Singapore | CPC]
• To avoid being surrounded, German 9th Army launched an attack on the flank of Soviet 29th Army near Rzhev, Russia. To the north, Soviet 3rd Shock Army came in contact with German 218th Infantry Division at Kholm. ww2dbase [Rzhev-Vyazma Offensive and the Demyansk Pocket | CPC]
• Axis forces captured Antelat, Libya. ww2dbase [Operation Crusader | CPC]
• Italian convoy T18 (transports Ravello, Monviso, Monginevro, Victoria, and Vettor) departed Messina and Taranto in Italy for Tripoli, Libya with 97 tanks, 271 trucks, 11,823 tons of supplies and 1,467 troops aboard; it was escorted by battleship Duilo, 3 cruisers, 14 destroyers, and 2 torpedo boats. ww2dbase [CPC]
• The Canadian government announced its intention to hold a plebiscite on the question of conscription. ww2dbase [AC]

• Akagi's aircraft carried out strikes against Rabaul, New Britain. ww2dbase [Akagi | Rabaul, New Britain | CPC]
• Japanese troops landed on New Ireland, Bismarck Islands and captured Kavieng. At nearby Rabaul, the last surviving Hudson bomber was used to evacuate the wounded airmen from the hospital on Namanula Hill, taking them to Port Moresby, British Territory of Papua. After sunrise, carrier Akagi and Kaga launched aircraft against Rabaul; they attacked two coastal guns at the cost of 2 Type 99 dive bombers. In the late morning, coast watchers at Watom Island spotted a Japanese fleet, which appears on the horizon for the Rabaul defenders by 1200 hours. In the afternoon, Australian troops began to sabotage airfield facilities to prevent Japanese use after capture; when destroying a bomb store, the resulting explosion was much larger than expected, and it killed several natives and the vibration damaged all nearby radios, thus the last message sent out at 1600 hours would become Rabaul's final radio message. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 1, Bismarck Islands | Rabaul, New Britain | CPC]

• Hans-Joachim Marseille was medically discharged from a hospital near Berlin, Germany. ww2dbase [Hans-Joachim Marseille | CPC]

• The 3rd Battalion of the "San Marco" naval infantry regiment of Italian Navy arrived at Agedabia, Libya. ww2dbase [Agedabia, Cyrenaica | CPC]

• Returning from an aborted raid on Borkum, northwestern Germany, a Canadian Hudson aircraft of No. 407 Squadron crashed at RAF Donna Nook in Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom with its bombs still on board. The five-man crew were killed on impact and the exploding bombs killed another eleven RAF ground crew and two soldiers from the local defence force. A further 16 men were injured, some badly. ww2dbase [North Somercotes, England | AC]

• The overhaul of USS S-28 at Mare Island Navy Yard was completed. ww2dbase [S-28 | Mare Island Navy Yard | Vallejo, California | CPC]
• USS Hammann arrived at San Francisco, California, United States. ww2dbase [Hammann | San Francisco, California | CPC]
• USS New Mexico arrived at San Francisco, California, United States. ww2dbase [New Mexico | San Francisco, California | CPC]

22 Jan 1942 Interactive Map