February 8th, 1942 (SUNDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: The third contingent of Canadian troops arrives in Great Britain
GERMANY: Berlin: Hitler has chosen his architect friend, 36-year-old Albert Speer, to succeed Fritz Todt as minister for armaments and war production. Todt was killed today when his plane crashed on take-off after a visit to the Führer. Speer's task is to increase arms production by 50%; he aims to do so by forcing prisoners of war to work in factories. Before his new appointment he was working on plans for a post-war Berlin worthy of the 1,000-year Reich.
U.S.S.R.: Demyansk: General Kurochkin's troops encircle 90,000 German soldiers of six divisions of the 2nd Armeekorps, as well as a number of auxiliary RAD (Reichs Labour Service), and Organisation TODT units The encircled ('einegekesselt') German units were the: 12th, 30th, 32nd, 123rd, 290th Infantry, and the SS-TK ('Totenkopf') divisions. These encircled units, while considerably weakened by combat attrition, are successfully supplied with adequate amounts of food and munitions by air from the Luftwaffe to ably fend off repeated and unceasing Soviet attacks to reduce the pocket for well over a month of sustained attacks, with heavy casualties on both sides. (Russ Folsom)
SINGAPORE: The Japanese intensify
their artillery bombardment and at about 2230 hours begin landing in force on
the northwestern coast of the island in the Australian sector; in this sector,
three depleted Australian battalions are facing 16 Japanese battalions. The
first two waves of assault craft are almost annihilated, mainly by machine gun
fire, but the third wave manages to land in force and fierce hand-to-hand combat
ensues. Despite opposition at the beaches, the Japanese gain a firm bridgehead
and start toward Tengah airfield, driving a wedge in the Australian line in the
West Area.
COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES:
Lieutenant General HOMMA Masaharu, Commander of the Japanese 14th Army, orders a
general withdrawal northward to more favourable positions where troops can be
rested and reorganized while awaiting reinforcements for the final assault on
Bataan. The Allied I Corps continues their battle to destroy Little and Big
Pockets and completely encircles the latter. The Japanese escape from Little
Pocket through a small gap on the east during the night of the 8-9th. In the
South Sector, resistance on Quinauan Point ends after armed motor launches from
submarine tender USS Canopus (AS-9) neutralize the beaches, then land a party of
the ground echelon of the 21st Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor), which works
inland and meets the Philippine Scouts (PS) pushing toward the beaches. A
company of the 57th Infantry, PS, and a platoon of 37-mm. guns are released at
Quinauan for action against the Japanese in the Anyasan-Silaiim sector. The
Japanese make a final attempt to withdraw their force from southwestern coast by
water and succeed in rescuing 34.
Filipino President Manuel Quezon,
watching his country disintegrate under bombs and occupation, asks President
Franklin D. Roosevelt to grant the
Philippines their independence and declare it a neutral area.
FDR, seeing the absurdity of the idea, gives
General Douglas
MacArthur">
MacArthur, Commanding
General, US Army Forces, Far East, the power to surrender Filipino troops, but
not American. This calls Quezon's bluff.
Privately FDR tells his advisors that the
idea the Japanese would recognize an independent Philippine nation's neutrality
is absurd.
BORNEO: Japanese
troops land at Bandjermasin, a small town in southeast Borneo.
NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES: Nine USAAF 5th Air Force
B-17 Flying Fortresses based at Singosari Airdrome, Java, attempt to bomb
Kendari Airdrome on Celebes. The flight is intercepted by Japanese fighters over
the Java Sea and six B-17s are lost.
Off Makassar City on Celebes Island, the submarine USS S-37 (SS-142)
torpedoes and sinks Japanese destroyer HIJMS Natsushio.
MIDWAY: Japanese submarine HIJMS I-69, which has
been reconnoitring the atoll since 21 January, shells the islands.
NEW ZEALAND: The government announce a potato
shortage, which will continue through 1942.
U.S.A.: The annual
baseball game between major leaguers and prisoners is played at California's
Folsom prison. The game is stopped when it's discovered that two prisoners have
escaped. With the pros leading 24-5 at the end of seven innings, the game ends
and guards go after the two lifers, who are found three hours later.
A congressional committee recommends that all Japanese-Americans on the
west coast be interned in camps located at least 500 miles (805 kilometres)
inland.
ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 1035, the unescorted SS Ocean Venture was hit by one torpedo from U-108 near Cape Hatteras and stopped. The crew abandoned ship after being hit amidships by a coup de grâce, but the vessel remained afloat and sank by the bow following a second coup de grâce at 1116. 29 crewmembers and two gunners were lost. The master and 13 crewmembers were picked up by USS Roe and landed at Norfolk, Virginia. (Jack McKillop and Dave Shirlaw)