18 Jan 1942

Atlantic Ocean
  • German submarine U-86 sank Greek ship Dimitrios G. Thermiotis off Newfoundland at 0613 hours, killing all 33 aboard. German submarine U-66 sank US tanker Allan Jackson 30 kilometers northeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, United States at 0833 hours, killing 23 of 35 aboard. Also off North Carolina, just to the southwest, U-123 damaged US tanker Malay, killing 5. At 0644 hours, German submarine U-552 sank US ship Frances Salman, killing all 28 aboard. ww2dbase [Second Happy Time | CPC]
Dutch East Indies France Germany
  • German and Italy signed two secret military agreements with Japan in Berlin, Germany, one with the Japanese Army and the other with the Japanese Navy. The two agreement divided the world into two operational zones along the 70th meridian east longitude line, the west of which would be under the operational jurisdiction of Germany and Italy, and east of which of Japan. The agreements also committed the three powers to intelligence sharing. ww2dbase [Berlin | TH, CPC]
Gibraltar
  • British anti-submarine trawler HMS Erin and minesweeping trawler HMS Honjo were destroyed by a mysterious explosion in Gibraltar, which also damaged anti-submarine trawler HMS Imperialist. Spanish saboteurs and Italian frogmen were the main suspects. ww2dbase [CPC]
Hawaii Japan
  • Japanese battleship Mutsu towed the old Italian-built armored cruiser Nisshin as a target ship during battleship Yamato's gunnery trials off Kurahashi Island, Japan. ww2dbase [Yamato | Kurahashi, Hiroshima | CPC]
  • Mutsu towed the old Italian-built armored cruiser Nisshin as a target ship for battleship Yamato's gunnery trials off Kurahashi Island, Japan. ww2dbase [Mutsu | Kurahashi, Hiroshima | CPC]
Malaya
  • Australian troops destroyed 9 Japanese tanks north of Bakri, Malaya at 0645 hours, but by the evening the Japanese were able to get through this area. ww2dbase [Invasion of Malaya and Singapore | Bukit Bakri | CPC]
Pacific Ocean
  • USS Plunger sank Japanese freighter Eizan Maru 23 miles off Honshu, Japan. ww2dbase [Plunger | CPC]
Russia Ukraine
  • Soviet troops attacked across the Donets River in southern Russia and eastern Ukraine, hoping to cut off German forces around the Sea of Azov. ww2dbase [TH]
  • Feldmarschall Fedor von Bock succeeded Walther von Reichenau as the head of German Armeegruppe Süd fighting in Ukraine. ww2dbase [Fedor von Bock | TH]
Photo(s) dated 18 Jan 1942
2 pounder gun of 4th Anti-Tank Regiment of Australian 8th Division on the Muar-Parit Sulong Road, Malaya, 18 Jan 1942; note knocked out Japanese Type 95 Ha-Go tank in distance2 pounder gun of 4th Anti-Tank Regiment of Australian 8th Division and its crew near Muar, Malaya, 18 Jan 1942

18 Jan 1942 Interactive Map

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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Lt. Gen. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, at Guadalcanal


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