PHASE THREE

The Japanese commence their major territorial offensive.

1. The Japanese bomb Pearl Harbour in the American Hawaiian Islands and destroy much of the US Pacific Fleet in one audacious pre-emptive airborne strike.
2. December 7th. The Japanese 25th army lands in Malay (Malaysia) which is part of The British Empire, and produces all the rubber for vehicle tyres.
3. December 8th. Japanese attack the only US colony, the Philippine Islands and destroy the US Far East Air Force.
4. December 8th. Germany and Italy declare war on USA, December 11th.
5. British Hong Kong falls to the Japanese, December 25th.

In January 1942 the Japanese invade and occupy:

1. Singapore which is the Eastern defence centre for the British Empire. British Singapore surrenders on 5th February.
   
2. The American Philippines.
   
3. The Dutch controlled East Indies including Borneo and Sarawak

The Axis alliance mainly, Germany and Japan, is firmly in control.
February 1942 The Japanese are now largely in control of an Empire they have craved for 25 years or more which will provide them with the extra space for their people and the essential raw materials like oil, rubber and rice they dearly need. The Germans likewise are poised to take Moscow but are thwarted by the onset of a particularly harsh Russian winter and further south are heading rapidly towards their objective of the Caucasian oil fields. The British and their Empire supporters are keeping the Germans under Rommel out of Egypt and the Suez Canal and the vital English controlled oil fields in Iran and Iraq. With the help of American convoys and British Radar and valiant navy are keeping themselves from starving in England even as the Germans continuously bomb English cities and torpedo their shipping. Indeed now the English are beginning to fight back with their newly deployed superior 4 engined heavy bombers as they commence on a plan to destroy German arms factories. (Halifax and soon the Lancaster)

The USA is now firmly in the Second World War but their novice forces are under extreme pressure and are retreating from the Japanese aggressor in South East Asia. Churchill has finally persuaded Roosevelt to become an active military ally in all theatres of war but American troops which were unprepared and not trained for active service are still unable to support England against Germany.

1942 A Summary
All through 1942 Britain and their allies are on fighting for their lives and retreating on nearly all fronts.

1. Britain looses Burma to the Japanese and evacuates Rangoon on 7th March. The Japanese now have Malay rubber and Burmese oil and already occupying China only need Australia for much needed coal, steel and uranium and lots of empty space for their expanding population. The Australians who are already supporting their colonial master, England in the Middle and Far East realise that England is not strong enough to come to their aid if Japan attacks their mainland.
   
2. The Americans have lost both their Pacific fleet and their Far East Air Force to the Japanese and have evacuated the Philippines. But Churchill, Prime Minister of England and Hideki Tojo, the prime minister of Japan, know that the Japanese flea had only just tickled the American elephant and it is only time before the huge American car factories would be converted to making military armaments.
   
3. The Russians were also fighting for their land and lives. By mid 1942 the Germans have effectively got the three major Russian cities in their sights, Leningrad (St Petersburg), Moscow and even further east Stalingrad (Volgograd).

The tide turns

However from the middle of 1942 the tide began to turn on all fronts.

1. Battle of Midway 2nd June 1942. The Pacific Islands of Midway are a few hundred miles further west than Hawaii and Pearl Harbour. This was a naval battle between a regrouped US Pacific Fleet and a battle savvy Japanese Fleet, both having aircraft carriers and battleships at their disposal. America wins, loosing one aircraft carrier to 4 Japanese carriers sunk. This is the first major defeat for the Japanese in the Second World War.
   
2. Montgomery (Monty) takes control of the British 8th Army in North Africa (The Desert Rats) on the 15 August 1942. Since Rommel arrived in North Africa in February 1941 the Germans had made steady progress in their quest to take Egypt and the Suez Canal but had not reached either of the Egyptian key cities of Alexandria and Cairo but had taken El Alamein only 100 miles west of Alexandria
   
3. Montgomery defeats the Germans at El Alamein, Egypt, October 1942 and commences pushing them out of Egypt into Libya. This is the first major defeat for Rommel in the Second World War.
   
4. Torch landings in Morocco and Algeria 8th November 1942. This was the name given to the first front line action of the American troops in support of the English against Hitler. It is interesting to note that President Roosevelt had wanted to land straight away in German occupied France (and so did Stalin) but Churchill persuaded the Americans that their army was without combat experience and should attack a softer target. Churchill was right, the American losses in their first “European” campaign were huge even though the main opposition was the Vichy French.

December 1942
Another harsh Russian winter freezes almost to death the German armies destined to attack Leningrad, Moscow and Stalingrad. Being 1000 miles east of Berlin the Luftwaffe cannot help them and they are out of petrol and out of food.

Throughout the whole of 1942, the English and later the US, flying from England, commenced to use their superior heavy bombers to smash German factories as follows;

1. March (‘42) commencement of bombing Germany by the new four engined English designed and built Lancaster bomber.
   
2. April, the English use the Lancaster to carry a huge 8000lb bomb to destroy the factories in Essen Germany.
   
3. May, Cologne in bombed.
   
4. August first raid into Germany by English based American heavy bombers. Boeing B17 Flying Fortress.