November 1942, WW2 Pacific

NOVEMBER 1942

El Alamein offensive underway in Egypt
The U.S. has no aircraft carriers in service in the Pacific. Enterprise is repairing at Noumea; Saratoga repairing at Pearl Harbor. Lexington had been sunk at Coral Sea, Yorktown sunk at Midway, Wasp sunk by submarine, Hornet sunk at Santa Cruz.

Nov 1-4. Kokumbona offensive on Guadalcanal.

Nov 2-12. Battle with Japanese landing at Koli Point.

Nov 4 . US troops land at Aola Bay escorted by Callegham's cruisers.
Nov 4 . Rommel starts withdrawal.

Nov 7 . Japanese mass an invasion force at Truk.

Nov 8 . Operation "Torch" : Allies land 110,000 men in North Africa.
Nov 8 . Transports depart Noumea with U.S. 152nd Infantry for Guadalcanal.

Nov 9 . Scott's cruiser force departs Noumea to escort 3 cargo ships.

Nov 10. "End of the beginning" speech by Churchill.
Nov 10. Callegham's cruiser force sails for Guadalcanal with 4 more transports.
Nov 10. U-608 lays mines off New York City.

Nov 11. U.S. transports begin unloading, all three damaged by bombers.
Nov 11. Damaged Enterprise departs repair yard at Noumea with welders still aboard.

Nov 11-12. Cruisers patrol Sealark Channel off Guadalcanal.

Nov 12. Marines consolidate to await big Jap landing attempt.
Nov 12. U.S. lands 6,000 troop convoy on Guadalcanal. San Francisco and Buchanan damaged by bombers.

Nov 13. Tobruk retaken by British.

Nov 12-13. Naval Battle of Guadalcanal begins. Japanese 2 BB, 1CL, and 9 DD attempt to bombard Henderson Field. Meet 5 U.S. cruisers and 8 DD.

Atlanta, Juneau, 5 DD sunk.

2 DD

Nov 13. Japanese battleship Hiei damaged the night before is attacked by aircraft and scuttled.
Nov 13. Japanese convoy of 11 transports and 12 DD delayed by one day.

Nov 13-14. Japanese cruisers bombard Henderson Field.

Nov 14. Enterprise and Henderson aircraft attack cruisers ; heavy cruiser Kingasa sunk. Enterprise planes transfer to Henderson Field as she withdraws.
Nov 14. Jap troop convoy of 11 ships and 12 DD attacked by U.S. aircraft - 7 troopships and 9 destroyer transports sunk.

Nov 14-15. Battleship and destroyer fight to end the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Japan lost battleship Hiei and 2 DDs. U.S. lost 3 destroyers.
Nov 14-15. Surviving 4 Japanese transports beach themselves to unload troops.

Nov 15. 2,000 of 10,000 Japanese troops landed on Guadalcanal, without equipment.

Nov 16. This Marks the end of Japanese advancement in the Pacific. Whereas Midway evened the fight, Guadalcanal put the U.S. on the road to victory.
Took over 2-1/2 more years of hard fighting to convince them to give up.

Nov 17. Allies move in New Guinea towards Buna and Gona.

Nov 18-24. Marines advance to Poho, Guadalcanal.

Nov 19. Marines cut off Japanese on Point Cruz.

Nov 20. Soviet counteroffensive, Battle of Stalingrad begins.

Nov 21. Carlsons raider battalion is fighting deep in Guadalcanal.

Nov 22. Americans fall back at Point Cruz to a stable line.

Nov 23. U-boats sink 729,000 tons of shipping; route chanaged to Persian Gulf.
Nov 23. U.S.Woman's Coast Guard Reserve (SPARS) estabished. (Semper Paratus -- "Always Ready"

Nov 24. Japanese forces land at Munda Point, New Georgia, Solomons.

Nov 25. Japanese submarine I-17 lands 11 tons of supplies at Kamimbo Bay, Guadalcanal. Submarines supply of beleaguered Japanese on Guadalcanal continue through November.

Nov 26. Halsey promoted to full Admiral for winning Naval Battle of Guardalcanal.

Nov 27. French scuttle their warships in Toulon Harbor

Nov 28. "Cocoanut Grove" nightclub fire in Boston, 492 people perish.

Nov 29. USAAF B-17s damage two Japanese destroyers off New Britain. Aircraft from Henderson Field sink 2 Japanese cargo ships off New Georgia.

Nov 30. Battle of Tassafaronga, Japanese supply destroyers sink US cruiser Northampton (CA-26), damage 3 more.

Nov 30. U.S. has 39,400 troops on Guadalcanal ; Japanese have 25,000.

"This is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." - Churchill
< October December >