alternatehistory.com
The War outside of the Philippines May 1942
May 1942
May 5
Operation Ironclad is launched at Diego Suarez, Madagascar, involving the British carriers Indomitable, Eagle and Hermes, battleships Warspite, Malaya, Nelson and Rodney, and numerous cruisers, destroyers and other escorts.
May 8
A mutiny by Indian soldiers on Cocos Island is put down by troops from Ceylon. It is one of the final sparks that triggers the Quit India protests that are coming.
May 9
Operation Bowery is postponed until June due to a shortage of carriers in the Atlantic. The earlier cancellation of Operation Calender for the same reason has reduced the RAF fighter force on Malta to a token force. The situation in Malta grows increasingly desperate. The battlecruisers Renown and Repulse are removed from escort duty in the Indian Ocean and sent to Alexandria.
The Siege of Malta and the Siege of Corregidor hold the attention of the English Speaking world.
May 12
The Second Battle of Kharkov begins, which by May 28 will result in a shattering Soviet defeat. Italian intelligence confirms that neither the battleships Valiant or Queen Elizabeth are fit for combat and that the Valiant has left the Mediterranean Sea, and that the only British battleships in the Mediterranean is the Duke of York at Gibraltar and the two battlecruisers at Alexandria. The final decision to launch Operation C3 is approved in Rome.
American carriers cover a major convoy to the South Pacific. In the Atlantic, the US Navy organizes a major task force built around the battleships North Carolina and Washington, the carriers Wasp and Ranger, and several cruisers and destroyers under the direct command of Admiral Kimmel, which are assembling in Norfolk.
May 15
A proposed 2nd Washington Conference is moved up to May 30 from its originally scheduled date of June 19.
May 16
The Quit India Movement demonstrations begin but so does violence. Over the next two months protestors attack hundreds of post offices, railway stations, and dozens of government buildings as well as cutting telegraph and telephone lines and damaging railway tracks and bridges. This ties down almost 60 battalions of British and Indian troops to suppress it. Mass arrests begin with the arrest of Gandhi and most of the Congress Party leadership.
May 17
The first ground elements of the US 8th Air Force arrives in England. American engineers are still building airbases in Iceland, Greenland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England.
May 18
Admiral Philips, who has as his Eastern Fleet the battleships Warspite and Malaya, carrier Indomitable, and several cruisers and destroyers finally finds the German raider Thor, and the cruiser Newcastle and aircraft from the Indomitable find and sink her 1,500 miles west of Australia.
May 21
Convoy PQ16 leaves Iceland. It arrives in Murmansk on May 30, less 8 merchant ships lost on the way. Heavy air and submarine attacks plague its journey while the possibility of a German task force built around the Tirpitz with the Admiral Hipper, Admiral Scheer and Lutzow in support keeps the British Home Fleet at sea and unavailable for other operations. The battleships King George V, Prince of Wales, carriers Illustrious and Victorious, numerous cruisers and destroyers are tied down at Scapa Flow or covering the Murmansk convoys.
May 21-25
The bombardment of Malta by air, and the bombardment by artillery and aircraft of Corregidor reaches a crescendo. The last aircraft on Malta are knocked out. Admiral Cunningham assembles a task force at Alexandria to defend Malta in the event of invasion, while Admiral Somerville is waiting for the arrival of the carriers Argus and Furious from England with deckloads of Spitfires for an emergency run to Malta. However those carriers are still days away from Gibraltar.
May 26-28
The Battle of Bir Hakeim begins in North Africa as part of Operation Venice, the planned attack on the British Gazala Line. In the Pacific, the Americans defeat the first amphibious assault on Corregidor while American carriers raid the Japanese held Admiralty Islands, supported by American bombers from Rabaul.
In Europe, the Italians land 70,000 troops on Malta by sea, while Italian/German airborne force of 29,000 troops comes by air. Losses are appallingly high but the Axis troops gain footholds and landing zones. The British respond as Admiral Cunningham takes to sea with his fleet, but very heavy air attacks by Italian and German aircraft out of Crete and Sicily damage many ships and sink the Repulse and Renown. Among the lost is Admiral Cunningham.
May 30
Axis forces secure Malta after the surrender of the survivors of the 30,000 man British garrison.
Maltese civilians examine the rubble of their island after the surrender in May 1942
May 30-31
The RAF conducts a 1,000 plane raid on Cologne, Germany
May 5
Operation Ironclad is launched at Diego Suarez, Madagascar, involving the British carriers Indomitable, Eagle and Hermes, battleships Warspite, Malaya, Nelson and Rodney, and numerous cruisers, destroyers and other escorts.
May 8
A mutiny by Indian soldiers on Cocos Island is put down by troops from Ceylon. It is one of the final sparks that triggers the Quit India protests that are coming.
May 9
Operation Bowery is postponed until June due to a shortage of carriers in the Atlantic. The earlier cancellation of Operation Calender for the same reason has reduced the RAF fighter force on Malta to a token force. The situation in Malta grows increasingly desperate. The battlecruisers Renown and Repulse are removed from escort duty in the Indian Ocean and sent to Alexandria.
The Siege of Malta and the Siege of Corregidor hold the attention of the English Speaking world.
May 12
The Second Battle of Kharkov begins, which by May 28 will result in a shattering Soviet defeat. Italian intelligence confirms that neither the battleships Valiant or Queen Elizabeth are fit for combat and that the Valiant has left the Mediterranean Sea, and that the only British battleships in the Mediterranean is the Duke of York at Gibraltar and the two battlecruisers at Alexandria. The final decision to launch Operation C3 is approved in Rome.
American carriers cover a major convoy to the South Pacific. In the Atlantic, the US Navy organizes a major task force built around the battleships North Carolina and Washington, the carriers Wasp and Ranger, and several cruisers and destroyers under the direct command of Admiral Kimmel, which are assembling in Norfolk.
May 15
A proposed 2nd Washington Conference is moved up to May 30 from its originally scheduled date of June 19.
May 16
The Quit India Movement demonstrations begin but so does violence. Over the next two months protestors attack hundreds of post offices, railway stations, and dozens of government buildings as well as cutting telegraph and telephone lines and damaging railway tracks and bridges. This ties down almost 60 battalions of British and Indian troops to suppress it. Mass arrests begin with the arrest of Gandhi and most of the Congress Party leadership.
May 17
The first ground elements of the US 8th Air Force arrives in England. American engineers are still building airbases in Iceland, Greenland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England.
May 18
Admiral Philips, who has as his Eastern Fleet the battleships Warspite and Malaya, carrier Indomitable, and several cruisers and destroyers finally finds the German raider Thor, and the cruiser Newcastle and aircraft from the Indomitable find and sink her 1,500 miles west of Australia.
May 21
Convoy PQ16 leaves Iceland. It arrives in Murmansk on May 30, less 8 merchant ships lost on the way. Heavy air and submarine attacks plague its journey while the possibility of a German task force built around the Tirpitz with the Admiral Hipper, Admiral Scheer and Lutzow in support keeps the British Home Fleet at sea and unavailable for other operations. The battleships King George V, Prince of Wales, carriers Illustrious and Victorious, numerous cruisers and destroyers are tied down at Scapa Flow or covering the Murmansk convoys.
May 21-25
The bombardment of Malta by air, and the bombardment by artillery and aircraft of Corregidor reaches a crescendo. The last aircraft on Malta are knocked out. Admiral Cunningham assembles a task force at Alexandria to defend Malta in the event of invasion, while Admiral Somerville is waiting for the arrival of the carriers Argus and Furious from England with deckloads of Spitfires for an emergency run to Malta. However those carriers are still days away from Gibraltar.
May 26-28
The Battle of Bir Hakeim begins in North Africa as part of Operation Venice, the planned attack on the British Gazala Line. In the Pacific, the Americans defeat the first amphibious assault on Corregidor while American carriers raid the Japanese held Admiralty Islands, supported by American bombers from Rabaul.
In Europe, the Italians land 70,000 troops on Malta by sea, while Italian/German airborne force of 29,000 troops comes by air. Losses are appallingly high but the Axis troops gain footholds and landing zones. The British respond as Admiral Cunningham takes to sea with his fleet, but very heavy air attacks by Italian and German aircraft out of Crete and Sicily damage many ships and sink the Repulse and Renown. Among the lost is Admiral Cunningham.
May 30
Axis forces secure Malta after the surrender of the survivors of the 30,000 man British garrison.
Maltese civilians examine the rubble of their island after the surrender in May 1942
May 30-31
The RAF conducts a 1,000 plane raid on Cologne, Germany
- galveston bay
- Word Count: 790