This day in the war in the Pacific 65 years ago.

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AUSTRALIA: After reviewing all of the recommendations and cables, the Australian Chiefs of Staff recommend that "if possible, all Australian forces now under order to transfer to the Far East from the Middle East should be diverted to Australia."

EAST INDIES: The withdrawal of British personnel and operational aircraft from Sumatra to Java is completed; much equipment is left behind at
Oesthaven.
At sunrise on Radjik Beach on Banka Island, there are nearly 100 people, including children and wounded, survivors of the sinking of the small freighter SS Vyner Brooke on 14 February. An officer from the ship explains that since there is no food, no help for the injured and no
chance of escape, they should give themselves up to the Japanese. He agrees to walk to Muntok, a town on the northwest of the island, and contact the Japanese. While he is away Matron Irene Drummond, the most senior of 22 Australian nurses on the beach, suggests that the civilian
women and children should start off walking towards Muntok. At mid-morning the ship's officer returns with about 20 Japanese soldiers. Having separated the men from the women prisoners, the Japanese divide the men
into two groups, and march them along the beach and behind a headland. The nurses hear a quick succession of shots before the Japanese soldiers return, sit down in front of the women and clean their bayonets and rifles. A Japanese officer, smaller and more "nattily" dressed than
his men, instructs the nurses to walk from the palm-fringed beach into the sea until they are waist deep in the waves. A couple of soldiers shove those who are slow to respond. Twenty-two nurses and one civilian woman walk into the waves, leaving ten or twelve stretcher cases on the
beach. Fully aware of their fate, the nurses put on a brave face. Their matron, Irene Drummond, calls out: "Chin up, girls. I'm proud of you and I love you all." At that point the Japanese fire. One of the nurses, Vivian Bullwinkel, later describes what happens next: they "started firing up and down the line with a machine gun. ... They just swept
up and down the line and the girls fell one after the other. I was towards the end of the line and a bullet got me in the left loin and went straight through and came out towards the front. The force of it knocked me over into the water and there I lay. I did not lose consciousness. The waves brought me back on to the edge of the water. I lay there
ten minutes and everything seemed quiet. I sat up and looked around and there was no sign of anybody. Then I got up and went up in the jungle and lay down and either slept or was unconscious for a couple of days."
After shooting the nurses, the Japanese bayonet the wounded; over 80 people are killed on the beach that day. Of the 65 Australian nurses aboard the SS Vyner Brooke, 12 are presumed drowned, 21 are shot and killed, 31 had landed on different parts of the island and survived and Nurse Bullwinkel, who survived the massacre, is captured ten days later and survives the war as a POW.

Japan: Japanese Prime Minister Tojo speaks to the Japanese Diet. He speaks of "a new order of co-existance and co-prosperity on ethical principles in Greater East Asia."

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: On Bataan, the I Corps reduces the salient in the main line of resistance to an area 75 by 100 yards (69 by 91 meters).
In the South Sector, Japanese remnants from Salaiim Point, attempting to escape northward, are detected about 7 miles (11 kilometers) from the point and destroyed in two-day fight. In the Manila Bay area, the Japanese destroy a section of pipeline on the Cavite shore through which Fort
Frank on Carabao Island receives fresh water. A distillation plant is put into operation at Fort Frank.

Singapore: The Japanese flag is hoisted above the former British governor's residence in Singapore.

TIMOR SEA: Japanese planes bomb the U.S. Timor bound convoy, escorted by heavy cruiser USS Houston (CA-30) and destroyer USS Peary (DD-226); U.S. Army transport USAT Miegs and a U.S. freighter are damaged by near-misses. On board the latter, one crewman is killed; of the 500 troops embarked, one is killed and 18 wounded. USS Houston's heavy antiaircraft fire saves the convoy from destruction, but the imminent fall of Timor results in the recall of the convoy and its routing back to Darwin,
Northern Territory, Australia.

USA: The US Navy launches a new battleship, the USS Alabama.

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ALASKA (11th Air Force): Colonel Lidnel R Dunlap arrives from the ZI and becomes Commanding Officer of the 11th Air Force.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): The air echeon of the 88th Reconnaissance Squadron (Heavy), 7th Bombardment Group (Heavy), departs Nandi Airport, Fiji from Australia with B-17's. The ground echelon is enroute Australia to India.

USN - The Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet authorized removal of athwartships hangar deck catapults from Wasp, Yorktown, Enterprise, and Hornet.

AUSTRALIA: The Australian Prime Minister, John Curtin, cables British and New Zealand government officials requesting that all Australian troops then in transit or about to sail for the East Indies be diverted to Australia, and that the 9th Division and other Australian Imperial Force units in the Middle East be recalled at an early date.

BURMA: The Japanese maintain pressure against the Indian 17th Division along the Bilin River and continue outflanking attempts.

EAST INDIES: Eight USAAF 5th Air Force P-40s stage through Batavia Airdrome on Java to mount a low-level bombing and strafing attack against Japanese shipping at Palembang, Sumatra. The P-40s are attacked by
Japanese fighters before they reach the target and the pilots of five aircraft jettison their bombs to defend themselves. The P-40 pilots claim five Japanese aircraft and three of the P-40 pilots are able to release their bombs among a group of landing barges. No P-40s are lost.
On Sumatra, about 2,500 RAF airmen, 1,890 British troops, 700 Dutch soldiers and some 1,000 civilian refugees had embarked in twelve various sized vessels at Oosthaven and escape the island.

JAPAN: Off Japan, the submarine USS Triton (SS-201) torpedoes and sinks Japanese gunboat No. 5 Shin'yo Maru off Nagasaki.

MIDDLE EAST: General Sir Claude Auchinleck, Commander in Chief Middle East Command, is ordered to release two more divisions for action in the Far East, the British 70th and the Australian 9th. The Australian 9th Division is subsequently allowed to remain in Middle East.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: On Bataan, the I Corps completely restores the main line of resistance without opposition as the Japanese continues to withdraw.

SINGAPORE: Singapore is renamed Shonan [Light of the South] by the Japanese.

SOCIETY ISLANDS: In the Society Islands which are located in the western portion of French Polynesia, Task Force 5614 with almost 5,000 troops arrives at Borabora Island. This force consists of the 102d Infantry Regiment (minus the 3d Battalion), the 198th Coast Artillery
Regiment (Antiaircraft) and the Bobcat Detachment of the First Naval Construction Battalion. This is the first operational deployment of the Seabees. Borabora is to be used as a refueling base to support the Southern
Lifeline to Australia.

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Today is the 65th anniversary of the naval Battle of the Badung Straight. A Japanese victory anyway you look at it. Again the ABDA is plagued by bad luck!

BALI: During the day a small Japanese Navy convoy under
Rear-Admiral Kubo Kyuji flying his flag on the light cruiser Nagara, with seven destroyers (Hatsushimo, Nenohi, Wakaba, Asashio, Oshio, Arashio, and Michishio), escorted the transports Sasego Maru and Sagami Maru to Bali, where they landed one reinforced battalion of IJA troops
to capture seize the airfield there.
Throughout the day Kubo's force was subjected to a large number of air attacks by US and Dutch aircraft. However, despite glowing reports of damage, only one hit was scored on Sagami Maru, temporarily disabling her engines. As dusk approached, Kubo began withdrawing his force in
three elements. His flagship, with Hatsushimo, Nenohi, and Wakaba sortieed immediately. Sasego Maru, escorted by Arashio and Michishio followed some time later at a much slower speed, while Sagami Maru, under the protective eyes of Oshio and Asashio would leave as soon as temporary repairs were completed. When the Japanese convoy force had been sighted on 17 February by ABDA search planes, the sighting could not have come at a worse
time.
The Allied warships of ABDA's Combined Striking Force had just returned from a sortie and had been forced to separate to several Dutch ports for fuel and maintenance. None the less, Eskadercommandant Karel Willem Frederick Marie Doorman, KM immediately issued orders for all of his
available ships to sortie. His hastily worked out plan was to see a sustained attack in three waves. First, in would be Doorman's main force, consisting of the Dutch light cruisers De Ruyter and Java and three destroyers, the Dutch Piet Hein along with USS Pope and USS John D. Ford.
The second wave would be composed of four American Destroyers, USS Stewart, USS Parrott, USS John D. Edwards, and USS Pillsbury supported by the Dutch light cruiser Tromp.
The third wave was composed of seven Dutch motor torpedo boats, TM-4, TM-5, TM-7, TM-9, TM-10, TM-11, and TM-12. Doorman hoped for great things as, for the first time in the campaign, the Allied forces would be numerically and qualitatively superior to the Japanese.
In the event, the Battle of Badung Strait could not have gone much worse. By 2220,when Doorman arrived, the only Japanese ships in the immediate area were the damaged Sagami Maru, and her two escorts. In a very confusing action, the Dutch cruisers steamed merrily through the strait seeing little, only Java engaging, albeit briefly. However, his trailing destroyers found themselves in a regular brawl form which only two emerged, Piet Hein being disabled by gunfire and then sunk by a torpedo from Asashio. meanwhile, the other Japanese forces turned
about to offer support to their colleagues. Following in roughly two hours later the US destroyers, supported by Tromp, found themselves in an old fashioned gunfight, first with Asashio and Oshio, and then with Michishio and Arashio.
Again, the results did not favor the Allies. Tromp, battered by 18 shells by the time the action was over, would have to
leave the campaign for Australian dockyard at Sydney. However, the US destroyers earned some measure of revenge, knocking about Oshio and plastering Michishio, which which went dead in the water with her entire
powerplant "hors de combat". She had to suffer the indignity of being towed home and was not fully repaired until October.
The finishing touches on this less than spectacular affair were applied by the Ducth MTBs, which sailed straight through the center of the Strait without seeing a thing! Thus ended the Combined Striking Force's best opportunity to inflict some real damage on the Japanese Navy.

BURMA: Japanese forces cross the Bilin river, and Britain
orders Rangoon, Burma to be evacuated.

AUSTRALIA: U.S. Major General George H. Brett, acting in his capacity as deputy commander of the ABDA Command,
cables the U.S. War Department with his assessment that the only way to save Java is to mount an immediate ground and air offensive in Burma and China. Therefore, he orders Major General Lewis H. Brereton, Commanding General USAAF 5th Air Force, to travel to India to oversee the
building of an air force there. Brett also advises that an American buildup in Australia should be implemented at once.

EAST INDIES: A British volunteer party from Batavia, Java, sails to Oosthaven, Sumatra, retrieved valuable aircraft spares and technical stores and destroyed what was left, including the harbor facilities without interference from the Japanese.
The air echelon of the USAAF 5th Air Force' 91st Bombardment Squadron (Light), begins operating from Malang, Java, with A-24 Dauntlesses; the ground echelon is on Bataan, Luzon, Philippine Islands.
Against the wishes of Lieutenant General John Lavarack, General Officer Commanding I Australian Corps, General Archibald Wavell, Commander in Chief ABDA Command, orders the Australian Imperial Force troops on the fast passenger liner SS Orcades to disembark at Batavia, Java. The next day, Wavell informs Australian Prime
Minister John Curtin that these troops are need for airfield defense and are being disembarked.
USAAF 5th Air Force P-40 pilots attack nine Japanese bombers over Soerabaja, Java, shooting down six of the bombers for the loss of one P-40. Three Japanese fighters are also shot down in separate engagements
over Soerabaja.

SINGAPORE: British and Australian POWs are forced to sweep the streets, while Japanese newsreel cameras roll, showing Western weakness. Singapore is re-named "Shonan," meaning "Bright South," and Japanese troops
start removing British statues, signs, and memorials.

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AUSTRALIA: Carrier planes from Japanese carriers raid Darwin, Australia.
The attack was carried out by 188 aircraft - 36 fighters, 71
level bombers and 81 dive bombers from KAGA, AKAGI, HIRYU and SORYU. This was equivalent to the force that attacked Pearl Harbor.
A second attack was carried out by 54 medium bombers from Kendari in the Celebes. The attack began just before 1000 when fighters strafed the ships in the harbour and shot down the few defending American fighters. The level bombers followed, concentrating on the port and town while dive bombers attacked the ships. In ten minutes Darwin ceased to be an operational port.
The wharf was destroyed and the merchant vessels NEPTUNA and BAROSSA damaged. The destroyer USS PEARY was caught running for the open sea, her magazines exploded and she sank with heavy loss of life, her guns
still in action. The US transports MEIGS and MAUNA LOA were sunk as was the tanker BRITISH MOTORIST and the Australian transport ZEALANDIA. Transports PORTMAR and TULAGI were holed and beached. An attack by dive bombers on the wharf hit NEPTUNA again and her cargo of depth charges exploded, shaking the town and killing 45.
BAROSSA was burnt out and beached. The RAN vessels in the harbour fought back desperately but only the sloops SWAN and WARREGO possessed anything like an adequate AA armament. Especially vulnerable was the corvette KATOOMBA sitting high and dry in a floating dry dock. She forced at least one attacker to turn away. The depot ship PLATYPUS was damaged by near misses which sank the
lugger MAVIE alongside. Strafing aircraft caused fatal casualties on the boom defence vessels KARA KARA and KANGAROO and the auxiliary GUNBAR.
The hospital ship MANUNDA, despite her clear markings, was bombed and heavily damaged with 12 dead and 58 wounded.
North of Darwin two merchant vessels, DON ISIDRO and FLORENCE B, were destroyed. There was also heavy damage and loss of life in the town and at the airfield.
The medium bombers attacked at midday concentrating on the airfield and causing further damage.
The attack was considered then, and many Australians still
believe, to presage a Japanese attack on Australia. It was however simply intended to neutralise Darwin as a base from where Allied forces might operate against the Japanese invasion of the Eastern Netherlands Indies. In
this it was outstandingly successful.
Just to amplify Ric's informative post: The four Japanese carriers launched 189 aircraft and the attack began
at approximately 0910 hours. The attacking force consisted of: 81 Nakajima B5N2, Navy Type 97 Carrier Attack Bombers, Allied Code Name "Kate," 73 Aichi D3A1, Navy Type 99 Carrier Bombers, Allied Code Name "Val," and 36 Mitsubishi A6M2, Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighters, Allied
Code Name "Zeke."
The medium bombers are Mitsubishi G4M1 Navy Type 1 Attack Bombers, Allied Code Name Betty.
Additional U.S. ships involved were: The seaplane tender (destroyer) USS William B. Preston (AVD-7) which is damaged. The freighter SS Portmar which is damaged and beached. The freighter SS Admiral Halstead with a cargo of drummed gasoline, is damaged. The freighter SS Florence D., under charter to the US Army and carrying a cargo of ammunition, rescues the 8-man crew of a Patrol Squadron Twenty Two (VP-22) PBY off the north coast of Australia. The ship is later attacked and sunk by Japanese carrier based aircraft; the survivors are rescued by the minesweeper HMAS Warrnambool and the mission boat
St. Francis. The Philippine motorship MS Don Isidro, which was chartered by the US Army to run supplies to Corregidor, is sunk off the NW coast of Bathurst Island and the survivors are also rescued by the minesweeper HMAS
Warrnambool.

BURMA: The Indian 17th Division continues to defend the Bilin River line throughout the day but is ordered to fall back after dark. Mandalay receives its first enemy air attack.

CANADA: The Canadian Parliament votes to introduce military conscription.

NEI: In the Netherlands East Indies, Japanese forces land on Bali. As the Japanese Bali occupation force under Rear Admiral Kubo Kyuji retires, a naval battle ensues as an Allied naval force consisting of three cruisers and accompanying destroyers under Rear Admiral Karel W.F.M.
Doorman, Royal Netherlands Navy (RNN), attacks in Badoeng Strait. The USN destroyer USS Stewart (DD-224) is damaged by gunfire from IJN destroyers HIJMS Oshio and HIJMS Asashio. The RNN destroyer HNMS Piet Hien is sunk; 30 of her survivors find a motor whaleboat jettisoned by USN destroyer USS John D. Ford (DD-22 and proceed unaided to Java. RNN light cruisers HNMS Java and HNMS Tromp are damaged by Japanese gunfire while IJN
destroyers HIJMS Ushio and HIJMS Michisio are damaged by Allied gunfire.
USAAF A-24 Dauntlesses, with P-40 escort, and B-17 Flying
Fortresses operating out of Malang, Madioen, and Jogjakarta Airfields, Java, attack vessels landing troops on Bali; the attacks, carried out during the afternoon of 19 February and throughout the morning of 20 February,
claim considerable damage to vessels but fail to halt the landings; P-40s, based at Singosari Airfield on Java, shoot down or turn back several bombers sweeping west over Java. The loss of Denpasar Airfield on Bali, which the Japanese begin using immediately, completes the Japanese encirclement of Java.

PACIFIC: In the central Pacific, USN Aviation Chief Machinist's Mate Harold F. Dixon (Naval Aviation Pilot) and his two-man crew of a TBD Devastator of Torpedo Squadron Six (VT-6), whose plane ditched due to fuel exhaustion on 16 January, reach the Danger Islands in the Western
Northern Cook Islands having spent 34 days at sea in their rubber boat. Dixon was flying TBD-1 Bu.Aer. 0355 coded T-14. His crew was Anthony J. Pastula, AOM2c and Gene D. Aldrich, RM3c. They have subsisted on occasional fish speared with a pocket knife, two birds, and rain water.
While the straight line distance traveled measures 450 miles , the estimated track is approximately 1,200 miles. Dixon is awarded the Navy Cross for heroism, leadership,
and resourcefulness.

U.S.: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066, authorizing the removal of any or all people from military areas "as deemed necessary or desirable." The military in turn defines the entire West Coast, home to the majority of Americans of Japanese ancestry or citizenship, as a military area. By June, more than 110,000 Japanese
Americans were relocated to remote internment camps built by the U.S. military in scattered locations around the country. For the next two and a half years, many of these Japanese Americans endured extremely difficult living
conditions and poor treatment by their military guards.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower is appointed as Chief of the War Plans Division for the US Army.

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PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, 7th Air Force): 19th Pursuit Squadron, 18th Pursuit Group, transfers from Wheeler Field to Bellows Field, Territory of Hawaii wtih P-40's.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): Air echelon of 17th Bombardment Squadron, 27th Bombardment Group, begins a movement from Brisbane to Batchelor with A-24s. Ground echelon is on Bataan. Detachment of the 22d Bombardment Squadron and air echelon of 88th Reconnaissance Squadron (Heavy), 7th Bombardment Group (Heavy), arrive at Townsville from Fiji with B-17's. The detachment of the 22d is under control of the USN. Ground echelon of the 22d is at Jogjakarta, Java; ground echelon of 88th is enroute from Australia to India.

AUSTRALIA: A massive aerial onslaught by a Japanese naval task force
yesterday shattered the northern Australian port of Darwin. Some of
the 188 attacking aircraft were from four of the aircraft carriers that
took part in the Pearl Harbor raid, plus land-based bombers operating
from Celebes. The raid has temporarily wrecked Darwin's war potential and
has sunk many ships, including the USS PEARY, and killed 243 people.
There was chaos and a little panic when the enemy action was
interpreted as the prelude to an invasion. But this was clearly not the aim of the Japanese, whose apparent intention was to shatter the morale of
Australia, which is fast becoming a rallying point against Japan's expansion.
In the wake of the Japanese carrier strike the day before, Darwin,
Northern Territory, is abandoned as an Allied naval base. RAF and
USAAF air operations from the field outside the port, however, will
continue.

BISMARK ISLANDS, NEW BRITAIN: The carrier, USS Lexington attacks
Rabaul, New Britian.Note: While she tried to attack Rabaul, she encountered aerial resistance and abandoned the attempt.
Amplifying the above:Task Force 11 (TF 11) built around USS Lexington (CV-2), with Carrier Air Group Three (CVG-3) aboard, is attacked by Japanese Navy land-based aircraft as it approaces Rabaul on New Britain Island.
Because of these attacks, the proposed mission against Rabaul is canceled and TF11 begins withdrawing. Fighting Squadron Three (VF-3), equipped with
Grumman F4F Wildcats, has a busy day:
Between 1112 and 1202 hours, VF-3 pilots shoot down two four-engined patrol bombers.
At approximately 1700 hours, VF-3 pilots intercept nine Mitsubishi G4M Navy Type 1 Attack Bombers, Allied Code Name "Betty," approaching the Lexington and shoot down four of them.
The remaining five miss the carrier and flee. As the F4Fs chase the "Bettys," another nine-plane element attacks the Lexington. Airborne at this time is Lt.(jg) Edward H. "Butch" O'Hare and he proceeds to shoot down five of the Bettys, and possibly a sixth, over Bougainville Island in the Solomons between 1705 and 1730 hours becoming the US's first ace-in-a-day. O'Hare is subsequently awarded the Medal of Honor for this action.
Other "Bettys" also attack and eight of nine are shot down by VF-3 pilots and the rear gunner in a Scouting Squadron Two (VS-2) Douglas SBD Dauntless. US casualties are two F4Fs and one pilot.
Although the US raid on Rabaul is canceled, the loss of so many
Japanese aircraft forces them to postpone the seizure of several
positions in New Guinea.

BURMA: The Indian 17th Division begins withdrawal behind the Sittang
River, the 48th Brigade leading.

Netherlands East Indies: Early in the morning, Japanese aircraft of
the Tainan Air Group land at the intact den Passar Airfield on Bali and
begin operations.
The Japanese land at Dili in Portugese (East) Timor during the
night of the 18-19th. In December 1941, 155 Australian troops of the
of the 2/2 Independent Company and 260 Dutch troops had landed at Dili.
One Australian platoon was at Dili Airfield. By daylight, the Japanese
had occupied part of the airfield and forced the Australians to
retreat. In one incident four Australian prisoners had been forced to march
some distance with their hands tied behind their backs, pushed into a
drainage ditch beside the road and shot. Three were killed and when the survivor moved he was bayoneted. When he again regained
conscientiousness, he found his hands free and wristwatch gone. He crawled away and was found by local natives who returned him to Australian lines.
The Japanese also landed at Koepang in Dutch (West Timor) in the
early morning. The Australian Imperial Force 2/40th Battalion and a
coast artillery battery had been deployed to West Timor in December
to defend the Bay of Koepang and Penfoie Airdrome. Japanese aircraft
attacked Penfui Airfield and then dropped paratroopers of the Yokosuka 3rd
Special Naval Landing Force to capture it. Again, the Japanese
outnumbered the Allied forces and overwhelmed them.
On Java, three Australian battalions, designated "Blackforce, "
are tasked with defending five airfields. The destroyer USS Stewart
(DD-224), damaged by shellfire in the Battle of Badoeng Strait the
previous night, suffers further damage when, improperly shored and placed on blocks, she rolls on her port side in a Dutch floating drydock at
Surabaya. During the morning, USAAF 5th Air Force aircraft based in Java attack the Japanese transports landing troops on Bali. B-17 Flying Fortresses attack in three waves and 17 A-24 Dauntlesses, escorted by 16 P-40s, attack six ships in Lombok Strait; they claim five hits on a cruiser (there were none) with the loss of two A-24s. Two P-40s are also shot down and three others are lost when they run out of fuel or crashing on landing. Late in the morning, five Japanese fighters based on den Pasar Airdrome on Bali attack Singosari Airdrome on Java and destroy three of five B-17s waiting to takeoff.
Off Bali, contact was made with two Japanese destroyers and a
transport just past midnight on 19-20 by ABDA naval forces including
the destroyers USS Parrott (DD-21 and the Piet Hein. The ensuing fight,
left the Dutch destroyer Piet Hein at the bottom of the sea and the
Japanese destroyer Michishio dead in the water. The USS Parrott
struck ground in the treacherous shoal water, but was able to churn herself free and retire with the rest of the force to Surabaya.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: In the Manila Bay area, the Japanese artillery
bombardment of fortified islands reaches peak intensity.
The submarine USS Swordfish (SS-193) embarks Philippine President
Manuel Quezon, his wife and two children, Vice President Sergio Osmea,
and other Philippine government officials off Mariveles.
Quezon was carried to Mindanao and attempted to remain in the
Philippines. MacArthur quietly arranged for him to be kept under
close escort as he did not trust Quezon not to try to cut a deal for
neutralization of the Philippines with the Japanese. Quezon and Osmea were eventually carried to Australia and thence to the US. Quezon died in the US but Osmea went ashore at Leyte and resumed his duties as Philippine President as the US cleared the Archipelago.
Quezon's reluctance in 1942 to leave the Philippines might have
resulted from the knowledge that he was dying from tuberculosis and
that he would have preferred to die in the Philippines.

U.S.: The Combined Chiefs of Staff announces that Allied forces on
Java will not be evacuated under any circumstances.

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AUSTRALIA: After the government confirmed its decision that all
Australian Imperial Force troops should be returned to Australia
instead of serving in Java, Lieutenant General Vernon Sturdee, Chief of the
Australian General Staff, cables General Sir Archibald Wavell, ABDA Command,
that Lieutenant General John Lavarack, General Officer Commanding I Australian Corps, and his staff should be evacuated from Java as soon as possible. Sturdee also urges Wavell to evacuate the Australian troops that disembarked from the SS Orcades at Batavia, Java, on 18 February.

BURMA: Burma is removed from the jurisdiction of the ABDA Command.
The British 7th Armoured Brigade arrives at Rangoon from the Middle East
and is soon committed on the Pegu front. The Indian 17th Division
continues toward Sittang bridge near Mokpalin with the Japanese in
close pursuit.
American Volunteer Group "The Flying Tigers" and RAF
pilots mistakenly attack a column of Indian troops northeast of
Rangoon, killing 160 and destroying or damaging scores of vehicles.

EAST CHINA SEA: The submarine USS Triton (SS-201) sinks a Japanese
merchant cargo vessel 60 miles (97 kilometers) south of Quelpart Island.

EAST INDIES: Major General George H Brett, Deputy Commanding General
ABDA Command informs the U.S. War Department of his decision to evacuate
the USAAF 5th Air Force and other US troops from Java.
On Java, USAAF 5th Air Force bombers based in Java bases fly about
20 strikes, usually in two and three aircraft elements, against shipping in the Java Sea and against targets on Bali from this date through 1 March. Eleven strikes are complete failures; the remainder, although causing some damage to vessels and airfield facilities, fail to deter the invasion of Java.
During the morning, USAAF 5th Air Force P-40 pilots shoot down five Mitsubishi A6M, Carrier Fighters
On Java, General Archibald Wavell, Commander in Chief ABDA Command, warns British Prime Minister Winston Churchill that the Japanese will soon complete the conquest of the Netherlands East Indies and capture nearly 100,000 Dutch, British, Australian and U. S. troops.
On Dutch West Timor, the Australians begin an attack on the village of Babau at 0530 hours; by the end of the day, the Australian have occupied it.

INDIA: Chiang Kai-shek makes a broadcast asking the people to
support China and the Allies in their war against Japan.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A lull settles over the entire front on Bataan as
both sides dig in and prepare for further action. The Japanese have
completed their withdrawal from I Corps area; diversionary forces
employed against II Corps are ordered back to the Balanga area.
The U.S. War Department orders General Douglas MacArthur, Commanding General U.S. Army Forces, Far East (USAFFE), to move his headquarters to Mindanao Island and then go to Australia to take command of Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific. MacArthur threatens to resign his commission and join the Bataan defense forces as a volunteer, but his advisers talk him out of it.
The blockade runner Elcano brings 1,000 tons of food to Corregidor. This is enough to feed Bataan for four days.

THAILAND: During the early afternoon, pilots of the 1st Fighter
Squadron, "The Flying Tigers" attack Tak Airdrome at Rahaeng and destroy two bombers and a fighter.

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AUSTRALIA: Five Allied ships leave Fremantle, Western Australia, with
69 USAAF P-40s, motor vehicles and U.S. Army troops destined for India.
Two ships of the convoy are the seaplane tender USS Langley (AV-3, ex
CV-1), carrying 32 assembled P-40s, and the merchant ship SS Sea Witch, carrying 27 crated fighters; these two ships are destined for Tjilatjap, Java.
The Australian Prime Minister, John Curtin, blocks Churchill's plan to send Australian troops to Burma.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): Air echelon of 17th Bombardment Squadron, 27th Bombardment Group, arrives at Batchelor from Brisbane, Australia with A-24s. Ground echelon is on Bataan.

BURMA: The Japanese open a strong attacks against two brigades of the
Indian 17th Division east of the Sittang River in the Mokpalin area before a withdrawal through the Sittang bridge bottleneck can be accomplished. In a murderous, daylong fight, the Gurkhas hold the bridge, allowing other Allied units to escape to the river's west bank. The Sitting River is the last barrier before Rangoon.

EAST INDIES: On Java, Japanese aircraft destroy five USAAF 5th Air
Force bombers on the ground, four B-17 Flying Fortresses at Pasirian
Airdrome and an LB-30 Liberator at Jogjakarta Airdrome.
On Bali, 5th Air Force bombers attack de Pasar Airdrome and destroy Japanese aircraft on the ground.

MALAYSIA: Parit Sulong: About 145 Australian troops, trapped by a
Japanese roadblock trying to break through swamp and jungle to reach
British lines. Before setting off, they leave their wounded at the roadside,
"lying huddled around trees, smoking calmly, unafraid."The Japanese
capture the men and shoot them. More and more still...."

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: Submarine USS Swordfish (SS-193) disembarks
Philippine President Manuel Quezon and his party at San Jose, Panay,
to continue their journey out of the archipelago.
U.S.: President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders General Douglas MacArthur, Commanding General U.S. Army Forces, Far East (USAFFE), to leave
the Philippines.

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AUSTRALIA: Major General Lewis H Brereton, Commanding General USAAF 5th Air Force, departs for India after issuing an order terminating HQ 5th Air Force. Until 3 September 1942, units of the 5th Air Force will be initially under control of the ABDA Command and later the Allied Air Forces.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Six USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress fly their first mission against Rabaul on New Britain Island. Operating out of Townsville, Queensland, Australia, the force suffers mechanical trouble and runs into bad weather and only one B-17 manages to bomb the target. After this mission, the 12 B-17s at Townsville are placed under the operational control of the RAAF.

BURMA: Violent fighting for the Sittang River bridgehead continues. The Indian 17th Division destroys Sittang bridge at 0530 hour to prevent the Japanese from using it, although the 16th and 46th Brigades are still east of the river. Remnants of these brigades eventually cross in small craft or by swimming but all of their heavy equipment is lost. The battle of the Sittang bridgehead is disastrous for the Indian 17th Division; they can only muster 80 officers and 3,404 enlisted men, of whom only 1,420 still have their rifles and the 46th Brigade must be broken up to provide replacements.
In Rangoon, British authorities move to push supplies up to China or destroy them on the spot to prevent the Japanese from seizing them. Exploding fuel tanks and ammunition dumps tell yet another story of Allied failure against the Japanese. The British send the 7th Armoured Brigade to Rangoon to try and restore the situation.

EAST INDIES: The Japanese report that the conquest of Ambon Island is complete.
On Dutch West Timor, the Australian 2/40th Battalion surrenders to the Japanese after four days of fighting. The battalion had run out of food and water and 132 men were ill or seriously wounded.
On Portuguese East Timor, the Australian 2/2 Independent Company begins to reorganize and deploy as a guerilla force. This guerilla warfare continued until January 1943.
On Java, Allied forces begin an evacuation of the island. Major General George H. Brett, deputy commander of the ABDA Command, flies from Java, which is in imminent danger, to Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

U.K.: Prime Minister Winston Churchill informs Australian Prime Minister John Curtin that the convoy carrying the Australian 6th and 7th Divisions will proceed to Australian after refueling at Colombo, Ceylon.

USA: The Japanese submarine I-17 bombards an oil refinery in Santa
Barbara, U.S.: Japanese submarine HIJMS I-17 fires 25 rounds of 5.5-inch (14
cm) shells from a range of 2,500 yards (2286 meters) at the Bankline Oil
Refinery at Ellwood, California, 12 miles (19 kilometers) west of Santa Barbara. One shell makes a direct hit of the rigging causing minor damage.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt was giving a fireside radio chat to the nation at the time of the attack above; the purpose was to calm fears that the attack on Pearl Harbor has left the country defenseless.
Quoting Revolutionary War firebrand Thomas Paine, he says "these are the times that try men's souls," and adds "tyranny, like hell is not easily conquered."
Three days ago, the Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) announced that no Allied forces would be evacuated from Java. Today, the CCS orders General Sir Archibald Wavell, Command in Chief ABDA Command, to move his headquarters from Java to Australia.
A Master Mutual Aid Agreement is signed between Australia, New Zealand, the U.K. and the U.S.
The USN's Bureau of Aeronautics outlines a comprehensive program which became the basis for the wartime expansion of pilot training. In place of the existing seven months course, the new program required 11 months for pilots of single or twin-engine aircraft and 12 months for four-engine pilots, and is divided into three months at Induction Centers, three months in Primary, three months in Intermediate and two or three months in Operational Training, depending on the type aircraft used.

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AUSTRALIA: U.S. Major General Lewis Brereton and his staff depart Melbourne, Victoria, for India aboard two heavy bombers. Brereton will command the 10th Air Force in India.

EAST INDIES: The evacuation of Java continues with all USAAF heavy bombers ordered to fly to Australia or other bases within range.
Japanese aircraft attack the advance depot at Bandoeng and destroy three USAAF B-17 Flying Fortresses on the ground.
The first definite indication that the Japanese invasion of Java is imminent is a report, received today, of a large fleet of enemy transports with a strong escort, heading southward in the Strait of Makassar.

HAWAII: The Japanese submarine HIJMS I-9 launches a Yokosuka E14Y1, Navy Type 0 Small Reconnaissance Seaplane, to reconnoiter Pearl Harbor.

INDIA: Major General Joseph Stilwell, Commanding General American Army Forces, China, Burma, and India, arrives at Karachi from the U.S.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: The submarine USS Swordfish (SS-193) embarks U.S. High Commissioner to the Philippine Islands Francis B. Sayre and his party of 12, plus five sailors, off Manila Bay. Their original destination is Surabaya, Java, but because of the deteriorating situation on Java, they are taken to Fremantle, Western Australia.

U.S.: The Voice of America shortwave radio station broadcasts for the first time with the words, "The Voice of America speaks. ... we shall speak to you about America and the war. The news may be good or bad, but we shall tell you the truth." Its first programs are in German.
The USN's Bureau of Aeronautics issues a contract for television equipment, including camera, transmitter, and receiver, that is capable of airborne operation. Such equipment promises to be useful both in transmitting instrument readings obtained from radio-controlled
structural flight tests, and in providing target and guidance information necessary should radio-controlled aircraft be converted to offensive weapons.
The US gun manufacturers stop production of 12 gauge shotguns for civilian consumption as they converted to war production.

WAKE ISLAND: Beginning at 0710 hours, the USN's Task Force Sixteen (Vice Admiral William F. Halsey Jr.) raids Wake Island to destroy Japanese installations there.
SBD Dauntlesses and TBD Devastators of Bombing Squadron Six (VB 6), Scouting Squadron Six (VS 6) and Torpedo Squadron Six (VT 6) from the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) and SOC-1 Seagulls of Cruiser Scouting Squadron Five (VCS 5) from heavy cruisers USS Northampton (CA-26) and USS Salt Lake City (CA-25) bomb installations in the atoll. The bombardment unit consisting of USS Northampton and USS Salt Lake City and destroyers USS Balch (DD-363) and USS Maury (DD-401) (Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance) shells the atoll.
Combined efforts of USS Enterprise's planes (bombing and strafing) and ships' gunfire sink two guardboats and two Kawanishi H6K4, Navy Type 97 Flying Boats on the water; F4F Wildcat pilots of Fighting Squadron Six (VF-6) later shoot down a third H6K4 near Wake at about 0830 hours. Fortunately, the bombing and shelling of Wake harms none of the American marines, sailors and construction workers too badly wounded to have been evacuated in the initial
increment of POWs, and the civilian workmen retained on the island to continue work on defenses. One SBD of VS 6 is lost, however, and its crew taken prisoner.

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AUSTRALIA: Arriving at Brisbane, Queensland, from the U.S. are three USAAF bombardment groups (one light and two medium), with their assigned 12 squadrons, in addition to a pursuit squadron. Two of the groups will
enter combat in April.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): Arriving at Brisbane from the US are: HQ 3d BG and 8th, 13th, 89th and 90th Bombardment Squadrons with A-20's; first mission is in Apr. HQ 22nd BG (Medium), 2d, 19th and 33d Bombardment Squadrons (Medium) and 18th Reconnaissance Squadron (Medium) with B-26's; first mission is in Apr. HQ 38th BG (Medium) and 15th Reconnaissance Squadron (Medium) and 69th, 70th and 71st Bombardment Squadrons (Medium) with B-26's; first mission is Jun; air echelon of 69th and 70th remain in the US until May/Jun. 39th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor), 35th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor), with P-39's; first mission is 2 Jun.

BURMA: The Japanese are infiltrating into the Pegu Yomas mountain range through a gap of some 30-40 miles (48-64 kilometers) that exists between the Burma 1st Division at Nyaunglebin and the Indian 17th Division at Pegu, threatening the Rangoon-Mandalay road.
Pilots of the AVG shoot down three Nakajima Ki-27 "Nates" over Rangoon at 1200 hours. At 1700 hours, the AVG pilots shoot down 23 Japanese Army fighters and an Army bomber over Rangoon.

NETHERLAND EAST INDIES: On Java, General Archibald Wavell, Commander in Chief, ABDA Command, closes his HQ and departs for Australia. The ABDA Command is dissolved effective 0900 hours and the defense of Java is left to Dutch General Ter Poorten. The Dutch are to be assisted by British, Australian and American detachments.
Wavell resumes his previous command, Commander in Chief India.
On Java, the Australian Blackforce is concentrated around
Buitenzorg, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Batavia. The U.S. 2d Battalion, 131st Field Artillery Regiment (75mm Gun) (Truck-Drawn) is attached to Blackforce. (The 131st was a Texas National Guard unit
inducted into Federal service on 25 November 1940.)
Japanese destroyers land a small force on Bawean Island, 85 miles (137 kilometers) north of Surabaja, and set up a radio station.
A Dutch PBY Catalina spots Japanese transports moving to invade Java. At 1125 hours, all available Allied cruisers and destroyers are ordered to join Admiral Doorman's Eastern Striking Force at Surabaja, Java. The cruisers HMS Exeter and HMAS Perth with destroyers HMS Jupiter, HMS Electra and HMS Encounter sail from Batavia to Surabaja. Without waiting for the arrival of the British reinforcements, Admiral Doorman sails with the heavy cruiser USS Houston (CA-30), the Dutch light cruisers HNMS De Ruyter and HNMS Java and seven destroyers from Surabaja at dusk. He carries out a sweep to the east along the coast of Madoera Island in the hope of intercepting the Japanese transports reported near Bawean Island. No contact is made however and the Allied force return the next morning to Surabaja where it is joined by the British detachment from Batavia. From then onwards the Eastern Striking Force became known as the Combined Striking Force, under the command of Dutch Rear-Admiral Karel Doorman. One of the problems faced by this force is that each Navy uses their own standards that are not compatible, e.g., signalmen must grapple with four different types of flag codes.

INDIA: U.S. Major General Joseph Stilwell is promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General, AUS, and confers with GHQ, India, at New Delhi.

Netherlands East Indies: Japanese force lands on Bawean Island, 85 miles (137 kilometers) north of Surabaya, Java, and set up a radio station.

U.S.: Reports of unidentified aircraft approaching Los Angeles, California, from the ocean during the night of the 24th-25th result in the city being blacked out from 0227 to 0721 hours. During the "Battle of Los Angeles," some 1,400 rounds of 3-inch (7.62 cm) antiaircraft ammunition is fired against various "targets." Later the US Army will conclude that the "battle" had been touched off by one to five unidentified aircraft, but the USN will maintain there was no reason for the firing.
The War Production Board bans the use of rubber thread in brassieres, girdles and corsets for the duration of the war.
Thousands of American residents of Japanese descent are being forcibly moved from the west coast to internment camps in inland states. More than 112,000 people are being ordered into buses and lorries, often at gunpoint - whether or not they are American born or naturalised
citizens. Such is anti-Japanese hysteria in the United States since the attack on Pearl Harbor that most civil rights campaigners have turned a blind eye to the mass evacuation.
All 3,000 Japanese -American residents of Terminal Island, Los Angeles, have been given three days in which to leave.
The decision is a response both to fears on the part of the army and navy that the Japanese might help a Japanese invasion and to pressure from the public and politicians. Since the attack on Pearl Harbor seven Japanese have been murdered by vigilantes.
One US Senator has called for all Japanese, whether citizens or not to be placed in "concentration camps". Similar scenes are taking place in western Canada. Men are being parted from their families and placed in labour camps.
In the U.S., the U.S. Coast Guard assumes responsibility for U.S. port security.

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AUSTRALIA: The Japanese submarine HIJMS I-25 launches a Yokosuka E14Y1, Navy Type 0 "Glen" Small Reconnaissance Seaplane, to fly a reconnaissance mission over Melbourne, Victoria.

BURMA: Hard fighting is developing in the Waw area, northeast of Pegu, as the Japanese continue infiltration westward from the Sittang River to threaten the rail link between Rangoon and Mandalay, Burma.
Pilots of the AVG shoot down one Japanese Army bomber and 19 Nakajima Ki-27, Army "Nate"'s over Rangoon between 0800 and 1200 hours.

CANADA: Prime Minister MacKenzie King orders the evacuation of all persons of Japanese ancestry from the coastal regions of British Columbia.

EAST INDIES: Submarine USS S-38 (SS-143) bombards the Japanese radio
station on enemy-occupied Bawean Island, that had been set up the
previous day.
During the late morning, the Japanese Eastern Invasion Force headed for Java from Borneo was found again in the Makassar Strait, by a Dutch Dornier flying boat which shadowed them for several hours. The Dornier then carried out an attack on the destroyer HIJMS Amatsukaze, releasing only one bomb which fell about 500 yards (457 meters) ahead of its intended target. This attack was followed by two USAAF B-17 Flying Fortresses dropping their six bombs from 13.000 feet (3962 meters). Two of the bombs fell some 500 yards (457 meters) short of the destroyer HIJMS Hatsukaze.
At 1830 hours, Admiral Doorman's Combined Striking Force sets sail from Soerabaja, Java, to carry out a night attack on 30 Japanese transports, escorted by two cruisers and five destroyers, which had been sighted shortly before 1200 hours about 200 miles (322 kilometers) to the
north-northeast heading west by south at 10 knots. The striking force
consists of heavy cruisers HMS Exeter and USS Houston (CA-30), light
cruisers HMAS Perth and HNMS De Ruyter and Java, and destroyers HMS
Electra, Encounter and Jupiter, HNMS Kortenaer, and Witte de With, and USS Alden (DD-211), John D. Edwards (DD-216), John D. Ford (DD-22 and Paul Jones (DD-230). The force sets course to the eastward so as to sweep along the north coast of Madoera Island where a landing was thought possible. If no enemy were sighted they intended to sweep back to the west and search the Bight of Toeban. Doorman had originally considered a sweep to the north and northeast, but had decided that, without reconnaissance aircraft, there was a better chance of intercepting the enemy by crossing his line of advance close to his probable landing points.
At 2200 hours, the light cruisers HMAS Hobart and HMS Dragon and Danae sail from Batavia, Java, to search for the Japanese invasion convoy sailing towards the island from the west; the ships return at 1300 hours tomorrow having found nothing.

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A Japanese amphibious force, consisting of an infantry battalion and a field artillery battery, sails from Olongapo, Luzon, for Mindoro Island.

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1942: Bay of Bengal: Japan raids the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal.

EAST INDIES: U.S. freighter SS Sea Witch delivers 27 crated USAAF P-40s to Tjilatjap, Java, but the planes will be destroyed on the docks to deny their use by the Japanese.
9 Japanese bombers flying from Kendari find the seaplane tender USS Langley (AV-3) in route to Tjilatjap. After 5 hits, the Langley is scuttled and survivors are rescued by the 2 destroyer escort. The Langley was ferrying 32 P-40 fighters for the defense of Java.

INDIA: General Archibald Wavell arrives in New Delhi from Java and assumes his post as Commander in Chief India.

JAVA SEA: Allied air and naval units try to stop a convoy of some 80 Japanese ships approaching Java from the northeast. All available USAAF B-17Flying Fortresses, A-24 Dauntlesses, P-40s and LB-30 Liberators are put into the air but achieve only insignificant results.USS Whipple (DD-217) and USS Edsall (DD-219) departed Tjilatjap to rendezvous with Langley (AV-3) off the south coast of Java.Making contact at 0629, the destroyers took up screening positions to escort the vulnerable Langley carrying a load of aircraft to bolster the sagging defenses of Java into Tjilatjap.
At 1150, lookouts spotted nine high-level bombers approaching from the east. Four minutes later, a stick of bombs splashed around Langley clearly the object of Japanese attention. During a second attack shortly after noon, all three ships put up brisk antiaircraft fire. At 1212, the Japanese, undaunted by Langley's evasive maneuvers, struck hard. A stick of bombs fell on or near the former aircraft carrier and set her afire.
Langley was abandoned at 1325, and Whipple proceeded close aboard to rescue survivors, using two of the destroyer's life rafts, a cargo net slung over the side, and a number of lines trailed over the side. Staying some 25 yards off the sinking seaplane tender Whipple picked up some 308 men from Langley's crew and embarked Army personnel for the vital P-40 fighters carried on the doomed ship's abbreviated flight deck.
At 1358, the task at hand completed, Whipple backed off and stood out to destroy the derelict, opening fire at 1429 with her 4-inch main battery. After nine rounds of 4-inch and two torpedoes, Langley settled lower and lower but refused stubbornly to sink. Soon orders arrived directing Whipple and her sister ship to clear the area prior to any more bombing attacks. Whipple accordingly vacated the vicinity and subsequently rendezvoused with Pecos (AO-6) in the lee of Christmas