1942

1942 was a pivotal year in World War II, spanning multiple theaters and involving shifts in strategy, leadership, and industrial effort. The year saw the Axis advance in some regions while the Allies began to mount reversals, and it included the formalization of the Allied coalition as the United Nations and broader war mobilization, including scientific and industrial projects such as the Manhattan Project.

In the Pacific and Southeast Asia, Japanese forces captured Singapore in February 1942 and advanced through Malaya, the Dutch East Indies, and Burma. The Allied navies and air forces secured key victories at the Battle of the Coral Sea in May and the Battle of Midway in June, both fought with carrier aircraft and marking turning points against Japan. The Guadalcanal campaign began in August and became a prolonged battle for control of the Solomon Islands.

In North Africa and on the European front, the Axis sought to seize the Suez Canal and reach the Nile. The Second Battle of El Alamein in October–November 1942 proved decisive for Allied forces under Bernard Montgomery. On the Eastern Front, the Battle of Stalingrad began in August 1942 and would become a turning point after the Soviet counteroffensive in late 1942.

On January 20, 1942, the Wannsee Conference produced plans for the "Final Solution" and the mass murder of Jews accelerated across occupied Europe. Extermination camps and mass deportations intensified during the year, contributing to the genocide.

Allied coordinat