11 April 1942

After holding out since the beginning of the year, the American and Filipino defenders at Bataan can do so no more, and they surrender to the Japanese- the Bataan Death March for the 75,000 prisoners begins. Meanwhile, the Japanese carrier fleet launches a raid on Colombo and shipping in the Bay of Bengal, wrecking Britain's Eastern Fleet in the process and forcing them to move to African coastal bases. Adolf Hitler issues the directive outlining his plans for a summer offensive against the USSR that aim south toward the Caucasus.