18 June 1942
China
Japanese troops invade Fukien Province
War in the Air
General Spaatz appointed to command Eighth Air Force in Great Britain
Diplomacy
Churchill arrives in Washington to meet with Roosevelt
North Africa
Rommel sends an armoured column towards the Egyptian border
Pacific
Raymond Spruance becomes Nimitiz's chief-of-staff, responsible for planning much of the American campaign in the central Pacific.
Related Books
How to cite this article: Rickard, J (28 December 2007), 18 June 1942, https://www.historyofwar.org/secondworldwar/date/1942_06_18.html
The Quiet Admiral, A Biography of Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, Thomas B. Buell. This is widely considered to be the best biography of Spruance, currently available in this reissued edition. Buell nicely contrasts Spruance with Halsey, his co-commander of the combined third and fifth fleets from 1944, as well as looking at his handling of Midway, the battle that made his name.
