For nearly a month, direct negotiations had persisted. Back-and-forth communications?…more than 18 months. The Soviet Union had, since April of 1938, been interested in territory that belonged to Finland, its neighbor to the west. And Finland had (more or less) politely refused.
The Nazi-Soviet Pact came and went. The combined German-Soviet removal of Poland from the map [...]
Archive for the ‘World War II (1939-1945)’ Category
Finland Calls Soviet Bluff
Posted in Scandanavia, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1939, Carl Gustav Mannerheim, Finland, Joseph Stalin, Karelian Isthmus, Mannerheim Line, Nazi-Soviet Pact, Soviet Union on November 9 | 1 Comment »
The Great Gate of Kiev
Posted in Russia, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1943, Kiev, Operation Citadel on November 6 | Leave a Comment »
When Operation Citadel was abandoned by Adolf Hitler in July of 1943, it left in its wake the scattered bit of destroyed aircraft, the hulks of thousands of tanks, the burned out remains of more artillery pieces, and the still, quiet corpses of even more Russian and German soldiers.
While not marking the eastern-most advance of Germany’s territorial conquests (those [...]
British Begin Westward Push in North Africa
Posted in Africa, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Adolf Hitler, Afrika Korps, El Alamein, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel on November 5 | Leave a Comment »
The last two months had been particularly unkind to the Afrika Korps. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’s gamble at Alma el Halfa had not paid off, and early advances merely gave way to a retreat that, ten days later, found them back where they started…with a smaller force. And that was the good news. Two weeks [...]
British Capture Shark in the Mediterranean
Posted in Mediterranean, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Bletchley Park, Enigma, Shark, Triton, U-559, U-571 on October 30 | Leave a Comment »
We rarely visit the movie theater. Occasionally, we’ll go and watch a movie, but even “occasionally” is too strong a word. The last time I occupied a theater seat was in December of 2006, when I took my wife to a show as part of a Christmas present. I don’t remember when I went before [...]
Japan Wins Big and Loses Bigger at Santa Cruz
Posted in Pacific, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Admiral Nobutake Kondo, Admiral William Halsey, Battle of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands on October 26 | Leave a Comment »
For the Imperial Japanese Navy, the Battle of Santa Cruz was one of those battles that was looked back on with downcast eyes, heavy sighs, and lots of phrases that began with “If only we…” and “It almost…” and “We just about…”. Fought to the northest of the Santa Cruz Islands (several hundred miles east of [...]
St. Lo Laid Low by Yukio
Posted in Pacific, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1944, Battle of Leyte Gulf, Divine Wind, Kamikaze, Leyte Gulf, Lt. Yukio Seki, San Bernardino Strait, Taffy 3 on October 25 | Leave a Comment »
The Battle of Leyte Gulf needs no serious introduction to regular readers of Today’s History Lesson, as we spent several days looking at it a year ago. If you’d like a refresher, here are the three articles from last year, which should give you an above-and-below-water overview of what is considered to be the largest [...]
Clark Takes Secret Trip, Returns with Extra Baggage
Posted in Africa, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Algeria, Cherchel, General Henri Giraud, General Mark Clark, HMS Seraph, North Africa, Operation Torch on October 21 | Leave a Comment »
It was October 21, 1942. In Virginia, the mid-afternoon sun shone down on an invasion fleet. To date, it was largest of its kind ever assembled. It’s destination?…the coasts of North Africa where Operation Torch would be unleashed.
An ocean away, off the coast of North Africa, it was also October 21, 1942. But the sun [...]
A Divine Wind Stirs the Balacat Trees
Posted in Pacific, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1944, Divine Wind, East Airfield, Kamikaze, Leyte Gulf, Luzon, Mabalacat, Pampanga Province, Philippines on October 20 | Leave a Comment »
Today, East Airfield is just a field. Every year, a crop of sugar cane is grown there. When the time is right (like it is at some point every year), the sugar cane is harvested and turned into whatever sweet things it becomes. And it’s then, when the sugar cane is removed, that the field [...]
U-47 Threads the Needle and Fells the Mighty Oak
Posted in Europe, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1939, Gunther Prien, HMS Royal Oak, Karl Donitz, Scapa Flow, Scotland, U-47 on October 14 | Leave a Comment »
As October 13, 1939 ended, the HMS Royal Oak was sitting in the relative quiet of Scapa Flow. Located within the Orkney Islands off the northern tip of Scotland, Scapa Flow was a natural harbor surrounded by islands (right about here). Its beauty as a harbor had been recognized as far back as ships had been [...]
Corporal Andrusko: 1 Bullet, 3 Wounds, 1 Miracle
Posted in Pacific, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1944, Blood Poisoning, Captain Andy Haldane, Corporal Eddy Lee Andrusko, Peleliu, Vicissitude on October 13 | Leave a Comment »
Vicissitudes.
I love that word. The way it rolls off the tongue…it’s smooth. Vicissitudes. The first time I heard that word was, somewhat surprisingly, during an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Mike and the Bots were making fun of the short A Date with Your Family, which preceded the movie Invasion USA (which happens to be [...]
Andy Haldane: Loved and Lost on Peleliu’s Hill 140
Posted in Pacific, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1944, Captain Andy Haldane, Hill 140, Peleliu on October 12 | Leave a Comment »
As I’ve been reading “To the Far Side of Hell“, I’m reminded again that history looks back on the Battle of Peleliu with an extremely critical eye. The garrison there was strong and well-entrenched, but the island’s airfield was useless and its aircraft destroyed. The general principle of “island-hopping” (bypassing Japanese strongholds and letting them [...]
The McCollum Memo: Conspiracy or…?
Posted in North America, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1940, Arthur McCollum, Japan, McCollum Memo, Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt on October 7 | Leave a Comment »
I’ve been off for a couple days, fighting a case of the blah’s. I would go to the office in the morning, then end up working from home in the afternoon. And by the time 4:00pm got here, I was pretty wiped out. This evening I’m better, though still not great. But let’s talk about something…and try [...]
The Space Race Begins as the War Ends
Posted in Europe, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Baltic Sea, Peenemunde, Usedom Island, V2 Rocket on October 3 | Leave a Comment »
Most people have never heard of Usedom Island. Admittedly, it’s pretty unfamiliar to me, too. But that’s why we have maps…to find places we don’t really know. And the map shows me that Usedom is in that V-shaped area between German-Polish border on the Baltic Sea. Right about here.
I read that Usedom is quite the [...]
Bombing of America Fails to Nudge Fujita Scale
Posted in North America, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Fort Stevens, I-25, Mount Emily, Nobuo Fujita, Oregon, Yokosuka E14Y Glen on September 9 | 2 Comments »
On June 21st of 1942, the Japanese carried out a daring raid on Fort Stevens. Situated at the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon, the fort put up a desperate fight in this evening encounter, but was overwhelmed by the superior Japanese firepower. Fort Stevens was largely destroyed with a large number of the garrison killed. The [...]
German Coach Opens Playbook and Calls for Blitz
Posted in Europe, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1940, Berlin, Liverpool, London, Luftwaffe, Port of London, The Blitz on September 7 | Leave a Comment »
The fall of France in June of 1940 gave the British a new next-door neighbor. And without a doubt, the Germans that moved in to the French countryside were most unpleasant. Within weeks, the Germans were knocking on British doors, but they weren’t asking for tea and crumpets or Yorkshire pudding or even those delicious doughnuts that I [...]
Leaving Pavavu: Out of the Frying Pan…
Posted in Pacific, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1944, 1st Marine Division, Guadalcanal, Pavavu, Peleliu, Russell Islands on September 4 | Leave a Comment »
When the 1st Marine Division saw their “R and R” destination in the distance, they saw an island paradise. And that was just fine with them. After the tought fighting on New Britain, they needed rest, they needed to recover, and they needed to refill their ranks with new recruits. And there on the horizon, [...]
Rommel Goes “All in” at Alma El Halfa
Posted in Africa, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Alexandria, Alma El Halfa, Egypt, El Alamein, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, M4 Sherman on August 30 | Leave a Comment »
When we last visited North Africa, things were going pretty well for the Germans. It was July of 1942, and Erwin Rommel was having a field day at British expense. The Field Marshal had pushed his opponent out of Libya and 200 miles east into Egypt. The British ended their retreat and threw down their [...]
