Author Archives: secondbysecond

This week in the War, 1–7 May 1944: Going My Way—the movie

Posted on May 4, 2016 by secondbysecond

This week in the war saw the release of the movie Going My Way, 3 May 1944. Bing Crosby stars as Father O’Malley, the young priest who is sent to take charge of the parish run by the very much older Father … Continue reading →

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Book review: Shadows in a Photograph

Posted on April 27, 2016 by secondbysecond

The novel Shadows in a Photograph by David McMichael (Austin Macauley Publishers, 2016) describes life from the viewpoint of Peter Waring. The story begins not too long after the Great War ends and focuses at first on Peter’s boyhood exile … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 24–30 April 1944: Gold medal athlete and collaborator, Violette Morris, is gunned down by the French Resistance

Posted on April 24, 2016 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 26 April 1944, French gold-medal-winning athlete, Violette Morris, was ambushed by the Resistance. Morris and everyone else in her car, including two small children, died in a hail of bullets. Between the wars, Morris … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 17–23 April 1944: Paris suffers heavy bombing

Posted on April 22, 2016 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 21 April 1944, Allied planes bombed north central Paris. The main target was the La Chapelle railway marshalling yards. Their destruction was part of an overall plan to destroy communications in northern France prior … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 10–16 April 1944: The King of Italy steps down in favour of his son

Posted on April 15, 2016 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 12 April 1944, King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy stepped down in favour of his son, Prince Umberto. It was decided that the official transfer of power would be delayed until after the liberation … Continue reading →

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Book review: Never Surrender

Posted on April 4, 2016 by secondbysecond

The novel Never Surrender by J.G. White (Austin Macauley Publishers, 2016) will delight anyone who saw service in Britain’s Royal Marines and will fascinate those who have never entered military life but are curious to experience second-hand the rigours, rituals … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 3–9 April 1944: Charles de Gaulle and Marie-Pierre Koenig

Posted on April 3, 2016 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, General Charles de Gaulle appointed his London-based chief-of-staff, French general Marie-Pierre Koenig to head the FFI, the French Forces of the Interior (Forces françaises de l’intérieur). Later, in June and with the full backing of the … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 27 March–2 April 1944: Romania at the crossroads

Posted on March 28, 2016 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 27 March 1944, Prime Minister Winston Churchill summarized the current state of the conflict in a radio broadcast on the BBC. He spoke of the military successes of the Soviet army and of the resulting … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 20–26 March 1944: Assault on the Glieres Plateau

Posted on March 23, 2016 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 26 March 1944, a powerful force of German troops and pro-Vichy ‘Milice’  launched an assault against the Free French maquisards, who were holding out on the Glières Plateau in the mountainous Haute-Savoie region of … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 13–19 March 1944: Germany invades Hungary

Posted on March 17, 2016 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 18 March 1944, Admiral Miklos Hórthy, Regent of Hungary, was summoned to the Fuehrer’s Wolf’s Lair headquarters in Rastenburg, East Prussia, and was promptly arrested. The following day, German troops crossed the frontier into … Continue reading →

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