Author Archives: secondbysecond

Vignette: D-Day—seventy years after

Posted on June 6, 2014 by secondbysecond

Today is the seventieth anniversary of D-Day, of the 6 June 1944 Allied invasion of Normandy. ‘D-Day’—which is military slang for the starting day of any operation—has come to mean the D-Day, the greatest amphibious invasion in history. It will … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 1–7 June 1942: The Battle of Midway

Posted on June 3, 2014 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, 4–7 June 1942, only one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea, American and Japanese carrier task forces again locked horns in what would become one of the most decisive battles of the war … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 25–31 May 1942: Cologne—the thousand-bomber raid

Posted on May 29, 2014 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, at midnight on the night of 30/31 May 1942, Churchill announced to his dinner guests at Chequers that the RAF was, at that very moment, striking Cologne with over a thousand bombers. The guests included … Continue reading →

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In the news: Memorial Day 2014

Posted on May 26, 2014 by secondbysecond

We honour our troops and veterans on Memorial Day, Monday 26 May 2014. In the above photograph, US Marine Raiders are shown leading their dogs through the jungle towards the front line on Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, 1943. The use of … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 18–24 May 1942: Mexico enters the war

Posted on May 19, 2014 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 22 May 1942, Mexico declared war on the Axis powers: Germany, Italy, and Japan. In the early part of the twentieth century, Mexico had been blighted by a decade-long revolution, by further uprisings against … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 11-17 May 1942: The Biltmore Program

Posted on May 15, 2014 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 11 May 1942, an extraordinary six-day conference held at the Biltmore Hotel in New York City came to an end. The conference laid out a program, called the Biltmore Program, whose purpose was to … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 4–10 May 1942: The Battle of the Coral Sea

Posted on May 8, 2014 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 7 and 8 May 1942, American and Japanese carrier forces traded airstrikes in the Battle of the Coral Sea. It was the first naval battle in history in which opposing fleets never exchanged fire … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 27 April–3 May 1942: The Baedeker Blitz

Posted on May 1, 2014 by secondbysecond

German publisher Karl Baedeker began producing travel guides in the 1820s and their scope and popularity continued to grow for well over a century. After an air raid by the RAF destroyed much of the ancient city centre of the German … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 20–26 April 1942: Malta

Posted on April 23, 2014 by secondbysecond

Much had happened to the besieged island since the three RAF Gloster Sea Gladiator bi-planes, Faith, Hope, and Charity had taken to the skies of Malta in June 1940 to fight off attacks by Italian bombers. The island had been bombed repeatedly. … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 13–19 April 1942: Thirty Seconds over Tokyo—The Doolittle Raid

Posted on April 18, 2014 by secondbysecond

Thirty Seconds over Tokyo was the title of a 1944 movie starring Spencer Tracy in the role of Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle (and also the title of the book on which the film was based). This week in the war, … Continue reading →

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