Author Archives: secondbysecond

This week in the War, 26 Jan–1 Feb 1942: The Yanks have come!

Posted on January 30, 2014 by secondbysecond

Prior to the attack on Pearl Harbour, the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland plus the Commonwealth and Empire and eventually the Soviet Union were locked in a life-and-death struggle with Hitler and his allies. After Pearl Harbour … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 19–25 January 1942: The Wannsee Conference

Posted on January 20, 2014 by secondbysecond

On 20 January 1942, SS-Obergruppenfuehrer Reinhard Heydrich chaired one of the most infamous meeting in the history of the world: the conference held at an elegant lake-side villa in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee. Those present included Gestapo Chief Heinrich … Continue reading →

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Vignette: Film actress Carole Lombard dies in plane crash

Posted on January 16, 2014 by secondbysecond

Carole Lombard died, this week in the war on 16 January 1942. She had been helping the US war effort by promoting the sale of war bonds in Indiana, where she boarded a regular scheduled flight home to California. The … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 12–18 January 1942: U-boats begin Operation Drum Roll

Posted on January 14, 2014 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 12 January 1942, the U-123 sank the British steamer Cyclops near Cape Cod. The sinking marked the opening of Doenitz’s U-boat offensive in the western Atlantic—his so-called Operation ‘Drum Roll’ (Paukenschlag). Before the end … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 5–11 January 1942: The fall of Kuala Lumpur

Posted on January 9, 2014 by secondbysecond

Japanese forces were on the move throughout South-East Asia. In the Philippines, they were advancing towards the Bataan peninsula. In Malaya, Lieutenant-General Tomoyuki Yamashita’s troops crossed the River Slim on 7 January 1942 and were advancing, with armoured support, towards … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 29 Dec 1941–4 Jan 1942: The return of Jean Moulin

Posted on January 3, 2014 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 2 January 1942, French resistance leader Jean Moulin parachuted back into France. He had been in London and was sent back to France by de Gaulle to organize and unite the various resistance movements. … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 22–28 December 1941: Christmas present for Saint-Pierre and Miquelon

Posted on December 23, 2013 by secondbysecond

On Christmas Day 1941, three corvettes and the submarine Surcouf of the Free French navy liberated the twin isles of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. The islands, which are located in the western Atlantic close to the coast of Newfoundland, have belonged … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 15–21 December 1941: Italian manned torpedoes sink British battleships in Alexandria harbour

Posted on December 17, 2013 by secondbysecond

The Royal Navy was taking a hammering in the Mediterranean (to say nothing of the Far East!). Following the loss in the Med of the aircraft carrier Ark Royal and of the battleship Barham, on the night of 18/19 December … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 8–14 December 1941: HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse are sunk off the coast of Malaya & Germany and Italy declare war on the USA

Posted on December 9, 2013 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, 10 December 1941, the battleship HMS Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser HMS Repulse, were attacked and sunk off the coast of Malaya by Japanese bombers and torpedo-carrying aircraft. The British admiralty had recently despatched … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 1–7 December 1941: Pearl Harbour

Posted on December 6, 2013 by secondbysecond

7 December 1941: “A date which will live in infamy.” The morning of Sunday 7 December 1941 was clear and sunny in Hawaii. US Army radar operators located a flight of incoming planes but, instead of recognizing them as Japanese, … Continue reading →

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