Category Archives: World War II

This week in the War, 20–26 September 1943: The Salo republic

On 23 September 1943, Benito Mussolini proclaimed the Italian Social Republic(ISR), the so-called Salò Republic, which was headquartered in the town of Salò in the extreme north of Italy. The new republic was a puppet regime and Mussolini had himself become little … Continue reading

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This week in the War, 13–19 September 1943: Bridgehead firmly established at Salerno

This week in the war, heavy fighting continued around Salerno, the more northerly prong of the Allied force that had invaded the Italian mainland. Using large numbers of tanks and powerful artillery, the Germans launched a series of counter-attacks aimed … Continue reading

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This week in the War, 6–12 September 1943: Italy surrenders, Mussolini is rescued

This week in the war, on 8 September 1943, with the Allied fleet already in view off the Italian coast near Salerno, Italy surrendered. (The agreement to do so had already been signed five days earlier.) General Eisenhower made the … Continue reading

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This week in the War, 30 Aug–5 Sept 1943: The Invasion of Italy

This week in the war, on the morning of 3 September 1943, General Bernard Montgomery’s Eighth Army invaded the mainland of southern Italy. It was the beginning of what would become a two-pronged assault on the Italian mainland, with Lieutenant-General Mark … Continue reading

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This week in the War, 23–29 August 1943: The First Quebec Conference

This week in the war, on 24 August 1943, the eight-day conference in Quebec City drew to a close. Churchill, Roosevelt and the Canadian Prime Minister were in attendance. Decisions made included giving priority to the British and US air … Continue reading

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This week in the War, 16–22 August 1943: The Peenemunde raid

This week in the war, on the night of 17/18 August 1943, planes from RAF Bomber Command attacked the German Army Research Centre at Peenemünde on Germany’s Baltic coast. The aim of the attack, which involved almost 600 planes, was … Continue reading

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This week in the War, 9–15 August 1943: US air power

US air power was expanding on every front. On 13 August 1943 alone: B-24 bombers of the US 380th Heavy Bomber Group flew from Australia to raid the Japanese-held oilfields in Borneo; US bombers staged the first air raid of … Continue reading

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This week in the War, 2–8 August 1943: Italy at the crossroads

This week in the war saw Italy poised on the brink of changing sides. On 6 August 1943, at the request of the Germans, representatives of Germany and Italy met at the Italian-Austrian border. The foreign ministers from both Germany … Continue reading

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This week in the War, 26 July–1 August 1943: Ba Maw assumes the leadership of Burma and declares war on Britain and the USA

This week in the war, on 1 August 1943, the French-educated Burmese political leader, Ba Maw, was appointed Head of State and Prime Minister of the newly formed State of Burma (effectively a puppet state, supported by the Japanese authorities). … Continue reading

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This week in the War, 19–25 July 1943: Mussolini is fired by the King

This week in the war saw Rome bombed for the first time by the Allies (on 19 July 1943). The week also saw the Italian Grand Council of Fascism vote against Mussolini’s continued rule. (Mussolini’s son-in-law, Count Ciano, was one … Continue reading

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