Category Archives: World War II

This week in the War, 23–29 November 1942: Casablanca—The Movie

Posted on November 24, 2014 by secondbysecond

With the Moroccan port of Casablanca in Allied hands following Operation Torch, American cinema audiences were treated to the first screening of the movie Casablanca. The film opened in New York City, this week in the war, on 26 November … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 23–29 November 1942: French fleet scuttled in Toulon

Posted on November 23, 2014 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 27 November 1942, German panzers rolled into the French port of Toulon. Admiral Jean de Laborde, commander of the French fleet, promptly gave the order that his sailors should scuttle their ships. If such … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 16–22 November 1942: The opening of the Alaska Highway

Posted on November 17, 2014 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 21 November 1942, the completion of the Alaska Highway (also called the ALCAN Highway or the Alaska-Canadian Highway) was officially celebrated on Soldier’s Summit. The highway was built for the most part by the … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 9–15 November 1942: The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal

Posted on November 14, 2014 by secondbysecond

The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal was fought around the Solomon Islands, this week in the war, on the nights of 12/13 and 14/15 November 1942. The Japanese were attempting to reinforce their troops on the island of Guadalcanal and to … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 2–8 November 1942: Operation Torch

Posted on November 8, 2014 by secondbysecond

On the morning of 8 November 1942, an Anglo-American expeditionary force commanded by American general, Dwight D. Eisenhower, landed in the vicinities of Casablanca, Oran, and Algiers, in Vichy-French North Africa. Operation Torch, which had first been discussed by Roosevelt … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 26 Oct–1 Nov 1942: Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands

Posted on October 31, 2014 by secondbysecond

East of the Solomon Islands, on 26 October 1942, American naval forces commanded by Admiral William F. Halsey engaged a superior Japanese force with Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto in overall command from Truk. The battle became known as the Battle of … Continue reading →

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Book review: And Some Fell on Stony Ground

Posted on October 19, 2014 by secondbysecond

Their country was likely doomed and within the month, or several months at most, they would almost certainly be dead. And still they volunteered. In the early days of the Second World War, the young men of Britain’s RAF Bomber … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 19–25 October 1942: The Battle of El Alamein

Posted on October 19, 2014 by secondbysecond

For the Allies, there was little reason for optimism at start of 1942. By the end of the year, the situation had changed dramatically. The Americans had scored a massive naval victory at the Battle of Midway, the Russians had triumphed … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 12–18 October 1942: Occupied Paris & the Diary of Helene Pitrou

Posted on October 18, 2014 by secondbysecond

Readers of French children’s literature may be familiar with Dans Paris Occupé: Journal d’Hélène Pitrou, 1940–1945, the fictional and wonderfully vivid diary of a French school girl who reports on the affairs of the day as she lives life in … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 5–11 October 1942: US launches massive daylight raid against Nazi-occupied Europe

Posted on October 10, 2014 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 9 October 1942, a force of 108 B-17 Flying Fortresses launched a daylight raid against targets in and around Lille, in northern enemy-occupied France. The Companie de Fives steel works and the Ateliers D’Hellemes … Continue reading →

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