Category Archives: World War II

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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This week in the War, 24–30 November 1941: Sinking of HMS Barham

Posted on November 30, 2013 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on the afternoon of 25 November 1941, the British battleship HMS Barham was torpedoed and sunk by the U-331, commanded by Kapitanleutnant Hans-Dietrich von Tiesenhausen. The event took place in the eastern Mediterranean north of … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 10–16 November 1941: Sinking of HMS Ark Royal

Posted on November 14, 2013 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 13 November 1941, the pride of the Royal Navy, Britain’s aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, was torpedoed near Gibralter in the Mediterranean by U-81, a U-boat commanded by Kapitanleutnant Friedrich Guggenberger. The following afternoon, … Continue reading →

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In the news: Remembrance Day/Veterans Day—11 November

Posted on November 11, 2013 by secondbysecond

Monday 11 November 2013 — Remembrance Day. Once again, we gather to remember that eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, when the guns went silent and the Great War ended. It is time to honour and … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 3–9 November 1941: German blockade runner Odenwald captured by US Navy

Posted on November 7, 2013 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, when the United States of America was still neutral, the US Navy challenged and captured the German blockade runner Odenwald. On 6 November 1941, the American light cruiser USS Omaha and the American destroyer USS … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 27 Oct–2 Nov 1941: The sinking of the Reuben James

Posted on October 30, 2013 by secondbysecond

The week in the war, on 31 October 1941, the American destroyer USS Reuben James (DD-245) was sunk by a German U-boat. The Reuben James was the first American ship to be sunk during World War II as a result … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 20–26 October 1941: Assassination in Nantes

Posted on October 23, 2013 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, around 7.30am on 20 October 1941, the Feldkommandant (German military governor) of Nantes, Lieutenant Colonel Karl Hotz, was assassinated by the French Resistance. The assassination took place at the rue du Roi Albert, close to … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 13–19 October 1941: Falling stars in Tokyo and Vichy

Posted on October 17, 2013 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 16 October 1941, Vichy head of state Maréchal Philippe Pétain pronounced prison sentences upon those he saw as responsible for the fall of France. He condemned former prime ministers, Léon Blum and Édouard Daladier, and … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 6–12 October 1941: Assault on Moscow

Posted on October 10, 2013 by secondbysecond

This week in the war on 6 October 1941, the German army launched a two-pronged offensive against Moscow as part of Operation Taifun (Typhoon). Hitler had announced that the Soviet Union ‘has already been broken and would never rise again.’ … Continue reading →

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