Category Archives: World War II

This week in the War, 17–23 April 1944: Paris suffers heavy bombing

Posted on April 22, 2016 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 21 April 1944, Allied planes bombed north central Paris. The main target was the La Chapelle railway marshalling yards. Their destruction was part of an overall plan to destroy communications in northern France prior … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 10–16 April 1944: The King of Italy steps down in favour of his son

Posted on April 15, 2016 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 12 April 1944, King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy stepped down in favour of his son, Prince Umberto. It was decided that the official transfer of power would be delayed until after the liberation … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 3–9 April 1944: Charles de Gaulle and Marie-Pierre Koenig

Posted on April 3, 2016 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, General Charles de Gaulle appointed his London-based chief-of-staff, French general Marie-Pierre Koenig to head the FFI, the French Forces of the Interior (Forces françaises de l’intérieur). Later, in June and with the full backing of the … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 27 March–2 April 1944: Romania at the crossroads

Posted on March 28, 2016 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 27 March 1944, Prime Minister Winston Churchill summarized the current state of the conflict in a radio broadcast on the BBC. He spoke of the military successes of the Soviet army and of the resulting … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 20–26 March 1944: Assault on the Glieres Plateau

Posted on March 23, 2016 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 26 March 1944, a powerful force of German troops and pro-Vichy ‘Milice’  launched an assault against the Free French maquisards, who were holding out on the Glières Plateau in the mountainous Haute-Savoie region of … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 13–19 March 1944: Germany invades Hungary

Posted on March 17, 2016 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 18 March 1944, Admiral Miklos Hórthy, Regent of Hungary, was summoned to the Fuehrer’s Wolf’s Lair headquarters in Rastenburg, East Prussia, and was promptly arrested. The following day, German troops crossed the frontier into … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 6–12 March 1944: Pope appeals for Rome to be spared from destruction

Posted on March 12, 2016 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 12 March 1944, Pope Pius XII appealed to all warring parties that Rome be spared from destruction. It had become obvious that the Allies would eventually penetrate the Gustav line at Cassino and that … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 28 Feb–5 March 1944: Ukraine, partisans, and Soviet generals Vatutin & Zhukov

Posted on March 4, 2016 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, the German military on the Eastern Front were anticipating the spring thaw. They hoped that the muddy conditions would cause a slowdown in the Soviet attacks. However, Stalin was determined to remain on the offensive and, … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 21–27 February 1944: Heavy bombing raids on Germany

Posted on February 22, 2016 by secondbysecond

This week in the war saw several heavy bombing raids on Germany. The RAF had previously bombed Leipzig on 19/20 February (and suffered heavy losses in bombers), and the USAAF had already sent, on 20 February, over 1,000 bombers against … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 14–20 February 1944: Destruction of the abbey at Monte Cassino

Posted on February 17, 2016 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, in an effort to break through the Gustav Line, Allied planes bombarded Monte Cassino. The world renowned Benedictine abbey was completely destroyed and the bishop and a number of monks were killed. General Bernard Freyberg, … Continue reading →

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