Monthly Archives: December 2014

This week in the War, 28 Dec 1942–3 Jan 1943: New Year’s Day & the Diary of Helene Pitrou

Posted on December 30, 2014 by secondbysecond

“The New Year is starting well: People are talking about a possible landing by the Allies.” So begins the entry for New Year’s day in Dans Paris occupé: Journal d’Hélène Pitrou—the fictional diary of the fictional French schoolgirl, created by … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 21–27 December 1942: Vichy’s Admiral Francois Darlan is assassinated in Algiers

Posted on December 25, 2014 by secondbysecond

Admiral François Darlan, the one-time right-hand man of Vichy head-of-state, Maréchal Philippe Pétain, was assassinated in Algiers this week in the war, on 24 December 1942. At the time of the Operation Torch landings in North Africa, Darlan had switched his allegiance from … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 14–20 December 1942: Australians and Americans capture Buna in Papua New Guinea

Posted on December 14, 2014 by secondbysecond

The Kokoda Trail campaign had grown into weeks of desperate fighting until the tide finally began to turn: This week in the war, on 14 December 1942, American troops captured Buna village in south-eastern Papua New Guinea. Japanese destroyers and transports … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 7–13 December: Stalingrad—the battle continues

Posted on December 10, 2014 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, the Red Army was maintaining the initiative across the Eastern Front and was making steady progress in the Stalingrad sector. Following the Soviet Operation Uranus, the German troops in and around Stalingrad—which included General Friedrich … Continue reading →

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Vignette: Pearl Harbor Day

Posted on December 7, 2014 by secondbysecond

“A DATE WHICH WILL LIVE IN INFAMY.” Today, Sunday 7 December 2014 is Pearl Harbor Day—a time to remember those who died exactly seventy-three years ago and to remember the dramatic event that triggered the entry of the United States into … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 30 Nov–6 Dec 1942: Enrico Fermi triggers a chain reaction

Posted on December 4, 2014 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 2 December 1942, ex-patriot Italian scientist Enrico Fermi produced the world’s first nuclear chain reaction. He created it inside a so-called atomic pile (now called a nuclear reactor) that he and his team of … Continue reading →

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