Tag Archives: Churchill

This week in the War, 4–10 November 1940: Election Day

As I write this post on Sunday 4 November 2012, I have no idea who will win Tuesday’s US election. Democrat incumbent Barack Obama is pitted against Republican challenger Mitt Romney, and the race is close. The economy and entanglement … Continue reading

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This week in the War, 19–25 August 1940: Stalin settles a score

On the evening of 20 August 1940, the same day that Winston Churchill made his historic ‘Never in the field of human conflict…’ speech before the British House of Commons, a man armed with an ice pick entered a house … Continue reading

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This week in the War, 19–25 August 1940: Never in the field of human conflict…

This week in the war, Tuesday 20 August 1940, Winston Churchill rose in the House of Commons to give his most memorable speech of the war. “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many … Continue reading

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In the news: Curiosity and the ingredients for life

In the early hours of this morning, NASA’s Martian rover Curiosity touched down on the Red Planet to tackle a question that has fired the imagination of the public at least as far back as H.G. Wells’s War of the … Continue reading

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This week in the War, 22–28 July 1940: Special Operations Executive

The Special Operations Executive (SOE) officially came into being this week in the war, 22 July 1940. Its purpose: to harass the enemy from behind the lines. Churchill supported ‘butcher and bolt’ raids and was an advocate of elitist special … Continue reading

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This week in the War, 15–21 July: An end to the war?

The war could have ended this week. It would have been a different end, with Hitler and Churchill, if not exactly shaking hands, at least agreeing to quit fighting and go their separate ways. Britain would keep its Empire, Germany … Continue reading

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This week in the war, 1–7 July 1940: England’s Last War Against France

England’s last war against France—as recounted in Colin Smith’s book of that very title—was not fought in Napoleonic times. We are not talking Wellington versus Bonaparte at Waterloo. Rather: Winston Churchill versus Marshal Philip Petain, leader of Vichy France. Their war … Continue reading

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This week in the War, 10–16 June 1940: Faith, Hope, and Charity

The Italians had been watching from the sidelines. Suddenly, 10 June 1940, Benito Mussolini announced, in a grandiose speech from his balcony over Palazzo Venezia, that they were joining in the war on Germany’s side. Good timing. France was on … Continue reading

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This week in the War, 3–9 June 1940: We shall fight on the beaches…

This week in the war, on 4 June 1940, Winston Churchill declares to the House of Commons that the nation will continue to fight, no matter what. “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, … Continue reading

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In the news/Book review: 6 June–Anniversary of D-Day

Today (6 June) is the day when veterans and dignitaries of the warring nations of WWII gather on the beaches of Normandy to give thanks, and to honour the fallen of 68 years ago. This week, tourists will fan out … Continue reading

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