World War II was the deadliest military conflict in history in absolute terms of total dead, but not in terms of deaths relative to the world population. Over 60 million people were killed, which was over 3% of the 1939 world population (est. 2 billion). The tables below give a detailed country-by-country count of human losses. World War… Read more »
Battle of Crete – Background: Having swept through Greece in April 1940, German forces began preparing for the invasion of Crete. This operation was championed by the Luftwaffe as the Wehrmacht sought to avoid further engagements prior to commencing the invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) in June. Pushing forward a plan calling for the mass use of… Read more »
The V-1 flying bomb (German: Vergeltungswaffe 1,), also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb, or doodlebug, and in Germany as Kirschkern (cherrystone) or Maikäfer (maybug)—was an early pulsejet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The V-1 was developed by the Werher von Braun (see von Braun) and Walter Dornberger (see Dornberger) group at Peenemünde Army Research Center by the Nazi German Luftwaffe during the Second World War. During initial development… Read more »
The Battle of Hannut was a World War II battle fought during the Battle for Belgium as Belgium like Holland had not surrendered, and which took place between 12 and 14 May 1940 at Hannut, Belgium. It was the largest ever tank battle at the time. The primary purpose of the Germans was to tie down the strongest elements of the 1st… Read more »
As we described the events of 10 May, we also mentioned the German plan to capture the Royal Family and as such force the Dutch [like the Danish] into a Governmental capitulation. These German efforts failed, as we have seen too. Queen Wilhelmina was a very traditional monarch. She was a very dedicated Queen, who… Read more »