The Battle for Berlin all but marked the end of World War II in Europe. The Battle for Berlin, along with the Battle of Britain, the Battle of the Atlantic and D-Day, was of vital importance in the European sector. It was fought between April and May 1945, and the Russian victory saw the end of Hitler’s Third Reich and the occupation of… Read more »
In the Netherlands, Liberation Day ( Bevrijdingsdag) is celebrated each year on May the 5th to mark the end of the occupation by Nazi Germany in World War II . The nation was liberated largely by the First Canadian Army undewr Command of Brigade General Henry Crerar, which included in addition to Canadian forces the British I… Read more »
Early in 1944, with an Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe becoming ever more likely, Field Marschal Erwin Rommel was assigned to improve the wall’s defences. Believing the existing coastal fortifications to be entirely inadequate, he immediately began strengthening them. Rommel’s main concern was Allied air power. He had seen it first-hand when fighting the British and Americans… Read more »
In September 1936, Lieutenant Colonel Walther Warlimont of the German General Staff arrived as the German commander and military adviser to General Bahamond Francisco Franco. The following month Warlimont suggested that a German Condor Legion should be formed to fight in the Spanish Civil War. The Condor Legion, upon establishment, consisted of the Kampfgruppe 88,… Read more »
Finally, on June 22, 1941, Germany and its allies launched Operation Barbarossa , a massive invasion of the Soviet Union from the Baltic shore in the north to the Black Sea in the South. The Soviets were caught by surprise. (The USSR knew Germany would attack eventually and had war gamed various scenarios but did… Read more »