The Nuremberg War Crime Trials were held between 1945 to 1949. However, the most famous trials at Nuremberg were those of the major war criminals and these were held from November 20th, 1945 to October 1st, 1946. The trials at Nuremberg held after these dates were for the so-called lesser war criminals. As the war reached its… Read more »

The Battle of Iwo Jima (19 February – 26 March 1945) was a major battle in which the United States Armed Forces landed and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. The American invasion, designated Operation Detachment, had the goal of capturing the entire island, including the three Japanese-controlled airfields (including the South Field and the Central Field),… Read more »

The Home Guard was originally known as the Local Defence Volunteers, LDV. This was considered too much of a title and it became the Home Guard, though the nickname ‘Look, Duck and Vanish’ did stick – rather unfairly as the work done by the Home Guard was very important. The men who would have defended… Read more »

On 5 May 1945, the First Canadian Army was in large part responsible for the liberation of the Netherlands. Ask any Dutchie about Canada, especially those in their senior years and they will surely praise the liberation efforts of the Canadian troops. The liberation came at a critical time for the Dutch people, as thousands were left starving and… Read more »

On June 6, 1944, Allied Forces invaded Normandy and turned the tide of World War II in Europe. More than 100,000 soldiers swept ashore and nearly 10.000 died that first day.  By June 22, the Allies had broken out of Normandy heading for Berlin. These stories are the first-hand accounts of the men and women… Read more »

Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak, Moscow, born August 18, 1921 – Krasnyi Luch  August 1, 1943), also known as Lydia Litviak or Lilya Litviak,    was a fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Force during World War II. With at least 12 solo victories and at least four shared kills over a total of 66 combat missions, over about two… Read more »

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 »