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Admiral Yamamoto, commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Combined Fleet, was the Harvard-educated, poker-playing mastermind of the December 7, 1941, attack. On April 14, 1943, naval intelligence scored another code-breaking coup. The message began: “On April 18 CINC Combined Fleet will visit RXZ, R–, and RXP in accordance with the following schedule . .…
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Once upon a time in the West is not only one of my favourite westerns, it is also one of my favourite movies of all time. Many people don’t appreciate this fact but it is one of the few if not the only movie where Henry Fonda plays the bad guy. But before I ramble…
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On 14 May 1940, German planes sighted the Dutch gunboat Johan Maurits van Nassau just off the coast of the town of Callantsoog in the Netherlands. Earlier the ship had successfully helped to defend the Afsluitdijk, the large enclosure dam in the north of the Netherlands. For days, Dutch troops managed to hold the front…
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As early as May 1940, the Germans issued an ordinance stating that all carrier and fancy pigeons had to be killed in the Netherlands. Free-flying pigeons might be used to get messages to the Allied Forces A furious protest from pigeon owners ensued – there were more than 25,000 in the Netherlands – and this seemed to help.…
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Karl Gebhardt was Gruppenführer in the SS and Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General) in the Waffen SS; personal physician to Reichsfuehrer-SS Himmler; Chief Surgeon of the Staff of the Reich Physician SS and Police (Oberster Kliniker, Reichsarzt SS und Polizei); and President of the German Red Cross. He served as Medical Superintendent of the Hohenlychen Sanatorium. As a…
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(updated April 14,2024) 112 years ago today , as the Titanic was sinking, band leader Wallace Hartley decided to stay on the ship together with his fellow musicians. Why? I don’t really know, but I think it was to give that glimmer of hope to those who were facing their last minutes before their mortal…
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Although the Republic of Ireland was neutral and was left largely unscathed during the war, Northern Ireland as part of the UK was not that lucky. Belfast being the biggest city of Northern Ireland was hit by German bombers 4 times, between the 7th of April and 6th of May 1941. Northern Ireland was ill…
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In the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten lie the graves of 8,301 Americans killed during World War II. In Plot H, Row 8, Grave 9 rests John Sherman Hascall. His story, like all the others, is far too short. John was a Husky, graduating from Michigan Tech in 1939 with degrees in mining engineering and…
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Most of you know I have a keen interest in all things WWII and you are probably expecting an epic tale of a WWII Dogfight over the skies of Nuremberg. Alas you are mistaken, this particular ‘aerial combat’ took place on either the 4th or 14th of April 1561(it was reported on the 14th). I…
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Jesselton revolt was a multiethnic uprising on the occupied island of Borneo in October of 1943. The revolt was led by a guerrilla force mainly consisted of indigenous Suluk people and ethnic Chinese. The rebels were mainly armed with spears and Indonesian swords called parang, with little or no firearms. The Kinabalu Guerrillas were led…
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