After the Doolittle raid on April 18, 1942, it was necessary for the Japanese to take action. Japan was committed to forcing the United States into a peace agreement under Japanese conditions as soon as possible. The immense industrial power of the United States was well known and feared by the Japanese. The longer the […]
The battle of the Coral Sea, Midway and the Philippines sea Read More »
Bill Millin was born on July 14, 1922, in Regina, Saskatchewan, to a father of Scottish descent. The family returned to Glasgow when William was three. His father became a police officer. William grew up and attended school in the Shettleston neighborhood. He joined the Territorial Army at Fort William and played bagpipes in the band of
Bill Millin, “The mad piper” Read More »
Updated 6/05/2025 In my blog of the bombing of Nijmegen, I already discussed the Allied preparations for the bombing and details about its execution. Here, I will get more into detail about bombing in general and how tactics evolved over time, from precision bombing of strategic targets to bombing raids designed to destroy as many
Remagen is a village located on the left bank of the Rhine, between Bonn and Koblenz. The bridge was a remnant from WW1. Construction took three years and was put into operation in 1918, mainly to be able to supply the German front in the west more quickly. The bridge was given the name of
The miracle of Remagen Read More »
Updated 15/11/25 In my other stories, it has already emerged that Adolf Hitler’s initiatives have caused untold suffering and victims. The bizarre battle of the Hürtgenwald and the battle of the Gustav Line, but especially the enormous number of victims of the concentration camps, stand out above that. But even these human dramas stand in
Operation Barbarossa and the battle of Stalingrad Read More »
Updated: 11/11/2024 Request from Stalin The Blitzkrieg, invented by Heinz Guderian, Erich von Manstein and Erwin Rommel, had ensured that countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and in the east countries such as Poland, Hungary, Czechoskia were overrun by the Wehrmacht in no time. Hitler, in his face with these successes, then, despite
D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 Read More »
Updated 25/09/25 A number of strange strategic decisions were made in the second world war, which later in the battle led to an unnecessary amount of additional casualties and a huge loss of material. Now it is the case that in the heat of the battle a wrong decision can be made, but the decisions
Strange strategic decisions that mattered Read More »
In the previous article about the B-17, I already referred to the bombing of Nijmegen on February 22, 1944. Several Dutch cities were bombed multiple times during WWII. Rotterdam, initially razed to the ground by the Germans, was also bombed by Allied air raids on the port area. The Hague was attacked with a precision
The bombing of Nijmegen 22/02/1944 Read More »
Updated 27/07/2025 One word is omitted from the opening lines above. The title of this story is actually “The Nazi Murder Factories,” according to a new book I recently received. Why then not the word “Nazi” in the title? The answer is simple because, in this day and age, numerous regimes and commanders are still
The Murder Factories Read More »
It is clear that the Battle of England, a fight in the air that was unprecedented, marked the final death knell for the aspirations of the Third Reich. The loss of aircraft and the limited production of new aircraft due to the many strategic bombings of the Allies, resulted in an Allied force majeure in
B-17 Flying Fortress Read More »