The preparation for D-Day on the Allied side took a couple of years of meticulous planning, training, the massing of troops and then intense coordination with air, sea and land forces as well as coordinating the French resistance. The British Special Operations Executive (SOE) was the driving force behind infiltrating agents into occupied France, setting More »
Germany
Looking For a Binge-Watching Series on Memorial Day? Look No Further
Memorial Day preparations and programs are all going non-stop this weekend. In our small bucolic town in Central Massachusetts, our schools have all put together very nice programs to honor those members of our country who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. Our high school put together a nice program where the students researched town members More »
“Saving Private Ryan” Re-released for the 75th Anniversary of D-Day
One of the biggest blockbuster war films is being re-released for the 75th anniversary of the D-Day Normandy invasion of France. Steven Spielberg’s classic “Saving Private Ryan” is being brought back in 600 theaters nationwide for just two days, June 2 and June 5 at 3 and 7 p.m. on those days to commemorate the More »
Operation Archery, Brit Commandos Raid Vaagso, Norway Dec. 27, 1941
After the forces of Hitler’s Nazi Germany overran most of Europe in the summer of 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered that the military create a force that could carry out raids against Nazi-occupied Europe. “Enterprises must be prepared, with specially-trained troops of the hunter class, who can develop a reign of terror down More »
World War I, “The War to End All Wars” Centennial
At the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the Armistice to end World War I was to take effect. It ended the bloodbath which consumed Europe from 1914 until November 11, 1918. Nearly 20,000,000 people were dead including 9-11,000,000 troops and a like number of civilians. Another 20,000,000 were wounded. The More »
On This Day, 1943, Daring Raid By Nazi Commandos Rescues Mussolini
By September of 1943, World War II was not going well for Nazi Germany. The Russians had routed the German attack at Kursk and had the strategic initiative. The German Afrika Korps had been pushed across and out of North Africa. German cities were routinely being bombed by American bombers during the day and British More »
July 20, 1944, Operation Valkyrie, the Plot to Assassinate Hitler Fails
Operation Valkyrie was the plan by German Count Claus von Stauffenberg and other senior German generals in the Wehrmacht to assassinate Adolf Hitler and several other high ranking Nazis in an attempt to end the war in Europe. It failed. Stauffenberg planted a bomb concealed in a briefcase under the conference table in Hitler’s Wolf’s More »
OSS Captain Martin Gelb Awarded Congressional Gold Medal in NH
Because of security classifications that didn’t expire until 10 years ago, many members of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) never were fully recognized for the work they did behind enemy lines during World War II. But for a Derry, NH man, that oversight has been fixed as he was finally recognized for serving in More »
The OSS (Office of Strategic Services) Was Formed on This Day 1942
On June 13, 1942, the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) was formed. The OSS was a wartime intelligence agency of the United States during World War II and a predecessor of the modern Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities More »
Remembering Robert G. Cole, MOH In Normandy On Memorial Day
We’ve been focusing on Memorial Day in the past week, writing about some of the heroes of past conflicts who despite all odds persevered and made it thru the horrors of war and were awarded the Nation’s highest award. Today on Memorial Day, we remember a hero who was awarded the Medal of Honor for More »