History Archives - Page 26 of 73

Secrets of World War II episode 14

History / 4 minutes of reading / January 22, 2023 / By HDclump

Secrets of World War II episode 14: Between 1941 and 1943 some of America’s most talented fighter pilots flew for Nationalist China against the Japanese. They became known as the ‘Flying Tigers’ and with the name a legend was born. In July 1941, five months before the United States officially entered the war, a band of American pilots arrived in the Far East to fly against the Japanese in China. Known as the Flying Tigers, their superior flighting skills – and the distinctive shark-teeth markings on the noses of their aircraft – terrified enemy pilots. Discover how a tiny, hell-raising […]

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Secrets of World War II episode 13

History / 4 minutes of reading / January 21, 2023 / By HDclump

Secrets of World War II episode 13: In 1943 as the Germans were producing ‘heavy water’ to build their atomic bomb, the Norwegian resistance launched a daring raid against the Norsk Hydro plant. In 1941, British intelligence received an ominous message from operatives in Nazi-occupied Norway: The Norsk Hydro electric plant in Telemark had stepped up production of “heavy water,” a vital componet in the manufacture of an atomic bomb. The threat of German nuclear capability triggered a daring secret operation to destroy the plant and the enemy’s supply of heavy water. Discover how a courageous band of commandos prevented

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Secrets of World War II episode 12

History / 5 minutes of reading / January 20, 2023 / By HDclump

Secrets of World War II episode 12: Hundreds of sailors, eight ships and two American Admirals were to be lost in actions where valour overcame many mistakes on both sides – leading to the defeat of the Japanese Admiral Yamamoto. On August 7, 1942, American Marines waded ashore a tiny island to capture a Japanese airfield. It was the beginning of an epic six-month battle that changed the course of the war in the Pacific. What was the importance of one small enemy airfield? How were the Allies able to anticipate almost every attack planned by the Japanese high command?

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Secrets of World War II episode 11

History / 5 minutes of reading / January 19, 2023 / By HDclump

Secrets of World War II episode 11: The underwater war saw many innovations and a rapid increase in electronic technology, which eventually enabled the Allies to achieve ultimate victory. It was the only thing that truly frightened Winston Churchill. Silently patrolling the cold, gray waters of the Atlantic, the German U-boat almost sank Great Britain’s chances for victory. How could the U-boat nearly sever England’s lifeline? What were U-boats doing off the American coastline and in the Gulf of Mexico? And how did Allied submarines bring Japanese industry to a grinding halt? Learn the crucial role of the submarine in

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Secrets of World War II episode 10

History / 5 minutes of reading / January 18, 2023 / By HDclump

Secrets of World War II episode 10: There have been larger land battles and more protracted air campaigns than Okinawa but this was a combined operation, unparalleled in size, scope and ferocity. In April 1945, a U.S. bombardment of the Japanese-held island Okinawa rapidly escalated into the most intense battle of the Pacific. Thousands of Americans perished, and the Japanese lost ten times as many, along with their mightiest carrier, in what is described as “history’s greatest madhouse.” Discover the secret weapon that made such a decisive American victory possible — and significantly shortened the entire war — in “Target

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Secrets of World War II episode 9

History / 5 minutes of reading / January 17, 2023 / By HDclump

Secrets of World War II episode 9: In 1944 as Hitler faced defeat he tried one last gamble of an offensive on the Western Front. The result was the ‘Battle of the Bulge’. But what the Germans did not know was the Allies were decoding their radio messages. By late 1944, the Allied commanders were confident that the Third Reich was finished. But on December 16, thousands of storm troopers suddenly appeared from the mists of the Ardennes Forest and smashed into the weakest section of the American lines. How could an attack by twenty-five German divisions take the Allies

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Secrets of World War II episode 8

History / 5 minutes of reading / January 16, 2023 / By HDclump

Secrets of World War II episode 8: In 1941 four Italian frogmen used their two-man underwater ‘chariots’ to place explosive charges on two British battleships in Alexandria Harbour. They were the first of many brave men to use these unconventional weapons. On the night of December 18, 1941, three frogmen from a top secret division of the Italian navy penetrated the harbor at Alexandria, Egypt. Riding just below the water’s surface on specially modified torpedoes, the men silently approached their target–the battleship Queen Elizabeth, flagship of the British Mediterranean fleet. Now experience the daring raid of Italy’s elite Decima Flottiglia

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Secrets of World War II episode 7

History / 7 minutes of reading / January 15, 2023 / By HDclump

Secrets of World War II episode 7: By early 1940, British codebreakers at Bletchley Park, working with information from the Poles, had begun to crack the German military codes produced on the Enigma cipher machine. Once this had been achieved, the challenge was how to prevent the Germans from finding out their codes had been broken. It was transmitted on a top-secret device capable of scrambling a message millions of different ways. The German high command was absolutely certain it was impossible to break. But the Allies did crack the enigma code, helping to shorten the war by years and

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Secrets of World War II episode 6

History / 5 minutes of reading / January 11, 2023 / By HDclump

Secrets of World War II episode 6: He was nicknamed the ‘Desert Fox’ and highly decorated by Hitler. However, Rommel was not in sympathy with the Nazi party and may have been involved in the plot to kill Hitler. Did the legendary German General commit suicide or was he murdered? On October 14, 1944, Germany’s greatest military leader said goodbye to his beloved wife and son, then drove away with two officers sent by Adolf Hitler. Just moments later, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was dead. Was it suicide…or retribution? Why would the Fuhrer order the death of his one-time supporter

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Secrets of World War II episode 5

History / 5 minutes of reading / January 10, 2023 / By HDclump

Secrets of World War II episode 5: In 1942 a reconnaissance Spitfire photographed a strange shaped piece of German apparatus in a Normandy field. It turned out to be a sophisticated German radar system whose secrets had to be discovered. On the night of February 27, 1942, British paratroopers dropped into snowcovered fields along the coast of France. Their mission: to capture a top secret German radar installation near the town of Bruneval. Relive the astonishing nighttime attack–and discover how it played a vital role in the Allied bombing offensive against Hitler’s Reich in “The Bruneval Raid.”

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Secrets of World War II episode 4

History / 4 minutes of reading / January 9, 2023 / By HDclump

Secrets of World War II episode 4: In June 1942 two German U-Boats landed secret agents on Long Island and at Jacksonville, Florida. Their aim was sabotage but their methods left a lot to be desired! On the night of June 12, 1942, a German U-boat emerged from the fog just off the coast of Long Island. It’s cargo: four Nazi agents equipped with forged documents, explosives and an ambitious plan to blow up America. Could a small team of trained saboteurs actually bring the mighty U.S. armament industry to a grinding halt? Discover the diabolical plot of destruction that

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Secrets of World War II episode 3

History / 4 minutes of reading / January 4, 2023 / By HDclump

Secrets of World War II episode 3: After numerous adventures, a small number of American officers managed to rendezvous with their submarine on the North Africa coast in 1942 and relay back to Eisenhower information which would save thousands of British and American lives. Before the Allies could invade North Africa in 1943, a critical question needed to be answered: Would the Vichy French guarding the coastline meet the Allied troops with open arms…or with bullets? Now learn of the daring plan to gain crucial French support and at the American general who risked his life on

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