Tag Archives: Second world war

War Studies: British naval supremacy ended on the 10th December 1941

Posted on April 23, 2025 by odeboyz

A 136 years of the Royal Navy’s global supremacy ended with the sinking of the battleship, Prince of Wales and battle cruiser, Repulse by the Japanese. Neither the Admiralty, or politicians, understood that British naval domination was shaky beforethis débâcle. … Continue reading →

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Stalin’s Patriotism

Posted on February 7, 2024 by odeboyz

Having learned they had captured Joseph Stalin’s son, the Nazis had an idea: exchange the boy – artillery Lt. Yakov Dzhugashvili – for Field Marshal Friedrich von Paulus, the commander who surrendered Stalingrad.  Stalin’s answer….All Soviet prisoners, he said, are … Continue reading →

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Noel Coward* in World War Two

Posted on July 20, 2023 by odeboyz

“As the tour went on he got into his stride and the reception [by the troops] improved. The conditions did not. He slept in bamboo huts, keeping one eye out for snakes, witnessed the rudimentary medical care available for the … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Menachem Kaiser ~ Plunder: A memoir of family property and stolen Nazi treasure (2021)

Posted on January 26, 2023 by odeboyz

This quirky book instantly attracted me. The story is straight-forwardly about property in Poland. Jewish Holocaust survivors made it to the USA. Two generations later a grandson tried to prove ownership rights over a house plundered by Nazis. Kaiser’s book … Continue reading →

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The Wehrmacht’s Campaigns of 1939, 1940 and 1941: A Guide

Posted on January 19, 2023 by odeboyz

“It is said that God is always on the side of the big battalions.” Voltaire The fast-striking motorized element of the German army in 1941 consisted of only 35 divisions out of 130. Three-quarters of the German army continued to … Continue reading →

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When did the Second World War Begin?

Posted on August 25, 2022 by odeboyz

British school children are taught the Second World War began on 3rd September, 1939. Neville Chamberlain, the Prime Minister, declared war on Germany after they invaded Poland.1 Britain began a European war not the world war. The Second World War … Continue reading →

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The Battle of the Bulge: Hitler’s Last Gamble

Posted on November 11, 2021 by odeboyz

Background Hitler’s political career was a series of audacious political, diplomatic and military gambles, which were dramatically successful until June 1941. Then hubris took hold and the gambles became losers. In Summer 1941, Hitler’s diplomatic coup of 19391 unravelled with … Continue reading →

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Hitler, Chamberlain and Clausewitz

Posted on September 17, 2020 by odeboyz

Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement failed in 1939 and was replaced with something worse. He decided Britain was a lion. Chamberlain threatened Hitler with war if Germany attacked Poland. The German High Command knew Britain couldn’t defend Poland and Hitler believed … Continue reading →

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Britain Ceases to be a World Power, December 1943

Posted on April 11, 2019 by odeboyz

The USA entered the European theatre following Hitler’s unbelievable declaration of war in December, 1941. Over the next two years, huge numbers of American troops entered Britain. Dwight D Eisenhower became Supreme Commander in Chief of Allied Forces, December 1943, … Continue reading →

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The partition of Poland- Autumn 1939

Posted on February 25, 2019 by odeboyz

Chris

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