Tag Archives: Soviet Union

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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Book Review: William Ryan ~ The Holy Thief (2010)

Posted on May 30, 2022 by odeboyz

The death of Phillip Kerr left a hole in my reading of historical novels. His principal character, Bernie Gunther,1 a Berlin policeman becomes embedded in the Nazi regime whilst maintaining his integrity (sort of). Ryan’s Moscow Noir novels are set … Continue reading →

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Winston Churchill cedes British Sovereignty to the USA

Posted on November 12, 2020 by odeboyz

Churchill ceded British sovereignty on 24th December, 1943 to the USA. Command of Britain’s armed forces became the responsibility of Dwight D. Eisenhower: after this date British generals reported to him. Churchill made his unique decision because Britain was incapable … Continue reading →

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The partition of Poland- Autumn 1939

Posted on February 25, 2019 by odeboyz

Chris

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Alexey Stakhanov: the most famous coal miner in history

Posted on November 29, 2018 by odeboyz

  Stalin introduced a whirlwind of industrialisation in a series of Five Year Plans beginning in 1928. These plans centralised control of every part of industrial production. Every mine had productivity targets which had to be met or exceeded. This … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Martin Cruz Smith ~ The Arkady Renko novels

Posted on October 29, 2018 by odeboyz

The British Detective Inspector genre has reached new levels of sophistication in its numerous iterations. There is a pretty standard characterisation used by most authors and so thrillers depend almost entirely on ever more ingenious plots. However, no matter how … Continue reading →

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Two Peace Treaties: Brest-Litovsk, March 1918 and Versailles, June 1919

Posted on September 20, 2018 by odeboyz

The Brest-Litovsk and Versailles peace treaties were two sides of the same coin for Germany. Germany imposed the Brest-Litovsk Treaty on the Soviets and then had onerous conditions imposed on them at Versailles. There are remarkable similarities in the two … Continue reading →

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The Attempted Assassination of Adolf Hitler, 20th July 1944

Posted on October 3, 2014 by odeboyz

Wolf’s Lair (Wolfsschanze) was impregnable. It was Hitler’s headquarters in northern Poland, or Grosse Deutschland as he put it. It was impregnable to everything except treachery. On the 20th July 1944, Claus von Stauffenberg tried to commit that treacherous act. … Continue reading →

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