Category Archives: World War II

FDR and Churchill begin first wartime conference aboard USS Augusta off Newfoundland 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 9 1941)

1940s, U.S. Presidents, World War II


Video: 'President To Prime Minister - Historic Meeting (1941)' (Aug. 9, 1941, at 0:09-3:17)

(Saturday, August 9, 1941, 11:00 a.m. Newfoundland Daylight Time; during World War II) — U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill secretly met aboard the USS Augusta today at Placentia Bay in Newfoundland to begin the four-day Atlantic Conference (codenamed Riviera), the first of nine face-to-face conferences between the two leaders during World War II. Continue reading FDR and Churchill begin first wartime conference aboard USS Augusta off Newfoundland 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 9 1941) →

Anne Frank attends wedding of Jan and Miep Gies in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 16 1941)

1940s, The Holocaust, World War II

(Wednesday, July 16, 1941; during The Holocaust, part of World War II) — 12-year-old Anne Frank, a German-Dutch diarist of Jewish heritage who would gain fame posthumously with the 1947 publication of The Diary of a Young Girl, and her father, Otto, were photographed today on their way to the wedding of family friends Miep Santrouschitz, 32, and Jan Glies, 35, in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Continue reading Anne Frank attends wedding of Jan and Miep Gies in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 16 1941) →

Nazi Germany attacks Soviet Russia with largest invasion force in history of warfare 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 22 1941)

1940s, World War II

Video: '096a - Operation Barbarossa - Biggest Land Invasion in History - WW2 - June 22 1941'

(Sunday, June 22, 1941, at around 3:15 a.m. Central European Summer Time; during Operation Barbarossa, part of the Eastern Front of World War II) — Nazi Germany and some of its Axis allies began bombing major cities in Soviet-occupied Poland and an artillery barrage on Red Army defenses on the entire Eastern Front of World War II this morning, launching Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. Continue reading Nazi Germany attacks Soviet Russia with largest invasion force in history of warfare 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 22 1941) →

Battle of Crete ends in victory for Axis forces 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (June 1 1941)

1940s, World War II


Video: 'World War II: The Battle of Crete - Full Documentary'

(Sunday, June 1, 1941; during the Battle of Crete, part of the Battle of Greece and the Mediterranean theatre, during World War II) — The Battle of Crete, fought on the Greek island of Crete, ended today when the the last 5.000 Allied soldiers at Sfakia surrendered to the Germans.
Continue reading Battle of Crete ends in victory for Axis forces 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (June 1 1941) →

British sink German battleship Bismarck off France with a loss of some 2,100 lives 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 27 1941)

1940s, World War II


Video: '092 - Sink the Bismarck! - The Pride of the Kriegsmarine's Demise - WW2 - May 30 1941' (Operation Rheinübung at 0:43)

(Tuesday, May 27, 1941, 10:39 a.m. Central European Summer Time; during the Last battle of the battleship Bismarck, part of Operation Rheinübung, part of the Battle of the Atlantic, during World War II) — British ships and planes sank the German battleship Bismarck today 400 miles west of the French port of Brest, with a loss of more than 2,100 lives, three days after the Bismarck sank the 42,100-ton battle cruiser HMS Hood with the loss of more than 1,400 lives.
Continue reading British sink German battleship Bismarck off France with a loss of some 2,100 lives 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 27 1941) →

Germans sink British battle cruiser HMS Hood in Battle of the Denmark Strait 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 24 1941)

1940s, World War II


Video: '092 - Sink the Bismarck! - The Pride of the Kriegsmarine's Demise - WW2 - May 30 1941' (Operation Rheinübung at 0:43)

(Saturday, May 24, 1941, at about 6:00 a.m. local time; during the Battle of the Denmark Strait, part of Operation Rheinübung, part of the Battle of the Atlantic, during World War II) — The 42,100-ton battle cruiser Hood, pride of the British Fleet and the world’s biggest fighting vessel, was blown up today by an “unlucky hit” scored on a munitions magazine by the new German battleship Bismarck in an engagement off Greenland. Continue reading Germans sink British battle cruiser HMS Hood in Battle of the Denmark Strait 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 24 1941) →

Germans sink ship sailing under American flag in tropical Atlantic 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 21 1941)

1940s, World War II

Video: 'The World At War: "On Our Way: U.S.A. (1939–1942)' (Robin Moor sunk at 13:11)

(Wednesday, May 21, 1941, 6:00 a.m. UTC; during World War II) — The SS Robin Moor, a Hog Islander steamship that sailed under the American flag, was sunk today by German submarine U-69 in the tropical Atlantic 750 miles west of the British-controlled port of Freetown, Sierra Leone, after allowing the passengers and crew to disembark.
Continue reading Germans sink ship sailing under American flag in tropical Atlantic 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 21 1941) →

Battle of Crete begins as Nazi Germany launches airborne invasion of Crete 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 20 1941)

1940s, World War II


Video: 'World War II: The Battle of Crete - Full Documentary'

(Tuesday, May 20, 1941, 8:00 a.m. Central European Summer Time, during the Battle of Crete, part of the Battle of Greece and the Mediterranean theatre, during World War II) — The Battle of Crete, fought on the Greek island of Crete, began this morning when Nazi Germany launched an airborne invasion of Crete under the code-name Unternehmen Merkur (“Operation Mercury”).
Continue reading Battle of Crete begins as Nazi Germany launches airborne invasion of Crete 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 20 1941) →

Hitler’s deputy Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland on apparent peace mission 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 10 1941)

1940s, World War II


Video: 'Rudolf Hess - Nazi Pacifist, Traitor or Madman? - WW2 Special Episode'

(Saturday, May 10, 1941, 11:09 p.m. British Double Summer Time; during The Blitz part of the Strategic bombing campaign of World War II) — Adolf Hitler’s deputy, Rudolf Hess, flew a Messerschmitt Bf 110 to Scotland today on what he claimed was a solo peace mission, parachuting into Eaglesham near his objective of Dungavel House after running out of fuel. Continue reading Hitler’s deputy Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland on apparent peace mission 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 10 1941) →

Germans launch last major attack on London during The Blitz 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 10 1941)

1940s, World War II


Video: "1941 Londons May 10th Blitz L2845'

(Saturday, May 10, 1941, 11:02 p.m.-5:57 a.m. British Double Summer Time; during The Blitz part of the Strategic bombing campaign of World War II) — The last major attack by German forces on London during The Blitz began tonight as the Luftwaffe flew 571 sorties and dropped 800 tonnes of bombs, causing more than 2,000 fires. Continue reading Germans launch last major attack on London during The Blitz 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 10 1941) →