World War II History

Steven Terjeson | August 31, 2009

Prelude to War: 1939 – British fleet mobilized & evacuations begin. 1943 – USS Harmon commissioned. 1944 – British 8th Army breaks through Gothic Line

Category: Atlantic Theater, Europe Theater, Media, Podcast | No Comments »
Tags: 1939, 1943, 1944, 8th Army, British, Gothic Line, London, Navy, USS Harmon

Steven Terjeson | April 13, 2009

Today in WWII History
World War II History for April 13
13 Apr 1939 USS Astoria attempts pre-war reconnaissance
The USS Astoria arrives in Japan under the command of Richard Kelly Turner in an attempt to photograph the Japanese battleships Yamato and Musashi.
U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Turner, whose motto was “If you don’t have losses, you’re not doing [...]

Category: Country - Germany, Country - Japan, Europe Theater, Pacific Theater, Today | No Comments »
Tags: 1939, Astoria, Belgrade, Fire, Japan, Jews, Massacre, Roosevelt, Spy, Vienna, Yugoslavia

Steven Terjeson | April 8, 2009

Today in WWII History
World War II History for April 8
8 Apr 1939 – Italy invaded Albania.
8 Apr 1945 – Lutheran pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged at Flossenburg. American troops liberated the POW camp nine days later.
8 Apr 1949 – The Soviets opened a rail link to the besieged city of Leningrad. [...]

Category: Europe Theater, Media, Podcast, Today | No Comments »
Tags: 1939, 1940, 1945, 1949, Albania, Audio, BBC, Denmark, Flossenburg, Invasion, Italy, Leningrad, Norway, Podcast, POW

Steven Terjeson | March 16, 2009

Today in WWII History
World War II History for March 16
16 Mar 1935 – Adolf Hitler ordered a German rearmament and violated the Versailles Treaty.
16 Mar 1939 – Germany occupied what remained of Czechoslovakia.
16 Mar 1940 – Geramny bombed the Scapa Flow naval base near Scotland.
16 Mar 1942 – U.S. President Roosevelt ordered [...]

Category: Europe Theater, Ground, North America, Pacific Theater, Today | No Comments »
Tags: 1935, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1945, Czechoslovakia, Hitler, Iwo Jima, Roosevelt, Scapa Flow, Scotland, Versailles Treaty

Steven Terjeson | February 16, 2009

Podcast – The Sinking of the Graf Spee

These are the actual radio broadcasts from Dec 17-18, 1939 about the sinking of the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Speein South America.

 

 WWII History - The End of Graf Spee - 1 [0:22m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 WWII History - British Cruiser Exeter Damaged by Graf Spee [0:34m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 WWII History - The End of Graf Spee - 2 [0:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 WWII History - The End of Graf Spee - BBC [5:01m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Category: Atlantic Theater, Media, News, Podcast | No Comments »
Tags: 1939, Audio, Battleship, Cruiser, Exeter, Graf Spee, Langsdorff, Pocket, Podcast

Steven Terjeson | January 16, 2009

Roosevelt’s Fireside Chat immediately after the outbreak of war in Europe
“The telephone in Franklin Roosevelt’s bedroom at the White House rang at 2:50 a. m. on the first day of September. In more ways than one it was a ghastly hour, but the operators knew they must ring. Ambassador Bill Bullitt was calling from Paris. [...]

 

 FDR - Fireside Chat - On the European War [10:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (17228)

Category: Country - USA, Facts, Media, North America, Podcast | No Comments »
Tags: 1939, Audio, FDR, Fireside, Media, Podcast, Roosevelt, Speech

Steven Terjeson | November 30, 2008

World War II History for November 30
1939 – The Soviet Union attacked Finland.
the Red Army crosses the Soviet-Finnish border with 465,000 men and 1,000 aircraft. Helsinki was bombed, and 61 Finns were killed in an air raid that steeled the Finns for resistance, not capitulation.

The overwhelming forces arrayed against Finland convinced most Western nations, as [...]

Category: Europe Theater, Media, Today | No Comments »
Tags: 1939, 1943, Churchill, Conference, Finland, Helsinki, Roosevelt, Russia, Soviet Union, Stalin, Teheran

Steven Terjeson | October 11, 2008

Today in WW II History
World War II History for October 11
1939 – U.S. President Roosevelt was presented with a letter from Albert Einstein that urged him to develop the U.S. atomic program rapidly.
1942 – The Battle of Cape Esperance, during World War II, began in the Solomons.
The battle for Guadalcanal began in August, when [...]

Category: Country - USA, Other, Pacific Theater, Sea, Today | No Comments »
Tags: 1939, 1942, Atomic, Einstein, Esperance, Guadalcanal, Roosevelt, Solomons

Steven Terjeson | October 9, 2008

Today in WW II History
World War II History for October 9
1939 – The U.S. Neutrality Act suffers a public relations setback when the German battleship Deutschland captures the City of Flint, an American cargo ship carrying farming supplies to England.
1940 – London’s Cathedral of St. Paul sustains serious damage to the roof and altar [...]

Category: Atlantic Theater, Europe Theater, North America | No Comments »
Tags: 1939, 1940, 1941, 1944, Churchill, Congress, London, Poland, Roosevelt, Stalin

Steven Terjeson | October 6, 2008

Today in WW II History
World War II History for October 6
1939 – Adolf Hitler denied any intention to wage war against Britain and France in an address to Reichstag.
1944 – Former French premier and Vichy collaborator Pierre Laval tried to kill himself on the day he was to be executed for treason. A physician saved [...]

Category: Europe Theater, Today | No Comments »
Tags: 1939, 1944, Hitler, Laval, Pierre Laval, Reichstag