Past and Present of Warfare
Tag: World War 2
Preliminary Incidents Hitler had given top priority to engineering an incident that would provoke the Poland into retaliation and thus justify German invasion. On 5 August 1939 the head of the SD (the Security Service of the SS), Reinhard Heydrich, entrusted the 28-year-old Alfred Naujoks with the task of creating just such an incident. To … Continue reading Attack on Poland – 1 – 17 September
Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941. While facts of how are widely known, the why question is far more interesting. While there are many reasons for the attack, most and possibly all of them boil down to Japan's lack of natural resources. Japan began to rapidly modernize after Commodore Perry ended Japan's self-isolationist … Continue reading Why Did Japan Attack Pearl Harbor
Countdown to War The German occupation of Bohemia and Moravia, the British guarantee and the partial Polish mobilization in March raised political tensions. The German Ambassador in Warsaw reported wild rumors among the population, such as that border clashes had begun. Mood was further heightened by the Polish press which claimed that Germans were decadent … Continue reading Attack on Poland – Countdown to War
Breaking the Nazi Codes While Poland was behind Germany and other European powers in most areas of military doctrine and technology, it was well ahead in one area – breaking of German codes. Germany was well ahead in cypher machines, with the first Engima machine developed for civilian purposes (at least officially); in 1930 a … Continue reading Attack on Poland – Moves Towards the Invasion
Underwater near the Polivalo peninsula of the island of Vis is located a wreck of the US B-17 bomber, of the B-17G type. This particular type of B-17 was in production since 1943., with a production run of 12 700 aircraft. It had length of 22,667 meters, wingspan of 31,663 meters, and weight of 24 … Continue reading B-17G Wreck Near Vis
Background On 27th of July 1941., a rebellion began against the government of Independent State of Croatia. For a long time, this day was celebrated as the day of Antifascist uprising in Croatia. Uprising caught the area of Srb, Lapac, Drvar and Bosansko Grahovo, that is the area of Lika and Western Bosnia. Since the … Continue reading Chetnik Uprising in Srb, 27 July 1941
When Pinnochio lies, his nose grows. When Yugoslav historians lie, numbers grow. During 45 years of the existence of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav historiography was one of symbols of the untouchable Party. Everything historians said was a holy cow, especially things that had to do with covering up Partisan crimes and balooning up crimes of their opponents. … Continue reading Lies of Yugoslav Historiography
Original Japanese plan had been fulfilled, and Japan was now in a solid position. It had rich sources of raw materials and numerous important strategic positions, strewn all across the Western Pacific and the Southeastern Asia. This might have allowed it a prolonged, if not indefinite, defense of the achieved positions. But the Japanese leaders … Continue reading Pacific War 13 – Australia and the Battle of the Coral Sea
During February 1942., a request for volunteers was passed through all of the USAAF's bomber squadrons. From a large number of volunteers, around a hundred ended up being chosen and sent to an air base in Florida. There, they met their instructor, Lieutenant Henry L. Miller. Volunteers went through a series of gruelling exercises. They … Continue reading Pacific War 12 – Doolittle’s Tokyo Raid
When attacking the Pearl Harbor, Japanese focused all their attention on the battleships. It is unknown why the Japanese command, which had spearheaded the usage of carriers as a main tool of attack, had essentially ignored the US carriers. In fact, this ignorance could well have had devastating consequences for the Japanese, as two US … Continue reading Pacific War 10 – Marshalls-Gilberts Raid
History and War 