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 feature items. items have been published since the last newsletter was sent out and are re-publications. For ease of browsing, drilldowns are available on both Era and Author. Mainstream and/or opinion pieces are labelled Non-AH Content.
World War 2

In 1954 the Wehrmacht General who destroyed the Allied beachhead at Dunkirk Heinz Guderian died on this day in Schwangau, Allgäu. He was sixty-five years old.Death of "Fast Heinz" Guderian, Architect Dunkirk Victory Steve Payne In 1940 on this day Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax was appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.Our Greatest Prime Minister, "Lord Halifax" Steve Payne In 1945 the U.S. government announced the fall of Berlin. Western Armies capture "Berlin" Eric Lipps
In 1883 Field Marshal Archibald Wavell architect of the Allied conquest of North Africa born in Colchester, Essex. As the professional Head of Middle East Command he oversaw the successful prosecution of Operation Compass. And by early 1941 the Italian Army had been routed and Allied forces were the masters of North Africa.Birth of Field Marshal "Archibald Wavell" Steve Payne In 1945 on this day fifty nations gathered in San Francisco, California to begin the United Nations Conference on International Organizations. The goal was to replace the League of Nations, to stop wars between countries, and to provide a platform for dialogue. It would contain multiple subsidiary organizations to carry out its missions.UN headquarters in "San Francisco" Steve Payne In 1940 a <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reorganized_National_Government_of_China>puppet government led by Wang Jingwei</a> was established in the Republic of China under the protection of the Empire of Japan and her strategic ally, the Soviet Union [1].Fall of Comrade Stalin: "Part 4" Steve Payne
In 1943 German Colonel Freiherr von Gersdorff follows his Fuhrer as he walks through Berlins Zeughaus Museum."von Gersdorff assassinates Hitler" Robbie Taylor In 1904 senior German Underground (G.U.) official Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich was born in the city of Halle an der Saale.Birth of "Reinhard Heydrich", Redux Steve Payne In 1904 on this day Hitlers Hangman Reinhard Heydrich was born in Halle an der Saale, the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.Birth of Hitler's Hangman: "Reinhard Heydrich" Steve Payne
In 1953 on this day Joseph Stalin, the Georgian leader of the dissolved Soviet Union died in exile in Siberia.Fall of the "Red Tsar" Steve Payne No Pasaran! (2nd Spanish-American War): "Part 3" Chris Oakley In 1942 on this day President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered General Douglas MacArthur out of the Philippines as the Japanese victory had become inevitable. "General MacArthur" Declares Himself Filipino Dictator Steve Payne



In 1964 just after stepping onto the tarmac from their plane arriving in New York City, the famed British rock band "The Beatles" were mobbed by nearly three thousand screaming fans.. "Beatle Bomber" Strikes in New York City Jeff Provine In 1980 on this day ailing Winnipeg-born engineer Sir William Stephenson was awarded the Order of Canada. Recognition for "Codename Intrepid" Steve Payne In 1945 on this day the Yalta Conference opened at the Livadia Palace in the Crimea with Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin representing the "Big Three".Yalta Conferences creates a "Soviet Prussian State" Steve Payne
In 1920 on this day, Edward Donald Slovik was born to a Polish-American family in Detroit, Michigan. During the liberation of France, he held the rank of Private in Company G of the 109th Infantry Regiment, U.S. 28th Infantry Division.Eddie Slovik survives WW2 in "Unfit for Duty" Steve Payne In 1965 on this day Maxime Weygand hero of the Battle of France died in Paris aged ninety-eight.General "Weygand" passes away Steve Payne In 1897 on this day "Respected Leader" Subhas Chandra Bose was born in Cuttack, Orissa British India.Birth of Respected Leader "Subhas Chandra Bose" Steve Payne
In 1940 on this day the second phase of the Winter War commenced with the Soviet invasion of Norway, a move which had been predicted by the Danish ambassador to London, Count Eduard Reventlow.Soviet invasion of "Norway" Steve Payne In 1941 on this day the celebrated Irish novelist and poet James Joyce dies in self-imposed exile in Zurich, Switzerland. "James Joyce" passes away Jeff Provine In 1922 on this day the Japanese aircraft carrier Hōshō ("phoenix in flight") became the first purpose built aircraft carrier to be commissioned in the world. Her aircraft group participated in the Shanghai Incident in 1932 and in the opening stages of the Sino-Japanese War in late 1937.Flugzeugträger "Part 13": Commissioning of Hōshō Steve Payne
In 1943 Chief of Staff George C. Marshall (pictured) became the Supreme Allied Commander (SAC) three weeks after the <a href=http://www.todayinah.co.uk/index.php?story=39790-O>tragic death of General Dwight David Eisenhower</a>. Because "Ike" had been killed in a jeep accident while being transported from headquarters just one day after being unceremoniously appointed Supreme Commander in the coming Operation Overlord in a handwritten note from FDR to Stalin. one day after being unceremoniously appointed Supreme Commander in the coming Operation Overlord in a handwritten note from FDR to Stalin, General Dwight David Eisenhower died in a jeep accident while being transported from headquarters. "George C. Marshall" becomes Supreme Allied Commander Jeff Provine In 1939 on this day Soviet forces crossed the Finnish border in several places and bombed Helsinki and several other Finnish cities, starting the war.Western Allies intervene in "Winter War" John Faerseth In 1940 after nearly two months of dealing, Russia announced that it would be joining Hitlers Axis on this day. Stalin had ordered his minister Molotov to widen the scope of the discussions in Berlin to solve potential problems with spheres of influence. Russia Joins "Axis" Jeff Provine



In 1943 the mass Escape at Janowska occured on this day occured. In the outskirts of Lwów, in which had once been Poland but was then under the fascist rule of Nazi Germany, the Janowska concentration camp for labor and transit stood (pictured, Members of a Sonderkommando 1005 unit pose next to a bone crushing machine). Mass Escape at "Janowska" Jeff Provine In 1965 on this day 33rd President of the United States Henry Agard Wallace died in Danbury, Connecticut. 33rd President of the United States "Henry A. Wallace" Steve Payne In 1948 Major Glenn Miller flew out of Templehof Airport the morning after a special Halloween Concert in which his Army Air Force Band had performed live Jazz Music for the US Troops that had been stationed in Berlin ever since the Soviet Blockade had begun in June.Last Mission of "Major Glenn Miller" Steve Payne
In 1922 on this day King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy invited thirty-nine year old Benito Mussolini to form a new government. An ill-disguised megalomaniac who dreamt of re-establishing the Roman Empire, he had the strategic genius to wait two full decades before making his power movie."Rome" wasn't built in a day Steve Payne In 1944 on this day the German aircraft carriers Graf Zeppelin and Peter Strasser are sunk in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.Flugzeugträger "Part 12": Disaster at Leyte Gulf Steve Payne What if "Atom Bombs" Weren't Used aalholmes Non-AH Content
In 1945 on this day Edward and Wallis Windsor boarded the Benson class destroyer MacKenzie at Naval Station Norfolk and were escorted back to Blighty courtesy of the US Navy. Arnold Hiller is finally dead, and "the Windsors" return to Blighty Steve Payne It is 1946 and Germany has conquered Great Britain. Prince Philip of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg has joined Hermann Goerings secret intelligence service.Elizabeth Windsor: "Partisan Princess" Jackie Rose The "End of a World", September 2, 1945 Matt Dattillo Non-AH Content
In 1945 on this day the Chief of the Nazi-Occupied British State David Lloyd-George died. He was eighty-two years old.After "Winston" was bust Steve Payne No Pasaran! (2nd Spanish-American War): "Part 2" Chris Oakley In 1939 in a declaration from Buckingham Palace on this day, the Commander in Chief of the British Armed Forces King Edward VIII announced that the German invasion of Poland would not trigger a military response.Buckingham Palace Declaration from "King Edward VIII" Steve Payne



In 1941 five months after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Lend-Lease bill into law (pictured), Operation Schraubenschlüssel was dismantled and US aid to Britain and China finally began in earnest.Flugzeugträger "Part 11": Operation Schraubenschlüssel Steve Payne In 1945 on this day the unconditional surrender of Japan was prevented by the actions of the officers of the 2nd Brigade Imperial Guard and the Staff Office of the Ministry of War who occupied the Tokyo Imperial Palace and placed the Emperor under house arrest.Japanese Surrender prevented by the "The Kyūjū Incident" Steve Payne In 1945 in his first day in Downing Street, Clement Attlee confirmed that Winston Churchill would remain in his post of Minister of Defence, a position that he had concurrently held as War-time Prime Minister.Attlee and Churchill win the "Khaki Election" of 1945 Steve Payne
In 1945 in the first general election held in the UK for a decade, <a href=http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=232423>Anthony Edens</a> Tories crashed to defeat and Winston Churchill returned as the Prime Minister of a Coalition Government of National Unity dominated by the Labour Party.Churchill wins the "Khaki Election" of 1945 Steve Payne In 1945 the Potsdam Agreement was agreed a week later than expected because Ukrainian nationalists murdered General Secretary Stalin en-route to the Conference.Stalin killed on eve of "Potsdam Conference" Steve Payne "What Price Victory", August 6, 1945 Matt Dattillo Non-AH Content
In 2010 the Quintessential wrote ~ these days, we often forget that the atomic bombs were nearly used on Japan during the Second World War. With the anniversary of the Soviet declaration of war on Imperial Japan (or as they call it in Orwellian jargon of Socialist Democratic Republic of Japan, "Fraternal Help for Pacification") looming, it is hard to remember another more obscure non-event that would have also happened sixty-five years ago today, had it not been for President Trumans decision two weeks prior.What if .. "Atom Bombs" Weren't Used The Quintessential Did the "Atom Bomb" Win the War? Andrew Beane Non-AH Content In 1942 on this day MacArthur Declares Himself Filipino Dictator. When the Commonwealth of the Philippines achieved semi-independent status in 1935, President of the Philippines Manuel Quezon asked then US Chief of Staff MacArthur to supervise the creation of a Philippine Army. Quezon and MacArthur had been personal friends since the latters father had been Governor-General of the Philippines, 35 years earlier. With President Roosevelts approval, MacArthur accepted the assignment. It was agreed that MacArthur would receive the rank of field marshal, with its salary and allowances, in addition to his major generals salary as Military Advisor to the Commonwealth Government of the Philippines. "MacArthur" Declares Himself Filipino Dictator Steve Payne
In 1943 this day could have marked the end of General George Pattons career. He was having a fit at a "cowardly" enlisted man in a military hospital in Sicily when his chief of staff, <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobart_R._Gay#World_War_II>Brigadeer General Gay</a> grabbed his arm before he could strike the man. Gay then shouted down his commander until a military doctor could explain that the man actually had malaria rather than "battle fatigue". Gay then proceeded to risk his military career by physically restraining Patton and getting him out of the tent. Gay had other officers find a senior physican to brief the enraged Patton on shell shock as an actual disease with physical symptoms distinct from cowardice. By this time Patton had demoted all his attending officers to privates and threatened them with court martials. General Gay rescues career of "George Patton" Scott Palter In 1942 on this day General Douglas MacArthur, his wife Jean, four year old son Arthur and Cantonese amah Ah Che were all killed when ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy fired upon Motor Torpedo Boat PT-41 in Manila Bay. Their tragic deaths, and the surrender of Bataan and then Corregidor marked a new low point of confidence in a series of reversals that had beset the Allies since the attack on Pearl Harbour.Death of "Dug-out Doug" MacArthur Steve Payne In 1945 on this day at the Livadia Palace near Yalta the shape of the post-war German occupation zones was laid down at the Argonaut Conference. The result was the quadrapartite decision to create a contiguous Soviet Occupation Zone with an undivided Berlin as its capital. Western Allies give up Berlin at "Yalta" Steve Payne



In 1946 on this day the German Undergrounds headquarters at the New Reichs signature hotel The Excelsior was destroyed by 350 kg (770 lb) of explosives spread over six charges detonated by a terrorist cell of the Greater Zionist Resistance (GZR) under the command of Mieczyslaw Biegun.Greater Zionist Resistance blows-up "The Excelsior " Steve Payne In 1939 acting upon an Ultra transmission decrypted at the last minute by master codebreaker <a href=http://www.todayinah.co.uk/index.php?story=39534-P>John Tolkien</a>, British Naval Intelligence despatch <a href=http://www.todayinah.co.uk/index.php?story=39606-V>Commander Ian Fleming</a> to the Crystal Palace in Sydenham.Master Codebreaker: "Part 2" Steve Payne In 1939 on this day the whistleblowing codebreaker John Tolkien launched his glittering second career in modest style by taking an instructional course at the London Headquarters of the Government Code and Cypher School.Master Codebreaker: "Part 1" Steve Payne
In 1942 on this day the Kriegsmarines double aircraft carrier group spearheaded "Operation Herkules", the Italo-German invasion of the island of Malta.Kriegsmarine: "Operation Hercules" Steve Payne In 1904 on this day the master Nazi Counterfeiter Bernhard Krüger was born in Slovakias High Tatra mountains.Kriegsmarine: "Operation Bernhard" Steve Payne In 1937 on this day at the Ansaldo Shipyard in Genoa Il Duce ordered an expansion of the Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) to include the building of the Aquila ("Eagle") and Sparviero ("Sparrowhark") double aircraft carrier force mirroring (and perhaps rivaling) the "Plan Z" construction undertaken by the Kriegsmarine.Kriegsmarine: "Operation Hats" Steve Payne
In 1942 on this day a jittery Winston Churchill wrote the shortest official memorandum in British history to his First Sea Lord Sir Dudley Pound demanding "Where is TIRPITZ?".Kriegsmarine: "Where is TIRPITZ?" Steve Payne In 1941 on this day the Red Army launched a full-blown attack on Northern Germany and Romania that confirmed the worst Nazi fears about the true extent of Stalins military buildup.Kriegsmarine: "The Zhukov Plan" Steve Payne Mao's Sealion: "Part 1" Chris Oakley
In 1939 to challenge the naval power of the United Kingdom the Fuehrer Adolf Hitler ordered the <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan_Z>re-equipment and expansion</a> of the Nazi German Navy.Kriegsmarine: Launch of "Plan Z" Steve Payne In 1940 on this day the German Kriegsmarine aircraft carrier codename Flugzeugträger B was christened the Peter Strasser (in honour of the World War I leader of the naval airship) and launched from the Deutsche Werke in the port of Kiel. Deployed in a carrier group alongside the Tirpitz, her main war-time role was to wreck havoc amongst the Arctic convoys.Kriegsmarine Carrier "Peter Strasser" terrorizes Arctic Convoys Steve Payne In 1938 on this day the German Kriegsmarine aircraft carrier codename Flugzeugträger A was christened the Graf Zeppelin and launched from the Deutsche Werke in the port of Kiel.Kriegsmarine Carrier "Graf Zeppelin" leads capture of Iceland Steve Payne



In 1939 on this day the Nippon Kaigun and Kriegsmarine began a summer-long joint exercise that resulted in the German double aircraft carrier group being stranded in the Far East at the outbreak of war.Kriegsmarine Carriers at "Pearl Harbour" Steve Payne In 1942 / 1944 on two occasions two years apart during the Second World War, the sixth of June proved to be a day of disaster. The first was in the Pacific Theater as the Imperial Japanese Navy looked to take Midway Island and push American control 1,200 miles backward. Since the war in the Pacific had begun for the Americans with the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, it had been mostly a calculated retreat. June 6, 1942 and 1944 - A "Cursed Day" for the Allies Jeff Provine In 1918 on this day Wilhelm Hohenzollern II the last Emperor (Kaiser) of Germany and King of Prussia abdicated the throne and fled to the Netherlands where he remained in exile for the rest of his life. In an angry, hate-filled letter to Field Marshal August von Mackensen dated 2 December 1919, he denounced his abdication as the "deepest, most disgusting shame ever perpetrated by a person in history, the Germans have done to themselves [..] egged on and misled by the tribe of Judah [the Jews] .. Let no German ever forget this, nor rest until these parasites have been destroyed and exterminated from German soil!".The Kaiser's meeting with "Anne Frank" Jackie Rose
In 1942 James Blunt met H.V. Morton for the first time at Blunts Surrey home; Blunt had initially been reluctant to agree to Mortons interview request but changed his mind after being persuaded Morton was genuinely interested in the story of the journal of Blunts mirror universe counterpart.Chance Encounter: "Part 2" Chris Oakley No Pasaran! (2nd Spanish-American War): "Part 1" Chris Oakley In 1940 on this day the Blue Shirts of <a href=http://www.todayinah.co.uk/index.php?story=39641-U>Canadian Führer</a> Adrien Arcand raised the Flag of Vichy France less than twenty-four hours after news of the formation of the Pétain Government reached the offices of the Parti National Social Chrétien in Montreal.Canadian Führer raises flag of "Vichy France" in Montreal Steve Payne
In 1897 on this day the left-wing journalist and movie critic German emigré "Clubfoot" Joey Goebbels was born in Rheydt, an industrial town south of Mönchengladbach on the edge of the Ruhr district.Clubfoot "Joey Goebbels": The Führer's Antagonist Steve Payne The Battle of Los Angeles, "February 25, 1942" Matt Dattillo Non-AH Content FDR passes the "2nd Bill of Rights" Brian Peotter
In 1939 during the course of an annual speech at the Bürgerbräukeller beer hall in Munich commemorating the failed putsch of 1923, Führer Adolf Hitler was instantly killed by the explosion of a large bomb placed by Johann Georg Elser in a column behind the speakers podium.Hitler blown up at the "Bürgerbräukeller" beer hall in Munich. Steve Payne The Last Mission of "PT-109" Matt Dattillo Non-AH Content In 1950 on this day Communist Chinese paratroopers landed on Taiwan, marking a resurgence of the Chinese Civil War.Operation Solstice: "Part 5" Steven Fisher



In 1942 while walking home to the Surrey village of Foxton after visiting a longtime friend, retired British tradesman James Blunt was startled to find a weatherbeaten-looking diary book in the woods near his backyard.Chance Encounter: "Part 1" Chris Oakley The Plot to Kill "Hitler" Matt Dattillo Non-AH Content In 1943 on this fateful day Lieutenant John F. "Jack" Kennedy was killed when his Military Torpedo Boat PT-109 was rammed by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri near New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. He was posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. Author of "Profiles in Courage" dies on-board PT-109 Steve Payne
In 1944 on this fateful day Colonel Elliott Roosevelt was killed and Lieutenant Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy, Jr. critically injured during the course of an experimental attack in which unmanned, explosive-laden bombers were deliberately crashed into enemy targets under radio control.All the Way with "JPK" Steve Payne In 1943 on this day in Caluire-et-Cuire, the Gestapo followed French Resistant René Hardy to the house of Doctor Dugoujon arriving bare minutes after Jean Moulin and his fellow leaders had fled.Jean Moulin escapes the Raid on the "house in Caluire" Steve Payne In 1950 the invasion of Germany by Soviet armored divisions commenced, marking the beginning of World War 3. Merely five years after the crushing of Hitler and the Nazis, the climactic confrontation between Communism and Democracy would begin with an unbridled fury.Operation Solstice: "Part 4" Steven Fisher
In 1944 on this day the Führer Adolf Hitler (pictured) was assassinated by General Helmuth Stieff at a display of new uniforms in Klessheim castle near Salzburg.<span class=EditorText>A wildy different outcome than <a href=http://www.todayinah.co.uk/index.php?story=39462-O>To the Lair of The Fascist Beast</a></span>"Dystopian Valkyrie" destroys sacred Germany Steve Payne In 1942 on this day Subhas Chandra Bose raised the flag of Indian independence at Calcutta.The Fall of Calcutta, "1942" Steve Payne In 1940 on this day the sovereign governments of Norway and Sweden granted transit rights which authorized a British-French Corps to disembark at the Norwegian port of Narvik and support Finland via Sweden while securing supply routes along the way.Allies intervene in the "Winter War" Steve Payne
In 1944 in the biggest single atrocity perpetrated against US troops in Europe during World War II, eighty-four American 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion POWs were shot dead by a German combat unit of the 1st Waffen-SS Panzer Division during the Battle of the Bulge.McCarthy witchhunt into "Malmedy massacre" Steve Payne In 1948 on this day the Soviets successfully detonated a prototype nuclear bomb, codenamed First Lightning. This would herald a new phase in the relations between the Soviets and the Allies.Operation Solstice: "Part 3" Steven Fisher France "44" Chris Oakley



In 1945 on this day the Potsdam Agreement was signed by Stalin, Truman, and Attlee. This agreement covered how post-war Germany was to be treated, and the final settlement of the war in Europe.Operation Solstice: "Part 2" Steven Fisher In 1945 on this day the Wehrmacht counter-attack the Soviet forces advancing on Berlin. "Operation Solstice" (also known as Unternehmen Husarenritt or the "Stargard tank battle") is the last German offensive on the Eastern Front.Operation Solstice: "Part 1" Steven Fisher If They Mean To Have A War: "Part 6" Chris Oakley
In 1940 addressing the House of Commons on the eve of the German invasion of Great Britain, Prime Minister Winston Churchill said that the Royal Navy had dramatically improved the Allied situation after several months of monumental victories for the Nazis.<font color=red size=-2>Listen to the "The Few" Speech</font> <a target=_blank href=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0t-RqjMH-A><img src=http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/2.0/global/icons/video_icon.gif border=0></a>Royal Navy win the "Battle of Britain" Steve Payne In 1946 on this day ten war criminals of the Second World War, condemned in the Nuremberg trials are hanged."Bomber Harris" suicides at Nuremberg Steve Payne In 1944 on this day, the last pockets of German resistence west of the Rhine were eliminated, and Field Marshal Günther "Hans" von Kluge surrendered Army Group West with all of its remaining equipment.Broken Watch on the Rhine: "Part 2" Stan Brin
In 1948 on this day American scientists finally succeeded in reverse engineering the anti-gravitation technology that had enabled the Nazi leadership to escape from the New Swabia base in Antartica <a href=http://www.todayinah.co.uk/index.php?story=39694-K>before it was destroyed by an atomic bomb</a> dropped from the B-29 "Sally Jupiter" of the 509th Composite Group. American scientists back-engineer "Die Glocke" Steve Payne In 1941 serving for the last time under the inspirational command of the "Desert Fox" Colonel-General Erwin Rommel, the Panzer Army Afrika launched a daring strike at the British armour in the rear of the <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gazala>Allied defences at Gazala</a> near the Libyan City of Tobruk. "General Rommel" on the Volga Scott Palter In 1946 on this day after the <a href=http://www.todayinah.co.uk/index.php?story=39686-N>final ultimatum</a> was ignored, the Secret Nazi base in New Swabia, Antarctica was destroyed by an atomic bomb dropped from the B-29 "Sally Jupiter" of the 509th Composite Group.Admiral Byrd drops the "Snow Ball" Steve Payne
In 1946 on this day the 4,700 men, 13 ships, and multiple aircraft carriers of Task Force 68 departed from Norfolk, Virginia on a mission to end the Second World War by destroying the Secret Nazi Base in New Swabia, Antarctica.Admiral Byrd put in charge of "Battle of Antartica" Steve Payne Emire of Japan wins the "Pacific War" Rooksmoor The "End of a World", 1945 Matt Dattillo Non-AH Content



In 1944 on a stormy day, German submarine U-1230 came up from an eight-day rest on the ocean floor off the coast of Maine and delivered its package of two spies to Hancock Point in Frenchman Bay. "Operation Elster" makes American Landfall Jeff Provine In 1941 on this day of infamy the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on the major British military base in Southeast Asia devastating the Royal Navys Far East Fleet which was moored in the Port of Singapore."Day of Infamy" strikes the British base at Singapore Steve Payne In 1943 as the Second World War raged, the leaders of the "Big Four" Allied nations sought to meet, even though they would risk life and limb to do so. Roosevelts Arrive at "Tehran Conference" Jeff Provine
In 1941 in a controversial speech in Des Moines, Iowa on this day the 33rd President of the United States Charles A. Lindbergh accused British and Jewish "war agitators" of seeking to force a change of the isolationist government policy laid down by the Neutrality Acts signed into law by the late Franklin D. Roosevelt.President Lindbergh speaks in "Des Moines" Steve Payne In 1944 the Allies entered Paris from the west. General Dietrich von Choltitz, commander of the 50,000 man German garrison of the city, found himself cut off by General Jacob Devers, commander of the US Sixth Army Group, advancing from the south.Broken Watch on the Rhine: "Part 1" Stan Brin In 1942 in the beginning of the darkest hours of the Second World War, the ill-fated 1942 invasion of the European mainland began on a sunny, mild day. November, 1942: "Operation Sledgehammer" Begins Jeff Provine
In 1945 on this day extremist elements of the Greater Zionist Resistance (GZR) movement broke into the laboratory at Isgarden and forced the theoretical physicist Wilhelm Schoemann to send their commandoes back to 1529 to engineer an Ottoman Victory at the Gates of Vienna.Fall of the GZR: "A New Bogeyman" Steve Payne In 1946 secret research into the harnessing of nuclear fission was authorized for military purposes [continued from <a href=http://www.todayinah.co.uk/index.php?story=39666-H>Part 1</a>]. Manhattan Project: "Part 2" Eric Lipps In 1946 on this day secret research into the harnessing of nuclear fission was authorized for military purposes. Manhattan Project: "Part 1" Eric Lipps
What If Germany Had Gotten "The Bomb" First ? Curtis Faville In 1934 on this day Admiral Erich Raeder was killed in an auto accident in Berlin; within six years his less conventional successor as professional head of the Kriegsmarine Großdmiral Karl Döenitz would advocate the <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_mine#Germany>aerial mine drop strategy</a> that would <a href=http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WAMGER_Mines.htm>close the UKs deep water ports</a> forcing Great Britain to the brink of collapse.Britain defeated by "Indirect Action" Steve Payne If They Mean To Have A War: "Part 4" Chris Oakley



What If the "Dieppe Raid" had succeeded? Mark Grimsley If They Mean To Have A War: "Part 5" Chris Oakley What If the Allies had not broken "Enigma"? Mark Grimsley
What If "Singapore" had hot fallen? Mark Grimsley If They Mean To Have A War: "Part 3" Chris Oakley If They Mean To Have A War: "Part 1" Chris Oakley
If They Mean To Have A War: "Part 2" Chris Oakley <b>On this day in 1940, </b> what was left of the German expeditionary force in Belgium surrendered to the British army.Belgium 40: "Victory in Benelux" Chris Oakley In 1940 the cancellation of wildy ambitious <a href=http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=21941>Italian plans to invade Greece</a> in the Autumn convinced Gen. Franco of the discipline of the Axis Alliance and encouraged him to authorise <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Felix>Operation Felix</a> the passage of twenty German Divisions through Spanish territory in order strike at the British base on Gibraltar.Franco lives to regret joining "the Axis Alliance" Steve Payne
In 1940 on this day the Sparticist Government in Berlin dispatched Commissar Leon Trotsky to Geneva where the League of Nations were debating St Petersburgs request for military assistance to defend Republican Russias territorial integrity from German Communist aggression.German Commissar "Trotsky" appeals for peace Steve Payne Franco's Spain enters "World War 2" Mark Grimsley In 1945 as the war with Japan neared its end -- and as efforts began to avoid an ensuing civil war within China -- Mao Zedong asked to fly to Washington for secret talks with President Roosevelt, and spoke in glowing terms of future relations with the US.If Mao had met "Roosevelt" John Gittings



In 1939 on this day in London the signing of the Daladier-Eden-Ribbentrop Pact normalised relations with Nazi Germany but the disclosure of its secret protocols soon brought the three Great Powers to the brink of war with the Soviet Union. With "the Fuhrer" dead Europe hurtles towards war Steve Payne & Scott Palter In 1945 on this day the United States Army Air Force dropped the first atomic bomb on Dresden, Hitler suffered a fatal stroke and the Second World War was over before the Red Army could cross the River Vistula. Atom bombing of Dresden causes "Carnage Unfathomable" Steve Payne In 1943 Great Britain defeated Nazi Germany by dropping the <a href=http://www.ww2f.com/what-if-european-theater-western-front-atlantic/19512-if-british-had-bomb-1942-a.html>atomic bomb on Hamburg</a> but when Soviet occupation quickly followed Winston Churchill enraged <a href=http://www.todayinah.co.uk/index.php?story=39642-X>President Frank Lloyd-Wright</a> by blaming US isolationism for permitting "an iron curtain to descend across Europe". VE Day - Churchill drops the a-bomb on "Hamburg" Steve Payne
In 1948 on this day the two personal representatives of IBM President Thomas J. Watson most directly responsible for the German subsidiary Deutsche Hollerith Maschinen Gesellschaft (Dehomag) Harrison Chauncey and Werner Lier attended a private reception at the Reich Chancellery. See Everything with "Hollerith" Punch Cards Steve Payne In 1940 on this day Mackenzie King (pictured) and Franklin D. Roosevelt met at Ogdensburg the little border town in New York State just across the St. Lawrence River from Prescott, Ontario. Canadian Hero "Mackenzie King" blocks Ogdensburg Agreement Steve Payne In 1941 appalled by the true extent of <a href=http://www.todayinah.co.uk/index.php?story=39621-M>Stalins military buildup</a>, German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler was forced to postpone Operation Barbarossa; hoping to partner with the British Government he authorised a secret mission for his trusted Deputy Rudolph Hess to fly to Scotland with the new intelligence data evidencing the Communist plot to occupy Western Europe. Hitler requests "British support" for Soviet Invasion Steve Payne
In 1940 predictably the surprise Panzer attack conceived by von Manstein ended in chaos and confusion after mechanical foul-ups proved the Ardennes Forest to be a locality wholly unsuited to a rapid incursion of concentrated armour.Manstein "Fiasco" Steve Payne In 1945 on this day at the Potsdam Conference, Truman told Stalin that the United States "had a new weapon of unusual destructive force." Stalin responded that was he was glad to hear it and hoped the Americans would make "good use of it against the Japanese." Truman's Superweapon: the "Wave of the Future" Steve Payne <b>On this day of infamy in 1942</b> the Yamamoto companys quest to dominate the U.S. West Coast seafood dining scene hit an unexpected snag when Douglas MacArthur, head of the East Coast-based Midway Diners fast food chain, signed a contract with Kimmels Restaurants to lease some of its branches to the Kimmel franchise. Great Pacific Seafood War: "Part 2" Chris Oakley
<b>On this day of infamy in 1941</b> the popular restaurant chain Kimmels was confronted with a surprise challenge to its dominance of the West Coast seafood dining scene when its archrival, the Tokyo-based Yamamoto franchise, opened its first U.S. branch in Honolulu. Great Pacific Seafood War: "Part 1" Chris Oakley In 1940 one of the great jokes of WW2 is that Churchill becomes PM because Chamberlain stands down after surviving a confidence vote over the Norwegian Campaign with a smaller than expected margin and large scale Tory defections. The conventional histories see the Norway debacle as being Churchills fault as First Lord of the Admiralty. So his own botch makes him PM.Winston Churchill unpicks "The Norwegian Muddle". Steve Payne In 2696 AUC Adolfus (pictured) the Legatus Legionis of Germania issued orders to mount a defence of the Roman Republic along the Italian peninsula, in order to slow the Celtic advance up through Italy.This operation codenamed Alaric (after Alaric I king of Visigoths, the Barbarian general in the Roman army who sacked Rome in 1223, AUC) was considered so top secret that Adolfus refused to issue a written order. Instead, he communicated verbally his desire that Tribunus laticlavius Erwinius should assemble and ultimately command eleven cohorts of heavy infantry for the occupation of Italy to prevent an Celt foothold in the peninsula. Alolfus also gave Erwinius the false impression that his reward would be the appointment of Legatus Legionis in Italy.Legatus Legionis Adolfus orders the invasion of "Italy" Steve Payne



In 1947 the subcontinent of India, ruled for nearly a century by the British Crown, was broken into its many states following its independence just two days before. The Punjab, a term denoting the area rich in diversity with Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs, was to be broken into West Pakistan for the Muslim population and India for the Hindu population. The "Radcliffe Cloud" is unveiled by the British Raj Authorities Jeff Provine In 1938 even as Hitler dreamt of world domination by an all-conquering aryan master race, the research of two Germanic scientists slowly began the process of biological uplift for the sentinient mammals who would eventually fight alongside humans in the decades-long war with the Nazis. Germanic Superscience defeats "Hitler's" master race Steve Payne In 1963 on this day President Adlai Stevenson asked Congress to revoke the honourary US citizenship of the recently disgraced former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Churchill orders the assassination of "President Roosevelt" Steve Payne
In 1981 on this day the American action-adventure film "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark" premiered in cinemas across the United States. Directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by George Lucas, the movie starred <a href=http://www.todayinah.co.uk/index.php?story=39585-N>Tom Selleck</a> (pictured) in the leading role.Tom Selleck plays "Indiana Jones" Part 2 Zach Timmons In 1980 on this day Tom Selleck is announced as the titular star of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark after months of negotiations. Tom Selleck plays "Indiana Jones" Part 1 Zach Timmons In 1941 as thirty-fourth President Frank Lloyd Wright was sworn in the Federal Bureau of Investigation interrogated the British secret agents who had assassinated his predecessor <a href=http://www.todayinah.co.uk/index.php?story=39639-S>Charles A. Lindbergh</a> in a final, desperate attempt to reverse the US policy of isolationism. President "Frank Lloyd Wright" sworn in Steve Payne
In 1941 upon the receipt of confirmed espionage of the military preparedness of the Soviet Union, German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler gave the last-minute order scrubbing his intended invasion. Hitler Calls off Invasion of "Soviet Union" Jeff Provine In 1941 on this day the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested the director of British Security Co-ordination William Stephenson for planting propaganda in American newspapers, radio stations & wire servers, harrassing prominent isolationists and plotting against corporations working against British interests. FBI arrest William Stephenson "Codename Intrepid" Steve Payne In 1945 on this first day of the Nuremberg Trial Hitlers top administrators pleaded not guilty presenting Chief Justice Robert Jackson with massive documentary evidence to support their tu quoque ("everybody else did it too") defence. Nazis claim "Everbody Else Did It Too" at Nuremberg Steve Payne
In 1940 less than twenty-four hours after 1,297 French sailors perished when a British Royal Navy task force attacked and destroyed much of the French fleet moored at Mers El-Kèbir, the new Chief of State, Admiral François Darlan declared that a state of war existed between Vichy France and Great Britain.Last Anglo-French War "1940-1944" Steve Payne In 1945 at Konan in mountainous northeast Korea, Allied Scientists present at the invitation of the Emperor of Japan were witness to the demonstration detonation of a small nuclear weapon known as the "genzai bakudan" (or greatest warrior) shortly after midnight on this day<sup>1</sup>.<font color=red size=-2>Watch the speculative documentary about this disputed test detonation</font> <a target=_blank href=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdCe2wBeCiw><img src=http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/2.0/global/icons/video_icon.gif border=0></a>Allied Scientists witness the "Japanese Atomic Bomb" in occupied North Korea Steve Payne In 1945 on this day the third Crystal Palace was destroyed by agents of the British Government-in-Exile leaving in ruins both Albert Speers cast-iron and glass building and more importantly the Fuhrers Plans for a Great Exhibition to showcase the wonders of his New Europa."James Bond" blows up Hitler's Crystal Palace Steve Payne



In 1945 the twenty-third "Sunrise" Infantry Division of the Imperial Japanese Army liberated the Gila River Internment Camp in Arizona on this day. One of the internees was thirteen year old Noriyuki "Pat" Morita (pictured), later to become one of the iconic Japanese American actors of the second half of the twentieth century.<font size=-2 color=red>Click to watch the Pat Morita Interview</font><a href=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odL6ln5tMpc><img border=0 src=http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/2.0/global/icons/video_icon.gif></a>"Imperial Japanese Army" free Japanese Americans Steve Payne In 1941 on this day fortunes in the decade-long Great Patriotic War unexpectedly swung in favour of the armed Russian Partisans when a Luftwaffe Heinkel bomber operating east of Moscow scored a direct hit on the special train carrying the hopelessly incompetent Soviet leadership out of the abandoned capital.Moscow captured, Stalin passes his "Tipping Point" Steve Payne In 1946 on this day Winston S. Churchill (pictured) is sworn in as first Prime Minister of the United Dominions of America. He will preside over a domain extending from the Arctic Circle to the Rio Grande and including Cuba.Winston Churchill PM of the "United Dominions of America". Steve Payne
In 1945 on this day low flying American and British bombers released thousands of white doves over the City of Tokyo.President Garner declares "Peace" breakthrough. Steve Payne




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A blog by Professor Jeff Provine dedicated to showing significant events in years past on this day that shaped history... just, not our history.

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