The decisions, doctrines and deceptions that determined the outcome of the Second World War. Bombing strategy, military planning, intelligence operations and the moments where a single decision changed the course of the conflict.
Three rival teams, one fatal rivalry, and a führer who called nuclear physics “Jewish science.” It’s a topic that often comes up when discussing “what if” scenarios. What if Hitler had built a functional atomic bomb before the United States…
How Nazi propaganda invented the story of Polish uhlans charging German tanks and why it took decades to correct the record. You may have heard something about this before. It is said that, after the German invasion of Poland, the…
The Second World War was the main stage for (military) espionage and deception. This is often forgotten, simply because so much happened during that period. But what is never forgotten is the ingenious Operation Mincemeat. A textbook example of how…
The infamous Maginot Line had one purpose: to protect France from a surprise attack, such as the one during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. During that war, France lost Alsace and part of Lorraine to Germany. Yet it took only…
If you say Enigma, then you say Alan Turing. It’s an inseparable link in the history of the Second World War. Alan Turing played an indispensable role in cracking the so-called Enigma code during the Second World War. To achieve…
Two Allies, two doctrines, one common goal: ensuring the downfall of Nazi Germany from the air. But can the Allies achieve their goal when they both have their own fundamental beliefs about their enduringly different doctrines? The key players were…
Immediately after Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union, Stalin began pressing for aid from the West, primarily from the United States of America. However, Stalin did not have to wait long for the symbolic gesture that followed. June 22,…
