This Week In History: Bloody Fighting Ends First World War on Armistice Day
During World War I, on November 11, 1918, at 11 am, troops on both sides set down their weapons and negotiate terms of peace. This marked the end of the war in what would come to be known as Armistice Day.
Who were the first to be killed at Pearl Harbor? Hint, it wasn’t sailors.
This Week In History: August 1940–Fight for the Skies! The Battle of Britain
On August 18, 1940, the Battle of Britain reaches its high point as the German Luftwaffe initiates a large-scale attack against the British Royal Air Force.
Known as “The Hardest Day,” the Luftwaffe focused its attacks on England’s military air fields and factories, hoping ultimately to destroy the RAF Fighter Command Center and achieve air superiority.
This Week in History: Deadly Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On August 6, 1945, during World War II, in an effort to end the brutal fighting in the Pacific, the U.S. deploys a B-29 bomber to drop the world's first atomic bomb—codenamed "Little Boy"—over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion killed approximately 80,000 people, with thousands dying later due to unforeseen radiation exposure.
Just three days later, on August 9, the U.S. drops another atomic bomb, dubbed "Fat Man" over the city of Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people.
Six days later, Japanese Emperor Hirohito finally agrees to accept the Allies' terms of "unconditional surrender" and makes a public announcement to the nation.
Japan would formally sign the surrender on September 2, aboard the U.S. Navy ship USS Missouri, officially marking the end of the war.
This Week in History: 'Show Me the Money!' WWI Vets Demand Pay from Washington
On July 28, 1932, between 12,000-15,000 WWI vets, known as the "Bonus Army", flood into Washington to demand bonuses promised to them by the government in 1924.
This Week in History: Operation Barbarossa – Hitler's Big Mistake
On June 22, 1941, Operation Barbarossa begins. Just two years after signing a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union, Hitler breaks the deal and sends his forces to invade Russia.
The Germans—successful at first—win a string of victories across the region, as they close in on Stalin and the Kremlin. But their luck would soon change.
Arriving at the gates of Moscow that October, the Nazis met a strong resistance from the Red Army, resulting in a months-long, bloody winter fight that would eventually end in high casualties on both sides and ultimately Germany's defeat.
This Week in History: The Allied Forces' Tactical Gamble Pays off on D-Day
This Week in History: This German invasion made a prime minister
This Week in History: Paine's Common Sense Inspires Revolutionary War
An Interview Medal of Honor Recipient James McCloughan
