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.
Women in an armored division? Military History contributor, Ellen Hampton, discusses “the few” on the frontline. #women #womenshistory #WWII
What's spookier? Halloween or this Department of Defense video from the 1970s?
Who were the first to be killed at Pearl Harbor? Hint, it wasn’t sailors.
“…The sacrifices that you have willingly made, the courage you have shown, the burdens you have endured have been a source of inspiration to people all over the world.” - President John F. Kennedy's 1962 New Year's address to Vietnam.
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This Week In History: The Day the World 'Banned' War
On August 27, 1928, just 10 years after World War I, Germany, France, the US, and later 62 other nations, enter into an agreement known as the Kellogg–Briand Pact. The declaration states that all signatories should refrain from engaging in wars and requires that all disputes be settled peacefully.
Unsurprisingly, the vague document did not live up to its aims. A few years later, Japan would later invade China, Italy would invade Ethiopia, and Hitler's slow rise to power would eventually lead to a second global-scale war.
Although the pact—originally created by French Minister of Foreign Affairs Aristide Briand and US Secretary of State Frank Kellogg—proved unsuccessful, it contained provisions that would later be incorporated into the future principles of the United Nations.
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—Churchill And Roosevelt Sign the Atlantic Charter 1941
On August 14, 1941, during World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt met to sign a joint declaration, later called the Atlantic Charter.
The policy outlined both leaders' visions for a postwar world, and reinforced trust between Europe and the U.S. in the wake of Germany's slow rise to power across the Atlantic.
The document focused on several key objectives: to globally establish sovereign rights, and to allow all people the right to self-determination; choose their own form of government; economic and social advancement; free trade; and peace through disarmament.
In January 1942, 26 Allied nations would later pledge their support behind the document, which would later form the foundation for the United Nations.
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: Castro Sets Spark To the Cuban Revolution
On July 26, 1953, Cuban revolutionaries Fidel and Raul Castro attempted to overthrow the military dictatorship of President Fulgencio Batista. The coup was a failure, with most of Castro's crew being tried and executed, and both Castro brothers being sentenced to prison.
Later, in 1955, under political pressure, the Batista government, frees the Castros, who later flee to Mexico where they would meet Ernesto "Che" Guevara, an Argentinian and fellow revolutionary.
Five years later, the Castros would successfully overthrow Batista's government and establish a communist, one-party state.
This Week in History: July 10 – British Hoodwink Germans and Invade Sicily
On July 10, 1943, the Allied forces launch Operation Husky, invading Sicily by air and sea. The attack is successful, largely in part due to Operation Mincemeat, in which British intelligence covertly planted false papers about Allied movements in Italy in an effort to divert the Germans away from the island.
The Germans took the bait moving resources and troops to other areas, opening up Sicily for the Allies to attack and earn their first victory in what would be the start of the Italian Campaign of World War II.
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: Turning the Tide of War at Battle of Midway
On June 4, 1942, just six months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Allied forces turn the tables on Japan, delivering a devastating blow to their Imperial fleet at the Battle of Midway. The battle commenced after Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto attempted to capture Midway island in order to draw U.S. forces into a battle and eliminate their naval strength.
But America had an ace up their sleeve.
With the help of cryptologists, U.S. military leaders were able to decode Yamamoto's encrypted naval plans ahead of the attack, giving them intel they needed to gain the upper hand over Japan.
American forces succeeded, sinking four Japanese carriers along with hundreds of Japanese aircraft—a huge blow from which the enemy couldn't recover.
The U.S. lost only one aircraft carrier, Yorktown, otherwise sustaining relatively minimal losses.
This Week in History: The Allied Forces' Tactical Gamble Pays off on D-Day
On June 6, 1944, Allied commanders launched Operation Overlord, a cross-Channel invasion of occupied Europe and the largest seaborne mission in military history. As 160,000 troops stormed the heavily-defended beaches of Normandy, France, to take on German forces.
Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which, “we will accept nothing less than full victory.”
The plan was a tactical success for the Allies and one of the biggest turning points in the war.
This Week in History: This German invasion made a prime minister
On the same day the German army invaded this country, Winston Churchill was catapulted into Britain's top job, solidifying the political career of a man who would become a legend.
This Week in History - The Death of Mussolini
On April 28, 1945, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was killed by firing squad. But death was just the beginning for the most wanted corpse in Italy!
