20th Century
On this day, 1945
On this day 80 years ago, the Allied powers accepted Germany’s unconditional surrender, bringing an official end to World War II in Europe. We in the U.K. celebrate 8 May as Victory in Europe Day, [more…]
WW II
20th Century
Book Review: Soldaten, ‘On fighting, killing and dying’
This book, originally published in 2012, is based on the discovery of transcripts of covert surveillance of German prisoners of war in WW2, found initially in archives in Great Britain and latterly in archives in [more…]
20th Century
Fitzroy Maclean
When you hear the name Fitzroy Maclean, what comes to mind? For many, it’s his role as a founding member of the SAS, those daring desert raiders of World War II. Others might recall his [more…]
20th Century
The Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife: A Blade Forged in War
The Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife, often simply called the “F-S knife,” is one of the most iconic combat blades in history. Designed during World War II by two British close-combat experts, William Ewart Fairbairn and Eric [more…]
20th Century
Lands At Stake
A conversation that stuck An old conversation sticks in my mind. A decade or so later, through the synergy of passing time and the illumination provided by events, one plus one becomes three. On the [more…]
20th Century
Desert Mystery: “Letters from a Feldgrau”, Part Six
In Part 5, the relationship between Hans Coutandin and Eva Moller appeared to have changed, he was now in Africa and had narrowly missed being captured. In his next letter of the 3rd March 1943, [more…]
20th Century
Desert Mystery: “Letters from a Feldgrau”, Part Five
In Part 4, I recounted how Hans Coutandin had been recovering from his head wound in the Reserve Military Hospital in Lörrach, Germany, had been told that he was to be released and had seen [more…]
20th Century
Desert Mystery: “Letters from a Feldgrau”, Part Four
In Part 3, I recounted how Hans Coutandin, in his letters to his girlfriend Eva Möller, wrote that he had been to Wilna in Poland, then Minsk in Byelorussia, had then been wounded in the [more…]
20th Century
Desert Mystery: “Letters from a Feldgrau”, Part Three
In Part 2, I recounted how Hans Coutandin, in his letters to his girlfriend Eva Möller, wrote that he had been to Verdun in France for training, before travelling to Insterburg in East Prussia and [more…]