Quotulatiousness

September 26, 2020

Resistance is Futile in Nazi Europe – War Against Humanity 018 – September 1941, Part 1

Filed under: Europe, Germany, History, Military, Russia, WW2 — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

World War Two
Published 25 Sep 2020

In the first half of September, Nazi murder campaigns in Vilnius and the Pripet Marshes continue. In the rest of Europe, the Germans tighten their grip on the occupied countries, taking away media privileges and further restricting the freedoms of Jewish populations.

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @ww2_day_by_day – https://www.instagram.com/ww2_day_by_day
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Written by: Joram Appel
Hosted by: Spartacus Olsson
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Joram Appel
Edited by: Karolina Dołęga
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Karolina Dołęga & Mikołaj Cackowski

Colorizations by:
– Spartacus Olsson
– Daniel Weiss
– Jaris Almazani (Artistic Man), https://instagram.com/artistic.man?ig…
– Carlos Ortega Pereira, BlauColorizations, https://www.instagram.com/blaucolorizations

Visual Sources:
– Bundesarchiv
– Yad Vashem: 7283-146, 4331-14), 3150-122, 4613-1055, 10470-23, 97, 03-198, 1044-148, 2725_22A, 4788_71
– United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
– Library of Congress
– Imperial War Museums: H6550
– Deutsche Fotothek: 0000149 003
– Picture of Lavrentiy Beria in court courtesy of: Фотограф – Ист.доки https://cutt.ly/Lavrentiy_Beria-
Picture of Cathedral Square and Nikolskaya Street in from Saratov from RusDeutsch
National Archives NARA

Music:
– “Endlessness” – Flouw
– “Weapon of Choice” – Fabien Tell
– “Last Minute Reaction” – Phoenix Tail
– “Moving to Disturbia” – Experia
– “Potential Redemption” – Max Anson
– “Flight Path” – Cobby Costa
– “Break Free” – Fabien Tell
– “Never Forget” – Fabien Tell
– “It’s Not a Game” – Philip Ayers

The Icons from Noun Project: Bar by priyanka, beach by Studio GLD, Bicycle by Henry Haolong Yin, cabaret by Smalllike, Cafe by Eucalyp, Calendar by iconsphere, Children by Sarah Rudkin, curfew by supalerk laipawat, finish line by Luis Prado, Fruit by Eucalyp, guest house by ProSymbols, Helmet by Daniel Turner, Hotel by Nociconist, Immigrants by Luis Prado, Info by Flatart, Library by Jaime Serra, Man by Milinda Courey, Museum by Justicon, Skull by Muhamad Ulum, onion by Jellycons, Park by Made by Made, Passenger Wagon by Peter van Driel, person and house by Rflor, Phone by Leona Grande, potato by Vectors Point, Restaurant by Adrien Coquet, singer by Luis Prado, Store by Fahmi, street by Vadim Solomakhin, Swimming Pool by Vectors Point, Theater by Susannanova, Town Square Clock by Graphic Enginer, Vegetable by Eucalyp, vintage motorcycle by Justine Hammernik, Woman and boy by Studio Het Mes & Zoo by Eugene Dobrik

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

From the comments:

World War Two
2 hours ago
A new month and more carnage — we get the question about why so much about the Jews? Why only about the Eastern Front? Well, this is September 1941, many of the things that befell other ethnicities have not yet begun. When they do we will cover them. You’ll also see that some of this is “more of the same” — and in fact, sometimes it’s difficult for us to find a way to not let the tragedy that all this death really represents become trivial through the sheer size and repetition of the drama, yet we feel that it is important to keep it coming, week after week. Recent surveys in several countries show that a majority of people under 30 don’t know the full extent, or sometimes even the existence of the Holocaust. Using YouTube to document how it evolved, step by gruesome step is therefore in our opinion all the more important.

September 25, 2020

From Normandy To The Rhine – Jesse’s Grandfather in WW2 I RHINELAND 45

Filed under: Cancon, Germany, History, Military, WW2 — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 06:00

The Great War
Published 23 Sep 2020

Back Rhineland 45: https://realtimehistory.net/rhineland45

Jesse shares the service history of his grandfather James who fought in the Canadian Army.

Contains licensed material by getty images
All rights reserved – Real Time History GmbH 2020

September 24, 2020

The End of the European Empires? | The Suez Crisis | Part 5

Filed under: Africa, Britain, France, History, Middle East, Military — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

TimeGhost History
Published 23 Sep 2020

Whilst the fighting may be over, the Crisis certainly isn’t. For starters, the three invaders may have agreed to a ceasefire, but aren’t too keen to give up the land they’ve conquered. And even if this is resolved, what lies in wait for the humiliated ex-colonial powers? Ultimately, only one thing does seem certain — irreversible change.

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory

Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Written by: Francis van Berkel
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Francis van Berkel
Image Research: Daniel Weiss
Edited by: Daniel Weiss
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Maps: Ryan Weatherby

Colorizations:
– Mikolaj Uchman
– Daniel Weiss – https://www.facebook.com/The-Yankee-C…
– Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/

Sources:
National Archives NARA
Images from the UN News and Media
1960s Soviet Film “Egypt our Arab Ally”

From the Noun Project:
– speech_16988 By Juan Pablo Bravo, CL
– Parliament_1658396 By Dimitrios Stamatis, GB
– Money by Gilberto
– Ship by Edward Boatman
– soldier by Wonmo Kang
– oil barrel by Musmellow
– europe By Randomhero
– Income(not dollar)_2897802
– Trade by Adrien Coquet
– Handshake By priyanka, IN
– world by Guilherme Furtado
– telegraph By Luke Anthony Firth, GB
– people by ProSymbols
– documents by Srinivas Agra

Soundtracks from Epidemic Sound:
– “Devil’s Disgrace” – Deskant
– “In the Bank We Trust” – Jon Sumner
– “Searching Through Sand” – Deskant
– “The Inspector 4” – Johannes Bornlöf
– “Crying Winds” – Deskant
– “Scented Nectar” – Rune Dale
– “As the Rivers Collapse” – Deskant
– “Dark Beginning” – Johan Hynynen
– “Guilty Shadows 4” – Andreas Jamsheree

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

From the comments:

TimeGhost History
2 days ago (edited)
So that’s the end of our series on the Suez Crisis. It’s been a pretty wild and messy ride, but we think our realtime format gave it a fresh perspective that hasn’t done before.

If you liked that final point Indy made about Churchill and The Beatles, and you want to find out more about decolonisation, then you should look up the work of Bill Schwarz. He was the one who originally made the comparison in his book White Man’s World, and it’s a really fascniating read, if also a bit challenging. Decolonisation is actually becoming a really vibrant field of study in academia and there are a whole host of books available if any of you want to dive into the topic. Europe After Empire by Elizabeth Buettner is an excellent place to start and Fight or Flight by Martin Thomas will be right up your street if you want to learn about the wars of decolonisation and the politics behind them. If you have any other suggestions then feel free to post them below.

Anyway, we hope you enjoyed the series and learnt a thing or two.

PIAT: Britain’s Answer to the Anti-Tank Rifle Problem

Filed under: Britain, History, Military, Weapons, WW2 — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

Forgotten Weapons
Published 25 Nov 2017

Sold for $3,163.

The British began World War Two with the Boys antitank rifle, but like all antitank rifles it rather quickly became obsolete. The replacement for it was adopted in 1942 as the PIAT – Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank. This was a unique sort of weapon which fired a 3 pound (~1.35kg) hollow charge projectile using a combination of a massive spring and a firing charge much like a rifle grenade blank cartridge — a spigot mortar, really. The large (3.25″, 83mm) projectile was able to defeat almost any tank that would be developed during the war, as it could burn through 3-4 inches of hardened armor. However, it had a terrifyingly short effective range — 110 yards on paper and more like 50 yards in practice.

The PIAT would recock itself upon firing, but the initial cocking was something like a crossbow, requiring the shooter to brace their feet on the buttplate and pull the body of the weapon upwards, compressing the 200 pound (90kg) mainspring. When fired, the weapon has a pretty harsh recoil, although it did not have any flash or backblast like the American Bazooka did. By the end of the war more 115,000 PIATs had been made, and they would serve the British military into the 1950s, when they were replaced with more traditional rocket launchers.

http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons

Cool Forgotten Weapons merch! http://shop.bbtv.com/collections/forg…

If you enjoy Forgotten Weapons, check out its sister channel, InRangeTV! http://www.youtube.com/InRangeTVShow

QotD: Gurkha versus Japanese, mano a mano

Filed under: History, Humour, India, Japan, Military, Quotations, Weapons, WW2 — Tags: , — Nicholas @ 01:00

Favourite of [Field Marshal Viscount] Slim’s tales of these wonderful little fighters from the Himalayas is that of the Gurkha who met a Japanese in No Man’s Land. Jap and Gurkha decided to have it out in a duel, each using his own chosen steel. The Jap swiped at his opponent with his two handed sword, which the Gurkha avoided. Then, the Gurkha slashed with his kukri, the broad, curved knife which is his traditional weapon. “So, you missed, eh?” jeered the Jap. “You just sneeze,” said the Gurkha, “and see what happens to your head.”

“The love affair the British have with India, as Rudyard Kipling, M M Kaye, John Masters, et al, have shown”, Sikhs in Burma Campaign.

September 23, 2020

The Man in Monty’s Shadow – Claude Auchinleck – WW2 Biography Special

World War Two
Published 22 Sep 2020

Claude Auchinleck put military matters over that of politics. Although this angered some, mainly Churchill, Auchinleck still found himself in India, and later facing down Rommel in North Africa.

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Check out our TimeGhost History YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/timeghost?s…

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @ww2_day_by_day – https://www.instagram.com/ww2_day_by_day
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Written by: Francis van Berkel
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Maria Kyle
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Lennart Visser
Edited by: Monika Worona
Sound design: Marek Kamiński

Colorizations by:
Norman Stewart

Sources:
National Portrait Gallery
USHMM

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

Tank Chats #80 Black Prince | The Tank Museum

Filed under: Britain, History, Military, Weapons, WW2 — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

The Tank Museum
Published 12 Jul 2019

The Tank Museum has the only surviving example of the Second World War prototype tank, the A43 Black Prince. The designers of the Churchill tank were commissioned to build a tank which could hold the larger 17 pounder gun. The Centurion was chosen to go into production instead of the Black Prince, due to its superior engine and armour.

Support the work of The Tank Museum on Patreon: ► https://www.patreon.com/tankmuseum

Visit The Tank Museum SHOP: ► https://tankmuseumshop.org/

Twitter: ► https://twitter.com/TankMuseum
Instagram: ► https://www.instagram.com/tankmuseum/
Tiger Tank Blog: ► http://blog.tiger-tank.com/
Tank 100 First World War Centenary Blog: ► http://tank100.com/ #tankmuseum #tanks #tankchats

September 21, 2020

The Iconic “Burp Gun” – Shooting the PPSh-41

Filed under: History, Military, Russia, Weapons, WW2 — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

Forgotten Weapons
Published 16 Dec 2017

http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons

Cool Forgotten Weapons merch! http://shop.bbtv.com/collections/forg…

The Soviet PPSh-41 submachine gun is most distinctive for its very high rate of fire — approximately 1250 rounds/minute — and large drum magazine. What may come as a surprise to those who have not tried it is how this very high rate of fire does not actually make the weapon difficult to control or hold on target. In fact, the PPSh-41 is an easier SMG to shoot effectively than the later PPS-43, at least in my opinion.

The Soviets and the Germans made quite different choices in magazines and rate of fire with the PPSh and the MP40, but both turned out to be very good submachine guns. The glaring weak point of the PPSh are its magazines, and the difficulty in finding a drum that would run reliably in this particular example is why today’s shooting session is done with one of the 35-round stick magazines instead.

Thanks to Marstar for letting me examine and shoot their PPSh-41!

If you enjoy Forgotten Weapons, check out its sister channel, InRangeTV! http://www.youtube.com/InRangeTVShow

September 20, 2020

Another week, another half million for the Germans – WW2 – 108 – September 19, 1941

Filed under: China, Germany, History, Japan, Military, Russia, WW2 — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

World War Two
Published 19 Sep 2020

Kiev falls to the Germans, yielding hundreds of thousands of prisoners as whole armies are surrounded, but behind the lines all over German-occupied territories, partisan movements are gaining steam. Meanwhile, in China, Japan launches another campaign against Changsha.

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @ww2_day_by_day – https://www.instagram.com/ww2_day_by_day
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Monika Worona
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)

Colorizations by:
– Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/
– Carlos Ortega Pereira, BlauColorizations – https://www.instagram.com/blaucolorizations
– Olga Shirnina, a.k.a. Klimbim – https://klimbim2014.wordpress.com/
– Julius Jääskeläinen – https://www.facebook.com/JJcolorization/
– Jaris Almazani (Artistic Man) – https://instagram.com/artistic.man?ig…
– Daniel Weiss

Sources:
– Ra Boe / Wikipedia / Lizenz: Creative Commons CC-by-sa-3.0 de
– Mil. ru
– Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
– Estonica

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

September 18, 2020

Édith Piaf during World War Two, Kerensky, & the German Journey to N. Africa – WW2 – OOTF 017

Filed under: Africa, France, Germany, History, Military, Russia, WW2 — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 06:00

World War Two
Published 17 Sep 2020

How did Alexander Kerensky react towards the invasion of the Soviet Union? How were French musicians working during the war? How did Germans get to Africa in 1940? Find out from Indy the answers to all these questions in Out of the Foxholes!

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @ww2_day_by_day – https://www.instagram.com/ww2_day_by_day
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Written by: Rune Væver Hartvig
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Rune Væver Hartvig
Edited by: Karolina Dołęga
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Karolina Dołęga

Colorizations by:
– Mikołaj Uchman
– Klimbim
– Carlos Ortega Pereira, BlauColorizations – https://www.instagram.com/blaucolorizations
– Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/

Visual Sources:
– Bundesarchive
– Fortepan: 146645
– Library of Congress
– United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
– US National Archive
– B. Huber from German Wikipedia
– Tigidoulaïlaï from Wikimedia
– Picture of Jacques Prévert courtesy of Ruth Bessoudo Courvoisier
– Icons from The Noun Project by: iconsphere, Luke Anthony, Jordan
Alfarishy, Gan Khoon Lay , Alice Design, ProSymbols & Hada Arkanda.

Music:
“The Inspector 4” – Johannes Bornlöf
“Moving to Disturbia” – Experia
“Castles of France” – Cercles Nouvelles
“Memories of Paris” – Trabant 33
“March Of The Brave 10” – Rannar Sillard

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

“The Last Battle” – The Strangest Fight of WWII – Sabaton History 085 [Official]

Filed under: Germany, History, Media, Military, USA, WW2 — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

Sabaton History
Published 17 Sep 2020

On the 5th of May 1945, the Second World War in Europe is literally in its final days. As the German lines and Nazi state collapse into free fall, some Nazi hardliners remain fighting until the very moment surrender is announced. At Castle Itter, the lines are blurred as US and German soldiers fight side by side in a medieval castle, home to some of the highest profile prisoners of the war.

Support Sabaton History on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sabatonhistory

Listen to “The Last Battle” on the album The Last Stand:
https://music.sabaton.net/TheLastStand

Watch the Official Lyric Video of “The Last Battle” here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwfJs…

Listen to Sabaton on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/SabatonSpotify
Official Sabaton Merchandise Shop: http://bit.ly/SabatonOfficialShop

Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Written by: Markus Linke and Indy Neidell
Directed by: Astrid Deinhard and Wieke Kapteijns
Produced by: Pär Sundström, Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Maria Kyhle
Executive Producers: Pär Sundström, Joakim Brodén, Tomas Sunmo, Indy Neidell, Astrid Deinhard, and Spartacus Olsson
Community Manager: Maria Kyhle
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Editor: Iryna Dulka
Sound Editor: Marek Kaminski
Maps by: Eastory – https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory
Archive: Reuters/Screenocean – https://www.screenocean.com
Sources:
– Photos of the Itter Castle: Sammlung Risch-Lau, Vorarlberger Landesbibliothek
All music by: Sabaton

An OnLion Entertainment GmbH and Raging Beaver Publishing AB co-Production.

© Raging Beaver Publishing AB, 2019 – all rights reserved.

Germany’s Not-So-Light 5cm LeGrW 36 Light Mortar

Filed under: Germany, History, Military, Weapons, WW2 — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

Forgotten Weapons
Published 2 Sep 2018

Sold for $18,400

http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons

Cool Forgotten Weapons merch! http://shop.bbtv.com/collections/forg…

The 5cm 5CM Leichter Granatwerfer 36 was the standard German light infantry mortar going into World War Two. It was designed by Rheinmetall-Borsig in the mid 1930s and adopted in 1936. It fired a 0.9kg / 2 pound mortar bomb with a range of up to 550 meters. In theory, it occupied the same role as the French Mle 1937 50mm light mortar — except it was far heavier than was practical, and substantially more complex to use. The LeGrW 36 weighed in at a hefty 31 pounds (14kg) – nearly four times as much as its French counterpart.

It was a striker fired design, with a trigger lever and thus did not fire immediately upon a round being loaded. It used adjustments in angle to determine range, with a constant projectile velocity (as opposed to venting a varying amount of propellent gas to adjust range). By the middle of the war, it was being pulled out of front-line use, as its weight and relative complexity made it impractical for its intended role.

If you enjoy Forgotten Weapons, check out its sister channel, InRangeTV! http://www.youtube.com/InRangeTVShow

September 17, 2020

The British are Coming! Is Nuclear War as Well? | The Suez Crisis | Part 4

TimeGhost History
Published 16 Sep 2020

As Britain, France, and Israel continue to push home their advantage in the face of overwhelming international pressure, the Soviet Union finally enter the arena. Britain now faces utter disaster. The Soviets are threatening nuclear war and the British economy faces free fall; how much longer can Britain reject a ceasefire?

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory

Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Written by: Francis van Berkel
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Francis van Berkel
Image Research by Daniel Weiss & Shaun Harrison
Edited by: Karolina Dołęga
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Maps by Ryan Weatherby

Colorizations:
– Mikołaj Uchman
– Daniel Weiss
– Carlos Ortega Pereira, BlauColorizations – https://www.instagram.com/blaucolorizations
– Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/

Sources:
– IDF Spokesperson’s Unit
– Imperial War Museums: © MH 23498, MH 23513, HU 4190, HU 4183
– Bundesarchive
– The Bank of England Archive

Music:
– “As the Rivers Collapse” – Deskant
– “Descending Mount Everest” – Trailer Worx
– “Last Man Standing 3” – Johannes Bornlöf
– “March Of The Brave 10” – Rannar Sillard.mp3
– “Moving to Disturbia” – Experia
– “Break Free” – Fabien Tell
– “Last Point of Safe Return” – Fabien Tell
– “Epic Adventure Theme 4” – Håkan Eriksson
– “Deflection” – Reynard Seidel
– “Last Minute Reaction” – Phoenix Tail
– “Force Matrix” – Jon Bjork

The icons from The Noun Project by Geovani Almeida, alerma, Mochammad Kafi, Gilberto, Leona Grande, Smalllike & Pause08

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

From the comments:

TimeGhost History
2 days ago
We thought we’d share with you a quote that didn’t make it into the final script but really sums up the outpouring of protests the British government received upon its military intervention in Suez.

It’s a letter in The Times newspaper on November 6, written by none other than Violet Bonham Carter — a leading member of the Liberal Pary, close friend of Winston Churchill, and grandmother of actress Helena Bonham Carter. It reads: “For the first time in our history our country has been reduced to moral impotence. We cannot order Soviet Russia to obey the edict of the United Nations which we ourselves have defied, nor to withdraw her tanks and guns from Hungary while we are bombing and invading Egypt. Today we are standing in the dock with Russia … Never in my lifetime has our name stood so low in the eyes of the world. Never have we stood so ingloriously alone.”

Britain’s technological edge in the Battle of Britain

Filed under: Britain, Germany, History, Military, Technology, WW2 — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

Over at The Register, Gareth Corfield lists some of the advanced technological kit the Royal Air Force had access to during the Battle of Britain in 1940:

Restored Battle of Britain operations room in an underground bunker at former RAF station Uxbridge.
Photo by Ian Mansfield via Wikimedia Commons.

Technology played its part, mostly behind the scenes – yes, we mean the backroom boffins – in equipping Britain to hold firm and defeat the Germans. As today’s commemorations focus on the pilots and ground crew who saw off the Luftwaffe, spare a thought for the technologists whose efforts also saved the western world.

The Chain Home Tower in Great Baddow Chelmsford.
Photo by Stuart166axe via Wikimedia Commons.

Radar and radio

Chief among the technological innovations that gave the RAF the edge was radar. In the 1930s Britain was one of the world leaders in radar (thanks in part to a bizarre and unsuccessful experiment to kill sheep with a death ray) leading to the building of radar stations all around the British coast.

Sir Robert Watson-Watt, today regarded as the father of radar, was instrumental in devising a method of bouncing radio waves off a flying aeroplane to figure out its location. He turned that 1935 concept into the fully operational Chain Home and Chain Home Low air defence networks inside four years.

Without radar, the RAF was totally reliant on humans with binoculars spotting incoming formations of German bombers; radar gave the air force an early warning capability as hostile aircraft formed up over France before crossing the Channel.

Before radar came radio direction-finding. The RAF’s Home Defence Units were first established in the 1920s and mastered the art of pinpointing an aeroplane’s location from radio transmissions made by its pilots. Though less high profile than radar, the HDUs’ activities allowed the RAF to “see” beyond the range of radar as Luftwaffe bomber formations, transmitting to each other over France, formed up ready for a raid over British soil.

Signals intelligence and compsci

Not far behind radar was the crucial role of what was then the Government Communications and Cipher School (GC&CS), based at Bletchley Park. Today the site is home to the National Museum of Computing but in the dark days of the 1940s it was where codebreakers deciphered German military communications.

Breaking Nazi Germany’s encryption was a vast task, and in the days before computers extremely labour intensive; between 9,000 and 12,000 personnel worked at Bletchley during the Second World War. The demands of RAF and other military commanders for speedy decryption of enemy messages directly contributed to the development of early computer science; Alan Turing worked at Bletchley Park, helping devise improvements to electromechanical crypto-breaking machines that resulted in the Bombe, a very early computer.

September 16, 2020

Tanks of the Red Army in 1941: Medium and Heavy Tanks, by the Chieftain – WW2 Special

Filed under: History, Military, Railways, Russia, Weapons, WW2 — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 06:00

World War Two
Published 15 Sep 2020

Chieftain’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheChief…

Chieftain returns to the World War Two channel this week for Part 2 of his deep-dive into the Soviet armour in the first months of war on the Eastern Front. This week, the focus is on medium and heavy tanks.

You can see Part 1 which covers armoured cars and light tanks here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2FkF…

Chieftain’s previous video on Soviet doctrine: https://youtu.be/s7nr83CYQ9Q
For Indy’s introduction to armour on both sides: https://youtu.be/gh7mt2OS770

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @ww2_day_by_day – https://www.instagram.com/ww2_day_by_day
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Written and Hosted by: The Chieftain
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: The Chieftain
Edited by: Miki Cackowski
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)

Sources:
Bundesarchiv
RIA Novosti archive, image #613694
Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
Picture of K2, courtesy Ein persoon from Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi…
Picture of MBV-2 at Patriot Museum, Kubinka, courtesy Alan Wilson https://flic.kr/p/ZhtG6k
From the Noun Project: Shield by Nikita Kozin, Weight by Vadim Solomakhin, company soldiers by Andrei Yushchenko

Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
Rannar Sillard – “March Of The Brave 4”
Johannes Bornlof – “The Inspector 4”
Fabien Tell – “Last Point of Safe Return”
Reynard Seidel – “Deflection”
Johannes Bornlof – “Deviation In Time”
Phoenix Tail – “At the Front”
Max Anson – “Ancient Saga”
Fabien Tell – “Other Sides of Glory”

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

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