TimeGhost Cartographic and World War Two
Published 22 Aug 2026In December 1941, Britain is fighting a global war on multiple fronts when Japan enters the conflict in Southeast Asia. At the centre of Britain’s strategy is Singapore, and the arrival of two powerful warships is meant to demonstrate that the Royal Navy can still project its power across the region.
HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse, accompanied by a small destroyer force, form Force Z and sail into increasingly dangerous waters. But without the aircraft carrier originally intended to accompany them, the squadron is operating under a serious disadvantage.
As Japanese forces begin their invasion of Malaya, Force Z sets out to disrupt the landings. What follows becomes one of the most dramatic naval actions of the early Pacific War, as British battleships find themselves facing a threat they were never designed to fight alone.
August 23, 2026
The End of the Battleship Era – Force Z
July 16, 2026
“Only fans – Europe’s approach to air conditioning”
From the free-to-cheapskates portion of Ed West‘s most recent article on his Substack:
The EU may not actually believe this, but they thought you would …
Different climates have enjoyed advantages at different points in time. For most of history, industry and scholarship in southern Europe benefitted from significantly longer hours of sun and daylight much of the year compared to the north, allowing for more hours of work and study. James Belich noted in The World the Plague Made that this all changed with the expansion of the Basque whaling trade in the late medieval period, providing cheap wax for candles.
England and the Netherlands subsequently overtook the south in their levels of literacy, a transformation usually attributed to Protestantism, although this technical solution to a physical disadvantage certainly helped. As the northern countries grew richer, and were able to use more energy, so the climate came to be an advantage. Cooler areas of Europe in particular benefitted from a relative absence of vector-borne disease, dangerous insects and food poisoning, which made hotter regions of the world more lethal.
Yet the biggest curse of the lower latitudes is that heat makes us sluggish — since people struggle to work above 23° centigrade. As Maarten Boudry writes on his substack, “For every degree above 25°C (77°F), our cognitive performance declines by around two percent. And if synapses suffer, so does economic activity. At 30°C, office performance drops by almost 9 percent.”
I see that. I’ve been trying to write this in temperatures of up to 34°, which equates to a production level similar to a moderate hangover. If only there was some sort of technology that could make my home cooler.
Until relatively recently the world was dominated by a handful of relatively cold regions, and Paul Johnson observed in his history of the United States that human industry thrives in what Fahrenheit appreciators would call “the 60s”, a Goldilocks zone that turned New England and Greater Yankeedom into a powerhouse. The southern states, in contrast, were held back by higher mortality and the impossibility of productive work in the sweltering summer months, and until the mid-20th century were about 40 per cent poorer than the Union states.
The northerners were especially known for their work ethic and their inventiveness, a characteristic epitomised by the Boston-born Benjamin Franklin. Then in 1902, New York’s Willis Carrier changed everything with the one of the most world-changing inventions, the air conditioning unit; aircon has notably shifted population and power in the US southwards, but Dixieland is just part of a broader, global “sunshine belt”.
Among the most notable beneficiaries of this technology are the financial powerhouses of Dubai and Singapore. Lee Kuan Yew famously said of air conditioning that it was “perhaps one of the signal inventions of history. It changed the nature of civilization by making development possible in the tropics … The first thing I did upon becoming prime minister was to install air conditioners in buildings where the civil service worked.” Indeed, it has often been noted as characteristic of the city-state that the aircon is usually set to icy levels, reflecting their determination to be on work mode throughout the day.
While Singapore is the most famous beneficiary of Carrier’s invention, Japan has almost universal air conditioning, with 91 per cent of homes equipped, compared to 88 per cent in the US. China is home to more than 500 million aircon units, is the world’s largest manufacturer, and has also seen an economic shift towards the south. Vietnam, also likely to be a major economic power by mid-century, is as dependent on this technology as it is on its people’s ingenuity. The development of aircon, and medical breakthroughs in the treatment of tropical diseases, has shifted the centre of gravity away from the cold regions of the earth — just as the globe is warming up.
This year’s European heat wave, still ongoing, saw temperatures reach 37 last month in England, a June record. Many schools shut early, although one in Kent instead used air raid tunnels to teach children. London’s Central Line hit 39.4c, presenting a real risk of heat stroke.
Across Europe the hot weather has closed down not just schools but factories, offices and rail lines, and led to an estimated 10,000 deaths, with France top of the heat mortality charts. Indeed as Boudry writes, Europe has the worst heat-related excess deaths of any region — while fatalities in the US have declined by 75 per cent since the adoption of air conditioning.
Update, 17 July: Welcome, Instapundit readers! Have a look around at some of my other posts you may find of interest. I send out a daily summary of posts here through my Substack – https://substack.com/@nicholasrusson that you can subscribe to if you’d like to be informed of new posts in the future.
September 3, 2024
The End of World War Two – WW2 – Week 314B – September 2, 1945
World War Two
Published 2 Sep 2024The Japanese sign the official document of surrender and the Second World War is over. There are still some Japanese garrisons yet to surrender, but they begin doing so one after the other. However, war is not over — and there is serious foreboding for future events in places like Vietnam and China — where Mao Zedong is meeting with Chiang Kai-Shek, even as Josef Stalin lurks in the background to secure Soviet interests no matter which Chinese regime comes out on top.
00:00 Intro
00:59 Vietnam Declares Independence
04:04 The Importance Of Manchuria
06:28 Japan’s Surrender
11:22 The Final Surrenders
13:18 Casualties
15:50 The End
(more…)
August 23, 2023
Slovenian SAR80: Sterling Out-Simplifies the AR-180
Forgotten Weapons
Published 15 May 2023The British Sterling firm designed the SAR-80 (specifically, their engineer Frank Waters) as a very simple rifle to sell to countries outside the main NATO/Warsaw Pact spheres of influence. Sterling ended up getting a license to produce the AR-18 though, and didn’t put Waters’ design into production.
When the newly formed Chartered Industries of Singapore came looking for a rifle to produce, the SAR-80 design was a chance for Sterling to sell a production license. CIS needed something to produce domestically to equip the Singaporean Army, and the SAR-80 met their needs. After selling the rifles to their own Army, the company went looking for export clients. They found a few, including Croatia, the Central African Republic, and Slovenia. A total of about 80,000 SAR-80 rifles were made, and this is one of the Slovenian-contract examples.
(more…)
November 19, 2022
Prelude to Victory: Burma, 1942
Army University Press
Published 11 Feb 2022In late 1941 and early 1942 the Imperial Japanese Army swept through the Asia-Pacific region like a wildfire. The Allies appeared powerless to stop them. With the British Army in Asia reeling, and pushed back to the frontier of India, something had to be done to stem the tide. “Prelude to Victory: Burma, 1942” provides context for Field Marshal William J. Slim and the 14th Army’s struggle to retake Burma from the Japanese.
October 8, 2022
Tank Chat #155 | Warthog | The Tank Museum
The Tank Museum
Published 3 Jun 2022David Willey is back with another Tank Chat. This week join David as he chats about the armoured vehicle Warthog — the Viking successor.
(more…)
February 21, 2021
WW2 – 130 – Britain’s Worst Defeat – Singapore Falls – February 20, 1942
World War Two
Published 20 Feb 2021The most humiliating defeat in British history according to Winston Churchill — 80,000 men lost as prisoners of war! Humiliated by an enemy far less numerous than themselves! There are many ways to describe the fall of Singapore; these are but two of them. The Japanese are also bombing Australia and invading Sumatra, Bali, and Timor this week, so they are certainly not resting on their laurels. Meanwhile in the Soviet Union, thousands of Red Army paratroops are dropping behind German lines.
Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tvFollow 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/WW2sourcesWritten 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: Maria Kyhle
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)Colorizations by:
– Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/
– Adrien Fillon – https://www.instagram.com/adrien.colo…Sources:
– IWM ART: LD 6042, 15747 12, 15747 139, 15747 14Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
– Rannar Sillard – “Easy Target”
– Fabien Tell – “Other Sides of Glory”
– Rannar Sillard – “Split Decision”
– Gunnar Johnsen – “Not Safe Yet”
– Farrell Wooten – “Blunt Object”
– Howard Harper-Barnes – “Underlying Truth”
– Jo Wandrini – “Dragon King”
– Fabien Tell – “Break Free”
– Christian Andersen – “Barrel”
– Johan Hynynen – “Dark Beginning”
– David Celeste – “Try and Catch Us Now”
– Farrell Wooten – “Mystery Minutes (STEMS INSTRUMENTS)”Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
February 14, 2021
German Army Surrounded: You Did Nazi That Coming! – WW2 – 129- February 13, 1942
World War Two
Published 13 Feb 2021The Soviet Red Army has managed to surround some 100,000 German soldiers in the Demyansk Pocket. The Allies are surrounded in Fortress Singapore and the Japanese spend the week breaking in. The Allies are also unable to supply Malta by ship because of continuous heavy Axis bombing of the island and its surroundings, which bodes ill for Allied operations in North Africa. The Germans also make a bold naval move this week — sending two capital ships right up the English Channel under British noses, making for German ports.
Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tvFollow 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/WW2sourcesWritten 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: Maria Kyhle
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)Colorizations by:
– Mikołaj Uchman
– Carlos Ortega Pereira, BlauColorizations – https://www.instagram.com/blaucolorizations
– Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/Sources:
– National Portrait Gallery
– IWM: FE 218, FE 312, A 9692, A 9694, HU 2765, A 9514, MH 4981, FE 222, FE 583Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
– Rannar Sillard – “Easy Target”
– Jo Wandrini – “Dragon King”
– Andreas Jamsheree – “Guilty Shadows 4”
– Fabien Tell – “Break Free ”
– Fabien Tell – “Weapon of Choice”
– Wendel Scherer – “Growing Doubt”
– Johan Hynynen – “Dark Beginning”
– Gunnar Johnsen – “Not Safe Yet”
– Wendel Scherer – “Out the Window”
– Howard Harper-Barnes – “Underlying Truth”
– Philip Ayers – “Ominous”
– Johan Hynynen – “One More Thought”Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
February 7, 2021
Pearl Harbor Avenged! – WW2 – 128 – February 6, 1942
World War Two
Published 6 Feb 2021The Japanese advance in Burma and the Dutch East Indies, but they’ve reached the end of the Malayan Campaign- Singapore, which they have under siege. They now prepare for the final assault. The Allies are going on the offensive at sea, though, in the Marshalls-Gilberts Raids, while on land in the Soviet Union the Red Army launches another series of offensives against the Germans.
Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tvFollow 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/WW2sourcesWritten 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: Maria Kyhle
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)Colorizations by:
– Mikołaj Uchman
– Julius Jääskeläinen – https://www.facebook.com/JJcolorization/
– Dememorabilia – https://www.instagram.com/dememorabilia/
– Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/Sources:
– National Portrait Gallery
– Ministerie van Defensie
– Arrow by 4B Icons from the Noun Project
– Yad Vashem: 76BO2, 4331_21Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
– Rannar Sillard – “Easy Target”
– Jo Wandrini – “Dragon King”
– Fabien Tell – “Last Point of Safe Return”
– Howard Harper-Barnes – “Sailing for Gold”
– Craft Case – “Secret Cargo”
– Rannar Sillard – “Split Decision”
– Flouw – “A Far Cry”
– Johannes Bornlöf – “The Inspector 4”
– Johan Hynynen – “Dark Beginning”
– Edward Karl Hanson – “Spellbound”
– Howard Harper-Barnes- “Underlying Truth”Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
January 31, 2021
Fortress Singapore Stands Alone! – WW2 – 127 – January 30, 1942
World War Two
Published 30 Jan 2021The Japanese advance on Singapore has gotten close enough that the British have destroyed the causeway to Singapore Island. The Japanese are also making attacks in the Solomon Islands, Burma, the Philippines, and the Dutch East Indies — their threat to Australia is real. Erwin Rommel’s surprise spoiler offensive in North Africa takes Benghazi, and on the eastern front the Soviets break a hole in the German lines in the north even as the temperature drops to the -50s.
Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tvFollow 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/WW2sourcesWritten 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: Maria Kyhle
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)Colorizations by:
– Mikołaj Uchman
– Jaris Almazani (Artistic Man) – https://instagram.com/artistic.man
– Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/Sources:
– JoJan, Berserker276 – from Wikimedia Commons
– National Portrait Gallery
– Termometer by Andi Nur Abdillah from the Noun Project
– Bundesarchiv – Bild 101I-811-1881-33
– Mil.ruSoundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
– Rannar Sillard – “Easy Target”
– Jo Wandrini – “Dragon King”
– Rannar Sillard – “Split Decision”
– Craft Case – “Secret Cargo”
– Reynard Seidel – “Rush of Blood”
– Flouw – “A Far Cry”
– Fabien Tell – “Weapon of Choice”
– Johan Hynynen – “Dark Beginning”
– Gunnar Johnsen – “Not Safe Yet”
– Fabien Tell – “Last Point of Safe Return”Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
December 27, 2020
Heinz Guderian’s Christmas and the fall of Hong Kong – WW2 – 122 – December 26, 1941
World War Two
Published 26 Dec 2020The Japanese offensives and advances in Southeast Asia and the Pacific continue unabated and both Hong Kong and Wake Island fall. British and American leaders begin the Arcadia Conference to decide just how they are going to fight this war together, and there are more changes made in the German High Command on the Eastern Front, even as the Soviets make advances there.
Check out Jean Paul’s museum here: https://www.romagne14-18.com/english-…
Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tvFollow 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: Maria Kyhle
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)Colorizations by:
– Dememorabilia – https://www.instagram.com/dememorabilia/
– Carlos Ortega Pereira, BlauColorizations – https://www.instagram.com/blaucolorizations
– Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/Sources:
– IWM: FE 203
– Battleship by Anand Prahlad from the Noun Project
– Man by Milinda Courey from the Noun Project
– prisoner by Luis Prado from the Noun Project
– bockelsound from freesound.orgArchive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
November 22, 2020
Surprise Attack On Rommel! – Operation Crusader Begins – WW2 – 117- November 21, 1941
World War Two
Published 21 Nov 2020The long planned Allied Offensive in North Africa — Operation Crusader — begins, but the Allies are worrying about how to defend Singapore in case of Japanese aggression. The Germans renew their drive on Moscow, but their number one flying ace perishes, a major PR hit.
Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tvFollow 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/WW2sourcesWritten 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: Maria Kyhle
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Miki Cackowski
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)Colorizations by:
Ruffneck88 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ca…
Julius Jääskeläinen – https://www.facebook.com/JJcolorization/
Daniel Weiss
Adrien Fillon – https://www.instagram.com/adrien.colo…
Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/
Spatacus OlssonSources:
Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
Bundesarchiv
Australian War Memorial
Yad Vashem 143BO2
IWM E 6661, K 1261, A 3898, A 10499, FE 487, TR153, E 2384ESoundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
Johannes Bornlof – “Death And Glory 2”
Johan Hynynen – “Dark Beginning”
Farrell Wooten – “Blunt Object”
Reynard Seidel – “Deflection”
Johannes Bornlof – “Last Man Standing 3”
Johannes Bornlof – “The Inspector 4”
Philip Ayers – “Under the Dome”
Max Anson – “Ancient Saga”
Johannes Bornlof – “Deviation In Time”
Jon Bjork – “Disposal”Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
From the comments:
World War Two
3 days ago
On December 7th we will cover the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in real time, minute by minute, as it happens … for five solid hours starting 0610 local Hawaiian time right here on this channel. Don’t miss it!And if you want a dose of WW2 action every day, then check out our day by day instagram coverage of the war right here: https://www.instagram.com/world_war_two_realtime/
January 23, 2020
The EU apparently fears a “Singapore on the Thames”
In the Continental Telegraph, Tim Worstall explains why the EU negotiators are reportedly offering a much worse trade deal to the United Kingdom than they’ve already agreed with Canada, Japan, and other trading partners:
Take, for example, this idea of Singapore on Thames. It’s trivially easy to rally the peeps against one or other relaxation of regulation. Chlorine washed chicken for example. But what about lifting the entire burden? Singapore is, after all, about 50% richer than Britain on a per capita basis. The correct question therefore is would you like a 50% pay raise at the price of shooting all the bureaucrats? Given the manner in which the bureaucrats don’t want the question even asked we have a reasonable enough guide that the answer would be yes.
Which is why the terms on offer to a Britain which could do the SonT thing are so terrible. Because of SonT succeeded it would be a death blow to the entire idea of how Europe is regulated. Lille, Leipzig and Livorno will all put up with interfering bureaucracy because that’s just the way the world is. But if Les Rosbifs become richer by half again simply by that bonfire of the regulations then the auto da fes will light up all over Europe.
So, yes, of course the EU is offering shit trade terms. They can’t allow an independent and free Britain to succeed. That we will anyway is what will bring that freedom and liberty to the continent – once again. For as so often it will be us that saves Europe from itself.
December 28, 2018
Who are the best jungle troops?
Lindybeige
Published on 5 Dec 2018The answer may seem weird at first, but there is an historical reason for it.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Lindybeige
Shot on location in the Petén rainforest, Guatemala.
Cameraman: Jeremy Lawrence.
Lindybeige: a channel of archaeology, ancient and medieval warfare, rants, swing dance, travelogues, evolution, and whatever else occurs to me to make.
▼ Follow me…
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lindybeige I may have some drivel to contribute to the Twittersphere, plus you get notice of uploads.
website: http://www.LloydianAspects.co.uk
October 9, 2018
Kingdom of Majapahit – Changing Winds – Extra History – #5
Extra Credits
Published on 6 Oct 2018When Islam arrived in Indonesia, life changed — except within Majapahit, where court drama kept them focused on themselves and unaware of the visits and alliances between Admiral Zheng He and the Sultanate of Malacca — forming new powers in the southern seas.
Support us on Patreon! http://bit.ly/EHPatreon
As we finished this episode, an even more devastating earthquake and tsunami struck the island of Sulawesi. Once again we’ve linked two fundraising efforts—one international aid organization, and another for a local effort. Any help would be deeply appreciated.
https://secure2.oxfamamerica.org/page…
https://kopernik.info/en/donate/palu-…
