Ezra Pound Arrested
Ezra Weston Loomis Pond (1885 – 1972) was one of the most controversial, major literary figures in the 20th century. Early in his career, Pound promoted Imagism, a modernist movement, derived from classical Chinese and Japanese poetry, that emphasized clarity,...
Mussolini Executed
After being freed from an Italian prison by German special forces in 1943, Benito Mussolini established the Italian Social Republic in northern Italy. Although he claimed autonomy, the republic Mussolini ruled for 1 1/2 years as Head of State and Minister of...
U.S. Pilot Defects
For years a devotee of the ultra-conservative radio ministry of Father Charles Edward Coughlin, a 23 year-old USAAF P-38 pilot named Martin James Monti defected to the Axis powers in October 1944. Why a young American might actually defect to the Axis is hard to...
Força Expedicionária Brasileira
Brazil was the only South American country to send troops to fight in WWII. Initially neutral, the government of Brazil created the Força Expedicionária Brasileira (Brazilian Expeditionary Force) of ~25,000 men in 1943 after 34 Brazilians ships were sunk near the...
Nazis Rescue Mussolini
On July 24, 1943, following the Allied invasion of Sicily, the Italian fascist Prime Minister Benito Mussolini was arrested and a provisional Italian government, under Marshal Pietro Badoglio was established. Opposed to the alliance with Nazi Germany, Badoglio signed...
Bombing of Rome
Bombing Rome, the "Eternal City" and capitol of Catholicism, was a controversial WWII act for many Americans. Although both Allied and Axis bombers made an effort to avoid attacking the Vatican, Vatican City was bombed once by the British and once by the Germans. In...
Allies Invade Sicily
In July 1943, the Allied amphibious and airborne Operation Husky captured the island of Sicily from German and Italian forces. With Axis forces removed from the island, sea lanes in the Mediterranean were opened for Allied merchant ships for the first time since...
Allied Victory in North Africa
From June 1940 until May 1943, major campaigns were fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The Allied North African war effort was dominated by the British Commonwealth with American assistance beginning in May 1942. The North African...
The Last Cavalry Charge
After infantry and chariots, cavalry formed some of the oldest military units in history. With lightning speed, mounted warriors often proved key to victory in many major battles. Although this advantage was mostly lost with the introduction of...
INFERNO
I am currently reading this excellent book by Max Hastings. Not only is it detailed, balanced and well-referenced; it is superb writing. Before dawn next morning, "a warm, damp, rather hazy day," American and Japanese pilots breakfasted. The Yorktown's men favoured...
The Ductators
This somewhat crude cartoon is worth watching to catch the feeling of Americans in the early stages of our involvement in WWII.
Il Duce Rises
Born in 1883 into a passionate socialist blacksmith's family, Benito Mussolini was named after the Mexican revolutionary Benito Juarez. Although expelled from several schools for bullying and defying authority, he obtained a teaching certificate at age 18 and worked...
Flamethrower
The flamethrower has a long history of military use. - In the first century AD, the Greek navy developed a hand-pumped apparatus that shot bursts of fire at enemy ships. - In the 10th century AD, the Chinese employed a piston-driven weapon that sprayed “fierce fire...
Ezra Pound – Poet / Fascist
The America poet Ezra Pound's contributions to the arts in the early 20th century have been widely acknowledged. A Girl The tree has entered my hands, The sap has ascended my arms, The tree has grown in my breast - Downward, The branches grow out of me, like arms....
WWII Combatants
Population of Major Combatants in 1942 USA 134,859,553 Great Britain 48,400,000 Australia 7,137,000 Canada 11,825,500 China 527,456,000 Russia 112,000,000 ---------------------------------- Germany 72,620,000 Italy 45,387,000 Imperial...
WWII Participants
Most countries in the world participated in WWII. The leading Axis powers were Nazi Germany, the Kingdom of Italy, and the Empire of Japan. The major Allied Powers were the United Kingdom and France and their colonies, China, the Soviet Union and the United States....
Italian-American Internment
Over 1500 Italian Americans designated "enemy aliens" by the FBI were arrested in WWII. About 250 of these were interned for up to two years in military camps in Montana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. In October 1942, after strong protests by Italian-American trade...
Axis Powers
Axis Powers in World War II Major Axis Powers Germany Japan Italy Minor Axis Powers Hungary Romania Bulgaria Yugoslavia Co-Belligerents Thailand Finland San marino Iraq Japanese Client States Manchukuo Inner Mongolia Reorganized National Government of China Philippine...
Germany & Italy Declare War on USA
On December 11, 1941, in accordance with the Axis Powers Alliance of 1937, Germany and Italy declared war on the USA in support of Imperial Japan.
France surrenders to Axis Powers
Formation of the Axis Alliance
Originating with the Anti-Comintern Pact of 1936 (an anti-communist treaty signed by Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan), the Axis alliance was joined by Italy in 1937. In addition, the Axis included Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and various collaborating and/or...