Issues 151-latest

ISSUE No. 151 (Code A151) — Now with Colour Comparisons

FIRST MANNED ROCKET LAUNCH - Jean Paul Pallud gives a fascinating insight into the development of the first manned rocket produced by Dipl.Ing. Erich Bachem. The Birchington Mine -On August 3, 1940, a parachute mine was reported to have come down on land at Shuart Farm near the north Kent coast. Chris Ransted tells us the full story. The US 'Rosie the Riveter' Memorial - David Mitchelhill-Green tells the story of the women who became known as 'Rosies' for their remarkable efforts to the US shipbuilding industry during WWII. German War Graves in Britain - Andy Saunders and Joe Potter describe the work involved in identifying former missing German airmen in the United Kingdom. HM Prison Pentonville During World War II - In this story we tell how Pentonville Prison was hit and damaged several times during raids on London. The Empire Air Training Scheme in Canada - Three and a half months after the outbreak of the Second World War, a group of men gathered in the office of Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King for the signing of an 'Agreement Relating to the Training of Pilots and Aircrews in Canada'. Clarence Simonsen tells the full story.

ISSUE No. 152 (Code A152) — Now with Colour Comparisons

THE LIBERATION OF ROME - Marco Marzilli tells the story of the German seizure of Rome in 1943 following the Armistice between Italy and the Allies during a remarkable 24 hour period (September 8-9) of the war. The Allied Liberation of Rome 1944 - Following from the previous story, Karel Margry tells us how on June 4, 1944, nine months after the Germans had seized Rome, forces of the US Fifth Army liberated the Italian capital. German Prisoners in Normandy - Edward Storey explains the fascinating story behind a rare series of colour photographs of German prisoners of war captured in Normandy. Guarding the Golden Gate - David Mitchelhill-Green tells us the story of the 16-inch guns put in place to protect San Francisco Bay, and how they were never fired in anger and what has since become of them.

ISSUE No. 153 (Code A153) — Now with Colour Comparisons

THE RAID ON ROMMEL'S HEADQUARTERS - Jean Paul Pallud tells how on the night of November 14/15, 1941 a British raiding party of 30 commandos led by Lieutenant-Colonel Geoffrey Keyes landed on the shores of Libya. Their mission being to attack a house in the town of Beda Littoria thought to be the headquarters of Generalleutnant Erwin Rommel, the famed commander of the German Afrikakorps. Wolfsschanze Revisited - One of our long-time readers, Allan Adams from Ottawa, Canada, has recently made two visits to the former Führerhauptquartier and produced a good photographic record of its present condition. We present Allan's story as a follow-up to our story in issue 19 and also as a tribute to the groundbreaking research done by the late Dr. Raiber who died in March 2002. Pershing versus Tiger at Elsdorf - Willi Weiss tells us how on the evening of February 26, 1945, at the small German town of Elsdorf, west of Cologne, a German Tiger tank knocked out an American T26E3 Pershing tank. A newly developed type of heavy tank armed with a powerful 90mm gun — one of the first batch of 20 that was hurriedly rushed to the European Theater of Opertions and committed on the front of the US First Army to see action before the end of the war. Australia's Worst Air Disaster - On June 14, 1943, a Boeing B-17C crashed at Bakers Creek near the coastal town of Mackay in eastern Queensland, Australia. The entire crew of six and all but one of the 35 passengers — all US servicemen returning to Port Moresby in New Guinea after furlough — perished in the crash, the cause of which has never been established with certainty. David Mitchelhill-Green tells us how to this day it remains Australia's worst ever air disaster. Waldhaus Häcklingen - Karel Margry tells us how on May 3, 1945, a small estate just outside the village of Häcklingen near Lüneburg in northern Germany was the venue of talks between Lieutenant-General Miles C. Dempsey, the commander of the British Second Army, and a delegation of German officers who had come to negotiate on the one hand the surrender of the city of Hamburg and on the other the general capitulation of all German forces in northern Germany.

ISSUE No. 154 (Code A154) — Now with Colour Comparisons

HELIGOLAND - Chris Ransted takes us through the history of this remarkable Island and explains how it was a chief naval strongpoint for Germany in both the First and Second World Wars. The Allied Capture of Frankfurt - On March 27, 1945, after a short but intense two-day battle, troops of the US Third Army captured the German city of Frankfurt-am-Main. Karel Margry takes us through the story of this hard-fought battle. James Arness - Editor-in-Chief of After the Battle, Winston Ramsey, has put together an obituary for this screen legend and war hero who sadly passed away in 2011.

ISSUE No. 155 (Code A155) — Now with Colour Comparisons

ATHENS, DECEMBER 1944 - In December 1944, the British liberation forces in Greece found themselves involved involuntarily in the violence and hatred of the Greek Civil War when they became the target of the Communist-controlled guerrilla forces of EAM/ELAS. Karel Margry describes the situation. From the Editor - A round-up and update on previous stories from After the Battle. The Murder of Countess Teresa Lubienska - The story of a remarkable lady who was an inmate at Ravensbrück and suffered throughout the war, only to be murdered at a London Underground station many years later.

ISSUE No. 156 (Code A156) — Now with Colour Comparisons

THE BOMBING OF DUBLIN - On the night of May 30/31, 1941, four Luftwaffe bombers, on their way to attack Liverpool, drifted off track and by mistake bombed the city of Dublin. David Mitchelhill-Green tells the story of the raid in which over 40 people lost their lives and more than 100 were injured. War Film - Is Paris Burning? (French original title: Paris, Brûle-t'il?) released in 1966, tells the story of the liberation of the French capital in August 1944. Karel Margry takes us through the making of the film. Lyndon B. Johnson's Silver Star - David Mitchelhill-Green explains how the then future President of the United States was controversially awarded the Silver Star. A Night at the Acropolis - George Pararas-Carayannis tells the story of two young students (Manolis Glezos and Lakis Santas) who decided to do something about the swastika banner placed at the tip of the Acropolis by German invaders. As a symbolic act of defiance they set out to climb the Acropolis at night to take down the flag and destroy it.