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.

ISSUE No. 157 (Code A157) — Now with Colour Comparisons

AUSCHWITZ - The most infamous of all the Nazi concentration camps has come to symbolise the atrocities committed by the Third Reich. Starting out as a detention camp, primarily for Polish political prisoners, it grew to become the principal killing centre set up for the mass murder of the European Jews. This moving story, told by Yisrael Gutman, highlights the terrible atrocities suffered by its inmates and guides us through the everyday working of the camp with comparisons of Auschwitz today. The 70th Anniversary of Stars and Stripes - This is the story of the US Army's own newspaper, first published during the First World War. In 1942 — 70 years ago this year — its publication was re-started in London for American troops.

ISSUE No. 158 (Code A158) — Now with Colour Comparisons

THE SIEGE OF WARSAW 1939 - On September 8, 1939, one week into the Nazi invasion of Poland, German armoured troops reached the gates of Warsaw. However, a determined garrison awaited the enemy invader and the Poles were able to stave off two consecutive German attempts to take the capital by armoured attack. Thus began a campaign that would last for three weeks and subject the inhabitants of the city to a ruthless campaign of aerial bombardment and heavy artillery shelling. Campo Prigionieri di Guerra 57 - From the Autumn of 1941 to September 1943 there existed near Udine, in the far north-eastern corner of upper Italy, a prisoner of war camp which was originally set up to house Yugoslav, Albanian and Greek prisoners from Italy's war in the Balkans. Soon it became the main camp for Australian and New Zealand NCOs and aother ranks captured in North Africa. The story is told by Jeffrey Plowman and Stefano Di Giusto. From the Editor - A round-up and update on previous stories from After the Battle.

ISSUE No. 159 (Code A159) — Now with Colour Comparisons

THE BATTLE FOR THE REICHSWALD - On February 8, 1945, the First Canadian Army, along with the British XXX Corps (operating under Canadian command) launched Operation 'Veritable', a massive offensive designed to conquer the northern half of the German Rhineland and obtain positions favourable for a later assault across the Rhine. Western Desert Battlefield Tours - Steve Hamilton has been exploring the Western Desert long before battlefield tour companies even existed. After the Battle takes a look at this remarkable operation prior to the launch of our new book The Desert War Then and Now. The International Tracing Service at Arolsen - The upheaval caused by Germany transporting hundreds of thousands of civilians from one country to another right across Europe presented a huge problem for the Allies in 1945. In January 1946 the Central Tracing Bureau was established under the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. We tell how this was set up and run, and the effect it has had on many family's since. The Kingsclere Massacre - Matthew Spicer recounts how a group of American soldiers based at Kingsclere in Berkshire brought murder and mayhem to this English village. The Desert War Then and Now - Jean Paul Pallud introduces his latest masterpiece in the form of this 592-page book published by After the Battle, which covers the campaign in North Africa from 1940 to 1943.

ISSUE No. 160 (Code A160) — Now with Colour Comparisons

THE NAZI BÜCKEBERG HARVEST FESTIVAL - The Reichserntedankfest (Reich Harvest Thanksgiving Festival) on the Bückeberg near the town of Hameln was one of the largest annual mass meetings organised by the Third Reich, comparable only to the Nazi party rallies at Nuremberg. Karel Margry tells us how this was designed by the Propaganda Ministry as a way to draw the farmers and peasants of Germany closer to the Nazi regime. Exploring the Crash Site of Ian Smith - Dave Cooper tells us of his quest to find and visit the site in north-western Italy where the then future Prime Minister of Rhodesia, Ian Smith, had crashed in his Spitfire on June 22, 1944. Okunoshima: Japan's Poison Gas Arsenal - From 1929 to 1945, the Imperial Japanese Army operated a top-secret poison gas plant on Okunoshima a small island in Japan's Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture. David Mitchellhill-Green tells us the full story. The Victors - Trevor Popple takes us through the film which was the directional debut of producer and screenwriter Carl Foreman.