I believe this is a blog containing many interesting little stories that you have probably never heard of before.
34 interesting facts about WW2
The Battle of Stalingrad. A quality four part WW2 documentary
I think many people may not know how this battle was won and how it permanently defined history
“The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 1942 — 2 February 1943)was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in the south-western Soviet Union. Marked by constant close quarters combat and disregard for military and civilian casualties, it is amongst the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare. The heavy losses inflicted on the Wehrmacht make it arguably the most strategically decisive battle of the whole war. It was a turning point in the European theatre of World War II–the German forces never regained the initiative in the East and withdrew a vast military force from the West to reinforce their losses.
The German offensive to capture Stalingrad began in late summer 1942 using the 6th Army and elements of the 4th Panzer Army. The attack was supported by intensive Luftwaffe bombing that reduced much of the city to rubble. The fighting degenerated into building-to-building fighting, and both sides poured reinforcements into the city. By mid-November 1942, the Germans had pushed the Soviet defenders back at great cost into narrow zones generally along the west bank of the Volga River.
On 19 November 1942, the Red Army launched Operation Uranus, a two-pronged attack targeting the weaker Romanian and Hungarian forces protecting the German 6th Army’s flanks. The Axis forces on the flanks were overrun and the 6th Army was cut off and surrounded in the Stalingrad area. Adolf Hitler ordered that the army stay in Stalingrad and make no attempt to break out; instead, attempts were made to supply the army by air and to break the encirclement from the outside. Heavy fighting continued for another two months. By the beginning of February 1943, the Axis forces in Stalingrad had exhausted their ammunition and food. The remaining elements of the 6th Army surrendered. The battle lasted five months, one week, and three days.”
Note: The presentation hyperlink provided below is to a wider general armyupress presentation.
The great WW2 German prisoner of war escape tunnel site revisited
If you have never heard about this fascinating story of war time audacity, bravery and heroism I urge you to read on.
On March 24th 1944 seventy six prisoners of war escaped from a heavily fortified German prisoners of war camp. The camp was designed to be escape proof. Hitler was furious. Unfortunately for the escapees things did not go to plan because of a survey error that meant that the exit point of the primary tunnel of three fell just short of the thick woods where it was planned to be. Three escapees made it back to England, twenty six were captured and locked up again and the remainder were executed under Hitlers orders. The tunnel names were Tom, Dick and Harry. Harry was 102 meters long. Click here if you have never heard about this history making story. This copy is taken from the original professionally posted article as cited at the end of the text.
Hermann Goering’s war train
Herman Goering was amongst the top ten of Nazi Germany’s ruling elites. He was a first class fighter pilot in WW1 and commanded the German air force (Luftwaffe) during WW2. It was not unusual for German leaders to have their own luxury trains. Hitler had one too. Goering set up a sophisticated command center on his train and it was used for accommodation purposes too. There is some rare Goering’s train footage in this video.. If you enjoy reading and viewing unusual stories relating to war history I think you will enjoy the information contained within the various links of this blog.
Top Nazi leader’s Mercedes car found ruined in old derelict barn
An almost unbelievable story of how a car that once belonged to one of Germany’s top Nazi leaders [Reinhard Heydrich] was discovered forgotten and forlorn in a barn in Denmark, and the fascinating story of its owner and his violent demise.
The car is a 1938 type B model 320 Mercedes of which only 34 were made. See its postwar history in this video.
If you like unusual World War Two stories such as this you may also enjoy these two vehicle related links are compelling viewing as well.
Link one: The Mystery of Hitler’s Missing Mercedes
Link two: The Blue Goose – Hermann Göring’s Mercedes