James Holland's Second World War Forum

The Panzer VI - But Not The Tiger

James Holland — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:41:17 +0000

In The Odin Mission I refer to a Panzer Mk VI, which has prompted quite a response from keen-eyed observers of the Second World War, all pointing out the Mk VI Tiger tank did not come into service until 1942 and therefore could not have been in Norway in 1940. However, there were earlier panzers [...]

The Slide to War

James Holland — Tue, 05 May 2009 10:58:37 +0000

Adolf Hitler’s birthdays had, since his coming to power in 1933, always been occasions for his sycophants to demonstrate their unswerving adulation, but this, his fiftieth, on April 20 1939, was to be a nauseating extravaganza that would surpass any previous such occasions. Chief organizer and master of ceremonies was none other than Josef Goebbels, [...]

A Short Story

James Holland — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:37:31 +0000

GETTING TO THE PARTY It was war time. The Germans may not have invaded, but the Blitz had rained hundreds of thousands of bombs on Britain’s cities, bringing destruction on a scale never before witnessed by a civilian population. There was rationing – of food, drink, petrol – of everything, it seemed. Abroad, Britain had suffered [...]

THE GERMAN MIRACLE OF 1940 AND WHY LIGHTNING FAILED TO STRIKE TWICE IN 1944

James Holland — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 08:53:17 +0000

The Victory That Should Never Have Happened The German triumph in the west in 1940 truly was one of the most incredible victories ever in all history, yet has been shrouded in myth to such an extent that the outcome is now widely regarded to have been nothing less than expected. In popular historiography, the ultra-modern, [...]

More Luftwaffe Battle of Britain Interviews

James Holland — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:42:13 +0000

I have now posted up three more interviews with Luftwaffe pilots, all of which I did back in May. Karl Spreitzer, a Stuka pilot in St.G.2 and Knight’s Cross winner, who saw action in Norway, the Battle of Britain, Greece, Crete, Malta, North Africa and Russia and stacked up a stagging 600+ combat missions. He [...]