General James H Doolittle, one of the greatest heroes of American aviation. Secrets of World War II s1e23: The Amazing Colonel Doolittle
Oil: One of the most vulnerable points in the war economy of the Third Reich. If Hitler’s oil reserves could be destroyed, the war could be shortened by many months. American bomber chiefs had fixed on oil as a vital strategic target. They believed oil was the key to victory over Adolf Hitler and his allies. Secrets of World War II e24: Destroying Hitler’s Oil
He [Bomber Harris] was convinced area bombing would shorten the demise of the war. ibid.
In June 1941 Hitler turned east against the Soviet Union. At a stroke Germany’s oil tap was turned off. ibid.
German aircraft were also deployed in Romania ... For Hitler Romania’s most important asset was its oil. ibid.
By December 1944 there was just enough oil for Hitler to launch an offensive in the Arden. ibid.
The progressive destruction of Germany’s oil resources had definitely under-ridden the Allied victory. ibid.
In December 1940 sailors of the German Navy boarded the British merchant ship Automaton in the Straits of Java. The boarding party was looking for the merchant navy’s code books. It found them. But in a drawer in the chartroom the Germans stumbled across something far more valuable – a top-secret report on British preparedness in the Far East. This document was to change the course of the Second World War. Secrets of World War II e26: Cruise of the Secret Raiders
It was not until 1943 that the Raiders had been swept from the sea. By then they had sunk tons of merchant shipping. ibid.
Britain began the war with twelve battleships, three battle-cruisers, sixty cruisers and a hundred and eighty-four destroyers. It was a Navy designed to fulfil a world-wide role. ibid.
A great bunch of incandescent grapes falling. Hamish Mahaddie, RAF Pathfinder
El Alamein was Britain’s first major land victory of the Second World War. The desert battles which took place in 1942 were some of the bloodiest of the North African campaign. El Alamein: The Soldier’s Story, Yesterday 2013
Montgomery’s arrival had a dramatic impact on morale. ibid.
Here we will stand and fight; there will be no further withdrawal. I have ordered that all plans and instructions dealing with further withdrawal are to be burnt, and at once. We will stand and fight here. If we can’t stay here alive, then let us stay here dead. Bernard Montgomery, speech 13th August 1942
The dead are lucky. It’s all over for them. Erwin Rommel
It will be the longest day. Erwin Rommel
The policy is obliteration, openly acknowledged. This is not a justifiable act of war. George Bell, Bishop of Chichester, House of Lords address 9th February 1944
The public supported America’s engagement in World War II largely because of the shock effect of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Zbigniew Brzezinski, The Grand Chessboard
Japan may strike over the weekend. Hilo Tribune Herald Sunday 30th November 1941
It may have been a surprising attack to the American people but not to the Federal government and the military. Months before the attack they knew the Japanese were preparing for an all-out assault in the Pacific. Alex Jones, 9/11 The Road to Tyranny, 2002
After the Germans pushed the British off the continent at Dunkirk in May 1940 there were persistent stories that Hitler invaded England. He was said to have invaded here at the evacuated village of Shingle Street in Suffolk on the night of 31st August 1940. The story is that the Nazis got their fingers burnt, and that it was all hushed up. Conspiracies: Nazi Invasion
On 7th December 1941 when Franklin Roosevelt was President Japanese aircraft attacked the US Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, drawing America into the war. But did the then government know in advance this attack was going to happen? Was there a hidden agenda? Conspiracies – 9/11 and the Evil in America
But they didn’t make preparations at Pearl Habor for that attack and I believe that’s because they wanted the war because we were in a depression and that was the only way they saw to get out of the depression. Norman Livergood, author America, Awake!
The question was how we should manoeuvre them into firing the first shot ... It was desirable to make sure the Japanese be the ones to do this so that there should remain no doubt as to who were the aggressors. Henry Stimson, Secretary of War
Mitsuo Fuchida, a commander in the Imperial Japanese Navy, was the air-strike leader of the Japanese carrier force that attacked Pearl Harbor. Considered one of Japan’s most skilful fliers, Commander Fuchida ... led the first wave of 183 airplanes against the US fleet at Pearl Harbor ... he was the one who shouted the war cry, ‘Tora, Tora, Tora’.
Of the 70 Japanese officers who participated in the raid on Pearl Harbor, Fuchida was the only one who returned to Japan alive. He later fought against the United States throughout the war in the Pacific.
Fuchida was a national hero in Japan, but at War’s end he was a disillusioned and bitter man. Don Gilleland, Unique Story of Pearl Harbor
We’re now just finding out, and it’s becoming common knowledge, that the attack on Pearl Harbor wasn’t the surprise attack we were all told it was. In fact the powers that be knew days ahead of time that the attack was pending. Dave vonKleist, 9/11 In Plane Sight the director’s cut
I can run wild for the first six months or a year. I have utterly no confidence for the second and third years. Anyone who has seen the oil fields of Texas and the factories of Detroit knows this. Admiral Yamamoto
April 15th 1912: More than 1,500 people die on the Titanic. May 7th 1915: 1,198 die when the Lusitania was torpedoed by a German submarine. December 7th 1941: 1,177 perish aboard the USS Arizona … January 30th 1945: more perished in one sea disaster than all who died on these tragedies multiplied by 3. History estimated between 6 and 9,000 people were lost when a refugee ship, the Wilhelm Gustloff, was torpedoed by Soviet submarines. It was a staggering human disaster yet what happened remains a mystery. Unsolved History s1e19: Wilhelm Gustloff, Discovery 2003
December 7th 1941: American naval and air targets at Pearl Harbor Hawaii were attacked by the Japanese. The following morning the United States joined the Allies, declaring war against Japan and Germany. The attack on Pearl Harbor changed the course of history. Unsolved History: Myths of Pearl Harbor
The Japanese attack did not begin from the air but from the sea. And the first shots of the Pacific war were fired by America not by Japanese. This action preceded the infamous bombing of Pearl Harbor by more than four hours. ibid.
Despite the risks the Japanese put the midget-submarine plan into action hoping to cripple America’s Pacific fleet. Japanese preparations for the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor began in the autumn. The midget-subs were the coup de grace in one of the most daring military actions ever devised. ibid.
As a result of the strike 21 warships were sunk or damaged, including all of the battleships in Pearl Harbor. 2390 Americans were killed. Another 1178 were wounded. ibid.
That brings up another myth: That the Japanese were responsible for all of the American deaths at Pearl Harbor. War is not only hell, it is chaos. ibid.
Although the US Pacific fleet was shattered, Admiral Nagumo, the commander of the Japanese task force, failed to strike the fatal blow intended. His primary targets – the American aircraft-carriers – were not in port at the time of the attack. ibid.
A third wave attack never happened. ibid.
It will be for ever remembered as a Day of Infamy. Without warning Japan’s bombers rained down terror on a Sunday morning in Hawaii. Lasting just two hours their attack on Pearl Harbor would bring the United States into World War II. Days that Shook the World s2e3: Attack on Pearl Harbor, BBC 2004
For the last year the United States has been secretly decoding Japan’s diplomatic signals. ibid.
The Americans have always considered Pearl Harbor to be invulnerable to attack by torpedo bomber. ibid.
It is not the death blow to the US Navy Japan had hoped for. ibid.
The Battle of Midway pitted the United States against the might of the Japanese Navy in one of the most explosive battles in militarily history. Days that Shook the World: Battle of Midway
Keep me in touch personally with anything you want me to know about. Franklin D Roosevelt, letter to Winston Churchill
Your boys will not die in foreign wars. Franklin D Roosevelt, public broadcast
There is less chance of the United States getting into the war if we do all we can to support the nations defending themselves ... than if we acquiesce in their defeat. Franklin D Roosevelt