Specials
- Article by Matthias Ouwejan
- Published on May 29th, 2020
Rise and fall of the Panzerarmee Afrika
- Article by Kevin Prenger
- Published on January 29th, 2023
Evacuation and fall of the German city Kolberg
- Article by Pieter Schlebaum
- Published on January 25th, 2011
Bombardment of Rotterdam, March 31st, 1943
- Article by Vincent Krabbendam
- Published on March 9th, 2024
The Ones Who Got Away
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25Mar
Band of Brothers actors to parachute into Normandy for D-Day
Stars of the hit HBO show are taking on a real life parachute jump as part of D-Day commemorations.
2Mar
4,500 crashes in Scotland on more than 700 pages
During the Second World War Scotland was a key location for many of the Allies’ defensive and offensive activities. It was also important for the training of aircrew and maintaining air and sea lines of communication with Allied nations. Scotland’s ports, factories and cities were important targets for the Luftwaffe, while adjacent seas had to be traversed by German capital ships and U-boats seeking to interdict Allied trade convoys and warships. These activities came at a heavy price by way of lives lost and aircraft destroyed in crashes not just on airfields but on low and high ground and in the seas around Scotland, the rest of the British Isles and further afield. Keith Bryers wrote a book about this subject, Scotland's Wartime Aircraft Crashes, that has now been published by Aviation Books Ltd[/url]. We asked the writer some questions about his book by e-mail.
1Mar
Kolberg, 1945: Evacuation from a besieged city
From 4 to 18 March 1945, Kolberg was besieged by troops of the Red Army and the Polish People's Army. The German seaside resort on the Baltic coast had not seen war since 1807. Back then, the siege by Napoleon's troops had ceased after an armistice was signed between France and Prussia. The propaganda film 'Kolberg' about this siege, premiered as recently as January 1945, was supposed to encourage Germans to hold out even now. They would not succeed, but until 17 March almost the entire civilian population was evacuated from the city by fishing, merchant and naval vessels by sea. Below is an excerpt from Kevin Prenger's book ' Hitler’s Last Chance: Kolberg' about this evacuation.
28Jan
Order a book at Pen & Sword Books and support us
You have probably heard of Pen & Sword Books. This British publisher has a wide range of books on war history. It has also published some books written by our volunteers, such as 'The 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion' by Samuel de Korte and 'Hitler's Last Chance' by Kevin Prenger. When you buy one or more books from Pen & Sword's webshop via this link, TracesOfWar will receive a commission for it. This way you support us and have a good read at the same time! Save the link to your favourites if you use it more often.
27Jan
Hitler's last propaganda film premiered 79 years ago
January 30, 2024 marks the seventy-ninth anniversary of the premiere of Hitler's last propaganda film. The title of this film directed by German director Veit Harlan is Kolberg. The subject is the 1807 siege of the German city of the same name on the Baltic coast by Napoleon's troops. The Prussian army, supported by a civilian militia, had then held out for months against the besiegers. The film story was intended to inspire and encourage Germans in early 1945 to keep up the fight. The film and the rise and fall of the German town of Kolberg are the subjects of Kevin Prenger's latest book Hitler’s Last Chance: Kolberg. The following is an excerpt from his book. It is about the making-of of the film.
6Jan
Mike Sadler, desert navigator who guided WWII commandos, dies at 103
The stars, sun and surveyor’s instruments were his only tools to lead British special forces through the North African desert during World War II.
Looking for reliable information or news facts about WW2? Do you want to create your own battlefield tour to sights of wars from the past? Or are you interested in war medals and their recipients? TracesOfWar.com tells you more!
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