History Fiend

Britain’s psychological warfare campaign against the Nazis pre-empted the information wars of the 21st century.  James Crossland | Published 23 October 2018 War of words: Sefton Delmer broadcasting to Germany from the BBC, 1 November 1941. Social media is used strategically to disseminate ‘fake news’. Online profiles are hijacked and hacked in order to agitate, stoke divisions and ‘troll’ adversaries online. These methods of waging a very contemporary style of combat are sometimes known by the more sinister epithet, ‘psychological warfare’. Yet so many aspects of this supposedly 21st century phenomenon – from its harnessing of communications technology, to its emphasis on controlling narratives of who is ‘good’ or ‘evil’ in various global struggles – has deep roots. When British armed forces were driven from the Continent following Germany’s rapid and succe...

For years debate has raged over whether the US was right to drop two atomic bombs on Japan during the final weeks of the Second World War. The first bomb, dropped on the city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, resulted in a death toll of around 135,000. The second, which hit Nagasaki on 9 August, killed at least 50,000 people – according to some estimates, as many as 74,000 died But was the US justified in dropping the atomic bombs? Here,  History Extra  readers George Evans-Hulme and Roy Ceustermans debate… George:  Yes, it was. The US was, like the rest of the world,  soldiering on towards the end of a dark period of human history  that had seen the single most costly conflict (in terms of life) in history, and they chose to adopt a stance that seemed to limit the amount of casualties in the war, by significantly shortening it with the use of atomic weapons. It was certainly a reasonable view for the USA to take, since they had suffered...

Some 135,000 people were killed when, on 6 August 1945, the US dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima in Japan. Those who survived suffered radiation sickness and severe burns, and the city was utterly destroyed... August 6, 2015 at 7:28 am Extensive scientific research and development by scientists involved in The Manhattan Project meant the US produced the first nuclear weapons during the Second World War. When the bombs were dropped in 1945, the world had never experienced anything like it before. It was presumed at the time that the city would not recover for decades after the blast, and nothing would grow for years to come, leaving survivors without the necessary resources for farmland and food. Here, Jason Goodyer, the commissioning editor of  BBC Focus Magazine,  reveals the science behind the dropping of  Little Boy  70 years ago today… One second after the bomb struck on the  city of Hiroshima , a huge firebal...

From epic battles to atomic bombs, Professor Jeremy Black rounds up 10 of the most significant Second World War dates… December 29, 2016 at 5:00 am 7 July 1937: Clash near the Marco Polo Bridge, close to Beijing The triggering of the full-scale war with China that lasted until 1945 began with an obscure clash involving a Japanese unit on night manoeuvres near the Marco Polo Bridge southwest of Beijing on the night of 7–8 July 1937. The Japanese felt the nation’s honour had been challenged and sent fresh forces to the region. Hardliners in the Japanese army used the incident to press for a settlement of China on their terms, while the Chinese nationalist leader, Jiang Jieshi, was unwilling to propriate Japan. As a result, an intractable struggle began that greatly weakened both sides. Large-scale conflict broke out toward the end of July, and Beijing was occupied on 29 July. 10 May 1940: Germans launch offensive in the West The German unwillingness to l...