The Tragedy of Force Z
The sinking by Japanese aircraft of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse in December 1941 and the subsequent loss of Singapore was a grievous blow to British morale. But have historians misunderstood what really happened?
Second World War
The Map: Rome, 1942
The War Office’s map of cultural treasures in Rome, 1942.
Heligoland: the Nazis’ lost Atlantis
A small island in the North Sea became the site of explosive Anglo-German encounters.
Executive Order 9066
The decree that led to the internment of Japanese-Americans was passed on 19 February 1942.
Pain behind the Pleasure: the Italian Social Republic
Salò was Mussolini’s German-backed experiment in ‘real Fascism’ and fine living. Italians find it hard to come to terms with its legacy.
The Sinking of Japan
An island nation with few resources, Japan was in a precarious enough position when it declared war on the United States in December 1941. That its powerful navy failed to learn the lessons of previous conflicts made matters even worse.
Boris Johnson's Abuse of Churchill
In using Churchill to justify his Brexit campaign, Boris Johnson 'paints a barbarically simplified and ill-informed picture of what Churchill stood for'.
The First Dambusters
On its 75th anniversary, Philip Weir remembers Britain’s first attempt to smash a major hydroelectric dam: the bombardment of Genoa in 1941.
The Children’s War
Juliet Gardiner discusses a new exhibition on the experiences of children in the Second World War, which opens at the Imperial War Museum on March 18th.
Churchill and the Reality of Politics in Wartime Britain
Mihir Bose challenges the perception of Winston Churchill as a demi-god who was essential to Britain's war effort.