World War II Today | Martin Cherrett | Substack

Bomber Command target Hanover

25th July 1941: A first combat operation for a Navigator on a Whitley bomber

16 hrs ago

Staggering Red Army losses

24th July 1941: The Germans are shocked by crude Soviet tactics that send line after line of infantry into frontal assaults that are soon mown down

Jul 24

Torpedo attack on Malta convoy

23rd July 1941: The Light Cruiser HMS Manchester is attacked by torpedo bombers and suffers casualties - rare images of the aftermath of a naval action

Jul 23

'USA ... in the war within 6 weeks'

22nd July 1941: President Roosevelt's Special Envoy, Harry Hopkins, gives an inside view on UK-US relations

Jul 22

First Luftwaffe Raid on Moscow

21st July 1941: Strong anti-aircraft defences confound the raiders and pioneering photo journalist Margaret Bourke-White is there

Jul 21

Recent posts

'V for Victory' spreads across Europe

20th July 1941: Churchill promotes symbol of defiance in occupied countries and at home

Jul 20

Trapped in the sunken HMS Umpire

19th July 1941: Edward Young describes the aftermath of a terrible accident, as water rises around the survivors in the dark

Jul 19

Trekking out to sleep in a Piggery

18th July 1941: People cannot avoid the bombs in Hull - the most bombed city outside London - so take desperate measures to sleep safely

Jul 18

'Twin Pimples' - an early SAS style raid

17th July 1941: A first person account of a pioneering behind the lines attack, from 'Jock Lewes, Co-Founder of the SAS'

Jul 17

Explore the War

Fighter Pilots in 1940

A selection of first-hand accounts from the men who fought the 'Battle of Britain'

Jan 4

Women at War in 1940

In a People's War, women are very much on the front line, whether they volunteered for it or not

Jan 3

Americans in 1940

U.S. citizens were 'neutral' in 1940 and unusually well placed to see the impact of the Nazis - some individuals wanted to take action directly

Jan 2

Hitler's most successful year confounds the world ... but his true ambition is yet to be revealed ... key posts from the past year

Jan 1

'Battle of Britain - The Gathering Storm'

Another highlight from the new history of the battle, with links to some of the other volumes featured this year ...

Dec 21, 2025

#nojs-banner { position: fixed; bottom: 0; left: 0; padding: 16px 16px 16px 32px; width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; background: red; color: white; font-family: -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; } #nojs-banner a { color: inherit; text-decoration: underline; } This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts