I livetweet the Second World War as it happened on this date in 1941, & for four years to come. Third time's the charm. Alwyn Collinson, realtimewwii@gmail.com
Britain
- Tweets 26,339
- Following 1,196
- Followers 543,857
- Likes 9,176
Pinned Tweet
I've been live-tweeting the Second World War since 2011. If you find this project interesting or enlightening, I'd value your support. Help keep history alive by joining my Patreon: patreon.com/RealTimeWWII
301
490
3,701
In Germany, American intelligence officer Richard Helms writes to his 3-year old son, Dennis, on Adolf Hitler's stationery: "The man who might have written on this card once controlled Europe... Today he is dead, his memory despised, his country in ruins." news.lettersofnote.com/p/he-…
120
2,047
15,191
1,684,521
The largest armada in history- 5,300 ships carrying 150,000 troops- is now crossing the Channel, heading for Normandy beaches.
107
1,542
11,924
Admiral Dönitz's German government has offered unconditional surrender of all Reich forces on all fronts. The Allies have won the war in Europe.
84
1,052
11,198
1,663,378
German Oskar Speck, who has spent 7 years canoeing across world, arrives in Australia, unaware of the outbreak of war in Europe. He is interned by the Australian government as an enemy alien.
79
817
11,347
1,055,295
The Führer is now on a daily experimental drug cocktail, including opiates, methamphetamine, tranquilisers & hormones. Hitler's personal physician, Dr. Theodor Morell, gives him dozens of pills & injections every day.
106
1,695
8,128
As Allied forces advance across Germany, they discover treasures of Europe gathered by the Nazi Reich. One U.S. soldier poses for a photograph while wearing the imperial crown of the Holy Roman Empire, made in 962.
Community note
That is not the genuine crown but the 1915 Aachen replica, the original was hidden in Nuremberg
tiara013-wordpress-com.translate.goog/2016/11/03/die…
67
624
7,494
1,179,144
Thank you to everyone who has followed for the last 6 years. Regular updates will resume on September 1st, as we begin the war anew in 1939.
468
1,510
6,773
After three days of brutal room-to-room combat in Berlin's Reichstag, Red Army troops hoist the Soviet Union's flag over the heart of the conquered German capital.
88
707
6,622
844,140
US Army Private Kurt Vonnegut, recently released from a German prisoner of war camp after 6 months, writes home, describing his captivity in Dresden- when it was bombed by the Allies.
62
819
6,054
1,468,967
American troops on Okinawa hear news of Nazi Germany's surrender, just metres from front lines of the continuing battle against Japanese.
37
332
5,667
576,889
After a bitter day of battle, Normandy beaches have been conquered, with 140,000+ Allied troops ashore, but at a bitter cost: 4414 Allied soldiers are dead, 5000+ Germans.
37
741
5,256
As Red Army closes in on the city, Berlin Philharmonic orchestra gives its final performance, playing Wagner's Götterdämmerung; in between movements, Hitler Youth walk down the aisles, offering the audience of Nazi elites free cyanide capsules.
121
746
5,023
2,230,568
The Second World War is over.
In the last six years, perhaps 85 million people have been killed by fighting, starvation, disease, bombing, & deliberate mass murder. Three-quarters of them were civilians. 3% of the planet's population has died.
66
685
4,966
432,843
This account will be restarting with the events of 1 September, 1939, from tomorrow. Name & profile information should be updated ASAP, apologies for a technical hitch.
125
390
5,006
323,111
US General Staff have approved plan for Operation Downfall: the invasion of Japan, beginning in November of this year. Over a million Allied casualties are expected.
76
490
4,825
871,525
Soviet victory celebrations are mixed with grief. War against Nazis has been devastating. About 70% of men born in USSR in 1923 are now dead.
68
473
4,687
509,368
In US-occupied Germany, an American soldier replaces the street sign for Adolf-Hitler-Strasse with Roosevelt Boulevard, as a programme of de-Nazification begins.
33
307
4,563
482,065
Photographer Robert Sargent, in a landing craft on Omaha beach, captures US 1st Infantry Division wading into German gunfire.
25
813
4,642
Red Army soldiers scrawl graffiti across the Reichstag in Soviet-occupied Berlin: examples include "Hitler kaputt", "From Stalingrad with love", & "Kilroyski was here".
34
465
4,396
503,659
Gay Dutch artist Willem Arondeus has been executed this month by Nazi occupiers of the Netherlands, after he bombed Amsterdam's records office to hinder identification of city's Jews. His last words: "Tell the people that homosexuals are not cowards!"
32
897
3,926
British doctors are trying to care for 29,000 survivors of Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen, most starved & with typhus epidemic raging. 9000 have died since liberation last month, with some unable to digest food such as bully beef rations or milk after years of hunger.
46
582
3,917
830,243
In Amsterdam, members of the Dutch Resistance, who have fought against Nazi occupation of the Netherlands for five years, hear news of Hitler's death reported on the radio & break into wild celebrations.
26
524
3,922
353,440
US General Eisenhower has ordered that no Allied soldier who fought on the front lines in Europe or North Africa should face combat in the Pacific. Troops who have survived to VE Day will not be in danger of death against Japan.
51
210
3,864
428,152
US bomber plane Enola Gay has dropped "Little Boy", the American atomic bomb, on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. It explodes with force equal to 15 kilotons of TNT.
89
805
3,914
1,283,963
As Allied troops prepare for D-Day tomorrow, US Gen. Patton addresses American soldiers in England: "No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."
26
382
3,790
German officers arrive at camp of British Field Marshal Montgomery, near Hamburg, asking to discuss surrender of all forces in north Germany, Denmark & Netherlands. Montgomery refuses to negotiate: "You must surrender to me unconditionally."
40
251
3,599
613,692
British PM Winston Churchill announces end of war in Europe to cheering crowds: "victory of the great British nation as a whole… We were first, in this ancient island, to draw the sword against tyranny… Did we want to give in? [Crowd: No!] Were we down-hearted? [No!]"
30
400
3,643
434,685
Colonel Derek Mill-Roberts (L) is among the liberators of Bergen-Belsen. Accepting the surrender of German Field Marshal Erhard Milch, he demands an explanation. Milch replies: "These people are not human beings like you or I". Mill-Roberts beats the Nazi officer unconscious.
57
597
3,407
429,701
Allied governments proclaim "VE Day": Victory in Europe. After 5 years & 8 months of war against Nazi Germany, the UK, USSR, USA & other Allies of the United Nations are victorious.
28
621
3,433
387,266
H-Hour on D-Day. First US troops are now landing on Utah & Omaha beaches, Normandy; Allied invasion of occupied France has begun.
30
675
3,285
With the Second World War over (again), I think it's time for this account to pause.
Thank you to everyone who has followed, commented, corrected, & particularly those who've submitted suggestions. You've been wonderful.
If you need to get in touch, try realtimewwii@gmail.com.
258
79
3,184
111,495
Operation Overlord has begun in the air: 600+ Allied bombers are smashing the German-occupied French coast, hitting beach defences, radar stations, & roads.
27
403
3,128
Fearing Hitler will try to escape Berlin in disguise, Allied OSS has circulated photos of Adolf altered by a make-up artist, to keep troops watchful.
68
372
3,056
570,675
Female war correspondent Martha Gellhorn, one of the only women on the Normandy beaches, has made it to D-Day landings after smuggling herself on a hospital ship & locking herself in a toilet during the voyage.
31
512
2,939
In Libya, Free French troops fighting with the Allied forces celebrate Christmas Day with a dawn mass in the desert.
16
366
3,181
213,039
Extraordinary battle at Castle Itter, Austria, currently being used as a prison for high-profile French detainees. Facing an attack by fanatical Waffen-SS force, German soldiers of the Wehrmacht ally with American troops to defend the castle against Nazis.
38
378
2,914
687,402
Hitler is outraged to learn SS General Steiner has not attacked from north to "throw back" Red Army from Berlin with his imaginary "army group". In reality, Steiner commands 3 tattered battalions, untrained Volkssturm, & a few tanks, barely holding ground & incapable of attack.
66
211
2,881
636,586
"To deter Japanese aggression", President Roosevelt orders the US Pacific fleet to be moved west & based in Hawaii, at a port named Pearl Harbor.
44
190
2,969
390,824
To test the cyanide capsules given him by Himmler, Hitler orders suicide pills fed to his German shepherd, Blondi. The dog dies instantly.
188
298
2,826
2,410,343
Stalin rejects (another) warning of imminent German invasion, from a highranking Soviet spy inside the Luftwaffe: "Tell your 'source' to go fuck his mother" he angrily scrawls on the report.
34
279
2,986
362,435
After a last farewell to Goebbels, Bormann & Führerbunker staff, Adolf & Eva Hitler go to their private rooms. Hitler is determined not to be taken alive, having heard of Mussolini's fate via Allied radio broadcasts.
44
313
2,684
655,413
68 NKVD guards have been shot dead at Rembertów by Armia Krajowa (Home Army) fighters, as Polish resistance continues to fight foreign occupiers- whether Nazi or Soviet.
44
202
2,660
379,087
The Manhattan Project, the top-secret American atomic weapons programme, is ready to test-fire the first ever nuclear bomb. Tomorrow morning the fission bomb, nicknamed "The Gadget", will be detonated in the New Mexico desert.
Community note
The photo is not of Gadget, but of “Jumbo” a containment vessel considered for the Trinity test, however it was decided it would interfere with the testing of the bomb and create dangerous debris.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_(
48
357
2,732
503,881
Canadian soldiers of 9th Brigade landing on Juno beach, carrying bicycles to speed their advance inland.
20
342
2,634
Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Éamon de Valera visits the German embassy in Dublin to express his condolences for the death of Adolf Hitler; despite Irish neutrality between Axis & Allies, his cabinet begged him not to go for fearing of damaging Ireland's reputation in USA.
130
387
2,629
991,468
In Paris, women celebrate the defeat of Nazi Germany with dresses decorated with the flags of four of the Allied nations: USA, France, United Kingdom, & the USSR.
39
257
2,599
398,639
3.6 million German & Nazi-allied troops are invading the Soviet Union from Finland to the Black Sea; Operation Barbarossa begins.
46
276
2,840
126,552
Prince Phillip (19), a member of the exiled Greek royal family now in British armed forces, has joined the Royal Navy in Mediterranean- "ready to kill Italians".
29
177
2,650
169,544
Happy New Year, everybody! Thanks for following the war so far. Let's hope things get better in 1940.
103
430
2,480
Russian Corporal Mariya Shalneva directs Red Army traffic through the ruined streets of Berlin, standing in front of Soviet sign celebrating 1 May.
15
281
2,503
245,728
Yesterday, Omaha beach was a battleground. Today, it's become a massive staging post, unloading 1000s of men & tanks as Allied armies flood into their foothold in Normandy.
15
280
2,581
A shot echoes through Berlin's Führerbunker. Adolf Hitler is dead. The war continues.
101
338
2,448
469,832
Allied bombing of Berlin has devastated Berlin Zoological Garden, killing many hundreds of exotic animals & destroying enclosures of others. Some zookeepers offer to care for homeless animals: like this shoebill bird, temporarily housed in an employee's bathroom.
37
339
2,425
Red Army are examining all Axis prisoners for a small tattoo on the arm, indicating their blood group- given to all SS recruits. Most are either handed over to the NKVD, or shot out of hand.
76
153
2,396
560,191
Racial violence has broken out in UK between white & black American servicemen stationed in Lancashire: "Battle of Bamber Bridge" starts as US military police attempted to arrest African American soldiers in a local pub, only to be attacked by British locals & other black troops.
35
702
2,281
Norwegian Nazi collaborator Vidkun Quisling, who has headed the German puppet government in Oslo for the last 3 years, has been arrested by resistance fighters.
26
194
2,354
295,424
Nazi SS troops dressed as Poles are attacking German radio station in Gleiwitz, to provide false pretext for German attack on Poland.
172
1,428
2,279
Allied troops in Normandy capture Yang Kyoungjong,
a Korean man conscripted in turn by Japanese, Soviets & Germans. Kyoungjong forced by the Japanese occupiers of Korea to fight the Soviets, captured, conscripted into Red Army vs Germans, captured, deployed in Normandy vs Allies
69
373
2,377
US Democratic Party have chosen their nominee for the next Presidential election: Franklin Delano Roosevelt will run for an unprecedented third term of office.
35
305
2,316
180,613
11th annual Nazi party rally at Nuremberg has been cancelled due to German invasion of Poland. This year's theme was to be "Rally of Peace".
35
185
2,314
269,855
Before releasing photograph of Red Army raising flag over Reichstag, Soviet censors brush out the extra watch on soldier's arm (to avoid suggestion of looting), add fake smoke to heighten drama of the scene.
38
289
2,348
321,366
Newspapers across the world report death of Adolf Hitler, announced last night on German radio. With Red Army in heart of Berlin, most predict imminent surrender of Axis forces in Europe.
28
259
2,294
320,870
War Minister Korechika Anami tells cabinet that a captured US pilot has "admitted", under torture, that USA has 100 atom bombs ready to hit Japan. However, he still opposes surrender: "Would it not be wondrous for this whole nation to be destroyed like a beautiful flower?"
64
341
2,226
808,999
Female Soviet tank driver Mariya Oktyabrskaya goes into battle against the Germans near Smolensk; after her husband was killed by Nazis two years ago, Mariya sold all her possessions to donate a tank to the the Red Army, on condition she be allowed to drive it
36
365
2,235
Czech resistance has begun a revolt against Nazi occupiers in Prague, seizing Czech radio station & calling on all citizens to rise up against Germans.
15
172
2,245
295,751
Heinrich Himmler, former head of the Nazi SS, has been captured by British troops, trying to flee in disguise as "Sergeant Heinrich Hitzinger". He had shaved off his moustache & was wearing an eyepatch, but has admitted his identity after arrest.
50
193
2,252
393,279
425 American scientists & military from the Manhattan Project are in New Mexico to see test of the "Gadget", a complex plutonium bomb. They're unsure if it will work or how powerful it might be.
24
307
2,281
507,574
500 Canadian soldiers have destroyed the centre of Aldershot, England, after rioting in protest at not being shipped home. 30,000 Canadians have been promised repatriation after fighting in Germany, but lack of ships has delayed passage.
67
212
2,258
430,246
Adolf Hitler, 56, marries Eva Braun, 33, his mistress for over 10 years, in a private ceremony in the besieged Führerbunker in war-torn Berlin. The bride wore black.
112
182
2,159
881,101
Dutch cartoon published today- the old man of the last year tells the New Year baby: "Now you take care of this!"
17
357
2,210
220,026
I apologise for the interruption to your regularly scheduled Second World War updates. I lost access to this account for a week, presumably due to enemy action. Thanks to all those who sent enquiries or petitioned high command on my behalf.
65
42
2,227
84,815
Instructors & 18-year-old cadets of the French cavalry school at Saumur have decided not to surrender to the Germans without a fight: school will go to war.
17
150
2,244
673,754
US General Lucian Truscott, giving Memorial Day speech in Anzio, Italy, ignores VIPs to speak to soldiers' graves. He "turned his back on assembled windbags & sparklers & talked to the crosses in the cemetery, quietly, apologizing, then walked away".
17
241
2,144
214,199
The Japanese city of Nagasaki has been hit by an atomic bomb, "Fat Man". It explodes with force of 22 kilotons of TNT. One second after detonation, Nagasaki is seared by an infrared flash igniting wood & skin. The explosion is briefly hotter than the sun's surface.
48
358
2,183
425,725
An attempted kamikaze attack on British heavy cruiser HMS Sussex, in the East Indies, bounces off the warship's 4.5 inch-thick armour plating, leaving only an imprint of the Japanese bomber.
24
224
2,128
264,077
B-29 Superfortress bomber Enola Gay- named after pilot Colonel Paul Tibbets's mother- has taken off from Tinian island, carrying a nuclear bomb. She's followed by observer planes Necessary Evil & Great Artiste. Weather clear over primary target: Japanese city of Hiroshima.
46
320
2,145
378,401
For the first time ever, Emperor Hirohito speaks via radio to Japanese people. His pre-recorded "Jewel Voice Broadcast", announces surrender of Japan to the Allied powers: "The war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage."
37
238
2,108
787,732
British have forced the SS guards of Bergen-Belsen to bury the thousands of dead, without gloves & on starvation rations. Exhausted Nazi guards are permitted a brief rest by British troops, provided they lie face-down in an empty mass grave. 20 are dead to typhus or suicide.
22
232
1,976
297,794
German soldiers file gingerly across a precarious ruined bridge over the river Elbe, to surrender to American forces in west instead of Red Army.
44
177
2,042
286,180
Hitler, Himmler, Mussolini & Ribbentrop have risked death while on a tour of the front line in Ukraine. On a flight in Hitler's personal plane, Mussolini, a former pilot, asked to take the controls. Hitler too shocked to object.
46
173
2,214
126,416
German submarine U-234 is the last Kriegsmarine U-boat to surrender to Allied forces, aborting a final mission to carry weapons technology & 550kg of uranium oxide to Japan.
27
199
2,057
510,825
Hermann Göring, former Reichsmarschall & head of Luftwaffe, has surrendered to American forces after escaping SS custody at Obersalzberg. Obese, drug-addicted Göring handed over his gold-plated pistol & Nazi ceremonial dagger, before sharing champagne with US captors.
37
179
2,025
344,194
A newly liberated prisoner of Buchenwald concentration camp identifies a particularly brutal SS guard, to be arrested by American troops.
16
213
1,997
375,467
Greek Air Force pilot Marinos Mitralexis, his fighter plane out of ammunition from shooting down an Italian bomber, rams another enemy plane. When both crash, Marinos runs to Italian wreckage & arrests 4 surviving crew at pistol-point.
27
275
2,061
98,940
Thank you so much to everyone who has commented, suggested, corrected or provided personal material to this project. You've been invaluable.
162
127
1,935
Admiral William Halsey Jr. is still wary of Japanese kamikaze attacks on his ships of the US Third Fleet, issuing a communique: "Looks like the war is over. Cease firing, but if you see any enemy planes in the air, shoot them down in a friendly fashion."
34
223
2,012
263,069
Americans wake up to learn of Allied Victory in Europe. New Yorkers celebrate in Times Square:
9
238
1,985
175,544
German Oskar Speck, who has spent 7 years canoeing across world, arrives in Australia, unaware of war. He is interned as an enemy alien.
46
1,052
1,919
Happy Birthday to Alan Turing, 28 years old today. He's one of Britain's best codebreakers at top-secret Bletchley Park, working to crack German Enigma ciphers.
27
214
2,008
94,515
Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels & his wife Magda have murdered their six young children with cyanide in a bunker beneath Berlin. Helga (12), Hildegard (11), Helmut (9), Holdine (8), Hedwig (6), & Heidrun (4) Goebbels were named to honour "Uncle" Adolf Hitler.
56
261
1,936
621,514
11.15AM British PM Chamberlain making radio announcement. His voice sounds sad & tired: "I am speaking to you from the Cabinet room, 10 Downing St."
17
133
1,973
252,237
