Malta – The George Cross Island
The island of Malta has long been a strategic base for British forces operating in the Mediterranean Sea, or as a stop-off point for those en route to other theatres. During the Crimean War of 1853-1856, ships stopped at the island and during the First World War it served as a major naval base supporting […]
D-Day Normandy
On the 6th June 1944 Allied Troops stormed the beaches of Normandy to establish a foothold in France, this was the turning point of the Second World War in the West. D-Day was a remarkable achievement, involving nearly 7,000 naval vessels and over 150,000 Allied troops, it was the start of the destruction of the […]
Crete – Operation Mercury
On 20th May 1940 the Germans launched a daring airborne assault to capture the Greek island of Crete, having successfully pushed the Allies out of mainland Greece. The attack, known as ‘Operation Mercury’ involved 14,000 Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers), 15,000 Gebirgsjäger (mountain troops) and was supported by over 1,000 aircraft of all types. The seaborne phase of […]
Bruges and Battlefields
Just under an hour’s drive from Calais finds us in Belgium, a beautiful country popular with visitors from the UK and a particular favourite destination is the city of Bruges. Linked to the sea by a series of canals and often referred to as “The Venice of the North” its history dates back to the […]
The Battle of Britain
“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few” …. Winston Churchill Following the evacuation from Dunkirk, Germany had quickly overwhelmed France and Hitler ordered his staff to prepare for the invasion of Britain, key to this plan was air superiority. Germany carried out bombing raids over […]
Arnhem and Operation Market Garden
By September 1944 the Allies had broken out of Normandy and were advancing across Europe. Operation Market Garden was one of the boldest plans of the war, over 30,000 Allied troops were to be dropped behind enemy lines, into occupied Holland. Their mission was clear, to capture the bridges that spanned the rivers on the […]
Ardennes & The Battle of the Bulge
By the 16th December 1944, the once-powerful German army was in retreat from the West. The German ‘Westwall’ defensive line, known to the Allies as the Siegfried Line, had been penetrated in places and some troops even believed the war to be over, whilst in the east, the Soviet Red Army was pressing in equally […]
