In June 1940, the Channel Islands - British Crown Dependencies - were occupied by German forces. On the orders of Adolf Hitler, they were transformed into impregnable fortresses, works that still mark the islands today. Measuring just three square miles, the island of Alderney now found itself one of the most heavily fortified places in the world. But the island's wartime story didn't end there. The majority of the island's population were evacuated to the mainland prior to the occupation but a small number chose to return to their homes despite the trials of living alongside the enemy. The two communities weren't alone, they were joined by thousands of foreign labourers - slave labour - who endured meagre rations and rampant disease. To house the influx of POWs, the German occupiers built four camps on Alderney, including Lager Sylt - the only concentration camp on British soil.
Aviation historian Paul Beaver answers key questions about the strategic bombing campaigns of World War Two. How successful was the Blitz from a German perspective? What was the significance of Big Week? Was Dresden a war crime? And many more...
In the winter of 1941 an alien-seeming object was spotted by an RAF reconnaissance pilot flying a lone unarmed Spitfire across the French coast. Balanced upon the cliffs near Le Havre was what appeared to be a giant convex dish, directed across the Channel at the war-torn British coastline. With ...
75 years ago, Allied Airborne units landed in the Netherlands. Their objective: capture the main bridges across the Rhine and its neighbouring rivers, a vital part of Montgomery's audacious plan to end World War Two by Christmas. Although a combination of bad luck and poor planning quickly doomed...
