World War Ii

History Today: How Paris was liberated from German forces

Paris was liberated from German forces on August 25, 1944, during World War II. The victory came after weeks of fighting across France, as Allied forces advanced following the D-Day landings in Normandy. Crowds filled the streets, waving French flags that had been hidden for four years

Int'l mateship forged by 2,800 fallen Indian soldiers, Major Chint Singh driving push for WW2 memorial in Australia

The story of Major Chint Singh of the 2nd Dogra Regiment remains one of the most striking examples of wartime comradeship between Indian and Australian soldiers.

From Godzilla to anime, how Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings shaped Japan's art scene

The influence of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki runs deep in Japanese popular culture. One of the most famous examples of this is Godzilla, a prehistoric creature awakened by the testing of the US hydrogen bomb in the Pacific. Some of the others include Astro Boy, Akira, and Attack on Titan, among others

'My god, what have we done': The 2 US pilots who dropped atomic bombs on Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki

On August 6, 1945, a US Air Force B-29 bomber dropped the atomic bomb ‘Little Boy’ on Hiroshima, killing thousands of people. Three days later, another atomic bomb detonated over the Japanese city of Nagasaki. Who were the pilots who flew the planes – Enola Gay and Bockscar – carrying the nuclear weapons? Did they ever regret the attacks that killed about two lakh in Japan?

History Today: How MTV redefined music with its launch

Music Television (MTV) was launched on August 1, 1981, in New York and changed the history of music forever. MTV offered 24/7 music videos, introduced by a new breed of television personalities known as Video Jockeys (VJs)

Targeting the captive: Prison attacks in modern warfare

Whatever symbolism it may carry, targeting prisons in enemy territory is not a new tactic as seen in the Israel-Iran and Russia-Ukraine wars

Who was Papa Jake Larson, the 102-year-old WWII hero and TikTok star who inspired millions?

Jake 'Papa Jake' Larson, a decorated World War II veteran and D-Day survivor who became a TikTok sensation in his 90s, has died at 102. From storming Omaha Beach in 1944 to sharing wartime stories with 1.2 million followers online, Larson’s extraordinary life bridged generations and preserved the memory of one of history’s most pivotal eras

History Today: When Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' was published for the first time

The autobiographical manifesto of Germany's Adolf Hitler was published for the first time on July 18, 1925. During its first year, the book sold 9,473 copies, while as many as 12 million copies were sold by the end of World War II

History Today: When Oppenheimer tested the first atomic bomb  

The first atomic bomb, nicknamed 'The Gadget', was launched at the Trinity test site in Alamogordo, New Mexico, on July 16, 1945. Led by physicist J Robert Oppenheimer, the launch ushered in a new era - the nuclear age. The test was part of the Manhattan Project, which brought together some of the greatest scientific minds of the time, including Enrico Fermi, Richard Feynman and Niels Bohr

History Today: When Anne Frank went into hiding and wrote 'Diary of a Young Girl'

Anne Frank, one of the most famous diarists during World War II, went into hiding with her family in Amsterdam on July 6, 1942. The Frank family went into hiding in 'The Secret Annexe' in the building that housed her father's business. Also, on this day in 1957, Althea Gibson etched history by becoming the first African-American woman to win a singles title at Wimbledon