Κώστας Καρυωτάκης 1896 – 1928

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Ποιητής και πεζογράφος, ίσως η σημαντικότερη λογοτεχνική φωνή, που ανέδειξε η γενιά του '20 και από τους πρώτους, που εισήγαγαν στοιχεία του μοντερνισμού στην ελληνική ποίηση. Επηρέασε πολλούς από τους κατοπινούς ποιητές (Σεφέρης, Ρίτσος, Βρεττάκος) και με την αυτοκτονία του δημιούργησε φιλολογική μόδα, τον Καρυωτακισμό, που πλημμύρισε τη νεοελληνική ποίηση.
Γεννήθηκε στην Τρίπολη στις 30 Οκτωβρίου 1896 και ήταν γιoς του νομομηχανικού Γεωργίου Καρυωτάκη από τη Συκιά Κορινθίας και της Κατήγκως Σκάγιαννη από την Τρίπολη. Ήταν ο δευτερότοκος της οικογένειας. Είχε μία αδελφή ένα χρόνο μεγαλύτερή του, τη Νίτσα, και έναν αδελφό μικρότερο, το Θάνο, που γεννήθηκε το 1899 και σταδιοδρόμησε ως τραπεζικός υπάλληλος.
Λόγω της εργασίας τού πατέρα του, η οικογένειά του αναγκαζόταν να αλλάζει συχνά τόπο διαμονής. Έζησαν στη Λευκάδα, την Πάτρα, τη Λάρισα, την Καλαμάτα, το Αργοστόλι, την Αθήνα (1909-1911) και τα Χανιά, όπου έμειναν ως το 1913. Από τα εφηβικά του χρόνια δημοσίευε ποιήματά του σε παιδικά περιοδικά, ενώ το όνομά του αναφέρεται και σε διαγωνισμό διηγήματος του περιοδικού «Διάπλαση των Παίδων». Σε ηλικία 17 ετών ερωτεύεται την χανιώτισσα Άννα Σκορδύλη, μια σχέση που θα τον σημαδέψει.

Stalin’s son Yakov Dzhugashvili captured by the Germans. He ‘died’ in a PoW camp

Yakov Dzhugashvili captured by the Germans, 1941

Yakov Dzhugashvili, Stalin’s elder son, served in the Red Army during the Second World War, and was captured, or surrendered, in the initial stages of the German invasion of the USSR. There are still many contradictory legends in circulation about the death of Yakov Dzhugashvili, as there are about all the important events in his life.

Gandhi’s Letters to Adolf Hitler

Mahatma Gandhi believed he could achieve his objectives through non-violent means. Adolf Hitler believed in the exercise of military might and the power of rhetoric. The two men could not have been more opposite in terms of philosophy, yet in 1939 as the storm clouds gathered in Europe Gandhi felt it necessary to do something.
On the 23rd of July in 1939, Gandhi wrote to Hitler, saying that he (Hitler) was “the one person in the world who can prevent a war which may reduce humanity to a savage state”. He went on to ask if Hitler would listen to the appeal from one who had “deliberately shunned the method of war not without considerable success”.

‘Just’ 10 Japanese Atrocities From World War II

On the eve of VJ Day and with Japan’s PM Shinzo Abe expressing ‘profound grief’ for WWII. We are going to look at just 10 Japanese Atrocities From World War II by listverse.com

Laha Airfield Massacre
February 1942

This ghoulish event, which killed more than 300 Australian and Dutch POWs, followed the Japanese capture of the Indonesian island of Ambon. Allegedly as an act of reprisal after the Allies destroyed one of their minesweepers, the Japanese randomly selected prisoners and executed them via beheading and bayonet near the island’s airfield. They then repeated the process three more times during the month.
The magnitude of this atrocity was enough for an Australian military tribunal to prosecute more than 90 Japanese officers and soldiers after the war in one of the biggest war crime trials in history. The tribunal sentenced four of the accused to death and handed out a range of sentences for the others. Unfortunately, they never got to try the mastermind, Rear Admiral Hatakeyama. The Japanese officer died while awaiting his trial.

Real Life Air America: The CIA’s Covert Airline Used for Everything, including Drug Smuggling

Air America was an American passenger and cargo airline covertly owned by the US government in 1950 as a dummy corporation for Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operations in China. The CIA did not have enough work to keep the asset afloat and the National Security Council farmed the airline out to various government entities that included the USAF, US Army, USAID and for a brief time the French Republic.
Essentially, Air America was used by the US government covertly to conduct military operations, posing as a civilian air carrier, in areas the US armed forces could not go due to treaty restraints contained in the 1954 and 1962 Geneva Accords.

The Man Who Refused To Launch Nuclear Missiles During The Cuban Missile Crisis – Saving The World!

• Cold War

Oct 29, 2015

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Kennedy and Kruschev bring the world close to nuclear war over Cuba

The fact that you can read this is because of a man who said “no” due to an accident. In doing so, he literally saved the world. And his reward? To be insulted.
On 15 October 1962, President Kennedy went ballistic at the discovery that the Soviets were trying to balance out NATO by building a nuclear missile site in Cuba. The Cuban Missile Crisis began the next day, ending 13 days later to a collective sigh of relief. Everyone believed that nuclear annihilation had been averted through diplomatic means.
But it’s actually Deputy Commander Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov we have to thank.

Captain Valentin Grigorievitch Savitsky

It all started on 4 July 1961. Arkhipov was aboard a new Hotel-class ballistic missile submarine K-19, when its radiant cooling system developed a leak. To prevent a nuclear catastrophe, the captain ordered the crew to contain the reactor.

A Soviet Hotel II class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine

Eight sailors died within days from radiation sickness, causing a near mutiny, but Arkhipov backed his captain and the disaster was contained. For his loyalty, bravery, and calm, he was given a medal.
Fast forward to 1 October 1962. Four Foxtrot submarines armed with nuclear missiles are ordered to leave their Arctic base and head to Cuba. Each has its own captain, but all submit to the authority of their flotilla commander, Arkhipov.

The Vickers Light MKVI B – Quite Useless As A Fighting Tank

The first mass-produced British tank.
Being, in terms of numbers, the Vickers Light was the most significant British tank at the outbreak of war, the Mark VIB saw service with the British Expeditionary Force in France, the Eighth Army in North Africa and in various subsidiary theatres. As a reconnaissance vehicle it was satisfactory, as a fighting tank quite useless since armour protection was minimal and the armament ineffective against enemy tanks.
When the Battle of France began in May 1940, the majority of the tanks possessed by the British Expeditionary Force were Mark VI variants; the seven Royal Armoured Corps divisional cavalry regiments, the principal armoured formations of the BEF, were each equipped with 28 Mk VIs.The 1st Armoured Division, elements of which landed in France in April, was equipped with 257 tanks, of which a large number were Mk VIB and Mk VICs. The 3rd Royal Tank Regiment, which formed part of the division’s 3rd Armoured Brigade, possessed by this time 21 Mark VI light tanks.
  www.warhistoryonline.com

The Mk VIB was also used in the North African campaign against the Italians late in 1940 with the 3rd Hussars and the 7th Armoured Division. Late in 1940 the British had 200 light tanks (presumably the Mk VIB) along with 75 cruiser tanks (A9, A10, A13) and 45 Matilda IIs. An attack by the 3rd Hussars on 12 December 1940 resulted in the tanks getting bogged down in salt pans and severely mauled. The 7th Armoured Division had 100 left on 3 January 1941 and 120 tanks on 21 January at which time they were used in flanking far into the rear and gathering up scattered Italian troops, sometimes joining or leaving the main attacks to the Cruiser and Matilda II tanks. The 2nd RTR continued to battle the Italians with light tanks as late as 6 February 1941.
Being widely used by the British Army, the tank participated in several other important battles. The Mk VIB made up a significant amount of the tanks sent over to the Battle of Greece in 1941, mostly with the 4th Hussars. Ten Mk VIB tanks fought with the 3rd The King’s Own Hussars during the Battle of Crete. The same armoured unit had previously embarked three MK VIB tanks for the Norwegian Campaign but they were lost in transit to a German aircraft attack.

New eye-witness account sheds light on who killed the Red Baron

• NEWS

Oct 30, 2015

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Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, also known as the Red Baron, was a feared and celebrated German fighter pilot during WWI. He was considered an ace-of-aces in the war and has been officially credited with 80 air combat kills. Over the years, there has been a mystery surrounding his death. Who actually took the fatal shot that killed the Red Baron?
After nearly a hundred years, an eye-witness account that sheds light on Richthofen’s final moments is now on sale at Bonhams in New York.
On April 21, 1918, Richthofen’s famous red Fokker plane was chasing a British Sopwith Camel at very low altitude near Amiens, France. As the planes came in close to the Allied camp, another Camel, with two Lewis light-machine guns and another machine gun, joined in the chase. The two Camels fired simultaneously on the Red Baron’s plane.

New York suburb reveals its Nazi past through discriminatory housing bylaws requiring that homeowners have German ancestry

The 1930s was a decade that saw the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party in Germany. In the small suburb of Yaphank, NY, Nazi-supporters threw parades and took to the streets to cheer Hitler. Though times have changed, that ideology is apparently still ingrained within some of the residents of Yaphank.
When Philip Kneer and Patricia Flynn-Kneer tried to sell their house, they uncovered the discriminatory bylaws enforced by the organization that owns the land.
According to the couple, the German American Settlement League (GASL) has violated federal laws by requiring that homeowners have German ancestry.

All 11 were tortured, beaten and shot dead. The Story of the 333rd Field Artillery Battalion and the Wereth 11 By CJ Kelly

A big thank you to Chris Kelly for this article.
On December 16, 1944, the Germans launched their last great offensive against the Western Allies through the Ardennes Forest of eastern Belgium. It would become known as the Battle of the Bulge. Three German Armies attacked a long a 50-mile front. American troops manning the line were thrown into confusion. Even the high command was stunned. Stabilizing the line was first priority and many of the units available were African American. One of them was the 333^rd Field Artillery Battalion.
From the battle emerged a multitude of heroes and villains. The brutality rivaled that of the Eastern Front; no quarter was given. Incidents like the Malmedy Massacre became well-known. On the afternoon of December 17, 1944, over 80 GIs who had been taken prisoner were gunned down by men of the 1^st SS Panzer Division. Some escaped to spread the story, which led to a steely resolve on the part of American troops. But later that night another massacre occurred that received little attention during or after the war.
Eleven men from the 333^rd Field Artillery Battalion were taken prisoner after taking refuge in a Belgian village. They surrendered peacefully to a squad from the 1^st SS, and marched out of the village. Upon arriving in a large field along the main road, the men were beaten and finally executed. After the battle, the massacre was investigated but in the whirlwind of post-war politics, it was quickly forgotten. Why was such a horrific act brushed aside? Was it race? All of the men were black. Was it Cold War politics? Taking revenge might anger our former enemies. The reasons are many but when one goes back to examine the massacre, a light begins to shine on the much forgotten role of African American troops during the conflict.

Last of the German Troops to Surrender – May 13th 1945

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Feb 11, 2015

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Generaloberst Alfred Jodl, commander of Germany’s Wehrmacht, signed the surrender agreement with Allied forces on 7th May, 1945. The agreement declared that all Nazi troops of Germany’s land, air and naval forces should put down their arms and stop fighting.
Most of Germany’s troops obeyed, but a few regiments continued to fight until their last man, including thousands of German troops stuck in the Soviet area of Poland. These soldiers continued to fire on Soviet troops in the coastal city of Danzig, and what was left of the German 4th Army fought on at Heiligenbeil, East Prussia. A few pockets of German troops on the Greek Islands also continued to wage war until the following day.
Five days after the surrender had been agreed upon, the Wehrmacht and SS troops in Czechoslovakia continued to fight, as did troops in Poland’s Hel Peninsula. The final German troops surrendered their weapons on 13^th and 14^th May.

Did You Know This? The SECOND Raid On Pearl Harbor – Operation K

Everyone knows about the First Pearl Harbor Attack by the Japanese Imperial Navy. But few are aware of the 2^nd Raid that the Japanese launched on Pearl Harbor. This raid was codenamed Operation K. It was a Japanese naval operation in WWII intended as a reconnaissance mission of the US Naval base at Pearl Harbor.

Operation K was Intended to Delay the US Navy Fleet’s Salvage Operations

USS Oklahoma – An aerial view of salvage operations on 19 March 1943, looking toward Ford Island, with ship in 90 degree position.

During the Pearl Harbor attack, the Japanese had missed out on destroying the Oil Storage facilities near Pearl Harbor Naval Air Station and the Naval Yard. So, they aimed to bomb these facilities in Operation K. Also, the Japanese aimed to disrupt the repair and salvage operations that were going on in full swing. This was, perhaps, the longest bombing sortie by two planes without fighter escort in WWII.

The Japanese Used Extra-Large Flying Boats to Disrupt the US Navy’s Salvage Operations

A H8K3 (work number 597) in running, 26 December 1942.

Operation K culminated on March 4, 1942. Two , nicknamed “Emily,” carried out an unsuccessful attack on Pearl Harbor. These flying boats were huge with a gross takeoff weight of 71,650 lb (32,500 kg) and a wingspan of 124 ft (38 m). Four 1,850 hp engines powered this flying boat. Its top speed was 296 mph, and it had a crew of 10. Named “the Flying Porcupine” by Allied pilots, this flying boat was defended by 10 machine guns and an equal number of 20mm cannons. The H8K flying boat was capable of undertaking long missions that lasted up to 24 hours. Each flying boat could carry eight 550 lb bombs.

 

Imperial Japan’s Navy Wanted to Exploit the Kawanishi H8K Flying Boats’ Long-Range Capabilities

H8K1 N1-13 of the 802nd Kōkūtai and seaplane tender Akitsushima, Shortland Island in 1942.

Initial plans of the Japanese Navy’s high command called for the use of 5 H8K aircraft. They were to fly to French Frigate Shoals, the biggest atoll in the Northwestern tip of the Hawaiian Islands. Here, they’d be refueled by submarines before heading to Pearl Harbor. More raids would be undertaken if the first raid was successful.

The Japanese Started Operation K with Only 2 Flying Boats Instead of 5

Japanese Kawanishi H8K “Emily” Navy flying boat used for maritime patrol duties.

On mission day, only two of the planned 5 flying giants were available. The first H8K aircraft was flown by Pilot Lieutenant Hisao Hashizume, the commander of the mission. Ensign Shosuke Sasao was flying the second H8K. The mission started at Wojte Atoll (Marshall Islands). Each aircraft was loaded with four 550 lb (250 kg) bombs. From Wojte, the flying boats flew 1,900 mi (3,100 km) to French Frigate Shoals. After refueling here, the planes set off for Pearl Harbor that was 560 mi (900 km) away.