The British had been hugely successful at breaking German codes in the First World War. The Germans were determined not to let that happen again. This time they had Enigma, a code machine that produced messages that could not be decrypted. Or so the Germans believed.

339 The Enigma Machine

A chronicle of the history of the twentieth century, including art, music, popular culture, science, religion, and, of course, politics and war.

History

Society & Culture

When the United States entered the war, the German U-boats suddenly had many more targets.

365 The Second Happy Time

Reinhard Heydrich was one of the most vicious of the Nazis. So much so that the Czechoslovak and British governments decided that he needed to be eliminated.

364 The Man with the Iron Heart

The Japanese execute their attempted ambush at Midway, and it fails catastrophically.

363 Midway

The US Navy sent two of its carriers into the southwest Pacific to thwart the Japanese campaign to take New Caledonia and isolate Australia. The Japanese responded by sending two of their own. The carriers engaged each other in the Battle of the Coral Sea.

362 Scratch One Flattop!

Shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack, President Roosevelt asked the military to find a way to strike back at the Japanese Home Islands. It took an unorthodox approach to make this possible.

339 The Enigma Machine

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