In History Hit’s powerful new documentary, Fortress War – Liberation80 Jersey, Dan Snow travels to the island to explore the compelling history of its occupation and eventual liberation, meeting experts and survivors to uncover the profound challenges of the war years.

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An island abandoned

Jersey, a mere 9 miles by 5 miles, became the only part of Britain occupied by Nazi forces during World War Two. Following France’s surrender in 1940, and deemed indefensible by Britain, Winston Churchill made the difficult decision to demilitarise Jersey. Thousands of islanders evacuated, while over 40,000 braced for the inevitable. 

Unaware of the demilitarisation, the Luftwaffe bombed Jersey and Guernsey on 28 June 1940, and by 1 July, the Germans arrived, transforming island life as the occupation began. By the end of the first year, over 10,000 German troops were stationed on Jersey. Hitler wanted to use the Channel Islands as a launchpad to invade Britain, but what did life become for those who stayed?

German World War Two tower that remains on Jersey

Image Credit: History Hit

Compliance and resistance under Nazi rule

In the documentary, Dan heads to the Jersey Museum to meet Occupation Historian Lucy Layton, Curator for Jersey Heritage, to learn more about the immediate impact of German rule.

Lucy explains some of the measures islanders were forced to adapt to in their new reality, including the use of German currency and timezones, the banning of radios unless German-controlled, and only German propaganda films being shown in cinemas. Every resident had to carry an identity card, with Jewish islanders’ cards stamped with a red ‘J’ – some were even deported to concentration camps.

Despite severe penalties, acts of sabotage and resistance emerged, with some islanders courageously hiding escaped slave labourers and prisoners of war. Lucy reveals poignant stories of active defiance, highlighting courageous individuals like Dorothea Le Brocq, who sheltered a Jewish woman at immense personal risk. Defiance came at a terrible cost, with over 1,300 islanders imprisoned.  

Dan also learns from Lucy about the tragic fate of Louisa Gould, arrested for hiding a Russian POW and possessing an illegal radio, serving as a powerful reminder of her sacrifice. 

Hitler’s Fortress: The Atlantic Wall on British soil

Fearing a British attempt to retake the Channel Islands, on 20 October 1941, Hitler ordered them to be transformed into an impregnable fortress. Dan talks to historian Michael Billings and learns more about Organisation Todt (OT), which brought in 16,000 forced labourers from across Europe and North Africa. They were housed them in brutal camps where many perished building colossal fortifications for Hitler’s Atlantic Wall, including massive bunkers and gun batteries that still scar Jersey’s landscape today.

In the programme, Dan explores one of the largest structures carved out by these workers: the Jersey War Tunnels, a subterranean network over 1 km long.

Dan Snow on top of German fortification in Jersey, built as part of Hitler’s ‘Atlantic Wall’ fortifications.

Image Credit: History Hit

The long wait for liberation

The war’s progression brought increasing hardship. Discover how a German crisis in Iran led to the deportation of all non island-born British nationals to German internment camps. Around 650 British nationals were sent to Wurzach internment camp in southern Germany. Dan meets Lola Garvin, who was a baby when her family was deported, hearing her powerful testimony about what life was like for them.

Following D-Day in June 1944, hope swelled, but the Allies chose not to divert forces to liberate the Channel Islands and German control persisted. Supplies dwindled, leading to extreme food and fuel shortages.

The Germans, however, continued work on their ‘impregnable fortress’. In the programme, Dan visits St Catherine’s Bunker with World War Two historian Phil Marrett, exploring one of the 17 large tunnels on Jersey and gaining special access to the tunnel’s rear, revealing machine-gun posts and even graffiti left by its builders.

After Germany’s eventual surrender, finally, on 9 May 1945 British Force 135 arrived and the Germans officially surrendered Jersey, ending five long years of occupation. Dan hears about the immense clean-up operation that followed, as the island sought to erase the physical remnants of Nazi rule whilst celebrating their liberation – celebrations that continue annually, 80 years later.

Dan Snow watches the Liberation Day parade in Jersey, 2025 – 80 years after the liberation.

Image Credit: History Hit

Watch “Fortress War – Liberation80 Jersey” to witness the compelling story of courage, hardship, and ultimately, liberation, from this unique chapter of World War Two.

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While last year’s 80th anniversary was a powerful milestone, this year’s observance still holds its own profound significance as one of the remaining anniversaries where we can still honour and hear firsthand accounts from the dwindling number of courageous veterans who lived through those extraordinary hours. Soon, D-Day will transition from living memory to solely the pages of history – now is the time to listen, learn and remember. 

From solemn ceremonies in Sainte-Mère-Église, Carentan, and Utah Beach, to the vibrant D-Day Festival Normandy along the coastline, and a special weekend celebration at the RAF Museum London – commemorations will honour their sacrifice. 

Explore the events of Operation Overlord with our specially curated documentaries

Here is History Hit’s film of D-Day As It Happened:

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You can also listen to our collection of interviews with D-Day veterans

Gain deeper insights into the stories and strategies that shaped this prodigious day with our extensive collection of articles

To get started, why not read our list of 82 Fascinating Facts About D-Day or view our D-Day in Pictures: Dramatic Photos of the Normandy Landings.

Bird’s-eye view of landing craft, barrage balloons, and allied troops landing in Normandy, France on D-Day

Image Credit: US Library of Congress

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The event is often referred to as the Japanese equivalent of Pearl Harbour. Today, Chuuk Lagoon is among the top wreck diving spots of the world.

Chuuk Lagoon history

Previously Truk Atoll, the site of Chuuk Lagoon is located 1,800 km north of New Guinea and consists of a protective reef enclosing a natural harbour. The surrounding Chuuk islands had been settled since the 14th century AD but were claimed by the Spanish Empire, German Empire and eventually the Empire of Japan in 1914, who seized the lagoon from Germany during World War One.

During World War Two, Chuuk Lagoon was the Empire of Japan’s main and most formidable naval base in the South Pacific. The base was heavily fortified against the Allies who were operating in New Guinea and the nearby Soloman Islands. A large part of the Japanese fleet was based at Chuuk, including Imperial battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, minesweepers and submarines.

In 1944, the Japanese Imperial naval base at Chuuk was destroyed by a US naval attack. Having been warned, the Japanese removed their larger warships. However, Operation Hailstone as the attack was known, continued for 3 days as US planes sank 12 smaller warships and 32 merchant ships, as well as 275 aircraft.

The destruction of Chuuk Lagoon’s base prevented it from being a major threat to the Allies in the Central Pacific, especially after it was attacked again by British naval forces in June 1945.

In 1969, a French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau explored the lagoon and following his documentary about the haunting remains of the naval base, the lagoon became a popular site for scuba-diving enthusiasts.

Chuuk Lagoon today

Today, you can visit the Chuuk Lagoon and dive throughout the incredible preserved remains of the Japanese Imperial naval fleet. Divers can spend hours exploring the site’s wrecks, returning multiple times without seeing the same wreckage twice, testifying to the great destruction of Operation Hailstone.

With a local diving guide, you can even explore the engine rooms and cargo holds of some of the destroyed ships. The lagoon is also home to a large variety of beautiful soft and hard corals, all of brilliant colours and providing shelter to rich marine life.

Getting to Chuuk Lagoon

Situated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Chuuk Lagoon is hard to access. You can get a direct flight from Guam which takes 1 hour and 46 minutes, or fly from Papua New Guinea which is a 3 hour flight to Chuuk International Airport in Weno. From Weno you get a diving boat to the lagoon.

History Hit’s latest documentary, Stalingrad: The Last Letters, offers an intimate and harrowing glimpse into one of the most brutal battles of the Second World War. Through newly translated, deeply personal letters, the documentary sheds light on the final moments of the German soldiers trapped in the ruins of Stalingrad during the ferocious winter of 1942-43.

A Soldier Writing a Letter

Image Credit: History Hit

These letters, discovered and translated by renowned German historian Robin Schäfer, provide a raw, unfiltered look at the agony, desperation, and unwavering belief of the men who fought and died in what was one of the most catastrophic confrontations of the war. Schäfer’s painstaking work brings to light the voices of men who, until now, had remained unheard.

The Battle of Stalingrad was a turning point in the war, with hundreds of thousands of lives lost in the ruins of the city. The documentary focuses on the personal experiences of those German soldiers, who, despite facing inevitable defeat, remained resolute in their duty to Hitler, their homeland, and their families.

One such letter, penned by Stabswachtmeister Lindeman, encapsulates the stark reality of their fate:

This is the last letter I will be able to send to you. Seems we have run out of luck this time. When you receive it, your son will be gone, I mean he won’t be in this world anymore. We are all very serious about that and will continue the fight. For our beloved Heimat, my beautiful hometown, for my family and the Führer.

This heart-wrenching letter reveals the personal toll the battle took on soldiers who had resigned themselves to their fates. Even in their final hours, many of these men fought on, driven by a sense of duty to their homeland, their families, and Hitler’s vision for Germany.

In another letter, Sanitätsunteroffizier Werner Eisenhauer’s words convey a soldier’s unshakable faith amidst the devastation:

The merciless fight continues and our good lord is helping the brave! Whatever God’s providence will decide, we only ask him for one thing – the power to persevere! One day people shall say of us, that the German Army has fought in Stalingrad like no soldiers of the world have fought before.

The letters showcased in Stalingrad: The Last Letters offer rare insight into the psyche of the German soldiers, illuminating their thoughts and emotions in the face of overwhelming adversity. These testimonies stand as a haunting reminder of the human cost of war and offer a fresh perspective on the horrors of the Eastern Front.

Stalingrad: The Last Letters is more than just a historical documentary—it is a poignant tribute to the soldiers who fought, suffered, and died in one of history’s most destructive conflicts. Through these newly discovered writings, audiences are able to connect with the human experiences behind the statistics and battle reports, gaining a deeper understanding of the personal tragedies that unfolded on the Eastern Front.

This exclusive documentary is now streaming on History Hit.To watch the whole documentary, you can sign up below:

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Managing pollution from these shipwrecks is complicated by slim data and limited international cooperation, often rendering responses too late to prevent serious harm to marine ecosystems and coastal communities. Yet hazardous shipwrecks is an issue which the Lloyd’s Register Foundation has selected as one where the deployment of its funding and knowledge networks can make an impact.

Potentially Polluting Wrecks

Of the approximately 3 million sunken and deserted vessels in the world’s seas, over 8,500 are deemed “potentially polluting wrecks” by organisations such as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The greater part of these wrecks date to the world wars of the 20th century. These sundered craft contain harmful chemicals, unexploded munitions and around 6 billion gallons of heavy fuel oil. By comparison the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill, one of the largest environmental disasters in world history, released 210 million US gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico – a figure some 30 times smaller.

Given shipwrecks are prone to continuing corrosion and breakdown, leaks from sunken vessels are inevitable. Severe weather events resulting from climate change will likely speed this up.

Studying the shipwreck of the MESSENGER. (Image credit: NOAA/NOS/Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary; NOAA/OAR/GLERL/FLICKR)

Image Credit: Public Domain / NOAA

A 2022 report in Frontiers in Marine Science highlighted how sediment chemistry and microbial ecology surrounding the wreck of an 80-year-old German patrol boat in the North Sea was influenced by its leaching chemicals. The V-1302 John Mann had been bombed and sank and despite the wreck being relatively benign, compared to those powered by oil, was proved to be polluting the seabed.

The researchers estimated that, in addition to munitions, shipwrecks from both world wars contained between 2.5 and 20.4 million metric tonnes of petroleum products. However, scientists have limited data to make predictions on where leaks might take place.

Responding to leaks when they do occur is also expensive, and it’s not clear who should bear the cost. Certainly for the developing nations who are often affected, many of whom were not participants in the world wars, the cost is prohibitive. In coastal nations such as the Philippines, there are limited technical and financial resources to manage the threat of hazardous wrecks.

Under the legal doctrine of sovereign immunity, ships sunk in war are not subject to the jurisdiction of any other state. In other words, they are still owned by the country they sailed for.

Improving the safety of the oceans

Oil pollution from shipwrecks is a threat which the IUCN Resolutions determine is in need of evaluation and tools with which to address it. The charity Lloyd’s Register Foundation has developed a programme of work to support this, directly funding projects focused on safety and engineering solutions.

Lloyd’s Register Foundation has set out to move the reactive, ‘emergency response’ mode of intervention towards a more strategic approach by contributing to the development of technical standards and protocols. To this end, experts are brought together through the strengthening of coalitions including the International Committee on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and The Ocean Foundation.

Spanish cruiser Almirante Oquendo, sunk 3 July 1898.

Image Credit: User Ignacio García Bailón on Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

On the other hand, Lloyd’s Register Foundation’s funding of the secretariat of the Cultural Heritage Framework Programme of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development is intended to improve collaboration between ocean stewardship efforts and heritage bodies, and support initiatives relating to low carbon shipping and blue finance (climate-aware investing related to ocean-friendly projects and water supply resources).

Years of erosion on the 8,500 potentially polluting sunken vessels have shifted the issue of ocean and marine ecosystem-threatening fuel leakage to a ‘when’, bringing the topics of safety and remediation to the surface.

You can find out more about the work of The Ocean Foundation, Waves Group and Lloyd’s Register Foundation on the Project Tangaroa website: https://www.project-tangaroa.org/

Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany had embarked on a militaristic expansion, aiming to establish dominance over the continent. It had taken Germany less than 2 months to invade and conquer most of Western Europe. After the evacuation of British forces from Dunkirk and the Fall of France in June 1940, Britain, under the leadership of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, stood as the last bastion of resistance against the Nazi regime.

The Battle of Britain emerged as a pivotal struggle, pitting the formidable German Luftwaffe against the skilled and courageous pilots of Britain’s RAF. This historic air campaign marked a turning point in the war, preventing Britain’s imminent invasion and altering the course of history. Here’s a timeline showing 10 of the battle’s key dates.

As the founder of the National Fascist Party, Mussolini spearheaded the rise of Fascism – a radical and authoritarian political ideology that sought to transform Italy into a centralised, corporatist state. Obtaining power by a combination of political opportunism, propaganda, intimidation, and the exploitation of the country’s economic and social grievances, as Italy’s dictator, he centralised control, suppressed dissent, and embarked on a path of aggressive expansion, leading the nation into World War Two.

What factors led to Mussolini’s rise to power, and how did this come crashing down?

Early 20th century Italy

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Italy faced numerous challenges that contributed to political instability and discontent among its citizens. Unification, achieved in 1861, had not brought about the expected prosperity for the newly-formed nation, and Italy remained socially, economically, and politically divided. Southern regions lagged behind the industrialised north, and rural poverty was widespread.

Furthermore, Italy’s involvement in World War One had resulted in significant human and economic losses, contributing to a sense of disillusionment among its population.

Mussolini’s early life and development of Fascist ideology

Benito Mussolini was born on 29 July 1883, in Predappio in northeastern Italy to a working-class family with socialist beliefs. He followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming involved in left-wing politics and working as a journalist for various socialist publications, including Avanti! (1912-1914) – the official daily newspaper of Italy’s Socialist Party – where he honed his skills in propaganda and persuasive writing, amassing a large following.

However, during World War One, Mussolini’s political beliefs dramatically switched to the right, when he became a supporter of Italy’s war effort. After subsequently being expelled from Avanti!, he founded the pro-war Il Popolo d’Italia group, and served in the Italian army from 1915-1917 with the bersagliere (sharpshooters).

Wounded, he returned home a convinced anti-socialist, and returned to editing publications. As early as February 1918, he advocated for government by dictatorship to address Italy’s crises, hinting at his own potential leadership.

Left: Mussolini when director of Avanti! ; Right: Mussolini as a bersagliere during World War One

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Mussolin’s growing disillusionment with socialism and belief in nationalism, anti-Marxism, and authoritarianism led him to develop the ideology of Fascism. He advocated for a strong, centralised state that prioritised national unity and glorified military power, with his political ideas including themes of racial superiority, xenophobia, and imperialism.

Mussolini viewed class struggle as destructive, instead favouring class collaboration through corporatism, where different economic classes would work together under state control.

He propagated these beliefs through his writing and speeches, including his 1919 manifesto, The Political and Social Doctrine of Fascism, which helped gain support for his political movement, fasci di combattimento (Combat Squads).

These squads of black-shirted nationalist paramilitary supporters, known as the ‘Blackshirts’ (from which his far-right movement of fascism derived its own name – fascismo) were the precursor to his Fascist Party. 

Mussolini’s path to power

To bolster his political position, Mussolini used tactics of intimidation and violence, organising his Blackshirts to wage campaigns of terrorism and intimidation against leftist institutions, suppressing opposition and disrupting socialist gatherings. These actions created an atmosphere of fear, contributing to Mussolini’s appeal as a leader who could bring order and discipline to the country.

In 1921, Mussolini transformed his paramilitary movement into a formal political party, the National Fascist Party (Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF), capitalising on the growing frustration with Italy’s political establishment and promising a solution to the nation’s problems. The PNF gained support from disaffected war veterans, landowners, and conservative elements who sought stability and order.

As a result of his growing popularity and political manoeuvring, in 1921, Mussolini was elected to the lower chamber of Italy’s parliament, the Chamber of Deputies, a significant step in his rise to power.

Blackshirts with Benito Mussolini during the March on Rome, 28 October 1922. (Mussolini is second from the left)

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

The March on Rome

In October 1922, amidst widespread civil unrest and threats of a socialist-led general strike and communist revolution, Mussolini and 30,000 of his Blackshirt militia organised the March on Rome. Although the march itself was relatively uneventful, it effectively pressured King Victor Emmanuel III to invite Mussolini to form a new government.

The plan worked and on 31 October 1922, Mussolini was appointed Italy’s Prime Minister, as well as interior minister – crucially giving him control over the police. This began his path to becoming the undisputed dictator of the country.

Mussolini’s consolidation of power and impact on Italy

Once in power, Mussolini worked to centralise control, dismantling democratic institutions and consolidating authority in the hands of the Fascist Party. He assumed his role as dictator and adopted the title Il Duce (‘The Leader’), fostering a cult of personality. Opposition was suppressed through censorship, intimidation, and the establishment of a secret police force.

Mussolini implemented policies that aimed to revitalise the Italian economy and strengthen the military. He banned labour strikes and initiated social reforms and ambitious public works projects, such as draining marshlands, building roads, and promoting infrastructure development, that garnered widespread popular support. However, these initiatives were often poorly planned and financially burdensome, leading to economic difficulties and increased public debt.

His regime pursued an aggressive foreign policy, seeking to expand Italy’s colonial empire and revive the image of the Roman Empire with himself as a modern-day Caesar. The conquest of Ethiopia in 1935-1936 demonstrated his willingness to use military force to achieve his goals, but also sparked international condemnation and Italy’s isolation on the world stage.

Alliance with Nazi Germany

As tensions in Europe escalated, Mussolini sought to strengthen his position through alliances. In 1936, he formed the Rome-Berlin Axis with Nazi Germany, aligning Italy with Adolf Hitler’s territorial expansion ambitions and supporting each other’s fascist plans.

On 25 October 1936, an alliance was declared between Italy and Germany, which came to be known as the Rome-Berlin Axis.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

On 22 May 1939 Mussolini and Hitler formalised their alliance with the ‘Pact of Steel’, a military and political alliance creating the Axis powers, which later went on to include Japan. Wary of German power, Mussolini saw this partnership as a defensive measure against potential wars with Western democracies, and as a source of support for his Balkan plans.

Although hesitant to join World War Two due to Italy’s strained resources from pre-existing economic issues and their Ethiopian conquest, Mussolini feared losing claim to conquered European lands resulting from Hitler’s advance, and entered the war in 1940.

However, Italy’s military performance in the war was uninspiring, and the country struggled to keep up with the military capabilities of the major powers. The alliance between Italy and Germany was marked by mutual distrust, sharing only vague prospective plans and with each reacting rather than acting together.

Italy’s decline and Mussolini’s downfall

As the war progressed, Italy suffered significant military defeats in North Africa, Greece, the Soviet Union and the Balkans, which weakened Mussolini’s regime and eroded domestic support, as Italians questioned the direction he was taking the country. Economic hardships and wartime rationing further added to his declining popularity.

In 1943, as Allied forces launched a daring invasion of Sicily and advanced towards Rome, Mussolini’s fascist allies in the Fascist Grand Council – fearing for their own survival – orchestrated his removal from power. Fearing complete ruin, King Victor Emmanuel III dismissed Mussolini from his position as Prime Minister on 25 July 1943 and had him arrested. 

Last days and legacy

After being rescued by German troops, Mussolini briefly led the puppet Italian Social Republic at Salò in northern Italy from September 1943. As Germany’s power waned, he attempted to escape to Switzerland but was captured by Italian partisans on 27 April 1945. The next day, Mussolini and his then mistress, Clara Petacci, were executed by firing squad. In a symbolic display of contempt and of the end of Fascist rule in Italy, their bodies were subsequently hung upside down in Milan’s Piazzale Loreto.

Oppenheimer was also a vocal critic of the use of nuclear weapons and later became an advocate for nuclear disarmament. He was later stripped of his security clearance in the 1950s due to this opposition and his left-leaning political views. Despite this, he remained a respected figure in the scientific community and received numerous awards for his contributions to science.

Here we explore more about his career, role in the Manhattan Project and later advocacy for nuclear disarmament.

Early life

J. (Julius) Robert Oppenheimer was born on 22 April 1904 in New York. After joining Harvard in 1922 intending to become a chemist, he soon switched to physics. During his time there, he also excelled in Latin and Greek, published poetry and also studied Eastern philosophy.

After graduating, he spent time at Cambridge University conducting research at their Cavendish Laboratory, which gave him the opportunity to collaborate with the British scientific community and its efforts to advance atomic research.

After this, Oppenheimer studied at the University of Göttingen in 1926, obtaining his PhD aged just 22. While there, Oppenheimer published many important contributions to the newly developed quantum theory – most notably a famous paper on the ‘Born-Oppenheimer approximation’, which separates nuclear motion from electronic motion in the mathematical treatment of molecules.

In 1927, he returned to Harvard as a National Research Council Fellow studying mathematical physics, and a year later, studied at the California Institute of Technology. Whilst there, he also accepted a job at the University of California, Berkeley as an assistant professor. For the next 13 years, he maintained his joint roles at the two universities, commuting between them – along with many of his associates and students who followed him.

Oppenheimer’s intelligence in this field was outstanding, and he became credited as a founding father of the American school of theoretical physics.

As well as researching a breadth of topics including astrophysics, nuclear physics, spectroscopy and quantum field theory, he made key contributions in the theory of cosmic ray showers and descriptions of quantum tunneling. He was also the first to write papers (in the 1930’s) suggesting the existence of black holes.

Albert Einstein (left) and Oppenheimer (right)

Image Credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Manhattan Project

Hitler’s rise in Germany had stirred Oppenheimer’s interest in politics. In 1936 he had sided with the republic during the Spanish Civil War and became acquainted with Communist students, yet he later withdrew his associations with the Communist Party due to the suffering inflicted by Stalin on Russian scientists.

After Poland’s invasion by Nazi Germany in 1939, Albert Einstein and other prominent scientists had warned the US government of the danger threatening all of humanity if the Nazis should be the first to make a nuclear bomb, urging President Roosevelt to fund research into the development of a nuclear weapon. Subsequently Roosevelt established the Office of Scientific Research and Development to oversee the project, and Oppenheimer became heavily involved in efforts to develop an atomic bomb.

Oppenheimer began to seek a process for separating uranium-235 from natural uranium and in determining the critical mass of the material required to make such a bomb. Newly married (1940) and a year in to fatherhood (1941), Oppenheimer was appointed the scientific director of the Manhattan Project by General Leslie Groves in June 1942, in order to seek a way to harness nuclear energy for military purposes.

Three ‘secret cities’ were chosen to be part of the Manhattan Project – Oak Ridge in East Tennessee, the plateau of Los Alamos near Santa Fe in New Mexico and Hanford/Richland in Washington state.

Oppenheimer oversaw the construction and administration of the laboratories at Los Alamos, before then bringing in the best minds in physics to work on how to create an atomic bomb. Ultimately, Oppenheimer went on to manage more than 3,000 people whilst tackling the theoretical and mechanical problems that arose during the bomb’s creation (whilst also becoming a father again in 1944).

The first nuclear explosion occurred at Alamagordo air base, New Mexico on 16 July 1945, which Oppenheimer had codenamed ‘Trinity’. The blast was the equivalent to 20,000 tons of TNT and created a fireball that reached temperatures of several million degrees.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Less than one month after its initial successful test, on 6 August 1945, an American B-29 bomber named Enola Gay dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima in Japan, killing an estimated 80,000 people. Tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure.

Just 3 days later on 9 August 1945, another atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki in Japan, instantly killing a further 40,000 people and many more over time. The attacks are widely believed to have played a decisive role in convincing Japan to surrender and bringing about an end to World War Two.

Oppenheimer’s work had therefore achieved what it set out to do.

Mushroom cloud after Fat Man exploded over Nagasaki on 9 August 1945

Image Credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons; History Hit

Postwar opposition to nuclear weapons

After the war ended, in 1947 Oppenheimer was appointed Chairman of the General Advisory Committee to the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), a role he served in until 1952. Oppenheimer used this position to lobby for international control of nuclear power to avert nuclear proliferation and a nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union. In October 1949, Oppenheimer and the AEC also opposed the development of the hydrogen bomb during a government debate on the question and took opposing stances on defence-related issues.

By 1953, America was in the midst of McCarthyism and strong anticommunist feeling. During this ‘Second Red Scare’, Oppenheimer was notified of a military security report unfavourable to him, and was accused of having communist sympathies and delaying the naming of Soviet agents. These accusations combined with his opposition to the hydrogen bomb led to a government hearing that resulted in his military security clearance being taken away, ending his time at the AEC and his position as adviser to the highest echelons of the US government.

The Federation of American Scientists and nearly the entire scientific community were shocked by the AEC’s decision, and protested his trial. The case aroused widespread controversy in the world of science and Oppenheimer was made a symbol of a scientist who, while working in government and trying to resolve the moral problems that arise from scientific discovery, becomes the victim of a witch hunt.  By 1963, President Johnson tried to make up for the injustice, honouring Oppenheimer with the prestigious Enrico Fermi Award by the AEC.

Between 1947-1966, Oppenheimer had also served as the Director of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, discussing and conducting research on quantum and relativistic physics, as well as working out ideas on the relationship between science and society. A year after his retirement, he died of throat cancer on 18 February 1967.

On 16 December 2022, the US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm finally cleared Oppenheimer of the allegations that had led to the revocation of his security clearance, citing the AEC’s ‘flawed investigation’ of his background.

In reality, however, nearly a year prior to D-Day, British Commonwealth and American Allied forces landed on the toe of Italy in 1943 and then, a few days later, at Salerno, in what were the main landings to really push towards Rome.

This article is an edited transcript of Italy and World War 2 with Paul Reed, available on History Hit .

Why did the Allies invade Italy?

The Italian campaign came about after the campaign in North Africa ended in May 1943 with the surrender of the Afrika Korps.

The Allies had discussed at Yalta the need to open a second front in the war to relieve pressure on the eastern front. However, the Allies were not then in a position to make a proper landing in France.

Salerno D-Day plan

Image Credit: Public Domain

The American belief was that the only way to defeat the Nazi regime was to land in France, go to Paris, to capture Paris, to push on to Belgium, to capture Belgium, and then to capture Holland – at which point the Allies would have a route into Nazi Germany.

But that wasn’t possible in the summer of 1943. So the compromise was to try and come in through the back door, an idea that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill believed in. Churchill called Italy the “soft underbelly of the Third Reich”. That’s what Italy was to him and indeed to others as well.

The route through Sicily

There was a plan to attack through Italy on a second front, push up through Italy and into Austria, entering Germany that way. And it sounded easy. But by the end of the campaign, veterans called it the “tough old gut of Europe”.

Although the Allies had decided upon an invasion of Italy from North Africa, it wasn’t possible to do that directly. There wasn’t enough shipping or enough aircraft to cover an assault. Instead, it was going to be a two-step operation.

The Allies would go across the Mediterranean, capture the island of Sicily, and use that as a staging post to go to the Italian mainland.

When did the British and Commonwealth troops invade Sicily?

Troops from Sicily arrive under shell fire during the landing at Salerno, September 1943.

The landings at Sicily took place in July 1943, with British and Commonwealth troops arriving on one side of the island and the Americans landing on the other side. There was some tough fighting on the island of Sicily in the countryside.

The beginnings of a rivalry between Britain’s Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery and US Lieutenant General George S. Patton emerged and some have suggested that they over-focused on that rivalry, consequently allowing German forces to get away across the Strait of Messina.

While the Allies did capture Sicily, it wasn’t the complete success they had hoped for, and the fight for the rest of Italy was yet to come.