Vanguard WW2
@vanguardww-2.bsky.social
Created and led by historian Yannis Kadari (Cadet CEO), Vanguard is an international group of historians and authors who are passionate about WWII history.
3 star French general, Gustave Mesny, was executed on this day in reprisal for the shooting of a German general in October 1944 at the hands of FFI fighters. He had been a POW since May 1940. His son Louis, also died in a concentration camp.
January 19, 2025 at 4:54 PM
3 star French general, Gustave Mesny, was executed on this day in reprisal for the shooting of a German general in October 1944 at the hands of FFI fighters. He had been a POW since May 1940. His son Louis, also died in a concentration camp.
18 January 1945
French secret agents Eugénie Djendi (21), Marie-Louise Cloarec (27), Pierrette Louin (24) and Suzanne Mertzizen (25) are hanged at the Ravensbrück women's concentration camp. They were 'Merlinette' SSMF-TR radio operators captured after being parachuted into France in 1944.
French secret agents Eugénie Djendi (21), Marie-Louise Cloarec (27), Pierrette Louin (24) and Suzanne Mertzizen (25) are hanged at the Ravensbrück women's concentration camp. They were 'Merlinette' SSMF-TR radio operators captured after being parachuted into France in 1944.
January 18, 2025 at 2:15 PM
18 January 1945
French secret agents Eugénie Djendi (21), Marie-Louise Cloarec (27), Pierrette Louin (24) and Suzanne Mertzizen (25) are hanged at the Ravensbrück women's concentration camp. They were 'Merlinette' SSMF-TR radio operators captured after being parachuted into France in 1944.
French secret agents Eugénie Djendi (21), Marie-Louise Cloarec (27), Pierrette Louin (24) and Suzanne Mertzizen (25) are hanged at the Ravensbrück women's concentration camp. They were 'Merlinette' SSMF-TR radio operators captured after being parachuted into France in 1944.
Battle of the Bulge
Units of the US 1st and 3rd Armies link up at the battered town of Houffalize - it will be cleared of the enemy the next day. Liberated on 10 Sept 1944, its inhabitants had watched in fear as US units withdrew through in the face of the German offensive launched on 16 December.
Units of the US 1st and 3rd Armies link up at the battered town of Houffalize - it will be cleared of the enemy the next day. Liberated on 10 Sept 1944, its inhabitants had watched in fear as US units withdrew through in the face of the German offensive launched on 16 December.
January 16, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Battle of the Bulge
Units of the US 1st and 3rd Armies link up at the battered town of Houffalize - it will be cleared of the enemy the next day. Liberated on 10 Sept 1944, its inhabitants had watched in fear as US units withdrew through in the face of the German offensive launched on 16 December.
Units of the US 1st and 3rd Armies link up at the battered town of Houffalize - it will be cleared of the enemy the next day. Liberated on 10 Sept 1944, its inhabitants had watched in fear as US units withdrew through in the face of the German offensive launched on 16 December.
After the battle
The city of Caen, Normandy. Winter 1945.
The city of Caen, Normandy. Winter 1945.
January 16, 2025 at 12:25 PM
After the battle
The city of Caen, Normandy. Winter 1945.
The city of Caen, Normandy. Winter 1945.
14 January 1944 - Bastogne sector 09.00 hrs
The 506th PIR (101st Airborne) attack and take the village of Foy near Bastogne. Easy Company, led by Lt Norman Dike, assaults from its positions in Bois Jacques overlooking the village. 1/4
The 506th PIR (101st Airborne) attack and take the village of Foy near Bastogne. Easy Company, led by Lt Norman Dike, assaults from its positions in Bois Jacques overlooking the village. 1/4
January 14, 2025 at 8:26 AM
14 January 1944 - Bastogne sector 09.00 hrs
The 506th PIR (101st Airborne) attack and take the village of Foy near Bastogne. Easy Company, led by Lt Norman Dike, assaults from its positions in Bois Jacques overlooking the village. 1/4
The 506th PIR (101st Airborne) attack and take the village of Foy near Bastogne. Easy Company, led by Lt Norman Dike, assaults from its positions in Bois Jacques overlooking the village. 1/4
The last roll of the dice
16 December 1944 - German forces launch a surprise offensive in the Ardennes sector across a 130-kilometre front.
16 December 1944 - German forces launch a surprise offensive in the Ardennes sector across a 130-kilometre front.
December 16, 2024 at 10:04 AM
The last roll of the dice
16 December 1944 - German forces launch a surprise offensive in the Ardennes sector across a 130-kilometre front.
16 December 1944 - German forces launch a surprise offensive in the Ardennes sector across a 130-kilometre front.
16 December 1944
It is mid afternoon in the Belgian port of Antwerp and a crowded Rex Cinema is showing Cecil B. DeMille's 1936 western, "The Plainsman". A V-2 rocket crashes through the roof and detonates. The death toll is horrendous - 567 have perished, including 296 Allied servicemen.
It is mid afternoon in the Belgian port of Antwerp and a crowded Rex Cinema is showing Cecil B. DeMille's 1936 western, "The Plainsman". A V-2 rocket crashes through the roof and detonates. The death toll is horrendous - 567 have perished, including 296 Allied servicemen.
December 16, 2024 at 10:03 AM
16 December 1944
It is mid afternoon in the Belgian port of Antwerp and a crowded Rex Cinema is showing Cecil B. DeMille's 1936 western, "The Plainsman". A V-2 rocket crashes through the roof and detonates. The death toll is horrendous - 567 have perished, including 296 Allied servicemen.
It is mid afternoon in the Belgian port of Antwerp and a crowded Rex Cinema is showing Cecil B. DeMille's 1936 western, "The Plainsman". A V-2 rocket crashes through the roof and detonates. The death toll is horrendous - 567 have perished, including 296 Allied servicemen.
Major Glenn Miller who disappeared somewhere over the English Channel on this day eighty years ago.
December 15, 2024 at 8:36 AM
Major Glenn Miller who disappeared somewhere over the English Channel on this day eighty years ago.
A big cat in Bastogne this afternoon.
December 14, 2024 at 5:38 PM
A big cat in Bastogne this afternoon.
French Resistance member, Léon Ludot, who died at the Neuengamme concentration camp eighty years ago this day. He began resisting in spring 43, distributing leaflets and then moving on to sabotage, namely that of trains.
December 9, 2024 at 1:50 PM
French Resistance member, Léon Ludot, who died at the Neuengamme concentration camp eighty years ago this day. He began resisting in spring 43, distributing leaflets and then moving on to sabotage, namely that of trains.
Notre Dame de Paris is reborn and Paris is Paris again.
December 7, 2024 at 6:54 PM
Notre Dame de Paris is reborn and Paris is Paris again.
Sgt. De Sales Glover already had six missions under his belt as a gunner on board the B-24 Liberator 'Big-Time Operator. He let slip to his crew mates that he was only 16, having enlisted in 1942 at the age of 14. He was 'retired' after the USAAF discovered his true age.
December 5, 2024 at 2:28 PM
Sgt. De Sales Glover already had six missions under his belt as a gunner on board the B-24 Liberator 'Big-Time Operator. He let slip to his crew mates that he was only 16, having enlisted in 1942 at the age of 14. He was 'retired' after the USAAF discovered his true age.
Ghosts of D-Day
A relic 2nd Rangers helmet from the Omaha Beach sector.
A relic 2nd Rangers helmet from the Omaha Beach sector.
December 3, 2024 at 7:52 PM
Ghosts of D-Day
A relic 2nd Rangers helmet from the Omaha Beach sector.
A relic 2nd Rangers helmet from the Omaha Beach sector.
80 years ago today, the Home Guard was stood down. Activated just days after the German offensive in the West in May 1940, it had formed a home defence force during the darkest days of the war.
December 3, 2024 at 2:32 PM
80 years ago today, the Home Guard was stood down. Activated just days after the German offensive in the West in May 1940, it had formed a home defence force during the darkest days of the war.
1 December 1944, French forces open fire on their Senegalese brothers in arms in Thiaroye, a suburb to the east of Dakar. Events unfolded thus... 1/6
December 1, 2024 at 8:34 AM
1 December 1944, French forces open fire on their Senegalese brothers in arms in Thiaroye, a suburb to the east of Dakar. Events unfolded thus... 1/6
30 November 1939
Stalin launches his Red Army against Finland. The smaller nation will put up a staunch defence and inflict heavy casualties againt the invaders. The Finns fight on until March 1940 when.... 1/2
Stalin launches his Red Army against Finland. The smaller nation will put up a staunch defence and inflict heavy casualties againt the invaders. The Finns fight on until March 1940 when.... 1/2
November 30, 2024 at 3:46 PM
30 November 1939
Stalin launches his Red Army against Finland. The smaller nation will put up a staunch defence and inflict heavy casualties againt the invaders. The Finns fight on until March 1940 when.... 1/2
Stalin launches his Red Army against Finland. The smaller nation will put up a staunch defence and inflict heavy casualties againt the invaders. The Finns fight on until March 1940 when.... 1/2
30 November 1944
German anti-Nazi resistance members, Elisabeth "Lilo" Charlotte Gloeden, her husband Erich Gloeden and "Lilo's" mother, Elisabeth Kuznitzky are beheaded at Pötzensee prison, Berlin.
German anti-Nazi resistance members, Elisabeth "Lilo" Charlotte Gloeden, her husband Erich Gloeden and "Lilo's" mother, Elisabeth Kuznitzky are beheaded at Pötzensee prison, Berlin.
November 30, 2024 at 3:43 PM
30 November 1944
German anti-Nazi resistance members, Elisabeth "Lilo" Charlotte Gloeden, her husband Erich Gloeden and "Lilo's" mother, Elisabeth Kuznitzky are beheaded at Pötzensee prison, Berlin.
German anti-Nazi resistance members, Elisabeth "Lilo" Charlotte Gloeden, her husband Erich Gloeden and "Lilo's" mother, Elisabeth Kuznitzky are beheaded at Pötzensee prison, Berlin.
27 November 1944
An accidental explosion of some 4,000 tons of ordance stored in tunnels at RAF Fauld, (Hanbury, Stafforshire) results in an estimated 70 deaths. It is the largest explosion ever on British soil and the crater is still visible today.
An accidental explosion of some 4,000 tons of ordance stored in tunnels at RAF Fauld, (Hanbury, Stafforshire) results in an estimated 70 deaths. It is the largest explosion ever on British soil and the crater is still visible today.
November 27, 2024 at 12:33 PM
27 November 1944
An accidental explosion of some 4,000 tons of ordance stored in tunnels at RAF Fauld, (Hanbury, Stafforshire) results in an estimated 70 deaths. It is the largest explosion ever on British soil and the crater is still visible today.
An accidental explosion of some 4,000 tons of ordance stored in tunnels at RAF Fauld, (Hanbury, Stafforshire) results in an estimated 70 deaths. It is the largest explosion ever on British soil and the crater is still visible today.
27 November 1943
A knock on the door of an appartment in Lille where SOE agent Michael Trotobas and member of the Sylvestre-Farmer WO network Denise Gilman are hiding out. 29-year old Trotobas realises that it is the Gestapo and shoots through the door, killing one of the enemy.
A knock on the door of an appartment in Lille where SOE agent Michael Trotobas and member of the Sylvestre-Farmer WO network Denise Gilman are hiding out. 29-year old Trotobas realises that it is the Gestapo and shoots through the door, killing one of the enemy.
November 27, 2024 at 12:21 PM
27 November 1943
A knock on the door of an appartment in Lille where SOE agent Michael Trotobas and member of the Sylvestre-Farmer WO network Denise Gilman are hiding out. 29-year old Trotobas realises that it is the Gestapo and shoots through the door, killing one of the enemy.
A knock on the door of an appartment in Lille where SOE agent Michael Trotobas and member of the Sylvestre-Farmer WO network Denise Gilman are hiding out. 29-year old Trotobas realises that it is the Gestapo and shoots through the door, killing one of the enemy.
25 November 1944
American troops enter the abandoned Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp, the only one on French soil (Alsace annexed by the Nazis in 1940). The camp was mainly used for political prisoners exploited as slave labour in various subcamps and factories.
American troops enter the abandoned Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp, the only one on French soil (Alsace annexed by the Nazis in 1940). The camp was mainly used for political prisoners exploited as slave labour in various subcamps and factories.
November 25, 2024 at 10:39 AM
25 November 1944
American troops enter the abandoned Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp, the only one on French soil (Alsace annexed by the Nazis in 1940). The camp was mainly used for political prisoners exploited as slave labour in various subcamps and factories.
American troops enter the abandoned Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp, the only one on French soil (Alsace annexed by the Nazis in 1940). The camp was mainly used for political prisoners exploited as slave labour in various subcamps and factories.
London 25 November 1944
At lunchtime, a V2 rocket slams into the F.W. Woolworth store in Deptford SE London. 168 people are killed and scores wounded. Dr Harold Moody rushes to the scene. He will spend two days in the rubble helping to find survivors and treating the wounded.
At lunchtime, a V2 rocket slams into the F.W. Woolworth store in Deptford SE London. 168 people are killed and scores wounded. Dr Harold Moody rushes to the scene. He will spend two days in the rubble helping to find survivors and treating the wounded.
November 24, 2024 at 9:15 PM
London 25 November 1944
At lunchtime, a V2 rocket slams into the F.W. Woolworth store in Deptford SE London. 168 people are killed and scores wounded. Dr Harold Moody rushes to the scene. He will spend two days in the rubble helping to find survivors and treating the wounded.
At lunchtime, a V2 rocket slams into the F.W. Woolworth store in Deptford SE London. 168 people are killed and scores wounded. Dr Harold Moody rushes to the scene. He will spend two days in the rubble helping to find survivors and treating the wounded.
Brothers
24 November 1942 - a truck drives up the steep hill towards the fortress of Mont Valérien, overlooking the city of Paris. On board are five men who are living their last moments on this earth. Two are brothers, 20-year old Jean Cadet and his brother Maurice, 22.
24 November 1942 - a truck drives up the steep hill towards the fortress of Mont Valérien, overlooking the city of Paris. On board are five men who are living their last moments on this earth. Two are brothers, 20-year old Jean Cadet and his brother Maurice, 22.
November 24, 2024 at 6:46 PM
Brothers
24 November 1942 - a truck drives up the steep hill towards the fortress of Mont Valérien, overlooking the city of Paris. On board are five men who are living their last moments on this earth. Two are brothers, 20-year old Jean Cadet and his brother Maurice, 22.
24 November 1942 - a truck drives up the steep hill towards the fortress of Mont Valérien, overlooking the city of Paris. On board are five men who are living their last moments on this earth. Two are brothers, 20-year old Jean Cadet and his brother Maurice, 22.
23 November 1944
Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace, is liberated after long, dark years of occupation. General Leclerc had promised at Koufra, Libya, on 2 March 1942, to raise the French flag once more on the city's cathedral, and this was done eighty years ago on this day.
Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace, is liberated after long, dark years of occupation. General Leclerc had promised at Koufra, Libya, on 2 March 1942, to raise the French flag once more on the city's cathedral, and this was done eighty years ago on this day.
November 23, 2024 at 9:55 AM
23 November 1944
Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace, is liberated after long, dark years of occupation. General Leclerc had promised at Koufra, Libya, on 2 March 1942, to raise the French flag once more on the city's cathedral, and this was done eighty years ago on this day.
Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace, is liberated after long, dark years of occupation. General Leclerc had promised at Koufra, Libya, on 2 March 1942, to raise the French flag once more on the city's cathedral, and this was done eighty years ago on this day.
Today we remember Gabriel Dordain who was shot by the Germans on 21 November 1943. His resistance activities began in August 1940. By 1944 he was head of a Resistance group. Arrested after sabotage on a railway line, he was condemned to death. He left behind his wife and three children.
November 21, 2024 at 8:59 AM
Today we remember Gabriel Dordain who was shot by the Germans on 21 November 1943. His resistance activities began in August 1940. By 1944 he was head of a Resistance group. Arrested after sabotage on a railway line, he was condemned to death. He left behind his wife and three children.
21 November 1944
The city of Belfort in the Alsace is officially liberated by troops of the French 1st Army.
The city of Belfort in the Alsace is officially liberated by troops of the French 1st Army.
November 21, 2024 at 8:57 AM
21 November 1944
The city of Belfort in the Alsace is officially liberated by troops of the French 1st Army.
The city of Belfort in the Alsace is officially liberated by troops of the French 1st Army.