WW2 – Enlisted Men Losses

Operation Dynamo had ended on the 4th June 1940, and Winston Churchill delivered his ‘We shall never surrender’ speech to the House of Commons on the same day (Audio version). On 10th July the Luftwaffe began targeting shipping in the English channel, leading to the start of the Battle of Britain. The Luftwaffe began attacking Welsh, Scottish & Northern Ireland targets on the 12th July, and the Home Guard was established on the 23rd July 1940

The Battle of Britain continues but the Germans are hampered by poor aircraft range, increased British fighter aircraft production and the extensive use of RADAR. Churchill’s speech ‘Never was so much owed by so many to so few speech was delivered to the House of Commons on the 20th August, and on the 21st August Liverpool was bombed for the 200th time. (Part-Audio Version, as highlighted in ‘Yellow’).

On the 1st March 1941, Hitler gives orders for the expansion of Auschwitz prison camp. 10th May Rudolf Hess is captured in Scotland after bailing out of his plane in a self-appointed mission to make peace with the United Kingdom.

On the 17th March 1942 the United Kingdom institutes rationing of electricity, coal, gas and the clothing ration is also reduced. The 29th May sees French Jews ordered to wear the yellow Star of David, and on the 2nd October conscription age in Britain is reduced to 18 yr olds. On the 19th October the Soviet Union forces in Stalingrad launch ‘Operation Uranus’ to encircle German forces, and it begins to turn the battle in favour of the USSR.

On the 11th March 1943 Germans enter Kharkov and the fierce fighting with the Red Army continues, on the 13th German soldiers liquidate the Jewish ghetto in Krakow and recapture the city on the 14th March. On the 16th May ‘Dambuster raids’ by the RAF 617 Squadron are carried out on the Mohne and Eder dams. On the 5th November 1943 the Italians bomb the Vatican in a failed attempt to knock out Vatican radio, which was suspected of aiding the allies.

The 6th June 1943, D-Day begins with the landing of 155,000 allied troops on the beaches of Normandy, and the fight back begins. On the 13th June Germany launches it’s V-1 flying bomb on England, which Hitler views as revenge or ‘Vengeance Weapons’ for the allied invasion. He believes in Germany’s victory with these new secret weapons, V-1 attacks continue through October and V-2 attacks begin in early September 1944.

The following documents list the fallen alphabetically, by Surname:- ‘A’‘B’‘C’‘D’‘E’‘F’‘G’‘H’‘I’‘J’‘K’‘L’‘M’‘N’‘O’‘P’‘Q’‘R’‘S’‘T’,‘U’‘V’‘W’‘X’‘Y’‘Z’.