Hitler's Third Reich and World War II in the News is a daily edited review of WWII news, providing thought- provoking collection of hand-picked WW2 information.

Category: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites  -- See latest WWII news here. See also 'Bunkers', 'Ruins of Third Reich', 'Tanks: Vintage Military Vehicles', 'WW2 Tours'.

Forgotten submarine caves - Jeju Island could have become another Iwo Jima
Finding the Alddreu airfield was no easy task. Now Alddreu is a potato field, unrecognizable as the military installation that the Japanese built in the 1930s during the colonial period (1910-1945). The small hills stuck out of the land like green pimples. Each had an entrance shaped like a thick cross and was large enough for a small plane to fit inside, which had been the purpose once upon a time. It's not easy to id these abandoned hangars: the Japanese military worked hard to camouflage the area. Located on the seashore are 16 caves cut into the grey cliffs - launching bases for special mini submarines.     [ joongangdaily :: 2008-04-28 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

UK: Underground tube tunnels hid a World War II secret
Few of Redbridge commuters who use the Central Line could possibly imagine the role played by its underground tunnels during World War Two. The 3-mile part of line between Leytonstone and Wanstead was filled with industrial workers making tons of military components for the war effort. Work to extend the line to Gants Hill was stopped by the outbreak of WW2, to use the empty tunnels as bomb-proof production lines. Dennis Barron recalls: "It was strange really, like working in a mine only you could hear the bombing overhead - a terrific bang, and all the lights would shake."     [ guardian-series :: 2008-03-31 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

Relive WWII at Fort Miles, whose coastal defenses helped guard the home front
Dressed in Army-green pants and a short fatigue jacket, Mike Rogers snaps to attention next to an artillery piece. He wears the insignia of the 261st Coast Artillery's 2nd Division. Based at Delaware's Cape Henlopen 1940-1945, the 261st guarded the mouth of Delaware Bay and the maritime approaches to Wilmington and Philadelphia. 6 decades later, Henlopen's great mounded dunes still hide a warren of bunkers and gun emplacements. Set up along the ocean shore, 11 concrete spotting towers rise above the beaches. In 1940, with war already breaking out, America moved to fortify the mouth of Delaware Bay.     [ fredericksburg :: 2008-03-16 :: America during World War II - United States Home front ]

Abandoned World War II airfields in UK caught on film
A photographer has captured the memories of abandoned World War II airfields. Ghost Fields of East Anglia, a book by Martin Bowman, includes pictures of wartime Suffolk. It features surviving airfields and deserted bases, brought to life through photos and stories of those who were there. Alongside images of wall art, there are aerial photographs of the airstrips and on the ground ivy-clad ruins of all that remains. "The young Americans with their well-cut uniforms, new accents and money created a colourful and heroic chapter in the lives of the British people that is still remembered today."     [ eadt :: 2007-11-02 ]

Secret World War II-era fortification in San Francisco Bay reopen
Battery Townsley, the World War II fortification in Marin that could launch shells that weighed as much as a Volkswagen over 30 miles, will be reopened to the public, fittingly on Veterans Day, after being closed for decades. The battery's guns were active 1940-1948 and stood in defense of the Golden Gate and San Francisco Bay harbors. 1965-1975 it was used to test the force of nuclear blasts without using nuclear weapons. "It's part of the fabric of our history that is important to understand," said Greg Jennings, member of the Coast Defense Study Group, which has worked to reopen the site. The group studies coastal defenses and fortifications.     [ marinij :: 2007-10-17 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

Welsh chemical weapons factory behind first atomic bomb aims
A Welsh chemical weapons factory in Rhydymwyn that had a part in the creation of the first atomic bomb could be declared a national treasure. The Assembly's historic monuments group Cadw have visited the site and are now weighing up giving grade II listed status, which would include a series of underground tunnels and chambers, a danger zone for mixing explosives and an emergency treatment centre. The factory made chemical weapons during World War Two as well as completing early work on Robert Oppenheimer's atomic bomb. To prevent the secret site - also manufactured mustard gas - being located by German intelligence it was camouflaged and left off maps.     [ icwales :: 2007-10-15 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

The ruins of Oradour sur Glane are reminder of wartime atrocity
France is full of pretty little villages - but Oradour sur Glane is not pretty. On June 10, 1944, possibly as a reprisal for the death of a German officer, Nazi troops encircled the village, then rounded up every person they found and killed them. Next they burned the village. Not long after, France was liberated and the French leader General Charles De Gaulle visited the site. He declared Oradour sur Glane should be left as it was. The ruined and abandoned village remains unreconstructed today, its burned buildings and remnants of automobiles a memorial to the victims.     [ canada :: 2007-09-02 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

City of Encinitas OKs preserving view from WWII lookout hill
From a shack on a Leucadia hilltop, Richard Scott would watch the Pacific Ocean during World War II for Japanese aircraft and submarines. Last night, the Encinitas City Council approved amending the city's general plan to designate the site, known in WWII circles as Station White, as a historical view corridor. All that remains is a plaque, installed in 2006, which pays tribute to Sheriff 'Mac' McDermott, who established the observation post in 1942 after the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. McDermott recruited Scott to join 40 others to become civilian volunteers in the Corps of Observation, which trained to become aircraft spotters.     [ signonsandiego :: 2007-08-17 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

Tours in secret World War II nuclear city - Oak Ridge was not on maps
Visiting a nuclear city may be an unusual attraction but the U.S. Department of Energy is finding interest in a uranium plant once so secretive it had no address and was not on maps. From June to September visitors can tour parts of the facility at Oak Ridge which was set up in 1943 and ran 24 hours a day separating uranium 235. It was part of the Manhattan Project that produced atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in 1945. But during World War II staff recruited there had little idea how their jobs fitted into the bigger picture. "I didn't know what I was doing or why I was doing it. I just knew how to do my job," said Gladys Owens.     [ sciam :: 2007-08-05 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

Myanmar section of World War II Sino-Indian road rebuilt
A ceremony to celebrate the rebuilding of the Myanmar part of the famous wartime Stilwell Road, aka the Sino-Indian Road, has been held on the Sino-Myanmar border. The Myanmar section of Stilwell Road is part of the 176-km section of road that links Myitkyina in Myanmar with Tengchong in Yunnan in China. The Stilwell Road, or Ledo Road, was built by Chinese troops and Allied Forces in 1945 to transport supplies to the Chinese army after the Yunnan-Myanmar Road, a lifeline in China's war against Japan, was cut off by Japanese troops in 1942. It was later renamed after General Joseph Stilwell, the commander of the Allied Forces in Southeast Asia.     [ peoples daily :: 2007-05-08 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

Historic Place: WWII tank tests at Packard Proving Grounds
The Packard Proving Grounds, where World War II tanks and military aircraft were tested, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Packard Motor Car Foundation, the nonprofit group working to restore the site, hopes to create a museum that tells the story of the proving grounds. Plans also call for a "National Arsenal of Democracy" museum, which will tell the story of how American industry mobilized to help the war effort during WWII. Detroit was nicknamed the "Arsenal of Democracy" because its automobile plants were retooled to manufacture military vehicles and engines.     [ detnews :: 2007-03-23 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

Stalin's Villa now Black Sea hotel - Red Tsar's summer residence
A plaque at the entrance reads simply: "Stalin's Villa." Time was when a visitor would have been terrified to come even close to the so-called Red Tsar's summer residence in Sochi Black Sea resort. But today, capitalism has triumphed and, for a price, anyone is welcome. Joseph Stalin came here almost every summer. From this house with shaded verandas, the tyrant supervised socialism's triumphant march, as well as mass repressions and purges. The dacha's dreaded master was also paranoid about his security, so "the dacha is painted in camouflage green, and you cannot see it either from the sea or from the air."     [ mg :: 2007-02-09 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

What's the story behind hidden World War II bunker
For the past 24 years, Amolat Singh has been taking daily walks around the forested area of Mount Faber. But he has never noticed or even heard about the hidden World War II bunker that is located less than 30m from the Seah Im Road carpark. Some Singaporeans, who lived in the area during WWII, believe it could have been used to hold prisoners of war (PoWs) before they were executed. When The New Paper showed Mr Amolat pictures of the bunker, which is the size of three carpark lots, he was surprised that he had never noticed it before.     [ asia1 :: 2006-12-25 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

WWII RAF airfield control tower passes first test in restoration plan
A study is under way into the feasibility of turning a wartime relic into an important site of wartime historical significance. The study is investigating the likelihood of restoring the former RAF Ibsley airfield control tower to its former glory. Both the U.S. and British army were based at the Ibsley airfield, together with the 8th fighter group. About 30,000 army officers were located there and the village is reputed to have housed at least 5 spies, including the Lord Haw Haw, an announcer on the English language propaganda radio programme Germany Calling, broadcast by Nazi radio to audiences in Britain.     [ salisburyjournal :: 2006-11-30 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

WWII bunker to go on show
Remnants of a World War II bunker found during construction work in central Brisbane will be displayed at the Queensland Museum. Historians believed it was a secret command room and a safe place for community leaders. "We didn't know it was there. This is a very exciting find, a direct link to Brisbane's wartime past. After the museum experts finish some preservation work the remnants will go on public display in Brisbane."     [ news-au :: 2006-11-26 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

Ruegen island - Revamp of massive Kraft durch Freude building
On a corner of Ruegen island in the former east Germany stands building of massive proportions. Stretching nearly 3 miles along the coastline, it was built by Adolf Hitler to offer seaside holidays to strengthen and refresh (Kraft durch Freude) workers of the Third Reich. Its scale and cubic forms have made it an example of Third Reich architecture and a metaphor for Hitler's quest for power. Now it has buyer, Ulrich Busch, the son of a 1920s anti-Nazi campaigner who fled from Nazi Germany. He plans to revamp the concrete hulk into flats - fulfilling the building's initial purpose after some 70 years.     [ guardian :: 2006-10-10 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

Uncertainty hangs over Germany's last Nazi-era church
Berlin's Martin Luther Memorial Church - referred to as the "Adolf Hitler Church" during World War II - stands shrouded in scaffolding, its future in the balance. Mariendorf is split about what should be done with Germany's last remaining Nazi-era place of worship. Others argue that it has to be preserved as a reminder of a dark chapter in history, when a number of clerics and tens of thousands of churchgoers supported Adolf Hitler's National Socialist Party 1933-1945. Its organ was played at the Nazi Reichsparteitag in Nuremberg in 1935. One of its then officials said in 1935 that, "...the German people have in Hitler been presented with a great Fuehrer."     [ rawstory :: 2006-09-10 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

Okinawa tunnels of Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters
The Battle of Okinawa is often remembered as the final battle of World War II. Okinawa, just 64 miles long and two-18 miles wide, had numerous caves and other features that the Japanese utilized in constructing defenses. Col. Yahara initiated an ambitious campaign of digging enough tunnels and caves to move the entire 32nd Army and Navy underground. The Japanese were able to construct 60 miles of tunnels and numerous caves with no mechanized tunneling equipment. The most elaborate of the caves were the headquarters for the Imperial Japanese Army far below Shuri Castle.     [ okinawa :: 2006-09-03 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

Infamous Nazi collaborator's Mansion Opens in Norway
A sprawling Villa Grande mansion used by Norwegian Nazi collaborator Vidkun Quisling during World War II opened as a center to oppose the hatred and treachery he represented. Almost 60 years after Quisling was executed by Norway for setting up a puppet government that collaborated with German occupation forces, his name remains as a synonym for traitor. When German troops invaded Norway in 1940, Quisling proclaimed himself "Minister President," and moved into Villa Grande in 1941. In a bunker of narrow, arched tunnels under the house, a Nazi eagle and the words "Heil Hitler" remain painted on the white wall.     [ sfgate :: 2006-08-24 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

WWII weapons plant where scientists tested a-bomb technology
A former chemical weapons factory where British scientists contributed to early atomic bomb technology should be preserved, experts are to say. The Valley Works at Rhydymwyn produced hundreds of tons of mustard gas in World War Two. The work included evaluating the atomic bomb research, codenamed Operation Tube Alloys, which made the site one of Britain's greatest wartime secrets. Many of the scientists who worked on Operation Tube Alloys, were sent to work on the Manhattan Project, which developed the first atomic bomb.     [ bbc :: 2006-05-24 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

West Coast trenches and fortifications to stop Japanese invasion
The Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, produced devastation in Hawaii -- and panic on the West Coast. Anything seemed possible. The attack had come out of the sky without warning. What if Pearl Harbor was only the first target? What if the Japanese navy was off California ready to strike? On the night of Dec. 7, the Army assigned every available soldier at the Presidio of San Francisco to get to work digging slit trenches and field fortifications to stop a Japanese invasion. Trenches were dug on the bluffs above the Golden Gate. Machine guns were sited to cover Baker Beach on the western edge of the city.     [ sfgate :: 2006-05-20 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

Historic Building Destroyed By Massive Fire
An historic building on the campus of Florida Atlantic University is destroyed by fire early Tuesday morning. The massive flames turned the old World War II army barracks into a pile of rubble. It was located in the Research & Development Park on the north end of the FAU campus. The building was part of the old Boca Raton Army Air Field, a top-secret airborne radar training base during WWII. Just a week ago, a fund raiser was held to preserve the remaining wartime buildings.     [ cbs4 :: 2006-05-17 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

Trooper of the Japanese Imperial Army - Battlefield Kuala Pak Amat
At midnight on Dec 7, 1941, Japanese transport ships carrying 5,300 men had anchored off Kuala Pak Amat and Sabak beaches. By 12.25am the next day, the first wave of Japanese shock troops had landed and they were met by fierce resistance by the British units. The onslaught against Kuala Pak Amat was one and half hours before Japanese dive-bombers attacked on the US naval fleet at Pearl Harbour. "The battle was fierce ... to the extent that the water turned red due to blood from the bodies of dead soldiers." A monument to mark the first landing of Japanese invaders in the country may be be constructed soon, along with the conservation of 7 British war-time bunkers in area.     [ bernama :: 2006-04-08 :: Japanese Imperial Army ]

"German Village" in Utah may soon collapse
Franklin D. Roosevelt suggested building it. It was designed to match structures in Nazi Germany. Utah prisoners helped construct it quickly. Then the Army hit it for years with incendiary bombs, flame-throwers and chemical-agent tests. Now, "German Village" - where the Army tested how weapons would work on German architecture and materials during WWII - is finally about to collapse. The Army is proposing to let it do so, rather than repair it to allow its inclusion on the National Register for Historic Places.     [ deseretnews :: 2006-04-07 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

British POW death march is marked by heritage trail
One of the most brutal episodes of the Second World War, the Sandakan death march in Borneo, has been commemorated with a heritage trail. Tourists will be able to trek the same route taken by the POWs, who were forced to walk 155 miles. The Japanese soldiers guarding the ragged column were ordered to execute all those who faltered. Even those who made it were not safe. They were later shot by Japanese commanders who wanted to cover up the atrocities. Some were executed 12 days after the war had officially ended. Of the 2,434 British and Australian POWs, only 6 escaped, all Australian.     [ telegraph :: 2006-03-07 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

Builder pledges to preserve WWII battlefield Green Ridge
Article no longer available from the original source.
Green Ridge, the WWII battlefield with its war trenches and machine gun nests still intact, will remain undisturbed. Green Ridge is one of three ridges where an outnumbered British battalion put up a brave but futile four-day stand against the invading Japanese army in the Battle of Kampar. Leow said surveyors had spent more than two years studying the historical site to ensure it would not be damaged by construction works.     [ thestar :: 2006-02-13 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

Site of British surrender in WW2 to be preserved as national monument
The old Ford Motor Factory in Upper Bukit Timah Road will be gazetted as a national monument from February 15th. It would then be exactly 64 years since the historic surrender of the British at the site to the Japanese during WWII. It was there that the meeting between General Percival and General Yamashita was held and the surrender document signed on 15th February 1942. Britain's wartime leader Winston Churchill called it the "worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history" and it was widely seen as a turning point for anti-colonialism by destroying the myth of European superiority.     [ CNA/ch :: 2006-02-08 :: WWII Ruins, Bunkers, Battlefields & Historic sites ]

For a Nazi Outpost of Vidkun Quisling - An Ethical Retrofit
Vidkun Quisling was the head of Norway's collaborationist government during the 1940-45 Nazi occupation, and the imposing Villa Grande was his home and headquarters. "This is a house that has a strong aura of power and an authoritarian style." In spring of 1945, Norwegian resistance fighters entered Oslo. They made their way to the wooded peninsula on the fjord and surrounded the villa. Quisling had planned to fight, but his supporters deserted him and he surrendered without a shot fired. Within months, he was tried by a Norwegian court, branded a traitor and executed.     [ Washingtonpost :: 2005-11-20 :: Norway: WWII Nazi Occupation ]

See also

'Bunkers'

'Ruins of Third Reich'

'Tanks: Vintage Military Vehicles'

'WW2 Tours'.

What's new - recent & interesting categories.

Although the articles linked from Adolf Hitler's Third Reich 1933-1945 and World War II in the News are reviewed and specially selected, they do not necessarily represent the views of the editor, who is not responsible for the content of any external sites. This service is © Joni Nuutinen 2005-2008. All rights reserved.