Basic History Lesson: Russia's role in Hitler's defeat

Documentary: The Battle of Russia 1943.  
Warning: This is a war documentary which has many  actual war clips compiled for study purposes .... so be prepared for some very disturbing images.  

The progress of WWII

 December 16  - 26, 1940

Italian fort of Sidi Omar in Egypt has been captured in a 10-minute raid- British struck from the west, Italian guns were all aimed east.
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 16, 2012

Huge RAF bombing raid on German city of Mannheim- "retaliation" for Coventry. Incendiary bombs starting fires as targets for high explosives
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 16, 2012

10,619 civilians evacuated from Malta- mostly women & children- have arrived in Britain. Malta is becoming a fortress. yfrog.com/nykijyoqj
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 19, 2012

Rudolf Höss, Commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp, has denied a request for a prisoner's Christmas Mass: no religious services allowed
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 19, 2012

Bulgaria has passed new harsh laws on Jews & Freemasons- bringing them closer in alliance to Europe's dominant power: Nazi Germany.
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 20, 2012

Churchill ordering UK's stock of chemical weapons prepared for use next year; UK has 1,485 tons of mustard gas, with 650 tons ready soon.
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 21, 2012

Germany announcing that USA supplying weapons & ships to Britain is "un-neutral" & "morally unsound"- "these pinpricks may force USA to war"
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 21, 2012

Italian docks at Porto Maghera are ablaze from British bombs- pilots under strict orders not to damage nearby historic city of Venice.
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 21, 2012

Italians announcing "mass counter-attack" vs Greeks, 1000s of fresh troops advancing; Greeks have today captured ~1/4 of Italian Albania.
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 22, 2012

Manchester is still reeling from 3 dreadful nights of German bombing, which set half the city ablaze. Watch footage: youtube.com/watch?feature=…
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 24, 2012

UK sends a film to USA today, showing British "Christmas Under Fire"- holly & barbed wire. Watch it now: youtube.com/watch?feature=…!
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 25, 2012

Food heavily rationed in Germany- but luxuries imported from conquered states are plentiful. French liqueurs & clothes popular gifts.
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 25, 2012

Jews in Poland- now mostly imprisoned in Nazi ghettos- celebrating Hanukkah indoors & in fear. Card from Lodz ghetto: twitter.com/RealTimeWWII/s…
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 26, 2012

Rationing made practical presents the rule in UK this Christmas: spades, seeds & soap all popular gifts. Stocking: twitter.com/RealTimeWWII/s…
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 26, 2012

Tweets from WWII ... year 1940 ... December 8 - 15

 Below some of the tweets from December 8 - 15. ...giving a sense of that period, historically speaking.

British commander in Egypt, Gen. Wavell, is holding a party at the Cairo Turf Club- to make Italian spies think he has no plans for tomorrow
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 8, 2012

Allies in Egypt have taken 4000 prisoners in 12 hours- many Libyans forcibly enlisted by Italians, eager to surrender. yfrog.com/od5m3yktj
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 9, 2012

1600 Jews in British camps in Palestine to be released; warnings of "disastrous" Arab reaction: ukwarcabinet.org.uk/documents/616 twitter.com/RealTimeWWII/s…
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 10, 2012

Cut off in Egyptian desert, 3 more Italian divisions surrender; in 3 days Allies have captured 38,000 men & 73 tanks. twitter.com/RealTimeWWII/s…
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 11, 2012

Bubonic plague is killing 1000s in Chinese province of Zhejiang. A month ago, Japanese planes dropped plague-infested fleas on local towns.
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 11, 2012

Hitler broadcasting on German radio, claims to be fighting against "a few 100 gigantic capitalists", whereas Nazis work for the people.
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 11, 2012

UK opening government-sponsored fish-&-chip restaurants & launching a "potato promotion drive" as food rations shorten. twitter.com/RealTimeWWII/s…
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 12, 2012

Indian troops in Egypt now capturing Italian airfields- still covered in burnt-out planes bombed just days ago by RAF. twitter.com/RealTimeWWII/s…
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 12, 2012

UK bomb damage reports are censored, news says only that "a town in the Midlands" was hit. Casualty figures banned. twitter.com/RealTimeWWII/s…
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 12, 2012

1st footage being filmed of huge Allied victory in Egypt; see vast columns of Italian men being marched into captivity: youtube.com/watch?feature=…
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 13, 2012

The Great Dictator's been banned in every Nazi-occupied nation; Hitler has watched it twice in his private cinema. No report of his reaction
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 13, 2012

Sheffield has been bombed overnight- main factories almost unhurt, but fires have ravaged the town centre. 200+ dead. twitter.com/RealTimeWWII/s…
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 13, 2012

Full moon tonight- as British now call it, a "bomber's moon". Bright & clear night, perfect for Luftwaffe. They're raiding Sheffield again.
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 14, 2012

Greek & Italian troops trapped in Albanian mountains in 1 of bitterest winters in history; they're boiling snails, boots, & moss for food.
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 14, 2012

British troops are advancing into Libya: in a surprise raid, Allies have captured Halfaya Pass, throwing Italians out of Egypt entirely.
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 15, 2012

WWII Tweets .... from 1940

By now, my guess is that most history lovers on Twitter are following the tweets of   Alwyn Collinson.   I make it a point to go through his tweets at least once every week to find  parallels of what went on in 1940 and what's going on now in 2012, more than 70 years later.  

Here is the site. Below are some of the latest ones.  1 year later  .... the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

In Egypt, 30,000 UK & Commonwealth troops are advancing deep into the desert- ready for surprise attack on Italians. twitter.com/RealTimeWWII/s…
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 7, 2012

Occupying Nazi authorities in Poland release propaganda photos boasting of round-up of Jews. More: ww2today.com/7th-december-1… twitter.com/RealTimeWWII/s…
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 7, 2012

RAF distracting Italians from army massing in Egyptian desert- planning attack so secret even Allied troops told it's a "training exercise".
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 6, 2012

Terrible bombing damage in Bristol; 256 dead. Mayor: "The City of Churches has in 1 night become the city of ruins." twitter.com/RealTimeWWII/s…
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 6, 2012

UK House of Commons just voted on proposals for negotiated peace with Germany (proposed by an independent Scottish MP). Defeated, 341-4.
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 5, 2012

Cities are burning on the Albania-Greece frontier; retreating Italian armies have set huge fires as they flee, to scorn victorious Greeks.
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 5, 2012

Pope is appealing for a Christmas truce; if war isn't over by Christmas, he'sgiven permission for afternoon Midnight Mass, due to blackout
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 3, 2012

New York Times shows Japan's possible targets for attack in the Pacific, but claims "Uncle Sam is not easily rattled": twitter.com/RealTimeWWII/s…
— WW2 Tweets from 1940 (@RealTimeWWII) December 2, 2012

Meet the Tweeter behind the WW2 tweets

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Tweets from RealTimeWWII for Dec 13, 1939 .... Battle of the River Plate

The battle between three British cruisers and the German battleship Graf Spee.

After reading the tweets of Dec 13,  you are as impatient as I was to know the fate of the Graf Spee and Captain Langsdorff, who made the fatal mistake of thinking the British cruisers were a harmless merchant convoy, go here.

RealTimeWWII collecting ....

an average of 2K followers per day. Way to go RealTimeWWII  and please keep the tweets coming.   Even if you thought you knew everything about whatever happened during WWII, this twitter will still open your eyes to much more. The foolhardiness of the leaders of European countries during that time is laid bare anew for all to see. 

Who's behind this great twitter account? A student of history.

Tweets from WW2

Thanks to a twitterer, I am learning a lot of what happened day-to-day   in WorldWar2 starting from 1939. I hope this twitter will continue tweeting until and beyond Victory Day. What a great way to learn about this important period in our world's history.
I predict this user will become immensely popular and will have millions of followers within a very short time.