HistoryExtra
type: channel
link: https://www.historyextra.com
description: The official website for BBC History Magazine
date: 2025-01-23T09:59:43.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: A hill to die on: why the Allies almost failed in the battle of Monte Cassino in WW2
items: Is The Six Triple Eight a true story? The real WW2 history, as told by the movie’s historical consultant
items: How the early SAS became heroes of the Second World War
items: 10 surprising facts about First World War uniforms
items: Innocence under fire: how children were used in warfare of the past
items: Witnesses to the Berlin Wall
items: Building utopia after WW1
items: Oliver Cromwell’s remarkable rise to power
items: 10 facts you (probably) didn't know about the First World War
items: Indians in the trenches

A hill to die on: why the Allies almost failed in the battle of Monte Cassino in WW2
type: item
date: 2025-01-23T09:59:43.000Z
creator: James Holland
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Second World War
subject: Second World War battles
subject: Soldiers
description: In early 1944, the Allied advance in Italy was brought to a halt at a rocky outcrop called Monte Cassino. And at the heart of the bloodbath that followed, writes James Holland, was flawed leadership
encoded: For the men of the US 34th ‘Red Bulls’ Infantry Division, just getting up onto the Monte Cassino massif was an achievement. To reach this rocky outcrop, in late January 1944 those troops had crossed a two-mile-wide flooded valley, an area laced with enemy mines and overlooked by German troops in the mountains above. The weather was cold, wet and miserable, and the Americans’ route had taken them across a badly smashed causeway that offered an easy target for enemy artillery. Those troops had then traversed the bed of the Rapido river, which was impossible for tanks to cross, and clambered up into the hills and gulleys that comprise the lower reaches of the towering massif. Finally, they had slipped and scrambled their way up onto two of the ridges that cross Monte Cassino. By 6 February, the Second Battalion of the 135th Infantry, one of the three regiments of the Red Bulls, was within a stone’s throw of Point 593, the rocky outcrop at the end of one of these long ridges dubbed ‘Snakeshead Ridge’ by the Americans. The Germans launched a frenzied assault to displace them, only for the Red Bulls to counter-attack. Read more | Hell in Italy: the Allies' hardest fight of WW2? Bayonets fixed, shooting from the hip, they moved from rock to rock, picking their way through the increasingly loose and stony terrain along the narrow ridge. Bullets were zipping and pinging all around, mortars and grenades were exploding, and shrapnel and lethal shards of razor-sharp rock were fizzing through the air. “There was a lot of screaming and cursing,” recalled 23-year-old Sergeant Ralph Schaps from Minnesota. “We were not going to let the goddam krauts push us off the hill.” So close was the fighting that a rifle butt smashed into Schaps’ jaw but, somehow, he survived. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2024/12/GettyImages-1193060764-bf5e784.jpg" width="4516" height="3009" alt="The Benedictine abbey on Monte Cassino, established in the sixth century an…

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Is The Six Triple Eight a true story? The real WW2 history, as told by the movie’s historical consultant
type: item
date: 2024-12-20T16:30:15.000Z
subject: Period
subject: Second World War
subject: Letters
subject: Soldiers
subject: Trends-Entertainment
description: Netflix’s historical film The Six Triple Eight tells the story of the all-woman, predominately-Black 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion in the Second World War. Molly Sampson, one of the film’s historical consultants, describes the true history seen on screen
encoded: How did one battalion almost-entirely staffed by Black women solve a crisis that affected the morale of millions of US servicemen during WW2? Netflix’s The Six Triple Eight is the story of a WW2 group, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the first and only Women’s Army Corps (WAC) unit of colour to serve overseas in the Second World War. Written and directed by Tyler Perry, the film stars Kerry Washington as Major Charity Adams, the commanding officer of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. Despite facing racism and sexism – and gruelling working conditions – they were committed to serving their country with honour and distinction. Molly Sampson, a historical consultant on the film, spoke to HistoryExtra about these unsung heroes who were united in their determination, and in doing so they delivered hope and shattered barriers. Is The Six Triple Eight, based on a true story? Yes, though some details have been adapted for the screen, The Six Triple Eight is based on a true story. It tells the tale of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, a ground-breaking unit of 855 women who volunteered to serve their country during the Second World War. The movie highlights their extraordinary mission: clearing a staggering backlog of undelivered mail for US troops stationed in Europe. It also addresses the systemic racism and sexism they faced, as well as their resilience and unity in overcoming these challenges. During the Second World War, US military policies and societal norms enforced rigid racial classifications, shaping the experiences of service members. Women of Latinx heritage serving in the WAC were often required to choose between identifying as Black – thereby being placed in segregated units – or White. Lydia Thornton, a member of the Six Triple Eight and of Afro-Mexican descent, faced this decision during her enlistment. She chose to serve under the strict rules of segregation, a testament to the complex interplay of race, identity, an…

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How the early SAS became heroes of the Second World War
type: item
date: 2022-10-26T13:00:57.000Z
creator: Gavin Mortimer
subject: Period
subject: Second World War
subject: Second World War battles
subject: Soldiers
description: Gavin Mortimer explores how Britain’s daring commandos brought down Hitler’s empire in the Second World War
encoded: It was only fitting that a unit that would finish World War II as a byword for boldness began its life with an act of audacity. In July 1941, a tall, slender Scots Guards officer limped up to the front gate of Middle East Headquarters (MEHQ) in Cairo. Lieutenant David Stirling wasn’t long out of hospital, and he still carried the scars of a parachute accident the previous month. The 25-year-old officer had spent his convalescence working on an idea that he now intended to present to General Claude Auchinleck, commander-in chief of the Middle East Forces. The trouble was that Stirling didn’t have a pass to present to the sentries stationed outside the entrance to MEHQ. And no pass meant no entry. Having failed to sweet-talk his way past the guards, Stirling shuffled away in dejection, but then something caught his eye. A flap of the wire fence that encircled the headquarters was loose. Was it big enough to squeeze through? Nothing ventured, nothing gained, thought Stirling, and in an instant he was through the flap and making his way as fast as he could into MEHQ. Pitching in Once inside, Stirling located the office of General Neil Ritchie, the deputy chief of staff and a family friend of long-standing. The breathless young officer saluted, handed Ritchie the memo, and briefly explained its contents. The General ran an eye over the memo, then over Stirling, and said he would show it to Auchinleck. Three days later, Stirling was summoned to MEHQ. This time he did have a pass, and an appointment with General Auchinleck. He wanted to know more, so Stirling elaborated on his idea. “I argued the advantages of establishing a unit based on the principle of the fullest exploitation of surprise and of making the minimum demands. on manpower and equipment,” he wrote shortly after the war had finished. “I sought to prove that, if an aerodrome or transport park was the objective of an operation, then the destruction of 50 aircraft or units of transport was more easily accomplish…

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10 surprising facts about First World War uniforms
type: item
date: 2021-11-08T04:00:40.000Z
subject: 20th Century
subject: First World War
subject: Period
subject: Soldiers
description: The camouflage uniform donned by soldiers during the First World War is, to many, instantly recognisable, but how much do you really know about the garments? Jane Tynan, the author of British Army Uniform and the First World War: Men in Khaki, reveals 10 surprising facts about the wartime apparel
encoded: Khaki was first adopted in India The word ‘khaki’ comes from the Persian portion of the Hindustani language. The use of khaki for military camouflage is thought to have begun with Harry Lumsden, who raised the Corps of Guides in 1846, a regiment of the British Indian Army. He bought up white cotton cloth at the bazaar at Lahore, which was then taken down to the riverbank, where his troops soaked the cloth in water and rubbed mud into it. Lumsden’s second in command was convinced that khaki would make his men “invisible in a land of dust”. By the First World War, the British Army had transitioned from red to khaki uniforms in response to new technologies: aerial reconnaissance and smokeless guns were making soldiers’ visibility a real problem on the battlefield. Read more about WW1 beyond the western front: David Olusoga shines a light on forgotten clashes in distant lands, and on the extensive contributions of Africans and Asians <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2018/11/GettyImages-3170981_cmyk-a2fa96b.jpg" width="1967" height="1447" alt="A British officer stands alongside two of his Japanese counterparts in 1914 in Tsingtao (now Qingdao). Japanese troops played a key role in the capture of that strategic German concession in north-east China. (Photo by Getty Images)" title="A British officer stands alongside two of his Japanese counterparts in 1914 in Tsingtao (now Qingdao). Japanese troops played a key role in the capture of that strategic German concession in north-east China. (Photo by Getty Images)" /> British khaki dyes came from Germany Before the war, Germany was the centre of the synthetic dyestuffs industry. By 1913, it was exporting more than 20 times the volume of dyes coming out of Britain. During the First World War the only khaki dye available for British Army uniforms was manufactured in Germany, which, at first, it secretly imported. Read more | 10 WW1 generals you should know about For a time, khaki was replaced …

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Innocence under fire: how children were used in warfare of the past
type: item
date: 2021-09-12T05:06:00.000Z
subject: Ancient Greece
subject: First World War
subject: General Early Modern
subject: General Modern
subject: Medieval
subject: Period
subject: Second World War
subject: Children
subject: Second World War battles
subject: Soldiers
description: From medieval times to the modern day, young children have been put to tragic use in warfare. Emma Butcher and James Rogers tell their story
encoded: Children of “hard flesh” Wrenched from their homes at the age of seven, Sparta’s boys were battle-ready by 20 The ancient Greek city of Sparta was a military superpower, and its children were enveloped within this fighting ethos from a very early age. Soon after birth, a council of inspectors would judge a male infant’s physical attributes; if he was deemed unfit, the baby would most likely be abandoned on a nearby hillside. At the age of seven, Spartan boys were removed from their parents’ homes and conscripted into the ‘agoge’, a military training scheme. The first-century AD Roman historian Plutarch detailed their regime: “Their training was calculated to make them obey commands well, endure hardships and conquer in battle… When they were 12 years old, they no longer had tunics to wear, received one cloak a year, had hard flesh and knew little of baths.” Despite the boys’ early military education, the Spartans didn’t entertain the concept of a child army. From a practical perspective, children weren’t strong enough to handle the heavy weapons of the time. Instead, the youthful recruits served by conducting menial chores, such as bearing shields and mats for the more senior warriors. It was only when he turned 20 years old that a Spartan man would be deemed fit to serve as a soldier of the state. Read more: Were there really only 300 Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae? The fearless fledglings of God Armed with the gospel, a young Christian army set off on a crusade to Jerusalem. It turned out to be mission impossible In 1212, around 30,000 children from across Europe banded together and marched towards Jerusalem. Although the facts are marred by mythology and a lack of historical sources, we know that their aim was to peacefully convert Muslims to Christianity. Versions of the story – over 50 of which have been found dating back to the 13th century – tell us of various child leaders marching to the Holy Land. One was a young French boy, Stephen of Cloyes, who b…

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Witnesses to the Berlin Wall
type: item
date: 2021-08-13T12:09:10.000Z
subject: 20th Century
subject: Cold War
subject: General Modern
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Soldiers
description: A panel of eyewitnesses recall their memories of the divided city and the dramatic events of November 1989
encoded: As we approach the 60th anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s construction, Major General Sir Robert Corbett and journalists Mark Wood and Alastair Stewart discuss their memories of the divided city and the dramatic events of November 1989. The discussion is chaired by the author Iain MacGregor. Iain MacGregor is the author of Checkpoint Charlie: The Cold War, the Berlin Wall and the Most Dangerous Place on Earth (Constable, 2019) Buy now on Bookshop.org Buy now on Amazon Buy now on Waterstones

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Building utopia after WW1
type: item
date: 2021-08-09T13:29:57.000Z
subject: First World War
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Soldiers
description: Following the horrors of the First World War, people around the world set out to create “perfect” societies – with mixed results. Anna Neima charts their efforts
encoded: Left traumatised by the horrors of the First World War, between the 1920s and 1940s people around the world set out to create “perfect” societies – with mixed results. Anna Neima, author of The Utopians: Six Attempts to Build the Perfect Society, charts their efforts. Anna Neima is the author of The Utopians: Six Attempts to Build the Perfect Society (Pan Macmillan, 2021) Buy now on Bookshop.org Buy now on Amazon Buy now on Waterstones

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Oliver Cromwell’s remarkable rise to power
type: item
date: 2021-08-02T14:40:48.000Z
creator: Professor Ronald Hutton
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Stuart
subject: Soldiers
description: Ronald Hutton discusses Oliver Cromwell’s early life and career, exploring the brilliance and cruelty of the future Lord Protector
encoded: Historian Ronald Hutton discusses Oliver Cromwell’s early life and career, exploring the brilliance and cruelty of the future Lord Protector and explaining how he rose from obscurity to become one of the dominant figures of the age. Ronald Hutton is the author of The Making of Oliver Cromwell (Yale, due to be published 10 August) Buy now on Bookshop.org Buy now on Amazon <a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?id=489797&clickref=historyextra-183816&awinmid=3787&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fthe-making-of-oliver-cromwell%2Fronald-hutton%2F%2F9780300257458%3Fawaid%3D3787%26utm_source%3Dredbrain%26utm_medium%3Dshopping%26utm_campaign%3Dcss%26gclid%3DCjwKCAjwr56IBhAvEiwA1fuqGqetttghKWSLjkPVav_MzUTX1JTfW1D-68Vgr8muo23kdTYq-PzZwhoC1pYQAvD_BwE" target="_blank" rel="sponsored">Buy now on Waterstones

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10 facts you (probably) didn't know about the First World War
type: item
date: 2020-03-10T10:00:13.000Z
creator: Dr Seán Lang
subject: First World War
subject: Period
subject: Soldiers
description: It's one of the most well-documented conflicts in history, but how much do you know about World War One (also known as the First World War and the Great War)? Here, Seán Lang reveals 10 lesser-known facts about the global conflict fought between 1914 and 1918...
encoded: Also known as the Great War, the First World War was a global conflict primarily fought between two groups: the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria and Italy) and the Triple Entente (Great Britain, France and Russia). It began on 28 July 1914, following the assassination of Franz Ferdinand a month earlier, and ended on 11 November 1918 with the signing of a ceasefire, or 'armistice'. It's one of the most well-documented conflicts in history, but how much do you know about World War One? Discover 10 surprising facts below... The alliance system didn’t cause the war Many people assume that the war resulted directly from the alliance structure that bound all the European great powers together before 1914. Germany was allied to Austria-Hungary and Italy; Russia was allied to France, and both countries had an entente (a diplomatic agreement) with Britain. Who was involved in the First World War? Who was on each side? Why didn’t the Allies march on Berlin in 1918? 10 ways Christmas was celebrated during the First World War The alliances certainly contributed to the prewar build-up of tension between the great powers but, perhaps surprisingly, none of these alliances actually produced a declaration of war. In July 1914 Germany gave Austria-Hungary a sweeping guarantee of support known as the ‘Blank Cheque’, which went far beyond the terms of their formal alliance. The French came in because Germany launched a pre-emptive strike against them; Britain declared war not because of the entente agreements but because the Germans invaded Belgium, and Italy first kept out of the war and then came in against its own allies! There were special battalions for short soldiers The minimum height requirement for the British Army was 5ft 3ins, but many shorter men were caught up in the recruiting enthusiasm of August 1914 and were keen to enlist. Rather reluctantly the War Office established a number of ‘bantam battalions’, attached to more conventional regiments. Many bantams were coal min…

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Indians in the trenches
type: item
date: 2020-01-29T12:22:58.000Z
subject: First World War
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Soldiers
description: George Morton-Jack reflects on the contributions made by the Indian soldiers who fought for Britain in the First World War
encoded: George Morton-Jack, historian and author of The Indian Empire at War, reflects on the contributions made by the vast number of Indian soldiers who fought for Britain in the First World War.

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