Andrew Knighton

Andrew Knighton is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE

Articles by Andrew Knighton:

Harry Errington: The Only London Fireman to Earn a George Cross for Service in the Blitz

The bombing campaigns of WWII put a massive strain on firefighters. In both Britain and Germany, campaigns of deliberate destruction set cities alight. Not just…

Godfrey Place: World War Two Submariner, Future Admiral, And Victoria Cross Recipient

A daring submarine exploit of the Second World War was an attempt to sink the battleship Tirpitz using midget submarines. One man who came close…

Hugh Seagrim, Who Fought WW2 from Behind Japanese Lines

In the small Karen village of Mewado, Burma, two men stood smoking cigarettes. The owner of the cigarettes, Captain Inoue, was an officer in the…

Nine Reasons Why The Allies Won The Battle of Britain

The most famous aerial battle in history, the Battle of Britain was a hard fought and desperate struggle to hold back Nazi Germany. Having launched…

A Terrible Mistake – Why The USSR Ignored Britain’s Warnings of Impending Invasion

On June 22, 1941, Germany invaded the USSR. It was a move that came as a shock to the Soviets, but less so to the…

The First Thousand-Bomber Raid – Changing the WWII Air War

From the start of the Second World War, Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) committed themselves to a particular bombing strategy. They believed that, with heavy…

The British POW Who Saved Hundreds of Jews from Death at Auschwitz

Few people have had a more ironic name that Charles Coward. This Second World War soldier risked his life while a prisoner of the Nazis,…

Two Childhood Friends Helped Found an Elite WW2 Unit Then Died on the Same Day, Hundreds of Miles Apart

Founded in 1940 during the difficult days of the Second World War, the Small Scale Raiding Force was an elite British naval unit. The predecessor…

Fog Of War – Often, the Allies Couldn’t Tell if Bombing Campaigns Were Working

Destructive bombing raids against Germany were a vital part of World War Two. They let the Allies lash out against the Nazi war machine long…

21-Year-Old Bomber Pilot Who Died Saving His Comrades in WWII

On the night of May 30, 1942, Britain launched its largest bombing raid so far in World War Two. Of the 1,047 bombers that flew,…

Sergeant Major Stanley Hollis, Recipient of the Only Victoria Cross for D-Day

The D-Day landings on June 6, 1944, saw many acts of courage. One man stood out and achieved the distinction of being the only person…

Otto Skorzeny: Hitler’s Elite SS Commando Leader of World War Two

In September 1943, Hitler sent SS commandoes to rescue his ally Mussolini from the new Italian government. For the man leading the raid, Otto Skorzeny,…