#OnThisDay in 1942, British troops landed on the island of #Madagascar. The British assumed the French would pit up little resistance, but the subsequent campaign lasted almost exactly six months.
It was the first major Allied amphibious invasion of the #SecondWorldWar, with the first use of tank landing ships (LSTs), and the first use of tanks in an amphibious operation.
The memorial to child victims of war at #Lidice - 82 sculptures of children, cast in bronze. I've seen it in person, and it's a very powerful piece. It's also in need of restoration.
For my #birthday later this month, I'm asking for #donations to the restoration fund.
My book, "A Ray of Light: Reinhard Heydrich, #Lidice and the North Staffordshire Miners" is currently #DriveThruFiction's deal of the day - discounted by 60%
Note that if you have a #DriveThruRPG or #WargameVault account, you can use those details to log in to DriveThruFiction.
#OnThisDay in 1942, Vichy French forces on Madagascar requested surrender terms, but prolonged negotiations until after midnight. This meant the campaign officially lasted six months, and their men would receive war pensions and campaign medals.
The whole campaign is fascinating for many reasons. I first became interested in it when I discovered that Tetrarch tanks were used, as standard light tanks, the role that they were designed for. https://russellphillips.uk/madagascar/
Gah. I've just visited a #SecondWorldWar group on Facebook, and the first two posts I saw were wrong.
One had a photo of a Sturmtiger claiming it was a Maus.
The other mentioned the Victoria Cross. It correctly mentioned that only one person won the VC twice during the war, but then listed how many VCs were awarded by country, and missed out New Zealand. Charles Upham, the man who won it twice, was a New Zealander.