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Free Republic University, Department of History presents World War II Plus 70 Years: Seminar and Discussion Forum
First session: September 1, 2009. Last date to add: September 2, 2015.
Reading assignment: New York Times articles delivered daily to students on the 70th anniversary of original publication date. (Previously posted articles can be found by searching on keyword “realtime” Or view Homer’s posting history .)
To add this class to or drop it from your schedule notify Admissions and Records (Attn: Homer_J_Simpson) by freepmail. Those on the Realtime +/- 70 Years ping list are automatically enrolled. Course description, prerequisites and tuition information is available at the bottom of Homer’s profile. Also visit our general discussion thread

Selections from West Point Atlas for the Second World War
The Far East and the Pacific, 1941 – Operations of the Japanese First Air Fleet, 7 December 1941-12 March 1942
The Far East and the Pacific, 1941 – American Carrier Operations, 7 December 1941-18 April 1942
Micronesia, Melanesia and New Guinea: Japanese Centrifugal Offensive-Japanese Fourth Fleet and South Seas Detachment Operations, December 1941-April 1942
Luzon, P.I., 1941: Centrifugal Offensive, 10 December 1941-6 May 1942-Fourteenth Army Operations on Luzon
Netherlands East Indies, 1941: Japanese Centrifugal Offensive, December 1941-April 1942, Sixteenth Army and Southern Force (Navy) Operations
Southern Asia, 1941: Japanese Centrifugal Offensive (and Continued Operations), January-May 1942
Eastern Europe, 1941: Soviet Winter Offensive – Operations, 6 December 1941-7 May 1942
North Africa, 1940: Rommel’s Second Offensive, 21 January-7 July 1942

February 15, 1942:

"The first mass gassings of Jews at the Auschwitz, Poland, death camp begin."

"As Reich minister for armaments and war production from 1942 to 1945, Albert Speer was an extremely important man within the Third Reich.
His personal friendship with Hitler and his exceptional organizational skills propelled him from an assistant architect to a highly influential insider within the Nazi regime.

"Hitler, who fancied himself a student of architecture, became Speer's personal mentor after witnessing his flair for visual pageantry.
Speer perfected the Nazi style of public parades and Party rallies that characterized Hitler's regime.
The megalomaniac passions of the two men were realized in the design plans for Berlin and Nuremberg, where the power and durability of the Third Reich were to be etched in stone.

"Speer's managerial talents produced near-miracles for the German war machine.
As minister of armaments, Speer kept the Army supplied in spite of massive Allied bombing.
Unscrupulous in his use of slave labor, Speer is credited with prolonging the war for at least two years.

"Speer parted company with Hitler in 1945 when he refused der Führer 's order to destroy German industries.
At the Nuremberg Trials, Speer professed to accept responsibility for his actions and was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment.
He was released in 1966.
While in prison, Speer wrote his widely read book, Inside the Third Reich.
He died in 1981."

I never thought about the Japanese using Parachutists. This is news to me. Thanks.

BTW, with China building a huge modern Navy, will they be tempted to try what Japan did? Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Australia need their own nukes.

It is a sad world.