Editorial

City Point Bombing

By William E. Welsh

By the Summer of 1864, it was no longer likely the Army of Northern Virginia would invade the North a third time, would launch another major offensive, or even drive Union forces away from Richmond and Petersburg. Read more

Gudrun Himmler with her father Heinrich at a Nazi sports festival, 1938.

Editorial

Death of a Nazi Princess

It seems that every month there is a news item that relates to World War II. Here’s one you may have missed:

Gudrun Margarete Elfriede Emma Anna Himmler Burwitz, the true-believing daughter of Heinrich Himmler, head of the dreaded SS and one of Adolf Hitler’s closest henchmen, died in or near Munich last year. Read more

Members of the U.S. Navy boarding party stand in the conning tower of the Type IXC German submarine U-505 while a small pump is used to remove water from the craft and prevent it from being scuttled. The submarine’s twin 20mm antiaircraft gun mount is visible to the rear of the activity.

Editorial

Capturing U-505 was a staggering blow against the ravaging Wolfpacks.

By June 1943, when a U.S. Navy task group under the command of Captain Daniel Gallery captured the Nazi submarine U-505 on the high seas—the first such seizure of the an enemy warship by the American navy since the War of 1812—Allied forces were obviously wresting the initiative in the Battle of the Atlantic from the rampaging Wolfpacks of the Kriegsmarine directed by Admiral Karl Dönitz. Read more

Lieutenant Commander Eddie Outlaw waves to crewmen on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Langley sometime after the April 1944 raid on Truk Lagoon.

Editorial

Operation Hailstone devastated the Japanese anchorage at Truk.

Despite the fact that the massive anchorage at Truk Lagoon in the Caroline Islands had become more untenable with each passing day as the American pincer executed its “Island Hopping” strategy in the autumn of 1943 and the following spring, the harbor remained a tempting target for U.S. Read more

Hitler confers with his subordinates Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel (left) and Field Marshal Walter von Brauchitsch (center) as the three contemplate a military map on the table before them. As Operation Barbarossa progressed, Hitler sacked Brauchitsch and took personal command of all German forces on the Eastern Front. TOP: The burned-out hulks of Soviet T-26 light tanks destroyed during early fighting against the invading Nazis lie derelict on the battlefield.

Editorial

Auction of Hitler Notes Sparks Controversy

A recent auction of handwritten speech notes scrawled by none other than Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany, aroused the ire of Jewish groups, which find the commercial activity reprehensible since the Nazi regime was responsible for the deaths of more than six million Jews during the 12 years of the Third Reich. Read more

Editorial

Meade’s Impressive Performance at Fredericksburg Earned Him Army Command

George Gordon Meade did not want command of the Army of the Potomac when it was thrust upon him on the eve of the Battle of Gettysburg seven months after the Union defeat at Fredericksburg, but he had the distinction of being the division commander who had led the successful Union assault during the bloody battle in December 1862 on the south side of the Rappahannock River. Read more

Editorial

A D-Day Theme Park?

In the midst of numerous observations around the globe to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, the most cataclysmic collective event in human history, comes a puzzling—if not downright troubling—business venture that calls into question just how future generations may perceive the events of the great conflict. Read more

Editorial

Adolf Hitler’s Last Birthday.

On April 20, 1945, Adolf Hitler observed his 56th, and last, birthday. There was little to celebrate. The so-called “Thousand Year Reich” was in its death throes after only 12. Read more