Blue and Gray at Omaha Beach
By Major General Michael ReynoldsThe U.S. 29th Infantry Division was formed in July 1917, three months after America entered World War I. Read more
Submarine Special Missions in the Pacific
By Steven Trent SmithSunsets over Manila Bay are nothing less than spectacular. Once the sun dips below the horizon there is a lingering illumination known as “blue hour” as the sky gradually shifts from pale azure to deep indigo before fading completely into the black tropical night. Read more
Project Habakkuk’s Iceberg Aircraft Carrier
By Stephen D. LutzDuring World War II British and American aircraft carriers, serviced and ready for naval combat, averaged 20,000 to 30,000 tons. Read more
D-Day Funnies: No Joke to the Nazis
By Michael D. HullGerman defenders hunkered in their concrete and steel bunkers along the Normandy coast were in for two major shocks on Tuesday, June 6, 1944. Read more
Hot Chow on the Frontlines
By Kevin M. HymelFrom the training grounds to the battlefront, soldiers and Marines usually dined on C and K rations. Read more
Undeclared War in the Atlantic
By James I. MarinoBetween September 1939 and December 1941, the United States moved from neutral to active belligerent in an undeclared naval war against Nazi Germany. Read more
Sinking the Shokaku
By Johnd DomagalskiOn the morning of June 13, 1944, the brilliant new aircraft carrier Taiho weighed anchor and slowly moved out of Tawi-Tawi anchorage in the Sulu archipelago in the southwestern Philippines. Read more
Key to the Normandy Breakout: The Hill Over St. Lo
By Cleve C. BarkleyThe darkness held a terror of its own—any false movement or unwarranted sound could easily betray the presence of the 16-man patrol that crept ever closer to the enemy lines. Read more
OSS in Germany
By John ManciniBy the autumn of 1944, most of Nazi-occupied Europe had been liberated by Allied forces. The conquering armies now faced the invasion of the German homeland. Read more
Tank Battle in Happy Valley: 1st Armored Division in the Run for Tunis
By Christopher MiskimonThe U.S. Army entered the war in North Africa in November 1942, eager to engage the German and Italian armies and prove itself their equal. Read more
The Nuremberg Tribunal: Otto Ohlendorf and the Einsatzgruppen Face Judgment
By Lance D. JonesTo plead Superior Orders one must show an inexcusable ignorance of their illegality. The sailor who voluntarily ships on a pirate craft may not be heard to answer that he was ignorant of the probability that he would be called upon to help in the robbing and sinking of other vessels … a man who sails under the flag of skull and crossbones cannot say that he never expected to fire a cannon against a merchantman,” wrote Judge John L. Read more
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress: Stories from a WWII Pilot
By Lester F. RentmeesterThe following story describes one of our air raids when I was piloting a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress during World War II. Read more
“Why I Hate My Uncle”: Hitler’s Nephew’s Letter to FDR
By Michael E. HaskewIt may come as a surprise to many that Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler failed to win the cooperation of all his family members for the dark vision of an Aryan Germany and a new world order. Read more
Operation Felix: Franco and Hitler Play Cat and Mouse
By Michael D. HullAfter his heady series of victories in the spring and early summer of 1940, Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler was in for a frustrating six months. Read more
One Vote Against War
By Gary KidneyOn December 8, 1941, America was still shocked by news of war. President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared that the day before had been “a date which will live in infamy” because of the “unprovoked and dastardly attack” by Japan on Pearl Harbor. Read more
“My Sister and I”: An Elaborate Literary Hoax
By Sheldon WinklerDuring World War II, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, from her exile in London, urged her staff to find a 12-year-old Dutch boy, Dirk van der Heide. Read more
Carlson’s Long Patrol: Marine Raiders at Guadalcanal
By Christopher MiskimonOn the morning of November 6, 1942, a force of 267 Marines took its first steps into the jungle from a landing point at Aola Bay, roughly 30 miles east of the American perimeter on Guadalcanal. Read more
A 3.7-Inch AT Gun? A Wartime What-If…
By Jon DiamondThe often see-saw action across the North African littoral from 1940-1942 was fostered in part by both the British and Axis forces racing to innovate and implement novel tactics and upgraded weaponry. Read more
Raid on Rommel
By John BrownBy early April 1941, Lt. Gen. Erwin Rommel’s German Afrika Korps, combined with Italian units, had cleared the British from Libya except for the seaport of Tobruk. Read more
Taking Tinian: Crucial Airfield in the Marianas
By Nathan N. PreferThe Marines were tired, eager for a rest and the opportunity to get themselves and their equipment back into battle condition. Read more
