What’s in a Name?

Gentlemen:

Your publication is without question one of the better historical magazines. Until …

While reading the features section I noticed this title found at page 38: “Duel at Hampton Roads” by Keith Milton. Read more

The Alamo captured the imagination, but San Jacinto won the state.

One of the most decisive battles in American history is also one little discussed, the April 21, 1836 Battle of San Jacinto. Read more

Alanbrooke’s ‘War Diaries 1939-1945’

Outside the Ministry of Defense in London is a statue of one of the most influential yet overlooked leaders of World War II—an officer considered by many to have done more than any other to defeat Adolf Hitler’s Germany. Read more

Polish Armed Forces

Dear Sir:

Just finished reading the March issue of WWII History. It was very factual, especially “Silent Blitzkrieg: The Fall of Eben Emael.” Read more

The relationship between Mussolini and Hitler was not always one of mutual admiration.

When Adolf Hitler sent German troops to Greece to help extricate his Italian allies from an embarrassing situation, he was, in part, repaying a debt to Benito Mussolini for being given a free hand in Austria three years earlier. Read more

Destroyer Matchup at Kula Gulf

The Allied invasion of New Georgia began on June 30, 1943, when a large part of the U.S. Read more

Heinz Gunther Guderian’s ‘From Normandy to the Ruhr’

Not just another historian’s reenactment of the outcome of World War II, From Normandy to the Ruhr: With the 116th Panzer Division in Word War II is at once a well-crafted and deeply researched scholarly narration and a “multi-tiered memoir”—immaculately translated (a task often overlooked and underrated)—into a definitive history of the ubiquitously employed “Greyhound Division.” Read more

Collecting German Helmets of World War II

In the annals of 20th-century warfare the modern combat helmet has easily become one of the most recognizable pieces of battlefield equipment. Read more

Military Intelligence in the Roman Republic

Much of Julius Caesar’s military successes in the late Roman Republic stemmed not only from his ability as a leader of men and from tactical prowess on the battlefield, but also from his understanding of the importance of military intelligence. Read more

The Russian T-34 Tank

Early in World War II, German panzer forces trampled all foes. Confidence suffused the Germans, and their tank designs stagnated. Read more

Operation Overlord

Dear Editor:

I enjoyed your article on Operation Overlord (February 2002). The beaches of Normandy will always be engraved in America’s mind. Read more

Gettysburg

Don Williams’ story on the Devil’s Den allows me an opening to write about the Battle of Gettysburg. To the myriad words on the conflict, I add the following. Read more

Prelude To Pearl Harbor

The flight deck of HMS Illustrious had become a very busy place. Aircraft were being raised to the flight deck, aircraft handlers were attending to their tasks, and on the command deck there was an air of anxiety. Read more

Kenneth S. Davis’ ‘FDR: The War President 1940-1943’

No American president has had to shoulder heavier burdens than Franklin D. Roosevelt did in the tense months after Japanese carrier planes crippled the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Read more

Maps

Dear Editor:

Congratulations on your premier issue of WWII History. I found the content to be interesting, the text informative, and the photographs and paintings to be of fine quality. Read more

Attack and defend, the classic quandary

In the title role of the film classic Patton, actor George C. Scott utters words to the effect that fixed fortifications are monuments to the stupidity of man. Read more

Better Or Best: The B-17 Vs. The B-24

One of the most frequently discussed arguments to come out of World War II is which was the “better” bomber, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress or the Consolidated B-24 Liberator. Read more

Bloody Betio: The Assault on Tarawa

Pfc. Clayton Jay of Lamesa, Texas, was watching the sunrise from the attack transport Zeilin in the early morning hours of November 19, 1943. Read more

American Baptism of Fire at Kasserine Pass

The North African sky was clear and cold on the evening of February 13, 1943, as American General Dwight D. Read more

Stanley Weintraub’s ‘Long Day’s Journey into War’

Everyone who was alive on that fateful Sunday morning remembers it all too clearly, and those born later are well aware of what befell the U.S. Read more