Articles Archive

A British soldier searches for a dead comrade’s identity disc after the disastrous attack at the Somme. Painting by Frank Crozier, who also took part in a similar British rout at Gallipoli.

A Hobbit on the Somme

By O’Brien Browne

Smoke and ash drifted across the shattered ground. Dead faces peered up with lidless eyes from pools of stagnant water. Read more

On the morning of December 7, 1941, a U.S. Army Air Force B-17 bomber seeks a place to land after flying into the midst of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and other military installations on the island of Oahu. A flight of 12 B-17s—in transit from California to the Philippines—had taken off from Hamilton Field the previous evening for the 14-hour night flight.

Lieutenant Commander Shigeru Itaya, sitting in his gray Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero, led two other fighters on another strafing run on the parking ramps and hangars of Hickam Army Air Base on Oahu. Read more

Russian model builder Alex Shlakhter poses with his 1/16 scale Panther tank.

Mobile Models

By Peter Suciu

Almost as long as there have been history buffs there have been scale models. Toy soldiers have been popular among children for hundreds of years, but it was the introduction of specialized military vehicles that really gave birth to scale models after World War I. Read more

The American Air Museum in Duxford

By Roy Stevenson

In the lush, green rural community of Duxford, a 20-minute bus ride from the university town of Cambridge, the American Air Museum in Britain houses the finest collection of historic American combat aircraft outside the United States. Read more

On December 18, 1944, a patrol from the U.S. 1st Infantry Division (Company F, 3rd Bn., 18th IR) searches for Fallschirmjäger that were dropped between Eupen and Bütgenbach, Belgium. The “Big Red One” held out against the German 6th Panzer Army on the shoulder of the “Bulge” from December 17 until January 28, 1945.

A Rifleman at the Battle of the Bulge

By Robert F. Dorr

To American infantryman Rocky Moretto, war on the European continent in the winter of 1944-1945 was mostly about never getting enough sleep, warmth, respite, or relief. Read more

Residents of Warsaw search for the bodies of their neighbors in the rubble of an apartment building destroyed by a German bombing raid in September 1939.

Warsaw Witness

By Peter Zablocki

The large lamp shone down at him from the top of the ladder, the only light in the room of this bombed-out building. Read more

The Guadalcanal Mafia

By Alan Rems

Undertaken in haste and with slim resources, the Guadalcanal Campaign (Operation Watchtower) was America’s first offensive of World War II and it presented a unique set of challenges. Read more

German POWs march to their barracks at one of the many POW camps in the United States.

The Hanging of Werner Drechsler

By Colonel Samuel J. Rob (Ret.)

German U-boat crewman Werner Drechsler arrived at POW Camp Papago Park north of Tempe, Arizona, on March 12, 1944. Read more

Ground of Aces

By Joseph Luster

The Swiss-Polish indie devs behind World War II base-building strategy game Ground of Aces recently gave players even more to play around with in the first major update. Read more

Wolfhound

By Joseph Luster

There are plenty of alt-history World War II games to choose from out there, but few hit quite as hard as WOLFHOUND, the latest from Chasm developer Bit Kid. Read more

A Hard Mutt’s Life: “Military Dogs” in World War II

By Kevin Hymel

American men left behind a great deal when they left home to fight a world war. They lost their identities, their families, and almost all their worldly goods, but they improvised. Read more

The gallant men of the 1st Maryland (Confederate) Battalion charge the Union position atop Culp’s Hill on the morning of July 3 in a painting by Don Troiani. The attack, which was repulsed with heavy losses, sought to take advantage of the success of the previous day when the Confederates captured lower Culp’s Hill.

“Many Gallant Men Were Lost”

By Kelly Bell

Rifle flashes erupted at intervals on the base of the slope. The flashes gave away the location of the confederate troops advancing in large numbers in the darkness of the night of July 2, 1863, on the eastern side of Culp’s Hill southeast of the town of Gettysburg. Read more

A pair of Douglas SBD Dauntless dive-bombers depart a carrier in the Pacific as they embark on a mission in late July 1944.

Scout Squadron 6 During the Pearl Harbor Attack

By Richard L. Hayes

Many people have heard of the six American Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk fighters that actually got off the ground and contested the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. Read more

Ptolemy of Mauretania helped the Romans suppress the rebellious tribes. When he offended Caligula he was put to death.

Tacfarinas’ Berber Revolt Against Rome

By Ludwig Heinrich Dyck

Tacfarinas, a former soldier of Rome’s Numidian cavalry, reined in his steed at the edge of the cliff with the ease of one born in the saddle. Read more

SS Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich fell victim to Czech assassins in Prague.

The Assassination Of Reinhard Heydrich, The Butcher Of Prague

By Wil Deac

The morning sun caressed the hills of the Czech capital of Prague, coaxing a slight haze from the ancient city. Read more

Gatling guns were the first operational automatic weapons used by Ameri- can forces in combat. They helped turn the tide of the Battle of San Juan Hill where they mercilessly hammered Spanish trenches.

“Gatling Gun Parker” At the Battle of San Juan Hill

By Jim Foral

Along with the news of the American battleship Maine’s suspicious sinking in Havana harbor in February 1898 came the unmistakable scent of war. Read more

Once the airborne troops neutralized the batteries within range of Utah Beach, 4th Infantry Division soldiers, shown here, found it easier to move inland.

Screaming Eagles At Brécourt Manor

By Kevin Hymel

The mission was simple: “There’s fire along that hedgerow there. Take care of it.”

The order went to First Lieutenant Richard “Dick” Winters, the acting commander of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Read more