Articles Archive

Adolf Hitler flanked by two of his top lieutenants, Reich Minister of Armaments Albert Speer to his left, and Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, chief of the Luftwaffe on his right. Göring was sometimes vexed by the activities of his “good” brother, Albert.

The ‘Good’ Göring

By Eric Niderost

On March 12, 1938, German troops entered Austria, part of Adolf Hitler’s plan to incorporate that hapless country into the Third Reich. Read more

U.S. Marines make their way across a low stone wall as they seek out hidden Japanese positions on bloody Okinawa.

Sugar Loaf Hill Survival: U.S. Marines in the Okinawa Campaign

By John Wukovits

The grimy, weary Marines heard with little emotion the instructions shouted by their officer. He wanted them to mount yet another charge to the top of the nondescript hill blocking their way, another collection of rock housing an enemy that tried to halt their advance. Read more

Japan in World War II: Dealing With Known Unknowns

by Lt. Col. John W. Whitman, U.S. Army (ret.)

Planning a war requires assumptions. However, there should be as few assumptions as possible, otherwise one can assume away all one’s problems. Read more

Continental Army units march toward Guilford Courthouse in a modern painting by Keith Rocco. Greene would use similar tactics to those employed by Brig. Gen. Daniel Morgan in his triumph over British forces at Cowpens two months earlier.

Showdown at Guilford Courthouse

By William E. Welsh

American militiamen with their lungs heaving, hearts pounding, and eyes bulging with terror ran for their lives as soon as the British and Hessian troops in their bright red and blue uniforms came ashore at Kips Bay on Manhattan Island. Read more

On November 10, 1942, American troops occupy a machine-gun position in North Africa. The troops met sporadic resistance from Vichy French forces.

General Mark Clark’s Secret Mission to North Africa

by Jon Mikolashek

Rain battered the shore and the seas were rough on the night of October 21, 1942. Under the surface of the water, a submarine carried the Allies’ best hope for turning the tide of war in 1942. Read more

The Redoubts At Yorktown

By Jessica J. Sheets

At nightfall on October 14, 1781, 150 British and Hessian soldiers sheltered in two small earthen fortifications at Yorktown, Virginia. Read more

The Battle of the Bulge & The Defense of St. Vith

By Charles Gutierrez

The U.S. 9th Armored Division arrived in the European Theater of Operations in late October 1944 as a reserve for Maj. Read more

Joe Dimaggio, the famed Yankee Clipper, steals home during a game against the Chicago White Sox in May 1942. Dimaggio set a record the previous season for his 56-game hitting streak.

Baseball Goes to War

By Roy Morris Jr.

In December 1941, after four decades of play in the same sixteen eastern and midwestern cities, major league baseball was finally coming to the west coast. Read more

A tongue-in-cheek British cartoon from 1819 lampoons the idea of adapting the newly invented bicycle for military use.

Military Bicycles

By Peter Suciu

Anyone who has ever visited Europe—particularly France, Italy, and the Netherlands—knows that the people in those countries love their bicycles. Read more

Pete Ellis: Father of Amphibious Warfare

by Al Hemingway

He suffered from acute alcoholism and severe bouts of depression. As a result of his heavy drinking, he would wander about for days yelling incoherently. Read more

Titian’s 16th-century portrait of heavily armored Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.

Helmet Designs Through the Ages

By William J. McPeak

Battle helmets shaped to partially cover the face and adorned with various facial features are of ancient origin. Read more

Operation Matterhorn

by John Kennedy Ohl

Most writings about World War II tend to attribute the success or failure of military operations to the skill with which generals and admirals handled their forces in battle and to the fighting abilities of soldiers, sailors, and airmen. Read more

Winston Churchill’s Escape During The Battle of Spion Kop

By Herman T. Voelkner

At the start of the Second Boer War in 1899, Winston Churchill sailed to Cape Town, South Africa, where he served as a journalist for the Morning Post. Read more

Smoke billows from a generator employed at Ludwigshafen along the banks of the Rhine River. The ruins of the city of Mannheim, Germany, are visible in the background.

Smokescreens: Fighting for Metz

By Jon Latimer

With the defeat of the German Seventh Army and the closing of the Falaise Gap in the summer of 1944, the Allies pursued the retreating enemy across France. Read more

An Acre of Massacre: The Second Boer War’s Battle of Spion Kop

By Herman T. Voelkner

The century of conflict that would introduce the concept of total war to the world had its bloody roots on an obscure hilltop in the remote South African veldt. Read more

Battle of Rennell Island: A Fiery End for the USS Chicago

by John Domagalski

With bond clerk Marge Henning standing by as a witness, Colonel Frank Eldridge removed the first piece of the puzzle. Read more

Utilizing the natural terrain around Puebla, French Zoaves take cover while preparing to move on Mexican positions. Despite the superior pedigree of Comte de Lorencez’s French forces, General Ignacio Zargaoza’s homegrown defenders would serve as more than a match.

“Viva El Cinco de Mayo!” The Battle of Puebla

By Ron Gilliam

A hard, late-afternoon rain was falling on May 5, 1862, and the slopes at the foot of Puebla, Mexico’s twin forts were too slippery for another assault. Read more

The OSS’ Operation Cardinal: Locating General Jonathan Wainwright

By John Mancini

On May 6, 1942, in the Malinta Tunnel, Corregidor Island, General Jonathan Wainwright waited for the Japanese to respond to his surrender offer with a cease-fire. Read more

Sergeant Amos Humiston at Gettysburg

By Kevin Hymel

Two brigades of Confederate soldiers crested a slight hill above a wheat field and looked down on the blue clad soldiers waiting for them in the brickyard below. Read more

American and Filipino troops raise their hands in surrender after emerging from Malinta Tunnel on the island of Corregidor. The victorious Japanese captured thousands of prisoners during the largest mass capitulation of U.S. military personnel in the nation’s history.

WWII Veterans: Donald L. Versaw, From Shanghai to Corregidor

By Eric Niderost

Donald L. Versaw joined the U.S. Marine Corps on Armistice Day, November 11, 1939. After basic training and a stint in the Marine Corps Operating Base Band in San Diego, he was sent overseas to join the Fourth Marines Band in Shanghai. Read more

From Around the Network

U.S. Involvement in WWII: How (and How Much) the Military Grew

“Do You Recognize My Voice?”: The Question That Ended Operation Valkyrie

Harry Truman on the Western Front

Tom McCarthy’s ‘The Greatest Military Mission Stories Ever Told’