Closing the Falaise Pocket
By Mike PhiferAfter almost two months of bloody and desperate fighting, the Allies had failed to break through the German defenses that had been limiting their hold on Normandy since D-Day. Read more
Napoleon Bonaparte’s Unlikely Comeback at Lutzen
By Frank James RottmanAfter his disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812, French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte desperately needed to reassert his military dominance over Europe. Read more
Saving Face After the Surrender of Japan
By Ulrich A. StrausIt will not come as a surprise to American readers that when the Japanese emperor delivered his surrender message on August 15, 1945, Allied forces led by the United States had thoroughly defeated Japan’s naval and air power in the Pacific. Read more
Why Kaiser Wilhelm II Almost Attacked America’s East Coast
By Frank ZedeckIn the latter part of the 19th century, Germany’s young Kaiser, Wilhelm II, was anxious to play Weltpolitik (global politics) and expand his country’s influence beyond the borders of Europe, where Germany was already an acknowledged power player. Read more
Red Air Force Heroines: The Night Witches
By George Tipton WilsonIgnoring a nonaggression pact between Hitler and Stalin, Nazi Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, an invasion of the Soviet Union, on June 22, 1941. Read more
Brian Boru: Ireland’s Mighty Warrior King
By Ludwig Heinrich DyckIn 941 ad, in the fortress of Kincora overlooking the River Shannon just south of Lake Derg, Queen Be Bhionn gave birth to a son, Brian Mac Cennétig. Read more
Luftwaffe Raids: St. Paul’s Stands Proud
By David Alan JohnsonAt St. Paul’s Cathedral, the rooftop lookout telephoned the cathedral control center at 6 pm to report that air raid sirens were sounding off to the southwest. Read more
Collecting Vintage GI Joes
By Peter SuciuFor centuries, battalions of enthralled boys—and not a few grown men—have enjoyed playing with toy soldiers. By the end of the Victorian era, these toys included highly detailed three-dimensional soldiers made of lead and accurately painted in the colors of the various armies that would soon engage each other in a European War that engulfed the entire world. Read more
The Afrika Korps at El Alamein: Beginning of the End
By John BrownTobruk, the vital Libyan seaport on the coast of Cyrenaica, fell to General Erwin Rommel and his victorious Afrika Korps in less than 24 hours after an unexpected and devastating air, armor, and infantry attack on June 21, 1942. Read more
“I Order You To Die”
By Victor J. KamenirIn the English-speaking world, most students of military history would be hard-pressed to identify the time, place, or antagonists of the Canakkale Campaign. Read more
The Volkswagen Beetle
By Albert MrozThe Volkswagen, or “People’s Car,” that so many millions have known for more than half a century had its genesis in Nazi Germany. Read more
Fighting for the Hook
By Al HemingwayPeering intently through a telescope, General Lemuel C. Shepherd, the commandant of the Marine Corps, scanned the shell-pocked Korean terrain in front of his position. Read more
The Great German Escape
By Charles WhitingDevizes in southern England had had a quiet war. It had not suffered any bombing as most English cities had. Read more
Captured Allied Armor: Enemy Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing
By Christopher MiskimonThe German crewmen occupied the various stations in their tank as they approached the American roadblock ahead. It was 2100 hours on Christmas Eve, 1944, just outside the town of Manhay, Luxembourg, which was occupied by elements three different U.S. Read more
“Hitler’s most brilliant general” in France, Poland, and on the Eastern Front
By Lt. Col. Harold E. Raugh, Jr., Ph.D., U.S. Army (Ret.)World War II German Army Field Marshal Erich von Manstein was considered by many to have been “Hitler’s most brilliant general” and “the ablest commander in their Army.” Read more
The 17th Indian Division in Burma: Disaster on the Sittang
By Marc D. BernsteinThe Japanese looked unstoppable. Two divisions of the 15th Army had crossed from Thailand into Burma in mid-January 1942, bent on capturing Rangoon before the British could land reinforcements and block the seizing of the Burma Road. Read more
Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess: Foe or Ally?
By Sherman GenglerThroughout the reign of the Nazi Party in Germany during the 1930s and 1940s, Adolf Hitler’s inner circle comprised a diverse group of men from many walks of life. Read more
Border Dispute Sparks the Mexican-American War
By R.L. HealyWhen Texas entered the Union in 1845, after nine uneasy years as an independent republic, the mutual grievances between Mexico and the United States threatened to erupt into open hostilities. Read more
The USS Utah: The Memorial & The Pearl Harbor Paradox
By Richard KlobucharVery few among the throngs of visitors to Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu are aware of an anomaly, but it definitely exists in the case of the USS Utah. Read more
Triumph of “The Nelson Touch”
By Jonas L. GoldsteinWhen the Treaty of Amiens was signed on April 1, 1802, bringing peace between France and Great Britain after nearly a decade of war, there was wild rejoicing in England. Read more
