WWII

WWII

Charlie Bond’s Air Duels

By Bob Bergin

On May 4, 1942, American Volunteer Group (AVG) pilots Charlie Bond and Bob Little were in the alert area at Paoshan, China, a small grass aerodrome just north of Burma. Read more

WWII

The Kokoda Track Campaign: World War II’s Trail of Death

by A.B. Feuer

The Kokoda track campaign involved a trail that leada south along the western side of the Eora Creek Gorge and through the villages of Deniki and Isurava to a trail junction at Alola. Read more

WWII

‘Trail of Death’: The Kokoda Track

By A.B. Feuer

In 1994 James Anderson and a few other adventurers retraced the Australian Army’s withdrawal from Kokoda in 1942, and followed the track across the Owen Stanley Mountains. Read more

WWII

May 8, 1945: V-E Day and the Surrender of Germany

by Flint Whitlock

In May 1945—70 years ago—the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) sent out a terse, unemotional, 15-word communiqué: “The mission of this Allied force was fulfilled at 0241 local time, May 7, 1945.” Read more

WWII

British Military Intelligence: The ULTRA Project

by Brooke C. Stoddard

The casual reader of World War II history will come across the assertion that the Allies in Europe were reading the German codes. Read more

WWII

Veterans Day Special: A Gallery of Heroes

By Al Hemingway

When the United States was plunged into World War II on December 7, 1941, more than 16 million Americans answered their country’s call and donned a uniform. Read more

WWII

WWII Vehicles: The T-34 Russian Tank

By Arnold Blumberg

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

WWII

The Los Banos Raid: WWII’s Finest Allied Mission?

By Donald J. Roberts II

As the nine C-47s flew closer to the drop zone, the lead plane descended to an altitude of four hundred feet. Read more

WWII

Princess Ecaterina Caradja: Angel of Ploesti

By Duane Schultz

Lieutenant Richard Britt, navigator aboard a Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber named Chattanooga Choo Choo, woke up to find himself trapped in the wreckage. Read more

WWII

The Nazi Aircraft Carrier Program: Erich Raeder vs. Hermann Göring

by Blaine Taylor

On June 6, 1944, as the massive Allied naval armada made its way from ports in England across the English Channel to launch the projected D-day invasion at Normandy, a German fleet sortie swept down from its home ports on the North Sea and from occupied Norway. Read more

WWII

Operation Cobra: The High-Risk Follow-Up to the D-Day Invasion

by Brian Todd Carey

On June 6, 1944 the Allies opened the Second Front against Nazi Germany. Concentrated against the beaches of Normandy, Operation Overlord landed 20 army divisions plus support troops on five beaches in anticipation of a breakout across France and toward Berlin. Read more

WWII

Victory Delayed: The Battle for Air Supremacy in World War II

By Eric Hammel

The popular conception of the struggle in the air over northern Europe during World War II is of squadrons of sleek fighters racing over the German heartland to protect contrailed streams of lumbering bombers stretching beyond sight. Read more

WWII

Operation Overlord’s Colonel Alexis von Roenne

During the early part of 1944, an event took place that would change the outcome of World War II. It seemed insignificant at the time, but would have a profound influence upon Operation Overlord, code name for the invasion of German-occupied France, as well as the resulting Battle of Normandy and the breakout that followed.;
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WWII

Locating the Altmark: An RAF Rescue Mission Beyond Compare

By Eric Niderost

On the morning of February 16, 1940, two Royal Air Force Lockheed Hudson aircraft lifted off from Thornaby Airfield in northern England. Read more

WWII

The 36th Infantry ‘Texas’ Division in WWII

by Richard A. Beranty

The U.S. 36th Infantry Division, known as the “Texas” Division, was inducted into federal service on November 25, 1940, at Camp Bowie, Tex., Read more

WWII

A Sea Drama of Epic Proportions: The Altmark, Graf Spee & Cossack

By Eric Niderost

In the early months of World War II, Altmark, Graf Spee, and HMS Cossack all had important roles in a sea drama of epic proportions. Read more

WWII

MIS-X’s Shadowy Secrets: Aiding Allied POW Escapes

By Chuck Lyons

During World War II, one American intelligence unit was so secret it was known only by its post office box number, 1142. Read more

WWII

Operation Removal: Taking the Japanese Holdouts Near Saipan

by Al Hemingway

On September 2, 1945, representatives from the Allied and Japanese governments signed the peace treaty that ended World War II. Read more

WWII

World War II: A Campaign Against Oil? A Look at Ploesti

by Sam McGowan

World War II was the first fully mechanized war in history, and oil, both crude and synthetic, was a major factor in military planning. Read more

WWII

Frederick’s Devil’s Brigade & Bringing Back the V-42 Stiletto

By Michael Haskew

The fight at Monte La Difensa on December 3, 1943, was swift but brutal as members of the First Special Service Force, a combined unit of U.S. Read more