WWII

Captain Dick Winters: The Island

WWII

Captain Dick Winters: The Island

By Kevin M. Hymel

Airborne divisions were designed as light troops, relying on the shock value of landing to the enemy’s rear, and giving the Allies a third dimension of attack. Read more

WWII

The Nazi ‘Gold Train Incident’

By Peter Kross

By the spring of 1945, Hitler’s thousand year Reich had come crashing down in flames. The Allied armies that had landed at Normandy almost one year earlier had penetrated deep inside Germany. Read more

General Ushijima's Support in Okinawa

WWII

General Ushijima’s Support in Okinawa

by John Wukovits

Lieutenant General Ushijima heavily depended upon two staff officers who, although differing in temperament, formed along with the general as effective a commanding trio as the Marines faced in the Pacific. Read more

WWII

The Fairey Swordfish Torpedo Plane a.k.a. Stringbag

By Glenn Barnett

The spring of 1941, particularly the month of May, was a troubled time for Great Britain. The German battleship Bismarck had sunk the huge British battlecruiser Hood in just six minutes and was making a getaway to the coast of German-occupied France. Read more

WWII

WWII Battles: Airborne Drop into Sicily

by Michael E. Haskew

When American and British airborne troops lifted off from bases in North Africa and headed toward drop zones in Sicily during the early morning hours of July 9, 1943, the plan began to unravel almost immediately. Read more

Admiral William F. “Bull” Halsey earned a legendary reputation for daring and boldness as commander of the U.S. Third Fleet.

WWII

Admiral William F. “Bull” Halsey

By Glenn Barnett

Just before dawn, the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise turned into the wind to launch her planes. Nervous and excited pilots roared into the darkness of the vast Pacific toward the unsuspecting Japanese. Read more

In the late 1940s Joseph Stalin fabricated criminal cases to accuse a number of Communist politicians of Treason during The Leningrad Affair.

WWII

Joseph Stalin’s ‘Leningrad Affair’

by Richard Rule

Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin harbored a great suspicion of the people of Leningrad, even after the war.

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Stalin had always suspected that the non-conformist and spirited Leningraders might one day rise up against him as they had done against their leaders in the 1917 revolution. Read more

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

Today, May 8, 1945 is known as "V-E Day," marking the surrender of Germany and the Axis powers in Europe.

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