WWII Archives

WWII

Heroic Defense of Hong Kong

By David H. Lippman

With rhythmic tread, the Canadian soldiers marched behind the bagpipers of the Royal Scots up Nathan Road. Read more

Soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division fire at German troops occupying barns in the rugged mountains of northern Italy.

WWII

Storming Riva Ridge

By Flint Whitlock

From their hiding places in the valley below, the soldiers looked up at the wall of shale looming more than 3,000 feet above them. Read more

WWII

Air Transport Command

Dear Sir,

The article “Anything, Anywhere, Anytime” (July 2002) about the Air Transport Command (ATC), written by Sam McGowan, was excellent. Read more

WWII

Station Hypo

A mere six months passed between the tragedy of Pearl Harbor and the triumph of U.S. naval forces during the Battle of Midway. Read more

WWII

Four Came Home

Dear Sirs:

Regarding the article on the Doolittle Raiders attack on Japan entitled “Pearl Harbor Payback” (July 2002), there are several corrections that should be noted. Read more

Patton spent his birthday, November 11, 1944, “getting where the dead were still warm.” He enjoyed his day by snapping a photograph of a recently captured German Stu. Gesch. 111 self-propelled gun. Patton’s shadow can be seen in the picture.

WWII

War As He Saw It

By Kevin M. Hymel

Everywhere General George S. Patton, Jr., went, from North Africa to Sicily to continental Europe, his camera swayed from his neck, ready to capture images that interested him. Read more

WWII

Guadalcanal was the first real taste of defeat for the land forces of Imperial Japan.

After nearly seven months of bitter fighting, the Japanese called it quits on Guadalcanal. Under cover of darkness during three nights in February 1943, slightly more than one-third of the 36,000 Japanese troops who had fought on this strategically important island in the Solomons chain were evacuated. Read more

In a painting by Robert Taylor, B-25 Mitchell bombers of Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle’s force wing away from smoking targets around Tokyo.

WWII

Pearl Harbor Payback

By John Wukovits

President Franklin D. Roosevelt sat in his White House study, an aging leader suddenly appearing older and wearier. Read more

WWII

The Carro Veloce L 3/33

Dear WWII History:

I would like to put the controversy regarding the “Sten gun carrier” to rest. As a reader of the May 2002 issue correctly noticed, the vehicle depicted on page 37 is not a Sten gun carrier. Read more

WWII

The line between neutrality and active participation was blurred during World War II.

Neutrality. When used in the context of wartime, the word implies a political stance favoring neither side in armed conflict.

However, during World War II, alliances and allegiances seemed as confused at times as the fighting itself. Read more

WWII

Polish Armed Forces

Dear Sir:

Just finished reading the March issue of WWII History. It was very factual, especially “Silent Blitzkrieg: The Fall of Eben Emael.” Read more

WWII

The relationship between Mussolini and Hitler was not always one of mutual admiration.

When Adolf Hitler sent German troops to Greece to help extricate his Italian allies from an embarrassing situation, he was, in part, repaying a debt to Benito Mussolini for being given a free hand in Austria three years earlier. Read more

WWII

Prelude To Pearl Harbor

By William Scheck

The flight deck of HMS Illustrious had become a very busy place. Aircraft were being raised to the flight deck, aircraft handlers were attending to their tasks, and on the command deck there was an air of anxiety. Read more

WWII

Maps

Dear Editor:

Congratulations on your premier issue of WWII History. I found the content to be interesting, the text informative, and the photographs and paintings to be of fine quality. Read more

WWII

Attack and defend, the classic quandary

In the title role of the film classic Patton, actor George C. Scott utters words to the effect that fixed fortifications are monuments to the stupidity of man. Read more

WWII

A struggle for the planet and for the soul of humankind.

1939-1945. The world had never seen anything like it. Fifty million dead. Every continent except Antarctica inflamed in some way. Europe, the most powerful continent, overrun with fighting, whole cities, some a thousand years in the making, reduced to rubble. Read more

Monsignor Josef Tiso led Slovakia into an alliance with Hitler and the Nazis.

WWII

Drawn to the Axis

By Blaine Taylor

According to the 1960 memoirs of Henriette Hoffmann von Schirach, Adolf Hitler called Father Josef Tiso, a monsignor in the Roman Catholic Church and premier of Fascist Slovakia, “The little parson.” Read more

Captain Clark Gable (fourth from the right) beams after a successful bombing run over Nantes, France. It was Gable’s fifth mission.

WWII

Movie Stars at War

By Richard L. Hayes

In the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, Americans volunteered for the U.S. armed services in unprecedented numbers. After their service, some would go on to become Hollywood and television stars, like Johnny Carson, ensign on the battleship USS Pennsylvania, patrol craft officer Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis of the submarine Dragonette. Read more

WWII