WWII

Warfare History Network, home of the foremost WWII History and WWII Quarterly magazines, is your best source for military history online. Here you’ll find our in-depth and vivid accounts of the greatest war in history, from Pearl Harbor to the Battle of the Bulge; from the desperate fighting on the Eastern Front to Iwo Jima and the Battle of Midway. Our vast collection of rare photographs, battle maps, illustrations and meticulously researched articles will give you new insight into the battles, leaders, weapons, and much more.

The Tirpitz constituted a “fleet in being” that tied up British Royal Navy and Royal Air Force resources delegated to countering the threat of the battleship sortieing from her Norwegian lair.

WWII

Battle of the Battleships

Dear Editor:

I enjoyed Richard Rule’s “David and Goliath” story of the midget submarine attack on the German battleship Tirpitz (May 2012 issue). Read more

Behind their sand-bag reinforced foxhole, three U.S. Marines point their rifles in the direction of a suspected Japanese attack on Edson’s Ridge.

WWII

The victory at Guadalcanal turned the tide of war.

Seventy years ago this month, in July 1942, the United States military stood at a crossroads in the Pacific. Scarcely a month after the great naval victory at Midway, during which four Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk and Japanese expansionist aims in the Central Pacific thwarted, the American land offensive was set to begin. Read more

WWII

The Look of Defeat

Dear Editor:

I thought I would take a few minutes to compliment your recent choices for magazine cover photos showing German troops pictured late in the war. Read more

WWII

Malaysian searchers locate lost aircraft wreckage.

An organization known as the Malaysia Historical Group is making a substantial contribution to the continuing effort to document the wreck sites of World War II aircraft in Malaysia, Thailand, and India. Read more

As the date of D-Day approaches, GIs shave their heads. Some did it for sanitary reasons, other to look like American Indians, whom, it was rumored, terrified Adolf Hitler. The crudely drawn woman on the soldier’s jacket attests to what the GIs miss the most.

WWII

Preparing for D-Day

By Kevin M. Hymel

The American Army that stormed the beaches of Normandy was mostly green but well trained. For months men practiced climbing down rope ladders into landing craft, exiting in columns of threes, racing across a beach, assaulting pillboxes, storming bluffs, and digging foxholes. Read more

WWII

Young People and World War II

By Flint Whitlock

We often hear that today’s “younger generation” cares nothing for the past, and that “history class” is just a synonym for “nap time.” Read more

WWII

A Memento of Terror

By Mark E. Hubbs

Glen Binge brought his helmet home at the end of World War II. The helmet bears the names and addresses of more than 50 of his comrades. Read more

WWII

Unexploded bombs remind a city of its violent past.

Nearly 70 years after the conclusion of World War II, civilization has changed greatly. Communism in Eastern Europe has risen and fallen. Read more

WWII

Talking Code with the Navajo

By Peter Suciu

There is an old saying that the pen is mightier is the sword, but try telling that to anyone under fire and they will likely disagree. Read more

WWII

PFC Roy Morris talked sparingly about his combat experience in World War II, but he never forgot the hedgerows below Cherbourg.

Like many true combat veterans, my father didn’t talk much about the war—in his case, World War II. We knew that he had served in France and Germany with the 79th Division, the famous “Cross of Lorraine” division. Read more

WWII

Underground Guerrillas

Dear Editor,

I have enclosed three photos that show without any doubt that the photo used in the “Tito’s War” article is a fake. Read more

WWII

The USS Buchanan achieved lasting fame with another navy and under another name.

The destroyer USS Buchanan (DD-131) was struck from the U.S. Navy roll on January 8, 1941, after being delivered to the British Royal Navy four months earlier to conclude the “Destroyers for Bases Deal,” a critical element of the Lend-Lease program. Read more

WWII

The Power Of The Cloth Part 2

By G. Paul Garson

If the phrase “the clothes make the man” is true, then it is equally true that the uniform makes the soldier. Read more

WWII

Reflections on “Sneak Attacks and “Dates of Infamy”

At some point during this magazine’s three-month “shelf life,” the date December 7 will fall. As human society has a penchant for observing the fifth- and 10th-year anniversaries of certain events, this December 7 will be a significant one—the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on American military bases in the Pacific that catapulted the United States into World War II and forever changed the course of history. Read more