WWII Archives

WWII

Up through the Ranks

By Nathan N. Prefer

He was one of only two soldiers in the United States Army to rise from private to four-star general and to command one of the largest armies in America’s biggest conflict. Read more

The Kriegsmarine pocket battleship Admiral Scheer is photographed from the deck of the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen en route to Norway during Operation Cerberus—the “Channel Dash”—in February 1942. Aircraft recognition markings are visible on the deck of Prinz Eugen, as is a portable 20mm antiaircraft gun mounted further aft.

WWII

Operation Cerberus: The Kriegsmarine ‘Channel Dash’

By Patrick J. Chaisson

Battleships,” said Adolf Hitler, “have had their day.”

In a military conference held December 29, 1941, Hitler took time to remind those in attendance that not so many months ago the Bismarck went down with all but 115 of her 2,200 crewmen after a 100-hour sea battle. Read more

Tanks of the German Army’s 17th Panzer Regiment, 19th Panzer Division advance through Belarus on June 25, 1941, three days after the launch of Operation Barbarossa. These tanks are Panzer 38(t) models, made in Czechoslovakia and pressed into Nazi service with Hitler’s occupation of the country.

WWII

Czech Tanks Gave Nazis Early Edge

By Arnold Blumberg

In March 1939, Adolf Hitler dissolved the Republic of Czechoslovak, incorporating its lands into the Third Reich. As a consequence, much military equipment fell into the hands of the Wehrmacht, including 469 armored fighting vehicles. Read more

American sailors crowd the deck of the Japanese submarine I-14, tied up to the submarine tender USS Proteus. The object of their curiosity is the Japanese submarine I-400, which surrendered in Tokyo Bay in September 1945. Type B-1 submarines like the I-35 were the first Japanese cruisers with a surface range of 16,000 miles. The I-400 class, with a range of 43,123 miles, were the largest conventional submarines ever built. They were not eclipsed in size until the introduction of nuclear ballistic missile submarines in the 1960s.

WWII

The Sinking of I-35

By Peter McQuarrie

In the autumn of 1943, the U.S. Navy had regained strength after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and plans were made for a big offensive in the Pacific. Read more

Adolf Hitler flanked by two of his top lieutenants, Reich Minister of Armaments Albert Speer to his left, and Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, chief of the Luftwaffe on his right. Göring was sometimes vexed by the activities of his “good” brother, Albert.

WWII

The ‘Good’ Göring

By Eric Niderost

On March 12, 1938, German troops entered Austria, part of Adolf Hitler’s plan to incorporate that hapless country into the Third Reich. Read more

U.S. Marines make their way across a low stone wall as they seek out hidden Japanese positions on bloody Okinawa.

WWII

Sugar Loaf Hill Survival: U.S. Marines in the Okinawa Campaign

By John Wukovits

The grimy, weary Marines heard with little emotion the instructions shouted by their officer. He wanted them to mount yet another charge to the top of the nondescript hill blocking their way, another collection of rock housing an enemy that tried to halt their advance. Read more

WWII

Japan in World War II: Dealing With Known Unknowns

by Lt. Col. John W. Whitman, U.S. Army (ret.)

Planning a war requires assumptions. However, there should be as few assumptions as possible, otherwise one can assume away all one’s problems. Read more

On November 10, 1942, American troops occupy a machine-gun position in North Africa. The troops met sporadic resistance from Vichy French forces.

WWII

General Mark Clark’s Secret Mission to North Africa

By Jon Mikolashek

Rain battered the shore and the seas were rough on the night of October 21, 1942. Under the surface of the water, a submarine carried the Allies’ best hope for turning the tide of war in 1942. Read more

WWII

The Battle of the Bulge & The Defense of St. Vith

By Charles Gutierrez

The U.S. 9th Armored Division arrived in the European Theater of Operations in late October 1944 as a reserve for Maj. Read more

Joe Dimaggio, the famed Yankee Clipper, steals home during a game against the Chicago White Sox in May 1942. Dimaggio set a record the previous season for his 56-game hitting streak.

WWII

Baseball Goes to War

By Roy Morris Jr.

In December 1941, after four decades of play in the same sixteen eastern and midwestern cities, major league baseball was finally coming to the west coast. Read more

WWII

Pete Ellis: Father of Amphibious Warfare

by Al Hemingway

He suffered from acute alcoholism and severe bouts of depression. As a result of his heavy drinking, he would wander about for days yelling incoherently. Read more

WWII

Operation Matterhorn

by John Kennedy Ohl

Most writings about World War II tend to attribute the success or failure of military operations to the skill with which generals and admirals handled their forces in battle and to the fighting abilities of soldiers, sailors, and airmen. Read more

Smoke billows from a generator employed at Ludwigshafen along the banks of the Rhine River. The ruins of the city of Mannheim, Germany, are visible in the background.

WWII

Smokescreens: Fighting for Metz

By Jon Latimer

With the defeat of the German Seventh Army and the closing of the Falaise Gap in the summer of 1944, the Allies pursued the retreating enemy across France. Read more

WWII

Battle of Rennell Island: A Fiery End for the USS Chicago

by John Domagalski

With bond clerk Marge Henning standing by as a witness, Colonel Frank Eldridge removed the first piece of the puzzle. Read more

WWII

The OSS’ Operation Cardinal: Locating General Jonathan Wainwright

By John Mancini

On May 6, 1942, in the Malinta Tunnel, Corregidor Island, General Jonathan Wainwright waited for the Japanese to respond to his surrender offer with a cease-fire. Read more

American and Filipino troops raise their hands in surrender after emerging from Malinta Tunnel on the island of Corregidor. The victorious Japanese captured thousands of prisoners during the largest mass capitulation of U.S. military personnel in the nation’s history.

WWII

WWII Veterans: Donald L. Versaw, From Shanghai to Corregidor

By Eric Niderost

Donald L. Versaw joined the U.S. Marine Corps on Armistice Day, November 11, 1939. After basic training and a stint in the Marine Corps Operating Base Band in San Diego, he was sent overseas to join the Fourth Marines Band in Shanghai. Read more

WWII

The Battle of Brody: Disaster Along WWII’s Eastern Front

By Pat McTaggart

The German Army found itself facing a massive challenge in the spring of 1944, just months before its total disaster at the Battle of Brody — they were facing the possibility of a war on three fronts. Read more

WWII

The Murmansk Run: Running the Gauntlet of WWII’s Arctic Convoys

By Flint Whitlock

It was unbelievably dull and uncomfortable duty, often interspersed with moments of sheer terror and the possibility of sudden and violent death. Read more

With a spillway for the Wawa Dam before them, three American infantrymen manning a .50-caliber machine gun provide cover for an advance patrol.

WWII

Ipo Dam: A Campaign For Water

By David Lash

In February 1945, General Douglas MacArthur was poised to begin one of the great battles of his career. Read more

Wehrmacht infantrymen march through a Belgian town to occupy territory overrun by armored divisions.

WWII

German Intelligence Chief Wilhelm Franz Canaris

by David Alan Johnson

In most popular spy thrillers, secret agents are tall, handsome, virile, and irresistible to women. Whether their name is Dirk Pitt, Jack Ryan, or James Bond, all are hard-drinking, well-tailored ladies’ men. Read more

WWII

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Andrew Long’s ‘BRIXMIS’

The Battle of the Bulge: 75+ Years On