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.

WWII

Into The Bitter Forest

By David H. Lippman

“In the early hours of 8 February 1945, I climbed into my command post, which consisted of a small platform halfway up a tree,” Lt. Read more

WWII

Konstantin Rokossovsky: Marshal of Two Historic Enemies

By Blaine Taylor

The year was 1944, and the embattled Soviet Union’s top-level field commanders were meeting in conclave to discuss Operation Bagration, an upcoming offensive against the retreating German Army. Read more

WWII

The End of Nazi Germany

By David H. Lippman

“Who are these men? What do they want?” snapped the imperious Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery to the four German officers drawn up in front of his caravan, saluting him under a Union Jack. Read more

During the invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940, German pioneers complete the construction of a pontoon bridge over a waterway near the city of Maastricht. OPPOSITE: Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands was active in the Dutch government and led it during exile through the years of World War II.

WWII

Allied Royals & The War Effort

By Eric Niderost

Most people are aware of the contributions of King George VI and his consort Queen Elizabeth (later Queen Mother) to the British war effort. Read more

A huge floating Phoenix unit, part of the artificial Mulberry harbors, under construction at Portsmouth, England.

WWII

Mulberry Harbors: The Allied Secret Weapon at Normandy

By Blaine Taylor

One of the major aims of the great Allied invasion of German-Occupied France on D-Day, June 6, 1944, was the securing of the port of Cherbourg on the Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy. Read more

WWII

Hijacking Hungary: The 1944 Nazi Coup in Budapest

By Mark Simmons

“If you want to join the banquet, you’ll have to help first in the kitchen,” Hitler cynically told the leader of Hungary after signing an alliance with him. Read more

WWII

The Largest Kamikaze: The Battleship Yamato At Okinawa

By Nathan N. Prefer

It was the largest warship ever built up to that time. It carried larger guns than any warship before it. Read more

As if seen in flight, this Vought-Sikorsky U.S. Navy Corsair R4U hangs close to a visitor viewing platform.

WWII

Museums: The UDVAR-HAZY Center

Anyone traveling to Washington, DC, should take the time to head west to Chantilly, Virginia (near Dulles International Airport), and visit the Steven F. Read more

Two million joyful people fill Times Square in New York City to celebrate the defeat of Nazi Germany.

WWII

“It’s All Over, Over Here”

By Flint Whitlock

On Tuesday, May 8, 1945, a strange sound was heard across all of Europe—the sound of silence. It was as if someone had suddenly flipped the war switch to “Off.” Read more

WWII

Australia’s Heroic Son

By Christopher Miskimon

John Hurst Edmondson, known to his friends as Jack, died April 14, 1941, lying on the concrete floor of a sand-swept fighting outpost in the perimeter around Tobruk, Libya. Read more

WWII

This Month Marks the Anniversary of ‘If Day.’

The Defending soldiers surrendered at 9:30 am and marched with their hands up to a central point in the city. Nazi soldiers frisked them and made certain that they were unarmed. Read more

WWII

A Flawed and Brilliant WWII Combat Leader

By Christopher Miskimon

General George S. Patton, Jr., entered his first World War II battlefield on the morning of November 8, 1942. Read more

A squad of Red Army machine gunners leap from tanks in an effort to halt the German advance. Soviet losses were heavy but Hitler soon called a halt to the successful Operation South Wind to mount another—Operation Spring Awakening—an attempt to secure vital oil reserves in Hungary that proved to be a failure.

WWII

Operation South Wind’s Battle for the Gran Bridgehead

By Major General Michael Reynolds

By the end of 1944, the Soviet Red Army had surrounded the Hungarian capital of Budapest and established strong defensive positions running from Esztergom on the Danube to Lake Balaton. Read more

A Fu-Go bomb snagged on a tree in Kansas, February 23, 1945. Approximately 9,000 balloons were launched, but only about 900 made it across the Pacific; several landed in the Midwest.

WWII

The Deadly Balloon Bombs of Imperial Japan

By 1944, the Japanese still had no long-range bombers to match the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. And a great many of Dai Nippon’s warplanes and aircraft carriers were lying at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Read more

Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division patrol the perimeter of the besieged town of Bastogne, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge.

WWII

The Wayward Helmet Liner

By Berry Craig

First Lieutenant William Parks of the 101st Airborne Division left a snow-camouflaged helmet liner behind when the storied Screaming Eagles moved out following the American victory in the Battle of the Bulge in January 1945. Read more

WWII

From Around the Network

Nazi Stuka Ace Hans Rudel

Walking in the Footsteps of Heroes

How Did Stonewall Jackson Actually Die?

German Intelligence Chief Wilhelm Franz Canaris