WWII Archives

A PzKpfw. V Panther medium tank smolders after being hit by the American infantryman at lower left firing his bazooka. Other GIs rush toward the tank to take out any crewmen who may have survived the blast. At Mairy, France, the soldiers of the 90th Infantry Division utterly defeated a spoiling attack by the German Panzer Brigade 106.

WWII

The “Tough ‘Ombres” of 90th ID Stand Tall at Mairy

By Christopher Miskimon

As summer neared its end in early September 1944, the U.S. Army raced across northern France toward the German border. Read more

WWII

Wreaking Havoc

By Sam McGowan

Few airplanes can claim the honor of being credited with changing the course of World War II, but the Douglas A-20 Havoc twin-engine light bomber is one that can. Read more

This painting by Jack Fellows depicts Flying Tiger pilot R.T. Smith’s Curtiss P-40 #77. The P-40 B and C variants made tough, reliable fighter planes. The engine was underpowered at high altitudes, lacking a supercharger, but at lower altitudes the P-40 was a fine pursuit plane.

WWII

The Flying Tiger and the Demon

by Bob Bergin

Erik Shilling, a pilot of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) Flying Tigers, faced the angry mob. There were about 30 of them, all in loincloths and leather vests with no buttons. Read more

Australian troops on a narrow mountain road west of Jezzine, Lebanon, come under fire from Vichy French artillery and mortars. The Aussies fought the German-aligned Vichy forces for possession of the town over the course of several weeks, finally capturing it on June 28, 1941.

WWII

Fighting The War in the Middle East

By William Stroock

For more than a century the Middle East was the British Empire’s vital link between the Mediterranean and India. Read more

The guns of the German battleship Bismarck and the cruiser Prinz Eugen fire at the British battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Hood in the Denmark Strait on May 23, 1941.

WWII

The Hood Has Blown Up!

By Mark Carlson

In one of the most gripping scenes of the 1960 motion picture Sink the Bismarck! the viewer is witness to the climactic moment of the Battle of the Denmark Strait on May 24, 1941. Read more

WWII

Ten Days at Aschaffenburg

By Christopher Miskimon

As the winter of 1944-1945 slowly gave way to spring, the combined Allied armies ground their way into Germany. Read more

In this painting by artist Jack Fellows, U.S. Navy Lieutenant “Syd” Bottomley pilots his Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless dive bomber in a steep descent, dive brakes extended on the trailing edges of the plane’s wings, during a bombing run against the Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga, the largest of four carriers the Imperial Japanese Navy deployed during the Battle of Midway. Bottomley scored a direct hit during the pivotal action of June 4, 1942, but found his own carrier, USS Yorktown, damaged upon his return.

WWII

On May 2, 1942, the eve of the Battle of the Coral Sea, a Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina flying boat skimmed the water’s surface and touched down in the lagoon of Midway Atoll, 1,137 miles west of Oahu. Read more

WWII

The Turkey Shoot

By David H. Lippman

At 12:30 PM, June 19, 1944, two vast fleets hundreds of miles apart faced off amid cobalt skies and burning seas. Read more

WWII

The Power of Cloth

By G. Paul Garson

The evolution of the Nazi-era military wardrobe followed from a long history of European uniforms in general and Imperial German uniforms in particular. Read more

German soldiers storm ashore in Norway during a combined operations invasion of the Scandinavian country. The heavy cruiser Blücher was sunk by Norwegian shore batteries during the assault.

WWII

Kriegsmarine Blooded

By Bob Cashner

Norway had been able to avoid the massive bloodletting of World War I entirely and fervently hoped to steer clear of World War II as well through a policy of strict neutrality. Read more

WWII

Eyewitness at the Battle of Savo Island

By Captain Eugene H. Simpson

The Battle of Savo Island, August 8-9, 1942, was the first major naval engagement of the Guadalcanal Campaign. Read more

The Cromwell tank of Captain Roy Dunlop and another just to the rear with smoke billowing from it are shown near Point 213 after being immobilized by Tiger tanks east of Villers-Bocage. Both British tanks belonged to A Squadron, County of London Yeomanry.

WWII

Tigers Triumphant at Villers-Bocage

By Michael E. Haskew

On D-day, June 6, 1944, the British 3rd Infantry Division was the first to land on Sword Beach. Read more

Brigadier General Ted Roosevelt reads mail while serving in Italy in January 1944. The son of President Theodore Roosevelt, he named his Jeep “Rough Rider” in honor of his late father and his exploits during the Spanish-American War.

WWII

Teddy Roosevelt, Jr. Led At Utah Beach

By Michael D. Hull

Famed war correspondent Ernie Pyle reported in August 1944, that one of his favorite U.S. Army officers was a regimental colonel who shared Lt. Read more

WWII

World War II Book Reviews for Early 2023

Full Reviews

The Cactus Air Force: Air War over Guadalcanal (Eric Hammel and John McKelvey Cleaver, Osprey Books, Oxford UK, 2022, 336 pp., Read more

WWII

Montgomery’s Bridge Too Far

By Michael D. Hull

Operation Market-Garden, British Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery’s imaginative and daring plan—reluctantly endorsed by his superior, General Dwight D. Read more

This artist’s impression of the sinking of Indianapolis shows the warship engulfed in flames in the distance with Japanese submarine I-58 on the surface in the foreground. The cruiser sank within minutes of being struck by a torpedo.

WWII

The Fateful War Patrols of I-58

By Mark Carlson

The night of July 29, 1945, was dark and clear over the Philippine Sea. A gibbous moon hung almost directly overhead, just a few days past full, casting its pale gray light over the dark waves. Read more

A view of two Japanese defenders inside their bunker on Tarawa as U.S. Marines storm the island, November 19, 1943.

WWII

Tarawa Through Japanese Eyes

By Peter McQuarrie

The Battle of Tarawa, a component of Operation Galvanic, was the U.S. Marines’ first bold amphibious assault against a Japanese stronghold in World War II. Read more

WWII

Looking for the Luftwaffe

By Joseph Frantiska, Jr.

Chain Home, or ‘CH’ was the codename given to the system of early warning radar stations located along the Europe facing coasts of the United Kingdom (UK) before and during World War II to locate and follow aircraft. Read more

A German PzKpfw. III tank accompanied by infantry advances across difficult terrain in Tunisia. Hollands, joined by a second Churchill, knocked out two PzKpfw. III tanks during the fight.

WWII

Captain Hollands’ Rampage

By Christopher Miskimon

Columns of smoke rose above the skyline around a Tunisian farming complex on February 28, 1943, wafting past the late afternoon sun through atmosphere punctuated by the crack of bullets, booming explosions and the screams of wounded men. Read more

Soldiers of the 36th “Texas” Infantry Division splash ashore at Salerno. Corporal Charles Kelly carried a Browning Automatic Rifle and gained fame during the Italian Campaign.

WWII

The One-Man Army at Salerno

By Michael D. Hull

After the collapse of Mussolini’s fascist regime in July 1943, the allies launched a double attack against the western coast of the Italian mainland. Read more

WWII

From Around the Network

Filling the Black Hole

Tank Attack at Cambrai

Looking for the Luftwaffe

The Story of Ruby Boye, Australia’s Only Female Coastwatcher