WWII Archives

North Africa : Rommel, nicknamed the "Desert Fox", commanding the Afrika Korps, consults battle plans with his staff Date: 1941 Source: Explorer Archives. Original photographed by Desmarteau.

WWII

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel: The “Desert Fox”

by Mike Haskew

Born on November 15, 1891, in Heidenheim, Germany, Erwin Rommel was a hero of World War I, receiving the Pour le Mérite, or Blue Max, for his actions on the Italian Front. Read more

WWII

Guadalcanal: Victory in the Pacific Theater

by Mike Haskew

On August 7, 1942, American Marines landed unopposed on the island of Guadalcanal in the Solomons chain. The island was the key to future offensive operations in the South Pacific for either side, and the Marines were determined to defeat the Japanese in their first significant ground assault of the Pacific War. Read more

WWII

World War II Summary and Synopsis

by Mike Haskew

World War II spanned six long years from 1939 to 1945. The Allied powers, principally The United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union, defeated the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy. Read more

The Battle of the Bulge, Adolf Hitler’s Ardennes Offensive, was conceived to drive west, split two Allied army groups, and capture the vital Belgian port city of Antwerp.

WWII

World War II’s Famous Battle of the Bulge

by Mike Haskew

On December 16, 1944, Hitler launched Operation Wacht am Rhein, or Watch on the Rhine. Popularly known as the Battle of the Bulge, the ensuing offensive was a desperate effort to win a major victory in the West. Read more

This week we hear from William Welsh, editor of Military Heritage Magazine, who's compiled a list of personal favorites for books on World War II.

WWII

William Welsh’s Best World War II Books List

William Welsh, editor of Military Heritage Magazine, has compiled a list of personal favorites for books on the Second World War. Read more

WWII

Erwin Rommel & Heinz Schmidt at Sidi Rezegh

By Thomas Haymes

On the afternoon of November 23, known as Totensonntag to the Germans, General Ludwig Crüwell, commander of the Afrika Korps, decided to launch both of his armored divisions at the box being defended by the 2nd South African Brigade which had laagered just south of the contested airfield at Sidi Rezegh. Read more

Because it lacked many of the modern technological systems supporting other navies, the Imperial Japanese Navy developed unique tactics to use against its enemies.

WWII

The Japanese Imperial Navy in World War II

by Eric Hammel

The Japanese Imperial Navy was an elite and elitist organization. As prone at the administrative levels as any large bureaucracy to becoming bogged down in paperwork, careerism, politics, and minutia, the Imperial Navy nevertheless enjoyed a unique dynamic. Read more

Anyone interested in reading military history sooner or later comes around to The Longest Day and Cornelius Ryan, known to his friends as Connie.

WWII

The Longest Day and Other Books by Cornelius “Connie” Ryan

Brooke Stoddard

Throughout his career, Cornelius “Connie” Ryan wrote a number of stunning books on World War II: The Last Battle, about the struggle for Berlin; A Bridge Too Far, about the ill-fated race to cross the Rhine bridge at Arnhem in 1944; and, of course, the book with which his fame will always be linked, The Longest Day. Read more

When Germany invaded the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa, the Luftwaffe led the way with approximately 440 Me-109 types.

WWII

The Luftwaffe Me-109F vs. the Red Army’s Yak-1

By Ray Denkhaus

By the summer of 1942, the venerable and battle-proven Messerschmitt 109E was all but replaced by the improved Me-109F in front-line units. Read more

WWII

Why We Fight — Hollywood Teams Up with U.S. Military

By Kevin M. Hymel

General George C. Marshall had a problem. With the U.S. entry into World War II, he had to explain to an isolationist nation why the country was going to war. Read more

The surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, inflicted heavy damage on the U.S. Pacific Fleet and plunged America into World War II.

WWII

The Pearl Harbor Attack: Anchorage of the U.S. Pacific Fleet

by Mike Haskew

On December 7, 1941, Japanese naval aircraft attacked the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, as well as other U.S. Read more

On H-Hour, D-Day (June 6, 1944), Allied forces landed on the coast of Normandy in France. It was the most massive naval operation in human history.

WWII

H-Hour, D-Day: The Normandy Invasion

by Mike Haskew

Commonly known as D-Day, the Western Allies invaded Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II on June 6, 1944. Read more

American paratroopers near Manila in February 1945.

WWII

Japanese Atrocities at Los Baños

By Donald J. Roberts II

Within a week of the Los Baños raid, paratroopers from Burgess’s 1st Battalion moved back into the Los Baños area to occupy the region. Read more

Prime Minister Winston Churchill provided inspiration to the British people and the Allied cause during World War II.

WWII

Prime Minister Winston Churchill Led his Nation During World War II

by Mike Haskew

Born November 30, 1874, to British politician Lord Randolph Churchill and Jenny Jerome, an American socialite, Winston Churchill rose to serve in Parliament and as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1940 to 1945 and 1951 to 1955. Read more

General George S. Patton, Jr., was an avid amateur photographer who snapped pictures of World War II from North Africa to Europe.

WWII

George S. Patton: World War II As He Saw It

By Kevin 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

Marching through the southern English port city of Weymouth, U.S. Rangers head to the boats that will take them across the English Channel to either death or glory.

WWII

Outlandish D-Day Invasion Tales: A Hard Start for Rudder’s Rangers

By Patrick O’Donnell

In the early morning of June 6, 1944, LCA 668 (Landing Craft, Assault), carrying First Sergeant Len Lomell, Staff Sergeant Jack Kuhn, and most of the 2nd Platoon, 2nd Ranger Battalion, cut through the choppy, green waters of the English Channel. Read more

WWII

Outlandish D-Day Invasion Tales: Paratrooper Raff: Tank Commander?

By Kevin Hymel

To Colonel Edson Raff, jumping out of a plane was “like getting out of the bed in the morning.” Read more

"I'm going ahead with the troops," Roosevelt said. "Get word to the Navy and bring them in. We'll start the war from here."

WWII

Outlandish D-Day Invasion Tales: Teddy Roosevelt Jr’s Bold Decision

By Roy Morris Jr.

Bobbing alongside his troops in a wildly careening LCVP, Theodore Roosevelt Jr. gripped the walking cane he used to get around on his bum left knee—the unwelcome souvenir of the first Great War, after receiving a German machine-gun bullet taken near Soissons in July 1918. Read more

If the Allies did not secure a strong foothold on D-Day, Eisenhower would have been forced to make public the message he drafted for such an occasion.

WWII

What if the D-Day Invasion Had Failed?

The Normandy Invasion (code-named Operation Neptune) was the largest amphibious invasion in the history of armed conflict. It combined efforts from nearly 290 escort vessels, 5,000 landing and assult craft, and 160,000 troops. Read more