WWII Archives

WWII

Race to the Meuse

By William E. Welsh

The American airborne troops shivered in their foxholes as temperatures plummeted on Christmas Eve 1944. Behind them to the east lay the beleaguered town of Bastogne. Read more

WWII

Villers-Bocage: Wittmann’s Tigers, the Desert Rats, and Allied Disaster

By Major General Michael Reynolds

British General Sir Bernard Montgomery was given command of two Allied armies for the invasion of Normandy: Lt. Read more

WWII

USS Hugh W. Hadley: Surviving the Kamikazes of Okinawa

By Michael E. Haskew

Only 340 miles from the home island of Kyushu, the final objective of the American military surge across the Pacific during World War II, short of an invasion of Japan itself, was Okinawa in the Ryukyu archipelago. Read more

WWII

With the “Ragtag Circus” Across Europe: The Story of Frank Fauver

By Susan Zimmerman

The 83rd U.S. Infantry Division had been mobilized for World War I in September 1917. Its unit patch was a downward-pointing black triangle with the letters O-H-I-O stitched as an abstract gold monogram in the center. Read more

WWII

New Mexico: Atomic Spy Capital

By Richard Higgins

New Mexico and its capital of Santa Fe bring to mind some beautiful images. Stunning sunsets, unlimited vistas, a plethora of art galleries, the spectacular food enlivened with the local green chile, an ancient Native American culture that still thrives, and a Spanish heritage tradition going back to within 50 years of Columbus’s arrival all make for a unique cultural and physical environment. Read more

WWII

The History of Third Reich Uniforms

By G. Paul Garson

The evolution of Third Reich uniforms followed from a long history of European uniforms in general and Imperial German uniforms in particular. Read more

WWII

Takeo Yoshikawa and the Spies Behind the Pearl Harbor Attack

By Phil Zimmer

“You are probably the nearest to war that you’ll ever be without actually being in it,” said Commander Harold M. Read more

WWII

“I Survived the USS Franklin Inferno”

By George F. Black, as told to Howard Dunbar

On March 19, 1945, the Essex-class carrier USS Franklin (CV-13), dubbed “Big Ben,” lay 50 miles off Honshu, one of Japan’s Home Islands. Read more

WWII

SCR-300 WW2 Radio Backpack: The “Walkie Talkie” That Shaped the War

By John Niesel

Early in 1945, in the Northern Appenine mountains of Italy, T/5 Harvey, a radioman with the 10th Mountain Division, is carrying his WW2 radio backpack, the ever-handy SCR-300, into combat for the first time. Read more

WWII

Bridge House Hotel: Crimes of the Kempeitai in Shanghai

By Eric Niderost

By the 1930s, Shanghai was already a legend in its own time––the most modern, populous, and decadent city in China. Read more

WWII

The Kempeitai: Japan’s Dreaded “Gestapo”

By Eric Niderost

In Western countries, “military police” are associated in the public mind with keeping order among off-duty personnel, such as arresting drunken servicemen. Read more

Bob Max fought with the 9th Armored Infantry Battalion until he became one of few Battle of the Bulge POWs who would live to tell their tale.

WWII

Battle of the Bulge POWs: One Man’s Story of Capture

By David H. Lippman

Nobody knew it in the 6th Armored Divisions 9th Armored Infantry Battalion, but the tide of the Battle of the Bulge had turned by the time the outfit moved into snow-covered fields and forests near Bastogne. Read more

WWII

Battle of the Bulge Tank Duel On Christmas Eve

By Christopher Miskimon

The Battle of the Bulge is famously known as the largest battle fought by the U.S. Army in World War II. Read more

A year after the Allied assault, the Normandy countryside still bore the scars of battle.

WWII

Amazing Photography of Normandy: D-Day Plus 1 Year

By Kevin M. Hymel

On June 6, 1945, two Stars & Stripes newspaper reporters traveled to Normandy with a mission: to photograph the effects of the year-old D-Day landings on the beaches, towns, and fields. Read more

WWII

D-Day: Over Normandy: A New Drone’s Eye View of the Iconic Beachhead

New technology has shaped the way we view our past. Breakthroughs in Computer Graphics, editing, and videography have allowed documentary filmmakers to present stories from different angles in order to enhance the viewer’s appreciation and understanding of a topic. Read more

These WW2 stories come straight from the men who lived through them, from U.S. paratroopers to Vierville civilians.

WWII

WW2 Stories: 5 Compelling First-Hand Accounts from D-Day

The invasion of Normandy was one of the most audacious military campaigns in history. Nearly three million Allied personnel would participate in or support the Normandy operations. Read more

Just how great was the number of D-Day casualties? History on the Net gives the jaw-dropping raw numbers from Operation Overlord.

WWII

D-Day Casualties: Operation Overlord by the Numbers

The largest amphibious invasion in history began on the night of June 5-6, with the roar of C-47 engines preparing to take off , and climaxed on the beaches of Normandy. Read more

WWII

The WW2 Paratrooper: First-Hand Accounts of the D-Day Invasion

By Kevin M. Hymel

What was it like to be a WW2 paratrooper, parachuting into Normandy in the opening minutes of June 6, 1944—D-Day? Read more

WWII

Death of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

By Phil Zimmer

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy, intended to press ahead with his morale-boosting visits to forward units in the South Pacific in April 1943, despite dire warnings from subordinates of possible enemy ambushes. Read more