WWII
Blitzkrieg 1940: From the Invasion of Holland to the Fall of France
By John BrownThe ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu wrote, “Go forth to the enemy’s positions to which he must race. Read more
WWII
WWII
The Battle of Biak: “A Terrifying Glimpse Into the Soul of Mankind”
By David Alan Johnson“All I knew about Biak was that it was an island a degree south of the equator, one of the Schouten group lying north of Geelvink Bay toward the western end of New Guinea.” Read more
WWII
Operation Market Garden: the 82nd Airborne Division’s Pivotal Role
By Martin K.A. MorganBy mid-August 1944, roughly one month before the now-famous Operation Market Garden, the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division had been fighting off and on for over a year. Read more
WWII
The Bombing of Berlin by Doolittle’s Eighth Air Force
By Robert F. DorrHe was widely regarded as America’s best pilot, he was already a recipient of the Medal of Honor, he was commander of the Eighth Air Force caught up in 1,000-plane bombing missions deep into the Third Reich, and he was mad as hell. Read more
WWII
Death of the Super Battleship Yamato and Musashi
By Herb KugelSpecial Sea Attack Force (SSAF) was an ordinary-sounding name for the pitifully tiny remnant of what was once the mighty Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). Read more
WWII
A Company K in the Pacific: From Guadalcanal to Peleliu
By Jason AbadyIn April 1942, a group of young Marines, having recently graduated from Officers Candidate School, arrived at New River, North Carolina, a sprawling tent city that stretched over a vast area and would eventually become known as Camp Lejeune. Read more
WWII
The Children of WWII: Remembering the Conflict That Stole Their Childhoods
By Susan ZimmermanWorld War II affected nearly every area of the world. It was the deadliest conflict in all of human history. Read more
WWII
Final Battle for Burma, 1945
By William StroockBy the beginning of February 1945, the British 14th Army was on the banks of the Irrawaddy River and poised to strike into central Burma. Read more
WWII
Assault on Ludendorff Bridge: The First Allied Crossing of the Rhine
By Jon DiamondOn a cold March evening in the Goldenrod Café in West Point, Nebraska, Mary Timmermann, a waitress there, picked up the telephone receiver when her boss told her it was Omaha calling long distance for her. Read more
WWII
Why Was Irma Grese, the Beast of Belsen, so Hated?
By Cynthia Southern“She was one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. Her body was perfect in every line, her face clear and angelic, and her blue eyes the gayest, the most innocent eyes one can imagine. Read more
WWII
Operation Strangle: The First Great Air Interdiction Campaign
By Jeff PattonFollowing the spectacular success of the Allied air campaign against Iraq during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and against the Serb forces in Kosovo in 1999, the value and efficiency of utilizing air power to shape or forgo the need for a ground battle has been taken for granted by military planners. Read more
WWII
Naval Assault On Munda
By John J. DomagalskiThe first days of January 1943 found American forces winning the prolonged struggle for control of Guadalcanal in the South Pacific. Read more
WWII
Wunderwaffe: The Nazi “Wonder Weapons” of World War II
By Arnold BlumbergDuring Germany’s early string of victories between 1939 and 1941, Hitler informed the members of the nation’s aerospace industry that he had decided to impose new restrictions on aircraft research and development. Read more
WWII
Philippe Leclerc: The French Desert Fox
By André Bernole & Glenn BarnettOn November 28, 1947, a converted North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber crashed in the Algerian desert, killing all aboard. Read more
WWII
From Paratrooper to POW: Bob Nobles of the 82nd Airborne
By Kevin M. Hymel“The lieutenant said for everyone to lay your arms down,” a fellow paratrooper told Pfc. Bob Nobles, who had been fighting for six grueling days in the hedgerows following his unit’s jump into Normandy. Read more
WWII
The OSS and the Fourth Dimension of Warfare
By Bob BerginMajor General John K. Singlaub was a young airborne lieutenant when he took up an offer from the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) to become engaged in “hazardous duty behind enemy lines.” Read more
WWII
HBO Working on “Band of Brothers In The Sky”
Thirteen years after completing “Band of Brothers” and four years after its companion series, “The Pacific,” Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg are teaming up again for a new World War II HBO series: “Masters of the Air.” Read more
WWII
Otto von Knobelsdorff: Panzer Commander
By Harry YeideWhile many in the English-speaking world have heard of Erwin Rommel and Heinz Guderian, few today know the name of Otto von Knobelsdorff, a German panzer general who commanded troops in battles every bit as pivotal as his contemporaries did, in quantity and quality, and who also fought against General George S. Read more
WWII
Leonard J. Thom: JFK’s XO on PT-109
By Michael J. BellThe name Leonard Jay Thom may not mean anything to a great many people today, and that is unfortunate. Read more
WWII
North African Campaign: WWII’s Ultimate War of Logistics
By Allyn VannoyBradley could have been referring to German General Erwin Rommel. While Rommel was winning the war of desert armor tactics during 1941-1942 in the North African Campaign, he was losing the war of logistics. Read more
