August 2022

Volume 21, No. 4

Cover: Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, photographed with Allied Italian troops in North Africa in 1942. Photo: Alamy

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel visits with troops of the Africa Korps while inspecting positions in the Tobruk fortress belt. Rommel is aboard his light-infantry command vehicle SdKfz. 250/3 ‘Greif.’ The vehicle is equipped with radio-communications gear; note the antenna apparatus atop the open personnel area.

August 2022

WWII History

Clash of Armor at Gazala

By Eric Niderost

Generaloberst Erwin Rommel, commander of the Panzerarmee Afrika, was in his element, riding in an armored car at top speed through the desiccated plains of the Libyan desert. Read more

In this painting by Marine Corps artist John McDermott, a pair of flamethrowing tanks belch fire into a narrow ravine where Japanese troops have taken cover, while Marines move up warily, crouching behind the steel hulls of the armored vehicles. The Marines invaded Peleliu, in the Palaus Island Group, on September 15, 1944.

August 2022

WWII History

Terrible Trial on Peleliu

By Michael E. Haskew

It was a bold prediction. “Rough but fast … We’ll be through in three days. It might only take two.” Read more

Chinese and American ground crewmen service a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk of the U.S. 28th Fighter Group in China. Merian A. Cooper, famed as a Hollywood producer, served as the unit’s commander and chief of staff to General Claire Chennault in China.

August 2022

WWII History, Profile

Merian Cooper: A Man of Adventure

By Sam McGowan

On March 2, 1933, only a few weeks after the inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt as President of the United States, the most spectacular event in the entertainment world premiered in New York. Read more

Two Marines of the 2nd Division operate a radio on the embattled islet of Betio during the assault on Tarawa Atoll in November 1942.

August 2022

WWII History, Ordnance

Tarawa Radio Failure

By Peter McQuarrie

At dawn on November 20, 1943, U.S. Marines unleashed their first amphibious attack in the Central Pacific Theater. Read more

August 2022

WWII History, Insight

Rise of the U.S. Army

By Allyn Vannoy

Winston Churchill described the U.S. Army during the war years as a “prodigy of organization … an achievement which soldiers of every other country will always study with admiration and envy.” Read more

Showing a pronounced list to starboard, the Coolidge progressively settles underwater in the harbor of Espiritu Santo in October 1942. Troops in the foreground wade to shore in shallow water close to the beach.

August 2022

WWII History, Top Secret

The Sinking of SS President Coolidge

By Patrick J. Chaisson

Ensign Doran S. Weinstein, a U.S. Navy communications officer, stationed himself outside the bridge of a troop transport named SS President Coolidge as it approached the South Pacific island of Espiritu Santo on Monday morning, October 26, 1942. Read more

Marine ace Jim Swett is shown downing his seventh Japanese plane on April 7, 1943 in a painting by Roy Grinnell.

August 2022

WWII History, Books

America’s Few

By Christopher Miskimon

As Jim Swett guided his Grumman F4F Wildcat fighter to a landing at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, he looked forward to getting some rest. Read more

August 2022

WWII History, Games

Foxhole [Game Preview]

By Joseph Luster

In most war games, players are either in control of one unit or a very specific assortment of units. Read more