June 2014

Volume 13, No. 4

Cover: Men of the 101st Airborne Division, their faces blackened to reduce glare in the moonlight, listen to General Eisenhower as he addresses Lieutenant Wallace C. Strobel. They soon boarded transports
for their night drop into Normandy, June 5-6, 1944.
Photo: National Archives

An American machine gunner sprints for cover while carrying his Browning .30-caliber machine gun as an ammunition carrier follows, his rifle slung across his back. This photo was taken in the French arrondissement of Sarreguemines at the height of the fighting in the Colmar Pocket during early February 1945.

WWII History

The Path of Heroism

By Stephen J. Ochs, PHD

On the morning of April 18, 1945, amid street fighting in rubble-strewn Nuremberg, Germany, 20-year-old U.S. Read more

WWII History

Shootout in Kula Gulf

By John Damagalski

The island of Guadalcanal loomed in the distance as the warships of Task Force 36.1 approached the waters of Iron Bottom Sound on July 5, 1943. Read more

WWII History

Airborne at La Fière: Slugfest in Normandy

By Flint Whitlock

The night of June 5, 1944, and the morning of June 6 were without a doubt some of the most pivotal hours in the history of the 20th century. Read more

In this photo taken on August 12, 1943, Red Army infantrymen advance down a dirt road near the embattled city of during the Soviet Rumyantev offensive.

WWII History

The Battle of Kiev: How it Brought About an End to Nazi Terror

By Pat McTaggart

It was less than a month since the great blood letting in the Orel salient in July 1943 had taken place, and just some months to go before the infamous Second Battle of Kiev. Read more

WWII History, Ordnance

Japan’s Underwater Aircraft Carriers

By Phil Zimmer

Lieutenant Commander Stephen L. Johnson had a problem on his hands; a very large problem. His Balao-class submarine, the Segundo, had just picked up a large radar contact on the surface about 100 miles off Honshu, one of Japan’s home islands, heading south toward Tokyo. Read more

WWII History, Profiles

Sir John Dill and Winston Churchill: A Clash in Strategy

By Jon Diamond

In describing the relationship between British General Sir John Dill and his political superior, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Dill’s biographer, Alex Danchev, noted, “It was … an association strikingly lacking in empathy or understanding, etched in fundamental disagreement, and scarred by a mutual disaffection welling up at times into personal distaste.” Read more

WWII History, Top Secret

Colonel Bernt Balchen’s Secret Air Force

By Patrick J. Chaisson

The Bug was in deep trouble. On a top-secret flight over occupied Norway, this ancient, war-weary C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft became the helpless target of German antiaircraft guns, all firing desperately to bring down the transport and its precious cargo. Read more

WWII History, Insight

Silver Screen Surprise: Norvald Flaaten Recalls His Wartime Careers

By Jason Antonio

Norvald Flaaten never expected he would appear in a movie when he signed up with the Canadian Army during World War II, but the subject of the movie and what he had to do was too good to pass up. Read more

WWII History, Books

Prospect for Victory?

By Christopher Miskimon

One of the most frequently covered what-ifs of World War II is the possibility of a Third Reich wonder weapon changing the course of the war. Read more

WWII History, Simulation Gaming

June World War II Games

By Joseph Luster

Imagine if World War II had been fought with nothing but the rolling menace of tanks. No troops on the ground. Read more

June 2014

From Around the Network

Mirrors on the Mountains

Marshal Ney and His Biggest Mistake at the Battle of Waterloo

Operation Overlord

Who Killed Ambrose Bierce?