June 2022

Volume 21, No. 3

Cover: Private George Mateyek, 75th Infantry Division, cleans his
M-1 Garand behind the cover of a building near Datteln, Germany. Photo: National Archives

Soldiers of the 290th Infantry Regiment, 75th Infantry Division march through a Belgian woods during the Battle of the Bulge. It was in a forest like this that Staff Sergeant Darrell Bush tried to carry a fellow scout off the battlefield until he took a bullet from Germans firing down from the trees.

WWII History

Infantryman in Bastogne

By Kevin M. Hymel

Staff Sergeant Darrell Bush had just carried a wounded soldier on his back to the rear when five enemy bullets seemed to hit him simultaneously. Read more

Japanese soldiers ride atop Type 89 I-Go medium tanks during their push toward the Philippine capital of Manila in this photo taken on December 22, 1941. A car lies toppled on its side after being removed from the roadway. Obstacles to the advance were brushed aside as the Japanese moved swiftly across the island of Luzon to confront the American and Filipino defenders in their last-ditch defensive positions at Bataan and Corregidor.

WWII History

Bataan and Corregidor: Valor Without Hope

By Michael D. Hull

They had no armor, no air support, and little hope, but the American and Filipino troops on Luzon and the Bataan peninsula waged a fighting retreat that was the longest and most gallant in U.S. Read more

WWII History

Eisenhower to the Front

By Kevin M. Hymel

General Dwight D. Eisenhower enjoyed visiting troops in the field. After the Battle of Normandy and the race across France, the Supreme Allied Commander toured the front in mid-November, 1944. Read more

British troops, just rescued from the beach at Dunkirk on May 31, 1940, reflect desperation and relief after their ordeal on the European continent. Operation Dynamo did succeed beyond the expectations of its organizers.

WWII History

Desperation at Dunkirk

By Michael E. Haskew

Within days of Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, and the British declaration of war two days later, the vanguard of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) arrived on the continent of Europe. Read more

WWII History, Editorial

Joe Rochefort: Unsung Hero of World War II

Eighty years ago this month, the U.S. Navy inflicted the decisive defeat of World War II in the Pacific against the marauding Japanese. Read more

During the epic Battle of Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese War, Ensign Yamamoto served aboard the Japanese cruiser Nisshin. He lost two fingers from his left hand during the great victory and was wounded in the leg.

WWII History, Profile

Admiral Yamamoto and the Path to War

By Nathan N. Prefer

For many Americans in late 1941 and early 1942, he was the most hated—and feared—man in the world. Read more

Fire streams from an engine and wing of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber as a rocket-powered Messerschmitt Me-163 fighter aircraft streaks past. Painting by artist Jack Fellows.

WWII History, Ordnance

Me-163: The Devil’s Broomstick

By David H. Lippman

The Germans called it the “Komet” and the “Devil’s Broomstick,” for the incredible speed with which it reached its altitude of 30,000 feet, achieving 0.84 Mach while doing so. Read more

WWII History, Insight

Capturing Hitler

By Richard Baker

When a friend from Wolsey, South Dakota, asked Alven Baker why he was joining the army in 1941 and not another branch of the service, he replied, “To capture Adolf Hitler.” Read more

WWII History, Books

Resurgent U.S. Navy

By Christopher Miskimon

The United States Navy entered World War II well before Pearl Harbor and long before the rest of the nation. Read more

WWII History, Simulation Gaming

Preview: Gary Grigsby’s War in the East 2

By Joseph Luster

What kind of war game player do you consider yourself to be? Do you fall on the side of the more arcade-style shooter entries, or do you long for your games to be as realistic and historically dense as possible? Read more

WWII History, Simulation Gaming

Hidden & Dangerous 2: Courage Under Fire

By Joseph Luster

While we’re on the topic of classic games, we thought we’d take a moment in this issue to turn back the clock and put the spotlight on one of our older favorites. Read more

June 2022

From Around the Network

Armored Strike at Arras: Counterattack Against the Blitz

How the Allies Used Captured German Tanks and Vehicles

Lt. Col. Joachim Peiper’s Grisly Death After the Battle of the Bulge

The Red Air Force Night Witches: Flight of the Rodina