February 2023 Archives

The Cromwell tank of Captain Roy Dunlop and another just to the rear with smoke billowing from it are shown near Point 213 after being immobilized by Tiger tanks east of Villers-Bocage. Both British tanks belonged to A Squadron, County of London Yeomanry.

WWII History

Tigers Triumphant at Villers-Bocage

By Michael E. Haskew

On D-day, June 6, 1944, the British 3rd Infantry Division was the first to land on Sword Beach. Read more

Brigadier General Ted Roosevelt reads mail while serving in Italy in January 1944. The son of President Theodore Roosevelt, he named his Jeep “Rough Rider” in honor of his late father and his exploits during the Spanish-American War.

WWII History

Teddy Roosevelt, Jr. Led At Utah Beach

By Michael D. Hull

Famed war correspondent Ernie Pyle reported in August 1944, that one of his favorite U.S. Army officers was a regimental colonel who shared Lt. Read more

WWII History

Montgomery’s Bridge Too Far

By Michael D. Hull

Operation Market-Garden, British Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery’s imaginative and daring plan—reluctantly endorsed by his superior, General Dwight D. Read more

A German PzKpfw. III tank accompanied by infantry advances across difficult terrain in Tunisia. Hollands, joined by a second Churchill, knocked out two PzKpfw. III tanks during the fight.

WWII History

Columns of smoke rose above the skyline around a Tunisian farming complex on February 28, 1943, wafting past the late afternoon sun through atmosphere punctuated by the crack of bullets, booming explosions and the screams of wounded men. Read more

This artist’s impression of the sinking of Indianapolis shows the warship engulfed in flames in the distance with Japanese submarine I-58 on the surface in the foreground. The cruiser sank within minutes of being struck by a torpedo.

WWII History

The Fateful War Patrols of I-58

By Mark Carlson

The night of July 29, 1945, was dark and clear over the Philippine Sea. A gibbous moon hung almost directly overhead, just a few days past full, casting its pale gray light over the dark waves. Read more

WWII History, Editorial

Poland Makes War Reparations Claim Against Germany.

On September 1, 1939, Adolf Hitler set World War II in Europe in motion when the spearheads of the Nazi Wehrmacht rolled across the German frontier into Poland. Read more

Soldiers of the 36th “Texas” Infantry Division splash ashore at Salerno. Corporal Charles Kelly carried a Browning Automatic Rifle and gained fame during the Italian Campaign.

WWII History, Profile

The One-Man Army at Salerno

By Michael D. Hull

After the collapse of Mussolini’s fascist regime in July 1943, the allies launched a double attack against the western coast of the Italian mainland. Read more

WWII History, Ordnance

Cleveland-class Workhorses

By Nathan N. Prefer

During World War II, the U.s. “Arsenal of Democracy” produced thousands of ships of all shapes and sizes for the war effort. Read more

WWII History, Top Secret

Looking for the Luftwaffe

By Joseph Frantiska, Jr.

Chain Home, or ‘CH’ was the codename given to the system of early warning radar stations located along the Europe facing coasts of the United Kingdom (UK) before and during World War II to locate and follow aircraft. Read more

A view of two Japanese defenders inside their bunker on Tarawa as U.S. Marines storm the island, November 19, 1943.

WWII History, Insight

Tarawa Through Japanese Eyes

By Peter McQuarrie

The Battle of Tarawa, a component of Operation Galvanic, was the U.S. Marines’ first bold amphibious assault against a Japanese stronghold in World War II. Read more

WWII History, Books

World War II Book Reviews for Early 2023

Full Reviews

The Cactus Air Force: Air War over Guadalcanal (Eric Hammel and John McKelvey Cleaver, Osprey Books, Oxford UK, 2022, 336 pp., Read more

WWII History, Simulation Gaming

Men of War II

By Joseph Luster

Players interested in the upcoming Men of War II have likely kept their ears close to the ground in the period of time leading up to its eventual 2023 release, and we recently got more information thanks to a new series of developer diaries that shed some light on the progress. Read more

WWII History, Simulation Gaming

Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory

By Joseph Luster

It’s been almost two decades since Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory first brought the free and open-source multiplayer take on the series to our screens as a standalone game, and now it’s been resurrected in all of its visual time capsule glory. Read more

February 2023

From Around the Network

Firing on Fort Sumter: the Start of Civil War

Militaria: WWI Helmets from French Troops

Anders’ Army: Wladyslaw Anders & the Polish II Corps

Doomed Expedition to Algiers