Spring 2026 Archives

Soviet paratroopers in front of a TB-3 bomber transport. Though they had more on paper, there were only 39 PS-84 transport planes and 22 TB-3 bomber transports—and only 19 fighters—available for the January 27 jump. German aircraft attacks on planes and airfields, as well as technical difficulties, left only two TB-3s and 10 PS-84s still operational by January 31, further delaying the deployment of paratroopers.

WWII History

20 Million Lives

By Michael E. Haskew

Citizens of the Soviet Union,” blared the voice of Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov to a stunned nation on June 22, 1941, “the Soviet government and its head, Comrade Stalin, have authorized me to make the following statement: “Today at 4 o’clock am, without any claims having been presented to the Soviet Union, without a declaration of war, German troops attacked our country, attacked our borders at many points and bombed from their airplanes our cities; Zhitomir, Kiev, Sevastopol, Kaunus and some others, killing and wounding over 200 persons. Read more

WWII History, Profiles

Philip Neame

By Bradley P. Tolppanen

During the Second World War the Western Desert campaign was a graveyard for the reputations of British generals—all at the hands of the Desert Fox, Gen. Read more

The Regia Marina’s Luigi Torelli arrives at the BETASOM sub base in Bordeaux on February 4, 1941, after completing its first Atlantic patrol. She had begun her patrol on November 12, but had to return to base for electric motor repairs after 10 days. She set out again on January 9, 1941.

WWII History, Ordnance

Italian Sub Luigi Torelli

Patrick J. Chaisson

History has not been kind to the Italian Royal Navy. Since World War II scholars have largely ignored La Regia Marina Italiana and the often pivotal role it played in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. Read more

WWII History, Insight

Mystery at the Battle of Ramree Island

By Chuck Lyons

The nights were “the most horrible ever experienced,” Bruce S. Wright, a Royal Canadian Lieutenant Commander later wrote about his time in Burma in February 1945. Read more

WWII History, Books

9 World War II Book Reviews for Spring 2026

By Kevin Seabrooke Full Reviews

The Hitler Years: Holocaust 1933–1945 (Frank McDonough, Apollo/Bloomsbury Publishing, New York, NY, 416pp., Jan. 27, 2026, $45 HC)

Resisting Nazism: True Stories of Resistance to the World’s Most Dangerous Ideology, from 1920 to the Present (Luke Berryman, Bloomsbury Academic, New York, NY, 296 pp., Read more

WWII History, Simulation Gaming

Company of Heroes 3 — Endure & Defy

By Joseph Luster

Another new piece of DLC has arrived for Company of Heroes 3, giving players even more to dig into as we journey into the new year. Read more

WWII History, Simulation Gaming

Ground of Aces: Healing the Heroes

By Joseph Luster

Following its Early Access launch in July 2025, the folks at Blindflug Studios AG have kept World War II base-building strategy game Ground of Aces strong with new content. Read more

Infantry from the 40th Division follows Sherman tanks advancing on Japanese positions on Panay Island, Philippines in March 1945. This photograph is one of four from the camera of Lt. Robert Fields who was killed by incoming Japanese fire shortly after this photo was taken.

WWII History

Bud Elliott and the Forgotten 40th

By Scott Elliott

The time had finally arrived. They would play second fiddle no more. An armada of American ships stretching as far as the eye could see entered Lingayen Gulf in Northwestern Luzon on the morning of January 9, 1945. Read more

The German submarine, U-451, with its flying fish mascot visible on the conning tower in this undated photo.

WWII History

The Survivor of the Sinking of U-451

By Jack Adamson

Oberleutnant zur See Walter Köhler floated alone in the freezing Atlantic in the predawn hours of December 21, 1941. Read more

Company A, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division in a landing craft heading for Omaha Beach in the first wave of the D-Day assault on Normandy.

WWII History

A Bedford Boy at Omaha Beach

By John Wukovits

Twenty-one-year-old Elizabeth Teass walked into the Western Union office in the small town of Bedford, Virginia, early on the morning of July 17, 1944, fully expecting a normal day as the teletype operator. Read more

WWII History

Bombs Over Balikpapan

By Patrick J. Chaisson

Lieutenant Gus Connery and the crew of Juarez Whistle, a Consolidated B-24D Liberator heavy bomber, first spotted their target around midnight. Read more

Soviet troops holding off Germans on the outskirts of Moscow during Operation Typhoon, Hitler’s final push for the Russian capital in early December 1941. The Red Army counterattacked and drove Germany’s Army Group Center back some 200 miles, but Stalin demanded a plan to encircle and destroy the Germans—leading to the Vyazma Airborne Operation.

WWII History

Red Army Airborne Assault

By Victor Kamenir

Operation Typhoon, Germany’s final effort to capture Moscow, ground to a halt within sight of the Soviet capital as the temperatures hovered between -30ºF and -40ºF in early December 1941. Read more

WWII History

Normandy Breakout

By Brian Todd Carey

On June 6, 1944 the Allies opened the Second Front against Nazi Germany. Concentrated against the beaches of Normandy, Operation Overlord landed 20 army divisions plus support troops on five beaches in anticipation of a breakout across France and toward Berlin. Read more

Spring 2026

From Around the Network

Konev Strikes

Bloody Collision at Cedar Mountain

The Workhorse Lancaster

World War I: Inception of the Aircraft Carrier