Blitzkrieg Archives

German airborne troops, known as Fallschirmjäger, retrieve their parachutes after landing in Norway north of the capital city of Oslo in April 1940.

Blitzkrieg

Scandinavian Airborne Assault

By Henrik O. Lunde

The Polish Campaign in 1939 demonstrated the awesome effectiveness of aircraft as weapons platforms for close ground support. Read more

Blitzkrieg

”The subject of Poland is by far the most complex of all the problems to be considered,” the American delegation to the Paris Peace Conference at Versailles was told in 1919, as it was preparing to sort out the incredible mess in European affairs following the end of World War I. Read more

Blitzkrieg

Sitzkrieg on the Western Front

By Michael Hull

Within hours of the entry of Great Britain and France into World War II on September 3, 1939, the British liner SS Athenia was sunk by a German U-boat off the northwestern coast of Ireland, with the loss of 112 dead, including 28 American citizens. Read more

Blitzkrieg

Beasts of War

By Chuck Lyons

Not all World War II heroes were men or women. Some were four-legged, hoofed, or winged. They included horses and mules, elephants, and dogs as well as more exotic animals such as bats, camels, reindeer, and pigeons. Read more

'Operation Deadstick' entailed an audacious British glider assault to capture two Normandy bridges, one of which was Pegasus Bridge.

Blitzkrieg

Operation Deadstick: the Capture of ‘Pegasus Bridge’

This article was provided by Martin Cherrett, whose blog, World War II Today, provides a unique way military history enthusiasts can understand and experience the Second World War. Read more

Blitzkrieg

WWII Vehicles: The T-34 Russian Tank

By Arnold Blumberg

Early in World War II, German panzer forces trampled all foes. Confidence suffused the Germans, and their tank designs stagnated. Read more

Mutually supportive, an American tank and surrounding infantrymen attempt to silence a German machine-gun nest whose fire harassed their advance near Coudry, France, on August 8, 1944.

Blitzkrieg

Battle of Mortain: The Big Red One’s Square-Off with German Panzers

By Al Hemingway

At the start of the Battle of Mortain, Field Marshal Gunther Von Kluge was in an optimistic mood. Read more

On September 6, 1940, the destroyer USS Buchanan exits Boston Harbor en route to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and new Lend-Lease duties with the British Royal Navy. Buchanan was renamed HMS Campbeltown and gained everlasting fame during the commando raid on St. Nazaire in 1942.

Blitzkrieg

Trade of 50 American Destroyers for British Bases in World War II

By William H. Langenberg

In early September 1940, the world was in turmoil. The battle of Britain was nearing its climax, and elsewhere global tensions ran high. Read more

German panzergrenadiers move past an idled Ferdinand self-propelled assault gun on a roadside near the Italian town of Nettuno in March 1944.

Blitzkrieg

Ferdinand Porsche’s ‘Elefant’ Tank Destroyer Could Have Excelled

By Jonathan F. Keiler

World War II tanks usually had aggressive- or ferocious-sounding names, such as Hellcat, Panther, or Tiger. Yet the tendency was not universal, as with British Cruisers or the American M-3 Honey. Read more

Blitzkrieg

The Battle of France: Furor Teutonicus & Gallic Débâcle

By Blaine Taylor

The year 1939 was one of massive military parades across Europe. On April 20, the largest ever was held in Berlin to celebrate Adolf Hitler’s birthday, complete with the paratroopers, wheeled artillery, tanks, half-tracks for motorized infantry, and overhead Luftwaffe fly-bys that would mark the coming campaigns and revolutionize warfare forever. Read more

From Around the Network

Red Army Generals: Ivan D. Chernyakhovsky

The Patton Museum

The Class the Stars Fell

Edward G. Longacre’s ‘Unsung Hero of Gettysburg’