European Theater
The Heroes of Hill 192
By William G. DennisToday, on Hill 192, located between the Normandy cities of St. Lô and Bayeux, sleek horses graze the fields, and people in hacking gear travel the roads and bridle paths. Read more
European Theater
The European Theater of Operations (ETO) during World War II is generally regarded as the area of military confrontation between the Allied powers and Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The European Theater encompassed the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Eastern Front, Western Front, and Arctic areas of operation.
European Theater
How Capitalism Won WWII: This Is Capitalism and Expert Rob Citino Explain
By Nicholas Varangis“We won because we smothered the enemy in an avalanche of production, the like of which he had never seen, nor dreamed possible.” Read more
European Theater
Long-Range Fighter Escort
By Gene J. PfefferOn August 17, 1942, the 97th Bomb Group began the opening attack of the U.S. Army Air Forces’ (USAAF) strategic bombing campaign against Germany. Read more
European Theater
First Raid For the Mighty Eighth
By Michael D. HullGeneral Henry H. “Hap” Arnold, commander of the U.S. Army Air Forces, was a man both driven and under great pressure in the spring and early summer of 1942. Read more
European Theater
The Focke-Wulf FW-190: Best Fighter Aircraft of WWII
By William F. Floyd, Jr.On July 28, 1943, Luftwaffe Oberleutnant Erwin Clausen shot down another two B-17 Flying Fortresses to add to the two he had shot down the previous day. Read more
European Theater
“Love” Company in the Vosges Mountains
By John M. KhouryThe author is a self-described “tough kid from Brooklyn” who enlisted in the U.S. Army’s Enlisted Reserve program in October 1942, hoping to complete his college education before being called up for active duty. Read more
European Theater
Darrell “Shifty” Powers: Easy Company’s Sharpshooter
By Marcus BrothertonDarrell “Shifty” Powers was a soft-spoken machinist who never aspired to greatness. He was born, grew up, got married, raised his family, worked, retired, and died in Clinchco, a remote mining town in southwest Virginia. Read more
European Theater
The Real Story of “Mad Jack” Churchill—a Rare Breed of Warrior
By Robert Barr SmithIt was May 1940, and the German officer’s unit was attacking toward a village called l’Epinette, near Bethune, France. Read more
European Theater
M26 Pershing: Why America’s Heavy Tank Arrived Too Late for WWII
By Arnold Blumberg“We had been assured by our officers before we invaded France in 1944,” recorded Bill Harris, “that our Sherman tanks could take care of any Nazi armor we met there.” Read more
European Theater
Patton’s Fight for Fort Koenigsmacker
By Brig. Gen. (U.S. Army Ret.) Raymond E. Bell JR.In his autobiography, War As I Knew It, Lieutenant General Patton set the tone for what was to become one of his Third U.S. Read more
European Theater
Skiing Off To War: A Squad Leader in the 10th Mountain Division
By Bruce K. Campbell with Glenn BarnettI was born in Los Angeles in 1924 and attended local schools. In high school I enrolled in ROTC and, when I could, I went skiing for fun. Read more
European Theater
The Last Flight of the Lonesome Polecat
By Diane Condon-BoutierEvery February 11, Rouxmesnil-Bouteilles, a tiny town in Upper Normandy situated north of the Seine River a short distance inland from the coastal city of Dieppe and some two hours from the D-Day invasion beaches, pays homage to 10 American airmen who crashed into the town center, narrowly missing the local children assembled in their schoolhouse just a few yards away. Read more
European Theater
The Nevada and I Survived the War
By Charles T. SeheI am of Polish, Irish, and American Indian descent and grew up in the small (population 3,800) northern Illinois town of Geneva. Read more
European Theater
The Allies’ Biggest Blunder?
By Brig. Gen. (ret.) Raymond E. Bell, Jr.Before World War II, the Belgian port city of Antwerp was one of the world’s great ports, ranking with those of Hamburg, Rotterdam, and New York. Read more
European Theater
Book Reviews: Heroism of the Nisei Soldiers
By Christopher Miskimon Honor Before Glory: The Epic World War II Story of the Japanese American GIs Who Rescued the Lost Battalion(Scott McGaugh, Da Capo Press, Boston, 2016, 257 pp., Read more
European Theater
On a Wing and Several Prayers: The Story of a B-17 Tailgunner
By Glenn BarnettOn August 25, 1944, Larry Stevens and the rest of his Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber crew completed their 35th mission over Nazi-occupied Europe. Read more
European Theater
Fiery Fight for a Frozen Hell: Battle of the Bulge in Luxembourg
By James G. Bilder
Described in one U.S. Army report as “the quiet paradise for weary troops,” the tiny nation of Luxembourg was viewed by American commanders in late 1944 much like Belgium—liberated, safe, and an ideal location for combat-worn troops to rest and for untested replacements to get exposed to outdoor living and military routine before being exposed to combat. Read more
European Theater
The Lions of Carentan Part III: Operation Cobra
By Volker GriesserBackground: In this, the third and final installment of a three-part series excerpted from The Lions of Carentan, the 2011 book by a respected German military historian, Fallschirmjäger Regiment 6 (FJR 6) has been pushed out of Ste.-Mère-église, Read more
European Theater
The Lions of Carentan Part II: Defending Carentan
By Volker GriesserBackground: Fallschirmjäger Regiment 6, under the command of Major Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte, had the fortune (or misfortune) to be stationed in Normandy at the time of the Allied invasion of France on June 6, 1944. Read more
European Theater
The Lions of Carentan Part I: Paratrooper vs Paratrooper on D-Day
By Volker GriesserBackground: Fallschirmjäger Regiment 6 was organized in February 1943, under the command of Major Egon Liebach. It was part of the 2nd Fallschirmjäger Division and was stationed in France, where it trained in parachute and glider operations. Read more
