European Theater
Blitzkrieg 1940: From the Invasion of Holland to the Fall of France
By John BrownThe ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu wrote, “Go forth to the enemy’s positions to which he must race. 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
Operation Market Garden: the 82nd Airborne Division’s Pivotal Role
By Martin K.A. MorganBy mid-August 1944, roughly one month before the now-famous Operation Market Garden, the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division had been fighting off and on for over a year. Read more
European Theater
The Bombing of Berlin by Doolittle’s Eighth Air Force
By Robert F. DorrHe was widely regarded as America’s best pilot, he was already a recipient of the Medal of Honor, he was commander of the Eighth Air Force caught up in 1,000-plane bombing missions deep into the Third Reich, and he was mad as hell. Read more
European Theater
Assault on Ludendorff Bridge: The First Allied Crossing of the Rhine
By Jon DiamondOn a cold March evening in the Goldenrod Café in West Point, Nebraska, Mary Timmermann, a waitress there, picked up the telephone receiver when her boss told her it was Omaha calling long distance for her. Read more
European Theater
The OSS and the Fourth Dimension of Warfare
By Bob BerginMajor General John K. Singlaub was a young airborne lieutenant when he took up an offer from the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) to become engaged in “hazardous duty behind enemy lines.” Read more
European Theater
HBO Working on “Band of Brothers In The Sky”
Thirteen years after completing “Band of Brothers” and four years after its companion series, “The Pacific,” Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg are teaming up again for a new World War II HBO series: “Masters of the Air.” Read more
European Theater
Massacre at Hémevez
By Martin K.A. MorganWhen we remember the 13,000 paratroopers and glider infantrymen who contributed so significantly to the hard-won success of June 6, 1944, we tend to remember the stories that leave us with something to admire. Read more
European Theater
The Irish Brigade in WWII
By Tim NewarkIt was a letter in the London Times that caught the attention of British wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Read more
European Theater
Vierville-sur-Mer: Cracking a Critical Draw at Omaha Beach
By Kevin M. HymellShortly after 8 am on June 6, 1944, a German officer overlooking the Vierville-sur-Mer Draw on Omaha Beach reported that the soldiers defending the beach were repelling the Americans: “The enemy is in search of cover behind the coastal zone obstacles. Read more
European Theater
General Percy Hobart: Britain’s Genius Tanker
By Jon DiamondAn army that will be poised for victory requires élan, military intellect, a penchant for tactical and strategic innovation, and the zeal to use the most qualified individuals for training and leadership. Read more
European Theater
The 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Operation Varsity
By Dominique FrançoiseAt the beginning of 1945, Nazi Germany was on the ropes. Being pounded by the Allies from both east and west, it was believed that Hitler’s Third Reich was near collapse. Read more
European Theater
Bovington Tank Museum
By Ray StevensonIf armored vehicles are your interest, the Tank Museum at Bovington Camp, Dorset, is your holy grail. This cavernous museum, measuring 50,000 square feet, holds the world’s finest and most comprehensive collection of over 250 armored vehicles from 26 countries. Read more
European Theater
Heroic Stand at Hosingen
By Alice M. Flynn and Allyn VannoyFirst Lieutenant Tom Flynn and his fellow POWs remained locked inside their boxcar prison on a Frankfurt railroad siding on Christmas Eve, 1944, as air raid sirens wailed and bombs exploded throughout the city. Read more
European Theater
Commandos Crack Hitler’s Atlantic Wall
By Mark SimmonAfter successfully fighting seasickness during the crossing of the English Channel, Lance-Corporal Ted Brooks of Number 48 (Royal Marine) Commando arrived on Nan Red Beach—which formed the left flank of Juno Beach—on the morning of June 6, 1944. Read more
European Theater
The Supply Front: The Allies’ Key to Victory
By Glenn BarnettAfter the war in Europe was won, General Dwight D. Eisenhower had many opportunities to review various campaigns with the leaders of the Soviet Army–– including even Joseph Stalin himself. Read more
European Theater
A Sergeant in the 12th Armored Division
By Kevin M. HymelSergeant Carl Erickson sat in shock inside his Sherman tank as he watched emaciated people dressed in tattered, striped suits smile and feebly wave to him and his fellow tankers. Read more
European Theater
Operation Varsity: Last Allied Airborne Operation of WWII
By Stephen L. WrightThe jerk of the canopy opening was a reassuring sensation. Not so reassuring was the storm of small arms and artillery fire that roared up from the ground. Read more
European Theater
Liberating Guam
By David H. LippmanAbove all, the island was defendable. From Ritidian Point in the north to the extreme southern coastline, Guam is 34 miles long, made in an irregular shape covering 228 square miles, the largest of all Pacific islands between Japan and New Guinea. Read more
European Theater
Voices of the Bulge, Part II
By Michael Collins & Martin KingIn the first installment, a large German force made a surprise counteroffensive against American positons along the Belgian-German border—an operation that became known in the West as “the Battle of the Bulge.” Read more
European Theater
Voices of the Bulge, Part I
By Michael Collins & Martin KingBACKSTORY: Unternehmen Wacht-am-Rhein (Operation Watch on the Rhine), better known in the West as the Battle of the Bulge, had its beginnings following the failed assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler’s life by Colonel Count Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg and a group of other high-level plotters who felt that their Führer was not only leading Germany to defeat but also its doom, and thus had to be eliminated. Read more
