European Theater

European Theater

George Preddy, Jr.: The USAAF’s Greatest P-51 Ace

Darwin, Australia, was hot even though it was mid-winter. On the afternoon of July 12, 1942, four newly deployed pilots of the U.S. Read more

European Theater

What Made The Bren Gun One of the Most Iconic British WWII Weapons

While all the combatant nations engaged in World War I fielded machine guns during the conflict, the British Army’s Vickers was arguably the best medium machine gun of the war, while their Lewis gun—an American design but perfected by the English—was the most effective light machine gun. Read more

European Theater

Sherman Tanks vs. Tiger Tanks: Which Was Best at the Bulge?

When American soldiers landed in France in June 1944 as part of the great Allied crusade to liberate Europe, they were well trained, fully equipped, and brimming with confidence. Read more

European Theater

American Athletes and Spectator Sports During World War II

In the 1940s, war disrupted the lives of millions of people around the globe: fuel rationing, food rationing, shortages of all kinds, and, of course, the death and destruction that was visited on cities, nations, and whole populations. Read more

European Theater

Battle of Meximieux: American Infantry & French Resistance

Nineteen-year-old Private First Class Peter Gaidosh of East Rochester, NY, was enjoying that rarest of wartime treats—a hot breakfast of fresh eggs, coffee, and pancakes—on the front lines. Read more

European Theater

The Pointe du Hoc Rangers: a Madman’s D-Day Mission

On the morning of June 6, 1944, the 2nd Ranger Battalion, commanded by Lt. Col. James Earl Rudder, began its ascent of a sheer 100-foot precipice called Pointe du Hoc. Read more

European Theater

Colonel Creighton Abrams at the Battle of the Bulge

On the chilly afternoon of Tuesday, December 26, 1944, a column of mud-caked Sherman tanks, halftracks, scout cars, and tank destroyers of the U.S. Read more

European Theater

New Year’s Day Defense in Alsace

Like something out of a dream, a soldier walked into the command post. He unspooled a line of wire, hooked a field phone to it, checked the line, and handed the receiver to the officer in charge, Captain Howard Trammell, saying, “Someone wants to talk to you.” Read more

European Theater

Leading the Way: William Orlando Darby’s Rangers in World War II

On a June morning in 1942, a battalion of American soldiers stepped down from a train at Fort William in the northern highlands of Scotland. Read more

European Theater

Michael Prestianni: Guarding the War Criminals at Nuremberg

Perhaps the most feared group of accused criminals in the annals of history was a potpourri of personalities who had been associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Read more

European Theater

Operation Jericho: Mosquito Raid on Amiens Prison

Many of the prisoners knew this night was probably their last on earth. Amiens Prison had seen a great many judicial murders and much Gestapo torture and brutality, so except for those about to die, executions were routine. Read more

European Theater

Amphibious Landing at Anzio

As the last days of 1943 slipped away, World War II in Italy ground to a miserable stalemate. Read more

European Theater

Operation Sea Lion: Hitler’s Cancelled Invasion of Britain

Major Graf Von Kielmansegg, an officer in Germany’s  1st Armored Division based near Orleans, France, was dragged from a cinema on the night of August 28, 1940, and told to report to his chief of staff. Read more

European Theater

The Azimuth “Smart” Bombs of World War II

As soon as one caveman threw a rock in anger at another, the human race took a giant step forward in warfare. Read more

European Theater

Aubrey Cosens of the Queen’s Own Rifles

Aubrey Cosens was the first soldier of the Third Canadian Division to earn the Victoria Cross in World War II—and this was a division that had landed on D-Day, taken 76 percent casualties in Normandy, and used its amphibious warfare experience to defeat the Germans in Holland. Read more

European Theater

Ben Dunkelman of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada

Ben Dunkelman was born in 1913 in Toronto to a wealthy Jewish family. His father owned Tip Top Tailors, Canada’s largest manufacturer and seller of men’s clothing. Read more

European Theater

Command of the Air: The Allied Bombing of Germany

Behind the strategy that governed the American air war in Europe during World War II lay events and ideas that dated back to World War I and the 1920s. Read more

European Theater

P-47 Thunderbolts at the Battle of the Bulge

The captured German pilot was cocky and boastful. He had just parachuted into the American airfield, now lit up by the fires of burning Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, a sprinkling of bright torches amid the gray January gloom and the dirty white snow. Read more

European Theater

Montgomery’s Manpower Crisis at Caen

In an August 14, 1944, General Bernard L. Montgomery was facing a manpower crisis, unable to drive the Germans out of Caen. Read more

European Theater

Arnhem Bridge: Why it was “Britain’s Alamo” in WWII

It was getting dark when they reached Arnhem bridge, but there it was, still intact.

Lieutenant Jack Grayburn’s No. Read more