European Theater
The Real “Great Escape”
By Jeffrey A. DenmanIn early 1942, the air war over Germany was taking its toll on the Royal Air Force. 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
Bedford’s Valiant Boys
By Don HainesWhen twin brothers Roy and Ray Stevens of Bedford, Virginia, joined Company A, First Battalion, 116th Infantry of the 29th Infantry Division in 1938, they could not know that their decision would completely destroy their dream of one day owning a farm together. Read more
European Theater
D-Day +12: Assault on Cherbourg
By Arnold BlumbergWhen plans were drawn up for the Allied invasion of France in 1944, one important consideration was securing a deep-water port to allow reinforcements and supplies to be brought in directly from Great Britain and the United States. Read more
European Theater
Red Ball Express: The Legendary Lifeline
By Michael D. HullAugust 1944 saw a rosy mood of optimism and self-deception sweep through the Allied high command in France as a result of the sudden, dramatic end to the campaign in Normandy. Read more
European Theater
Leclerc and Liberation
By Michael D. HullAfter the humiliating fall of France in June 1940, two impassioned patriots—a general and an infantry captain—refused to accept defeat and determined, against all odds, to exact retribution from the German invaders. Read more
European Theater
Jimmy Stewart’s rise from Private to Colonel
By Sam McGowanJimmy Stewart is arguably the only prewar American actor of superstar magnitude to have served in a sustained combat role during World War II, and the only one to have served in a position of command. Read more
European Theater
Saving Operation Grandslam
By Allyn VannoyOn January 23-24, 1945, Allied forces initiated Operation Grandslam against the Colmar Pocket, a German salient that bulged west from the Rhine, south of Strasbourg, France. Read more
European Theater
Surviving France’s Shame: French General Maxime Weygand in WWII
By Blaine Taylor“What General Weygand has called the Battle of France is over,” intoned British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. “The Battle of Britain is about to begin.” Read more
European Theater
Brian G. Horrocks: Bernard Montgomery’s Frontline General
By Michael D. HullA big challenge faced Maj. Gen. Brian G. Horrocks, an infantryman, when he was cross-posted to take command of the British Army’s 9th Armored Division in March 1942. Read more
European Theater
The Me 262 and the Beginning of the Jet Fighter Age
By Phil ZimmerThe Germans knew the bombers were coming, and they prepared even as the U.S. 457th Bomber Group first assembled in the early morning sunlight over faraway London. Read more
European Theater
Sergeant Major Stan Hollis: The Victoria Cross on D-Day
By Michael D. HullA chill breeze cut through the early morning haze, and the storm-swollen sea was rough off the coast of northern France on Tuesday, June 6, 1944. Read more
European Theater
Heinz Guderian: Author of the Blitzkrieg
By Phil ZimmerHitler was enraged as he stalked his way around the room during the waning months of World War II. Read more
European Theater
The Fight for Singling
By Arnold BlumbergAfter four months and a 600-mile advance from the beaches of Normandy into Brittany and then through eastern France, the spearhead of Lt. Read more
European Theater
Means of Grace, Hope of Glory
By Robert Barr SmithThey carried no weapons, only holy books and rudimentary vestments, a crucifix or a Star of David and sometimes a little Communion kit. Read more
European Theater
Tactical Thunder: The Ninth Air Force
By Sam McGowanAs the landing craft carrying the invading Allied ground forces of Operation Overlord motored toward the Normandy beaches on June 6, 1944, they were protected and supported by the largest aerial armada the world has ever seen. Read more
European Theater
Bridging the Rhine at Remagen: Infantryman Paul Priest Recalls the Historic Crossing
By George A. LarsonAs Allied troops advanced along a broad front toward Nazi Germany in the winter of 1945, the United States Army was eager to capture an intact bridge over the Rhine River to allow its troops and heavy equipment to advance rapidly into Germany. Read more
European Theater
Combat Fatigue: How Stress in Battle was Felt (and Treated) in WWII
By Duane SchultzEugene Sledge knew a thing or two about combat fatigue. It was September 15, 1944, on a tiny spit of land called Peleliu: the Japanese opened up with heavy mortar fire just as the Marines moved off the beach and started inland. Read more
European Theater
The Trains That Fueled the Normandy Breakout
By Kerry SkidmoreHistorian Christian Wolmar concludes that the two world wars could not have been fought to such devastation without military railways, in his book Engines of War. Read more
European Theater
Pegasus Bridge: Operation Deadstick’s Glider Assault
By Christopher MiskimonOn a darkened airfield at 2230 hours on June 5, 1944, a reinforced company of British gliderborne infantry, D Company of the Second Battalion, Oxford & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (Ox & Bucks), boarded gliders, prepared to start the invasion of France. Read more
European Theater
Bitter Fight at Gela
By Christopher MiskimonThe smoke had barely cleared from the battlefields of North Africa when the victorious Allies turned their attention northward to Europe. Read more
