Normandy
Adolf Hitler Led Germany To Ruin In World War II
by Mike HaskewBorn in Branau, Austria, on April 20, 1889, Adolf Hitler rose to lead the Nazi Party in Germany during the 1920s and was appointed the nation’s chancellor in 1933. Read more
Normandy
Outlandish D-Day Invasion Tales: A Hard Start for Rudder’s Rangers
By Patrick O’DonnellIn the early morning of June 6, 1944, LCA 668 (Landing Craft, Assault), carrying First Sergeant Len Lomell, Staff Sergeant Jack Kuhn, and most of the 2nd Platoon, 2nd Ranger Battalion, cut through the choppy, green waters of the English Channel. Read more
Normandy
The Allies’ Strong Stand Atop Mortain
by Kevin HymelA German SS officer, holding a white flag of truce, walked through the American lines and up to a tall lieutenant from Texas. Read more
Normandy
Vierville Civilians Recall Allied Pre-Invasion Bombings
by Kevin HymelThe townspeople of Vierville-sur-Mer awoke around 3 am on June 6, 1944, to the sound of bombs. In the early morning of the Normandy Invasion, American Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers were dropping their payloads, preparing the invasion beaches for the coming attack. Read more
Normandy
Sketches of D-Day’s “Mulberry Harbours” on Auction
Developed by the British in World War II, “Mulberry harbours” were portable, temporary harbors that could be used for rapid on- and off-loading of cargo ships during the D-Day Invasion. Read more
Normandy
Brutal Battle for a Normandy Hill
By Mark Simmons“At Tarnopol we endured heavy Russian fire but in Normandy we were hit again and again, day after day by British artillery that was so heavy the Frundsberg [10th SS Panzer Division “Frundsberg,” named after 16th-century German knight and general Georg Von Frundsberg] bled to death before our eyes. Read more
Normandy
Villers-Bocage: Wittmann’s Tigers, the Desert Rats, and Allied Disaster
By Major General Michael ReynoldsBritish General Sir Bernard Montgomery was given command of two Allied armies for the invasion of Normandy: Lt. Read more
Normandy
With the “Ragtag Circus” Across Europe: The Story of Frank Fauver
By Susan ZimmermanThe 83rd U.S. Infantry Division had been mobilized for World War I in September 1917. Its unit patch was a downward-pointing black triangle with the letters O-H-I-O stitched as an abstract gold monogram in the center. Read more
Normandy
U.S. Army Heritage Museum
By Mason B. WebbIn the heart of Pennsylvania, not far from the Civil War battlefields of Gettysburg, stands the U.S. Read more
Normandy
Night of the Bloody Tiger: German Raid on a D-Day Exercise
By Michael D. HullOperation Bolero, the marshaling of Allied forces for the planned 1944 invasion of Normandy, was in full swing by late 1943, and much of England had been turned into a great armed camp. Read more
Normandy
Amazing Photography of Normandy: D-Day Plus 1 Year
By Kevin M. HymelOn June 6, 1945, two Stars & Stripes newspaper reporters traveled to Normandy with a mission: to photograph the effects of the year-old D-Day landings on the beaches, towns, and fields. Read more
Normandy
D-Day: Over Normandy: A New Drone’s Eye View of the Iconic Beachhead
New technology has shaped the way we view our past. Breakthroughs in Computer Graphics, editing, and videography have allowed documentary filmmakers to present stories from different angles in order to enhance the viewer’s appreciation and understanding of a topic. Read more
Normandy
WW2 Stories: 5 Compelling First-Hand Accounts from D-Day
The invasion of Normandy was one of the most audacious military campaigns in history. Nearly three million Allied personnel would participate in or support the Normandy operations. Read more
Normandy
D-Day Casualties: Operation Overlord by the Numbers
The largest amphibious invasion in history began on the night of June 5-6, with the roar of C-47 engines preparing to take off , and climaxed on the beaches of Normandy. Read more
Normandy
The WW2 Paratrooper: First-Hand Accounts of the D-Day Invasion
By Kevin M. HymelWhat was it like to be a WW2 paratrooper, parachuting into Normandy in the opening minutes of June 6, 1944—D-Day? Read more
Normandy
Why America Participated in the Allied Bombing of France in WWII
By Flint WhitlockBy any standard, the ancient city of Rouen, in Upper Normandy, is a historical treasure. Within its magnificent High Gothic Notre-Dame Cathedral (which was portrayed in a famous series of paintings by the Impressionist Claude Monet as well as by his contemporary Camille Pissarro) is a tomb containing the heart of Richard the Lionheart (1157-1199) who had been King of England and the Duke of Normandy. Read more
Normandy
Rampage on the Riviera: Operation Dragoon
By Glenn Barnette and André BernoleEarly in 1944, German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the defeated hero of North Africa and now head of Army Group B in France, was tasked with strengthening the Atlantic Wall defenses against Allied invasion. Read more
Normandy
Paratrooper Brawl at Carentan
By William F. Floyd, Jr.The two exits from the American landing zones at Utah Beach were entrusted to the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Read more
Normandy
D-Day Drama at the Klondike Aid Station
By Bill WarnockShellfire rocked the aid station. A ceiling beam cracked, raining down plaster. One explosion obliterated a window, hurling stone, wood, and glass shards into the room. Read more
Normandy
Freeing Mont Saint Michel
By Kevin M. HymelOf all the landmarks in Europe, few are as distinctive and instantly recognizable as the medieval fortress/ monastery of Mont Saint Michel, located on the French coast seven miles southwest of the city of Avranches. Read more
