wehrmacht
The Soviet Dunkirk: The Tallinn Offensive
By Victor J. KamenirEarly in World War II, a bitter joke circulated within the Soviet military. It ran, “What is the first thing Russia does when war is declared? Read more
wehrmacht
Johann Georg Elser’s Treasonous Plot to Prevent World War II
By Blaine TaylorAt exactly 8 PM on November 8, 1939, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler strode briskly into Munich’s Burgerbraukeller beer hall at the head of his glowering entourage, brushing past a forest of hands raised in the Nazi salute. Read more
wehrmacht
Wekusta: Weathermen of the Wehrmacht
By William McPeakThe fundamental pillars of war—strategy and tactics— inevitably depend on an imponderable and uncontrollable factor: the weather. With the increasing sophistication of weather data gathering, analysis, and forecasting in the early 20th century, predicting the weather became an integral part of World War II. Read more
wehrmacht
WWII: German Rations and Feeding the Troops of the Third Reich
By G. Paul GarsonIt was Napoleon Bonaparte who purportedly said, “An army travels on its stomach.” Toward the goal of feeding his particular army’s stomach more efficiently, in 1795 the French general came up with an interesting solution to the problem. Read more
wehrmacht
The Hitler Jugend SS Panzergrenadier and the Uniform of the Hitler Youth
By Johnny Shumate The paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party known as the Sturmabteilung established the Hitler Jugend in 1926 for the purpose of indoctrinating German youth into Nazi ideology. Read more
wehrmacht
The Bombing of Dresden: Was the Attack Fully Justified?
By Mason B.WebbIt was February 1945, and the Bombing of Dresden had yet to commence. At this point in the war, the citizens of the capital of the German state of Saxony were beginning to think that they were living a charmed life. Read more
wehrmacht
Operation Dragoon: The Allied Invasion of France in the South
By Patrick J. Chaisson“This was war deluxe,” observed Brig. Gen. Frederic B. Butler as his command car entered the French village of Quincon during Operation Dragoon, the Allied invasion of France in the country’s southern region, in August 1944. Read more
wehrmacht
The Nazi Invasion of Poland, Adolf Hitler’s First Gamble in the East
By Christopher Miskimon
Historians often compare Adolf Hitler to a gambler. He kept making risky bets that paid off time and again—until they didn’t. Read more
wehrmacht
The History of Third Reich Uniforms
By G. Paul GarsonThe evolution of Third Reich uniforms followed from a long history of European uniforms in general and Imperial German uniforms in particular. Read more
wehrmacht
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
wehrmacht
The Scholarly Spies
By Tim MillerEarly in June 1940, refugees from northern France and the low Countries who had flooded Paris in May fled with the residents of the city as the German advance neared. Read more
wehrmacht
The Soviet Winter Offensive: From the Vistula to the Oder
By Henrik Lunde The Situation in the East, Summer 1944The area between the Baltic Sea and the Carpathian Mountains had been relatively quiet since the end of Operation Bagration late in the summer of 1944. Read more
wehrmacht
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
wehrmacht
The Volkssturm: Last-Ditch Militia of the Third Reich
By Blaine TaylorOn October 18, 1944—the 131st anniversary of the Battle of the Nations’ victory over Napoleon in 1813—Reichsführer-SS (National Leader) Heinrich Himmler stepped up to a microphone to make a national radio address announcing the formation of the Nazi Party-controlled Volkssturm, or People’s Militia. Read more
wehrmacht
Battle of Nijmegen Bridge: Taking the Crossings Over the Waal
By Jan BosThe city of Nijmegen, in the southeastern part of Holland and about six miles from the Dutch-German border, is believed to be Holland’s oldest city, going back some 2,000 years. Read more
wehrmacht
Demise of the Japanese Navy
By Christopher MiskimonThe Japanese superbattleship Musashi was steaming east along with a fleet of other battleships, cruisers, and destroyers on their way toward what was expected to be a climactic battle at Leyte Gulf. Read more
wehrmacht
The Battle of Heartbreak Crossroads: Pyrrhic Victory at Wahlerscheid
By Cleve C. BarkleyTechnical Sergeant Clyde Dugan flattened as another string of mortar shells ravaged the barren field. Pristine snow vomited fire and steel as chunks of frozen earth rocketed skyward then plunged to pelt his shoulders or clatter loudly on his helmet. Read more
wehrmacht
The Polish II Corps in Italy
By James I. MarinoDespite the Nazi conquest of European nations during World War II, individual soldiers from the occupied countries rose again to fight the German Army, and the largest army in exile to fight the Germans was Polish. Read more
wehrmacht
Greeting the Liberators: The Civilians of Normandy
By Kevin M. HymelThe Germans were gone. After more than four years of occupation, the soldiers of the Wehrmacht had been evicted from France’s Normandy region by the American and British armies. Read more
