World War I
Adolf Hitler’s Brush with Death in World War I
By Robert Barr SmithPrivate Henry Tandey had a clear shot at the German soldier. He was so close that he could look his enemy in the eyes. Read more
World War I
World War I was a global conflict of the early 20th century from 1914-1918, between the Central Powers, Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria, and the Allied powers, primarily Great Britain, France, Russia, and later the United States. World War I was ignited in the Balkan city of Sarajevo in June 1914 with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and war was declared in August. World War I was characterized by the horror of trench warfare on the Western Front and the rise of Bolshevism in the East, and millions died in the catastrophic conflict. The causes of World War I were many, including various territorial disputes, a major arms race, conflicting political ideologies, and more. World War I ended with the Treaty of Versailles; however, the agreement left many issues unresolved and heaped blame and the requirement for reparations on Germany, sowing the seeds of World War II.
World War I
Flags from World War I, World War II and the American Civil War
Founded in 1773, the Charleston Museum in South Carolina dubs itself “America’s First Museum.” Its new collection, “Unfurled,” is a stunning collection of historical flags from American history. Read more
World War I
Pershing’s Hammer: The Meuse–Argonne Offensive
By William StroockAt 0100 hours on September 12, 1918, German positions in the St. Mihiel salient on the Western Front were lit up by a massive artillery barrage. Read more
World War I
A World War I Retrospective from York University’s History Department
June 28, 2014 will mark a key milestone in military history: it will be the centennial anniversary of the start of World War I. Read more
World War I
Bicycle Infantry: Still a Tool of Modern Warfare?
by Peter Suicu
Ironically, two nations that used bikes in the greatest numbers have never actually used them in anger. Read more
World War I
When Did World War I End?
by Mike HaskewAt least ostensibly, World War I ended first with the cessation of armed hostilities between the warring powers at the famed “11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month,” that is November 11, 1918. Read more
World War I
The Advanced Combat Helmet Generation II: A New Helmet With an Old Legacy
In recent years, the U.S. military has made significant announcements on the replacement of its old equipment, much of it dating back to the Cold War. Read more
World War I
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
World War I
Innovative Soviet Fighter Ace
By Christopher J. ChlonAccording to contemporary Soviet news sources, fighter Ace Alexander Pokryshkin was the most famous pilot in the Red Air Force during World War II. Read more
World War I
B-29 Production
By Joe KirbyWhen Maj. Gen. Curtis Lemay, the hard-driving commander of the Twentieth U.S. Air Force based in Guam, decided to change tactics in early 1945 to boost the effectiveness of the B-29 Superfortress, it was the Bell Aircraft plant in Marietta, Georgia, that ultimately provided him with the stripped-down bombers that played such a key role in ending the war in the Pacific. Read more
World War I
Ford’s Willow Run Factory
By Samantha L. QuigleyThey said it couldn’t be done. Doubters chided Henry Ford for declaring that his Willow Run Bomber Plant could turn out a B-24 Liberator heavy bomber every hour. Read more
World War I
Books for January 2017
By Christopher MiskimonThe sun shone brightly overhead as the thin line of U.S. Marines lay in a beet field in France. Read more
World War I
The Graf Spee & Britain’s First Naval Victory of World War II
By David LippmanAs soon as the British radio operator started batting out the distress signal on December 2, 1939, the German pocket battleship opened up with a 37mm gun. Read more
World War I
Operation Aphrodite
By Mason B. WebbWhen it came to advanced military technology in World War II, arguably no one was better at it than Nazi Germany, whose scientists Adolf Hitler keep busy trying to invent the ultimate “super weapon” capable of defeating his enemies. Read more
World War I
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
World War I
Attack on the USS Panay
By Chuck LyonsFor some Americans, World War II started early. In December 1937, four years before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor propelled the United States into the war, Japanese planes attacked an American gunboat, the USS Panay, on China’s Yangtze River, strafing and bombing the boat, sinking it, killing three American crew members, and the wounding 45 others. Read more
World War I
The Heroic Death of the HMS Jervis Bay
By Chuck LyonsAble Seaman John Jeffcott, 27, of the HMS Jervis Bay was apprehensive in October 1940 as his ship sailed from Hailfax, Nova Scotia. Read more
World War I
Book Reviews: Russia’s Last Gasp: The Eastern Front 1916-17
By Christopher MiskimonHeavy fighting raged between German and Russian forces in March 1916 near Lake Naroch in modern-day Belarus. A Russian offensive, which would last for 12 days, was underway to relieve pressure on French forces on the Western Front. Read more
World War I
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
World War I
The USO Turns 75: American soldiers’ “Home Away From Home”
By John ProvanAlmost every American veteran has fond memories of a Track-Side Free Canteen, or a USO center at some train station or airport situated at locations around the world, or a “USO Camp Show” that provided entertainment close to the front lines, during every conflict since World War II. Read more
