WWII History August 2021 Archives

WWII History August 2021

Eyewitness at the Battle of Savo Island

By Captain Eugene H. Simpson

The Battle of Savo Island, August 8-9, 1942, was the first major naval engagement of the Guadalcanal Campaign. Read more

An M4A3E8 of 4th Armored Division takes cover along a sunken road while covering the H-4 highway outside Bastogne with its 76mm gun. This updated version of the Sherman has wider tracks for better performance in snow and mud; note the star has been painted over so German gunners cannot use it as an aiming point.

WWII History August 2021

Deadly Drive to Bastogne

By Christopher Miskimon

Private Bruce Fenchel was writing a letter home when his first sergeant burst into the barracks room. “Pack your duffel bags and get ready to roll,” the NCO said ominously. Read more

Two American soldiers of the 96th Infantry Division engage stubborn Japanese defenders on the island of Okinawa. One of them is seen firing his M-1 Garand rifle at a distant target, while the other is in the process of reloading his weapon. The bloody fight for Okinawa lasted 82 days.

WWII History August 2021

Hell on Hacksaw Ridge

By Nathan N. Prefer

It was called the Maeda Escarpment, after the nearest native village. An escarpment, according to the dictionary, is “a steep slope in front of a fortification” or “a long cliff.” Read more

WWII History August 2021

Task Force Raff’s Race Against Time

By Patrick J. Chaisson

Colonel Ed Raff kept glancing at his wristwatch while trying to control the growing sense of dread inside him. Read more

A Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber flies over a body of water. Corporal Joseph Hartman survived a terrible ordeal following a mid-air collision aboard a B-17, which was followed by an incredible odyssey.

WWII History August 2021

On December 1, 1942, a 431st Bomb Squadron Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress named Omar Khayyam – The Plastered Bastard took off from a base codenamed Cactus on a photo-reconnaissance mission toward enemy-held Bougainville Island in the Pacific. Read more

Two Type XXI U-boats lie under construction at the shipyards in Bremen, Germany in this photo taken after the submarines were captured by Allied troops in 1945.

WWII History August 2021

The Wonder of the Walter Boat

By Phil Zimmer

German engineer Hellmuth Walter stretched his shoulders, rubbed his face, and eased his hat back on his head as he walked down the wooden dock toward a covered deck. Read more

In this painting by artist Mark Churms, high value Axis prisoners arrive at Fort Hunt near the city of Alexandria, Virginia.

WWII History August 2021

Prisoners on the Potomac

By Patrick J. Chaisson

May 3, 1944: The nondescript army bus slowed to make a turn off the Mount Vernon Memorial Parkway just outside suburban Alexandria, Virginia. Read more

WWII History August 2021

From the Army to the Resistance

By Anne Saunders

September 1943 was an extraordinary month for the Royal Italian Army. On the 8th, General Dwight Eisenhower and Marshal Pietro Badoglio announced Italy’s surrender to the Allies. Read more

WWII History August 2021

Why Destroy When You Can Rebuild in a Game That Takes on All the Immense Post-war Cleanup Tasks?

By Joseph Luster

So many aspects of war-inspired entertainment are focused on destroying cities and bringing an end to the normalcy of a previously unmarred location. Read more

WWII History August 2021

The Incongruity Between Conviction and Subsequent Celebration

In January 1952, a 39-year-old man was arrested in Manchester, England on a charge of “gross indecency” as specified under Section 11 of Britain’s Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885. Read more

From Around the Network

Confederate John C. Pemberton was not a traitor, as some alleged.

“God Has Been Our Shield”

Amazing Photography of Normandy: D-Day Plus 1 Year

Don Hollway’s ‘At The Gates of Rome: The Fall of the Eternal City, AD 410’