Private Kenneth Boyer, a tank gunner in the 37th Tank Battalion, sits atop his M4 Sherman northeast of Arracourt, France on September 26, 1944. The fighting around Rechicourt began that night.

WWII History June 2021

Stubborn Defense at Rechicourt

By Christopher Miskimon

First Lieutenant James H. Fields, a 24-year-old from Houston, Texas, led the 1st Platoon of Company A, 10th Armored Infantry Battalion. Read more

Dutch civilians gather on the edge of an 82nd Airborne Division drop zone near the town of Nijmegen as American paratroopers assemble and set off toward their Operation Market-Garden objectives. The Americans moved rapidly at first but ran into stiff opposition from troops of a SS panzer division and supporting enemy units guarding the road and rail bridges across the Waal River at Nijmegen.

WWII History June 2021

Across the Wide River

By David H. Lippman

Major Julian A. Cook stood on the ninth floor of a power plant west of the Dutch city of Nijmegen and stared north across the 400 yards of the fast-moving Waal River at German defensive positions on the other side—the square turn-of-the-century Dutch Fort Hof van Holland, its machine-gun emplacements, 20mm guns, and dug-in troopers of the 10th SS Panzer Division. Read more

Lieutenant Commander Eddie C. Outlaw and his wingman, Lieutenant (j.g.) Donald ‘Dagwood’ Reeves, wing over Truk Lagoon during their destructive April 1944 fighter sweep. A Japanese fighter, shot down in flames, has just hit the water and exploded on impact. The pilots took their Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters into action without dropping their auxiliary fuel tanks, which are prominently visible in this painting by artist Jack Fellows.

WWII History June 2021

Ten Minutes Over Truk

By Chris Marks

Lieutenant Hollis Hills had every reason to be puzzled. His guns had just raked the Japanese fighter ahead of him, the rounds striking home along the enemy’s fuselage and wing roots. Read more

Its turret facing to the rear and its 75mm gun ready to fire, an M4 Sherman medium tank of the 5th (Scots) Parachute Battalion supports British soldiers of the 2nd Parachute Brigade during fighting in the streets of Athens against Communist ELAS militia on December 18, 1944. Two Greek soldiers, one wearing a German helmet, assist the British troops in the operation.

WWII History June 2021

Athens In Agony

By John W. Osborn, Jr.

“No other two races have left such a mark on the world” as the Jews and the Greeks, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once wrote. Read more

Lieutenant Commander Eddie Outlaw waves to crewmen on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Langley sometime after the April 1944 raid on Truk Lagoon.

WWII History June 2021

Operation Hailstone devastated the Japanese anchorage at Truk.

Despite the fact that the massive anchorage at Truk Lagoon in the Caroline Islands had become more untenable with each passing day as the American pincer executed its “Island Hopping” strategy in the autumn of 1943 and the following spring, the harbor remained a tempting target for U.S. Read more

Douglas A-20 Havoc bombers complete their runs against the headquarters of General Dietrich Krauss, commander of the German 352nd Infantry Division in France on June 7, 1944, the day after the Allied landings in Normandy.

WWII History June 2021

Wreaking Havoc

By Sam McGowan

Few airplanes can claim the honor of being credited with changing the course of World War II, but the Douglas A-20 Havoc twin-engine light bomber is one that can. Read more

A column of German PzKpfw. III tanks advance on Moscow in November 1941. The Soviet Army began utilizing deception on a broad scale to conceal troop movements and mask its intentions during counteroffensive operations.

WWII History June 2021

Russian Deception—Lessons Hard Earned

By Allyn Vannoy

Russian deception, misdirection, and misinformation, as evidenced in ecent years, can be very destructive. But it’s nothing new—it’s the result of hard-earned experience during World War II. Read more

Major Charity Adams (center) commanded the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only all-black, all-female Women’s Army Corps unit to serve overseas during World War II. PFC Romay Johnson remembered her as a strict officer.

WWII History June 2021

A Black WAC in the U.S. Army

By Kevin M. Hymel

Although Private First Class (Pfc) Romay C. Johnson served in war-torn England and France during World War II, it was her tumultuous voyage across the Atlantic Ocean that she remembered most vividly. Read more

Royal Navy WRENS and other women in the British military were already involved with the barrage balloon program when Operation Outward was initiated.

WWII History June 2021

Another Way to Bomb Germany

By Glenn Barnett

An old English adage states that “It’s an ill wind that blows no one any good.”

Such was the case when a gale pounded England on the night of September 17, 1940. Read more

WWII History June 2021

World War II Games of June 2021

By Joseph Luster

War Mongrels

Publisher: Destructive Creations, All in! Games SA Genre: Strategy System: PC Available: 2021

If you’ve been seeking out a World War II game that focuses primarily on the Eastern Front of the war, look no further than the latest from Destructive Creations. Read more

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