American Paratrooper Captured in Normandy Escapes and Becomes Red Army Tanker – Joseph Beyrle
Joseph Beyrle is the only American soldier who officially took part in battles in the American and Red armies on the eastern and western fronts…
Executed by Nazis – German Soldier Became a Hero of the Soviet Union
Fritz Paul Schmenkel was born on February 14, 1916, in Varzovo near the town of Stettin (now Szczecin). His father, Paul Krause, was a communist…
World War II Fighting Continued Months After Peace Agreement
It’s easy to imagine that once World War II officially ended, the defeated Germans forces were so anxious to get home that they dropped their…
Defeating the “Impossible” – 5 Impregnable Fortresses the Russians Conquered
There is an old anecdote about the Russian army historically – Give them an ordinary task and they will fail. Give them an “impossible” task…
War Graffiti Leaves An Enduring Document
In 1917, Marcel Duchamp made the art world stand up and notice by signing his name on a urinal. This display was a sensation because…
D-Day Up Close -Dozens of Photos Show the Allies Normandy Invasion
The opening of a Second Front in Europe during WWII was one of the main questions during the Tehran Conference in 1943 when Churchill, Roosevelt,…
Rainbows and Unicorns – The Planning Flaws of Operation Market Garden
In the summer of 1944, after weeks of slogging it out with the Germans in the Bocage country of Normandy, the Allies finally broke out…
How did Hitler Dismantle the German Republic? Could it Happen Again?
The rise of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi Party) involved many factors. The combination of the economic depression that occurred…
8th Air Force in Britain – Keeping the Past Alive
I had the wonderful opportunity in May of this year to participate in the National WWII Museum’s Masters of the Air Tour of 8th Air…
Before Paris, There was Rome: the Forgotten Front
The New York Times Army correspondent in North Africa and Italy during the Second World War was a man named Herbert Mitgang. On June 5th,…
“Nuts” – The Five Best Responses to Surrender Ultimatums in History
War History online proudly presents this Guest Piece from Samuel B. Parker. Few things are more inspiring or compelling than stories of courage in the…
Overrated Or The Only Man For The Job – The Meteoric Rise Of General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Speaking of Eisenhower, Field Marshal Lord Montgomery once said “nice chap, no general.” General George Patton once lamented that it was too bad that Eisenhower…