The MG42: the Most Important Machine-Gun of WWII
Machine-guns were essential during WWII. Not until the final year was anything approaching a modern assault rifle seen on the battlefields. As a result, specialist…
The Race to the Sea On Western Front In The First World War
The Western Front of WWI was fought mainly from defensive positions. They were not pre-built fortresses or border defenses. The boundary between the two sides…
This Gigantic Submarine Factory Couldn’t Even Be Destroyed By The 22,000 lb Grand Slam Bomb
Erich Friedrich Michael Lackner is considered to be one of the most influential engineers of the last century. He developed a revolutionary type of concrete…
French And British Tanks Changed The Face Of Warfare In WWI, But Germany Did Not Realise Their Value Until The End Of The War
During WWI, military designers created the first tanks which changed the face of warfare. Not every nation, however, embraced them with the same level of…
Big Guns – The Devastating Field Artillery Of WW1
Artillery was one of the most significant elements in WWI. The shattering bombardments that preceded infantry assaults led men to dig deeper and deeper into…
A Kiwi Victory: Minesweepers Moa & Kiwi sink a Japanese Sub By Repeatedly Ramming It
During WWII the Japanese Navy changed its communication codes on a regular basis, this was a mammoth task as new codebooks had to be transferred…
VC: A Gurkha Calmly Stood Up In Open Sight & Killed A Sniper Pinning Down His Company Before Going On To Clear 5 Enemy Bunkers, Single-Handedly, All Whilst Under Heavy Fire
Bhanbhagta Gurung was awarded the Victoria Cross or VC, Britain’s highest military award although he had been demoted due to the incompetence of a senior…
Hitler’s Fortified Siegfried Line Was Massive And Included 22,000 Bunkers And Pillboxes
During the build-up to WWII, the German government commissioned a line of defenses all along its border with France. The enormous undertaking seemed a waste…
The Commando Raids On The Norwegian Coast That Tied Up 30,000 German Soldiers
In 1941, Britain raided Nazi-occupied Norway, making use of a new and still untested force – British Commandos. The aim was to boost British morale and…
From The Tank Museum – The World’s First Modern Tank, the Renault FT-17
The tank was one of the most important weapons of World War II. However, the first tanks were built during World War I (1914 –…
Helped Save His Burning B-17 By Urinating On The Fire & Drove Off Waves of German Fighters
Maynard Harrison “Snuffy” Smith was such a screw-up, he joined the US Army to avoid jail. He earned the nickname, “Snuffy Smith,” because no one…
“The Call To Join” – Veteran Vernon Walther Describes Service Aboard the USS Los Angeles during Korean War
War History online proudly presents this Guest Piece from Jeremy P. Ämick, who is a military historian and writes on behalf of the Silver Star…