General “The Auk” Auchinleck Squared Off with the Desert Fox in North Africa Before Being Fired by Churchill
The dismissal of officers in World War 2 was quite a common practice for every army that fought in the war. Whether or not these…
Godfrey Place: World War Two Submariner, Future Admiral, And Victoria Cross Recipient
A daring submarine exploit of the Second World War was an attempt to sink the battleship Tirpitz using midget submarines. One man who came close…
Fleet Admiral Leahy, Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief Was Fiercely Opposed to Dropping the Atomic Bomb on Japan
Before the official establishment of the position of Joint Chiefs of Staff in the United States Military in 1947, there served a man who was…
The Rise Of The Night-Fighters – Devastating Aircraft in Two World Wars
Fighting between planes began in daylight which allowed pilots and gunners to see what was going on so they could target their prey and see…
The Rapid Rise of Naval Air Power Over Two World Wars
An aircraft carrier and its complement of planes is perhaps the most powerful military formation in the modern world. With it, a nation can reach…
The Doolittle Raid – American Planes Take Revenge For Pearl Harbor
The Doolittle raid is one of the most famous air attacks of WWII. The first American attack on the Japanese Home Islands, it was achieved…
Silent Service – Veteran shares story of service aboard nuclear submarine during the Cold 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 Families…
The Desperate Measures Hitler Took to Avoid Losing WWII
In the summer of 1944, Adolf Hitler’s monstrous dream of an eternal empire began to collapse. Five years after his invasion of Poland had plunged…
Two Invasions of Belgium By Germany in Two World Wars: 1914 and 1940
In both World Wars, the fighting in the West began with a German invasion of Belgium. 1914: Why German strategy in the late 19th and…
“Do you want to live forever?” – Mowed Down a 200-Man Attack by Himself with a Machine Gun
On 10 June 1918, during the Battle of Belleau Wood, 44-year-old Marine Corps First Sergeant Dan Daly, armed with a pistol and hand grenades, single-handedly…
The First US Soldier to Receive the Medal of Honor in WW2 Volunteered for the Fight that Killed Him
Perhaps that could be said of many in that they volunteered for the fight in World War 2. But with Alexander Nininger, who was already…
Normandy Invasion Beaches From a Different Angle
Ten years or so ago I was lucky enough to fly along the invasion beaches at 800′ in a C-47. If you ever get the…