World War II | War History

Facts About D-Day – The Amphibious Landings That Changed the Course of World War II

American troops riding in a Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP)

D-Day is famous for being a turning point in the fight against Germany during World War II. On June 6, 1944, Allied troops from several…

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Longest Night of Museums – A Tour of D-Day’s Heroes with World of Warships

Wargaming
Promotional art featuring World War II-era warships at sea

Save the date! War History Online‘s partners are hosting a special livestream event to commemorate the upcoming 80th anniversary of D-Day – the Allied landings…

Photos of Battery 223 – An Abandoned World War II Military Fortification in New Jersey

June Steele
View of Battery 223 at sunset

Visitors who’ve walked along the beach at Cape May Point State Park, in Lower Township, New Jersey, have likely encountered a reinforced concrete structure dating…

Wreck of Famed WWII-Era American Submarine USS Harder (SS-257) Discovered In the South China Sea

Photogrammetry model of the USS Harder (SS-257) on the seafloor

The wreck of yet another American submarine lost during the Second World War has been located beneath the water’s surface. The USS Harder (SS-257) sunk…

A Bankrupt Oskar Schindler Abandoned His Wife After World War II

Portrait of Emilie Schindler with a cat + Portrait of Oskar Schindler

Steven Spielberg‘s Schindler’s List (1993) centers around Oskar Schindler, a man who saved over 1,000 Jewish individuals during the Holocaust. While the film briefly mentions…

Royal Air Force Pilot Loses Life After Supermarine Spitfire Crashes Near RAF Coningsby

Supermarine Spitfire in flight

A Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot has died after the World War II-era Supermarine Spitfire he was manning crashed in a field near RAF Coningsby.…

EXCERPT: ‘Witty Manny’ – How a Man Drilled in Tyranny Became a Thriving Citizen of American Democracy

KMS Lützow at sea + Military portrait of Emanuel von König

The following is an excerpt from a 40,000-word manuscript written by Philippe Defechereux about Manny’s life, from growing up in an autocratic environment, to the…

Frontline Heroines Who Refused to Take a Step Back During World War II

Portrait of Nancy Wake + Odette Sansom standing in her Special Operations Executive (SOE) uniform + Portrait of Joséphine Baker

There were several unsung heroes in World War II, many of them women. Coming from all walks of life, these brave individuals put their lives…

Official Trailer Released for Kelsey Grammer WWII-Era Movie, ‘Murder Company’

Kelsey Grammer sitting on the set of 'Today'

In the lead-up to the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings on D-Day, the official trailer has dropped for a new World War II-era film…

Organizers Looking Forward to 80th Anniversary of Guernsey’s Liberation Next Year

Camouflage-colored naval gun in an emplacement

The tiny Channel Island of Guernsey holds the record of being the most fortified place along the German military’s Atlantic Wall. Turning it into a…

The Battle of the Atlantic Was a Never-Ending Fight for Control of the High Seas

June Steele
Gunner standing on the deck of a destroyer at sea

The Battle of the Atlantic stretched across the entirety of the Second World War, from 1939-45. The monumental engagement was about more than just naval…

Pacific Wrecks Team Locates What They Believe to Be Richard Bong’s Missing P-38 ‘Marge’

Richard Bong standing with his Lockheed P-38 Lightning 'Marge'

Update – 05/24/2024: The joint-organization team involved in the search for US Army Air Forces (USAAF) pilot Richard Bong’s missing Lockheed P-38 Lightning Marge has…