Dust Means Death: Behind the Front Lines After D-Day
Following the D-Day landings of June 1944, the Allies poured troops into Normandy. By the 25th of July, they had 1,450,000 soldiers ashore in France,…
Forgotten Meat Grinder: The Battle of Hurtgen Forest WWII
It was some of the most brutal fighting of the Second World War, a grinding battle in which thousands of American and German lives were…
The Famous Messerschmitt Bf109 – Facts You May Not Know
The most famous German fighter plane of the Second World War, the Messerschmitt Bf109 played a hugely important part in that conflict. First Flight The…
Soviet BTR Series of Armored Personnel Carriers – Facts and Photos
Armored personnel carriers (APCs) played an important part in military thinking during the Cold War. Despite the growth of heavy weapons and advanced technology, infantry…
Operation Goodwood – Good, Bad and Ugly for Montgomery
In July 1944, Allied armies were fighting the Nazi German occupiers in Normandy, northern France. They had successfully gained a foothold and were pushing inland…
Cold War Recon – 5 Soviet and Warsaw Pact Reconnaissance Vehicles
The Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies used a wide range of vehicles for reconnaissance during the Cold War. Main battle tanks and infantry…
13 Roles Soviet Women Filled in WW2
As they started running out of manpower, many nations in the Second World War turned to their womenfolk to staff their war machines. In most…
Disaster in the East – 1915 Winter Offensive Against Russia
At the start of 1915, the Central Powers had high hopes for the Eastern Front. By launching massive attacks early in the year, they hoped…
The USSR’s Extraordinary Women Snipers of WW2
During the Second World War, the USSR used more women in combat than any other country. Among them were hundreds of remarkable snipers. Soviet Snipers…
Third Battle of Artois WWI – A Grand Plan
For the French, the First World War was about more than stopping an aggressive nation. The Germans had invaded north-eastern France and held land there…
German Counterattack at Sbeitla – The Valentine’s Day Offensive
Desperate times sometimes call for desperate action. It was through just such an event that, in February 1943, American troops avoided disaster outside the Tunisian…
General Elwood Quesada: Air Tactics Innovator and Friend to Ground Troops
During the Normandy campaign of 1944, one air commander gave the ground troops the close support they wanted. That man was General Elwood “Pete” Quesada.…