The Battle For Monte Cassino – A Monument To the Bravery of Ordinary German Soldiers
On the 15th February, 1944, 1400 tons of high explosives were dropped by the Allied forces advancing upon Rome, on the Benedictine monastery of Monte…
They were soldiers once … and still are – The Battle of Ia Drang
War History online proudly presents this Guest Piece from Karen Murphy, who writes on behalf of the Thomasville Times-Enterprise. ALBANY, GA — Sometimes choking back…
The Great Escape: Harrowing Truth vs Hollywood Fiction
In 2006, a poll in the United Kingdom was done to determine which old family film TV viewers would want to watch in Christmas. Taking…
When a Toilet Break Led to War Between China and Japan in 1937
Wars have been waged over the stupidest things, but in 1937, Japan took it a step further. That was the year that a minor incident…
Badly Wounded, This Marine Used His Spade To Knock Grenades Back At The Enemy
Hector Cafferatta would describe himself as the world’s worst baseball player, but that didn’t stop him from whacking over a dozen grenades out of the…
Wilhelm Frankl and Fritz Beckhardt: Top German Jewish Fighter Aces of WW1
Wilhelm Frankl Standoff Neuberg, home to the 74th Tactical Fighter Squadron, sits just south of the Danube River, nestled deep within a woodland. Since 1973, the base…
Massacre: The Day The SS Wiped Out The Entire French Village Of Oradour-sur-Glane
On December 9, 2014, a German court in Cologne dropped the multiple charges of murder and accessory to murder against an 88-year-old man named Werner…
From the Vikings to Vietnam – Five Wars in Which Drugs Fuelled the Fighting
Drugs have a long history as part of war. These days, their main role is a medicinal one, but down the centuries they have often…
Jane Fawcett, The Young British Code Breaker Who Helped Sink the Bismarck
Jane Fawcett was a young London society woman when she began working at Bletchley Park, the headquarters of Britain’s code-breaking efforts in World War II.…
Medal of Honor – John R. Fox Sacrificed Himself by Deliberately Calling an Artillery Strike on his Own Position
John Robert Fox was an American soldier who was killed in action when he deliberately called artillery fire on his own position after his position…
The French “Red Zone” Is So Dangerous, It Still Is A No-Go Area 100 Years After WWI
The Zone Rouge (Red Zone) is a region near Verdun, France spanning some 460 square miles of mostly virgin forest – at least on the…
The Battle of Ortona – When 2,600 Canadian Men Were Sacrificed for a General’s Pride
In December 1943, a group of largely untested Canadians went up against German forces in the Italian town of Ortona. The result was a bloodbath…