World War 2 | War History

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…

Piggyback Hero – by Ralph Kinney Bennett

We present this guest blog by author Ralph Kinney Bennett  In 2003 they laid the remains of Glenn Rojohn to rest in the Peace Lutheran Cemetery in…

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…

From The Tank Museum: First Tiger I Knocked Out By The British

While Tiger 131 was the first intact Tiger I to be taken back to Britain, it was not the first to be knocked out. This…

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…

The Crew Of The B-24 Liberator “Star Valley” – Downed Behind Enemy Lines

War History Online presents this Guest Article by Mark Gero Saturday, February 5th, 1944, in a remote part of central France lies a village called…

With Every Other Senior Officer Dead, the Battle Control Officer of the USS San Francisco Waded through Waist Deep Water to Save the Ship

It is a scenario we have seen play out in the movies time and time again. Amidst heavy combat, a naval vessel is taking on…

Japanese-American Soldiers, The Nisei: The Purple Heart Battalion

When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, Japanese-Americans became enemy aliens and were sent to internment camps. One responded in a most spectacular way. Daniel…

One Secret Agent Who Helped Pave the Way for D-Day

Many agents served in secret during the Second World War. Sent behind enemy lines, they risked their lives gathering information and supporting acts of resistance…

The One-Armed Warrior Who Was Awarded The Victoria Cross

Some soldiers are so pig-headedly persistent that they go down in legend; including one who did so with only one arm. George Albert Cairns was…

Saving Sara Matuson: How 10 POWs Risked Their Lives to Save One Woman

Life in a prisoner of war camp could be hard and dangerous during the Second World War. It was even more so for ten British…

How Britain was Unprepared for World War Two

In retrospect, the outbreak of the Second World War seems both obvious and inevitable. However, to many people at the time, particularly in Britain, there…