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…
The Amazing Story Of James Crotty, Who Single Handedly Won The Coast Guard A Battle Streamer
Battle Streamers are awarded to a military branch, or unit, for their participation in an important battle or campaign. They are usually earned by large…
A Kiwi Victory: Minesweepers Moa and Kiwi Bag a Japanese Sub By Repeatedly Ramming It
During WWII the Japanese Navy changed its communication codes on a regular basis, this was a mammoth task as new codebooks had to be transferred…
The Evacuation of Dunkirk, The Evacuation That Kept Britain’s Hopes Of Victory Alive
The events of May and early June 1940 were equal parts disaster and Miracle. For France, it was a complete disaster – a total military defeat by…
Battle of Monte Cassino – Breaking through German Defense into Rome
From 1943 till 1945, Italy was occupied by Nazi Germany and acted as a puppet state, called the Italian Socialist Republic and led by the…
A U-Boat captain and a US Coast Guard Cutter’s captain meet at the end of WWII
War is full of brief encounters. A sudden glimpse of the face of an enemy; the brief sighting of an enemy submarine; or seeing a wounded…
Five Critical Events Leading To The Surrender of Axis Forces in Tunisia During WWII
It takes serious planning and organization to carry out any major operations in a war zone effectively. For the Allied forces, the many operations and battles…
The Nazi Invasion of the Balkans And Yugoslavia – A Costly Victory
In early 1941, Adolf Hitler could look at a map of Eastern Europe and think that his plans were progressing nicely. The invasion of the…
John D. Bulkeley, Commander of the USS Endicott – A daring attack in WWII
On August 17, 1944, the USS Endicott, captained by Lieutenant Commander John D. Bulkeley, blew up two German ships, using only a single 5” gun.…
Hideki Tojo – Japanese WWII Prime Minister – Controversial To This Day
Hideki Tojo, a general and a politician, was the true representative of the Japanese expansionist policy in China in the first half of the 20th…
The American landings at Utah Beach were among the easiest – 5 very different experiences: The D-Day beaches
The experiences of Allied troops landing on D-Day were very different. The paratroopers scattered by poor weather across hundreds of miles of countryside faced different…
FUSAG: Patton’s D-Day Army That Didn’t Exist
An army can help win a war without even existing. Strange as that may seem, this is exactly what happened in the case of the First United…