World War 2 | War History

Going Nuclear – Germany and Japan Fail to Build the Bomb in WWII

Japan’s war machine was designed for offense, not defense. During the war years, planes had a very limited range, which made the Japanese islands almost…

The Polish Thermopylae: 800 vs 42,000 at Wizna, 1939

Gabe Christy

As German troops poured across the border into Poland in 1939, one Polish captain, 40 miles from the front line, prepared for what he knew…

Dawn of the Wolf Pack: October 18, 1940 – Germany Targets Allied Supply Routes in WWII

Gabe Christy

Thirty-five ships steamed out of Sydney, Nova Scotia on October 5, 1940. A multitude of flags flew from their masts including Greece, Sweden, the Netherlands…

The First Medal of Honor Recipient of WW2 Stood His Ground at Pearl Harbor

Jeff Edwards

It is fitting in a war which would require inexplicable gallantry to win that it would begin with actions worthy of the nation’s highest military…

Presumed Dead After Heroic Action In 1944, Air Force Academy Janitor Awarded Medal Of Honor From Reagan in 1984

Jeff Edwards

Perhaps it was the way he carried himself in an unassuming and humble manner, but day after day hundreds of Air Force Academy cadets would…

This Dentist Died In A Japanese Banzai Attack on Saipan But He Took Over 100 Enemy Soldiers With Him

Jeff Edwards

Many humans worldwide fear going to the Dentist for pretty obvious reasons: The pain, the worry that you’ll have to get a cavity filled, and…

The Incredible Defence of Westerplatte – Gdańsk, Poland, 1939

It happened in the city of Gdańsk, Poland – formerly the Free City of Danzig. It was not always Polish. It was part of the…

Marine John Basilone Would Decimate an Entire Japanese Regiment In the Pitch-Black Jungle of Guadalcanal

Jeff Edwards

Often described as the turning point for the Pacific in World War 2, the Battle of Guadalcanal represented the moment that Japanese expansion in the…

Warren G. H. Crecy: the Baddest Man in the 761st

Warren Gamaliel Harding Crecy was born on January 4, 1923, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Those who knew him called him “Harding.” His wife, Margaret, and…

The Myths Of The Montana Class Battleships

War History Online presents this Guest Article by Chris Knupp. Artist’s impression of the Montana class Battleship Myth #1: The Montana class Ignored the Panama Canal…

Horrifying, Tragic, Inspirational – How the Nazis Destroyed Lidice and the World Preserved its Memory

pd

In June 1942, the Nazi German occupiers of Czechoslovakia destroyed the mining village of Lidice. It was wiped off the map so completely that even…

When Italy Destroyed More American Planes Than the German Luftwaffe

Italy was invaded in 1943 because it was an Axis power and Nazi Germany’s chief ally. The following year, the Allies faced a different and…