World War 2 | War History

How 500 Canadian parachutists helped secure victory on D-Day – The 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion was one of the few units to effectively capture all of their given objectives at D-Day

Gabe Christy

On the evening of June 5th 1944, just over 540 Canadians boarded planes on the Southern English coast. These men were about to be a…

In 1937, A Toilet Break Led to War Between China and Japan

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…

Apparently Openly Gay, Maybe Jewish But Joined The SS In Search For The Holy Grail: He Was The Inspiration For Indiana Jones

Otto Wilhelm Rahn was a German writer and medievalist who was obsessed with finding the Holy Grail. This was the cup that Jesus supposedly drank…

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…

These Were The Best Pilots The German Luftwaffe Had During WWII

The Ace Fighter cult came to prominence during the First World War, which was the first conflict that utilized the use of aircraft in a…

The Tragic Tale of Hajime Fujii – A Kamikaze Fighter Who Crashed Into & Sunk The USS Drexler

This is an odd story that involves a flight instructor, his family, and a single-minded request. The whole thing was so strange, in fact, that…

Robert Cole, Hero of The Carentan Bayonet Charge, Tragically Killed Two Weeks Before Being Awarded The Medal of Honor

Jeff Edwards

Operation Market Garden would claim countless American lives in September of 1944, one of whom was a man set to receive the Medal of Honor…

Tragic But Fascinating Story Of American B-24 Bomber ‘Lady Be Good’ – Crashed In 1943, Found in 1958

The wreckage of a USAAF (United States Army Air Forces) plane that went missing during its first and last mission in the Second World War…

11 Countries Invaded by Nazi Germany And Why They Were Invaded

Under the leadership of Adolph Hitler, Germany invaded over twenty countries in Europe and Africa. The reasons for these invasions varied from country to country,…

The Greatest Unsolved Mysteries Of The Second World War

Jack Beckett

Whatever happened to Hitler’s famous office globe? What happened to Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat that saved thousands of Jews? Who betrayed the Anne Frank and…

The Wacko Story of Jumpin’ Joe Beyrle – The US Paratrooper who Served in a Soviet Tank Battalion a Hero of Two Nations

War sometimes creates strange circumstances. The following story is about a soldier who became a hero of two nations. Joseph Robert Beyrle was born on…

Lacey Lady, The B17 WWII Bomber, To Be Restored To Its Former Glory

Ian Harvey

The Lacey Lady is a World War II-era B-17G bomber. For years it sat above Art Lacey’s gas station in Milwaukie, Oregon. It was long…