World War 2 | War History

Mel Brooks, One of the Funniest Men Alive, spent WWII clearing Land Mines

Jeff Edwards

War has produced many heroes who displayed inexplicable gallantry and heroism under the most harrowing of circumstances. There were also some extremely funny people who…

The Battle of Tarawa: 76 Hours of Hell – 5,700 Dead for Twelve Square Miles

The Battle of Tarawa was one of the more terrible American experiences in the Pacific theater of World War Two. It was one that would…

A Kiwi Victory: Minesweepers Moa & Kiwi sink 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…

From The Tank Museum: Soviet Tanks At Kursk

The Soviet defenders in the Kursk salient had over 1.3 million men, 3500 tanks and 28,000 pieces of artillery and anti-tank guns plus more in…

3 Urban Legends of War That Are Actually True… And One That Is Not

Legends, stories, and anecdotes are woven through the quilt of veteran and civilian experiences of war. We gain new words from war slang, and the…

Bomber Dog: Antis the dog that went on bombing missions to Germany and earned a medal

Jeff Edwards

In the immense tragedy of war, some people need something to hold on to during its darkest moments. For a Czech Pilot at the start…

Helped Save His Burning B-17 By Urinating On The Fire & Drove Off Waves of German Fighters

Maynard Harrison “Snuffy” Smith was such a screw-up, he joined the US Army to avoid jail. He earned the nickname, “Snuffy Smith,” because no one…

Little Known Battles of Attu & Kiska: Retaking The Only US Soil Lost During WWII

Greg Jackson

In the cold, desolate Arctic near Alaska in 1942, Japanese troops quietly invaded and took over two of the Aleutian Islands, considered to be North…

When “Red Mike” Edson & His 800 Men Were Up Against 2,500 Japanese – “You men have done a great job, & I have just one more thing to ask of you”

Greg Jackson

After more than 24 hours of fending off a ferocious Japanese assault, the sun began to set and the Marines of 1st Raider Battalion knew…

The Fairey Firefly Recon Fighter – Fast Recon In WW2

A Plane Made for Two The Fairey Firefly was a two-seat fighter and reconnaissance aircraft used by the British during WWII. A Naval Plane The…

The First Allied Soldier Killed By Enemy Fire on D-Day – Lieutenant Den Brotheridge At Pegasus Bridge

Colin Fraser

Lieutenant Herbert Denham “Den” Brotheridge, Commander of 25 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Battalion of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry holds an honored place in…

This Gigantic Submarine Factory Couldn’t Even Be Destroyed By The 22,000 lb Grand Slam Bomb

Erich Friedrich Michael Lackner is considered to be one of the most influential engineers of the last century. He developed a revolutionary type of concrete…