Edwin Swales VC: This Lancaster Bomber Pilot’s Sacrifice Saved His Crew
The stories of Victoria Cross winners are always breathtaking, the actions they took are always extraordinary – which is why they have been awarded the…
Admiral Yamamoto, The Architect Of The Sneak Attack On Pearl Harbor
The man who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, was an unusual and contradictory figure. A man with peaceful international connections around…
To Make Life Easier For The People Of Occupied Crete, The Allies Kidnapped The Nazi Commander
The Special Operation Executive (SOE) in 1944, planned to conduct a daring mission in Crete. Their initial plan was to kidnap the German commander of…
Restoring Honor – The Americans Take Hill 609 in WW2 Tunisia
In most battles, the commanders are focused on proving their superiority over the enemy. But in April 1943, when American troops assaulted Axis positions on…
The First Man to Sink a Japanese Warship – The Battle Of Wake Island
Most people believe that although the Japanese succeeded in bombing Pearl Harbor during WWII, they never managed to occupy so much as an inch of American soil,…
Meet Chief Dog Sinbad, The Cheerful and Brave Coast Guard Mascot of WW2
The Coast Guard Cutter Campbell steamed out from New York in the winter of 1937. Like most peacetime cutters, she was patrolling the American coast,…
Flying Tigers Veteran Glen Beneda Never Forgot How The Chinese Saved His Life, Nor Did They Forget Him
When the US entered WWII, many believed they’d lose because Japanese victories kept piling up at America’s expense. Historians claim that the Battle of Midway…
Two new titles from the History Press reviewed by Mark Barnes
You would need to have been something of a hermit to avoid the new movie Dunkirk. I’ve seen it twice and enjoyed it much more…
Hidden War Messages That Weren’t Found Until Much, Much Later
Messages from the front lines of war or from soldiers currently fighting were, and still are, sent home on a regular basis. Some of these…
After Pearl Harbor, A Japanese Pilot Crash-Landed On A Hawaiian Island And Tried to Occupy It
In 1941, a lone Japanese pilot tried to capture the Hawaiian island of Ni’ihau. The natives responded by holding a luau for him. Though part…
Hero Of Guadalcanal: John Basilone, The Consummate US Marine In The Pacific
In the Marines, the history of the Corps and those who have gone before them is a common topic for discussion. Field talk, as it…
A “mentally unstable, violent fanatic” – The Horrific War Record of Oskar Dirlewanger
The word Nazi conjures up rather unpleasant associations, to say the least. When even the Nazis shuddered at the exploits of one of their own;…