World War 2 | War History

Maurice Rose: The Highest Ranking US Officer Killed By the Enemy In Europe During WWII

Military portrait of Maurice Rose

Maurice Rose lived through the horrors of the First World War and bravely returned to the battlefield when the global population was plunged into conflict…

Italo Balbo: The Mastermind Behind Mussolini’s Air Force Died a Strange Death

Italo Balbo speaking to a group of men.

There were few in Italy’s governmental hierarchy who disagreed with Benito Mussolini’s decision to side with Germany during the Second World War. One of those…

Terror In the Skies – The Tragic Story Behind the Downing of the B-17G ‘Wee Willie’

Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress 'Wee Willie' falling through clouds after its wing detached

In the closing stages of the Second World War, the Allied forces launched a barrage of air raids over Germany, in an attempt to destroy…

USS Independence (CVL-22): The First Dedicated Night Carrier of the US Navy

USS Independence (CVL-22) at sea

A number of vessels took part in the fighting that occurred in the Pacific Theater during the Second World War. Among the most unique was…

Blohm & Voss BV 141: The Asymmetrical German Aircraft That Shouldn’t Have Been Able to Fly – But Did

Ground crews standing around a Blohm & Voss BV 141 parked on a runway

The Blohm & Voss BV 141 was designed as a tactical reconnaissance aircraft. While passed over by the German Air Ministry for the Focke-Wulf Fw…

USS Salt Lake City (CA-25): The Decorated Heavy Cruiser That Made Waves In the Pacific

USS Salt Lake City (CA-25) at sea

The fighting in the Pacific Theater during the Second World War showed the might of the US Navy. Among those to distinguish themselves was the…

Award-Winning Actor George Kennedy Served Under Gen. George Patton

Portrait of George Kennedy

We’re used to seeing Academy Award-winning actor George Kennedy in tough-guy film and television roles. He was able to draw upon personal experience to do…

Operation Frankton: When ‘Canoeing Commandos’ Took On the Enemy In Kayaks

Herbert Hasler and Bill Sparks looking out over the water

While some engaged the enemy with the use of high tech aircraft or well-armored tanks during World War II, others were sent on missions using…

Operation Bodenplatte: The New Year’s Day ‘Hangover Raid’ That Devastated the Luftwaffe

Smouldering remains of a North American B-25 Mitchell at Melsbroek

Launched as part of the Battle of the Bulge, Operation Bodenplatte was meant to devastate Allied airfields in the Low Countries. While Wehrmacht soldiers were fighting…

Sonderkommando ‘Elbe’ – Germany’s Aerial Kamikaze Force

Three Messerschmitt Bf 109s in flight

Japanese kamikaze pilots were well known during the Second World War for their sacrificial bombing tactics against enemy naval vessels. They would put their aircraft…

What Is the Real Story Behind WWII’s Famous Crying Child-Soldier Photograph?

Hans-Georg Henke crying in uniform

This photograph of a crying child-soldier, taken in 1945, shows a young German, identified as Hans-Georg Henke. The image has served to illustrate the feelings…

What Happened to the Jewish Soldiers Who Served with the German Army in World War I?

Jewish German soldiers gathered together for a Yom Kippur service

Prior to the Second World War, Jewish soldiers actively fought in the German Army. This included World War I and a number of conflicts fought…