World War 2 | War History

Japanese Fire Balloons and the Tragic Tale of the Last WWII Casualties on US Soil

The Revolutionary and the Civil War tore North America apart, but the World Wars and most subsequent conflicts have been largely fought beyond its borders –…

FUSAG: Patton’s D-Day Army That Didn’t Exist

An army can help win a war without even existing. Strange as that may seem, this is exactly what happened in the case of the First United…

Hobart’s Funnies – The Strange-Looking Tanks That Helped To Win On D-Day

The landings in Normandy demanded new sorts of hybrid tanks that were capable of fulfilling multiple engineering tasks to provide maximum support to the infantry.…

Two Amazing Stories From USCGC Escanaba – Heroism And Heartbreak In The North Atlantic, 1943

The Rescue of the Dorchester USCGC Escanaba was steaming along calmly on February 2, 1943. She was part of a six-ship convoy; three escorts, and…

The Shetland Bus – Escape, Survival, And Adventure To Keep Norwegian Resistance In The Fight

Sarah Cooper

Europe during the Second World War was a bleak place; German forces invaded Norway on the 9th of April, 1940, and as the country was…

The Greatest German General No One Has Heard Of – Lieutenant General Of Armored Troops Herman Balck

Herman Balck might be one of the most effective German Generals, whose actions are largely forgotten today. He came from a military family, his father,…

Le Paradis – The WW2 Massacre Of British Soldiers Which Outraged Even The Nazis

In 1940, members of the British military were slaughtered – after they had surrendered to German forces. Two survived, but no one believed their story.…

Making History – The Ship’s Cook Who Grabbed A .50 Cal To Shoot Down Enemy Planes At Pearl Harbor

Elly Farelly

In 1942, when Dorie Miller stood onboard the USS Enterprise at Pearl Harbor to receive the Navy Cross he made history. Miller was the first…

‘Lucky Luciano’ – The Father of Organized Crime Won His Freedom by Helping the US Government during WW2

War History Online Presents This Article By Guest Blogger Jack Hawkins It is often said that crime does not pay, and when Charles ‘Lucky’ Luciano…

D-Day – The Huge Numbers Involved in the Biggest Amphibious Invasion In History

Here are the numbers that tell you everything you need to know about D-Day. 2 Mulberry Harbours: A raid on Dieppe had taught the British…

The Jews In Finland Who Fought Together With The Germans: “We Had A Common Enemy”

During the Winter War of 1939, the Soviet Union invaded its north-western neighbor, Finland.  The population stood together in self-defence. Among them were Finnish Jews,…

With a Modified Aircraft Machinegun, Corporal Tony Stein Fired His Way Across Iwo Jima and Was Awarded the Medal of Honor

Jeff Edwards

The ability to improvise, adapt, and overcome has long been a core ethos of the United States Marine.  While one could find many examples from…