How a single Canadian soldier captured 160 Nazis in one day
Fortune favors the bold, especially on the battlefield. One of the boldest was Earl Henry McAllister of Hamilton, Ontario, who went by the nicknames “Mac” or “Scotty.” On September 11,…
This is why Nazis dubbed these paratroopers ‘devils in baggy pants’
Few units receive their nicknames from their exploits in combat. Even fewer derive their moniker from what the enemy calls them. But for the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment that is exactly what happened in Italy in 1944.
The …
4 things that got a Nazi an automatic Iron Cross
Germany’s highest awards for valor, the Iron Cross, was the most awarded of the top tier medals of any nation in World War II. But Germany awarded more top-tier valor awards than any other country for two very good reasons. First, most German troop…
That time US troops found 200 tons of stolen Nazi gold
In the closing months of World War II, the defeated Nazi Army scrambled to hide the hundreds of tons of gold they had despicably stripped from various nations during their occupation. As they hurriedly stashed their ill-gotten gains, they were unawa…
This is the Bible passage Roosevelt used to promise aid to England
Almost a year before America was attacked at Pearl Harbor and officially joined World war II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent his top aide to London to promise aid to Prime Minister Winston Churchill with a slightly amended Bible quote. This wa…
How German nuclear scientists reacted to news of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
The United States wasn’t the only country working on creating the world’s first nuclear weapon during World War II. The British had their own atomic weapons program at the beginning…
This World War II German ‘Suicide Squad’ is just as horrifying as you’d think
During World War II, the Germans – especially their piece of trash leader – wanted a unit that would be willing to do what no other military unit would. Specifically,…
How an 83-year-old Russian led an invading enemy right into an ambush
No matter how many times history proves it, invading armies still trust Russian peasants to help them and it always blows up in their faces. The Mongols seem to be…
A hunt for a death ray gave us radar
One of the most useful and game-changing weapons of World War II was radar, a technology that allowed Allied pilots to know when and where to fly in order to intercept incoming German bombers, but Britain was actually hunting for a super weapon: A d…
Reminder that the Nazis made a top general kill himself
Erwin Rommel entered France in 1940 in command of a panzer division, moving around the Maginot Line with the bulk of German attackers and slamming into the French defenses from behind. He would go on to lead troops in North Africa as Hitler’s favor…