The most honorable act between World War II enemies happened at sea
In April 1940, the HMS Glowworm was on escort duty in the North Sea with the HMS Renown during the German invasion of Norway. One day, a storm surge came…
A Belgian officer took Nazi aggression personally – and got revenge
Jean de Selys Longchamps was born into Belgian aristocracy in 1912. When Germany invaded Belgium in May of 1940, he was a Baronet, the son of the Baron Raymond Charles…
Today in military history: Soviet Union captures Romania
On Aug. 22, 1944, the Soviet Union secured an armistice with Romania for the Allies. In 1937, Romania’s king, Carol II, dissolved what became a fascist government not unlike that…
Did this British soldier have 9 lives?
How many times can a person come close to death, without actually succumbing to that ill fate? In the case of one British soldier, the number grew until it was…
6 of the biggest failed gambles of World War II
Everything in war is risky but depending on who’s leading an army, some gambles are better than others. Mistakes are always made, but when the biggest risks on the battlefield…
How a Marine Corps pilot downed an enemy airplane with his propeller
The F4U Corsair was, without a doubt, the heavyweight champion of the air war over the Pacific Theater of World War II. It originally had a lot of design problems…
Why the Battle of Wizna is called the ‘Polish Thermopylae’
Ever since the Greeks met the Persians at Thermopylae, it has been the iconic standard of a small force pinning down a much larger army for the greater good. Though…
World War II saw the last major cavalry charge in military history
The Soviet Union’s fighting with Fascist Italian forces is not the most widely read or written area of World War II history, but in August 1942 the two sides met…
Winston Churchill (initially) hated the tank named after him
Having a military ship or tank named after you is usually a pretty big honor. But what happens if the vehicle turns out to be dud (at least, at first)?…
This WWII tank could be launched from a submarine underwater
The Imperial Japanese military’s structure during WWII can be considered unorthodox by modern standards. For example, its navy (IJN) crewed and fielded amphibious tanks. Their goal was to support amphibious…