Ghost Plane of the Libyan Desert: Lady Be Good

    Following years of fighting across the harsh terrain of North Africa, in May 1943, the German and Italian forces which still remained there surrendered to the Allies. A month earlier the 514th Squadron of the 9th Air Force was stationed at the Soluch Air Base near the town of Benghazi…

    Stopping the Nazi Atomic Bomb

    The Plan Due to its relative inaccessibility, means of infiltrating the plant were limited and dangerous. The bridge across the valley below the plant was heavily guarded and the mountains above had been rigged with landmines. Bombing the plant was out of the question, both due to risk of civilian…

    Vasily Zaitsev – Sniper Hero of Stalingrad

    “Shoot with a steady aim and look your prey in the eye. You’re not a boy anymore.” Those are the words his grandfather had said to Vasily when he turned 12 in 1927. Zaitsev came from a family of hunters, living on the bank of the river Saram-Sakal, in the…

    Heinrich Severloh: The Beast of Omaha

    Heinrich Severloh was born into a farming family in northern Germany. At the age of 19, he was conscripted into the Wehrmacht in July 1942. He would initially serve in the 19th Light Artillery Replacement Division before being transferred to the 321st Artillery Regiment, he would train for a few…

    Battle of Lanzerath Ridge – 18-man I&R platoon vs. 500 German paratroopers

    On December 16 of 1944, 18 American soldiers from a reconnaissance platoon faced off against a German advance, outnumbered 27-to-one in what would come to be known as the Battle of Lanzerath Ridge. The day-long confrontation saw the 18 soldiers battle 500 German paratroopers with such ferocity that the German…

    The Liberation of Dachau Concentration Camp

    On the 25th of April 1945, Germany had been cut in two when American and Soviet troops linked up at the town of Torgau on the Elbe River. The following day U.S. Forces had crossed the Danube, Neuburg, Ingolstadt and Kelheim. Dachau concentration camp was severely overcrowded due to the…

    OSS: The Forerunner of the CIA

    In 1940, the British set up an organization known as the Special Operations Executive or SOE. This was responsible for intelligence gathering and secretive operations throughout Europe. Come 1942 after some training from the British in the previous year, the Office of Strategic Services or OSS was created in the…

    SAS Raid on Sidi Haneish

    By early 1942, the tide was starting to turn for the British in North Africa. As over 70% of supplies going to General Rommel’s Afrika Korps and his Italian allies were being sunk crossing the Mediterranean. As a result, the Germans employed more Luftwaffe aircraft to move supplies and these…

    Nazi Germany’s Master Interrogator Hanns Scharff

    Imagine that you’re in the middle of the Second World War and a Prisoner of War is brought to you. You know he has knowledge of an imminent bombing raid, and your superiors task you with the interrogation and making sure that the prisoner spills the beans. How do you…

    Kurt Knispel – The Ace of Panzer Aces

    Kurt Knispel is according to the books, the best tank ace with the most so-called kills, yet he is also the most forgotten Panzer Ace of them all. In this article, we will take a closer look at the actions of this forgotten yet incredible Panzer Ace. What is astonishing…

    Werwolf: SS Stay-Behind Organization

    The idea of creating some kind of behind the lines German resistance organization originated with Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler. The original concept was something akin to Otto Skorzeny’s commandos, highly trained and well-armed uniform formations rather than Nazi partisans. Heinrich Himmler taking target practice with a Luger P08 pistol Himmler chose…

    Battle of Aachen – First German City to Fall in WW2

    Following D-Day and the Battle of Normandy in the summer of 1944. The German Army in the West collapsed and retreated towards the defenses of the Westwall, known more popularly in the West as the Siegfried Line. Westwall – Siegfried Line The Allied armies followed hot on their heels, hoping…
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