By Bryan J. Dickerson*
This week marks the 100th Anniversary of the First Battle of the Aisne, a pivotal battle which marked a major transformation in the nature of fighting on the Western Front during the First World War. Among the many German, French and British units that fought on the Aisne River was the 1st Battalion / Royal Highlanders.
After the outbreak of war, German armies swept through Belgium and across the French frontier in accordance with a plan commonly named for Field
Good morning. The Michigan War Studies Review has published my review of Lev Lopukhovsky's The Viaz'ma Catastrophe, 1941: The Red Army's Disastrous Stand against Operation Typhoon. For readers possessing a bit of background knowledge on the subject matter this is a superb book offering new insight into one of the most important campaigns of the Second World War.
If you are interested in how and why the Wehrmacht during Operation Typhoon was able to wreck the most powerful Fronts in the Red
There are 17 intact Avro Lancaster Bombers remaining in the world. Nevertheless, only two are flyable. One is an Avro Lancaster from the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, the other is Britain’s and is flown by the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF).
Last week the Canadian Lancaster arrived at RAF Coningby, Lincolnshire, U.K to join its British peer. The two bombers will spend several months touring the UK as part of a busy schedule of 60 airshows.
Hardly a week goes by without either the Pentagon itself or some establishment figure bemoaning the fiscal cliff deal and sequester whose cuts to the military budget began in 2013. Media outlets amplify and blindly parrot these dire warnings regarding the U.S. military's ability to keep America safe if the sequester cuts are not rolled back.
But how bad have these cuts really been?
A recent look at the numbers suggests not bad at all.
For instance, according to the Government Printing Office
On June 6, 1944 the Anglo-American led alliance invaded Nazi occupied France. Known today as D-Day it would be the greatest invasion in history. And though the Red Army was by June of 1944 well into the process of bleeding the Wehrmacht white, inflicting approximately 80% of Germany's Second World War military casualties, this should not take away from the considerable achievement that is since remembered today and forever since as D-Day.
It was actually on June 5, 1944 that D-Day could really
On this Memorial Day, and with the pending 70 year anniversary of the June 6, 1944 D-Day landings in Normandy, France, I want to highlight the often overlooked sacrifice of those U.S. servicemen killed while preparing for the most famous invasion in modern military history.
In the months leading up to the June 6th Allied invasion of Nazi occupied France the assault divisions went through an intensive training regimen. Needless to say there were many fatal mistakes.
Good Afternoon. I just wanted to let everybody know that the Michigan War Studies Review has published my review of Dennis Showalter's Armor and Blood: The Battle of Kursk: The Turning Point of World War II. I am happy to say that this is a wonderful book, unlike the last book I reviewed for them (David Stahel's lamentably lacking Operation Typhoon), especially in terms of introducing the general World War II enthusiast to an accurate and well written description of this very important battle.
We have a new poll up. For those of you who have read my book it is no mystery that armored warfare is by far my favorite aspect of the Second World War. In particular, my research and interests are overwhelmingly directed at the great armored clashes of the German-Soviet 1941-1945 war. As such, I am looking forward to your responses to our new poll question.
There were obviously a number of different tank models deployed by the Red Army and Wehrmacht during Nazi Germany's June 1941 invasion
I just finished Lizzie Collingham's The Taste of War, and in my most recent review for this website strongly recommend it to anyone interested in the Second World War.
Since I was a kid one of my all time favorite WWII movies was "Patton." For those of you who have spent the past half century living under a rock the film, originally released in 1970, is not only about one of the most iconic and controversial Generals in U.S. Army history, but also starred George C. Scott, who deservedly won an Academy Award for his portrayal of U.S. Army Four Star General George S. Patton.
Now, there is no question the film is far from perfect.
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