Another new "long-form" article is up in the Articles Section of The Globe At War. There at the End: The U.S. 16th Armored Division's Liberation of Plzen is by Bryan J. Dickerson, a military historian and former Religious Program Specialist 1st Class in the U.S. Navy Reserve and veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom (having served in Iraq twice with units of the II Marine Expeditionary Force / 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing). His article takes a look at the often overlooked final days of the Second World War in Europe; as well as offers a succinct overview of late war U.S.
The July 1943 Allied invasion and occupation of Sicily is often panned by commentators, and there is no question that taking Sicily proved painful for the Allies. For instance, all told the Allies suffered nearly 25,000 casualties against an Axis army that fought a delaying campaign lasting over one month. The Sicilian campaign however would prove to be an important learning experience.
For instance, the invasion provided invaluable experience in amphibious operations, including refining command and control between the allied armies, navies and air forces as well as testing new equipment
The German army is currently raising from the Baltic sea floor a Junkers Ju-87 Sturzkampfflugzueg (or "Stuka") located in roughly 60 feet of water. Found six miles off the coast of the German Baltic island of Rugen, the aircraft is, according to reports, in good condition.
Perhaps the most famous dive bomber of the Second World War, the Ju-87 "Stuka"served throughout the war as Germany's primary close air support aircraft. The Stuka carried a range of new technologies that enabled its pilots to achieve a high degree of accuracy.
Conventional wisdom explains German defeat during World War II as almost inevitable primarily for brute-force economic or military reasons created when Germany attacked the Soviet Union and entered into a two-front war. This book challenges that conventional wisdom via three interrelated arguments. First, qualitative differences between the combatants proved more important in determining the war’s outcome than have the quantitative measures so commonly discussed in the past.
