The Michigan War Studies Review (MiWSR) has just published my latest book review. This is my second review for MiWSR (an online scholarly journal affiliated with the Michigan War Studies Group) and it is of Matthew Brzezinski's Isaac's Army: A Story of Courage and Survival in Nazi-Occupied Poland.
My first review for MiWSR was of Nathan N. Prefer's The Battle for Tinian: Vital Stepping Stone in America's War Against Japan. I was able to recommend the book, and enjoyed it quite a bit. That said, and taking nothing away from Prefer's book, I found Brzezinski's work to be a tremendously
Today is the anniversary of the largest amphibious assault in history; codenamed Operation Overlord by the Allies, but universally known since as "D-Day". Exactly 69 years ago approximately 160,000 Allied soldiers landed on the coast of Nazi occupied Normandy, France thus beginning the Second World War's final act. Though thousands of Allied soldiers, mostly U.S. and British, would be killed or wounded on June 6th the day's greatest carnage was centered on one location - the invasion beach code-named Omaha.
In the U.S. the upcoming Memorial Day weekend is very much in our thoughts, with visions in our heads of impending parades, barbeque's, time spent with family, and general relaxation. However, we at The Globe at War would also like to remind everyone of the true purpose of Memorial Day; that being taking the time to honor the sacrifices made by our fellow citizens during times of war.
To that end the following table lists the total number of military deaths suffered by this nation's armed services during selected wars and campaigns in our history.
There are several important milestone events in the life of a warship. Of particular importance are those proceedings surrounding the ship's launching and retirement from active service. Such events include the keel laying, launching, commissioning, decommissioning, and final disposition of the ship. On 23 May 2013 one of history's most powerful warships, the battleship USS New Jersey (BB-62), will celebrate the 70th Anniversary of its commissioning.
USS New Jersey is the second of the Iowa-class fast battleships. The four Iowas (Iowa, New Jersey, Missouri and
During WWII's Normandy Campaign the inability of Allied tanks to compete against their German foes, primarily in terms of armored protection and armamanent, was and remains today a fairly well known story. Nevertheless, what is often forgotten is that by the summer of 1944 the British had found a simple, relatively cost effective solution to the problems posed by hard hitting German AFV's (Armored Fighting Vehicles).
What the British had discovered was that if they took a 17-pounder L/55 anti-tank gun and employed tungsten armor-piercing rounds powered by a higher than normal amount of
Another new "long-form" article is up in the Articles Section of The Globe At War. The U.S. 9th Armored Division in the Liberation of Western Czechoslovakia 1945 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 one aspect of the often overlooked final days of the Second World War in Europe; as well as offers a succinct overview of late war U.S.
We have a brand new book review. Jonathan Beard has reviewed Paul Kennedy's Engineers of Victory: The Problem Solvers Who Turned the Tide in the Second World War. Mr. Beard is a freelance journalist, researcher and translator living in New York City.He has worked for several science magazines, including New Scientist and Science Illustrated, and translated for various publications, including the late World Press Review.He has written hundreds of book reviews for many publications. His military history reviews are online at the Michigan War Studies Review:
Prologue – Plzen, Czech Republic, Saturday 6 May 2000,
On this warm sunny day, I stood among several hundred people who had gathered on Husova Street; several blocks from Plzen’s Republic Square. 55 years ago on this very day, soldiers of the U.S. 16th Armored Division had rolled into Plzen and liberated its people from six oppressive years of German occupation (pictured here - Photo Courtesy of Jaroslav Peklo). Later on that same day, other soldiers from the U.S. 97th and 2nd Infantry Divisions had arrived to help secure the city.
World War II enthusiasts will almost assuredly find interesting our newest guest author's work: The T-34 in WWII: The Legend vs. The Performance. Author Nigel Askey graduated from the University of Sussex, in the UK, with an honours degree in physics. Since the early 1980s he has taken a keen interest in military history and military simulations. In 1997 he worked as a consultant for Talansoft Inc, on war games in their Campaign Series.
The technical superiority of the T-34 (with a T-34/76 pictured here) in 1941,and during WWII in general has become the stuff of legend. Its apparent superiority has become so entrenched in the psyche of post WWII authors that it is now assumed without question. Some go as far as to claim the T-34 as “the finest tank of the twentieth century”, and that the T-34 “rendered the entire fleet of German tanks as effectively obsolete”.[1]
However, if battle performance was, and indeed still is, the ultimate determinant of the effectiveness of any weapon system, then unlike some
