Free Republic

DURING the Battle of France in May-June 1940, French Army commanders complained that German aircraft attacked their troops without interference by the French Air Force. French generals and statesmen begged the British to send more Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter squadrons to France. Reporters on the scene confirmed the German domination of the skies, and the overwhelming numerical superiority of the Luftwaffe came to be accepted as one of the principal causes of the French collapse.1 The air force was a convenient scapegoat for the French Army generals who dominated the Vichy regime that ruled France under the Germans. By...

A FRENCH ASSESSMENT OF THE PANTHER TANK Professional historians and military history buffs alike often describe the German Panther tank as the best German tank, and perhaps the best tank overall, of the second world war.  It had a powerful and accurate high-velocity 75mm gun, its frontal armor was almost invulnerable to most allied anti-tank weapons, and it had a powerful engine, broad tracks and a suspension system that gave it high speed, excellent cross-country capability and a smooth ride.  What more could a tanker want? In truth a tanker could ask for much more.  The Panther’s story is...

After some initial digs, a Dutch filmmaker believes he may have found the site of buried Nazi treasure long rumored to exist. He was led to the Bavarian town of Mittenwald after cracking a code believed to be hidden in a music score. Three attempts have been made in recent weeks to find buried Nazi treasure in the Bavarian town of Mittenwald, close to the Austrian border. Even though the holes in the ground have since been filled, the traces left by drills and blue markings are still visible below a thin layer of autumn leaves. Authorities granted permission for...

Billionaire investor George Soros, 83, will marry 42-year-old Tamiko Bolton today, followed by a huge party at his Caramoor Estate in Bedford, with 500 guests. We’re told the couple will say their vows in front of a select group of friends and family before they celebrate with hundreds from 4:30 p.m. onward.

Pendleton died in 1944 in Bardenburg, Germany, sacrificing himself to help knock out enemy machine guns that had pinned down his unit. The council first considered the petition — which was backed by two veterans groups — in August, but it hesitated when a resident objected, saying the city hadn’t fairly considered his group’s 2006 proposal to rename the street after civil rights and labor leader Cesar Chavez. Having determined that the city duly considered the earlier petition, the City Council passed the current proposal. But the resident who objected, Alonzo Marquez, accused the council of “race discrimination,” and threatened...

Myths about the role, and perceived anti-tank capability of the M4 Medium, continue to be pervasive. The idea that US tanks were not expected to be able to deal with any tanks that they may happen to come across just won’t die, and is probably a reflection of the name of the US Tank Destroyer branch which is confusing to those who don’t understand the doctrinal function of the TD. See the Can Openers article for a slightly more in-depth look. We know that the idea of adding the 76mm to the M4 pre-dates the introduction of the German cats....

Wikipedia/Co Tibbets - the Enola Gay What's in a name? Ships so often are named after women.  And even airships ... we call them airplanes. ;)  And the Enola Gay was one of them. This Boeing B-29 bomber was named after her commander's mother - Enola Gay Haggard Tibbets.   The commander's name back then in 1945 was  Colonel Paul Tibbets.   And the mission of this bomber hastened the end of the most deadly war in the 20th century, if not in human history  - World War Two.   (For an interesting set of statistics of causalities of war by...

SEATTLE -- The saying, "time heals all wounds" is familiar to most, and for two soldiers and their two sons, it rings true. It's important that a man understands his father so he can better understand himself. And when the fathers are gone, we cling to things -- belongings and symbols -- that show what they stood for and who they were. In Centralia, Kim McDougal has learned new things about his father after finding a unique package. Herb McDougal is 88-years old. He lives in a retirement home and suffers from Friedreich's ataxia, which makes it difficult for him...

70 years go on July 12, 1943 on the Prokhorovka Field 56 km from Belgorod the largest tank battle of World War II took place. It was the last attempt to break through made by the Hitler troops during the Battle of Kursk. The counter attack by the Soviet tanks stopped the steel army of the Wehrmacht. 1200 tanks and other armored vehicles took part in that battle. In his order to advance in the direction of Kursk Hitler stated: «Our victory should firm up the overall conviction in the world that any resistance to the German troops is in...

69 years ago today my father in law was landing in Normandy France in a glider....crawling through hedgerows....doing his duty. Thank you Ralph "Bud" Thomas.

Today your job is straightforward. First you must load 40 to 50 pounds on your back. Then you need to climb down a net of rope that is banging on the steel side of a ship and jump into a steel rectangle bobbing on the surface of the ocean below you. Others are already inside the steel boat shouting and urging you to hurry up. Once in the boat you stand with dozens of others as the boat is driven towards distant beaches and cliffs through a hot hailstorm of bullets and explosions.... In front of you, over the steel...

At the Vineland (N.J.) Veterans Memorial Home, assistant business manager William H. Palmer Jr. has a special bond with the 175 or so World War II veterans who live there. His father, Ensign William H. Palmer, was part of a secret mission during the D-Day invasion that delivered messages from the command ship Ancon to the shore during days of radio silence. … Just like Butch Maisel, a Baltimore history teacher whose father landed on D-Day, Palmer is determined to carry forth the legacy. “I went to find out what my father did on D-Day,” he said, and the research...

Today we traveled from Caen, to Sainte-Mere-Eglise, home to the museum for the United States Airborne troops from WW2. The town was abuzz with dozens and dozens of U.S. Military jeeps and tanks. Every one of them driving the streets, yes, driving. These are all WW2 hardware, which was never returned to the U.S, and have been restored to pristine, war era condition.To add to the realism, dozens and dozens of men were dressed in U.S. military uniform, the same worn during the D Day invasion. Honestly, it was difficult to not believe these men/actors, weren’t the real thing.

Memorial Day is a wonderful constant. Every year, it never ceases to touch me. My family attends an annual parade in Mercer, Pa. It’s terrific — total old-school. The flags, the courthouse, the kids, the snow cone stand, the marching bands, and, most of all, the troops from different wars — that is, the survivors who remain with us. Speaking of whom, Memorial Day always brings another constant, a sad one: each new Memorial Day brings fewer World War II veterans. They are leaving us at a rapid clip. Anyone who entered World War II at age 18 in 1945...

Fifteen months of warfare in the frost and fog of subarctic weather ought to be tough to forget. But seven decades after the fight for the Aleutian Islands reached its banzai climax on May 29, 1943, the mistake-plagued allied campaign to drive Japanese forces from North America remains "the forgotten battle." The campaign does rate a sensational headline: Japan Invades North America. The Aleutians campaign began in early June 1942 when a large Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) task force entered U.S. territorial waters and launched successful amphibious invasions of the Alaskan islands of Attu and Kiska. Which leads to a...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Before Cpl. Thomas "Cotton" Jones was killed by a Japanese sniper in the Central Pacific in 1944, he wrote what he called his "last life request" to anyone who might find his diary: Please give it to Laura Mae Davis, the girl he loved. Davis did get to read the diary — but not until nearly 70 years later, when she saw it in a display case at the National World War II Museum. "I didn't have any idea there was a diary in there," said the 90-year-old Mooresville, Ind., woman. She said it brought tears...

In Dad's Army, Bill Pertwee played a grumpy World War II air raid warden Bill Pertwee, who played Warden Hodges in Dad's Army, has died, his agent has confirmed. The 86-year-old also starred as PC Wilson in You Rang M'Lord? He also appeared in three Carry On films. Agent Meg Poole said he died peacefully on Monday with his family around him. He is survived by his son Jonathan. His Dad's Army character was a greengrocer who became chief air raid warden when World War II broke out. His catchphrase was: "Put that light out!"

Ford's B-24 Bomber Plant at Willow Run, MI, dedicated June 16, 1941 before the USA entered WW2. Henry Ford was determined that he could mass produce bombers just as he had done with cars. He built the Willow Run assembly plant and proved it. It was the world's largest building under one roof at the time. Even then FORD HAD A BETTER IDEA! This plant rolled one B-24 off the assembly line every 55 minutes. ADOLF HITLER HAD NO IDEA THE U.S. WAS CAPABLE OF THIS KIND OF THING.

Days after Hitler’s suicide a group of American soldiers, French prisoners, and, yes, German soldiers defended an Austrian castle against an SS division—the only time Germans and Allies fought together in World War II. Andrew Roberts on a story so wild that it has to be made into a movie.