HistoryNet

03/28/2023

When the British Needed to Gather Intelligence, They Used This Armored Car

The Humber Light Reconnaissance Car served until war's end.

03/28/2023

When the Soviets Needed a Submarine, They Turned to the Germans

The result was a successful Russian sub.

03/27/2023

Brilliant or Preposterous? A Look at the Duplex Drive (DD) Amphibious Tank

You might think that water and Sherman tanks don't mix. You might be right.

03/27/2023

How a Rebel Victory at Natural Bridge Gave Florida a Slice of History

In the waning days of the Civil War, a hodgepodge of green troops got their first taste of action.

03/27/2023

Lies and False Promises Left California Indians With Little of the Mission Lands They’d Farmed

In the 1830s Mexico decreed lands once owned by the Catholic Church available for private ownership—but few Mission Indians benefited.

03/27/2023

See How US Air Force Special Ops Squadrons Took on Dangerous Missions in Vietnam

An array of specialized U.S. Air Force units took on some of the Vietnam War’s most dangerous missions.

An array of specialized U.S. Air Force units took on some of the Vietnam War’s most dangerous missions

03/27/2023

A Bloody Assault on Angaur Island Proved the Folly of "Mopping Up" Operations

In late 1944, a now-forgotten battle led to some of the Pacific War's most doomed and wasteful clashes against the Japanese.

03/26/2023

He Was The First U.S. Soldier Killed in Ground Combat in Vietnam

Spc. 4 James T. Davis lost his life tracking down an enemy signal in Vietnam.

Spc. 4 James T. Davis lost his life tracking down an enemy signal in Vietnam

03/26/2023

A Strong-willed Texan Scout Joined the Confederacy at 15. But That Was Just the Beginning.

A son of the South, Henry Woodson Strong wore many hats as a young adult in northeast Texas, where he raised hogs and later sheep and in between served as a civilian scout and guide for Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie.

Henry Woodson Strong scouted for famed Indian fighter Ranald S. Mackenzie.

03/25/2023

When 21 Sikh Soldiers Fought the Odds Against 10,000 Pashtun Warriors

Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border.

03/25/2023

During WWII, Italy's Slow-Running Torpedo Was Ingenius, if Not Foolhardy

There are submarines, there are mini-submarines, and then there are human torpedoes. Developed by the Italians in the 1930s, human torpedoes—called SLCs.

There are submarines, there are mini-submarines, and then there are human torpedoes.

03/24/2023

Their Division Received the Most WWII Medals of Honor in Europe. But They Considered Themselves ‘Grunts'

Author and journalist Alex Kershaw sat down with HistoryNet to discuss his latest work "Against All Odds" and why the older he gets "the more grateful and proud I am of those young, working-class Americans that fought and died and gave everything so that I could have the life that I have. That's not an exaggeration."

Friends of the National World War II Memorial

From North Africa to the liberation of Adolf Hitler's lair in Berchtesgaden, Germany, the men of the 3rd ID slogged through it all.

03/24/2023

These Aircraft Have Saved Men on the Ground

For more than a century aviators have gone in harm’s way in the service of frontline troops.

03/24/2023

Why Union Troops Couldn’t Let Their Guard Down After Victory at Cedar Creek

Despite the Union’s victory, Jubal Early still haunted the Shenandoah Valley.

03/24/2023

How Union General Robert H. Milroy Spent His Life Trying Redeem His Reputation

Until his death, Union General Robert H. Milroy never stopped trying to redeem his reputation, badly scarred in defeat at Second Wi******er.

Until his death, Union General Robert H. Milroy never stopped trying to redeem his reputation, badly scarred in defeat at Second Wi******er

03/23/2023

During WWII the Japanese Created A Law To Commit War Crimes

How the Japanese Enemy Airmen’s Act led to horrific war crimes.

03/23/2023

A Wisconsin Officer’s Tale Gained Him Acclaim and a Promotion. But It Probably Never Happened.

Captain William Strong made national news for his alleged exploits along the Potomac. But was it the truth?

Captain William Strong made national news for his alleged exploits along the Potomac.

03/23/2023

How Operation Homecoming Was Sprung into Action to Repatriate American POWs

No detail was too small to bring these American prisoners home.

03/23/2023

To Kill or Not to Kill? A Young U.S. Infantryman's Decision When He Saw A Viet Cong

Duane Russell shares the story of his dilemma when he encountered an enemy combatant: to kill or not to kill?

03/22/2023

Through Muck and Mud: How the Weather Dictates Spring Offensives

The military history of the Northern Hemisphere is replete with spring offensives and there is a logical reason for it.

03/22/2023

Was Tokyo Rose a Victim or Villain?

A new graphic novel examines the legacy of the wartime broadcaster.

03/22/2023

How Union Leaders Sought to Exploit Rebel In-Fighting After the Fall of Atlanta

Lincoln, Sherman hoped to leverage government unrest in Richmond and Georgia to secure an early peace deal after Atlanta fell.

Lincoln, Sherman hoped to leverage government unrest in Richmond and Georgia to secure an early peace deal after Atlanta fell

03/22/2023

From Here to Eternity: Inside the Pre-War Hawaii Life That Inspired the Book & Movie

James Jones built his best-selling novel, From Here to Eternity, around his real-life experiences as a U.S. Army private in Hawaii before World War II.

03/21/2023

The Kaiser's Last Battle

in 1918: Imperial Germany launches the Spring Offensive, its last, desperate bid to win the Great War and the Allies’ greatest crisis since the Battle of the Marne in 1914. Before it was over, the Allied lines had been pushed back up to 40 miles, new tactics had revolutionized warfare, command structures had changed, and tens of thousands of men had been killed, wounded, or made prisoner.

Overshadowed by the tragedies at Verdun and the Somme, the Germans' 1918 Spring Offensive was nevertheless an apocalyptic storm that would herald Imperial Germany's darkest hour.

03/21/2023

A Marine Who Made the Ultimate Sacrifice and Why He Did It

Dickey knew exactly what he was doing and what it would cost him when he unhesitatingly leapt on grenades, as Lang proves through eyewitness accounts.

Dickey knew exactly what he was doing and what it would cost him when he unhesitatingly leapt on grenades, as Lang proves through eyewitness accounts

03/21/2023

When the British Needed to Gather Intelligence, They Used This Armored Car

The Humber Light Reconnaissance Car served until war's end.

03/20/2023

American soldiers look at the looming wreck of a Messerschmitt 323 at Tunisia’s El Aouina airport circa June 1943.

The Germans hoped the six-engine transport plane, designed to carry 140 troops, could help reinforce their strength in North Africa, but Allied troops crushed the remnants of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’s once-proud army.

The year 2023 marks the 80th anniversary of key final battles in World War II North Africa.

03/20/2023

You Can Thank the Swedes for Combined Arms Theory

Amid the Thirty Years’ War Protestant commander Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden finally crossed swords with Catholic commander Johann Tserclaes in 1631 at Breitenfeld, Saxony.

Amid the Thirty Years’ War Protestant commander Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden finally crossed swords with Catholic commander Johann Tserclaes in 1631 at Breitenfeld, Saxony

03/20/2023

Here Are the Top 10 Bloodless Wars in Human History

Some human conflicts were settled without getting around to the violence part...

Some human conflicts were settled without getting around to the violence part.

03/20/2023

Half Truck, Half Tank, the German Sd.Kfz 251 Was Wholly Successful

This half-track served a variety of functions in a mechanized war.

03/20/2023

Savage Showdown: Cole’s Cavalry vs Mosby's Rangers

Partisan Rangers, Cole’s Cavalry spent early 1864 in a bitter struggle for the upper hand in “Mosby’s Confederacy.”

Partisan Rangers, Cole’s Cavalry spent early 1864 in a bitter struggle for the upper hand in “Mosby’s Confederacy”

03/20/2023

See How US Air Force Special Ops Squadrons Took on Dangerous Missions in Vietnam

An array of specialized U.S. Air Force units took on some of the Vietnam War’s most dangerous missions.

An array of specialized U.S. Air Force units took on some of the Vietnam War’s most dangerous missions

03/19/2023

A Bloody Assault on Angaur Island Proved the Folly of "Mopping Up" Operations

In late 1944, a now-forgotten battle led to some of the Pacific War's most doomed and wasteful clashes against the Japanese.

03/19/2023

He Was The First U.S. Soldier Killed in Ground Combat in Vietnam

Spc. 4 James T. Davis lost his life tracking down an enemy signal in Vietnam.

Spc. 4 James T. Davis lost his life tracking down an enemy signal in Vietnam

03/18/2023

A Strong-willed Texan Scout Joined the Confederacy at 15. But That Was Just the Beginning.

A son of the South, Henry Woodson Strong wore many hats as a young adult in northeast Texas, where he raised hogs and later sheep and in between served as a civilian scout and guide for Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie.

Henry Woodson Strong scouted for famed Indian fighter Ranald S. Mackenzie.

03/18/2023

When 21 Sikh Soldiers Fought the Odds Against 10,000 Pashtun Warriors

Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border.

03/17/2023

Iraq War Veterans Refuse To Be Defined By A War They Didn’t Lose

The war meant many things for the thousands who served, but for many veterans the war started out as one thing and has since evolved into something much different in their minds.

03/17/2023

Mexico had an Irish army? How Irishmen "fought like devils" against the US

Seeking to escape ignoble lives in their homeland, Irishmen of the Saint Patrick’s Battalion risked the hangman’s rope to fight in the Mexican War.

03/17/2023

Up the Rebels As Irishmen Attack Britain—By Way of Buffalo

In 1866, Fenian republican rebels invaded Canada—from the United States.

03/17/2023

These WWII British Bombs Were So Powerful They Were Named 'Earthquake'

They were intended to take out U-boat pens, V-2 launch sites, dams and other tough targets.

They were intended to take out U-boat pens, V-2 launch sites, dams and other tough targets