(May 26, 2023) This week 80 years ago, American Forces completed the recapture of Attu Island from the Japanese. Attu and Kiska islands lie at the tip of the Aleutians
Breaking Down the Door To Europe: The Bloody Fight at Aachen in World War II
To enter Germany, the U.S. Army would first need to capture the city of Aachen in one of the toughest urban battles of World War II.
Here s What You Need to Know: The capture of Aachen was a significant event, kicking in the door that allowed the Allied drive toward the Ruhr and the Rhine to continue.
By the autumn of 1944, German resistance in the West was quickly crumbling as the British and Americans approached the German border 233 days ahead of schedule. Two army groups, the 21st, commanded by Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery, and the 12th, under the command of General Omar Nelson Bradley, had galloped across France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Holland at an unexpected pace, overcoming whatever sporadic opposition the retreating German forces could throw in their paths. By September 11, the Americans had reached positions on the German frontier that pre-invasion planners had not expected to re
Devil’s Brigade: This Legendary Fighting Force Gave Rise to U.S. Special Forces
The 1st Special Service Force gained its place in history with daring exploits in combat in France and Italy.
Here s What You Need to Know: The Devil’s Brigade, which inflicted an estimated 12,000 casualties on enemy forces and took 7,000 prisoners during the war, gave rise to the U.S. Special Forces.
When General George C. Marshall visited London in April 1942, the new chief of the British Combined Operations Command, Lord Louis Mountbatten, introduced him to a “very odd-looking individual … [who] talks well and may have an important contribution to make.” The man in question was Geoffrey N. Pyke, a bearded, unkempt maverick and former journalist, philosopher, and inventor who had joined Mountbatten’s coterie of civilian strategists. Just weeks before Marshall’s visit, Pyke had conceived a plan called Project Plough, which envisioned specially trained troops on motorized, armed sleds