The Military history of African Americans spans from the arrival of the first black slaves during the colonial history of the United States to the present day. There has been no war fought by or within the United States in which African Americans did not participate, including the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the Civil War, the Spanish–American War, the World Wars, the Korean War, the Vietnam… Read more »

George Smith Patton made his mark in World War I as the first officer assigned to the new U.S. Army Tank Corps before becoming one of the most prominent military commanders in World War II. Learn 10 surprising facts about the outspoken American General nicknamed “Old Blood and Guts.” Patton was an Olympic athlete. As… Read more »

Hitler had volunteered at age 25 by enlisting in a Bavarian Regiment. After its first engagement against the British and Belgians near Ypres, 2,500 of the 3,000 men in the Hitler’s Regiment List were killed, wounded or missing. Hitler escaped without a scratch. Throughout most of the war, Hitler had great luck avoiding life-threatening injury…. Read more »

Fury is a fictional film that draws a composite portrait of tank crews and the final days of the war in Europe. Ayer was influenced by the service of veterans in his family and by reading books such as Belton Y. Cooper’s Death Traps about American armoured warfare in World War II. Ayer went to considerable… Read more »

Hans Wilhelm Langsdorff was born on the island of Rügen. His family moved to Düsseldorf in 1898 and befriended the future naval hero Count (Graf) Maximilian von Spee, who influenced Langsdorff to attend the Kiel Naval Academy     despite his parents’ wishes. During WW1, Leutnant Langsdorff was awarded the Iron Cross  at the Battle… Read more »

Count Galeazzo Ciano executed. On 11 January 1944, Benito Mussolini had his son-in-law, the politician Galeazzo Ciano age 40, shot for treason outside the gates of Verona along with four other fascists who had abandoned Mussolini. A glamorous playboy in public life, Galeazzo Ciano was the scion of a wealthy fascist founder. The youth wed Mussolini’s… Read more »

On May 27, 1941, the British navy sinks the German battleship Bismarck in the North Atlantic near France. The German death toll was more than 2,000. On February 14, 1939, the 823-foot Bismarck was launched at Hamburg. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler hoped that the state-of-the-art battleship would herald the rebirth of the German surface battle fleet. However, after the… Read more »

The 30th Infantry Division was a unit of the Army National Guard in World War I and World War II. It was nicknamed the “Old Hickory” division, in honor of President Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) . The Germans nicknamed this division “Roosevelt’s SS.”. The 30th Infantry Division was regarded by Samuel Lyman Atwood Marshall  … Read more »

Born in Hong Kong in 1906, John Churchill joined the military in 1926, but soon left to, obviously, become a professional bagpiper and represent Britain in the World Archery Championship in 1939 — two skills he would bring back with him when recalled to service as World War II broke out. Mad Jack won his first Military Cross… Read more »

“The Greatest Soldier in American History.” is how President Jimmy Carter, described Lt. Col. Matt Urban  on July 19, 1980, while presenting him with the Congressional Medal of Honor    or his heroic actions during World War II. It had taken 35 years for this recognition of his venerated feats in World War II. It… Read more »