The Liberation of Cherbourg
(Yank Magazine, 1944)
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World War Two
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Eisenhower’s D-Day Report
(The Department of the Army, 1945)
The following is an extract from General Eisenhower‘s report on the Allied operations from June 6 through the 26 of August, 1944:
Many factors are woven into warp and woof of this great victory…One was the meticulous care in planning and preparation, another was the fact that we achieved some degree of surprise involving place, timing and strength of attack. The excellence and sufficiency of amphibious equipment, with measures for dealing with beach defenses and obstacles, was also important. In the air, the Luftwaffe has taken a fearful beating. Since June 6, 2378 German aircraft have been destroyed in the air and 1,167 on the ground…
Statistical data concerning the U.S. Army casualties in June and July of 1944 can be read in this article.
General Eisenhower Q & A
(Yank Magazine, 1945)
In two full-dress interviews in Paris and Washington, General Dwight D. Eisenhower talked about some of the high spots of the campaign for Europe and about certain post-VE-Day questions. It’s been generally agreed that the interviews were pretty historic. Here are highlights of the general’s talks to the press in the two Allied capitals…
Clike here to read about General Eisenhower and the German surrender.
Another German Advantage
(Yank Magazine, 1945)
General Marshall’s post-war report remarked on one clear advantage that the German Army was privileged to exploit again and again throughout the war:
The German ammunition was charged with smokeless, flashless powder which in both night and day fighting helped the enemy tremendously in concealing his fire positions.
General Marshall on the Atomic Bomb
(Yank Magazine, 1945)
The tremendous military advantage of this terrifying weapon fell to us through a combination of good luck, good management and prodigious effort. The harnessing of atomic power should give Americans confidence in their destiny…
Click here to read more magazine articles about the Atomic Bomb.
Click here to read one of the fist opinion pieces condemning the use of the Atomic Bomb.
Over One Million Medals for Bravery Were Awarded
(Yank Magazine, 1945)
For those of you out there who collect facts about American World War II medals, here is an article from the early post-war period involving the amount of gallantry medals that were awarded throughout the course of the U.S. involvement to U.S. Army personnel. Keep in mind that this is an immediate assessment from the fall of 1945 and that the Army would continue to distribute the decorations to the deserving G.I.s for many more years to come. The article discusses the amount of Medals of Honor that were awarded and the percentage of that number that were posthumously awarded. The number of Purple Hearts that were distributed is a topic that is not touched upon here.
Read what the U.S. Army psychologists had to say about courage.
Hollywood Fights Its Slowdown
(Click Magazine, 1943)
Hollywood’s manpower problems have multiplied, as in any large industry, since the U.S. entered the war. The draft, war plants, and the Government need for technicians depleted studio staffs all along the line, from producers to prop boys. The majority of Hollywood stars have devoted an untold number of hours to Army camp tours, war work, canteens; they have raised funds for war relief and war bonds. Robert Montgomery (pictured in uniform) is only one of many stars who have entered the armed services. Now he’s a lieutenant in the Navy in charge of a torpedo boat squadron….With the reduction in Hollywood’s talent ranks and the new ruling for a $25,000-net-income ceiling, movie companies face a crises in production.
Click here to read a about a particularly persuasive and
highly effective W.W. II training film…
The Hollywood Happenings in the Spring of ’44
(Yank Magazine, 1944)
Tenderly ripped from the brittle pages of a 1944 issue of YANK MAGAZINE was this short paragraph which explained all the goings-on within the sun-bleached confines of Hollywood, California:
Rita Hayworth steps into the top spot in the Columbia production, ‘Tonight and Every Night’; Ethel Barrymore returns to the screen after 11 years’ absence to share honors with with Cary Grant in ‘None but the Loney Heart’…In ‘Something for the Boys’ Carmen Miranda will sing ‘Mairzy Doats’… etc, etc, etc.
Dealing with Lightning
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1946)
When the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics was let-in on the secret that the U.S. Army intended to manufacture and deploy wooden gliders, a red light went on in their collective heads as they all remembered how susceptible wood and canvas aircraft had been in attracting lightning bolts. This article outlines the steps that were taken to remedy the problem.
German Rifles
(U.S. Dept of War, 1945)
An illustrated wartime study by the United States Department of War explaining the German Gewehr 98 and the Gewehr 41: their caliber, weight, range and over-all length.
We highly recommend that you watch the film clip linked below for additional information.
Click here to read about the German M.G. 34.
The American Sniper Rifle
(U.S. Infantry Drill Manual, 1911)
A black and white diagram depicting the breach of the 1903 Springfield rifle
Click here to read articles about snipers.
The American Sniper Rifle
(U.S. Infantry Drill Manual, 1911)
A black and white diagram depicting the breach of the 1903 Springfield rifle
Click here to read articles about snipers.
The German Luger
(Yank Magazine, 1943)
Two black and white diagrams illustrating the unique features of the German Luger pistol appear alongside a brief history of the weapon. Additional information included in the article are operating instructions and a table of characteristics which lists assorted fun facts about the weapon; it’s weight, length and range, as well as an explanation as to how the piece compares to the M1911 A1 Colt 45 (the standard issue side arm of the U.S. Army):
Since 1908 the Luger pistol has been the official German military side arm. George Luger of the DWM Arms Company in Germany developed this weapon, known officially as Pistole 08, from the American Borchart pistol invented in 1893
The German Walther P-38
(Yank Magazine, 1943)
Attached is black and white diagram of the Walther P-38 pistol, with all parts named.
This diagram, accompanied by a few paragraphs concerning it’s unique characteristics, appeared in the American Army weekly YANK MAGAZINE, and was intended to be read by all those who were most likely to stand before the business end of this German side arm.
We regret that the scan is not very clear and should be printed for better viewing.
Military Buildup in the USSR
(Literary Digest, 1935)
Premier Vyacheslav M. Molotov (1890 – 1986) pictured the Soviet Union as a lusty young giant strong enough to defend itself from both the East and the West in the keynote speech of the Seventh All Union Congress of Soviets, the Soviet Parliament.
In proof of this claim it was shown that in the last two years the Soviet Government had increased the strength of the Red Army from 562,000 men in 1932 to 940,000 in 1934.
Read about all the various international treaties that the Soviet Union violated…
The Navy Nurse Corps
(Think Magazine, 1946)
The attached story of U.S. Navy Nurse Corps and the brave and remarkable women who gallantly served within it’s ranks throughout the Second World War is told in this brief article. It documents the selfless service of Navy Nurses who stayed behind in the Philippines to face Japanese captivity rather than desert their patients.
That was typical of the steadfast manner in which Navy Nurses adhered to duty throughout the war, forsaking personal comfort and safety to bring the benefits of their skills to the sick and wounded.
Weird Combat Training at Fort Knox
(Yank Magazine, 1943)
Erroneously believing that their new recruits were lacking in a sufficient amounts of anti-Teutonic zeal, the brass-hats in charge of the U.S. Army training gulag at Fort Knox, Kentucky decided to employ roving bands of faux-Nazis to frustrate and bedevil the men in training. The hard-charging editors of YANK belittled the scheme.
The Bavarians Wanted a King
(Pathfinder Magazine, 1949)
An important news item came across the wire in mid-may, 1949:
The delegates from Western Germany’s 11 states gave final approval to the draft of the constitution for the new Federal Republic of Germany.
– but what matter was this to the thousands of Bavarians who were highly distrustful of the new government; they had their own gloried past that was largely due to the royal family known as the House of Wittelsbach:
A strong faction is campaigning for the return to the throne of former Crown Prince Rupprecht. The eldest son of King Ludwig III, deposed in 1918, Rupprecht is a tall, thin man of vast education. He led Bavarian troops under Kaiser Wilhelm. In World War II, he was exiled to Italy. Since then he has been living with his family at Leutstetten Castle on Lake Starnberg near Munich.
If the Bavarian people desire monarchy, I shall respect their desire.
Nice work if you can get it…