WWII History - Late Winter 2014

Features

Infamy in the Air
Despite the element of surprise in favor of the Japanese, American airmen rose to defend Pearl Harbor.
By Tom Yarborough

A BDM Girl Comes to America
A young German girl enrolled in a Nazi youth organization, survived the war, and made her way to the United States.
By Don A. Gregory

The Final Offensive
Although lives were continuing to be lost, German resistance in northern Europe crumbled in the spring of 1945.
By David H. Lippman

Training Stalin’s Sharpshooters
Hopeful snipers learned their trade before taking to the battlefields of the Eastern Front.
By Kevin M. Hymel

Holding the Picket Line
On May 11, 1945, the destroyer USS Hugh W. Hadley survived a series of kamikaze attacks off Okinawa but was shattered in the process.
By Michael E. Haskew

Columns

Profiles
Fighter pilot Alex Vraciu fought along with Filipino guerrillas on the ground and in the air against Japanese planes.

Ordnance
The American M26 Pershing heavy tank arrived too late in Western Europe to dramatically impact the course of World War II.

Insight
The sinking of a German liner resulted in the greatest loss of life on the high seas in history.

Top Secret
A pre-invasion exercise at Slapton Sands went horribly wrong, and senior Allied commanders covered up serious losses and a potential breach of D-Day secrecy.

Books
Halting the U-boat threat to the Atlantic sealanes contributed to the Allied victory over Germany.

Simulation Gaming
It’s back to the skies again, guns blazing, with the follow-up to Sid Meier’s Ace Patrol.