N1104 In the final weeks of World War II, Heinrich Himmler launched a sudden southward journey with just over a dozen loyal followers. At first glance, the move seemed foolish. Himmler, however, was not a foolish man. He was calculating and deeply cunning, and new evidence helps explain why he chose to flee toward the Alps … Read more
When Nazi Germany invaded the neutral Netherlands on May 10, 1940, the country's fate changed in a matter of days. German paratroopers seized key bridges and airfields, and the Luftwaffe bombed Rotterdam on May 14, killing hundreds of civilians and destroying the historic city center. Faced with the threat of similar devastation elsewhere, the Dutch … Read more
At 11 p.m. on April 16, 1943, a convoy of vehicles stopped outside the Hotel de la Poste in the village of Saint-Jorioz in southeastern France. The men who stepped out were Sergeant Hugo Bleicher of the Abwehr, an officer of the feared Gestapo, and a detachment of Italian troops. Thanks to an intelligence tip, … Read more
During World War II, there was one type of soldier that everyone dreaded facing. They crawled through rubble and hid in shadows for days, waiting for the right moment to strike. They specifically targeted high-ranking officers, including generals. Snipers during World War II were devastating. Many of them achieved kill counts reaching dozens, if not … Read more
The MP 40 is one of the most recognizable weapons of World War II. The German submachine gun, made from stamped steel and used by Axis forces, looked unlike most other weapons of the conflict and could be produced relatively cheaply. It allowed German soldiers to fire hundreds of rounds per minute in a fairly … Read more
In photographs of Germany's senior military commanders during World War II, one object appears again and again in their hands. It is not a pistol or a map case, but a short, heavily decorated baton gleaming with gold and silver fittings. It was not a weapon and had no practical use in combat. It was … Read more
In the winter of 1941, Lyudmila Pavlichenko lay flat against the frozen earth of the Crimean steppe and did not move for four hours. The snow beneath her had melted from body heat and refrozen into a thin shell of ice pressed against her stomach. She could no longer feel her fingers, and she did … Read more
On a drab London night in June 1952, a 37-year-old woman crossed the lobby of a cheap hotel and walked toward the last moments of her life. Within minutes she was dead, stabbed in an attack that was no ordinary murder. The victim was Christine Granville, remembered today as Britain's finest female spy. For five … Read more
On a drab London night in June 1952, a 37-year-old woman crossed the lobby of a cheap hotel and walked into the last moments of her life. Within minutes she was dead, stabbed in an attack that was no ordinary murder. The victim was Christine Granville, widely regarded as Britain's finest female spy of the … Read more
Nancy Wake was a rebel who laughed often and remained fiercely feminine, according to author Russell Braddon. She was exuberant and gregarious, swore like a sailor, and could drink nearly all her male counterparts under the table. Her story is an inspiring journey through the darkest days of World War II and of triumph in … Read more