In the third part of our Countdown to D-Day officer bios, Peter Margaritis reveals the life and legacy of Ōshima, a Japanese diplomat and staunch Nazi supporter. 58-year old Baron Hiroshi Ōshima came from a wealthy Japanese samurai family. His father had served as the Japanese Minister of War in World War I. Hiroshi became a… Read More »Countdown to D-Day: Ōshima
In the second Countdown to D-Day blog, Peter Margaritis reveals the life of a lesser known officer who would later serve as first of the German liaison staff for the United States Army Europe, Wilhelm Meyer-Detring. Tall, robust, dark-haired Oberst i.G. (im Generalstab―in the General Staff) Wilhelm Meyer-Detring attended the Kriegsakademie in Berlin in 1936.… Read More »Countdown to D-Day: Meyer-Detring
In this first biography of the German generals of the Atlantic Wall, Peter Margaritis explores the life and career of Marcks, one of the leading officers in France and the mastermind behind Operation Barbarossa. General der Artillerie Erich Marcks was born June 6, 1891, in Berlin, the son of a historian. After three semesters studying philosophy,… Read More »Countdown to D-Day: Marcks
A Remarkable History of Condoms in War Gene Metcalfe was the last man in a line of paratroopers waiting to board a C-47 that would drop the men at Groesbeek Heights, Holland in the initial wave of Operation Market Garden. As each man approached the hatch, and just before the plane’s crew chief reached down… Read More »It Wasn’t Just About Sex
A Sneak Peek of Heaven High, Ocean Deep In 1944, with the invasion of Europe underway and the battles in the Atlantic all but won, the Royal Navy’s strength could now be focused on the Pacific where the Japanese were still a long way from defeat. Eager to stand toe to toe with their… Read More »And So To War
The Story of Deveraux Family in World War Two ‘Beautiful, battle-scarred and deadly landscapes ranging from Burma to Japan are the backdrop for the Devereux family’s trials and tribulations. This riveting book reads more like a work of fiction than an incredible but true story.‘ – Toy Soldier and Model Figure Magazine. ‘This pulse-pounding Hong… Read More »The Mystery of the Twelve Pages
The Allied Merchant Navies in World War II provided a vital but often forgotten service to their countries’ war effort. At the outbreak of war, the British Merchant Navy was the largest in the world, and up to 185,000 men and women served during the course of the war, some as young as 14. The… Read More »8 Facts About the Merchant Navy that You (Probably) Didn’t Know
The concept of guerrilla warfare is not decades, but many centuries old, with earliest writing on the subject by Sun Tzu dating back to the 6th Century BC. Some guerrilla tactics are probably as old as the first armed groups of cavemen, being a natural evolution of conflict between groups of disproportionate sizes. Popular Che… Read More »From Our Wives to Our Lives: Guerrilla Warfare Throughout History
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