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  • Airborne Operations

    Airborne Operations was one of the tactical innovations introduced during World War II, although the use of parachute troops had been considered during World War I. In the 1930s, most of the world's major armies were experimenting with the idea of airborne operations as a rapid means of delivering

  • Crossing the Rhine

    In February 1945 the Allies forged eastward toward the Rhine River, and on March 7 made the first crossing via the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen.To the north, ground troops crossed the Rhine at Wesel on the night of March 23-24, supported the following morning by an aerial invasion of more than 2,800

  • Battle of the Bulge

    Early on Dec. 16, 1944, the Germans began their large-scale counteroffensive in the Ardennes. During the first seven days, fog, clouds and snow seriously limited Allied air power, and by Dec. 24 the Germans had penetrated 50 miles westward. The weather let up and both Allied and German air power

  • Rockets and Jets

    Through the fall of 1944, the Allies made slow but important gains against the enemy all along the Siegfried Line. Anything of possible value was attacked by the AAF and RAF to reduce German capability for defending its borders. At the same time, Germany's transportation system and industrial

  • Battle at Arnhem

    With their troops on the borders of Germany and Holland by late summer, the Allies decided to attempt a breakthrough in southeastern Holland toward the Ruhr, Germany's industrial center. On Sept.17, a massive fleet of airplanes and gliders staged an aerial invasion behind German lines, with U.S.,

  • Shuttle Raids to Russia

    Early in 1944, the U.S. persuaded Stalin to permit AAF heavy bombers to fly shuttle missions to Russia to bomb enemy targets in eastern Germany and the Balkans without having to fly back to England and Italy. The Soviets made three airfields available near Kiev and the U.S. devoted months preparing

  • Rome Liberated

    During the first half of 1944 while the Allies had been preparing for the invasion of France, their forces in Italy had slowly driven the enemy northward. Rome was liberated on June 4, and by late September, the Allies had passed beyond Florence. In support of the land battle, Italian-based medium

  • V-1 Buzz Bomb

    Germany answered the invasion of France by launching its first V-1 against London on the night of June 12-13. By July 21, 4,059 V-1s had been fired, 3,045 of which reached England. Although this "secret weapon" did little to alter the course of the war in France, it killed 3,875 people and injured

  • Tactical Support

    On July 25, the Allies launched a massive attack at St. Lo to break out southward from the invasion bridgehead. The AAF and RAF committed their forces based in England to support the ground offensive, both on the front lines and in rear areas. Fighter-bombers and tanks operated as a team, with the

  • Strategic Bombing Resumed

    On June 20, the AAF's heavy bombers returned to strategic operations to destroy Germany's war production industries. Throughout the summer, they waged their campaign, halting only long enough during the latter part of July to join tactical air units in assisting the ground forces in breaking out of