German actor, Gert Fröbe, plays Unteroffizier Kaffeekanne (”coffee pot”) in the movie “The Longest Day”. He is one of the first German soldiers to see the massive allied invasion fleet with his own eyes… The movie One of the WW2 movie classics that you should check out. Don’t expect the most realistic or historically accurate […]
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Meet the Heroes: Finnish Army Captain Lauri Törni
Lauri Allan Törni (28 May 1919 – 18 October 1965), later known as Larry Alan Thorne, was a Finnish soldier who fought under three flags: as a Finnish Army Second Lieutenant of the Fourth Independent Jäger Infantry Battalion against the Soviets in the Winter War and the Soviet-Finnish sub-theater of World War II known as […]
Meet the Heroes: German Officer – Hans von Luck
Hans–Ulrich Freiherr von Luck und Witten (15 July 1911 – 1 August 1997), usually shortened to Hans von Luck, was a German officer in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. Luck served with the 7th Panzer Division and 21st Panzer Division.He saw action in Poland, France, the Soviet Union, North Africa and […]
The Story of Otto Funk and Klaus Schuh
Otto Funk and Klaus Schuh were working together as a machine gun crew on the Western Front with the special SS unit, SS-Panzer-Division “Hitlerjugend” in the summer of 1944. Both were given the Iron Cross for knocking out a Canadian Churchill tank with just an MG-42 machine gun. With no other weapon at their disposal, […]
The Story of Hauptsturmführer Fritz Klingenberg
Fritz Klingenberg (17 December 1912 – 23 March 1945) was a German officer in the Waffen-SS who served with the SS Division Das Reich and was a commander of the SS Division Götzvon Berlichingen. He was best known for his role in the capture of the Yugoslavian capital, Belgrade for which he was awarded the […]
Meet the Heroes: Soviet Cook Ivan Pavlovich 91st Tank Regiment
In August 1941, Ivan Pavlovich was in a camp outside the city of Dvinsk (now Daugavpils in Latvia). It was evening, and the soldiers were out on maneuvers, leaving him alone in his field kitchen preparing dinner. A tank rolled up. Sereda stared at it, wondering how many more men he would need to feed. […]
Meet the Heroes: US Airborne Major – Julian Aaron Cook
Cook was born at Mount Holly, Vermont on October 7, 1916. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, and graduated as an officer, with the rank of second lieutenant, in 1940. He volunteered for the airborne forces in 1942, joining the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (504th PIR), which became part of the […]
Meet the Heroes: British Army Brigadier – John Ormsby Evelyn ‘JOE’ Vandeleur
As Commanding Officer of 3rd Battalion Irish Guards, he led the breakout of XXX Corps during Operation Market-Garden. In the movie “A bridge too far” he is played by the famous actor Michael Caine: Lt. General Horrocks:[…] “The Irish Guards, under the command of Colonel Vandeleur, will take the lead.”Lt. Colonel J.O.E. Vandeleur: [whispering to […]
Meet the Heroes: US Airborne Lieutenant Colonel – Benjamin Vandervoort
The real Benjamin Vandervoort Benjamin Hayes “Vandy” Vandervoort was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross twice. He was the Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion, 505th PIR, during the airborne landings in Normandy. Despite having broken his ankle on landing, he led his battalion in defending the town of Sainte-Mère-Église on 6 June. During “Operation Market […]
Meet the Heroes: Otto Skorzeny
Otto Skorzeny was an Austrian SS-Obersturmbannführer during World War 2. He was involved in a string of operations, including the rescue mission for dictator Benito Mussolini. He led Operation Greif, in which German soldiers infiltrated enemy lines using their opponents’ languages, uniforms, and customs. By April 1943, he had been made head of German special […]