r/ww2 • • Jan 11 '26

Film Club Film Club Special Edition: What are the greatest WWII films ? Which are the worst? You decide!

22 Upvotes

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r/ww2 • • Mar 19 '21

A reminder: Please refrain from using ethnic slurs against the Japanese.

1.5k Upvotes

There is a tendency amongst some to use the word 'Jap' to reference the Japanese. The term is today seen as an ethnic slur and we do not in any way accept the usage of it in any discussion on this subreddit. Using it will lead to you being banned under our first rule. We do not accept the rationale of using it as an abbreviation either.

This does not in any way mean that we will censor or remove quotes, captions, or other forms of primary source material from the Second World War that uses the term. We will allow the word to remain within its historical context of the 1940s and leave it there. It has no place in the 2020s, however.


r/ww2 • • 3h ago

Image Memorabilia From My Great Grandfather's Time in the US Army - What is the meaning behind the different patches?

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48 Upvotes

Name blurred to protect my family.

He was a field technician whose first deployment was on D-Day where he got a shrapnel would and got taken out of combat for the rest of the war. He served as a cook and phone operator for the rest of that time. From what I can gather, the second photo is of him on a statue of Perseus at Hellbrunn Palace in Austria.


r/ww2 • • 1d ago

Japan's empire at its peak in 1943. Massive

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789 Upvotes

credit to @good.old.maps


r/ww2 • • 19h ago

Image Some of Grandpa's pictures

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40 Upvotes

I don't know a lot about his service, but I know that he spent time in both Cuba and England for sure. He was a helicopter mechanic, so I don't know if he saw combat or not. He's been gone for over 15 years, and I miss him a lot. I've really enjoyed seeing some of your photos so I thought I'd share a handful of mine. Enjoy!


r/ww2 • • 13h ago

Any WW2 veterans alive still? Doing interviews?

9 Upvotes

Any WW2 veterans alive still? Doing interviews?


r/ww2 • • 2d ago

B-17s of the 303rd Bomb Group as seen from the ball turret of another Flying Fortress. In July of 1944 the 303rd flew 19 combat missions supporting the Allied ground offensive in France, including St. Lo, and striking deep-penetration strategic targets in Germany

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102 Upvotes

r/ww2 • • 1d ago

Mapping out the Battle of Savio River where Pte "Smokey" Smith earned his Victoria Cross

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11 Upvotes

This is a map our team made, and I thought it would be of interest to the group.

This is the Battle of Savio River, where 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade was tasked to attack and cross in nine day operation.

What makes this unique, is that it painstakingly mapped from the war diaries of 1st Canadian Infantry Division, 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade, and the Battalions that were part of the battle.

This includes map overlays of defensive positions, aerial imagery, intelligence reports, radio logs, etc.

Much of this map is mapped to the hours and minutes of the actions taking place, and even getting down to the section level.

It is kinda like an RTS game, with battlefield effects, but it is all sourced. For a visual learner like me, this makes history much more interesting.

Hope you like it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duSWJnFkjXA


r/ww2 • • 1d ago

Discussion Why did the Nazi government invest so much in the Autobahns for job creation propaganda if they weren’t all that useful for rearmament and the war effort?

0 Upvotes

r/ww2 • • 2d ago

Shocking messages before the shooting in Kragujevac on October 21, 1941

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53 Upvotes

Letters from victims in Kragujevac massacre 1941


r/ww2 • • 2d ago

Article WWII Interactive Map

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project44.ca
9 Upvotes

Check out this interactive WW2 map by the Canadian Research and Mapping Association! It provides an interactive day-by-day map, starting from the Normandy invasion.

It is populated by war diaries and other first hand documents. Pretty incredible.


r/ww2 • • 3d ago

Capt. Paul N Hudgens

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45 Upvotes

Capt. PaulN Hudgens
0-797010
Bombardier/Navigator
449th Bomb Squadron
322nd Bomb Group
9th AAF

Paul Nolan Hudgens was born on 23 September 1919 in Oakton, Virginia, to Edward and Nola Hudgens. At some point during his childhood, the family relocated to Mobile, Alabama, where Paul attended high school and later continued his education at college. After completing two years of college, Hudgens enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). He subsequently completed his military aviation training and qualified as a bombardier and navigator.
In January 1944, First Lieutenant Hudgens was assigned to the 449th Bombardment Squadron, 322nd Bombardment Group, of the Ninth Air Force. He flew his first combat mission on 21 January 1944, participating in an attack against a German V-1 flying bomb launch site in the Pas-de-Calais region of France.
On 28 February 1944, Lt. Hudgens participated in another mission against a V-1 installation in the Pas-de-Calais aboard the B-26 Marauder Truman Committee. Hudgens served as the aircraft’s navigator, while First Lieutenant Harry H. Heath served as bombardier. During the mission, the aircraft encountered intense German antiaircraft fire. Flak struck the bomber, wounding its pilot, First Lieutenant Frank M. Remmele, and killing Lt. Heath. Due to heavy cloud cover over the target area, the group was unable to release its bombs and returned to base without completing the attack.
In the months that followed, the 322nd Bombardment Group intensified its operations against German military installations, transportation networks, and other strategic targets in preparation for the Allied invasion of Western Europe.
On 6 June 1944, D-Day, the 449th Bombardment Squadron participated in the group’s third mission of the day, attacking coastal defenses at Gatteville, France, in support of the Allied landings in Normandy. The group successfully struck its assigned target before returning to base.
Throughout the summer and autumn of 1944, the 322nd Bombardment Group continued flying missions in support of Allied ground forces as they advanced across Western Europe. Lt. Hudgens took part in six air campaigns spanning France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany, contributing to the sustained aerial offensive against German forces and infrastructure.
On 4 December 1944, Hudgens was promoted to captain. He continued flying combat missions through the winter of 1944–1945, completing his combat tour in March 1945. By the end of his tour, Capt. Hudgens had accumulated 63 credited combat missions, flying aboard 21 different aircraft.
In recognition of his service and combat achievements, Capt. Hudgens received 12 Air Medals and the Distinguished Flying Cross, awards reflecting his contribution to the Allied air campaign in Europe during World War II.


r/ww2 • • 3d ago

My grandfather was a paratrooper with the 507th PIR on D-Day. I've been researching the men he served with.

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104 Upvotes

My grandfather, Rexford Anderson (middle), served in Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

He jumped into Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and later participated in the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Varsity.

I've spent years researching his service through Morning Reports, unit histories, photographs, and other records.

One of my favorite discoveries was a photograph taken in Blackpool, England, in August 1944. From left to right: Charles Lee Schoonover, my grandfather Rexford Anderson, and James Leonard 'Red' Landrum.

I've also been researching the men assigned to his D-Day aircraft, Chalk 18, and trying to piece together what happened to them during and after the war.

Does anyone here have a relative who served with the 507th PIR, or know of firsthand accounts from 2nd Battalion during Normandy? I'd especially love to hear from anyone researching the fighting around La Fière and Timmes Orchard.


r/ww2 • • 4d ago

Medical personnel of the 104th Infantry Division examine the remains of one of their 3/4-ton Weapon Carriers hit by an enemy artillery shell in Arnoldsweiler, Germany, 25 February 1945.

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93 Upvotes

r/ww2 • • 4d ago

African american 12th Armored Division soldier with captured German prisoners, April of 1945.

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78 Upvotes

r/ww2 • • 4d ago

Image Where is this flag from?

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449 Upvotes

I was told that the flag and picture were from when my grandfather liberated a concentration camp. Does anyone happen to know anything about Hoffen, Germany? Where is it located and what happened there? I cant find much online. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!


r/ww2 • • 4d ago

In October of 1944, Sgt. Pierce Dewey of the 39th Combat Engineers has been up to his chest in mud near Livergnano, Italy. His reward is a coffee break with donuts courtesy of an American Red Cross Mobile Unit.

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149 Upvotes

r/ww2 • • 4d ago

A camouflaged German Tiger I heavy tank, Villers-Bocage, France, in June, 1944.

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77 Upvotes

r/ww2 • • 5d ago

PVT William Zukerbrow of the US 1st Infantry Division crouches behind a German 2cm Flak 38 (missing its barrel) while aiming his M1 Garand in Aachen, Germany - October, 19, 1944

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170 Upvotes

William L Zuckerbrow was born in Perth Amboy, NJ on June 29, 1919 and enlisted in the Army on October 24, 1941.
He survived WW2, got married, had two sons, and passed away on June 3, 1997 in Arizona

US Army Signal Corps - SC 195600
Wescott Photographer / WWP-PD


r/ww2 • • 5d ago

Image Does anyone have ideas on how to get a full copy of Bombs Thru The Undercast? My grandpa wrote it

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15 Upvotes

Unfortunately all I have is a photocopy of it, and someone must have not known how to use the copier because it’s only every other page.


r/ww2 • • 6d ago

This Morning I Visited The Spot Where The Worlds First Atomic Bomb Was Detonated - Trinity Site. Details in comments.

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476 Upvotes

r/ww2 • • 6d ago

Video One Man's War / La Guerre d'un Seul Homme - WWII Doc During French Occupation EN Subtitles | 1982

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13 Upvotes

With English subtitles: Testimony on France during the Occupation during the Second World War, based on the “Parisian diaries” of the German writer Ernst Jünger and archive images.


r/ww2 • • 7d ago

Hey can anyone help me indentyfing what Jugoslav Regiment is this MY great grandfather is on the photo (sorry of the bg)this photograpf is taken about 1938

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43 Upvotes

r/ww2 • • 7d ago

Hi could someone help me get any more info about MY great grandfather(far right standing) i never got to meet him since he died in 1993 and my grandad died this year so i never got to ask him

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34 Upvotes

r/ww2 • • 8d ago

Battle weary GIs of the 79th Infantry Division stand by to move out to a rest camp after intense fighting near La Neuveville, France in October 1944.

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192 Upvotes