18 obscure facts from the depths of WWII history. Even Mike might not know these.
Major General Percy Hobart designed specialized tanks for D-Day that were unlike anything the Germans had ever seen. There were 'Duplex Drive' (DD) swimming tanks with inflatable canvas screens, 'Crab' flail tanks that cleared minefields with chains …
The Canadian 3rd Infantry Division achieved the deepest penetration of any Allied force on D-Day at Juno Beach, advancing 10 km inland — further than any other unit. But at a cost: they faced 14% casualties, the highest of any D-Day beach assault. Th…
A mixed-breed terrier named George was adopted by the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and smuggled onto Juno Beach. When artillery fire became too intense, George would run between foxholes, apparently comforting wounded soldiers. He was officially en…
Captain Philippe Kieffer, leading the Free French 1er Bataillon de Fusiliers Marins Commandos on D-Day, brought two dogs — a German Shepherd named 'Cesar' and a Scottish Terrier named 'Patsy' — which were trained to detect mines. Kieffer was a civili…
The Allies created two massive artificial harbors (Mulberry A at Omaha Beach, Mulberry B at Arromanches) by towing 115 massive concrete caissons — each the size of a small building — across the English Channel. Each caisson weighed up to 6,000 tons. …
The very first combat action of D-Day occurred at 00:16 on 6 June — even before the naval bombardment — when six Horsa gliders carried 181 men of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, commanded by 26-year-old Major John Howard, to captu…