World War II Discussion Forum
World War II Discussion Forum
“God grant me the courage not to give up what I think is right, even though I think it is hopeless.”
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
Upcoming Talks
All times Eastern. Join the featured talk live on Zoom using the link provided.
Schedule last updated October 11, 2026.
No. 146
They Shall Not See the Dawn: The Manhunt for the Third Reich’s Most Wanted
Charles Lachman
No. 148
The Man Who Tested Parachutes – Charles Agate and the Development of Britain’s Airborne Forces for D-Day and Arnhem
Andrew Colley & John Neil
No. 149
Destroyers at War: James L. Holloway’s retrospective of the war in the Pacific
David F. Winkler
No. 152
ONI and 'John Bull': The Office of US Naval Intelligence and British Naval Power
Hal M. Friedman
Churchill’s Secret Army: The Home Guard Auxiliaries
John Sadler
No. 160
Six Air Forces Over the Atlantic: How Allied Airmen Helped Win the Battle of the Atlantic
Joseph T. Molyson Jr.
No. 161
Tough ’Ombres in Normandy: The Rise of the 90th Infantry Division in World War II
Richard C. Anderson Jr.
No. 163
Battle of the Atlantic (3): The Final Collapse of the U-boats, 1943–45
Mark Stille
No. 166
When Murder Rode the Train: The Nazi Hunt for a Serial Killer on the Eve of the Holocaust
Benjamin Hett
No. 167
The Honor of Leading: The 3rd Armored Division’s Tip of the Spearhead
Jed Henry
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Archive
Search by title or speaker. Recordings are linked where available.
2026 34 talks
No. 142
Why Barbarossa Failed: Germany and Russia in the Second World War
Timothy Manion
No. 141
Général Louis Dio: The Wartime Epic of One of Free France’s Greatest Soldiers, 1940-1946
Monique Brouillet Seefried
No. 140
Bold in Battle: South African Stories from the Second World War
Karen Horn
No. 139
The Fleet that Fought Itself: The Spanish Navy and the Civil War 1936–39
Leonard Heinz
No. 138
Patton Reconsidered: General George S. Patton Jr. as a Wartime Commander
James Ellman
No. 137
Wielding the Trident: Admiral Raymond A. Spruance and America’s Victory in the Pacific
Andrew K. Blackley
No. 136
Thunder Over Normandy: How Allied Airmen Helped Liberate France from D-Day to Paris and Beyond
Joseph T. Molyson Jr.
No. 135
Churchill's Forgotten Generals: Victors in Burma
Raymond Callahan & Alan Jeffreys
No. 134
Fighting Falcons: The Campaigns of VMF-221 in the Pacific
Pete Owen
No. 132
Warriors in Washington: Henry Stimson, the US Army, and the Politics of American Power in World War II
Grant Golub
No. 131
Operation Barbarossa, Part II: Why Operation Barbarossa Failed
Craig Luther
No. 130
Operation Barbarossa, Part I: Photographs and Maps
Craig Luther
No. 129
Advance Britannia: The Epic Story of the Second World War, 1942-1945
Alan Allport
No. 128
Redemption: MacArthur and the Campaign for the Philippines
Peter R. Mansoor
No. 127
Monopoly X: How Top-Secret World War II Operations Used the Game of Monopoly to Help Allied POWs Escape, Conceal Spies, and Send Secret Codes
Philip E. Orbanes
No. 126
Patton's War: An American General's Combat Leadership, Volume I: November 1942–July 1944
Kevin M. Hymel
No. 125
Out of Hitler's Shadow: Debt, Guilt, and the German Economic Miracle
Tobias Straumann
No. 123
The Dead and Those About to Die: D-Day: The Big Red One at Omaha Beach
John C. McManus
No. 122
Guadalcanal’s Longest Fight: The Pivotal Battles of the Matanikau Front
Dave R. Holland
No. 121
1945: The Reckoning: War, Empire and the Struggle for a New World
Phil Craig
No. 120
Red Army Offensive War Plans in the Spring of 1941 (85th anniversary)
Evan Mawdsley
No. 118
Scattered Far and Wide: The Naval Academy Class of ’38 at War
Justin LaBorde
No. 117
Patton and the Battle for Sicily: The General, the Navy, and Operation Husky
Flint Whitlock
No. 116
Matisse at War: Art and Resistance in Nazi Occupied France
Christopher Gorham
No. 115
Moscow Tram Stop: A Doctor’s Experiences with the German Spearhead in Russia
Craig Luther
No. 114
Launching Liberty: The Epic Race to Build the Ships That Took America to War
Doug Most
No. 113
The Defeat and Attrition of the 12. SS-Panzerdivision Hitlerjugend: Volume II: Operations Martlet, Epsom, Windsor and Charnwood, 11 June–12 July 1944
Arthur Gullachsen
No. 112
Air Battles Before D-Day: How Allied Airmen Crippled the Luftwaffe and German Army in France
Joseph T. Molyson Jr.
No. 111
Second Front: Anglo-American Rivalry and the Hidden Story of the Normandy Campaign
Marc Milner
No. 110
Seeds of Victory: Defeat, Triumph, and the American Way of War
James Ellman
2025 53 talks
No. 109
Red Arrow across the Pacific: The Thirty-Second Infantry Division during World War II
Mark D. Van Ells
No. 108
Under the Red Banner: A History of the Soviet 43rd Guards Tank Brigade 1940-1945
Shawn Caza
No. 105
Pilots and Painted Ladies: 493rd Bomb Squadron and the Air War in the CBI
Lawrence Drake
No. 103
Romania's Holy War: Soldiers, Motivation, and the Holocaust
Grant T. Harward
No. 102
The Mighty A: The Short, Heroic Life of the USS Atlanta (CL-51): America's First Warship Commissioned After Pearl Harbor
David F. Winkler
No. 101
Allies at War: How the Struggles Between the Allied Powers Shaped the War and the World
Tim Bouverie
No. 100
Blue Versus Purple: The U.S. Naval War College, the Soviet Union, and the New Enemy in the Pacific
Hal M. Friedman
No. 99
Wings of War: The World War II Fighter Plane that Saved the Allies and the Believers Who Made It Fly
David and Margaret White
No. 98
Profits and Persecution: German Big Business in the Nazi Economy and the Holocaust
Peter Hayes
No. 97
The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making and Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb
Garrett M. Graff
No. 95
Witness to Neptune's Inferno: The Pacific War Diary of Lieutenant Commander Lloyd M. Mustin
David F. Winkler
No. 94
World War Zoos: Humans and Other Animals in the Deadliest Conflict of the Modern Age
John M. Kinder
No. 93
Thunder Run Meiktila 1945: The greatest combined arms manoeuvre battle of WW2
Jack Bowsher
No. 88
The Battle of Manila: Poisoned Victory in the Pacific War
Nicholas Evan Sarantakes
No. 85
The Battle of the Beams: The secret science of radar that turned the tide of the Second World War
Tom Whipple
No. 84
The Fate of the Generals: MacArthur, Wainwright, and the Epic Battle for the Philippines
Jonathan Horn
No. 83
Utah Beach: The Amphibious Landing and Airborne Operations on D-day, June 6, 1944
Joseph Balkoski
No. 82
Armies Afloat: How the Development of Amphibious Operations in Europe Helped Win World War II
John Curatola
No. 81
Savage Skies, Emerald Hell: The U.S., Australia, Japan, and the Ferocious Air Battle for New Guinea in World War II
Jay A. Stout
No. 77
Analog Superpowers: How Twentieth-Century Technology Theft Built the National Security State
Katherine Epstein
No. 76
Yukikaze's War: The Unsinkable Japanese Destroyer and World War II in the Pacific
Brett L. Walker
No. 74
Fury and Ice: Greenland, the United States and Germany in World War II
Peter Harmsen
No. 73
Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II
Elyse Graham
No. 72
Intrepid's Fighting Squadron 18: Flying High with Harris' Hellcats
Michael Fink
No. 71
Guest of Adolf: The War of SSG Ernest V. Focht, 805th Tank Destroyer Battalion
Michael Zang
No. 70
Invasion On: D-Day, the Press, and the Making of an American Narrative
Stephen M. Rusiecki
No. 69
Never a Dull Moment: The 80th Airborne Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion in World War II
Ben Powers
No. 68
The "Rape" of Japan: The Myth of Mass Sexual Violence during the Allied Occupation
Brian Walsh
No. 67
King’s Navy: The U.S. Navy of Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King, 1897-1947
David Kohnen
No. 66
Wake Island Wildcat: A Marine Fighter Pilot's Epic Battle at the Beginning of World War II
Bill Ramsey
No. 65
Aces at Kursk: The Battle for Aerial Supremacy on the Eastern Front, 1943
Christopher A. Lawrence
No. 63
Churchill's Citadel: Chartwell and the Gatherings Before the Storm
Katherine Carter
No. 62
Uncertain Allies: General Joseph Stilwell and the China-Burma-India Theater
Eric Setzekorn
No. 58
Communiques of General MacArthur: Pacific Campaigns, July 1942-February 1945
James Ellman
No. 57
A Quiet Company of Dangerous Men: The Forgotten British Special Operations Soldiers of World War II
Shannon Monaghan
2024 44 talks
No. 53
The Eagles of Bastogne: The Untold Story of the Heroic Defense of a City Under Siege
Martin King
No. 52
The Mighty Moo: The USS Cowpens and Her Epic World War II Journey from Jinx Ship to the Navy's First Carrier into Tokyo Bay
Nathan Canestaro
No. 51
America's First Aircraft Carrier: USS Langley and the Dawn of U.S. Naval Aviation
David F. Winkler
No. 48
Americans in a World at War: Intimate Histories from the Crash of Pan Am's Yankee Clipper
Brooke Blower
No. 47
Dark Nights, Deadly Waters: American PT Boats at Guadalcanal
Keith Warren Lloyd
No. 46
Blue versus Orange: The U.S. Naval War College, Japan, and the Old Enemy in the Pacific, 1945-1946
Hal M. Friedman
No. 45
To the End of the Earth: The US Army and the Downfall of Japan, 1945
John C. McManus
No. 44
Betting Against America: The Axis Powers' Views of the United States
Harry Yeide
No. 43
Nightstalkers: The Wright Project and the 868th Bomb Squadron in World War II
Richard Lawless
No. 42
The Lion and The General: Churchill, Eisenhower and the Friendship That Changed The World
Mitch Yockelson
No. 41
Six Air Forces Over the Atlantic: How Allied Airmen Helped Win the Battle of the Atlantic
Joseph T. Molyson Jr.
No. 40
Massacre at Oradour-sur-Glane: Nazi Gold and the Murder of an Entire French Town by SS Division Das Reich
Vincent dePaul Lupiano
No. 39
Unlikely Heroes: Franklin Roosevelt, His Four Lieutenants, and the World They Made
Derek Leebaert
No. 38
American Thunder: U.S. Army Tank Design, Development, and Doctrine in World War II
Richard C. Anderson Jr.
No. 37
Hitler's Panzer Generals: Guderian, Hoepner, Reinhardt and Schmidt Unguarded
David Stahel
No. 36
Delivering Destruction: American Firepower and Amphibious Assault from Tarawa to Iwo Jima
Chris K. Hemler
No. 32
Night of the Bayonets: The Texel Uprising and Hitler's Revenge, April–May 1945
Eric Lee
No. 31
The Light of Battle: Eisenhower, D-Day, and the Birth of the American Superpower
Michael Paradis
No. 30
The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line: Untold Stories of the Women Who Changed the Course of World War II
Mari K. Eder
No. 29
The Defeat of the Damned: The Destruction of the Dirlewanger Brigade at the Battle of Ipolysag, December 1944
Douglas Nash Sr.
No. 26
Forgotten War: The British Empire and Commonwealth’s Epic Struggle Against Imperial Japan, 1941–1945
Brian E. Walter
No. 24
MacArthur Reconsidered: General Douglas MacArthur as a Wartime Commander
James Ellman
No. 23
Judgment at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia
Gary Bass
No. 22
Hitler's Oil Broker: Thomas Brown, Harbinger of Worldwide Conflict
John WM Chapman
No. 20
Our Man In Tokyo: An American Ambassador and the Countdown to Pearl Harbor
Steve Kemper
No. 19
Rise of the War Machines: The Birth of Precision Bombing in World War II
Raymond O'Mara
No. 18
Duel in the Deep: The Hunters, the Hunted, and a High Seas Fight to Finish
David Sears
No. 17
Warlord Hitler: With Reference to the Campaign in Southern Russia in 1942
Alan Donohue
No. 15
Winning French Minds: Radio Propaganda in Occupied France, 1940–42
Denis Courtois
No. 14
Enemy Sighted: The Story of the Battle of Britain Bunker and the World’s First Integrated Air Defence System
Dilip Amin
No. 13
Midway Submerged: American and Japanese Submarine Operations at the Battle of Midway
Mark Allen
2023 12 talks
No. 12
Bloody Verrières: The I. SS-Panzerkorps Defence of the Verrières-Bourguebus Ridges
Arthur Gullachsen
No. 9
Two Navies Divided: The British and United States Navies in the Second World War
Brian Lavery
No. 6
The Art of Military Innovation: Lessons from the Israel Defense Forces
Edward Luttwak
No. 4
Sustaining the Carrier War: The Deployment of U.S. Naval Air Power to the Pacific
Stan Fisher
No. 2
Churchill's American Arsenal: The Partnership Behind the Innovations that Won World War II
Larrie D. Ferreiro
No. 1
Innovating Victory: Naval Technology in Three Wars
Vincent O’Hara & Leonard Heinz
Book Reviews
Into the Inferno: A Fascinating Tale of a B-17 Gunner’s Experience in the “Forgotten 15th”
Into the Inferno tells a story of bravery and hardship across the skies of Europe. The book not only gives you a brilliant look into the life of a B-17 gunner, but also tells a more personal story about the author’s father, his friend, and their experiences during World War II. Action-packed and full of suspense, this book keeps you from putting it down.
Throughout the book, Ibelle connects his father’s story of love and hardship with that of his friend, who fights on another side of the world. Ibelle also shines a light on “The Forgotten 15th,” the men who flew and maintained Army Air Corps bombers and their fighter escorts from bases in Italy during World War II. The author points out that not much was known of the squadron due to the brilliant success of the rival 8th Air Force. By drawing from veterans’ stories and his own father’s letters, Ibelle manages to give the reader a vivid image of what life was like for the men who fought above Europe. While the book does a good job of giving a personal perspective into WWII, the sources are not always accurate, such as the inaccurate statistic that the ball turret position sustained more casualties than any other position when in actuality it had the lowest. The author seeks to discover the deeper meanings of his father’s trauma and opinion of the war but at times leaves that part hanging. Despite this, he manages to make it an enjoyable and thrilling tale. A well-done book and a great read for anyone interested in a more personal tale of combat, friendship, and love during WWII.
Links
Museums and institutions for further study of the Second World War.
- The National WWII Museum New Orleans
- National Museum of the Pacific War Fredericksburg, Texas
- National D-Day Memorial Bedford, Virginia
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Washington, D.C.
- Imperial War Museums London
- Naval History and Heritage Command U.S. Navy
- U.S. Army Center of Military History U.S. Army
- American Battle Monuments Commission Overseas American cemeteries and memorials
About
The World War II Discussion Forum brings historians, authors, and independent scholars together for live discussions of the war and its legacy. We emphasize deep subject-matter expertise, serious research, and work that deserves a wider audience.
Dedicated to Greg’s grandfather, Joseph Mallen, who served on the USS Segundo in 1944 and 1945.
Gregory McNiff
Founder and Executive Director
Gregory McNiff is a Managing Director in the New York office of the Blueshirt Group. He has more than 25 years of technology and telecom experience. Prior to joining the Blueshirt Group, Greg worked at Nomura as a sell-side equity research analyst covering the communications infrastructure sector. Greg also has experience in early stage venture capital, investment banking, and corporate strategy. Greg holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, an M. Litt. in Shakespeare Studies from the University of St. Andrews and a B.A. in Classical Languages from Columbia University.
Greg has been fascinated by military history since his first exposure to Thucydides’ The History of the Peloponnesian War in high school. Greg is amazed at the scale of the World War II conflict and the panoply of human drama it encompassed. When not reading about military history, he is most likely writing overdue book reviews for the WWIIDF website.
Advisors
Jim Dingman · Mike Jankowitz · Craig Luther · Don Patton
“You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.”
Attributed to Leon Trotsky