Tag: E. L. Akin

Normandy: Then and Now

On June 6th, 1944, the Allied powers launched history’s largest amphibious invasion across the English Channel, landing in the beaches of Northern France and beginning the grueling, ten-month-long process of liberating Europe from the Nazis and defeating Hitler. As a WWII historian, visiting the landing beaches of Normandy has been a massive, massive bucket list item for me for, well…. for as long as I can remember! Come join me as I explore German bunkers, French beaches, and Gothic cathedrals in Northern France!

Continue reading

Romancing Zelenskey

We as a species have *always* romanticized wartime figures, from the classic “Knight in Shining Armor” trope to putting fighter aces in movies and on postcards. Who in our lifetimes is more worthy of such treatment than President Volodomyr Zelensky, who refuses to bow to a 21st century tyrant? But wait – is it even healthy to create heroes in such times?

Continue reading

Before Overlord – Turning Points in World War II: A Brief Summary

Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy halted the seemingly unstoppable progress of Japanese expansion across the Pacific at the Battle of Midway. On the other side of the world, German and Russian forces were engaged in the titanic struggles of Stalingrad and Kursk. Both campaigns have been called turning points. Evaluate the accuracy of that statement. Was there an earlier shift in momentum on either front?”

Continue reading

1 2 3