Steven Zaloga

The "Wheels of Liberation" collection is holding their annual open-house today and tomorrow (28-29 June 2025 just south of Gettysburg, PA. It emphasizes Polish WWII vehicles, but plenty of other stuff including US Army. A wonderful opportunity for anyone in range of Gettysburg .

For anyone interested in the Battle of Carentan between the 101st Airborne Division vs. Fallschirmjager Rgt.6 and 17.SS=Pz.Gren.Div. 81 years ago today, my presentation on the ever intriguing WW2TV podcast: youtube.com/watch?v=tNPrxY…

My forthcoming books over the next few months.

Stuart tank in Operation Crusader in November 1941 with the rarely seen canvas sand skirts. Illustration based on a 1/35 scale Miniart kit.

I was up at the US Army Heritage and Education Center's Ridgway Library today doing book research. The weather was especially nice, so I photographed their M4A3 medium tank, one of several AFVs on display there.

Seasonal bird migration where Chesapeake Bay meets the Susquehanna river near Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. An Osprey above its nest, and a Blue Heron searching for fish.

Here's an interesting "Then & Now" from the battle for Carentan on 13 Jun 1944. A 57mm/airborne 6 pdr gun of 101st AB Div. on the Carentan-Periers road at the intersection of today’s route D903 and D971, south of Carentan. The ko'd StuG IV of SS-PzRgt.17 are heading southward.

Everyone remembers Lt. Dick Winters and the capture of the German battery at Brécourt Manor on D-Day. Hardly anyone remembers Capt. Lloyd E. Patch of the 506th PIR who led the capture of the nearby Holdy battery, and who also received the DSC. He is the officer in the middle.

Vol. 1B of "Defending Normandy" just came in. Typical of the very high standards of the first volume. Superb research, highly detailed text and lavish maps. A "must-have" for anyone with serious interest in the campaign on the Cotentin Peninsula and Cherbourg.

This is a fresh look at the iconic Capa photos of Omaha Beach on D-Day. The author argues that much of the hype that surrounds the photos was legend-building by Capa and Life magazine. A "must-read" for anyone with serious interest in Omaha Beach on D-Day.

80 years ago. Op. Herbstnebel is failing. On 20 Dec, OB West shifts the Schwerpunkt from 6.Pz.Armee to 5.Pz.Armee due to the failure of 1.SS-Pz.Korps to secure a breakthrough. The 2.SS-Pz.Korps is shifted to 5.Pz.Armee. This is the OKH’s Ardennes map of 20 Dec.

80 years ago. The 12.SS-Pz.Div. attempts to reach Butgenbach, but is stymied by the 2/26th Infantry defense of the Dom Butgenbach manor farm. Three days of costly fighting put an end to the German advance.

80 years ago. After capturing Krinkelt-Rocherath, a weakened 12.SS-Pz.Div. heads towards Dom Butgenbach. Standing in the way is 2/26th Infantry, 1st Div. The commander is LTC Derrill Daniel who was awarded the DSC and Silver Star with 6 Oak Leaf clusters during the war.

80 Years ago. Delayed by the fight for the Lausdell crossroads and behind schedule, the 12.SS-Pz.Div. made a rash attack into the twin villages of Krinkelt Rocherath, held by the 2nd Inf. Div. It became a Panzer graveyard, with the US Army claiming 77 destroyed Panzers.

80 year ago. LTC Wm. D. McKinley was ordered to hold the Lausdell crossroads at all costs. The 1/9th Infantry fought off repeated German attacks on the night of 17/18 Dec. and was ordered to withdraw the next morning. Of the original 515 men, 217 escaped.

80 years ago. MG Walter Robertson of 2nd Div. gets approval to shift behind the 99th Div. due to their problems holding back German Ardennes attack. The 3/23rd Infantry is the first to arrive in the Krinkelt woods, including Capt. Charles McDonald’s Co. I.

80 years ago. Standing in the way of the 6.Panzer Army in the Ardennes was the inexperienced US 99th Division shielding the Elsenborn ridge, the quickest route to the Meuse . The stalwart defense by the 99th Division threw off the German timetable and doomed Operation Herbstnebel

80 Years ago. The focal point of the German Ardennes offensive was the 1.SS-Pz.Korps advance to the Meuse river. The failure of this attack would doom Operation Herbstnebel.

80 years ago. The iconic image of the Battle of the Bulge was the Panzer attack. In fact, the German plans depended on the infantry to make the initial penetrations of US defenses. This the the 6.Panzer-Armee plan, 3 divisions facing the US 99th Division near Elsenborn ridge .

80 years ago. The Panzer divisions assigned to 6.Panzer Army were assigned advance routes through the Ardennes for X-Tag, Operation Herbstnebel as shown on this map prepared for the US Army Foreign Military Studies B-779.