81 years ago today, US troops prepare to engage the enemy in the Hürtgen Forest. 🪖

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In November of 1944, soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division move across a small bridge over a stream deep in the Hürtgen Forest. 🪖

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On this day in 1917, the world's first true aircraft carrier, HMS Argus, is launched. Although it won't enter Royal Navy service until the final days of the First World War and sees no action before the Armistice, the vessel goes on to serve through the end of World War II.

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In November of 1944, an American soldier shears a cable in the outskirts of Metz in France.🪖

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On this day in 1944, Patton breaks thru Germany's Siegfried Line. "Fixed fortifications are a monument to man's stupidity."

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On this day in 1859, the firebrand abolitionist John Brown is hanged for treason following his attempt to seize the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry and use the weapons to mount a slave rebellion.

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n December of 1944, American soldiers man a dug-in mortar emplacement near St. Vith, Belgium. 🪖

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In 1944, Corporal Carlton Chapman of the 761st Tank Battalion poses for the camera in his M4 tank near Nancy, France. 🪖

Four days after this picture was taken, Chapman was killed in action. 🪦

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Hitler and Pearl Harbor — How News of Japan’s Surprise Attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet Rocked the Third Reich

“The Führer was surprised — he clearly had no foreknowledge of the date and time of the attack — and ecstatic.”

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In December of 1942, Frank Perconte and Carwood Lipton relax with men of Easy Company’s 1st and 3rd platoons during the 115-mile march from Toccoa to Atlanta. 🪖

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In December of 1944, members of the 823rd Tank Destroyer Battalion pose for a photograph in front of their M10 tank destroyer, during the Battle of the Bulge. 🪖

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In December of 1942, a Marine with the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion displays a captured Japanese flag after a patrol on Guadalcanal. 🪖

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On this day in 1941, the German army's assault on Moscow grinds to a halt as temperatures plunge to 40 below zero. The attack stalls just five miles from the outskirts of the Soviet capital.

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In December of 1944, Sgt. James Albert Simcox of the 4th Armored Division shows off a puppy named "Oscar" who had been given to the tank crew by a grateful French civilian. 🪖

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On this day in 1775, the American warship Alfred becomes the first Continental Navy vessel to fly the Grand Union Flag. The new banner, which is the forerunner to the Stars and Stripes, is run up the mast by an officer aboard by the name of John Paul Jones.

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Soviet Army soldiers of the Stalingrad Front inspect two abandoned German six-barrel 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 rocket launchers during the Battle of Stalingrad in December, 1942.

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82 years ago today, a Japanese torpedo bomber is hit by a 5 inch shell while attacking the USS Yorktown carrier near the Marshall Islands. ⚓️

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Today in 1783, George Washington gathers with his officers at New York's Fraunces Tavern, feasts upon turtles and then bids his comrades farewell. "I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable."

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In December of 1943, a Bersagliere of the Italian Army shows his Beretta MAB 38 Submachine gun to an American soldier of the 5th Army in Mignano Monte Lungo, Italy. 🪖.

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In December of 1944, Pvt. Thomas Gilmore of the 8th Infantry Division poses for a picture during a lull in the Battle of Hürtgen Forest. 🪖

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