Battleground History Tours

08/28/2026

07/19/2026

82 YEARS AGO IN NORMANDY

July 18, 1944: Two important benchmarks in the Normandy Campaign.

GOODWOOD:

On this day, the British 2nd Army launched Operation Goodwood, a powerful offensive against German positions east of Caen. Goodwood was designed to capture the Bourguébus Ridge, a key German stronghold to Caen’s southeast; a supporting attack by II Canadian Corps was to take the southern suburbs of the city that remained in enemy hands.

The assault was preceded by a massive aerial bombardment by over 2,000 Allied bombers, supported by 760 pieces of artillery that drenched the defenders with shrapnel and high explosives. Following this, the Sherman and Cromwell tanks of three British armored divisions pushed forward toward Bourguébus Ridge.

While the intensity of the air and artillery bombardments had stunned the defenders and killed or wounded many, the survivors quickly rallied and fought back. The Caen sector held the greatest concentration of German forces in Normandy, including some of their best panzer formations, and their defenses were skillfully arranged in depth. These defenses absorbed the attacks in many places, and while the offensive did gain ground, by day’s end it had stalled with heavy losses in British tanks and crews. Fighting continued for two more days, but little further progress was made.

The supporting Canadian attack successfully secured the remaining portion of Caen south of the Orne River.

Goodwood was a costly offensive for British 2nd Army, but it frightened the German high command, who were particularly impressed by the largescale use of strategic bombers in a tactical role. They quickly concluded that the biggest threat to their Normandy position remained on their eastern flank, causing them to retain the bulk of their mobile forces there: this assisted materially in creating the conditions for the successful – and ultimately decisive – American success in Operation Cobra, launched one week later.

ST. LÔ:

Ever since landing on Omaha Beach on June 6, elements of the US 1st Army had battled their way slowly and painfully through Normandy’s hedgerow country, the infamous Bocage. Their objective was the capture of the strategic road junction at St. Lô, a necessary springboard for advances further inland. Efforts to break the German defensive crust on high ground to the town’s north and east had taken far longer than expected, and losses in American units – many seeing battle for the very first time – were heavy.

On July 18, elements of the 29th Infantry Division finally entered the ruins of St. Lô, long since destroyed by Allied bombing. The costly operation had been a necessary precursor to the launching of Operation Cobra, Gen. Omar Bradley’s plan for cracking the German line along the American front. When it was unleashed one week later, Cobra would prove to be the decisive operation of the campaign in Normandy.

06/30/2026

A public service announcement given the extreme heat everywhere.

It amazes me that someone last summer actually complained about it; that psychopath is gone.

06/29/2026

https://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/85-years-after-operation-barbarossa-the-new-weight-of-germanys-eastern-front-atrocities-a-e95216a3-5c1d-4438-bdaf-c5a755fb8688?fbclid=IwY2xjawSvyghleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFhSnp0akxjVzhPNlEybENzc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHkdFPp6-dfscygSPS_yogmPSZkw7R62W6Irp0xOwH95IBSFE15JOx74kPCpX_aem_kttJmGvMq_66uVayiTRxxQ

In 1941, Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union. For decades, many in Germany remained unaware of the full extent of the atrocities committed on the Eastern Front. But the evidence is still everywhere.

06/28/2026

** Commemorate America's 250th on the ground where it happened **

THE CHAMPLAIN VALLEY IN THE REVOLUTION: A GUIDED TOUR

July 30 - August 3, 2026

The Lake Champlain – Hudson River corridor was some of the most vital strategic real estate in North America across two centuries. Our 4+ day tour will take in many places that have become legendary in the annals of America’s war for independence, in some of the most beautiful countryside in the eastern United States.

Our itinerary includes visits to Fort Ticonderoga, Crown Point, Mount Independence, Hubbardton battlefield, Bennington battlefield, and Saratoga National Historic Park.
We hope you will join us as we explore the fascinating Revolutionary War history of this visually stunning area.

For additional information and to reserve your place, please visit:
www.BattlegroundHistoryTours.com

06/28/2026

112 YEARS AGO: ASSASSINATION IN SARAJEVO

June 28, 1914

On this date in 1914, one of the more important events in modern history occurred. Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife Sophie, were traveling by motorcar through the streets of Sarajevo, Bosnia when they were shot by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip; within minutes, both had died of their wounds.

The assassination sparked a fast-moving chain of events that quickly escaped the ability of Europe’s governments to control. Austria-Hungary immediately blamed Serbia for the attack and soon sent Belgrade an ultimatum, the terms of which were unlikely to be met. The Serbs appealed to their ally Russia for support, while Vienna sought assurances from its German ally that the latter would intervene against the Russians, should it come to actual fighting. As Russia had a mutual assistance pact with France in the event of war with Germany, much of the continent now stood on the precipice.

On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. The delicate system of alliances was triggered, and within days, the continent was at war – a conflict that would become the most destructive yet seen in the western world. Within four short years, over sixteen million people were dead, and much of Europe was in ruins.

The reverberations of World War One are still with us today, with recent (and ongoing) events from the Balkans to the Middle East having direct lineage to the killing of an Austrian nobleman in the Bosnian capital, one century ago today.

06/28/2026

163 YEARS AGO: MEADE TAKES COMMAND

On this date in 1863, Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade assumed command of the storied Army of the Potomac. Seventy-two hours later that army would be locked in battle at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. By July 4 – after one week in command – Meade had led his forces to victory over Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.

Meade was the final commander of the Army of the Potomac, leading it through the end of the war in 1865.

06/27/2026

164 YEARS AGO: THE BATTLE OF GAINES’ MILL

On June 27, 1862, the third and largest action of the Seven Days’ Battles occurred near Gaines’ Mill, northeast of Richmond, Virginia.

On June 26, Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Confederate forces launched a series of disjointed attacks on elements of Gen. Fitz John Porter’s Federal Fifth Corps at Beaver Dam Creek, attacks that were repulsed with heavy loss. Fearing his position might be turned, Porter withdrew to the heights above Boatswain’s Creek by Gaines’ Mill; his orders from his army commander, Gen. George McClellan, were to delay the enemy as long as possible. By mid-afternoon on the 27th, Porter’s 34,000 men occupied strong positions and awaited the onslaught of nearly 60,000 Confederates.

Throughout the afternoon and evening, Lee threw unit after unit at Porter’s left and center. The fighting was characterized by brave but poorly coordinated Confederate assaults and stubborn Federal resistance that meted out heavy losses on their opponents. When nearly dusk, and having finally attained a measure of coordination, a massive offensive – involving sixteen Confederate brigades, at least 30,000 men – struck the entirety of Porter’s outnumbered line, breaking Federal resistance and forcing a retreat across Chickahominy River toward the main body of the Army of the Potomac.

Largely forgotten today, Gaines’ Mill was a tremendously hard fought battle with significant ramifications. It marked the emergence of Robert E. Lee, giving him the first of a series of victories he would achieve that year. The battle also accelerated McClellan’s “change of base” to the James River, in effect ending the threat to Richmond. Gaines’ Mill was the second-costliest battle in American history to that date (eclipsed only by Shiloh), with over 6,800 Federal and 8,700 Confederate soldiers becoming casualties.

Today a portion of the Gaines' Mill battlefield is preserved as a part of Richmond National Battlefield Park.

[Image] Charles Reed's sketch of the 22nd Massachusetts Infantry in action at Gaines' Mill]

06/27/2026

THE CHAMPLAIN VALLEY IN THE REVOLUTION: A GUIDED TOUR

July 30 - August 3, 2026

The Lake Champlain – Hudson River corridor was some of the most vital strategic real estate in North America across two centuries. Our 4+ day tour will take in many places that have become legendary in the annals of America’s war for independence, in some of the most beautiful countryside in the eastern United States.

Our itinerary includes visits to Fort Ticonderoga, Crown Point, Mount Independence, Hubbardton battlefield, Bennington battlefield, and Saratoga National Historic Park.
We hope you will join us as we explore the fascinating Revolutionary War history of this visually stunning area.

For additional information and to reserve your place, please visit:
www.BattlegroundHistoryTours.com

06/27/2026

82 YEARS AGO: THE FALL OF CHERBOURG

The seizure of a port capable of supporting the logistics of their massive operation was a key element in the Allies’ Normandy invasion planning. Cherbourg, a French naval base at the tip of the Cotentin Peninsula, was the only real option; its early capture was deemed vital to the success of Operation Overlord.

Soon after the June 6 landing at Utah Beach, Gen. J. Lawton Collins' US VII Corps began the Cherbourg offensive, initially driving west toward the Atlantic coast to isolate the Cotentin Peninsula. Collins' forces then wheeled northward for the assault on the port with three divisions attacking abreast. Encountering stiff resistance on the outskirts of Cherbourg, the Americans faced heavy fighting overcoming its landward defenses before pushing forward into the city. Resistance rapidly crumbled and the garrison commander, Gen. Kurt von Schlieben surrendered on June 26.

German units holding the port itself continued to hold out until finally capitulating on June 29 after severely damaging its facilities. The last Wehrmacht forces on the Cotentin laid down their arms on June 30 and July 1. Although it would be some time before the port was fully functional, the crucial objective had been attained, and the Allies prepared for the next stage of their Normandy operation.

Cherbourg, France.Close up shot of road sign reading 'Cherbourg...