Mapping the Turning Points: 4 Official WWII Histories for June

June 9, 2026

June marks the anniversary of the turning tides of World War II. While names like Midway and Normandy live on in historical memory, the full picture of how these massive operations were planned, sustained, and won requires looking at the official record.

Whether you are an academic researcher, a military history buff, or a collector, the U.S. Government Bookstore holds the primary-source repository of these monumental years. This month, we are highlighting four crucial volumes that examine the strategy behind global victory:

  1. For Naval Strategy Buffs: Major Fleet-versus-Fleet Operations in the Pacific War provides an incredible look into carrier strikes using both Allied and Japanese records.
  2. For Visual Historians: The War Against Germany and Italy offers an immense pictorial archive of the terrain and conditions soldiers faced during the momentous 1944 European breakthroughs.
  3. For Logistics & Engineering Enthusiasts: Corps of Engineers: The War Against Japan highlights the building blocks of victory—constructing the runways and supply lines that won the Pacific.
  4. The Blueprint for Victory: Pull back the curtain on the secret war games, simulations, and experimental strategic testing that built the carrier strike groups destined to win the Pacific theater in Winning a Future War: War Gaming and Victory in the Pacific War.

Enhance your perspective this summer with these popular WWII publications. Explore our complete, official World War II historical collection here.

The GPO Online Bookstore – Easy Access to Federal Publications

HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE RESOURCES?

Sign up to receive promotional bulletin emails from the US Government Online Bookstore.

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy a vast majority of eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at https://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From the US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

Find more than a million official Federal Government publications from all three branches at www.govinfo.gov.

About the author: Blogger Trudy Hawkins is the Senior Marketing & Promotions Specialist in GPO’s Publication & Information Sales Office, supporting the U.S. Government Online Bookstore (https://bookstore.gpo.gov).

Leave a Comment » | Army War College, Center of Military History, Department of Defense, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, World War II | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

Honoring Our Nation’s Heroes on VE Day

May 8, 2017

May 8th is the 72nd anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day, a day in which cities in Great Britain, the United States, and formerly occupied territories in Western Europe, put out flags and banners to rejoice in the victory of the allied forces.

On May 8, 1945, German troops throughout Europe finally laid down their arms, ending the European theater of World War II.

Pockets of German soldiers would continue the confrontation with the Soviets into the next day. On May 9, the Soviets would lose 600 more soldiers in Silesia before the Germans finally surrendered.

Because of that, VE Day was not celebrated until the ninth in Moscow, with a radio broadcast salute from Stalin himself: “The age-long struggle of the Slav nations…has ended in victory. Your courage has defeated the Nazis. The war is over.”

In 2006, the House of Representatives passed H. Res. 195 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of VE Day and the liberation of Western Bohemia. On govinfo.gov you can also find several announcements in the Congressional Record recognizing heroes and survivors of WWII:

The U.S. Government Publishing Office’s (GPO’s) Catalog of U.S. Government Publications offers access to a wide variety of related publications and resources from across the Federal Government about WWII and VE Day. Here is just a small sampling:

Inside GPO, we have a Veteran’s Memorial honoring all of those who worked at GPO and answered their Nation’s call to defend democracy and freedom during WWII, but sadly never returned.

If you’re interested in learning more about WWII and the sacrifices our soldiers made to protect freedom around the world, visit the GPO bookstore and pick up a copy of Command Post at War: First Army Headquarters in Europe, 1943-1945. It shows the army headquarters of WWII, the First Army headquarters, in the European theater from its activation in October 1943 to V-E Day in May 1945. It depicts the command as a complicated organization with functions ranging from the immediate supervision of tactical operations to long-range operational planning and the sustained support of frontline units during the war.

Also, the GPO bookstore has United States Army in World War II, Pictorial Record, War Against Germany: Europe and Adjacent Areas. The book is a collection of photographs and text written by Kenneth E. Hunter and edited by Mary Ann Bacon. It deals with the European Theater of Operations, covering the period from the buildup in Britain before the D Day invasion throughout the war to include V-E Day.

HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE RESOURCES?

Click on the Links: For the free resources, click on the links above in the blog post.

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Shop our Retail Store: Buy a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.

Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

About the author: Blogger contributor Scott Pauley is a Writer and Editor in GPO’s Library Services and Content Management office.

Leave a Comment » | Center of Military History, Department of Defense, Military History, U.S. Army, World War II | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins