Yank Archives

(The unofficial) Yank Archives

What is Yank? Yank, The Army Weekly, was a magazine published during World War II for American military personnel serving around the world. It was published from 1942 to 1945. Headquartered in New York but distributed in various editions around the world, Yank was written mostly by servicemen. It featured a variety of articles covering everything from news from the homefront to first person accounts from the battlefront. The stories were richly illustrated with photographs and drawings. Yank also included cartoons and photos of pin-up girls and Hollywood starlets.

What is (the unofficial) Yank Archive? This website is an attempt to preserve and make known some of the content of this important historical publication. Our goal is to place searchable excerpts from Yank on the web for new generations to enjoy and for scholarly study by people with an interest in history.

Most recent articles posted:
Date posted:		From issue:
Oct 18^th, 2011		Mar 28^th, 1943
They Fight with Film
The military drafts Hollywood film makers to create films for soldiers.

Date posted:		From issue:
May 14^th, 2011		Aug 22^nd, 1943
If You're Captured, Button Your ...
Advice to soldiers on what to expect if captured.

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	Newsbite of the Week
	Mar 27^th, 1943: Formation of the Army's first Negro cavalry division, with headquarters at Fort Clark, Tex., has been announced by the WD. The new Second Cavalry Division was developed from the Fourth Cavalry Brigade, composed of the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry regiments which were first organized in 1886. The Fourth Cavalry Brigade fought in Mexico, Cuba, the Philippines, and against the Indians in Texas and Montana. There are two Negro infantry divisions, the 92^nd and 93^rd, besides an air force pursuit squadron which is ready for combat action. In all, there are about 450,000 Negro soldiers in the Army. These include 60,000 G.I.s stationed overseas, of whom 25,000 are in the Pacific areas and 10,000 in North Africa. There are also about 2,000 Negro commissioned officers in the Army.
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Article of the Week

From the issue dated Jan 9^th, 1943.

Click here for a photo of the article.
Click here for a pdf of the article.

A Week of War

North Africa

The Tunisian Campaign

From where Ike Eisenhower was sitting, things looked so-so. In Libya, the British Eighth Army was 90 miles below where Misurata juts out into the sea and approxiÂmately 150 miles from Tripoli. But Erwin Rommel was still hanging on to what he had. He was still retreating in order, and he had received reinforcements. It looked as though he might make a stand at Tripoli.

But then, it looked like many things. There was confusion in North Africa. Not much information was coming out, at least not enough to give a clear picture of the situaÂtion. Rommel might make a stand at Tripoli, true, but he might also fall back and join up with the forces of General Nehring in Tunisia.

The Red Army had Hitler on the Run

The force that had crossed the border of Algeria with such high hopes seemed stymied. There was some patrol activity, a few bombing forays, and not much else. The whole front seemed to be marking time, might possibly explode at any moment.

There was a possibility, however, and a very good one, that the Allies did not want to take Tunisia, did not want to break Rommel. The very fact that the Fox of the Desert had received reinforcements showÂed that badly needed men were still being diverted from the Russian front. As long as North Africa could be a drain on German strength it was worth keeping up the camÂpaign. It was rather like Guadalcanal, on a much wider scale.

In point of fact, all areas of combat seemÂed to be tied up with the Russian campaign and to be hanging breathless on its outÂcome. The sun of 1943 was rising brightly over the cold and bloody steppes, and all over the world men listened to the reports of the frozen cities that were being retaken and passed. In the heat of Africa and India and in the heart of the Australian summer and in the muddy jungles of New Guinea the soldiers of a dozen free countries listened and waited. They knew that the tide had turned, that the pendulum had swung in the other direction.

And if there were lulls in other theaters, they were only the lulls before coming storms.

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