The Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the invasion and conquest of Leyte in the Philippines by American and Filipino guerrillas forces under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, who fought against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines led by General Tomoyuki Yamashita from 17 October 1944 to 31 December 1944. The battle launched the Philippines campaign of 1944-45 for the recapture and liberation of the entire Philippine Archipelago and to end of almost three years of Japanese occupation.

The Leyte invasion was the largest amphibious operation mounted by American and Allied forces to date in the Pacific theater. Gen. MacArthur was designated as supreme commander of sea, air, and land forces drawn from both the Southwest and Central Pacific theaters of operation. Allied naval and air support forces consisted primarily of the U.S. Seventh Fleet under Vice Adm. Thomas C. Kinkaid. With 701 ships, including 157 warships, Kinkaid's fleet would transport and put ashore the landing force. The Royal Australian Navy forces seconded to the Seventh Fleet included five warships, three landing ships and five auxiliary vessels.

The Leyte invasion was the largest amphibious operation mounted by American and Allied forces to date in the Pacific theater. Gen. MacArthur was designated as supreme commander of sea, air, and land forces drawn from both the Southwest and Central Pacific theaters of operation. Allied naval and air support forces consisted primarily of the U.S. Seventh Fleet under Vice Adm. Thomas C. Kinkaid. With 701 ships, including 157 warships, Kinkaid's fleet would transport and put ashore the landing force. The Royal Australian Navy forces seconded to the Seventh Fleet included five warships, three landing ships and five auxiliary vessels.

The RWP Battle of Leyte collection consists of 36 pictures and are available in thumbnail format.

Utah Beach was the codename for one of the Allied landing beaches during the D-Day invasion of Normandy, as part of Operation Overlord on 6 June1944. Utah was added to the invasion plan toward the end of the planning stages, when more landing craft became available. Despite being substantially off course, the U.S. 4th Infantry Division landed there with relatively little resistance, in contrast to Omaha Beach where the fighting was fierce.

Utah beach, about 3 miles (5 km) long, was the westernmost of the five landing beaches, located between Pouppeville and La Madeleine.

The landing was planned in four waves. The first consisted of 20 Higgins boats or LCVPs, each carrying a 30-man assault team from the 8th Infantry Regiment. The 10 craft on the right were to land on Tare Green Beach, opposite the strong point at les Dunes de Varreville. The 10 craft on the left were intended for Uncle Red Beach, 1,000 yards (900 m) farther south. The entire operation was timed against the touchdown of this first assault wave, which was scheduled to take place at 06:30 am. Eight LCTs (or Landing Craft, Tanks), each carrying four amphibious DD Tanks, were scheduled to land at the same time or as soon thereafter as possible.

The second wave consisted of another 32 Higgins boats with additional troops of the two assault battalions, some combat engineers, and also eight naval demolition teams that were to clear the beach of underwater obstacles.

The third wave, timed for H plus 15 minutes, contained eight more Higginses with dozer tanks.

It was followed within 2 minutes by the fourth wave, mainly detachments of the 237th and 299th Engineer Combat Battalions, to clear the beaches between high- and low-water marks.

The RWP Utah Beach collection consists of 35 pictures and are available in thumbnail format.

Omaha Beach was the code name for one of the principal landing points of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, during World War II. The beach was located on the northern coast of France, facing the English Channel, and was 5 miles (8 km) long, from east of Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes to west of Vierville-sur-Mer. Landings here were necessary in order to link up the British landings to the east with the American landing to the west, thus providing a continuous lodgement on the Normandy coast. Taking Omaha was to be the responsibility of United States Army troops, with sea transport provided by the U.S. Navy and elements of the Royal Navy.

On D-Day, the untested 29th Infantry Division, joined by eight companies of U.S. Rangers redirected from Pointe du Hoc, were to assault the western half of the beach. The battle-hardened 1st Infantry Division was given the eastern half. The initial assault waves, consisting of tanks, infantry and combat engineer forces, were carefully planned to reduce the coastal defences and allow the larger ships of the follow-up waves to land. The primary objective at Omaha was to secure a beachhead of some five miles (eight kilometers) depth, between Port-en-Bessin and the Vire River, linking with the British landings at Gold Beach to the east, and reaching the area of Isigny to the west to link up with VII Corps landing at Utah Beach. Opposing the landings was the experienced 352nd Infantry Division. Largely deployed in strongpoints at the coast, the German strategy was based on defeating any seaborne assault at the water line.

The RWP Omaha Beach collection consists of 39 pictures and are available in thumbnail format.

From all historical accounts, the Battle of St. LO was won alone by the 29th Infantry Division, but it must not be overlooked that they had a lot of assistance from the 1st, 35th and 30th Infantry Divisions. Without the assistance of these Divisions, it would have taken much longer, and at a greater loss of lives to the men of the 29th Infantry Division.

The city being a strategic crossroad, Saint-Lô was almost totally destroyed (95% according to common estimates) during the Battle of Normandy in World War II, earning the nickname of the Capital of the Ruins by Samuel Beckett; it was even actually questioned whether to rebuild it or to leave the ruins intact as a testimony of the bombing.

The RWP Battle of St. Lo collection consists of 60 pictures and are available in thumbnail format.

The Battle of Monte Cassino (also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino) was a costly series of four battles during World War II, fought by the Allies with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome.

In the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Gustav Line was being anchored by Germans holding the Rapido, Liri and Garigliano valleys and certain surrounding peaks and ridges, but not the historic abbey of Monte Cassino, founded in AD 524 by St. Benedict, although they manned defensive positions set into the steep slopes below the abbey walls. On February 15 the monastery, high on a peak overlooking the town of Cassino, was destroyed by American B-17, B-25, and B-26 bombers. The bombing was based on the fear that the abbey was being used as a lookout post for the Axis defenders (this position evolved over time to admit that Axis military was not garrisoned there). Two days after the bombing, German paratroopers poured into the ruins to defend it. From January 17 to May 18, the Gustav defenses were assaulted four times by Allied troops. These operations resulted in casualties of over 54,000 Allied and 20,000 German soldiers.

The RWP Battle of Monte Cassino collection consists of 29 pictures and are available in thumbnail format.