Military Records

Service records, casualties, unit histories, POW databases, medals, and memorial sources. Arranged by topic and country.

Rating: ★ Essential start here first  ·  ✓ Recommended strong source  ·  ◇ Specialist specific cases

Start Here

Priority Source Description Region Access Language
★ Essential Commonwealth War Graves Commission Official database of Commonwealth war dead and cemeteries. WWI and WWII Commonwealth casualties. Primarily Commonwealth service personnel. UK / Commonwealth Free EN
★ Essential NARA — Military Records U.S. National Archives guide for military records by branch, war, and topic. Some records require in-person work. United States Free / mixed EN
★ Essential Bundesarchiv German Federal Archives with state, military, and historical records. Catalogue work often required. Germany Free / mixed DE/EN
✓ Recommended International Encyclopedia of the First World War Peer-reviewed online encyclopedia with 1,200+ articles by scholars from 50 countries. Covers causes, events, societies, and aftermath of WWI. Freie Universität Berlin / Bavarian State Library. International Free EN

Service Records

Priority Source Description Region Access Language
★ Essential NARA — Military Records U.S. military service records portal for all branches. Some records require written requests or in-person access. United States Free / mixed EN
◇ Specialist Fold3 Commercial database of digitised U.S. military records including service and pension records. Subscription required for many records. US / International Paid / mixed EN
◇ Specialist The Gazette Official UK public record. Military appointments, honours, and officer notices going back centuries. United Kingdom Free / mixed EN
✓ Recommended UK Military Service Record Requests UK National Archives route for British Armed Forces service records, including transferred Ministry of Defence personnel records. United Kingdom Paid / request EN
✓ Recommended Library and Archives Canada Canadian military service files, WWI records, WWII war dead, war diaries, medals, photographs, and related military history collections. Canada Free / mixed EN/FR
✓ Recommended National Archives of Australia Defence Records Australian defence and war-service records, including large WWI and WWII service-record collections. Australia Free / mixed EN
✓ Recommended NZ Defence Force — Service Records NZ Defence Force Personnel Archives and Medals; post-WWI service records, own-record requests, and deceased serviceperson files. New Zealand Free / mixed EN

Casualties and War Dead

Priority Source Description Region Access Language
★ Essential Commonwealth War Graves Commission Official database for Commonwealth war dead. WWI and WWII. Includes name, unit, grave location, and cemetery details. UK / Commonwealth Free EN
✓ Recommended Belgian War Dead Register Official Belgian war dead database covering WWI and WWII; run by the War Heritage Institute (Brussels). Includes name, unit, date of death, and burial information. Belgium Free NL/FR/EN/DE
◇ Specialist Volksbund Gräbersuche Online German War Graves Commission grave search for German military casualties. Data completeness varies. Germany / International Free DE
◇ Specialist Mémoire des hommes French military personnel and war-dead database. French military casualties and service research. France Needs verification FR

Prisoners of War

Priority Source Description Region Access Language
◇ Specialist ICRC — WWI Prisoners of War ICRC database for First World War prisoner-of-war records and civilian internees. Search requires careful spelling variants. International / Europe Free EN/FR
◇ Specialist Arolsen Archives Online Search Online archive for Nazi persecution, forced labour, camps, and displaced persons records. Germany / Europe Free DE/EN

Medals and Honours

Priority Source Description Region Access Language
◇ Specialist The Gazette Official UK public record for military honours, awards, appointments, and promotions going back centuries. United Kingdom Free / mixed EN

Cemeteries and Memorials

Priority Source Description Region Access Language
★ Essential Commonwealth War Graves Commission Official CWGC database for Commonwealth war dead, cemeteries, and memorials. UK / Commonwealth Free EN
✓ Recommended Veterans Legacy Memorial U.S. VA memorial search for veterans. Focused on VA-linked burial records. United States Free EN

Country-specific Military Archives

Priority Source Description Region Access Language
✓ Recommended The National Archives — Discovery (UK) UK National Archives catalogue. Military and service records across British history. United Kingdom Free / mixed EN
✓ Recommended The Long Long Trail Comprehensive free guide to researching British Army soldiers in WWI — unit histories, record types, medals, and campaign guides. Run by Chris Baker since 1996. United Kingdom Free EN
✓ Recommended Bundesarchiv (Germany) German Federal Archives with military records across WW1, WW2, and earlier periods. Germany Free / mixed DE/EN
◇ Specialist War Heritage Institute (Belgium) Belgian military heritage institution. Online research access is limited; reading-room visits may be necessary. Belgium Free / mixed NL/FR/EN
◇ Specialist Cegesoma (Belgium) Belgian research centre for WWII Belgium, occupation, and resistance history. Belgium Free / mixed NL/FR/EN
◇ Specialist Service historique de la Défense (France) French defence archives and research guides for French military archival research. France Needs verification FR
✓ Recommended Military Archives (Ireland) Official Irish Defence Forces archive. Includes Army Census 1922, Military Service Pensions Collection, papers, images, and reading-room collections. Ireland Free / mixed EN
✓ Recommended Belgian Personal Military Files War Heritage Institute / Royal Military Museum guidance for Belgian personal military files, including officers and selected NCO/private files. Belgium Free / mixed EN/FR/NL
◇ Specialist Netherlands Military History Collections Netherlands Institute for Military History collections: documentation, publications, photographs, films, and military-history research guidance. Netherlands Free / mixed NL/EN
◇ Specialist Austrian State Archives / Kriegsarchiv Austrian State Archives, including Habsburg and Austrian military records, war ministry material, personnel records, maps, and related holdings. Austria Mixed DE/EN
◇ Specialist Arquivo Histórico Militar Portuguese Army historical archive with campaign records, military-history documents, library holdings, and army-related archival material. Portugal Free / mixed PT
◇ Specialist Wojskowe Biuro Historyczne Polish Central Military Archive / Military Historical Bureau for military records, campaigns, WWII material, and military fonds. Poland Free / mixed PL
✓ Recommended Archives New Zealand War Records Research guide for New Zealand war records, including NZ Wars, South African War, WWI personnel files, unit diaries, and Defence department records. New Zealand Free / mixed EN
◇ Specialist Japan Center for Asian Historical Records Free digitised official documents from Japanese national, diplomatic, and defence archives. Useful for military and imperial-era research. Japan Free JA/EN
◇ Specialist ImagesDéfense (France) 506,000+ photos and 2,670 hours of film covering French military history from WWI to the present; ECPAD (French defence communications agency). French-language interface. France Free FR
◇ Specialist Belgian Defence Archives — War Heritage Institute Historical Belgian Defence Ministry and army archives; private papers, occupation material, and war collections. Companion to the personal military files portal. Belgium Free / mixed NL/FR/EN
✓ Recommended Nationaal Archief (Netherlands) Dutch central-government archives; military service records, KNIL-related material, and other defence holdings. Free reading-room access; paid reproductions. Netherlands Free / mixed NL/EN
◇ Specialist Swiss Federal Archives Federal army records, officer and private archives, military justice, fortifications, aircraft/weapons, and limited personnel material. Switzerland Free / mixed DE/FR/IT/EN
✓ Recommended Danish National Archives Muster rolls, naval rolls, conscription, and military records among digitised and physical holdings. Only a portion is digitised; copies may be paid. Denmark Mixed DA/EN
✓ Recommended National Archives of Norway Military service and defence records transferred from Norwegian government agencies. Free search and reading-room access; copy services may be paid. Norway Free / mixed NO/EN
✓ Recommended Swedish National Archives / Krigsarkivet Swedish military archives including the Krigsarkivet; personnel lists, maps, fortifications, photographs, and private military papers. Sweden Free / mixed SV/EN
◇ Specialist National Archives of Finland Military service cards, casualty databases, pre-1809 military collections, and service-related research requests. Finland Mixed FI/EN
◇ Specialist PARES — Spanish State Archives Portal to Spanish state archives; covers army, navy, air force, and Ministry of Defence administrative and historical records. Spain Free / mixed ES/EN
◇ Specialist Military Historical Archive Prague Czech military archival material from 1723–1989; WWI/WWII fallen-soldier databases and Czechoslovak military records. Czech Republic Free / mixed CS
◇ Specialist Military History Archive Bratislava Slovak and Czechoslovak military-history archives under the Ministry of Defence. Slovakia Mixed SK
◇ Specialist Hungarian National Archives National Archives and military history archive (Hadtörténelmi Levéltár); military registers, war-history archives, and military-history documents. Hungary Free / mixed HU/EN
◇ Specialist Bulgarian State Archives State archives including the State Military Historical Archives; Bulgarian army records, the Bulgarian War Archive, and casualty-related collections. Bulgaria Mixed BG
◇ Specialist Hellenic Army History Directorate Greek Army Historical Archives Service; war records, reports, photographs, war journals, maps, and historical evidence. Greece Mixed EL
◇ Specialist Military Archive of Serbia Serbian and Yugoslav army records from 1847 onward, WWII material, and military archival fonds. Foreign researchers must apply via diplomatic channels. Serbia Mixed / restricted SR
◇ Specialist Croatian State Archives Military-related records especially from Austro-Hungarian and Yugoslav-era holdings, distributed by provenance across regional branches. Croatia Free / mixed HR
◇ Specialist Archives of the Republic of Slovenia Public records and Virtual Archive Reading Room; military-related public archives and casualty resources. Slovenia Free / mixed SL/EN
◇ Specialist National Archives of Latvia Latvian State Historical Archives; state records, military-related personal and administrative records, and holdings from 1220–1945. Latvia Mixed LV/EN
◇ Specialist Lithuanian Central State Archives State and military-administrative records including interwar and Soviet-period holdings. Lithuania Free / mixed LT/EN
◇ Specialist National Archives of Estonia Estonian state records including military and personal-information enquiries and online search routes. Estonia Free / mixed ET/EN
◇ Specialist State Archival Service of Ukraine Ukrainian state, military-organisation, wartime, and government records across central and regional archives. Wartime access and copy services vary. Ukraine Mixed UK
✓ Recommended NZ Defence Force — Service Records NZ Defence Force Personnel Archives and Medals; post-WWI service records, own-record requests, and deceased serviceperson files. New Zealand Free / mixed EN
◇ Specialist National Archives of South Africa Department of Defence Archives, military-history holdings, photographs, maps, and official manuscripts. Defence archive access can be restricted. South Africa Mixed EN
◇ Specialist Japan NIDS Military Archives National Institute for Defense Studies Military Archives; Imperial Army and Navy historical documents, manuscripts, and military materials. Free public reading-room access. Japan Free / mixed JA/EN
◇ Specialist IDF & Defence Establishment Archives Israel's central military and security archive; files, photographs, maps, audio, video, and posters. Primarily request-based access. Israel Mixed / restricted HE/EN
◇ Specialist Arquivo Histórico do Exército (Brazil) Brazilian Army Historical Archive; textual records, images, videos, and microforms relating to the army and national military history. Brazil Free / mixed PT
◇ Specialist India MOD History Division Indian Ministry of Defence History Division; war diaries, historical reports, operations record books, army lists, and army orders. India Mixed EN