104 - Alarmstart: The Luftwaffe in the Mediterranean

225 - Hill 107 and the Battle of Crete: On the morning of May 20, 1941, the Germans launched Operation Mercury. The invasion of Crete was the largest airborne operation yet attempted during the war, with thousands of Fallschirmjäger deployed. Key to the operation's success would be the... by The WW2 Podcast

46 min listen

224 - The Theory and Practice of Command in the British and German Armies: In this podcast episode, we will discuss the different approaches to command and control of the British Army and the German Army. From a management point of view, both organisations developed different doctrines to deal with the 'fog of war' or... by The WW2 Podcast

65 min listen

223 - Landing Craft Infantry: In this podcast episode, I'm looking at the work of LCI's, Landing Craft Infantry. These are not the smaller Higgins Boats we see storming the Normandy beaches in Saving Private Ryan but large beaching craft intended to transport and deliver fighting... by The WW2 Podcast

53 min listen

222 - The D-Day Scientists Who Changed Special Operations: Operation Jubilee, the Dieppe Raid on the coast of France, was a disaster in 1942. However, it did highlight the need for more reconnaissance before any other amphibious operations were mounted. In London, a small group of eccentric researchers,... by The WW2 Podcast

48 min listen

221 - Training the Indian Army: The Indian Army was the largest volunteer army during the Second World War. Indian Army divisions fought in the Middle East, North Africa and Italy - and went to make up the overwhelming majority of the troops in South East Asia. Over two million... by The WW2 Podcast

40 min listen

220 - The Archer: Reversing to Victory: From late 1944, an ungainly piece of equipment was introduced into service in the British and Canadian armies. Referred to at the time as the ‘Valentine 17-pounder SP’, and later as the ‘Archer’, it was a tracked vehicle with an open... by The WW2 Podcast

44 min listen

219 - D-Day Tourism: While at , I caught , the host of , giving an excellent talk on D-Day tourism. I thought I would ask him on the show to discuss tourism, how it has changed and what to see. Base in France, Paul has been a battlefield tour guide for over 20 years. More... by The WW2 Podcast

70 min listen

218 - Target Hong Kong: In January 1945, Admiral Halsey, with the third Fleet, conducted a raid into the South China Sea. This was designated Operation Gratitude. The raid was to support the landings on Luzon, in the Philippines, with the aim of destroying the Japanese navy,... by The WW2 Podcast

45 min listen

217 - How the Luftwaffe Lost the skies over Germany: Starting with small raids at the start of the war, the aerial offensive grew into a massive operation. Huge air armadas would eventually pulverise Germany, with the Mighty Eigth Airforce flying by day and the Lancasters of Bomber Command by night.... by The WW2 Podcast

54 min listen

216 - The Latvian Legion: 'In Arctic blizzards between January and March 1945, the Latvian 15th SS Division - a core of Russian Front veterans but most raw teenage conscripts from Nazi-occupied Latvia - tried to stop the Red Army sweeping across Pomerania, now Poland. One in... by The WW2 Podcast

44 min listen

215 - The Power of Japanese Propaganda: This episode will look at Japanese propaganda during the imperial era. With the rise of mass production of newspapers and magazines amidst the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese population became instilled in nationalism and militarism. Despite the era... by The WW2 Podcast

41 min listen

214 - Stan Hollis VC and the Green Howards on D-Day: The Green Howards landed in the first wave on D-Day. With them was Company Sergeant Major Stan Hollis, who had seen action in France in 1940, being evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk. He fought in North Africa and took part in the invasion of... by The WW2 Podcast

50 min listen

213 - The British Empire and Commonwealth’s War Against Imperial Japan: The war in Asia and the Pacific against Japan is often seen as an American affair. While the US did play a dominant role, the British and Commonwealth forces also made major contributions – on land, at sea and in the air – eventually involving... by The WW2 Podcast

57 min listen

212 - Invisible Generals: When President McKinley turned down Benjamin Oliver Davis for a place at West Point due to the colour of his skin, Davis joined the army as a private. Davis soon worked his way through the ranks to receive his second lieutenant commission in 1901. It... by The WW2 Podcast

51 min listen

211 - HG-76: Taking the Fight to Hitler's U-boats: The convoy HG-76 sailed from Gibraltar to Britain in December 1941. The Royal Navy commander in charge was 'Johnnie' Walker, an anti-submarine expert who had developed new, aggressive U-boat hunting tactics. Accompanying the escorts was HMS Audacity,... by The WW2 Podcast

55 min listen

210 - The Battle for Italy, 1943: Hot on the heels of victory in Sicily, the Allies crossed into Southern Italy in September 1943. They expected to drive the Axis forces north and be in Rome by Christmas. Although Italy surrendered, the German forces resisted fiercely, and the swift,... by The WW2 Podcast

47 min listen

209 - Hospital Trains of WWII: From the middle of the 19th century, the railways had an integral role in warfare. Trains brought food, ammunition and essential supplies. They also transported troops into the combat zone, and then trains would be used to bring men home. Hospital... by The WW2 Podcast

37 min listen

208 - 2SAS and Bill Sterling: David Stirling is the name synonymous with the wartime SAS, but the real brains behind the operation was, in fact, Bill Stirling, David’s eldest brother. Having originally joined the SOE in March 1940, Bill Stirling sailed for Cairo in 1941 and... by The WW2 Podcast

47 min listen

207 - Tank Warfare in North Africa, 1942-43: If you cast your mind back to episode 187, I discussed the war in the North African desert in 1940-41 with Robert Forczyk. The war in the North African desert was pure mechanised warfare and, in many respects, the most technologically advanced theatre... by The WW2 Podcast

66 min listen

206 - The Extraordinary Life of Journalist Wallace Carroll: Journalist Wallace Carroll had a career that spanned 45 years as a journalist. His first foreign posting, in 1929, was to London with the United Press newswire service. Throughout the 1930s, he covered the major events in Europe and witnessed the... by The WW2 Podcast

61 min listen

205 - Victory to Defeat: The British Army 1939-40: As some of you may know, I am also a First World War historian, and the academic history of the war can be very different from the public perspective, which dwells on the first two years of the war. Forgetting the victories of 1917 and 1918 is... by The WW2 Podcast

57 min listen

204 - Armour in the Pacific: We do not think of armour being widely used in the Pacific campaign, and compared to other theatres, that is a reasonable assumption. However, it was utilised by both the Japanese and Americans from the island campaigns, such as Tarawa and... by The WW2 Podcast

46 min listen

203 - The Battle of Britain, July 1940: In this episode, I’m joined by Patrick Eriksson. If you cast your memory back, Patrick has previously joined us to talk about the Luftwaffe and his Alarmstart trilogy of books (episodes , and ). This time, he is back to discuss the opening few... by The WW2 Podcast

50 min listen

202 - Leningrad, 1941-42: From September 1941, the Germans surrounded Leningrad, laying siege to the city for 900 days. Over 2 million Russians were trapped, and thousands would die through starvation. As the winter closed in, Lake Ladoga froze, allowing trucks to cross the... by The WW2 Podcast

58 min listen

201 - Japanese Americans in WWII: After the attack on Pearl Harbor, over 125,000 Japanese Americans living in the continental United States were incarcerated in prison camps. The majority of these were born in America and US citizens. This was authorised by an Executive Order from... by The WW2 Podcast

69 min listen

200 - The Life of Mrs George S Patton: Few wives of prominent men are more than a footnote in many histories, but they were often central to their husbands' lives. The classic well-known example is the relationship between the wartime British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his wife... by The WW2 Podcast

62 min listen

199 - Patton, August - December 1944: If you cast your memory back to , Kevin Hymel joined me. We discussed General Patton from the campaigns in Mediteranean in 1942 to just before his activation as commander of third army in 1944. Kevin is back. This time we will discuss Patton’s... by The WW2 Podcast

47 min listen

198 - Kesselring: In episode 144, I chatted to Andrew Sangster about Alanbrooke. Earlier this year, I noticed Andrew had a new book, . With his co-author Pier Paolo Battistelli, the book looks at Montgomery, Mark Clark, Patton, Harold Alexander, Albert Kesselring and... by The WW2 Podcast

38 min listen

197 - Kohima: Fought between 8 March and 18 July 1944, the battles of Imphal and Kohima were the turning point of one of the most gruelling campaigns of the Second World War (1939-45). The decisive Japanese defeat in north-east India became the springboard for the... by The WW2 Podcast

72 min listen

196 - Winthrop Bell: Cracking the Code: In public life, Canadian Dr Winthrop Bell was a Harvard philosophy professor and wealthy businessman. As MI6 secret agent A12, he evaded gunfire and shook off pursuers to break open the emerging Nazi conspiracy in 1919 Berlin. His reports provided the... by The WW2 Podcast

58 min listen

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104 - Alarmstart: The Luftwaffe in the Mediterranean

104 - Alarmstart: The Luftwaffe in the Mediterranean

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