Category: WW2 Podcast
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The Battle of Stalingrad
The German offensive to capture Stalingrad began in August 1942, using Friedrich Paulus’s 6th Army and elements of the 4th Panzer Army. The attack was supported by intense bombing that reduced much of the city to rubble. The battle quickly degenerated into house-to-house fighting, as both sides fought for the city on the Volga. By…
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The German Battle of the Bulge
In December 1944 the Germans launched the battle of the Bulge, their last major offensive in the west. Commencing in the depths of winter, with the hope that the weather would neutralise allied air superiority, three German armies attacked through the Ardennes. Angus has looked at part of the Ardennes offensive before but from the…
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The U-Boat War
The usual historical narrative of the U-boats during WWII usually revolves around the ‘Battle of the Atlantic’, and the struggle over the convoys bringing vital supplies to Britain. But the story of the U-boat war is much more complex, they went into action on the first day of hostilities with Britain and France and operated…
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Operation Foxley
Operation Foxley was the name of the secret plan supported by Winston Churchill to assassinate Hitler in 1944-45. Different methods of assassination were considered, such as a sharpshooter or poisoning, through to a more elaborate plan that included hypnotism. Angus is joined by Eric Lee. Eric has been with us before, in episode 130, to…
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John Basilone
In episode 158, Angus talked to Henry Sledge about his father’s experiences with the US Marines in the Pacific, which led me to rewatch the 2010 TV miniseries The Pacific. The show revolves around three lead characters, Eugene Sledge, Robert Leckie and John Basilone. Basilone received the Medal of Honor for heroism above and beyond…
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Rodolfo Graziani
Rodolfo Graziani, Marshal of Italy, Viceroy of Ethiopia and one of Mussolini’s most valued generals remains to this day a divisive figure in his homeland. Revered by some Italians as a patriot and vilified by others as a murderer. From the allied perspective, he was the Italian general whose troops surrendered en masse to the…
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P-51 Mustang
In 1940 the British Purchasing Commission approached North American Aviation (NAA) to build under license Curtis P-40 fighters. NAA suggested that rather than produce an old design they proposed a new design, this would become the P-51 Mustang. When fitted with the Roll-Royce Merlin engine, the Mustang would be one of the most important fighters…
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Marshal and Stimson
On September 1, 1939, the day World War II broke out in Europe, Gen. George Marshall was sworn in as chief of staff of the U.S. Army. Ten months later, Roosevelt appointed Henry Stimson secretary of war. For the next five years, from adjoining offices in the Pentagon, Marshall and Stimson headed the army machine…
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British Wartime Industry
The expansion of British industry to cater for war production began to be put in place in the 1930s. But still with the outbreak of war Britain needed to stretch every sinew to harness, coordinate and maximise its resources. Firstly to defend itself and then to help liberate Axis-occupied countries. In this episode, Angus is…
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Tobruk
Tobruk was one of the greatest Allied victories – and one of the worst Allied defeats – of the Second World War. Angus is joined by David Mitchellhill Green David is the author of Tobruk: Rommel and the Battles Leading to his greatest victory. It is a fascinating read which places Tobruk in a wider…