Episode list

80th Anniversary of Operation Iskra - Leningrad, January 1943 Part of Eastern Front Week (4) on WW2TV Although many history enthusiasts are aware that early 1943 saw the Red Army rise victorious over the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad, during that same time frame a lesser known, though equally important victory took places hundreds of miles to the north. Operation Iskra was when Soviet troops broke through German forces at "the bottleneck" thus breaking the siege of Leningrad. Our guest is historian Prit Buttar, who has written numerous excellent books on the Eastern Front. We are delighted he is returning to WW2TV once again, as the first of his two volumes about Leningrad will be released later this year.

The Eastern Front 1942/43 - a Summary of the Fronts with Indy Neidell Part of Eastern Front Week (4) on WW2TV In today's show will be offer a summary of the Eastern Front across the Fronts from the second half of 1942 up to the early part of 1943. Indy Neidell is an American-Swedish documentarian, actor, voice actor, musician and YouTube personality, best known for presenting the video series, The Great War on The Great War Channel - which documented World War I in real time using modern research, various secondary sources and archival footage. A similar project, World War Two (about World War II) began in September 2018.

Demyansk Pocket - a forerunner of the catastrophe at Stalingrad Part of Eastern Front Fortnight (4) on WW2TV With Sergey Vershinin Demyansk Pocket - a forerunner of the catastrophe at Stalingrad. The Red Army's unsuccessful attempts in 1942-1943 to overrun the German troops, offering stubborn resistance while encircled near a small town in Northwestern Russia, have been subject for decades to over-glorification by some German war historians and deliberately silenced by the Soviet and almost all Post-Soviet historiography. What was so special about this battle? Why did the success at Demyansk turn to one of the reasons for the Wehrmacht's subsequent catastrophe at Stalingrad? In today's show, we will talk about the Demyansk Pocket based on archival sources and personal evidence from both sides of the frontline. Sergey Vershinin studied Linguistics and Interpreting (German and English languages) in Russia and Germany and later Law in Russia. As an amateur historian he has spent almost 20 years collecting and researching first-hand evidence (mostly unpublished memoirs, diaries and letters of both Russians and Germans) as well as wartime documents on the Demyansk battle aiming to reconstruct a picture of events free of propaganda, stereotypes and myths. The reason for his interest was his grandfather's war faith, who fell near Demyansk in summer 1942 as a Red Army sergeant. The result of his research is an as yet unpublished manuscript in Russian titled Humans at War, compiled of eyewitness accounts, rarely mentioned Wehrmacht's and newly declassified Red Army's files where the war drama at Demyansk is focused on through the human lens.

To Save An Army: The Stalingrad Airlift Part of Eastern Front Fortnight (4) on WW2TV With Robert Forsyth Stalingrad ranks as one of the most infamous, savage and emotive battles of the 20th century. It has consumed military historians since the 1950s and has inspired many books and much debate. In today's show we will tell the story of the operation mounted by the Luftwaffe to supply, by airlift, the trapped and exhausted German Sixth Army at Stalingrad in the winter of 1942/43. The weather conditions faced by the flying crews, mechanics, and soldiers on the ground were appalling, but against all odds, and a resurgent and active Soviet air force, the transports maintained a determined presence over the ravaged city on the Volga, even when the last airfields in the Stalingrad pocket had been lost. Yet, even the daily figure of 300 tons of supplies, needed by Sixth Army just to subsist, proved over-ambitious for the Luftwaffe which battled against a lack of transport capacity, worsening serviceability, and increasing losses in badly needed aircraft. Robert Forsyth is an author, editor and publisher, specialising in military aviation and military history. He is the author of over 25 titles for Osprey Publishing, on the aircraft, units and operations of the Luftwaffe, including Luftwaffe Special Weapons 192-45 and DUEL 97 Tempest V vs Fw 190D-9: 1944-45.

Female Soviet Soldiers in WWII: Fascism - the most Evil Enemy of Women Part of Eastern Front Fortnight (4) on WW2TV With Hayley Noble The most well known women in the Red Army were the aviators and snipers, and we covered the role of the snipers with Lyuba Lyuba Vinogradova in another show this week. In today's show we will focus on female tankers, machine-gunners, medics, and women with other less well known roles with Soviet Forces. Hayley will start by explaining how she frames things in terms of her public history work. Then will dive in to details on specific women. Hayley Noble received her M.A. in public history from Boise State University in 2019. Her area of focus is Soviet women in combat on the eastern front during WWII. As part of her studies, Hayley researched Soviet women in WWII and presented an exhibit relating these women to the recent American hesitation of allowing women into combat roles. Since then, she worked at the Old Idaho Penitentiary, studying the history of Western American criminology. Now, Hayley is the Executive Director of the Latah County Historical Society in Moscow, Idaho in the US. She continues learning about Soviet women and sharing their experiences on Instagram, Facebook, and a monthly newsletter. She's written for numerous outlets, some of which include Contingent History, Clio and the Contemporary, a book review in the Journal of Military History, and as part of the team behind Numbered: Inside Idaho's Prison for Women, 1887 - 1968.

Waffen SS Divisions at the Fourth Battle of Kharkov Part of Eastern Front Fortnight (4) on WW2TV With Konstantinos Laios Today's show covers the actions of the Das Reich, Wiking and Totenkopf divisions around the Ukrainian city of Kharkov in August 1943. After the turmoil of Hitler's failed offensive at Kursk, the Soviet forces pressed their advantage that summer, seeking to expel the German Army from their territories. A history major, Konstantinos Laios has spent the better part of a decade studying Panzer operations on the Eastern Front, with a particular emphasis on the Waffen SS. When he is not poring over archival material or out-of-print publications, he collects militaria, WW2 photos, and enjoys walks in nature with his wife and son.

Section VII: The 'Real' British Resistance With Andy Chatterton Today we discuss the little-known, highly secret, pre-prepared post-occupation civilian force - Section VII - The 'Real' British Resistance. There will be stories of women trained in unarmed combat, resistance newspapers, teenage assassins and even the Womens' Institute. Andrew Chatterton is a Second World War historian and Public Relations professional. His role as Press Officer for the Coleshill Auxiliary Research Team (CART) led to his fascination with the secret layers of defence in place in case of an attempted German invasion during the Second World War. CART maintains the British Resistance Archive where the story of some of the civilian volunteers is kept, providing public recognition of the significant role they would have played in the event of an invasion.

The Disaster of the DD Tanks on DDay? - Omaha Beach With Steven Zaloga In today's show Steven Zaloga will talk about the amphibious Sherman DD tanks on Omaha beach setting the facts straight about this often misunderstood subject. We talked about their development and deployment on June 6th 1944.

The Lost Paratroopers of Graignes - Normandy 1944 With Stephen G. Rabe Professor Stephen G. Rabe joins us today to talk about the dramatic events that took place in the village of Graignes, Normandy between 6 and 16 June 1944. Rabe's father, S/Sgt. Rene E. Rabe, a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division, participated in these dramatic events. On D-Day, when transport planes dropped paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions hopelessly off-target into marshy waters in northwestern France, the 900 villagers of Graignes welcomed them with open arms. These villagers - predominantly women - provided food, gathered intelligence, and navigated the floods to retrieve the paratroopers' equipment at great risk to themselves. When the attack by German forces on 11 June forced the overwhelmed paratroopers to withdraw, many made it to safety thanks to the help and resistance of the villagers. Stephen Rabe held the Ashbel Smith Chair in History at the University of Texas at Dallas, where he taught for forty years. He won three awards for distinguished teaching. He has written or edited twelve books, including John F. Kennedy: World Leader (2010) and The Killing Zone: The United States Wages Cold War in Latin America, 2nd ed. (2016). His Eisenhower and Latin America: The Foreign Policy of Anticommunism (1988) won the Stuart L. Bernath Book Prize from the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations. His new project, Kissinger and Latin America: Intervention, Diplomacy, and Human Rights has recently been published by Cornell University Press (2020).

Mastermind of Dunkirk and D-Day: The Vision of Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay Part of Normandy Week on WW2TV With Brian Izzard Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay is perhaps best known for masterminding the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk in 1940. Initially, it was thought that 40,000 troops at most could be rescued. But Ramsay's planning and determination led to some 338,000 being brought back to fight another day, although the Royal Navy and the Merchant Navy paid a high price in ships and men. But Ramsay continued to play a crucial role in the conduct of the Second World War - the invasion of Sicily in 1943 was successful in large part due to his vision, and he had a key role in the planning and execution of the D-Day invasion - coordinating and commanding the 7,000 ships that delivered the invasion force onto the beaches of Normandy. In today's show Brian Izzard's puts Ramsay and his work back centre-stage, arguing that Ramsay was the mastermind without whom the outcome of both Dunkirk and D-Day - and perhaps the entire war - could have been very different.

The German Cemetery at La Cambe, Normandy With Alexander Braun In Normandy rest the remains of about 78,000 German soldiers, most of them killed during the fighting in the summer of 1944. The largest and most visited of the six German military cemeteries in Normandy is the one at La Cambe, where more than 21,000 German service personnel are buried. The cemetery has an interesting history. Originally established for the fallen of the 29th Infantry Division, German soldiers were soon buried there as well, and after the American repatriation and reburial program ended in July 1948, La Cambe became an all-German cemetery. In the late 1950s, the German War Grave Association designed the now all-German cemetery into a dignified burial site that would allow German relatives to mourn appropriately, which was some sort of challenge in light of the Nazi war atrocities committed in France and Normandy. Alexander Braun examines the origins and further evolution of the cemetery in La Cambe from June 1944, through its formal inauguration in September 1961, to its present form. Alexander Braun is a battlefield guide and author. Born and raised in Würzburg, Germany and after graduating with a degree in history, he served in an armored division of the West-German Army. After military service he subsequently worked in marketing and public relations for several large US companies for 30 years. A visit to the grave of his grandfather, buried in a German military cemetery in Normandy, sparked his particular interest in the Battle of Normandy and the decision to write a guidebook about the Allied landings, published in 2011. This book is available in English and German.

Lend-Lease: Western Aid for the Soviet Union Part of Eastern Front Fortnight (4) on WW2TV With Denis Havlat During WWII the Soviet Union received large amounts of aid from the Western world in the form of supplies and military intervention, both of which were declared to have been irrelevant for the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany by Soviet historians. In this show, we examine the claim made by Soviet historiography, and it comes to the conclusion that both Western supplies and military intervention were far more helpful than claimed by the Soviets. Without this aid the Red Army would not have been able to perform as well as it did historically, tilting the balance in Germany's favor. Soviet claims about the irrelevance of Western aid can thus be dismissed as propaganda and inaccurate. Denis Havlat was born in March 1989 in the Czech Republic (then the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic) a few years after the Velvet Revolution. He and his parents emigrated to neighboring Austria. In Vienna, Havlat attended school, which he completed in 2007. Since his childhood, Havlat has been interested in military history, so he decided to become a historian. Havlat completed his bachelor's degree in History in 2012 and his master's degree in Contemporary History in 2015. This WW2TV show is part of a revised and expanded version of his master's thesis. Havlat is pursuing a bachelor's degree in Education and is planning to start working on his Ph.D. in History.

Dark Waters, Starry Skies: The Guadalcanal-Solomons Campaign, March-October 1943 Part of Pacific Week on WW2TV Thousands of miles from friendly ports, the US Navy had finally managed to complete the capture of Guadalcanal from the Japanese in early 1943. Now the Allies sought to keep the offensive momentum won at such a high cost. This show will cover that period, leading up to the Allied invasion of New Georgia, northwest of Guadalcanal in the middle of the Solomon Islands and the location of a major Japanese base. Determined not to repeat their mistakes at Guadalcanal, the Allies nonetheless faltered in their continuing efforts to roll back the Japanese land, air and naval forces. Our guest today is Jeffrey R. Cox making his third appearance on WW2TV. Jeffrey is a litigation attorney and an independent military historian specialising in WWII naval campaigns. His first interest was in the Pacific War, which he has studied for more than 30 years. A student of history, international affairs, and defense policy for most of his life, Cox holds a degree in National Security Policy Studies from The Ohio State University and a doctorate of jurisprudence from Indiana University School of Law.

Nemesis Island - The Secret Radar war for Okinawa Part of Pacific Week on WW2TV With Trent Telenko At Okinawa in 1945 the United States Navy walked into a fight for the electromagnetic spectrum it was doctrinally unprepared for and suffered greatly from. This lack of doctrinal preparation lead on 6 April 1945 to a series of friendly fire incidences causing a pair of logistical disasters, greatly extending the length and cost of the Okinawa campaign. This was an especially tragic issue as it occurred during the devastating Japanese Kamikaze attacks.

Fremantle, Australia: Submarines and Z-Force Operations Part of Pacific Week on WW2TV With Michael Nelson We lost internet for a couple of minutes in the middle, don't worry we come straight back. In today's show we will learn about Fremantle near Perth in Western Australia. From the early war years when it was the main transport hub to the Middle East via convoys including troop transports, to the start of the Pacific War. We will talk about the role of John Curtin, the Australian PM who was the member for Fremantle and the US and Dutch navy retreat. We move on to talk about the establishment of the base including an upgrade of defences to what would become known as Fortress Fremantle, which will includes the evolution of the RAAF in the area. We will also talk about US navy operations out of Fremantle, the vital home-front and the training of the Z force commandos which often took place out of Fremantle - particularly in midget submarines and submersible canoes. Michael Nelson lives in Fremantle is a self-described local history buff and long-time WW2TV supporter.

Old Breed General: William H. Rupertus With Amy Rupertus Peacock and Don Brown Marine Corps General William H. Rupertus probably best known today for writing the Corps' Rifleman's Creed, which begins, "This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine"-which has been made famous by films such as Full Metal Jacket and Jarhead. Rupertus was one of the outstanding Marines of the twentieth century and "made his bones" in the USMC's "savage wars of peace" before WWII: Haiti for three years after World War I, China in 1929 (where he lost his wife and children to the scarlet fever epidemic) and again in 1937 (where he witnessed the beginning of Japan's war against China that turned into the Pacific War of World War II). In WWII, Rupertus commanded during four important battles: Tulagi and Henderson Field during the Guadalcanal campaign; the Battle of Cape Gloucester; and Peleliu. It was a series of blistering battles-and ultimately victories-that helped break the back of the Japanese and pave the way for American victory. In the course of these battles, Rupertus became the Patton of the Pacific-ruthless in war, always on the attack, merciless against the enemy, undefeated in battles-even as he proved himself very much like Eisenhower, suavely diplomatic and able to balance war with politics. These skills allowed Rupertus to crush the enemy in the malaria-infested jungles of the Pacific and personally escort Eleanor Roosevelt on her tour of the Pacific. The story of Rupertus is the story of the Marines at war in the Pacific. This is an American story of love, loss, shock, horror, tragedy, and triumph.

80th Anniversary of the Battle of Wau: New Guinea 1943 With Philip Bradley The Battle of Wau, 29 January - 4 February 1943, was a battle in the New Guinea campaign where forces of the Empire of Japan sailed from Rabaul and crossed the Solomon Sea and, despite Allied air attacks, successfully reached Lae, where they disembarked. Japanese troops then advanced overland on Wau, a key Australian airstrip and base that potentially threatened the Japanese positions at Salamaua and Lae. A race developed between the Japanese moving overland, hampered by the terrain, and the Australians, moving in by C47s but, hampered by the weather. Phillip will take us through the valiant defence by Captain Sherlock's men on the ridge directly in the way of the Japanese advance on Wau. Phillip Bradley is a leading Australian military historian. His extensive research on the battlefield, in the archives and with the veterans of the campaign has given him an intimate knowledge of the the commando raid on Salamaua. We are thrilled that he is joining us once again. Hell's Battlefield is Phillip Bradley's book that tells the whole story of the Australians against the Japanese in New Guinea during WWII, from invasion in 1942 to the brutal end game in 1945.

Australia's Secret Army: The Story of the Coastwatchers With Michael Veitch Established after World War I by the Royal Australian Navy, the Coast Watchers were a loose organisation of several hundred European settlers, missionaries, patrol officers and planters living in British and Australian Pacific Island territories whose job it was to observe and report on the enemy. They were mostly all unpaid volunteers whose job it was simply to observe and report on foreign shipping and aeroplane movements. It was never envisaged that the Coast Watchers would do any fighting, nor operate inside enemy-occupied territory. But when World War II came to the Pacific, that is exactly what they ended up doing, becoming, in effect, Australia's secret army. Fully cognisant of their fate should they be caught, they nonetheless battled not just the enemy, but constant exhaustion, tropical disease, and the ever-present spectre of capture, torture and death. Without the Coast Watchers and the crucial intelligence they provided, key moments in the war could have turned out very differently. This is the story of these unsung heroes who risked their lives - and sometimes lost them - in the service of their country. From Melbourne, Australian Michael Veitch is well known as an author, actor, TV comedian and radio presenter. In the 1980s he wrote and performed in acclaimed comedy shows such as The D-Generation, Fast Forward and Full Frontal. From 2006 to 2009, Veitch presented ABC Television's flagship arts magazine program, Sunday Arts. He is also a prolific and highly regarded military history and aviation author. His books include the critically acclaimed accounts of Australian airmen in WWII, 44 Days, Heroes of the Skies, Fly, Flak, Barney Greatrex and Turning Point and The Battle of the Bismarck Sea.

Nothing to Chance: Chronicles of 429 Bison Squadron Part of Canadian Week on WW2TV With Gregory Kopchuk In today's show we look at one of the Canadian Heavy Bomber Squadron's and their time in Europe. 429 "Bison" Squadron was formed in 4 Group on 7 Nov 1942. It was the RCAF's tenth Bomber Squadron formed overseas and was declared operational along with 428 Sqn on 24 Jan 1943. The Squadron's first operational mission (Gardening) was on 21/22 Jan 43 and first bombing mission was on 26/27 Jan 43 to Lorient. Bison's Squadron's last Operational mission was on 25 Apr 45 to Wangerooge. The Squadron flew Wellingtons, Halifaxes and Lancasters until the end of the war.

Men and Morale: Canadian Army Training in the Second World War Part of Canadian Week on WW2TV With Megan Hamilton The Canadian Army of the Second World War spent more time preparing and training their citizen soldiers then they did in sustained action. This chiefly took place across Canada and in the United Kingdom. Adequate training functioned as a cradle for collective action, morale, empowerment, self-confidence, and, ultimately, success in battle. Yet, due to a number of factors, a sufficient standard of training was not always achieved by all. There were limits to the Canadian Army's ability to control the morale of its men as it created a vast organization from scratch. Training camp experiences varied, influenced by factors such as food, weather, comfort, group cohesion, leadership, skill level, discipline, social activities, and interactions with local civilians. In fact, it required a constant negotiation between camp leadership and the rank and file. Drawing from her research on both the Canadian and wider Commonwealth armies, Megan's presentation will explain why soldiers' morale in training was a difficult, yet vital, balancing act. Originally from Vernon, British Columbia, Megan Hamilton is a social and military historian of the 20th century. She has an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Waterloo. Her federally-funded master's research focused on the Canadian experience of the Second World War, specifically the Vernon Military Camp. Megan's work has been published by a number of platforms and in 2022 she won the Tri-University History Program's top essay prize for master's students. She is currently located in London, England, where she has begun a fully-funded PhD at King's College London and the Imperial War Museum, supervised by Dr. Jonathan Fennell. Her dissertation is a study of Second World War army training across the Commonwealth.

Battle of the Atlantic: Gauntlet to Victory Part of Canadian Week on WW2TV With Ted Barris The Battle of the Atlantic, Canada's longest continuous military engagement of the Second World War, lasted 2,074 days, claiming the lives of more than 4,000 men and women in the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian merchant navy. For five and a half years, German surface warships and submarines attempted to destroy Allied trans-Atlantic convoys, most of which were escorted by Royal Canadian destroyers and corvettes, as well as aircraft of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Throwing deadly U-boat "wolf packs" in the paths of the convoys, the German Kriegsmarine almost succeeded in cutting off this vital lifeline to a beleaguered Great Britain. In 1939, the Royal Canadian Navy went to war with exactly thirteen warships and about 3,500 regular servicemen and reservists. During the desperate days and nights of the Battle of the Atlantic, the RCN grew to 400 fighting ships and over 100,000 men and women in uniform. By V-E Day in 1945, it had become the fourth largest navy in the world. The story of Canada's naval awakening from the dark, bloody winters of 1939-1942, to be "ready, aye, ready" to challenge the U-boats and drive them to defeat, is a Canadian wartime saga for the ages. While Canadians think of the Great War battle of Vimy Ridge as the country's coming of age, it was the Battle of the Atlantic that proved Canada's gauntlet to victory and a nation-building milestone. Ted Barris has published nineteen books of non-fiction, half of them wartime histories. The Great Escape: A Canadian Story won the 2014 Libris Award for Non-Fiction Book of the Year. Dam Busters: Canadian Airmen in the Secret Raid against Nazi Germany received the 2019 NORAD Trophy from the RCAF Association. And Rush to Danger: Medics in the Line of Fire was longlisted for the 2020 Charles Taylor Prize for non-fiction.

They wanted to save them all: Canadian troops who liberated Nazi death camps Part of Canadian Week on WW2TV With Ellin Bessner and special guest Bob Delson We are scheduling this show a few days after International Holocaust Education Day and 78 years after the liberation of Auschwitz. In today's show we look at the liberation of Bergen-Belsen and some of the Canadian troops involved.

Captured: Canadian POWs at Hong Kong Part of Canadian Week on WW2TV With Brad St.Croix We are delighted to welcome back our friend Brad from OTD Canadian Military History Dr. Brad St.Croix is creating many types of videos about Canada's military past, often using historical footage to provide context and insight about the historical events. The fall of Hong Kong in December 1941 saw nearly 1500 Canadian soldiers, along with their British, Indian, and Hong Kong allies, fall into the hands of the Japanese. They were placed in prisoner of war camps and subjected to nearly four years of starvation, disease, beatings, horrid conditions, and even murder at the hands of their Japanese captors. Some of these POWs were sent to Japan aboard the aptly named 'Hell Ships.' Once in Japan, they worked as slave labours in ship and rail yards, mines, and factories. Only the end of World War 2 in the Pacific brought an end to the suffering. Despite, regaining their freedom, the returned POWs faced many difficulties at home back in Canada. Many faced years of struggle and suffered from alcoholism, physical, and mental health issues for the rest of their lives. Others thrived, but still held the memories of their time as soldiers and POWs. Their government did little to support their unique illnesses and conditions caused by their captivity. They fought for decades for proper recognition and full pensions, but for some of them, it was too late.

8th Air Force Fighter Operations Part of 8th Air Force Week 2 on WW2TV With John Curatola Our guest today is John Curatola, a US military historian and retired Marine Corps officer. He is now a full time historian at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. Previously he has taught at the US Army Command and General Staff College and the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS).

"Never Maltreat Your Enemy By Halves": The Combined Bomber Offensive 1942-1945 Part of 8th Air Force Week 2 on WW2TV With Robin Prior. Robin Prior is a professorial fellow at the University of Adelaide. He is the author or co-author of six books on the two world wars, including The Somme, Passchendaele, Gallipoli and When Britain Saved the West.

Hardly Precision: 8th Air Force Day and Night Area Bombing raids on Germany Part of 8th Air Force Week 2 on WW2TV With Colin Kelly Since WW2 the dominant narrative about the 8th Air Force was that it was a daylight precision bombing force that targeted German military and industrial targets. While not necessarily untrue, this narrative has however left other aspects of the 8th Air Forces bombing campaign neglected, ignored and/or forgotten in the historiography. In contrast to the efforts to carry out precision bombing attacks on key German industries, the 8th Air Force also carried out significant and deliberate area bombing attacks on German towns, villages and cities, which increasingly became common as the American bombing campaign progressed and new technologies were adopted. Similarly, 8th Air Force documents also point to a significant and largely forgotten effort to convert part of its daytime bomber force into a nighttime bombing force, which was conducted with the help of RAF Bomber Command in 1943 and 1945. On the whole, the 8th Air Force and its commanders were much more flexible in their commitment to daylight precision bombing than they claimed during or after the war, largely due to the major challenges they encountered as they sought to get the American bombing campaign going. Nevertheless they are important, if perhaps inconvenient, parts of the 8th Air Forces story that should be remembered.

Mission 760: The Largest Air Strike of the War Part of 8th Air Force Week 2 on WW2TV With Joost de Raaf On December 24, 1944 the 8th Air Force launched Mission 760, the largest aerial mission of the war, which involved more than 2000 heavy bombers. The mission was to bomb German airfields and supply lines, to stop the German Ardennes offensive Battle of the Bulge. Joost de Raaf serves in the Royal Netherlands Air Force as an instructor for F-16 maintenance. Years ago, Joost met Robert Morgan, the pilot of Memphis Belle, at an air-show and began to collect books that were written about specific Bomb Groups in the Eighth Air Force. It was a single page in one of these books that proved to be a life changer and initiated an interest that soon would evolve in a research project - the fruits of which this WW2TV show will feature. That page was a copy of a Field Order which showed the precise routing and timing of several formations whilst overhead the United Kingdom before crossing the coast towards mainland Europe. The book was "Fortresses over Nuthampstead, the 398th Bombardment Group (H) 1943-1945", written by Cliff T. Bishop. Joost had the fortune of meeting Cliff Bishop several times and he, amongst others, thought that the story of the 24th December 1944 mission had to be told. This research has led Joost to understand the complexity of a mission, both in preparation and execution.

Homeward Bound and the Legacy They Left Behind: The Final Months of the Eighth Air Force in WWII Part of 8th Air Force Week 2 on WW2TV With Clive Stevens Clive has been a friend of mine for 29 years from my days owning and travelling to France with restored WWII vehicles. Today's show is in three parts. Part 1 covers the final months of the 8th Air Force's time in England, starting with the December 24, 1944 mission and moving through to Operation Manna and the missions around the time of VE Day. Part 2 is all about the huge job of winding down the bases, the flights back to the USA and the scrapping and dismantling of aircraft and facilities. It also talks about the deep and enduring relationships that had been forged between the people of East Anglia and the young Americans - this incredible Friendly Invasion. Part 3 covers Clive's work over the years excavating at former air-bases and the relics of war he and his colleagues have found. The show concludes with a look at the Memorial project Clive is part of.

Operation Blackcock - The Battle of Susteren, January 1945 With Robbie McGuire Operation Blackcock in January 1945 is often overlooked as larger operations later in that year over shadow it. One battle that stands out for our guest Robbie McGuire is the battle of Susteren on January the 17th. The 1/5th Queens of the 131st Lorried infantry brigade were tasked with capturing and clearing the town in the early phase of the operation. Robbie has personal a connection to the actions over that day as his late Grandfather was present, it was also the first battle he fought in during the Second World War.

HMS London - PQ17 to the Yangtse With Iain Ballantyne HMS London, pennant number C69, was a member of the second group of the County-class heavy cruisers of the Royal Navy. During the Spanish Civil War, HMS London assisted in the evacuation of civilians from Barcelona and during the Second World War she participated in the Royal Navy's hunt for the German battleship Bismarck in May 1941. She then served on Russian convoy escort duties until Nov 1942 including PQ17. She finished the war with the Eastern Fleet based in Ceylon but returned to action in China in 1949, being involved in the Yangtze Incident alongside HMS Amethyst as Communist Chinese forces bombarded British ships on the Yangtze River. Iain Ballantyne has written extensively about navies past and present. A former newspaper defence reporter and current Editor of the global naval affairs magazine 'WARSHIPS International Fleet Review', Iain has also contributed to television news and documentary programmes, and radio shows. He is host of the Warships Pod podcast. Among his other naval history books are 'Warspite', 'HMS Rodney' and the award-winning 'Killing the Bismarck' (all published by Pen and Sword). In 2017, Iain was presented with a prestigious Fellowship Award by the UK's Maritime Foundation for making 'a truly outstanding contribution to stimulating public engagement in maritime issues.'

A Historical Vision of Special Forces Divers With Michael Welham Combat divers are an elite within an elite. Every special forces combat diver is required to pass selection twice - first into the elite military unit and then a combat diving qualification. The combat dive units themselves are tiny and the operations highly classified. The role of a military diver is inevitably a lonely and a dangerous one, whether clearing mines or striking from the sea against enemy-held targets. In today's show we take a dive (pun intended) into the role and development of divers in the Second World War, looking at the training, equipment used and the missions carried out. Michael Welham is a former Royal Marines Commando (specialist skills: diving, canoeing and parachuting), and subsequently a member of 21 SAS and Naval Gunfire Support 95 Commando RAR. He has some 40 years of diving experience, both military and civilian. He is the author of Combat Frogmen (with Lord Paddy Ashdown), Naval Elite Units, Exploring the Deep and Frogmen Spy.

Seek, Strike and Destroy Part of Tank Destroyers Week on WW2TV With Brian McCallion On the Eve of Pearl Harbor in November 1941, The United States War Department would issue a decree to create "Tank Destroyer" Battalions. The fall of Poland and the subsequent fall of Western Europe in the spring of 1940 reinforced the need for a dedicated Anti-Tank force among the ranks of the Army. These Units were trained in specialized Armored warfare tactics to combat the growing threat of the German Blitzkrieg. It would be a little over a year later in the distant North African Mountain Passes and Valleys of Tunisia that the 601st, Nicknamed the "Black Y Boys", would be the first to tackle the dreaded German Panzers..."

Das Sturmgeschütz With Pete Blanchard. Our guest today is 'Armour Enthusiast' Pete Blanchard, who's primary interest is in armour from 1920 to 1945, covering design, development, deployment, usage, maintenance, doctrine, etc. This talk will cover the Sturmgeschütz, Germany's most produced tracked AFV of WW2, from its origins in the First World War, its development and its evolution through to the final days of WW2. It will look at the experience of the campaigns in France, the Balkans and Operation Barbarossa and its subsequent transition from armoured infantry support gun into Germany's most numerous tank hunter. The show will cover the variants: StuH, short barrel StuG, long barrel StuG, StuG IV and how they came about. It also touch on the "Sturmgeschütze That Never Were" - Ferdinand, Jagdpanzer IV etc.

Italian Tank Destroyers With Damian Valle In today's show we look at the various types of vehicles and weapons used by the Italian Army in WWII in the tank destroyer / anti-tank role. Our guest today is Damian Valle. Damian is a Veterinary Clinical Teaching Fellow at the University of Surrey. He studied his Veterinary Medicine Degree in Spain and Italy and he is currently studying for a Masters in Military History. In his spare time he volunteers as an archivist at the Museum of Military Medicine (RAVCs archives) and collaborates regularly with one of the top History podcast in Spain, Casus Belli, covering Italian doctrine and equipment during WW2.

Developing Tank Destroyers - with The Chieftain With Nicholas Moran - The Chieftain A free-ranging chat about developing Tank Destroyers - in the USA and elsewhere. The Chieftain explains how the US Army's Tank Destroyer doctrine of 1941 had much in common with the Panzerjager doctrine of 1940.

The Crusader Gun Tractor Part of Tank Destroyers Week on WW2TV With P. M. Knight The British Crusader gun tractor was introduced to tow the 17 pounder anti-tank gun. A plated box/compartment was added to a Crusader tank to create an area for the driver and the gun crew of six. The tractor also carried ammunition on the rear and within the crew area. They were used in northwest Europe from the Normandy landings of 1944 to the end of the war in 1945. Though not technically a "Tank Destroyer" it's role was to engage and take out enemy tanks. Phillip Knight is a renowned British Armour specialist, and we are delighted he is joining us on WW2TV.

The Blackout Murders With Neil R. Storey Nostalgic recollections of wartime Britain often forget that when the blackout was enforced at night in an attempt to foil Nazi bombers a crime wave, cloaked by the inky black darkness, ensued on many of our streets. There were petty crimes, robberies, sexual assaults and, as The Blackout Murders reveals, some horrific murders took place on our home front during the Second World War. Some of them still rank among the most shocking crimes in modern British history. Some of the murders featured in today's remain infamous, others are almost forgotten and some remain unsolved to this day. Several cases have new light shed on them from recently released archives and records uncovered by our guest historian. Every case has been carefully selected for its reflection of wartime conditions and each one has a powerful, poignant and tragic story to tell. Neil R Storey is an award-winning historian and author who specialises in the impact of war on British society in the first half of the 20th Century. A graduate of the University of East Anglia, he lectures across the UK and has assembled a fine collection of original First and Second World War images to illustrate his works. Neil has published over forty books, has written for national magazines and journals and appears on television documentaries and factual programmes as a guest historian including Who Do You Think You Are? and The Buildings That Fought Hitler.