Why We Fight ~ 1944
123 episodes - English - Latest episode: 11 days ago - ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsSeason two of the largest Combined, Joint, Multinational Military History effort focuses on American and Allied Forces in Europe and the Pacific through 1944.
The 1943 series ended up with 108 episodes with contributions from across all US services, as well as contributions from our British and Canadian friends, and more.
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Episodes
The Nuremberg Raid - March 1944
April 13, 2024 12:53 - 1 hour - 92.1 MBIn this episode, Dr. Thomas Bradbeer talks to me about the Royal Air Force raid on Nuremberg at the end of March in 1944. He also details some of the tactics these pilots and aircrews used, as well as the challenges they faced with the Luftwaffe, and towards the end of the episode we talk a bit about his work with the US Army's Command and General Staff College in the Department of Command and Leadership. Links Books by Dr. Thomas Bradbeer (https://www.amazon.com/Books-Thomas-G-Bradbeer/s?...
The Battles of Imphal and Kohima
March 31, 2024 15:30 - 31 minutes - 27.5 MBIn this episode, Christopher Kolakowski returns to tell the story of the Battles of Imphal and Kohima in March-July 1944. Links Wisconsin Veterans Museum (https://wisvetsmuseum.com/) Defeat Into Victory: Battling Japan in Burma and India, 1942-1945 by Field-Marshal Viscount (https://shorturl.at/BDWZ6) Nations in the Balance: The India-Burma Campaigns, December 1943 - August 1944 by Christopher L. Kolakowski (https://shorturl.at/qtDPY) "Is That the End or Do We Go On?": The Battle of Ko...
The Third Battle of Monte Cassino
March 17, 2024 19:20 - 27 minutes - 22.4 MBFrank de Planta joins me again to continue the story of the Allies fighting the Battles of Monte Cassino. Links Cassino Battlefields (http://www.cassinobattlefields.co.uk/about/) US Army Center of Military History - Italy WWII Maps (https://history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/resmat/wwii/part03ETO/anzio/sec04.html) US Army CMH Video - Anzio Landings in Italy, Monte Cassino, Russian Offensive in Romania WWII Newsreel 70842 (https://history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/resmat/wwii/part03ETO/anz...
The Chindits & Operation THURSDAY: Long-Range Penetration Groups in the C-B-I Theater
March 17, 2024 13:18 - 35 minutes - 30.8 MBBack again is Christopher Kolakowski, the director of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, this time to talk about the Chindits, Long-Range Penetration Groups operation in the China-Burma-India Theater. (In the episode I refer to three episodes contributed by this guest but the third hasn’t been released yet.) Links Operation THURSDAY (https://www.hurlburt.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Fact-Sheets/Article/204577/operation-thursday/) The Chindits - Operation Thursday (https://thechinditsociety.org....
The Second Battle of Monte Cassino
March 12, 2024 06:41 - 29 minutes - 23.5 MBBack again is Frank de Planta to continue the story of the Allies fighting the Battles of Monte Cassino. Links Cassino Battlefields (http://www.cassinobattlefields.co.uk/about/) US Army Center of Military History - Italy WWII Maps (https://history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/resmat/wwii/part03ETO/anzio/sec04.html) US Army CMH Video - Anzio Landings in Italy, Monte Cassino, Russian Offensive in Romania WWII Newsreel 70842 (https://history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/resmat/wwii/part03ETO/anzi...
Merrill's Marauders
March 03, 2024 10:43 - 40 minutes - 35.4 MBJoining me in this episode is Christopher Kolakowski, the director of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum. Chris tells the story of Merrill's Marauders, a unit akin to a task force - a unit that had no identity, no past, and was intended to have no future - and how that unit is connected to our modern day 75th Ranger Regiment. Links United States Army in World War II: China-Burma-India Theater Stilwell's Mission to China (https://history.army.mil/html/books/009/9-1/CMH_Pub_9-1.pdf) Stilwell's ...
Operation Flintlock: Battle of Kwajalein - JAN-FEB 1944
February 26, 2024 06:50 - 1 hour - 81.7 MBIn this episode, Lt.Col. Brian Kerg tells the story of the Battle of Kwajalein, part of Operation Flintlock. The Battle of Kwajalein began on 31 JAN 1944 and continued for several days into February. At this time we see the US Army and US Marine Corps commanders applying the lessons learned just a couple of months earlier at Tarawa, as well as some comparisons to what the Americans and Allies are experiencing in Italy around the same time. Links Coral and Brass by Holland M. Smith (https:/...
"Big Week" - February 1944: The US Army Air Force as a Tool of War
February 20, 2024 20:51 - 51 minutes - 45.9 MBJoining me in this episode is Dr. John Curatola, the Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian at the National World War II Museum. John talks about "Big Week" which took place 80 years ago this week, from 20 to 25 February 1944, and how this began the shift in how we employed our air forces to try to better utilize this important "tool of war". We also see a shift in the Luftwaffe as they begin to accept the reality that they can no longer realistically keep up with the losses they are sufferin...
"Patriots from the Barrio" (Part II)
February 17, 2024 19:14 - 53 minutes - 48.5 MBReturning in this episode is historian and genealogist Dave Gutierrez to continue the story of his cousin and the only Mexican-American US Army unit to fight in World War II, the subject of his book "Patriots from the Barrio". Toward the end of the episode, Dave also talks about his upcoming book about Oscar Perdomo and his fellow fighter pilots in WWII. Links Author Dave Gutierrez (https://authordavegutierrez.com/) Patriots from the Barrio: The Story of Company E, 141st Infantry - The Onl...
US Army Hospitals and Medical Care at Anzio
February 11, 2024 20:34 - 38 minutes - 38 MBDr. Sanders Marble returns in this episode to talk about US Army Hospitals and Medical Care at Anzio in January 1944, the typical emergency care process for soldiers injured in the fighting or falling ill during this battle, medical evacuations, and the medical care options available near the front thanks to Army Hospitals that were set up at the Anzio Beachhead. We also talk about the presence of Army Nurses (all women) at these Anzio Beachhead hospitals, providing medical and surgical care...
The US 7th Infantry Regiment & 3rd Infantry Division at Anzio, Italy 1944
February 06, 2024 19:38 - 1 hour - 64.4 MBDr. John McManus joins me in this episode to continue the story of the US 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, as they fight at Anzio starting in January 1944. Links Dr. John McManus (https://johncmcmanus.com/) The 7th Infantry Regiment - Combat in an Age of Terror: The Korean War Through the Present (https://johncmcmanus.com/books/the-7th-infantry-regiment-combat-in-an-age-of-terror-the-korean-war-through-the-present/) The Deadly Brotherhood: The American Combat Soldier in Worl...
Learning Tough Lessons at Anzio in early 1944
February 06, 2024 19:37 - 1 hour - 68.2 MBJoining me in this episode is COL Bryan Gibby, Associate Professor and Deputy Head of the Department of History at West Point. COL Gibby talks about the Battle of Anzio, Operation Shingle, in January/February 1944, and some of the tough lessons we were learning at this time 80 years ago. Links Anzio Beachhead (https://history.army.mil/html/books/100/100-10/CMH_Pub_100-10.pdf) Anzio 1944 (https://history.army.mil/html/books/072/72-19/CMH_Pub_72-19.pdf) Anzio Maps (https://history.army.mil/...
The First Battle of Monte Cassino
January 24, 2024 20:34 - 46 minutes - 30.5 MBKicking off the 1944 series, I'm joined by British Army veteran and Italy Battlefields tour narrator Frank de Planta to talk about the first of four Battles of Monte Cassino, the impact this battle was intended to have on Operation Shingle, the landings at Anzio, the impact that actually resulted, and the mess we find ourselves in 80 years ago in January 1944. Links Cassino Battlefields (http://www.cassinobattlefields.co.uk/about/) US Army Center of Military History - Italy WWII Maps (htt...
The Battle of Ortona, Italy 1943 (Part II)
January 22, 2024 20:28 - 1 hour - 61.5 MBThe conclusion of the Battle of Ortona with Dr. Lee Windsor and Major Jayson Geroux, and also the conclusion of the Why We Fight ~ 1943 series :) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mother-of-tanks/message
The Battle of Ortona, Italy 1943 (Part I)
January 21, 2024 19:56 - 1 hour - 91.8 MBIn this last 2-part episode of the 1943 series, Canadian Army Major Jayson Geroux and Dr. Lee Windsor (University of New Brunswick, Gregg Centre) join me to talk about this important urban warfare battle that took place in December 1943. Part II will be out shortly and then we will dive into the 1944 series. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mother-of-tanks/message
The Laws of War, Military Justice, and a Nearly Impossible Task
January 20, 2024 20:13 - 1 hour - 83 MB***Trigger Warning*** For anyone who might be sensitive to it, this episode does include talk of sexual assault at one point and I wouldn't want anyone to stumble upon that unexpectedly. Dr. Ben Schneider joins me again to help answer a question that came up in the previous episode: to what extent was the US Army able to use the Military Justice System to protect civilian populations from crimes and exploitation at the hands of some of the American service members? It's complicated and this...
Consolidating Gains, Civil Affairs, & the Allied Military Government - in Theory and in Practice - Italy 1943
January 20, 2024 20:06 - 1 hour - 77.7 MBIn this episode, Dr. Cindy Brown (University of New Brunswick, The Gregg Centre) and Dr. Greg Hospodor (US Army TRADOC) help me talk about the Allied Military Government and Civil Affairs in Sicily and Italy, including some of the challenges faced when trying to stabilize and secure occupied territory while simultaneously fighting the Second World War and as Italy erupts in its own Civil War. Things get complicated, but this is an important part of the story that we need to understand is goin...
US Navy Ice Cream Pirates in the Pacific in 1943
January 18, 2024 18:58 - 1 hour - 61.1 MBJoining me again is Dr. Ryan Wadle, suckered into another episode after I saw a short video on YouTube about the USS Kidd and had to include the story in the 1943 series. We talk about the history of the USS Kidd, the US Navy's tradition of gedunks and especially ice cream, and the connection to pirates that this vessel and the two subsequent vessels of the same name have had. Links USS Kidd (https://www.usskidd.com/explore-the-kidd/ship-history/) --- Send in a voice message: https://po...
Operation Cherryblossom & the US Army at Bougainville 1943
January 18, 2024 09:15 - 31 minutes - 30.5 MBIn this episode I'm joined by Troy Lewis, a member of the Army University Press Combat Studies Institute Staff Ride Team, and we talk about the US Army at Bougainville in late 1943. Although the story doesn't really pick up until nearly Spring 1944, this was a good start and Troy will be back to continue. If you missed it, the episode before this one featured Kater Miller, curator for the Marine Corps Museum, talking about the Marines at Bougainville. Links Northern Solomons (https://histor...
The Marines at Bougainville and Cape Gloucester in 1943
January 18, 2024 08:12 - 1 hour - 63.1 MBJoining me in this episode is Kater Miller, curator with the National Museum of the United States Marine Corps, this time talking about the Marines fighting at Bougainville and Cape Glouscester in late 1943. The episode that follows this one will begin the US Army story at Bougainville, with Troy Lewis from the Army University Press Combat Studies Institute Staff Ride Team. "Fight Now" performed by the III Marine Expeditionary Force Band (https://www.dvidshub.net/video/817588/fight-now-iii...
Tanks & Alligators at Tarawa
January 15, 2024 13:10 - 1 hour - 65 MBIn this episode, Jon Bernstein, the Arms & Armor Curator at the National Museum of the United States Marine Corps, joins me to talk about USMC Sherman Tanks and Alligators used at Tarawa, including the first "hot tank on tank action" involving Marine Shermans in the Pacific Theater. Links Tanks in Hell: A Marine Corps Tank Company on Tarawa (https://www.amazon.com/Tanks-Hell-Marine-Company-Tarawa/dp/1612003036) Coral and Brass (https://www.amazon.com/Coral-Brass-Holland-M-Smith/dp/15480486...
With the Marines at Tarawa: "The Price We Had to Pay for a War We Didn't Want..."
January 14, 2024 20:24 - 1 hour - 80.2 MBIn his final episode for the 1943 series, Lt. Col. Brian Kerg returns to tell the story of the Marines at Tarawa in November 1943 and the lessons we learned and can still learn from this costly battle. Links Tanks in Hell: A Marine Corps Tank Company on Tarawa (https://www.amazon.com/Tanks-Hell-Marine-Company-Tarawa/dp/1612003036) Coral and Brass (https://www.amazon.com/Coral-Brass-Holland-M-Smith/dp/1548048631/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1H7OR5B9SMY3T&keywords=coral+and+brass+holland+smith&qid=17052...
Typhus, Trenchfoot, and Command Responsibility in Preventive Medicine in Italy 1943
January 12, 2024 19:44 - 37 minutes - 36.9 MBJoining me again is Army Medical Department Center of History and Heritage historian Dr. Sanders Marble, this time to talk about some of the medical issues troubling American forces in Italy in the late Fall and Winter of 1943, and the preventive medicine efforts the US Army took at the time to mitigate the situation. There was a bit of confusion at the time as to who was actually responsible for preventive medicine, with fingers pointed back and forth between the G1 and G3, with it ultimatel...
Dispersion, Decentralization, Chaos, & LGOPs: US Army Airborne Culture & Operations in Italy 1943
January 08, 2024 19:42 - 1 hour - 60.6 MBIn this episode, historian and US Army veteran Dr. Rob Williams joins me to talk about the 82d Airborne Division jumping into Italy in September 1943 and also some of the origins of the US Army Airborne culture. Rob has a book in the works and one it's available I will update this descript with links to the book. Links Dr. Rob Williams -- links to some publications (https://history.osu.edu/people/williams.6859) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mother-o...
"Climb to Glory" (Part II): Camp Hale and the 10th Mountain Division
January 08, 2024 18:26 - 1 hour - 82.7 MBJoining me in this episode is History Colorado's Dr. Chris Juergens to talk more 10th Mountain Division history up through 1943. Dr. Juergens and Doug Schmidt, 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum Museum, will both be back in the 1944 series to continue the story. Links Dr. Chris Juergens (https://www.historycolorado.org/person/juergens-dr-chris) History Colorado: Winter Warriors - The 10th Mountain Division in World War II (https://www.historycolorado.org/exhibit/winter-warriors) --- S...
"Climb to Glory" (Part I): The Beginnings of the 10th Mountain Division
January 02, 2024 20:14 - 1 hour - 74.3 MBIn this episode I'm joined by Doug Schmidt, a 10th Mountain Division veteran and curator at the 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum Museum. Doug is also the grandson of a WWII 10th Mountain Division veteran. We start the story of the Division by including the 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment, activated in 1941, and the story of Camp Snelling where these men trained. The next episode will include a bit more 10th Mountain history, with guest Dr. Chris Juergens, whom Doug mentions several times,...
The US 7th Infantry Regiment & 3rd Infantry Division in Italy 1943
January 01, 2024 18:00 - 1 hour - 76.1 MBBack again is Dr. John McManus to continue the story of the US 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, in Italy 1943. John is the official historian for the 7th Infantry Regiment, aka "The Cottonbalers" but their experience in Italy 1943 is not unique to the unit, many of the American and Allied forces were facing similar challenges fighting their way "up the boot". John's previous episode on the US 7th Infantry Regiment and 3rd Infantry Division in Sicily 1943 is episode 53, and he ...
“Patriots from the Barrio” (Part I): The Only Mexican American US Army Unit in WWII
December 31, 2023 15:29 - 53 minutes - 47.4 MBIn this episode, genealogist and historian Dave Gutierrez shares the first part of the story of the only Mexican-American US Army unit that fought in the Second World War, which is the subject of his book "Patriots from the Barrio" (linked below). Dave's research began with a genealogical interest in his cousin's WWII service experience and, as he tells us in this episode, expanded to a very important story that was more or less previously missing from American history and as soon as I heard ...
Massacre of the 33d Acqui Division: One of the First Acts of Italian Resistance in WWII
December 30, 2023 15:45 - 52 minutes - 52 MBIn this episode, Damián Valle joins me to talk about the massacre of the Italian 33d Acqui Division after the Armistice of Cassibile. This is the story that provides the foundation of the novel and movie Captain Corelli's Mandolin. It is sometimes referred to as the first act of Italian resistance, but as Damián notes, there were others all around the same time. Links Acqui Division Massacre at Cephalonia (https://comandosupremo.com/acqui-division-cephalonia/) WW2TV - The Massacre of the ...
The Armistice of Cassibile: Becoming a Cobelligerent Nation and Recovering Honor
December 30, 2023 10:11 - 40 minutes - 36.5 MBJoining me again is Giulio Poggiaroni, this time to discuss the Armistice of Cassibile, which brought Italy out of the Axis but not quite into the Allies. As Giulio explains, Italy couldn't just "change sides" but instead became known as a Cobelligerent Nation at this time when the Italians began working to recover their honor in the Second World War. Giulio also touches on several of the key events that were taking place all around this time in 1943. The next episode will cover the massacre ...
Tule Lake, Martial Law, and Civ-Mil Relations on the American Homefront in 1943
December 29, 2023 12:33 - 58 minutes - 51.6 MBJoining me again is Dr. Stephanie Hinnershitz to talk about the Japanese-American camp at Tule Lake, the use of Martial Law on the American Homefront, and civ-mil relations during this time 80 years ago in 1943, going into 1944. Links Dr. Stephanie Hinnershitz (https://www.stephaniehinnershitz.com/) Books by Dr. Hinnershitz (https://www.amazon.com/s?k=stephanie+hinnershitz&crid=3POWWLJMX48KF&sprefix=stephanie+hinn%2Caps%2C271&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_14) --- Send in a voice message: htt...
The "One-Puka-Puka": The Japanese-American 100th Infantry Battalion in 1943
December 28, 2023 06:55 - 1 hour - 57.5 MBJoining me again is LTC Ben Griffin along with US Army veteran Daniel Kim to talk about the 100th Infantry Battalion or the "One-Puka-Puka" which was comprised of Japanese- American soldiers. Ben helped me start the story of the 442nd Infantry Regiment earlier in the 1943 series and this episode talks about a part of that Regiment which was the first to deploy. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mother-of-tanks/message
The Cairo Conference (Sextant) and the Tehran Conference (Eureka) in 1943
December 26, 2023 18:05 - 45 minutes - 57.6 MBIn this episode I'm joined by Dr. Cameron Zinsou to talk about the Cairo (Sextant) and Tehran (Eureka) Conferences in late 1943. We recorded this episode at the beginning of the year so I hadn't quite reached this part of the 1943 research yet so there are a couple of references to things as if they are coming up but they have already passed. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mother-of-tanks/message
The Kuban Bridgehead and Romania in WWII
December 26, 2023 06:47 - 1 hour - 75.6 MBDr. Grant Harward joins me again, this time to talk about Romania in WWII, up to this point in the war, and the evacuation from the Kuban Bridgehead which took place in October 1943. Link Romania's Holy War: Soldiers, Motivation, and he Holocaust (https://www.amazon.com/Romanias-Holy-War-Motivation-Battlegrounds/dp/1501759965/ref=monarch_sidesheet) Third Axis Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941-1945 (https://www.amazon.com/Third-Axis-Fourth-Ally-1941-1945/dp/18540...
Uprisings, Ghetto Liquidations, and the Nazi Genocidal Project
December 22, 2023 12:40 - 1 hour - 62.6 MBIn this episode, Dr. Waitman Beorn shares his expertise on what he refers to as "the Nazi genocidal project" which includes not only the mass murder of European Jews in the Holocaust but also the systematic murder of other populations with a focus on Eastern Europe. As Dr. Beorn notes, many have suggested that the unimaginably violent fighting in Eastern Europe was the exception, compared to the fighting in Western Europe, but historic evidence suggests the reverse is more accurate. Dr. Beo...
Our Promise to the Dead: 100 Years of the American Battle Monuments Commission
December 18, 2023 20:30 - 1 hour - 54.3 MBJoining me in this episode is Ben Brands to talk about the American Battle Monuments Commission or ABMC, the work they do, and the importance of that work for the last 100 years. Below you'll find the link to the virtual tours Ben talks about. Link ABMC Virtual 360s (https://www.abmc.gov/virtual-360s) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mother-of-tanks/message
The Nuanced Neutrality of Ireland and the 38th (Irish) Brigade in 1943
December 10, 2023 18:36 - 41 minutes - 40.4 MBIn this episode, Dr. David Murphy joins me to talk about the Irish contributions to the Second World War, including the very nuanced neutrality under which Ireland operated during the war, people deserting to actually join the war, and the 38th (Irish) Brigade, which at this point had been in North Africa and Sicily and will join the other Allied forces at Anzio in Italy in January 1944. Links The Finnish-Soviet Winter War 1939-40: Stalin's Hollow Victory by Dr. David Murphy, illustrated b...
Allied and Axis Armor Technology in 1943
December 09, 2023 21:12 - 1 hour - 71.4 MBIn this episode, Nicholas Moran aka "The Chieftain" joins me to talk about Armor Technology in 1943, focusing on the main Axis and Allied Armor developments, with a bit of Doctrine thrown in too. Links The Chieftain's Hatch (https://www.youtube.com/@TheChieftainsHatch/videos) Stinky and the Emergency (https://worldoftanks.com/en/news/history/chieftains-hatch-stinky-emergency/) Stinky's Sequel (https://worldoftanks.com/en/news/history/The_chieftains_Hatch_Sinky2/) Iron Hulls, Iron Heart...
Fighters Over Europe: Attritional Warfare and the Americanization of the Air War in 1943
December 02, 2023 21:39 - 1 hour - 90.2 MBIn this episode, Dr. Graham Cross joins me to talk about the Fighters over Europe, particularly VIII Fighter Command and the Americanization of the Air War in 1943. Dr. Cross is a senior lecturer in American History at Manchester Metropolitan University and an Anglo-American historian that focuses on the diplomatic and political issues as well as the military history. Links The Wings of Democracy: The Influence of Air Power on the Roosevelt Administration 1933-1941 by Jeffery S. Underwood ...
Black Week – October 1943: A Low Point and a Turning Point for the Strategic Bombing Campaign in Europe
November 26, 2023 18:29 - 56 minutes - 48.5 MBIn this episode, I'm joined again by Dr. John Curatola to talk about the Strategic Air War in Europe, with a particular focus on Black Week in October 1943. This episode works well with Episode 79 with Dr. Luke Truxal, which also talks about the Schweinfurt and Regensburg raids, episode 80 with Dr. Rich Muller on the Luftwaffe aerial defense over Germany, episode 81 with Lt.Col. Alex Moon which discusses the Combined Bomber Offensive, and also the next episode with Dr. Graham Cross on the All...
The Combined Bomber Offensive & Family Connections to World War II
November 25, 2023 07:46 - 1 hour - 56.2 MBIn this episode, US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Alex Moon joins me to talk about some interesting family connections to World War II history and we talk about the bombers and bomber crews in the European Theater, the unique challenges these young men faced with their very dangerous missions, and there is a lot of overlap between these stories and the ones told in earlier episodes with Jane Gulliford Lowes (ep. 20, A Day in the Life of an RAF Bomber Crew), Dr. Luke Truxal's episode on Schwein...
The Luftwaffe's Aerial Defense Over Germany
November 19, 2023 19:55 - 1 hour - 57.2 MBIn this episode, Dr. Rich Muller talks about the aerial defense of Germany during World War II, and how the German Luftwaffe was supplied, manned, attrited and replenished / reconstituted throughout the war and what that meant for the Allies and Allied Air Forces, We also talk a bit about the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, SAASS, which is the US Air Force's version of SAMS (the School of Advanced Military Studies) in the Army and SAW (the School of Advanced Warfighting) in the Mari...
Schweinfurt, Regensburg, and Operation Starkey: Inflated Numbers, Wrong Conclusions, and False Confidence
November 14, 2023 05:26 - 1 hour - 101 MBIn this episode, Dr. Luke Truxal joins me for his third and final 1943 episode to talk about the Schweinfurt / Regensburg raids and Operation Starkey, a Military Deception (MILDEC) plan organized within the larger Operation Cockade. We talk about intelligence failures from inaccurate analysis and wrong conclusions, over confidence and false confidence stemming from such conclusions, and the inflation of numbers when reporting on air raids after missions. Dr. Truxal will be back next year to c...
Semper Paratus: The Greenland Patrol and the US Coast Guard in 1943
November 12, 2023 19:22 - 47 minutes - 40.3 MBIn this episode, I'm joined by USCG Atlantic historian Dr. Bill Thiesen to talk about US Coast Guard history and involvement in World War II, with a particular focus on the Greenland Patrol and operations in the Arctic. Dr. Thiesen runs a US Coast Guard History blog called The Long Blue Line, linked below. This episode is really interesting and it is a part of our history that we don't often hear about so I hope everyone enjoys this story and I will make an effort to include more Coast Guard ...
Marine Corps Amphibious Operations, Command Culture, and Operation Cherryblossom
November 10, 2023 10:03 - 1 hour - 59.6 MBJoining me again is Lt.Col. Brian Kerg, this time to talk Marine Corps history. This was actually the first episode we recorded. Brian talks about Operation Cherryblossom, the landings at Cape Torokina at the start of the Bougainville Campaign. He also talks about Marine Corps leadership and command culture in the Pacific Theater. There will be other Bougainville episodes coming up but, as promised, this one is set to release on 10 November, which is the 248th birthday of the United States ...
Six Degrees of Vietnam: World War II and the Vietnam War
November 08, 2023 18:44 - 1 hour - 51.9 MBIn this episode I'm joined by Dr. Rob Thompson to talk about the Vietnam War and how that conflict is connected to World War II. This is a more conversational episode because I don't know as much about Vietnam and Rob is a friend of mine. As he explains early on, Vietnam at this time in 1943 was known as French Indochina, and things get really complicated and messy. But this is another example of how it is next to impossible to study this period in isolation, and how the Second World War had ...
The Sunburst Division – 40th Infantry, California Army National Guard (Part I)
November 05, 2023 19:30 - 50 minutes - 49.4 MBIn this episode, Brigadier General Robert Wooldridge and Sergeant Major Daniel Sebby help us learn a bit about the history of the 40th Infantry Division, California National Guard, and what the division was doing up through 1943. Halfway through the year the Division moved from the US West Coast to Hawaii, and then later to Guadalcanal. We also talk a bit about the strengths of the National Guard — then and now — and the different responsibilities the CAARNG sometimes has to juggle. The 40th ...
The Battle of Kiska
November 01, 2023 05:55 - 1 hour - 78.5 MBIn this episode, I'm joined by Archaeologist Kirk Freeman to talk about the Battle of Kiska, in the Aleutian Islands, making this story part-Pacific Theater and technically also part-Homefront. In addition to the story from 1942-1943, Kirk talks about his experiences as an Archaeologist on Kiska and with some of the other islands in that chain. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mother-of-tanks/message
Bonus Halloween Episode: Zone Troopers (1985)
October 31, 2023 04:00 - 42 minutes - 39.6 MBIn this Bonus episode for Halloween, I'm joined again by Lt. Col. Brian Kerg and we discuss the 1985 film Zone Troopers, which takes place in Italy during World War II. The movie was not what we were expecting, and we were both pleasantly surprised by it. Linked below are the book mentioned and the movie, although I did not find it streaming anywhere that we could both access. Links Confessions of a Puppetmaster: A Hollywood Memoir of Ghouls, Guts, and Gonzo Filmmaking by Charles Band with ...
Admiral Nimitz Reconfigures the Staff
October 25, 2023 18:34 - 56 minutes - 52.8 MBJoining me again is Naval Historian Trent Hone and this time we talk about Admiral Nimitz and his efforts to reconfigure his staff to better fight and win in the Pacific in 1943 and beyond. If you missed the previous episode, Trent talked about the US Navy fighting in the dark in the Pacific, lessons learned throughout earlier parts of the war, and how we got to a point in 1943 where we start to get things right. Links Mastering the Art of Command: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz and Victory in ...