Key Battles of American History
252 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 days ago - ★★★★★ - 776 ratingsWar has played a key role in the history of the United States from the nation’s founding right down to the present. Wars made the U. S. independent, kept it together, increased its size, and established it as a global superpower. Understanding America’s wars is essential for understanding American history. In the Key Battles of American History, host James Early discusses American history through the lens of the most important battles of America’s wars. James is an Adjunct Professor of History at San Jacinto College in Pasadena, TX. He has published one book and two scholarly articles. He is also the cohost (with Scott Rank) of the Presidential Fight Club, Key Battles of the Civil War, Key Battles of the Revolutionary War, and Key Battles of World War I podcasts.
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Episodes
G12: The Final Offensive and Operation KE
April 24, 2024 11:00 - 57 minutes - 52.9 MBIn January 1943, American forces began slowly but surely pushing west as the Japanese mounted an effort to deceive the Americans into thinking another major offensive was coming. In reality, the Japanese were executing Operation KE, a plan to retreat westward and evacuate all survivors from Guadalcanal. In early February, American forces reached the northwestern tip of the island, only to find that the main body of the Japanese army was gone. The Guadalcanal Campaign was over. In this fina...
Guadalcanal Diary
April 20, 2024 11:00 - 58 minutes - 53.5 MBIn this episode, Dave and James discuss the 1943 World War II war film Guadalcanal Diary, directed by Lewis Seiler. The film is based on the book of the same name by Richard Tregaskis. The film recounts the fight of the United States Marines in the Guadalcanal Campaign, which occurred only a year before the movie's release. While the film has notable battle scenes, its primary focus is on the characters and back stories of the Marines.
G11: The Battle of Tassafaronga and the December Decision
April 17, 2024 11:00 - 49 minutes - 45.4 MBIn this episode, Dave and James discuss the Battle of Tassafaronga, the final major naval battle of the Guadalcanal Campaign. They also narrate the Americans’ November Matanikau offensive (yes, another one!) and the beginning of the final American ground offensive. Finally, your intrepid hosts discuss the Japanese December 1942 decision to…well, listen, and you will find out what!
G10: The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
April 10, 2024 11:00 - 47 minutes - 43.1 MBUndeterred by the failure of their October attempt to capture Henderson Field, the Japanese high command ordered that yet another, still bigger, attempt be made in November. This resulted in two massive ship-to-ship battles between November 13 and 15, in which dozens of warships and planes, plus over 3500 soldiers, sailors, and airmen were lost. Join Dave and James as they tell the exciting story of this epic naval clash, which has come to be known simply as the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.
G9: The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands and More American Offensives
April 03, 2024 11:00 - 1 hour - 59.7 MBOn October 26, American and Japanese naval forces clashed northeast of Guadalacanal in the fourth carrier battle of the war. Soon after this, General Vandegrift ordered offensives designed to extend the Marine perimeter both eastward and westward. And on November 4, the Second Marine Raider Battalion landed on the northeastern part of Guadalcanal and soon began chasing a Japanese force of 3000 that was trying to march to the west side of the island. The Raiders’ march, known now as the “Long ...
Trans Oceanic Contact Theories
March 30, 2024 11:00 - 14 minutes - 13.4 MBHave you ever wondered if there was a group to reach North America before Christopher Columbus? Find out more in today's bonus episode from another Parthenon podcast "History of North America." Join host Mark Vinet as he discusses the search for the first non-indigenous explorers to reach the North American continent prior to Christopher Columbus’ 1492 voyage. If you like what you hear, subscribe to "History of North America" on Apple or Spotify and look for it on Parthenonpodcast.com
The Pacific, Part 2
March 30, 2024 11:00 - 44 minutes - 41 MBIn this episode, Dave and James discuss the second episode of HBO’s The Pacific. This episode deals primarily with the Battle of Henderson Field, especially Sgt. John Basilone’s role in the battle. Basilone and the Seventh Marines land on Guadalcanal to bolster the defenses around Henderson Field. During the Japanese attack on the Marine perimeter, Basilone, attempting to relocate his machine gun to a better position, bare-handedly cradles the hot barrel and severely burns his arms. Despit...
G8: The High Speed Convoy and the Battle for Henderson Field
March 27, 2024 11:00 - 1 hour - 67.5 MBThe Japanese defeat at the Battle of Edson’s Ridge did not deter the Japanese high command, who immediately began planning an even bigger effort to retake Henderson Field and to remove the Americans from Guadalcanal. The new operation was christened “Plan X” and would include massive air, sea, and land attacks on American positions. On the ground, this time an entire division would assault the American perimeter. The American defenders were spread thin and outnumbered. Would the heroic effo...
G7: The Battles of the Matanikau and the Battle of Cape Esperance
March 20, 2024 11:00 - 50 minutes - 46 MBAfter the American victory at Edson’s Ridge, the Marines on Guadalcanal were reinforced by the 7th Marine Regiment, which brought the total US strength on the island to about 20,000. The American ground commander General Alexander Vandegrift decided to expand the Marines’ perimeter westward by attacking Japanese positions at the Matanikau River. In addition, an American naval force met a Japanese fleet at Cape Esperance, near the site of the disastrous American defeat at Savo Island. How d...
G6: The Battle of Edson’s Ridge
March 13, 2024 11:00 - 51 minutes - 47.5 MBOn September 12, a Japanese force of several thousand attacked the Marines’ perimeter from three directions. The most effect assault occurred south of the perimeter, near a position that became known as Edson’s Ridge. The Marine defenders, including the First Raider Battalion under Col. Merrit Edson, were greatly outnumbered but were on good ground and were supported by highly effective heavy artillery. Join Dave and James as they discuss this latest chapter in the struggle for control of G...
G5: The Battle of the Eastern Solomons and the Tokyo Express
March 06, 2024 11:00 - 39 minutes - 36 MBAfter the disaster at Alligator Creek, the Japanese decided to launch a larger effort to recapture Guadalcanal. The objective of this combined air, sea, and land operation was to wipe out the US carrier fleet and the Cactus Air Force and to land enough soldiers to defeat the Marines on the island. In this episode, Dave and James discuss the ongoing Japanese attempts to regain control of Guadalcanal in late August, including the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, which delayed, but did not preve...
Silent Cavalry and Surprising Civil War Stories
March 02, 2024 12:00 - 50 minutes - 46.5 MBLearn more about the Alabama Unionist soldiers in the Civil War with this exclusive interview from History Unplugged, hosted by Scott Rank. Continue listening to History Unplugged: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3Ysc7Zg Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3j0QRJy Parthenon: https://www.parthenonpodcast.com/history-unplugged-podcast
The Pacific - Part 1
March 02, 2024 11:00 - 1 hour - 65.7 MBIn this episode, Dave and James discuss and review Part 1 of the epic 2010 HBO miniseries The Pacific, which follows the lives and wartime actions of three well-known Marines who served in the Pacific Theater: John Basilone, Robert Leckie, and Eugene Sledge. In Episode 1 of The Pacific, we are introduced to the three main characters and we witness the initial Marine landing on Guadalcanal, the Battle of Alligator Creek, and the Battle of Savo Island.
G4: Japan Strikes Back: Tojo Time and Alligator Creek
February 28, 2024 11:00 - 49 minutes - 45.3 MBThe Japanese realized that if the U. S. were able to hold and utilize the airfield on Guadalcanal, Japan’s strategic objectives in the South Pacific would be foiled. Consequently, Japanese air, naval, and land forces immediately began trying to retake the airfield, recently renamed Henderson Field by the Americans. In August, Japanese bombers began conducting daily bombing raids on the field, an effort that the Americans called “Tojo Time.” In addition, an infantry battalion launched an ag...
G3: Initial Landings and the Battle of Savo Island
February 21, 2024 11:00 - 51 minutes - 46.9 MBOn August 7, 1942, elements of the First Marine Division landed on Guadalcanal. They met little opposition and quickly captured their initial objective, an airfield that the Japanese had recently built. The Marines got to work establishing a perimeter and preparing for the inevitable Japanese counterattack. Soon after, Japanese and American naval forces clashed in the first major naval engagement of the Guadalcanal campaign, the Battle of Savo Island. Join Dave and James as they narrate th...
Midway (2019 – With Sean McIver) (ENCORE)
February 17, 2024 11:00 - 1 hour - 92.1 MBOn June 4, 1942, a Japanese naval task force launched an attack on the American naval and air base at Midway Island. The task force then encountered an American carrier fleet, leading to an epic naval battle that helped change the course of the war in the Pacific. The 2019 action-war film Midway tells the story of the leadup to the battle, the battle itself, and the aftermath. Is it historically accurate? Is it a quality film? In this episode, James and Sean McIver answer these and other ques...
G2: The Road to Guadalcanal 2: The Coral Sea and Midway
February 14, 2024 11:00 - 46 minutes - 42.4 MBIn early 1942, Japan’s leaders decided to capture the key Allied port of Port Moresby on the southern coast of New Guinea, in an attempt to threaten American shipping lanes to Australia. But on its way to the port, at the Coral Sea, the Japanese fleet arrived encountered an American naval force. A month later, a large Japanese naval and air force attempted to capture the American base at Midway, but again, they ran into a powerful American fleet. Join Dave and James as they discuss the cruc...
Tora! Tora! Tora! (with Sean McIver) (ENCORE)
February 10, 2024 11:00 - 1 hour - 86 MBIn the late 1960s, a Japanese film production team joined forces with an American team in an effort to produce a balanced and accurate retelling of the December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The result is the classic 1970 film Tora! Tora! Tora! which after more than 50 years still remains the definitive Pearl Harbor film. Join James and Sean McIver as they discuss the film’s story, its historical accuracy, its quality, and its legacy.
G1: The Road to Guadalcanal 1: Pearl Harbor to The Doolittle Raid
February 07, 2024 11:00 - 47 minutes - 43.1 MBOn December 7, 1941, Japanese air and naval forces attacked the American naval and air base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, killing 2400 Americans and heavily damaging the US Pacific Fleet. Over the next 5 months, Japan conquered several European and American possessions in southeast Asia, including Guam, Malaya, Wake Island, Hong Kong, Burma, Singapore, the Dutch East Indies, and the Philippines. In this episode, James and new cohost Dave Holland narrate this period of rapid Japanese expansion, in...
Band of Brothers, Episode 10: Points
February 03, 2024 11:00 - 1 hour - 63.8 MBIn this episode Sean and James discuss Band of Brothers Episode 10: Points. Easy captures the Eagle's Nest in Berchtesgaden without resistance, and the end of the war in Europe is announced. Finding a collection of 10,000 bottles of liquor, wine and champagne in a cellar at Hermann Göring's house, Winters allows the company to celebrate before they travel to Austria to become an occupying force. It is then announced that the division will be redeployed to the Pacific Theater, but those with e...
JFK in WW2
January 31, 2024 11:00 - 26 minutes - 24.6 MBIn this special episode, commissioned by Early's Raiders Colonet Daniel Fisher, James discusses John F. Kennedy's service in the Second World War.
Band of Brothers, Episode 9: Why We Fight
January 27, 2024 11:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBIn this episode Sean and James discuss Band of Brothers Episode 9: Why We Fight. While on patrol, some of the men of Easy Company stumble across a concentration camp near Landsberg and free the surviving prisoners. The sight of the victims leaves the soldiers horrified and disgusted, and Liebgott serves as a German interpreter for Winters as they learn from one of the survivors that the prisoners are Jews and noncombatants. The German locals deny knowing anything about the camp. The 101st Ai...
US Involvement in the Boxer Rebellion
January 24, 2024 11:00 - 36 minutes - 33.5 MBIn this topical episode, commissioned by Early’s Raiders Colonel Lee Beaumont, James discusses the Boxer Rebellion, focusing on American involvement in the conflict, especially the role of US Marines. If you would like to commission an episode on a topic of your choosing, you can do so by joining Early’s Raiders at the Major level or higher. For more information, go to Patreon.com and search for Key Battles of American History.
Band of Brothers, Episode 8: The Last Patrol
January 20, 2024 11:00 - 45 minutes - 41.8 MBIn this episode Sean and James discuss Band of Brothers Episode 8: The Last Patrol. In Haguenau, Easy adjusts to leaving the combat zone and gives a cold welcome to Private David Webster, who did not break out of the hospital to rejoin the company like others; and new replacement Second Lieutenant Henry Jones, fresh from West Point. Jones and Webster participate in a night raid across the river to get prisoners for interrogation, which gains them some respect. Winters is promoted to major, Li...
Quanah Parker
January 17, 2024 11:00 - 26 minutes - 24.3 MBIn this topical episode, commissioned by Early’s Raiders Colonel Terry Davis, James discusses the fascinating life and career of Quanah Parker, a half-Comanche, half-white warrior who played an outsize role in Texas and American history during the nineteenth century. If you would like to commission an episode on a topic of your choosing, you can do so by joining Early’s Raiders at the Major level or higher. For more information, go to Patreon.com and search for Key Battles of American History.
Band of Brothers, Episode 7: The Breaking Point
January 13, 2024 11:00 - 1 hour - 61.6 MBIn this episode Sean and James discuss Band of Brothers Episode 7: The Breaking Point. Easy holds the line near Foy, Belgium, losing numerous soldiers. Winters and the men worry about the company's new commander, First Lieutenant Norman Dike, who is frequently absent without explanation. First Sergeant Carwood Lipton attempts to keep Easy's morale up. Lieutenant Lynn "Buck" Compton watches in horror as his close friends Guarnere and Joe Toye lose their legs to shelling, and he too is pulled ...
Fierce Valor with Jared Frederick
January 10, 2024 11:00 - 43 minutes - 40.1 MBIn this episode, James again interviews professor, reenactor, and YouTuber Jared Frederick, this time about his 2022 book (co-authored with Erik Dorr) Fierce Valor: The True Story of Ronald Speirs and His Band of Brothers. Jared and James discuss the fascinating military career of Ronald Speirs, the final World War II commander of the 101st Airborne Division’s Easy Company and a key character of the award-winning 2001 HBO miniseries Band of Brothers.
Band of Brothers, Episode 6: Bastogne
January 06, 2024 11:00 - 51 minutes - 46.9 MBIn this episode Sean and James discuss Band of Brothers Episode 6: Bastogne. Easy faces harsh winter conditions in the Ardennes, running dangerously low on ammunition, food, and medical supplies. Combat medic Eugene "Doc" Roe helps his fellow soldiers where he can, while also scrounging for medical supplies. He befriends a Belgian nurse named Renée; she is later killed in a bombing raid. Easy and other American units are surrounded, but General McAuliffe, their commander, rejects a German su...
The Sioux Wars
January 03, 2024 11:00 - 24 minutes - 22.8 MBIn this topical episode, commissioned by Early’s Raiders Major Alex Calabrese, James discusses the various Sioux Wars, including the Dakota War of 1862, Red Cloud’s War (1866-68), the Great Sioux War (1876-77), and the Ghost Dance War (1890). If you would like to commission an episode on a topic of your choosing, you can do so by joining Early’s Raiders at the Major level or higher. For more information, go to Patreon.com and search for Key Battles of American History.
Band of Brothers, Episode 5: Crossroads
December 30, 2023 11:00 - 49 minutes - 45.5 MBIn this episode Sean and James discuss Band of Brothers Episode 5: Crossroads. Winters writes an after-action report on Easy's actions during a German counter offensive on the Nijmegen salient; he is troubled by the fact that he shot an unarmed, teenage Waffen-SS soldier during the battle. Winters is promoted to battalion executive officer, and command of Easy is given to "Moose" Heyliger. Winters, Nixon, Heyliger and Sink meet Lt. Col. David Dobie of the British Parachute Regiment and 1st A...
Medical Care in World War II
December 27, 2023 11:00 - 25 minutes - 23.3 MBIn this topical episode, commissioned by Early’s Raiders Major Ana Concepcion Castro, James discusses medical care in World War II, including the crucial role of combat medics, the various types of hospitals, and medical advances made during the war. If you would like to commission an episode on a topic of your choosing, you can do so by joining Early’s Raiders at the Major level or higher. For more information, go to Patreon.com and search for Key Battles of American History.
Band of Brothers, Episode 4: Replacements
December 23, 2023 11:00 - 42 minutes - 39.1 MBIn this episode Sean and James discuss Band of Brothers Episode 4: Replacements. Replacements join Easy Company and struggle to be accepted by the veterans who fought at Normandy. Winters is promoted to captain, while Sobel becomes the regiment's new supply officer. The company parachutes into the Netherlands as part of Operation Market Garden and liberates Eindhoven. During combat in Nuenen, the replacements integrate themselves with the company, but Easy is forced to retreat. Denver "Bull" ...
History of the Papacy Sample: The Septuagint
December 20, 2023 11:00 - 21 minutes - 19.6 MBThe Septuagint is the most important Bible translation you’ve never heard of. In this episode of the 10th Anniversary of the History of the Papacy series, Steve Guerra and his special guest Garry Stevens lay out the basics of the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament. They talk about the issues of translation and the process of translation.
Hang Tough with Jared Frederick
December 20, 2023 11:00 - 38 minutes - 34.9 MBIn this episode, James interviews professor, reenactor, and YouTuber Jared Frederick about his 2020 book (co-authored with Erik Dorr) Hang Tough: The WWII Letters and Artifacts of Major Dick Winters. Jared and James discuss the inspiring life and career of Dick Winters, a decorated officer in the 101st Airborne Division during World War II and the main character of the award-winning 2001 HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. Jared and James examine Winters’ life largely through a series of lette...
Band of Brothers, Episode 3: Carentan
December 16, 2023 11:00 - 39 minutes - 36 MBIn this episode Sean and James discuss Band of Brothers Episode 3: Carentan. Easy fights in the Battle of Carentan and loses several men. Rumors begin to circulate that Ronald Speirs killed a group of German prisoners. Private Albert Blithe, who has been struggling with shell shock, is finally spurred into action by Winters during the Battle of Bloody Gulch. Several days later, Blithe is shot through the neck by a sniper while on patrol.
Revolutionary War Artillery
December 13, 2023 11:00 - 22 minutes - 20.8 MBIn this topical episode, commissioned by Early’s Raiders Major Doug Pergram, James discusses Revolutionary War artillery, including types of artillery and shot, how artillery were fired, and how they were used by both sides during the war. If you would like to commission an episode on a topic of your choosing, you can do so by joining Early’s Raiders at the Major level or higher. For more information, go to Patreon.com and search for Key Battles of American History.
Band of Brothers, Episode 2: Day of Days
December 09, 2023 11:00 - 44 minutes - 40.4 MBIn this episode Sean and James discuss Band of Brothers Episode 2: Day of Days. On June 6, 1944, Easy Company parachutes into Normandy but is scattered and many land miles away from their designated drop zones. Most of Easy reconnects, but its company commander, First Lieutenant Thomas Meehan, is missing and presumed dead, so Winters assumes command as its highest-ranking officer. He successfully leads a small group of men in destroying German artillery emplacements firing on Utah Beach from ...
The Fighting Darlings - Prisoners in the Philippines
December 06, 2023 11:00 - 1 hour - 56 MBAfter the fall of the Philippines to the Japanese in May 1942, many Allied servicemen became prisoners. Those who survived their captivity would remain prisoners of the Japanese for nearly three years. One of these prisoners, George Darling of Deming, New Mexico, went on to write a memoir of his and his brother Gerald’s captivity in the Philippines. In this episode, James is joined by Jay Robison, a retired Air Force colonel, surgeon, and history buff…as well as James’ first cousin and a f...
Band of Brothers, Episode 1: Currahee
December 02, 2023 11:00 - 1 hour - 83 MBIn this episode Sean and James introduce the award-winning Band of Brothers series and discuss Episode 1: Currahee. In 1942, Easy Company trains at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, under First Lieutenant Herbert Sobel, a strict disciplinarian who goes out of his way to find fault with his men. The company is shipped to England in September 1943, and as training progresses, Sobel's inadequacy as a leader in the field becomes evident. Now a captain, Sobel initiates a dispute with Lieutenant Richard "Dick...
James Longstreet with Elizabeth Varon
November 29, 2023 11:00 - 56 minutes - 51.5 MBIn this episode, James interviews Elizabeth Varon, the Langbourne M. Williams Professor of American History and Associate Director of the John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History at the University of Virginia, about her new book Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South. One of the Confederate Army’s most talented commanders, Longstreet was called “my old war horse” by Robert E. Lee. But within a few years of the end of the war, Longstreet had become a Republican and fough...
This American President - The JFK Assassination
November 25, 2023 11:00 - 22 minutes - 20.9 MBNovember 22 marks the 60th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. To commemorate this pivotal event in American history, learn more about Kennedy's 1963 Texas visit, reelection campaign, assassination, and legacy, with this excerpt from This American President.
From Orphan to High Flyer with Philip Martin
November 22, 2023 11:00 - 52 minutes - 48.1 MBIn this episode, James interviews Philip Martin, author of From Orphan to High Flyer. In this book, Philip tells the story of his late friend Denis Eliot. Denis rose from the horrors of a Victorian-style British orphanage and brutal foster parents to command and pilot American-built RAF B-24 Liberators against the Japanese in Asia, then to fly RAF aircraft into the late 1950s during the Cold War, and finally to live a fulfilling existence beyond his time in the military. In the RAF, he def...
Stalag 17
November 18, 2023 11:00 - 2 hours - 129 MBIn this episode, Sean and James review the 1953 film Stalag 17, which tells the story of a group of American airmen confined with 40,000 prisoners in a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp "somewhere on the Danube". The film focuses on one particular barracks, where the men come to suspect that one of their number is an informant.
Axis Prisoners of War in the U. S.
November 15, 2023 11:00 - 1 hour - 57 MBThe experiences of Allied prisoners of war in Germany are relatively well-known, thanks in part to movies and television shows that tell their story. However, few Americans know that over 400,000 Axis prisoners of war were held in hundreds of camps scattered around the United States. In this episode, Sean and James discuss what life was like for Axis prisoners of war held in the U. S.
The Great Escape
November 11, 2023 11:00 - 58 minutes - 53.7 MBJoin James and Sean as they discuss the 1963 classic The Great Escape, the thrilling story of the largest mass breakout from a POW camp ever in World War 2. Steve McQueen leads a truly all star cast with his iconic performance.
Allied Prisoners of War in Germany
November 08, 2023 11:00 - 52 minutes - 48 MBOver 300,000 western Allied servicemen were captured and imprisoned by Nazi Germany during World War 2. Join Sean and James as they tell about the experiences of British, American, French, and other western Allied prisoners of war, including capture, camp life, work programs, escape, and liberation.
The Tuskegee Airmen
November 04, 2023 11:00 - 45 minutes - 41.8 MBIn this episode, Sean and James discuss The Tuskegee Airmen, a 1995 HBO television movie based on the exploits of the first African-American combat pilots in the United States Army Air Corps who fought in World War II.
African-Americans in World War 2
November 01, 2023 11:00 - 52 minutes - 48.4 MBIn this episode, James interviews Dartmouth College professor and best-selling author Matthew F. Delmont about his excellent book Half American: The Epic Story of African-Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad. In the interview, Professor Delmont gives an excellent overview of the experience of Black Americans during the Second World War.
Judgment at Nuremberg
October 28, 2023 11:00 - 56 minutes - 51.4 MBOne of the greatest films of all time, 1961’s Judgment at Nuremberg is a gripping courtroom drama about a small town American judge called to preside over the trial of German judges accused of crimes against humanity. Join Sean and James as they review this classic with one of the greatest ensemble casts ever.
The Holocaust
October 25, 2023 11:00 - 45 minutes - 41.8 MBDuring the Second World War, the Germans murdered 6 million Jews and about 5 million other so-called “undesirables” in what became known as the Holocaust. In this episode, Sean and James discuss this difficult but crucial topic.