Warfare

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, was a soldier, statesman, and prominent political figure who served the United Kingdom twice as Prime Minister. He is known to many as a successful defensive general, but what about when he was on the offensive? In this episode, we explore the life, career, and death of Wellington. James is once again accompanied by Historian and presenter Zack White as they delve into the complex life of Wellington. Debunking myths, exploring his life, legacy, and controversies.Zack specialises in crime and punishment in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars at the University of Southampton and is the creator of the TheNapoleonicWars.net.

Odette Sansom, was the most highly decorated woman, and the most decorated spy of any gender during World War II. She was awarded both the George Cross and was appointed a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur. Her wartime exploits and later imprisonment by the Nazis were celebrated in the years after the war, but she has fallen out of the spotlight recently. Larry Loftis' book reinstate her as one of the most celebrated members of the Special Operations Executive, the British sabotage and espionage organisation.© PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo

From munitions factories and the cabinet war rooms, to flying aircraft and even shaking hands with Joseph Stalin; during the Second World War women could be found throughout the workforce. Lucy Fisher has been interviewing surviving women of the Second World War workforce and in this episode, she shares some of her favourite anecdotes. Lucy is an author and the Deputy Political Editor for The Daily Telegraph, having formerly been a Defence editor for The Times. Her book ‘Women in the War’ is out now.© IWM

Twenty years after the release of the landmark series Band of Brothers, screenwriter John Orloff is back to bring us Masters of the Air with Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. James spoke to John to get some inside information about the ongoing production of this project, including the exact repllication of Second World War aircraft and buildings from American Air Force bases in Britain. John also discusses how writing Masters of the Air differed from writing Band of Brothers, and the involvement of veterans.

In June 1940 Nazi Germany overran France and forced the British army to evacuate at Dunkirk. Severely lacking in military equipment, Britain and its Empire now stood alone against Adolf Hitler's forces. To stand any chance of crossing the English Channel, Germany would have to crush the Royal Air Force and gain control of the skies during that summer. The Battle of Britain, the first major battle to be decided entirely by air power, had begun. Dan talks to military historian Andy Saunders about the Battle of Britain to find out which parts of the narrative we have got wrong and which we have right. Dan also spoke to veteran of the Battle of Britain, Wing Commander Thomas Neil.

Her American nationality could have offered her protection from the Nazi Regime. Instead, she used it to benefit the resistance movement. Mildred Harnack and her German husband, Arvid, began their underground resistance group in Berlin in 1932. Both contributed bravely to what was later known to the Gestapo as the Red Orchestra, also taking part in espionage, until their capture and execution. In this episode, Rebecca Donner explores the extraordinary life of Mildred, who also happens to be her great aunt. Rebecca’s New York Times bestseller on this topic is called ‘All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days’.

For the majority of us, our experience of 9/11 was transmitted through a TV screen, radio, newspaper or even history book. But Joe Dittmar’s experience of these terror attacks was personal. On the morning of the 11 September 2001, he was in a meeting on the 105th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Joe shares his story of surviving 9/11 in this moving episode.Joe’s WTC Survivor/ Always Remember Initiative if found here http://www.wtceskp.com/

At 8:46 am on 11 September 2001 the first plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Centre in Lower Manhattan. Over the next 9 hours, almost half a million people were evacuated from that island by boat, many other options being made impossible. Here to share the story of this maritime evacuation is Jessica DuLong. Jessica is a journalist and historian, as well as chief engineer emerita of the retired 1931 New York City fireboat, John J. Harvey. She tells us about the boats involved, the obstacles they faced, and about her own experience of ground zero.  Her book on this topic is called ‘Saved at the Seawall: Stories from the September 11 Boat Lift’.

As the world prepares to mark the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks two decades on, we discuss the history of plane hijackings. From politically motivated attacks to propaganda tools used by governments, Dr Yannick Veilleux-Lepage shares his knowledge of the broader context of the attacks of 2001. Dr. Yannick Veilleux-Lepage is assistant Professor of Terrorism and Political Violence at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs at Leiden University. His book, 'How Terror Evolves: The Emergence and Spread of Terrorist Techniques' is published by Rowman & Littlefield.

At lunchtime on 16 September 1920, a horse drawn cart exploded on the busiest corner of the Financial District of New York. To find out more about the United States’ first age of terror, James spoke to Professor Beverly Gage. Beverly explains what we know about this attack on Wall Street. Who were its victims, suspects, and investigators and what impact did it have on American society? Beverly is a professor of 20th-century American history at Yale University and author of ‘The Day Wall Street Exploded: A Story of America in Its First Age of Terror’.© Everett Collection/Shutterstock