Warfare

Lyn Macdonald is revered as the great chronicler of the human experience of the Western Front. She recorded interviews with more veterans of the First World War than any other. In this talk at Chalke Valley Hitory Festival in 2017, Lyn returned to the subject of her first book, the Battle of Passchendaele. She brings us stories of the battle of July until November 1917, bringing rare insights and perspectives to this bloody, muddy and brutal battle. www.cvhf.org.uk

Beginning with his birth in 1915 in Sierra Leone, the life of John Henry Smythe OBE MBE is almost unbelievable. From becoming a navigator in the RAF during the Second World War, to being held captive in a German POW camp, to being the Senior Officer making key decisions about the futures of the people aboard HMT Empire Windrush and becoming Attorney General for Sierra Leone; the twists and turns in this story are incredible. James was joined by John’s son, Eddy, and the BBC’s Tim Stokes to hear this account of life during and after the Second World War, in which we even get a glimpse of JFK. Listen out for Eddy’s song, written in memory of his father, at the end of the episode. You can find the music video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIarzhxtGsU&ab_channel=EddySmytheTim’s article can be found here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-55286092

The podcast explores the Battle of Waterloo and its significance in history. It discusses Napoleon's mistakes, the origins of the battle, controversy surrounding the victory, and strategic decisions made by Napoleon and Wellington. It also delves into the challenges faced by Napoleon and the mysterious death of Marshal Bertier. The Prussians' role in Napoleon's defeat is explored, and insights are given on Napoleon and the Prussian army. Overall, it provides a comprehensive account of this significant battle.

Twenty years after it first aired, Band of Brothers continues to be remembered as a remarkably accurate portrayal of a US parachute infantry company in the European Theater during the Second World War. Damian Lewis is an English actor and producer who played U.S. Army Major Richard Winters in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. At the Chalke Valley History Festival in 2016, he discussed the making of this series, portraying a soldier in the Second World War and meeting the veterans.  www.cvhf.org.uk

Erwin Rommel, the ‘Desert Fox’, known as such because from 1940 until the end of 1942, he led his troops across the deserts of North Africa and towards the Middle East with an often uncanny sense of his enemies' plans and weaknesses. In this episode, we uncover the secret to this success. Gershom Gorenberg has been investigating the Nazi’s use of intelligence, and how codebreaking was eventually used against them. Listen to hear more about the forgotten, secret heroes of the Second World War from Gershom, an expert historian, journalist and author of 'War of Shadows: Codebreakers, Spies, and the Secret Struggle to Drive the Nazis from the Middle East'.

As the Allies advanced through Europe in early 1945, the Nazis embarked on one final escalation of the Holocaust. Hundreds of thousands of prisoners, already weak and starving from their treatment in the camp system, were forcibly marched away from the possibility of liberation. For this episode, James welcomes the curators of the Wiener Holocaust Library’s new exhibition, ‘Death Marches: Evidence and Memory’. Dr Christine Schmidt and Professor Dan Stone talk us through why the Death Marches happened, what the experience would have been like and how we know anything about them. Christine and Dan draw upon the evidence which they have collected for the exhibition to share some of the personal stories of these last weeks of the Holocaust. Find out more about the exhibition here: https://wienerholocaustlibrary.org/exhibition/death-marches-evidence-and-memory/

Charlie Higson and Ben McIntyre talk about the facts and fictions of working in espionage. Having both encountered the recruitment process for the British Intelligence Services, they discuss the process of getting recruited or, as in both of their cases, not getting recruited. They go on to explore the history and traditions of this institution, which holds the position of a household name despite being an enigma to all those outside it.This episode was recorded at the Chalke Valley History Festival 2017.For information about this year's event, visit https://cvhf.org.uk/© Granger Historical Picture Archive / Alamy Stock Photo

Few days hold such a strong position in history as D-Day. However, as David O'Keefe tells us in this episode, 6 June 1944 was followed by 76 days of continued advances into Normandy. Hear about the position of the Allies after D-Day, and how they proceeded into France and towards victory. David is a leading military historian. He has released a new book, Seven Days in Hell, about the Canadian Black Watch’s heroic fight for survival at Verrières Ridge.

It’s 77 years since D-Day but it might never have happened at all without one very specific piece of new technology; the resonant cavity magnetron. Atomic bombs or the Colossus supercomputer may come to mind when thinking about innovations which changed the course of WW2, but without this technological breakthrough, history would have been very different. Historian Norm Fine talks to James about the development which enabled microwave radar, and why he thinks it was the single most influential new invention which eventually won the war.You can read more in Norman Fine’s book, Blind Bombing: How Microwave Radar Brought the Allies to D-Day and Victory in World, which is out now.

The D-Day landings of June 6 1944 were the largest amphibious landing in the history of warfare, and are famed as a major turning point towards Allied victory. But they weren’t without planning and practice. In late April 1944, the Allies launched one of their trial runs, Exercise Tiger, off Slapton Sands in Devon. The aim was a closely choreographed landing, the result was a disaster. Hear Dr Harry Bennett from the University of Plymouth discussing the players in this trial run, and how it became the Battle of Lyme Bay.