Warfare

In February 1945, the ‘Big Three’ met for arguably the most important and controversial of the conferences of the Second World War. At the Yalta Conference, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin discussed the post-war reorganisation of Europe. The British and American leaders had come a long way to cooperate with Stalin, but they had not come alone. Roosevelt’s daughter, Anna, Churchill’s daughter Sarah and Kathleen Harriman, the daughter of the US ambassador to the Soviet Union were all in attendance. For her new book, Catherine Grace Katz has approached the Yalta conference from the perspective of these women, each of whom had a different angle and role there. In this episode Catherine shares her understanding of each of these women and what this can, in turn, tell us about the relationships between the United States, Britain and the USSR.

In 15 September 1940, the Luftwaffe made a gigantic aerial assault on London in the belief that the Royal Air Force was down to its last few fighters. They had hoped to finish the RAF and force Britain to the negotiating table, but this was not to be the case. In this episode, Dan is at Bentley Priory, the HQ of RAF Fighter Command, with historian Stephen Bungay. Stephen describes how a combination of technology, leadership, bravery and organisation helped Britain to win the battle for its shores.

At the end of World War One, the Allies seized the German fleet and held it at Scapa Flow, in Orkney, until the terms of the Treaty of Versailles were announced. At least, that was the plan. The German navy covertly scuttled their own boats under the noses of their captors, rendering the fleet useless, until one firm set out on a massive salvage operation to recover usable material from the boats. Ian Murray Taylor's grandfather was at the top of the operation, and he talks to Dan about the story of Scapa Flow.

Henry Hemming talks to Dan Snow about the life of William Stephenson, a British operative who worked hard to pressure Roosevelt into declaring war on Nazi Germany, and ensuring that American troops were directed against German forces in mainland Europe. The tactics adopted were akin to those used today by troll farms in St Petersburg, and involved duplicitous and aggressive use of misinformation.

After the Second World War, societies across the world struggled under a mass of social and political change. This disjointed period serves as the backdrop for Tara Moss’ new novel, in which her protagonist, female war reporter turned private inquiry agent pushes against the workforce prejudices of 1946 Australia. Through this lens, Tara explores post-war attitudes towards gender, race, disability and religion. Tara takes us straight into her family history with the story of her Oma and Opa’s survival in the Nazi occupied Netherlands. She then shares the stories of the incredible photographers, investigators and nurses who were the inspiration behind her main character. Tara Moss is the author of 13 bestselling books, a documentary maker, presenter, journalist and advocate for human rights and the rights of women, children and people with disabilities. She has been an ambassador for UNICEF Australia since 2007. War Widow can be found here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/636233/the-war-widow-by-tara-moss/

In 1943, Grimsby was hit by a new type of weapon: butterfly bombs, also know as cluster bombs. This episode from Dan Snow's History Hit features the World Wars' very own James Rogers, telling Dan all about the terrifying experience of being attacked by cluster bombs, and how they've been used around the world since.

Alderney, like the rest of the Channel Islands, was occupied by German forces from 1940 to 1945. On Hitler's orders it was turned into a fortress, covered in concrete and steel fortifications. After liberation British forces dumped a vast amount of military hardware into a quarry which was then flooded. For 70 years it has remained there, hidden, forgotten..... Until Dan Snow joined a team of divers to uncover it. To watch our documentary about the Islands of Guernsey please head to History Hit TV.

Caroline Kennedy-Pipe, an expert from Loughborough University, discusses the remarkable life of Vera Brittain, a war nurse turned pacifist. They explore Vera's transformation from a patriotic supporter of WWI to an influential feminist advocating against war. The conversation touches on her personal losses, her activism in the face of tyranny, and her ethical challenges during WWII. Caroline highlights Vera's legacy as a voice for peace, emphasizing her fight against both warfare and colonialism throughout her life.

It was the first truly industrial battle, and yet veterans recall hearing skylarks singing just before the whistles blew at the Battle of the Somme. A century later, these birds remain, singing long after the carnage came to an end. Paul Reed is a military historian and author specialising in the First and Second World Wars. He has been conducting battlefield tours for over a quarter of a century. In this episode from the centenary he spoke to Dan Snow.

Dan talks to Richard van Emden about his book - Missing: the need for closure after the Great War, in this episode from the History Hit archive. The backbone of the book is based on the best single story of World War One that he has found in 35 years of research. It is the story of one woman’s relentless search for her missing son’s body. A story with incredible twists and turns. Against the odds she finds him in 1923. Richard also looks at the bigger picture: how long should the nation search for its dead and the mistakes made identifying the dead, when exhumation parties were under such intolerable pressure.(Image © IWM 2793)