The WW2 Podcast

In the winter of 1944, the Schnee Eifel became the scene of some of the fiercest fighting on the German-Belgian border.

American forces had already fought their way through this difficult, wooded terrain once. Then, in December, the Germans launched their Ardennes offensive, catching the Americans by surprise and trapping two regiments of the 106th Infantry Division in the Schnee Eifel.

The fighting would continue into 1945 as American forces returned to the area and finally pushed the Germans back.

Today I'm joined by Craig S. Chapman, author of Javelins in the Half-Light: The Schnee Eifel Battles, 1944–45, to look at the three battles fought around the Schnee Eifel, what happened there, and why this relatively remote corner of the battlefield became so important.

Javelins in the Half-Light is also available on Audible and Spotify.

Thousands of Polish soldiers, refugees and civilians came to Britain after the fall of Poland, expecting eventually to return home. But as the war ended, victory brought a very different reality: Poland was now under Soviet domination.

So how did Polish communities in Britain maintain their identity during the war, and what did victory mean for people who could no longer return home?

To explore this, I'm joined by Juliette Bretan, a researcher, writer and broadcaster specialising in Britain and East-Central Europe.

When the United States entered the Second World War, American air power was still developing. Four years later, the United States was operating thousands of aircraft, supported by an enormous industrial and technological effort, and had produced the B-29 Superfortress, the most advanced bomber of the war.

At the centre of that transformation was General Henry "Hap" Arnold.

Arnold had been involved in American military aviation from its earliest days, and during the Second World War he became the driving force behind the expansion of the US Army Air Forces. The B-29 was perhaps his greatest gamble. It was enormously expensive and technologically ambitious, and Arnold was prepared to push American industry to build an aircraft that did not yet exist.

The result was the Superfortress, a bomber capable of flying farther, higher and carrying a heavier bomb load than anything that had come before it. Ultimately, B-29s would carry the atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Today I'm joined by A. J. Baime, author of "Bird Men: The Rise of American Airpower and the Machine That Ended World War II", to look at Hap Arnold, the rise of American air power and the extraordinary story of the B-29 Superfortress.

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Today we're going to Warsaw, a city caught between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, and a city whose people endured occupation, persecution, resistance and ultimately almost total destruction.

From the invasion of 1939, through the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, we'll explore what happened to the city and its inhabitants during the Second World War.

To tell that story, I'm joined by historians Prit Buttar and Lottie Taylor, authors of 'Warsaw: A City at War, 1939–45'.

Warsaw: A City at War, 1939–45 is also available on Audible and Spotify.

In 1938, Europe was once again facing the prospect of a major war.

The immediate crisis centred on Czechoslovakia, a new state created at the end of the First World War. It was a country with a substantial industrial base, a significant arms industry and, importantly, a heavily fortified frontier with Germany.

Hitler was determined to destroy Czechoslovakia. The German military had drawn up an invasion plan known as Fall Grün, or Case Green. But there was a problem. The German armed forces were not yet ready for the kind of major European war that Hitler seemed to be risking.

So what exactly was Case Green? How did the Germans intend to defeat Czechoslovakia, how good were the Czech defences, and how did Hitler's ideas differ from those of his own generals?

And perhaps most importantly, what might actually have happened if Britain and France had refused to compromise and Germany had gone to war?

Today I'm joined by Robert Forczyk, whose book 'Case Green: The Birth of the Wehrmacht' examines the German plans for the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1938.

Case Green is also available on Audible and Spotify.

In this episode, we're going to look at one of the most recognisable American generals of the Second World War: George S. Patton.

Patton has become almost a character in his own right. The aggressive general with the famous speeches, the polished boots and the determination to keep his tanks moving. His reputation as one of America's great battlefield commanders has only grown since his death.

But how much of that reputation is actually deserved? Was Patton really the military genius his reputation suggests, or a talented but flawed commander whose legend has outgrown his achievements?

To help me answer that question, I'm joined by James Ellman, author of Patton Reconsidered.

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In February 1942, as Japanese forces closed in on Singapore, Alexandra Hospital found itself caught in the final days of the British defence of the island.

The hospital was still treating wounded soldiers and civilians when Japanese troops entered the grounds. What followed was a massacre in which patients, medical staff and others were killed, despite the hospital being clearly marked with the Red Cross.

The events at Alexandra were among the most shocking episodes during the fall of Singapore, yet they remain relatively little known.

In this episode, I'm joined by Stuart Lloyd, author of A Bleeding Slaughterhouse, to tell the story of what happened at Alexandra Hospital, the events that led up to the massacre, and what happened afterwards as the survivors and investigators sought to establish who was responsible.

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The C-47 Dakota, or Skytrain as it was known in American service, was one of the most important aircraft of the Second World War. It carried paratroopers into battle, towed gliders packed with men and equipment, flew vital supplies to surrounded troops, and crossed some of the most inhospitable terrain on Earth. Yet the crews who flew these missions are often overshadowed by the fighter aces and bomber crews.

Their job demanded a different kind of courage. Flying unarmed, often at low level and in tight formation, they were expected to stay on course, arrive on time and, even under heavy fire, resist the instinct to take evasive action. Whether over Normandy, Arnhem, Bastogne or the Himalayas, they played a vital role in Allied victory.

Joining me today is Scott McGaugh, author of 'Into the Firestorm: The Allied Heroes Who Flew World War II's Most Daring Missions', to tell the story of the transport pilots who flew these extraordinary missions.

You can also find Into the Firestorm on Audible and Spotify.

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The war on the Eastern Front was fought on a scale unlike anything the world had ever seen. Stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea, it consumed millions of soldiers, saw entire armies destroyed, and ultimately decided the fate of Nazi Germany.

When we tell the story of this campaign, we often focus on a handful of famous names: Zhukov, Manstein, Guderian, Model. But were they really the men directing the war throughout its four brutal years? Behind these household names stood dozens of army and army group commanders whose decisions shaped the course of the fighting, yet whose contributions have largely been overlooked.

In this episode, I'm joined by Robert Forczyk, author of Generalship on the Eastern Front, 1941–45: A Study in Command. Together we'll explore what made an effective commander on the Eastern Front, compare the German and Soviet approaches to leadership, and shine a light on some of the remarkable generals who have slipped from popular history.

Generalship on the Eastern Front is also available on Audible and Spotify.

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The tank first appeared on the battlefields of the First World War as an experimental weapon designed to break the deadlock of trench warfare. Within a generation, it had become the defining weapon of modern land warfare, playing a central role in campaigns across Europe, North Africa and beyond.

In this episode, I'm joined by Hamish de Bretton Gordon, former tank commander and author of Tank Command: How the Tank Changed the Face of Battle. We explore how the tank evolved from the lumbering machines of 1916 into the formidable armoured vehicles that dominated the Second World War, and how the lessons of those early decades shaped the development of the Chieftain and the tanks that followed.

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The British Army in the Second World War is often judged through the lens of manpower shortages and a sense of being overstretched. Critics point to a force spread across too many theatres and suggest that this inevitably limited its effectiveness.

But is that a fair assessment of an army that expanded from a few hundred thousand men into a global fighting force of over eight million, operating across Europe, North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Far East?

In this episode, I am joined by Brian Walter to explore his argument that the British and Commonwealth armies emerged from the legacy of the First World War as a reduced force, entered the Second World War underprepared, but went on to adapt, expand, and ultimately play a decisive role in defeating Germany, Italy, and Japan across multiple theatres of war.

Brian is the author of The Thin Khaki Line: An Operational History of the British and Commonwealth Armies during World War II.

In early September 1944, as Allied forces raced across France and Belgium, the German occupation of Brussels was beginning to collapse.

On 2 September, around 1,500 prisoners, including members of the Belgian Resistance, Allied airmen, SOE agents, and political prisoners, were taken from Brussels prisons and loaded onto a train bound for Germany.

For many, it seemed certain they were heading for concentration camps. But over the next two days, a remarkable series of delays and acts of resistance by Belgian railway workers and prison officials prevented the train from reaching its destination.

The convoy became known as the Ghost Train.

Joining me to discuss this extraordinary story is Greg Lewis, author of The Nazi Ghost Train.

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1942 was a year of extraordinary contrasts for Nazi Germany.

As the year began, Hitler's armies appeared unstoppable. German forces dominated much of Europe, Rommel was advancing across North Africa, and a new offensive in the Soviet Union promised the prospect of victory in the East.

Yet by the end of the year, Germany's fortunes had changed dramatically. Defeat at El Alamein and the encirclement of the Sixth Army at Stalingrad marked major setbacks. What had seemed a year of opportunity had become a year of crisis.

How did this transformation occur? What was Hitler hoping to achieve in 1942? And to what extent did the events of that year shape the remainder of the conflict?

Joining me to discuss this is Richard Hargreaves, author of 1942: Hitler's Gamble for Victory, which is also available on Audible and Spotify.

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In June 1944, as the Allied armies fought to break out from the Normandy beachhead, attention turned to a series of heavily defended German positions west of Caen. Among them was Rauray Spur, a vital piece of high ground that overlooked much of the surrounding countryside and offered the Germans an excellent observation point.

Before the launch of Operation Epsom, the British needed to secure this area and protect their exposed flank. The result was Operation Martlet, a hard-fought battle that has often been overshadowed by the larger operations that followed, but was crucial to the wider campaign in Normandy.

In this episode, I am joined by John Delaney, co-host of WW2 Road Trips on YouTube and Content Lead and Senior Curator at the Imperial War Museum.

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In this episode, we turn our attention to the final months of the war in Europe and one of the Allied armies' most famous and controversial commanders, General George S. Patton.

At the start of 1945, Patton's Third Army was fighting on Germany's western frontier in the aftermath of the Battle of the Bulge. Having played a crucial role in relieving the besieged town of Bastogne, Patton now faced the challenge of maintaining the Allied advance through difficult winter conditions as the Western Allies prepared for the final offensive into the heart of the Third Reich.

Joining me is Kevin Hymel to discuss Patton during these decisive months of the war. Kevin is the author of Patton's War: An American General's Combat Leadership, the concluding volume of his acclaimed three part biography of Patton. Drawing on Patton's wartime diaries, personal correspondence, and extensive archival research, the book offers fresh insights into the general's leadership, character, and conduct of operations during the closing stages of the conflict.

Kevin is also the co host of the excellent podcast World War 2 Live alongside historian John McManus, which is well worth a listen for anyone interested in the Second World War.

Together, we explore Patton's role in the Allied advance into Germany, his relationship with senior commanders, the challenges faced by Third Army, and how his actions in 1945 shaped both his wartime reputation and enduring legacy.

When we think of Allied prisoners of war in German camps, we often picture barbed wire, watchtowers, tunnels, and the constant urge to escape. Stalag Luft III is remembered above all for the Great Escape, one of the most famous prison breaks of the Second World War.

But captivity was not only a story of tunnels and wire.

Inside the camp, prisoners built theatres, staged plays, organised concerts, and, for a few hours, transformed the camp into something very different. In a world of boredom, uncertainty, and confinement, performance offered laughter, purpose, and a reminder of life beyond the fences.

In this episode, I explore that remarkable story with David McCormack, author of 'The Great Escapism: The Theatrical Entertainers of Stalag Luft III'.

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When people think about the secret war in occupied Europe, they often picture agents, resistance fighters, and acts of sabotage carried out behind enemy lines. But those networks depended on a hidden air bridge that carried agents and supplies into occupied territory and brought people back out again.

Flying alone at night, Special Duties pilots crossed occupied Europe guided only by moonlight and improvised navigation. Their missions demanded extraordinary skill and nerve as they landed in isolated fields, avoided German night fighters and flak, and battled some of the worst flying conditions imaginable.

For this episode, I'm joined by Paul Smiddy, author of Moonlight Crusaders: Special Duties Pilots over Occupied Europe. Drawing on first-hand accounts and extensive research, Paul explores the story of these under-recognised pilots, the aircraft they flew, and the vital role they played in supporting resistance movements and Allied intelligence operations across occupied Europe."

You can also find Moonlight Crusaders on Audible and Spotify.

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In the summer of 1940, Britain stood alone. France had fallen, invasion seemed possible, and Winston Churchill faced a grave question: what should be done about the powerful French fleet?

Fearing it might fall under German control, Britain launched Operation Catapult. At Mers el Kébir on 3 July 1940, the Royal Navy opened fire on its former ally, killing nearly 1,300 French sailors in one of the war's most painful and controversial decisions.

For this episode, I am joined by Edward Abel Smith, author of 'A Hateful Decision', which tells the full story of this dramatic moment through new research and eyewitness accounts.

Before he became a familiar face on screen, appearing in over 70 films like 'The Bridge on the River Kwai', 'The Cockleshell Heroes', 'The Guns of Navarone' and 'The Wild Geese', Percy Herbert survived one of the most brutal chapters of the Second World War.

Captured during the fall of Singapore in 1942, he endured life as a prisoner of war, facing starvation, violence, and witnessing events like the Alexandra Hospital massacre. Those experiences would stay with him and later shape the performances that made his name.

His story is told in his autobiography, Time Will Pass Johnny, a remarkable account that traces his journey from the camps of the Far East to a long and successful acting career.

To talk about her father's life, I'm joined by Katrina Wood.

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The final battle for Berlin in 1945 was not just the end of the war in Europe, it was the violent collapse of Nazi Germany, and the moment the shape of post-war Europe was decided.

As the Red Army advanced from the River Oder, they faced one last major obstacle in the Seelow Heights. What followed was a brutal and costly assault that opened the road to Berlin, and then a savage fight through the city itself, street by street, building by building, until the German capital finally fell.

To guide us through these final days, I'm joined once more by Prit Buttar, one of the leading historians of the Eastern Front, and author 'Berlin: Endgame 1945'.

You can also find Berlin on Audible and Spotify.

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