The WW2 Podcast

320 - Patton Reconsidered

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 i

319 - The Alexandra Hospital Massacre: The Fall of Singapore

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

318 - Transport Pilots of WWII

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, tow

317 - Generalship on the Eastern Front

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,

316 - The Tank

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

315 - The Thin Khaki Line

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

314 - The Nazi Ghost Train

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 pri

313 - 1942: Hitler's Gamble for Victory

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

312- Normandy 1944: Operation Martlet

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

311 - Patton, 1945

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.

310 - Great Escapism at Stalag Luft III

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 remember

309 - SOE Special Duties Flights

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

308 - Mers El-Kébir: The British Attack on the French Navy

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 power

307 - Percy Herbert: From POW to Hollywood

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

306 - The Battle for Berlin

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 wa

305 - A Boy Soldier in Hitler's Army

In the final months of the Second World War, as the Third Reich collapsed in on itself, boys were sent to the front to hold back the Red Army. Among them was fourteen-yea

304 - Eisenhower and Churchill

The partnership between Dwight D. Eisenhower and Winston Churchill was one of the defining relationships of the Second World War. At the heart of the Anglo American allia

303 - The Link Trainer

Before the Second World War, learning to fly by instruments was one of the most difficult and dangerous skills a pilot had to master. Training had to be done in real airc

302 - Task Force Hogan

My guest today is William Hogan, and we are going to be talking about the remarkable story of his father, Sam Hogan, and the men of Task Force Hogan. At just twenty-eig

301 - A Canadian in Stalin's Army

How does a Canadian end up fighting in the Soviet Red Army during the Second World War? My guest today is Scott Bury, and we're going to tell the remarkable story of hi