Battlecast

“Among the Americans who served on Iwo Island, uncommon valor was a common virtue.” — U.S. Navy Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, March 16, 1945

Join Chris and Luke as they guide you through one of the bloodiest battles in American history: the Battle of Iwo Jima. In this episode the marines will drive across the island in savage fighting, clearing the death-jigsaw of Japanese Mastermind Tadamichi Kuribayashi strongpoint by strongpoint. The planners in Hawaii had thought tanks would do the hard fighting. Kuribayashi anticipated this threat by creating a series of mutually supporting strongpoints in a position called the “Meat Grinder.” Tanks could hardly operate in the Meat Grinder. The Marines cleared it with hand grenades and flame throwers. They took heavy casualties. The Japanese fought to the last man. It was a fight through hell and we’re taking you there tonight on the world’s premier podcast about warfare: Battlecast. So grab a chair, grab a beer and get ready for battle.

Beer this episode is Kirin Ichiban, 3 bullets out of 5.

http://media.blubrry.com/429895/archive.org/download/noname10/bc10.mp3

Download link: Download

Map of Pacific Theater:

Map of Battlefield:

References:

Iwo Jima by Bill Ross

Into the Rising Sun edited by Patrick K. O’Donnell

Mishima by John Nathan

I was a Kamikaze by Ryuji Nagatsuka

Reaping the Whirlwind by Nigel Cawthorne

War without Mercy by John W. Dower

Hell in the Pacific by Jim McHenry and Bill Sloan

Sun and Steel by Yukio Mishima

War at Sea by Marcus Faulkner

The West Point Military Atlas of Modern War edited by Thomas E. Griess

The West Point Military History of The Second World War Asia and Pacific edited by Thomas E. Griess

Hagakure by Yamamoto Tsunetomo and William Scott Wilson (trans.)

A History of Japan by R. H. P. Mason and J. G. Caiger

The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 by John Toland

The Second World War by John Keegan

Contemporary Japan: History, Politics, and Social Change by Jeff Kingston

The Laughing Heart by Charles Bukowski

Music References:

Paint the Sky Red

“While we Sleepwalk”

https://painttheskyred.bandcamp.com/album/paint-the-sky-red

Powerglove

“Resurrection”

http://powergloveaudio.com/

Traditional

“Sakura, Sakura”

It’s February 20, 1945 and the United States Marine Corps has bisected the neck of the island of Iwo Jima. In this show, the Japanese will unleash the fearsome kamikaze and we’ll hear from a kamikaze who miraculously survived to tell the tale. Thousands of Navy personnel and hundreds of Japanese pilots won’t be so lucky. Meanwhile, Japanese commander Tadamichi Kuribayashi is decimating the Marines in the beachhead, slamming shell after shell into their positions from heavily fortified strong points, many of them imperceptible to the human eye. The shelling, flamethrowers, and constant bombing reduced the island to a hell-like pit of destruction. The marines are going to have to storm through this hell to attack the Japanese strong points. They said it was like storming hell.  And this is their story.

The drink this show is Sake, 3 bullets out of 5.

http://media.blubrry.com/429895/archive.org/download/BCfinal9/BCfinal9.mp3

Download link: download

Map of Battlefield

References:

Iwo Jima by Bill Ross

Into the Rising Sun edited by Patrick K. O’Donnell

Mishima by John Nathan

I was a Kamikaze by Ryuji Nagatsuka

Reaping the Whirlwind by Nigel Cawthorne

War without Mercy by John W. Dower

Hell in the Pacific by Jim McHenry and Bill Sloan

Sun and Steel by Yukio Mishima

War at Sea by Marcus Faulkner

The West Point Military Atlas of Modern War edited by Thomas E. Griess

The West Point Military History of The Second World War Asia and Pacific edited by Thomas E. Griess

Hagakure by Yamamoto Tsunetomo and William Scott Wilson (trans.)

A History of Japan by R. H. P. Mason and J. G. Caiger

The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 by John Toland

The Second World War by John Keegan

Contemporary Japan: History, Politics, and Social Change by Jeff Kingston

Music References:

Powerglove

“Warzone”

http://powergloveaudio.com/

Iwo Jima – an eight-square-mile island transformed into a death trap. Literally, every square inch of the island spewed death. The whole rock was a front line. Join Chris and Luke as they take you, like a second Virgil, on a trip through a Nightmare in Hell – the battle of Iwo Jima. For months, the Japanese mastermind Tadamichi Kuribayashi turned the island into a factory of hell the marines dubbed “the meat grinder.” For months, the Americans returned the favor by shelling and bombing the island with impunity. Over 200,000 men participated in this battle. This is their story. We’ve made every attempt to let them speak for themselves.

The beer this show is Sapporo, 3 bullets out of 5.

http://media.blubrry.com/429895/archive.org/download/BC8final/BC8final.mp3

Download link: download

Battle Maps:

Map of Battlefield:

Please note this is a map of the battle plan. The map below shows how the battle actually progressed.

The yellow line in the above map shows the positions of marines at the end of d-day. Arrows show the lines of attack during the subsequent week.

References:

Iwo Jima by Bill Ross

Into the Rising Sun edited by Patrick K. O’Donnell

Mishima by John Nathan

I was a Kamikaze by Ryuji Nagatsuka

Reaping the Whirlwind by Nigel Cawthorne

War without Mercy by John W. Dower

Hell in the Pacific by Jim McHenry and Bill Sloan

Sun and Steel by Yukio Mishima

War at Sea by Marcus Faulkner

The West Point Military Atlas of Modern War edited by Thomas E. Griess

The West Point Military History of The Second World War Asia and Pacific edited by Thomas E. Griess

Hagakure by Yamamoto Tsunetomo and William Scott Wilson (trans.)

A History of Japan by R. H. P. Mason and J. G. Caiger

The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 by John Toland

The Second World War by John Keegan

Contemporary Japan: History, Politics, and Social Change by Jeff Kingston

Music References:

Powerglove

“Warzone”

http://powergloveaudio.com/

Join Luke and Chris in the bunker as they recount the battle of Zama – the final battle of the Second Punic War. Beer this month is Celtia, 3 bullets out of 5. In this battle, Roman commander Scipio Africanus faces Carthaginian legend Hannibal Barca. The battle would decide the fate of much of our world today and many of our languages bear the imprint of this fateful battle. In this episode, you’ll hear more than a battle but the story of a death of a world.

http://media.blubrry.com/429895/archive.org/download/Battlecastzama7/Battlecastzama7.mp3

Download link: Download

Battle Maps:

Hannibal begins the battle with his war elephants charging at Roman front. Scipio orders his cavalry to blow loud horns to terrify the charging elephants. The panicked elephants turn at the Carthaginian left wing and disorder it.

Roman right wing charges and routs the Carthaginian cavalry, followed by the Roman left wing routing the Carthaginian right wing. Remaining elephants are lured through the lanes and killed.

Carthaginian cavalry routed off the field. Scipio attacks Hannibal’s first and second line of infantry and routs both lines.

Scipio and Hannibal rearrange their troops in a single line and battle remains a stalemate until Roman cavalry returns and attacks Hannibal’s infantry at the rear.

Rome and Carthage by T.A. Dorey and D.R. Dudley

The Histories by Polybius

History of Rome from its Foundations by Livy

The Oxford History of the Classical World by Griffin Murray (ed.)

A History of Rome (3rd edition) by Marcel Le Glay, Jean-Louis Voisin and Yann Le Bohec

Music References:

“O Fortuna” by Carl Orff

“The War” by Mclain

https://mcklain.bandcamp.com/album/the-synthwave-ep

Join Luke and Chris in the bunker as they recount the battle of Metaurus – the Stalingrad of the Second Punic War. Beer this month is Birra Moretti, 3.5 bullets out of 5. In this battle, Roman commander Nero attempts to turn the tide in the decisive confrontation of the Second Punic War. This battle has it all: war elephants, drunken Gauls, atypical and risky battle maneuvers, and a twist of fate.

http://media.blubrry.com/429895/archive.org/download/BattlecastPunicStalingrad/Battlecast%20-%20Punic%20Stalingrad%20.mp3

Download link: Download

Battle Maps:

Location of the Battle:

The battle took place somewhere along the Metaurus river, which is highlighted red on the map below.

Initial phase of the battle:

Second phase of the battle:

Nero realizes he cannot attack the Gauls and leads a part of his forces behind the Roman army and flanks the Carthaginians on the left flank, attacking from the river. The Carthaginians start to retreat.

Third phase of the battle:

The Carthaginians are attacked from the front and right flank. The retreat turns into a rout and massacre of the Carthaginians.

References:

Rome and Carthage by T.A. Dorey and D.R. Dudley

The Histories by Polybius

History of Rome from its Foundations by Livy

The Oxford History of the Classical World by Griffin Murray (ed.)

The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World by Edward Shepherd Creasy

Music References:

Emil and Dariel: