Curious Canadian History

S8E16 Seize Wismar, Stop the Soviets!


Listen Later

While the official start of the Cold War is still debated by historians, many agree that it began at some point in the late 1940s. Yet, it was clear by 1945 that the final battle lines drawn when the war in Europe ended would play a significant role in determining the future of the post-war world. One of the earliest examples of this tension playing out was over the German coastal town of Wismar. In early May 1945 a British airborne division, spearheaded by 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, rushed northwards from the Elbe River to capture this town. While certainly part of the intention was to force the surrender of German forces in the area, the other objective was to cut off the Soviet advance from the east and prevent them from further designs on Denmark. The collision of these two Allied forces at Wismar became a harbinger of the tension to come in the post-war world.  Book recommendation: Tip of the Spear: An Intimate Account of 1 Canadian Parachute Battalion by Col. Bernd Horn and Michel Wyczynski published by Dundurn Press in 2002
https://www.dundurn.com/books_/t22117/a9781550023886-tip-of-the-spear
Twitter – https://twitter.com/DocBorys Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/curiouscanadianhistory

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Curious Canadian HistoryBy David Borys

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

30 ratings


More shows like Curious Canadian History

View all
Ideas by CBC

Ideas

395 Listeners

Quirks and Quarks by CBC

Quirks and Quarks

375 Listeners

White Coat, Black Art by CBC

White Coat, Black Art

107 Listeners

Laugh Out Loud by CBC

Laugh Out Loud

157 Listeners

Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly by Apostrophe Podcast Network

Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly

815 Listeners

Canadian True Crime by Kristi Lee | Canadian True Crime

Canadian True Crime

4,911 Listeners

History of the 90s by Curiouscast

History of the 90s

552 Listeners

The Debaters by CBC

The Debaters

211 Listeners

Canadian History Ehx by Craig Baird

Canadian History Ehx

72 Listeners

Front Burner by CBC

Front Burner

420 Listeners

West of Centre by CBC

West of Centre

23 Listeners

We Regret To Inform You: The Rejection Podcast by Apostrophe Podcast Network

We Regret To Inform You: The Rejection Podcast

177 Listeners

The Decibel by The Globe and Mail

The Decibel

125 Listeners

Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe by Apostrophe Podcast Network

Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe

279 Listeners

Gloves Off by Gloves Off with Stephen Marche

Gloves Off

0 Listeners