The Danger Zone (DZ)

In 480 BC a battle took place at the Thermopylae Pass, essentially between 300 Spartan warriors and the massive army of Xerxes, the mighty ruler of the mightiest empire that the world had ever seen, with 1,700,000 men at his command, so we are told. Although at another point we’re told that his forces numbered 5,283,220 men - pretty precise eh!

Now you may think that ancient history isn’t your thing. Modern warfare is what really gets your interest. But this was, in fact, a modern war. It was, if you like, a battle between the Chinese Communist Party seeking to become the ruler of our world, or the United Nations trying to achieve its dream, our nightmare, world government ambitions, or the corporate socialism ambitions of the multi-nationals, or the big governments of the West trying (who am I kidding – trying) to socialise our Western democratic nations that were built on the principles that these Greeks found themselves fighting for to prevent the end of their, and our individuality, because that was what we would have lost if these Greeks had lost their struggle 2,500 years ago. Because in this story the men of Greece, especially of Athens and Sparta, were fighting for their individual freedom. Like many people today, they refused to give up that freedom and to go into slavery, even though victory seemed impossible. They fought for their rights to be and remain individuals – and they won. Their struggle, crowned with success, offers hope for us today. It’s a story that we can learn from, a story that can give us hope.

We must make the frightening words of Dennis Prager, in his interview in May 2024, with former Australian Deputy Prime Minister, John Anderson, the truth of which is a possibility that we’re facing today, one that will not happen:

When you think of the many Aussies who died in World War II fighting for freedom and fighting for the West and Americans, of course, and other, I never thought I would ever say this, maybe they died in vain, because whatever they died for is no longer revered by the elites of the countries they fought for.

And to make this story of the struggle between the Greeks and the Persians even more interesting, the account that this programme is based on, is told by the very first historian in the world – Herodotus. The man who invented history. And Herodotus, because I don’t want to exaggerate his writing skill, is the best teller of history that has ever lived and will ever live.

Please join me for this story of the thrilling struggle that many of us today are fighting afresh for our right to be individuals and not to be slaves.

Tag words: Battle of Thermopylae Pass; Spartans; Sparta; Athens; Xerxes; Chinese Communist Party; People’s Liberation Army; United Nations; world government; Dennis Prager; John Anderson; Herodotus; The Histories; Darius; Battle of Marathon; Aristodemus; Battle of Salamis; Battle of Platea; Book of Esther; The Bible; Candaules; John Dickson; Is Jesus History?; Alexander the Great; Arrian; Anabasis of Alexander; Ptolemy; Aristobulus; Callisthenes; Aristotle; Persian War; Gospels; New Testament; Jesus; Tacitus; Annals; Tiberius; Pontius Pilate; Paul the Apostle; road to Damascus; 1 Thessalonians; memory; substantia nigra; Plato; Silvia Ferrara; The Greatest Invention; Themistocles; Delphi Oracle; Joshua Foer; Moonwalking with Einstein; Greek Enlightenment; Richard Cohen; Making History;

For the past few parts I’ve been like a dog with a bone. Looking at animals in war. In this programme I’m going to tell you about atomic bats, under cover pussies, tank destroying dogs and fighting chickens.

Tag words: Smoky the Yorkshire Terrier; General Douglas MacArthur; I Shall Return; the bat bomb; Lyle S. Adams; National Research Defense Committee; Donald Griffin; Project X-Ray; CIA; Project Acoustic Kitty; Great Patriotic War; anti-tank dogs; First Gulf War; Operation Desert Storm; Poultry Chemical Confirmation Devices; Operation Kuwaiti Field Chicken; KFC; grave of The Unknown Chicken;

Animal heroes in war. Today I’m going to talk about a great Australian dog, a navy cat, parachuting turkeys, flaming pigs and did we do something disgusting to the horses that did so much for us in World War I and a whole lot more? Hang around for a surprising answer.

Tag words: animal heroes; Avenue of Remembrance Yungaburra; Merlin; Razz; Andy; Nova; Herbie; Corporal Mark Donaldson; Taliban; Quake; Lieutenant General Harry Chauvel; Australian Mounted Division; Simon the cat; the HMS Amethyst; Dickin Medal; Spanish Civil War; turkeys; ancient Rome; war pigs; elephants in war; Alexander the Great; Pliny the Elder; bottlenose dolphins; Notty; Tanker War; Marine Mammal Program; SEAL; Brandon Webb;

Animals make great friends – but in wartime, they can and do save lives. Animal heroism even has it’s own Victoria Cross – so let’s look at what animals, including slugs, have done for us in war. And let’s look at the Victoria Cross for animals.

Tag words: Animals; Victoria Cross; Red Baron; Charles Schulz; Snoopy; Manfred von Richthofen; Gunner Cedric Popkin; Dickin Medal; For Gallantry; We Also Serve; Australian Defence Forces; Canine Operational Service Medal; Military Working Dogs; Steven Spielberg; War Horse; First World War; Horses; war chariots; Crimean war; pigeon; Angus Trumble; National Portrait Gallery; Royal Flying Corps; Tom Trumble; the Waler horse; Australian Light Horsemen; charge at Beersheba; Brigadier General Grant; 4th Light Horse Brigade; Lt. General Chauvel; Johnny Turk; Gallipoli; Slugs; mustard gas attacks;

The African campaign’s one of the most exciting of World War 2, even though it was just a side-show. It was on a small scale. So it’s easy to know the geography and the personalities. When you get to Russia the numbers and distances are so vast that it is nowhere as easy to get your heads around.

In Rommel’s diary, of his experiences in World War 2, he gave his account about why he had failed in North Africa, particularly at El Alamein. Perhaps also why the Axis had failed, and even more to the point why Germany had failed. But at the end of it, the failure of this campaign can mostly be laid at Rommel’s doorstep – not that Rommel admits that.

Martin van Creveldt, in his book Supplying War, gave his analysis of why the North African campaign failed – from a logistics point of view. I’m going to start with Rommel’s own account. Because he was forced to commit suicide on 14 October 1944, he never got to learn more about what had happened during the war, after the war had ended, from his enemies on the other side of the hill. His analysis was made during the war. So in some ways its more honest, although not many of us can be as honest about ourselves as we like to think. So here's what Rommel has to say – as I said mainly focussing on the climactic defensive battle of El Alamein.

Tag words: Field Marshal Erwin Rommel; North African Campaign; El Alamein; Martin van Creveldt; Supplying War; The Rommel Papers; Panzerarmee Afrika; Operation Torch; Vichy France; Malta; Tobruk; Tripoli; RAF; David Irving; The Trail of the Fox; Enigma machine; Ultra; General Enno von Rintelen; Adolf Hitler;

Do you want to hear about the time when Adolf Hitler, the Führer, apologised to one of his generals?

Tag words: Paul Carell; Foxes of the Desert; Field Marshall Erwin Rommel; Battle of El Alamein; Adolf Hitler; Führer; Panzerarmee Afrika; Field-Marshal Kesselring; James S Corum; Wolfram von Richthofen; Malta; Tobruk; Benghazi; Crete; General Auchinleck; Afrika Korps; General Jodl; Wolfsschanze; Winston Churchill; North African Campaign;

Now I’ll tell you something that you might find hard to believe. Anti-Italian prejudices about their fighting spirit in North Africa abound, for people that know about the North African campaign, but it was the dogged fighting determination of the Ariete Division in early November 1942 that saved the Panzerarmee Africa possibly from annihilation.

And this is a good time to tell you about Hitler’s stand fast order of 3 November – what timing!

Tag words: Field Marshal Erwin Rommel; North African campaign; Panzerarmee Africa; Adolf Hitler; Italian Ariete Armoured Division; El Alamein; Italian XX Corps; General Francesco Arena; will to power; Deutsche Afrika Korp; Wolfschanze; 22nd Armoured Brigade; Italian M14/41 tanks; 90th Light Division; Paul Carell; Foxes of the Desert; Allgemeine SS; Reserve Captain Ingmar Berndt; Colonel Westphal; Victory or Death; British 4th Light Armoured Brigade;

By the time of the battles around El Alamein, July to August 1942, the best and newest Italian tanks, were woefully under gunned and under armoured compared to the new American made tanks that the British were getting. The Lee/Grant tanks first came into service in May 1942. By the time of the British Alamein offensive, those brand new 300 Sherman tanks that Marshall and Roosevelt had despatched to the Middle East by fast convoy, after the fall of Tobruk had been announced at the meeting that was underway in the White House between Churchill, Roosevelt, Alan Brooke and Marshall, had arrived and were at the front.

Were the Italian armoured divisions cowardly in the fight they showed in their last battles in Egypt in facing the British attack at El Alamein?

Tag words: El Alamein; Lee/Grant tanks; Sherman tanks; General Marshall; President Theodore Roosevelt; fall of Tobruk; General Alan Brooke; Winston Churchill; Italian Littorio Armoured Division; Semovente self-propelled gun; M14 tanks; Field Marshall Erwin Rommel; Adolf Hitler; Ariete Armoured Division; Deutsche Afrika Korp; Trieste Motorised Division; British 7th Armoured Division;

The fall of Tobruk to Rommel’s Panzerarmee Afrika was Rommel’s last absolute victory of the war. Certainly he would have great success in smashing the green American army at Kasserine Pass in 1943, but the split German command in Tunisia denied Rommel command of the 10th Panzer Division which might have allowed him to have delivered a major victory to the Axis. 

So Tobruk was Rommel’s last undisputed victory. The fruits of that victory turned out to be poison for him. The loss of Tobruk proved to be enormously rewarding for Winston Churchill. It played out having a decisive effect on the shape of the Allied war effort that led to victory on May 1945. Meanwhile Rommel had been given more than enough rope to hang himself, which he now proceeded to do.

Tag words: fall of Tobruk; General Rommel; Panzerarmee Afrika; Winston Churchill; General Claude Auchinleck; El Alamein; Siegfried Westphal; Andrew Roberts; Masters and Commanders – How Roosevelt, Churchill, Marshall and Alanbrooke Won the War in the West; Theordore Roosevelt; George Marshall; Allan Brooke; Ismay; Operation Sledgehammer; Operation Roundup; Operation Bolero; Operation Gymnast; Dr. Moran ; Harry Hopkins; Stimson; Clement Attlee; Malta; Grand Harbour; Afrika Korp; Kasserine Pass; Sherman tanks; General George S. Patton Jr;

The big question now was, could Panzerarmée Afrika take Tobruk, that was something they had failed to do in 1941, and then, given its perilous petrol supplies and the distances that had to be covered to reach the Nile delta, how was it going to be possible to seize Cairo, Alexandria and the Suez Canal?

From May 1942 things changed dramatically, and irreversibly, for the Italian armoured divisions in supporting Rommel. Their M13, and the slightly improved M14 tanks, had been OK up till then, but after May 1942 the British started to be equipped at first by the weird and ungainly looking American Lee/Grant tanks, and a few months later with the much superior Sherman tanks that would serve the Allies through to the end of the war in Europe. These Italian tanks were no match for those new tanks with armour that couldn’t be penetrated by the Italian 47mm guns and carrying a gun that could easily destroy the Italian tanks. The Italians had complete the designs for their new Carro Armato P40, carrying a 75mm gun that stood comparison with the latest German and Allied tanks and armour that was equally as good, but that tank never went into production.

So let’s look at the last hurrah for the Italian armoured divisions as they bravely fought on in what the tanks, that they nicknamed “iron coffins”.

Tag words: Panzerarmee Afrika; Tobruk; M14/41 tanks; Lee/Grant tanks; Sherman tanks; Carro Armato P40; Winston Churchill; Field Marshall Erwin Rommel; Ariete; Treiste; Littorio; Ian Walker; Iron Hulls, Iron Hearts; El Alamein; Deutsche Afrika Korp; General Giuseppe De Stefanis; General Ettore Baldassarre; 2nd New Zealand Division; 90th Light Division; Italian XX Corps; 4th Armoured Brigade; Bersaglieri; General Francesco Arena; Mersa Matruh; General De Stefanis; Colonel Fellers;