Warfare

It's election time and for this episode James is joined by one of the most famous Historians in the world, Niall Ferguson. Niall delves into United States election history to explore how this 'year of catastrophe' might impact the results, and how these results might, in turn, increase the possibility of a Second Cold War. Wilson, Roosevelt, Truman and Johnson: four Democrat Presidents elected on domestic policies, each of whom led the United States into international war. Might this election bring a similar result? A Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and a senior faculty fellow of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard, Niall is also a visiting professor at Tsinghua University, Beijing and the author of fifteen books.

On 15 August 1944, the Allies landed in Southern France. The operation was a success, nearly cutting off an entire German Army group, which perhaps explains why it doesn't hold the same position in our history as the invasions of Normandy and Italy. But Operation Dragoon was the main French effort in liberating their homeland and, interestingly, because France had been occupied by 1942 and there were one and a half million French Prisoners of War in German camps, their armed forces were largely compiled of French Colonial troops. Cameron Zinsou joined James to discuss this feat of planning, a forgotten campain for the liberation of Europe.

Why is it that nobody has used the absolute weapon, the nuclear bomb, since 1945? Was it ever likely that the American arsenal would be used against the Soviet Union? Or was it created solely to prevent nuclear war? If the latter is true, how does a country create the false impression that it is willing to release a weapon of mass destruction? New York Times bestselling author and Pulitzer prize winning journalist, Fred Kaplan, has authored The Bomb: Presidents, Generals and the Secret History of Nuclear War. In this episode, he and James discuss the strategies and motives of those in control of the bombs in the face of multiple crises ... not all of which are generally known.

Pride of place in the lore of the U.S. Marine Corps goes to the Battle of Belleau Wood, fought in 1918 between the Germans and the Americans during the German Spring Offensive. In this episode, Dan speaks to Professor Michael Neiberg about the battle during which it was famously exclaimed 'Retreat? Hell we just got here!'

In June 1941, Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa. The campaign on the Eastern Front which was now opened up involved more forces than any other theatre of war in history. In this episode, History Hit's Charlie Mills speaks to Dr. Mario Draper at the University of Kent about why Germany decided to invade the Soviet Union and how the invasion impacted on Germany’s eventual defeat.

In this podcast, Deirdre Henderson gives us a unique insight into the mind of President John F. Kennedy. Deirdre was hired by JFK as his Research Assistant in his run for President, her assignments mainly related to defense and foreign policy. In 1959, Senator Kennedy gave Deirdre his post Second World War diary so that she could learn more about his thinking. Deirdre and James discuss JFK's experiences and perceptions of war and leadership, shedding light on Kennedy's travels, reading materials and interest in Winston Churchill.

The Battle of the Somme, fought between July and November 1916, is perhaps one of the most famous battles in British history. For this episode, Professor Peter Doyle, a geologist and military historian of twentieth-century conflict, spoke to Dan about the Pals battalions which fought in this deadly battle. These were battalions of the British Army comprised of men who had enlisted together in local recruiting drives. Peter details how the Pals came to the army and from where, how they were trained, how they fought and how their connections to one another made them different from other battalions.

Ken Oatley served as a navigator with 106 Sqdn, RAF. He was one of the last men to hear Guy Gibson alive and he took part in numerous raids, including the bombing of Dresden. Ken spoke to Dan about what the raids were like, and what he feels about having taken part in the bombing which resulted in a firestorm. He also talks about his other wartime experiences.

The traditional view of the Second World War focusses on mainland Europe between 1939 and 1945. Germany is the aggressor drawing its closest neighbours into war, and prompting a chain of reactions which ends in worldwide turmoil. Thomas Bottelier is an historian of twentieth-century international relations, particularly of Europe and the Atlantic world. He suggests that we should perhaps widen the lense with which we look at this war, in terms of both geography and timescale. Thomas spoke to James about the various ways in which we could do this, and the countless events and experiences that have been overshadowed by the conventional narrative of the Second World War.

It was not until 1917 that the USA entered the First World War, President Woodrow Wilson having proclaimed neutrality in 1914. Similarly, it took the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour in 1941 to bring America into the Second World War. In this episode, Dr. Mitch Goodrum speaks to Rob Weinberg about the USA's reluctance to enter the World Wars, and how their eventual involvement changed the course of the wars.