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We are all familiar with the Nazi practices of sending Jews to concentration camps, carrying out mass executions and instilling fear into German citizens through their paramilitary organisations like the SS. But one practice that tends to go under the radar concerning Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party was their rampant abuse of medicinal substances, which in today’s world, would be considered as illicit drugs. What you need to consider, however, is that at the time, these drugs were seen as the cutting edge of science. With various drugs and medicines being developed to treat a wide variety of ailments, it’s unsurprising that as the second world war broke out, there would be efforts made to develop drugs which aimed to turn an average, green recruit into a fearsome, dedicated fighting machine.

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Looking back through history, it’s often difficult to see passed events that have so shaped our modern world. The story of Japan in World War II for example has often left those in the west with an impression that prior to 1945, Japan was always an enemy of freedom, when in fact while we associate Imperial Japan as Hitler’s ally, just twenty years earlier, Japan fought against the Kaiser and that particular tyrant’s quest for power.

In this episode, we are going to explore Japan’s entry into the First World War and examine its navy’s intriguing if often forgotten role in safeguarding the Mediterranean Sea from the Kaiser’s fleet of U-boats. Welcome to Wars of the World.

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August 1964. US President Lyndon B. Johnson has inherited an ongoing crisis in the south-east Asian nation of Vietnam from his predecessor, John F. Kennedy. The crisis involves the spreading of communism from North Vietnam into the south and potentially beyond, threatening the US position in the region against the Soviet Union in the Cold War. At first, he adopts the policy of training and equipping the South Vietnamese Army to fight the war themselves but when a US warship is attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin, he and his government feel the fight now requires more direct involvement. 

The US military complex was unlike any other on the planet in 1964. Large and highly sophisticated, it was believed that it could achieve any objective put before it and yet in Vietnam, this technical marvel was forced to get down in the mud to fight its enemy. This led US leaders to look back at improving the most valuable piece of equipment at their disposal – the US soldier. Science offered the possibility of giving the US trooper greater endurance, strength, aggression against the enemy and protection from the stresses of war. This was the era of the drug-enhanced super soldier but as history would prove it would come at a cost. This is the story of how the Vietnam War would become the Pharmacological War.

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The unseen enemy is always the most feared for how does one engage an enemy if you do not know their location? Throughout history, the art of camouflage has often been the key to success in battle, greatly increasing an enemy force’s response time as they try to locate just who it is that is shooting them. Mother nature has often provided the best camouflage for armies, concealing them away from the prying eyes of an enemy force moving nearby. 

Mother nature has also provided armies with food and water and so for an invading army especially, mother nature can sometimes be seen as an enemy ally. As such, with the advent of the industrial revolution and a greater understanding of biology and chemistry, the most advanced nations have developed weapons to deny their enemies the protection of mother nature. In this episode, we are going to examine the development and use of herbicides and defoliants in the Vietnam War and specifically that of Agent Orange. Welcome to Wars of the World.

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In this documentary, we are going to examine the events surrounding probably the most significant sinking of a ship by a U-boat during the entire conflict. It is an event that would have far reaching consequences for the war, and beyond which wouldn’t be fully realised until a generation later. This is the story of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania and how it lit the path to war for the United States of America. Welcome to Wars of the World.

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On October 15th 2016, the 43,000 ton Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuzentsov slipped out of the Kola Bay fjord in the Barents Sea. Escorted by a small flotilla of warships including the powerful Pyotr Velikiy battlecruiser, the carrier sailed through the North Sea and down the English Channel in to the Atlantic before rounding the Iberian Peninsula and entering the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas. 

A month after leaving Kola Bay, aircraft of the Kuznetsov began operations against Islamic State and Al-Nusra terrorist groups in Syria in support of the Assad government. It was the first time a Russian carrier group had undertaken a combat deployment and was the end of a long, complex and at times troubled road undertaken by Moscow to produce a carrier force which was hoped would one day challenge the dominance of the United States Navy; a dream that offered great promise but as of 2023 sees one solitary carrier rusting and leaking in a Russian shipyard waiting for the government to release funds to finish repairs to make it operational again. This is the story of the Soviet Navy’s carrier program, it’s origins, it’s highs, it’s lows and the fruits it bore for Russia and others in the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse. Welcome to Wars of the World.

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Given the horror that Hitler unleashed on the world, it seems unfathomable that he could show any kind of warmth and affection to any living thing. Yet quite the contrary for he was an avid lover of dogs, but this love only serves to remind us of his evil for he could treat animals infinitely better than he treated many people. In this episode, we are going to examine the Fuhrer’s love for dogs, examine the role they played in the Fuhrer’s day-to-day life and how they were even an influence in his ideas for a racially pure world. Welcome to Wars of the World.

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Throughout history, war has often been characterised as being an elaborate game of chess played by the Generals commanding the armies on the chessboard that is the battlefield. This characterisation has led to the perception of many of history’s great duels being between two key, opposing players and in 1942 on the deserts of North Africa – a land described as being ideal for the game of war – there seemed no greater player than German Field Marshall Erwin Rommell. 

Commanding the German Afrika Korps, it seemed like the man who history remembers as the Desert Fox could not be stopped. The British Empire forces opposing him changed leaders several times until finally one man stood up to the plate who could match him in both genius and charisma. His name was General Bernard Montgomery who history would know simply as Monty. But Monty’s story extends beyond this one battlefield and in this episode, we are going to explore more of the man who heralded the turning point in the fight against Nazi tyranny. Welcome to Wars of the World.

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For every nation, there are battles whose names for one reason or another mean more to their people than most. For Americans, its Gettysburg. For Australians and New Zealanders, its Gallipoli. For the British and Canadians, it’s the Somme. For France, perhaps one of the most important battles in its recent history was the Battle of Verdun. Fought almost throughout the entirety of 1916, the battle was instigated by the German Army in an effort to destroy France and achieve victory on the Western Front. Instead, the battle demonstrated France’s determination to resist and fight back over the span of 303 days of fighting – one of the longest battles not just of the Great War but in recorded history. This is the story of the Battle of Verdun. Welcome to Wars of the World.

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In this, episode, we are going to take a look at the real wartime service of UB-65 and then investigate the legend to establish if there is any truth in the story of the supposedly haunted U-boat or whether it was as some believe the result of an elaborate plan by the Allies to combat the underwater menace. Welcome to Wars of the World.

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