Why We Fight ~ 1944

Dr. Roger Cirillo joins me again in this episode to talk about the preparations for Operation Market Garden, as well as an overview of the operation. This episode complements the next episode will include a closer look from the perspective of the 82d Airborne Division. Roger mentions several other events and concepts for which there are related episodes so I will link to those below.

Links

• LSCO, MDMP, Finite Resources, and Planning for Week 2 (Apple) (Spotify)

• The Battle of Cherbourg (Apple) (Spotify)

• The Red Ball Express (Apple) (Spotify)

Mother of Tanks website (http://www.motheroftanks.com/podcast/)

Bonus Content (https://www.patreon.com/c/motheroftanks)

In this episode, Troy Lewis returns to share the story of the Battle of Noemfoor, with Operation Cyclone involving the 158th Regimental Combat Team of the Arizona Army National Guard, and Operation Table Tennis involving the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, which belongs to the 173rd Airborne Brigade, based at Vicenza, Italy today. The Battle of Noemfoor Island is one of the Virtual Staff Rides offered by the Army's Staff Ride Team, located at Army University Press within the Combat Studies Institute.

Links

Noemfoor Virtual Staff Ride – Army University Press CombatStudies Institute Staff Ride Team (https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Staff-Rides/Virtual-Staff-Ride/Noemfoor-VSR/)

Staff Ride Walk Book: Battle of Noemfoor Island, 2 JUL – 31 AUG 1944 (https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/educational-services/staff-rides/VSR/Noemfoor-VSR/2.%20Noemfoor%20Instructor%20Notes%20(Exportable)%20-%2028%20August%202024.pdf) 

US Army in World War II, The War in the Pacific (GreenBooks)

The Approach to the Philippines by Robert Ross Smith

Chapter 17: Operations on Noemfoor Island

(https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-P-Approach/USA-P-Approach-17.html)

Multi-Domain Battle in the Southwest Pacific Theater of World War II by Christopher M. Rein (https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/combat-studies-institute/csi-books/multi-domain-battle-in-the-southwest-pacific-theater-of-world-war-II.pdf)

 US Army Center of Military History – New Guinea 24 JAN 1943 – 31 DEC 1944 by Edward J. Drea (https://history.army.mil/Portals/143/Images/Publications/Publication%20By%20Title%20Images/C%20Img/campaigns-wwii/pdf/24.pdf)

Noemfoor Island, Dutch New Guinea – Australian War Memorial (https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/OG1237)

Mother of Tanks website (http://www.motheroftanks.com/podcast/)

Bonus Content (⁠https://www.patreon.com/c/motheroftanks⁠)

Returning to talk US Army Air Force Fighters in Europe is Dr. Graham Cross, senior lecturer in American History at the Manchester Metropolitan University. If you missed the 1943 episode on US AAF Fighters, I will link it below, but Graham does include a bit of recap here and there when the comparison between 1943 and 1944 is necessary to understand the bigger picture.

Links

Fighters Over Europe: Attritional Warfare and the Americanization of the Air War in 1943

• ​Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fighters-over-europe-attritional-warfare-and/id1558636084?i=1000637292734
• ​Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Oky2TII3Szr5sJ5fP3X2f?si=wvE1-_znQMSUBE7WUxtz-w

The Wings of Democracy: The Influence of Air Power on the Roosevelt Administration 1933-1941 by Jeffery S. Underwood (https://www.amazon.com/Wings-Democracy-Administration-Williams-Ford-University/dp/0890963886/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3536RMETOY5RU&keywords=the+wings+of+democracy&qid=1701545518&sprefix=the+wings+of+democracy%2Caps%2C492&sr=8-1)

Global Mission by Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold (https://www.amazon.com/Global-Mission-Military-Classics-Harley/dp/0830640045/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1701545606&sr=8-2)

Uniting Against the Reich: The American Air War in Europe (https://www.amazon.com/Uniting-against-Reich-American-Aviation-ebook/dp/B0BNWH7VM9/ref=sr_1_1?crid=12FBIQVTQCTSX&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.S2vfDtzRETrY7_DXeR4l9Q.wlqWbxFgY8IKQ5S67P0tSFcEcB63_HxVlPltYXibkj4&dib_tag=se&keywords=luke+truxal&qid=1745770194&sprefix=luke+truxal%2Caps%2C448&sr=8-1)

Mother of Tanks website (http://www.motheroftanks.com/podcast/)

Bonus Content (https://www.patreon.com/c/motheroftanks)

Returning to continue the story of Bougainville from the 1943 series is Troy Lewis, US Army veteran and part of the Army University Press Combat Studies Institute Staff Ride Team. Troy picks up with a brief recap from the previous episode and takes us through the end of the fighting to when the island is handed off to the Australians.

Links

Operation Cherryblossom & The US Army at Bougainville in 1943

(Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/78tcDYYqfqBqUHjP3tEHQy)

(Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/operation-cherryblossom-the-us-army-at-bougainville-1943/id1558636084?i=1000642074493)

Staff Ride Walk Book: Japanese Counterattacks on Bougainville Island, 8-25 MAR 1944

(https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/educational-services/staff-rides/VSR/Bougainville/Bougainville%20Instructor%20Notes%20(Exportable)%20-%2025%20August%202023.pdf)

CSI Staff Ride Team - Bougainville: Defending the Lodgment, Virtual Staff Ride

(https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Staff-Rides/Virtual-Staff-Ride/Bougainville-VSR/)

US Army CMH - Northern Solomons

(https://history.army.mil/Portals/143/Images/Publications/Publication%20By%20Title%20Images/C%20Img/campaigns-wwii/pdf/28.pdf)

Mother of Tanks website (http://www.motheroftanks.com/podcast/)

Bonus Content (https://www.patreon.com/c/motheroftanks)

Joining me in this episode are Dr. Chris Carey and returning guest Tim Gilhool to talk about the Red Ball Express. Both Chris and Tim worked on the Army University Press film covering the Red Ball Express, and Tim is a retired Logistics Officer who currently serves as the Command Historian for CASCOM - the US Army's Combined Arms Support Command.

Links

The Red Ball Express: Past Lessons for Future Wars byChristopher Carey, PhD

(https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/March-April-2021/Carey-Red-Ball-Express/)

France ’44: Combat Success & The Red Ball Express – ArmyUniversity Press

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6WCFwUrKrA)

“Keep ‘em Rolling” African American Participation in the RedBall Express by Edna Freene Medfor and Michael Frazier

(https://transportation.army.mil/history/studies/red_ball_express.html)

Red Ball Express: The Road to Victory

(https://www.fdmuseum.org/collection/online-exhibits/red-ball-express/)

Mother of Tanks website (http://www.motheroftanks.com/podcast/)

Bonus Content (https://www.patreon.com/c/motheroftanks)

Dr. John McManus returns to continue the story of the US 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, which enters the fighting in France through the south during Operation Dragoon. This is one of the many stories included in Dr. McManus's book American Courage, American Carnage, which is linked below.

Links

American Courage, American Carnage: The 7th Infantry Regiment's Combat Experience, 1812 Through World War II by John C. McManus (https://www.amazon.com/American-Courage-Carnage-Chronicles-Experience/dp/0765320126)

Mother of Tanks website (http://www.motheroftanks.com/podcast/)

Bonus Content (https://www.patreon.com/c/motheroftanks)

Dr. David Murphy joins me to talk about some of the many details of Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France following the invasion of Normandy. Often ignored or overlooked because it was overshadowed by the Normandy Invasion, but it is still an important part of this story and it ties in with the next episode which covers the US 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division in Southern France.

Links

Operation Dragoon: The Invasion of Southern France, 15 August 1944 (https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/wars-conflicts-and-operations/world-war-ii/1944/operation-dragoon.html)

First to the Rhine: The 6th Army Group in World War II by Harry Yeide and Mark Stout

(https://www.amazon.com/-/es/First-Rhine-Army-Group-World/dp/0760331464)

Mother of Tanks website (http://www.motheroftanks.com/podcast/)

Bonus Content (https://www.patreon.com/c/motheroftanks)

In this episode, retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel Mark Reardon joins me to talk about Operation Lüttich, one of two counteroffensives the Germans launched following the Allied invasion at Normandy in the summer of 1944; the second being the Battle of the Bulge. Mark provides significant detail from his book, Victory at Mortain: Stopping Hitler's Panzer Counteroffensive, which I will link to below, and he also adds some additional insight he has gained since publishing the book.

Links

Victory at Mortain: Stopping Hitler's Panzer Counteroffensive by Mark Reardon

(https://www.amazon.com/Victory-Mortain-Stopping-Hitlers-Counteroffensive/dp/0700612955)

Mother of Tanks website (http://www.motheroftanks.com/podcast/)

Bonus Content (https://www.patreon.com/c/motheroftanks)

In this episode, Dr. Robert Lyman joins me to talk about India, the Indian Army, and the Second World War, which is an important topic that has largely been missing from this series except for a few episodes I mention at the start of this episode and will link to below. Those three episode are with guest Christopher Kolakowski, the Director of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, who contributed stories about the Chindits, Merrill's Marauders, and the Battles of Imphal and Kohima.

Links

Dr. Robert Lyman (https://robertlyman.com/about/)

Merrill's Marauders (https://open.spotify.com/episode/3CDZBHcffpQgzoLlTI7ZAJ?si=_HxstZfARMq7NEeojy5STQ)

The Chindits & Operation THURSDAY: Long-Range Penetration Groups in the C-B-I Theater (https://open.spotify.com/episode/4aPf5yOJCvsxbqLdbnE35Z?si=aXOgA4eOTba_Byod0zpk4Q)

The Battles of Imphal & Kohima (https://open.spotify.com/episode/2QI6dJyTbp4Pdp8zZAiNKM?si=rKgzezw5RWy_2POUOg6yvg)

A War of Empires: Japan, India, Burma & Britain 1941-45 by Robert Lyman

(Amazon)

Victory to Defeat: The British Army 1918-1940 by Richard Dannatt & Robert Lyman

(Amazon)

Japan's Last Bid for Victory: The Invasion of India 1944 by Robert Lyman

(Amazon)

Slim, Master of War: Burma and the Birth of Modern Warfare by Robert Lyman

(Amazon)

Nations in the Balance: The India-Burma Campaign DEC 1943 - AUG 1944 by Christopher Kolakowsi

(Amazon)

Mother of Tanks website (http://www.motheroftanks.com/podcast/)

Bonus Content (https://www.patreon.com/c/motheroftanks)

Retired US Army Sergeant Major Mike Vining joins me in this episode to talk about the history of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Branch and Bomb Disposal during World War II. He also talks with me about his 30 year Army career in both EOD and Delta Force and some of his accomplishments as an EOD historian.

Links

EOD Warrior Foundation (https://eodwarriorfoundation.org/)

Retired Sergeant Major Paved Way for EOD Technicians in Elite Special Forces Unit (https://www.army.mil/article/263293/retired_sergeant_major_paved_way_for_eod_technicians_in_elite_special_forces_unit)

It's A Blast! Podcast -- SGM Mike Vining: From EOD to Military Legend (https://youtu.be/5bJ30HryCEQ?si=HWur_JsXAJSn4qt3)

Troop Support Supports EOD Mission as National Observance Nears -- National Explosive Ordnance Disposal Day is the first Saturday in May (DLA Article)

Mother of Tanks website (http://www.motheroftanks.com/podcast/)

Bonus Content (https://www.patreon.com/c/motheroftanks)