The WW2 Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, it wasn't the Germans who first uprooted Stanislaw Kulik and his family—it was the Russians. Deported to a Siberian Gulag, Stanislaw's fate took a dramatic turn in 1941 when the Germans launched their invasion of the Soviet Union. Suddenly, the Russians released their Polish captives, and Stanislaw embarked on an arduous journey across thousands of miles. He eventually joined the Polish army in Uzbekistan, a path that would lead him to Britain and ultimately to the frontlines in Holland, where he fought with the Polish Parachute Brigade at Arnhem.

Joining me is Nicholas Kinloch, the grandson of Stanislaw Kulik. Nicholas has chronicled his grandfather's extraordinary wartime experience in his book, From the Soviet Gulag to Arnhem: A Polish Paratrooper's Epic Wartime Journey.

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When we think of the fighting in the Far East between Britain, her allies, and the Japanese, we often picture thick jungles, impossibly steep hills, and dense terrain. This has led to the common perception of it being an infantryman's war.

However, armour played a crucial and often overlooked role in this theatre of war.

In this episode, I'm joined by Jack Bowsher, author of Forgotten Armour. His book begins with the interwar Indian Army's struggle to fully mechanise, then traces the evolution of armoured training, logistics, and tactics.

We explore how, once tanks arrived and bunker-busting methods were developed, armoured units became decisive in their encounters against the Japanese, saving countless Allied lives. 

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6th June 1944 saw the largest seaborne assault in human history: D-Day. While much has been written about the operation as a whole, little detailed attention has been paid to the battle for Sword Beach itself, the easternmost of the amphibious attack areas.

For this episode, I am joined by Stephen Fisher.

Stephen is a historian and archaeologist who specializes in military history. He is also the author of Sword Beach: The Untold Story of D-Day’s Forgotten Victory.

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The common narrative of the war often completely overlooks Germany’s attempts to run spies in Britain. In actual fact, for more or less the whole of the war the German secret service, the Abwehr, were sending agents into Britain.

In this episode I’m joined by Bernard O’Connor, author of Operation Lena and Hitler's Plots to Blow up Britain to discuss German espionage activities.

At the start of 1944 the German army on the Eastern Front was reeling after suffering defeats at Stalingrad and Kursk. Hitler was keen to hold on to the territory occupied by the Germans, but all the while the Wehrmacht was forced to give up ground to the Red Army.

In this episode we’re going to be looking at the fighting throughout 1944 for Army Group South in the Ukraine and Romania.

I’m joined by Prit Buttar.

Prit is the author of a number of books recounting the fighting in Russia during both world wars, his latest is The Reckoning: The Defeat of Army Group South, 1944.

In previous episodes we’ve touched upon the Spanish civil war, when the war came to an end there was a large number of displaced Spanish living in France and to a less extent other Europe countries. With the second world war looming, the French began to recruit these displaced men into their armed forces.

When France fell in 1940 a sizeable number found themselves in Britain, where they were recruited in to the British Army. But they weren’t just in Britain, in North Africa and the Middle East spaniards signed up to fight with the British.

In this episode I’m joined by military historian and hispanist Sean Scullion to explore who these men were and their stories.

During the interwar years the US army had worked to develop a light weapons carrier, but by 1940 the ‘perfect’ vehicle had not been found. The war in Europe focused minds in the American army and in June it compiled a list of requirements for a revolutionary new truck to replace the mule as the Army's primary method of moving troops and small payloads.

In this episode we discuss how the American Bantam Car Company, Willys Overland-Motors and the Ford Motor Company stepped up to the challenge and developed a new vehicle which would eventually become the Jeep.

I’m Joined by Paul R. Bruno.

Paul has spent twenty years researching, writing and studying early Jeep history. His first book was Project Management in History: The First Jeep, this led him to his next book The Original Jeeps.

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Rome, the ‘Eternal City’, had a peculiar war. With Italy an axis nation it was a target for allied bombers but in the centre is the Vatican, home of the Pope. A neutral state within the capital of a belligerent nation. In deference to the Pope allied bombing operations were curtailed, perhaps more than they might otherwise have have been.

When the Italians secretly brokered an armistice with the allies in September 1943, Rome was occupied by the Germans. With the Germans in charge, Italian men would be deported as forced labour and the Jewish population of Rome rounded up to be sent to concentration camps.

At the same time the Vatican became a magnet for escaped Prisoners of War who would seek refuge inside the walls of the holy city.

I’m joined by Victor Failmezger.

Victor is a retired US Naval Officer who served in Rome as the Assistance Naval Attaché. He is also the author of Rome City in Terror: The Nazi Occupation 1943-44.

Richard Burt was part of the the 746th Far East Air Force Band, based in the Philippines. At the end of WWII just before the band were split up, using a single microphone they recorded a final performance to magnetic wire. Richard Burt he brought these recordings home and had them transferred to 78rpm discs. Burt squirrelled away these discs and were largely forgotten until they were rediscovered after he passed away.

In this episode I’m talking to Jason Burt about his grandfather Richard Burt.

Jason has made these recordings available, you can find them on Spotify and for sale with original home footage of the band at 746thfeaf.com

Any long protracted conflict is reliant upon the resources that can be brought bear, in which case war is not just about military success. In this episode of the WW2 podcast we’ll be looking at economics and the economists who shaped the second world war and the post war world.

This story goes beyond simply looking at treasury departments of the belligerent nations, the OSS had a department focusing on the economies of other countries, looking for weaknesses and economists used. Others used their mathematical brilliance in the development of the nuclear bomb.

I'm joined by Alan Bollard, author of Economists at War: How a Handful of Economists Helped Win and Lose the World Wars

Alan is a Professor of Economics at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.  He formerly managed the APEC - Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation - the largest regional economic integration organisation in the world, and was previously the New Zealand Reserve Bank Governor, Secretary of the New Zealand Treasury, and Chairman of the New Zealand Commerce Commission.