The WW2 Podcast

By late 1942, after the success of Operation Torch, the Allies had finally gained a foothold in North Africa. What followed was a hard-fought and often overlooked campaign in Tunisia. For six months, British, American...

By the autumn of 1944, the Allies had driven across France and Belgium and reached the borders of Germany. Ahead of them lay the Rhine — a vast natural barrier and the last line of defence protecting the heart of the...

In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Allies brought twenty-four of Hitler's most senior figures to justice at Nuremberg. Among them was Hermann Göring — once Hitler's designated heir and still a commanding...

In this episode of the WW2 Podcast, I'm joined by Robby Houben from the Belgian Royal Military Museum to discuss the Renault FT. This small but revolutionary French tank changed armoured warfare. Designed during the...

General Lucian K. Truscott was one of the United States Army's most capable commanders of the Second World War. Known for his aggressive leadership and determination, Truscott led American forces in North Africa...

In early 1945, the Allies were advancing in Burma after their hard-won victories at Kohima and Imphal. The focus shifted to the Arakan, a region of dense jungle, mangrove swamps, and unforgiving terrain. For the men...

When we think of the Second World War, the story is so often told through an Anglo-American lens: Britain holding out alone in 1940, the United States joining the fight in 1941, and the combined Allied effort that...

Douglas MacArthur was one of the most prominent — and controversial — generals of the Second World War. As Field Marshal of the Philippines, he withdrew to Australia in 1942, famously declaring, "I shall return." That...

By January 1945, the war in Europe neared its final phase. In the west, the Allies had repelled the Ardennes offensive. In the east, the Red Army prepared the Vistula–Oder offensive, a huge strike that pushed German...

The Maginot Line was one of the most ambitious defensive projects of the 1930s. Built along France's eastern border, this vast system of underground forts, tunnels, and bunkers included hospitals, kitchens, telephone...

In 2005, the BBC launched an ambitious public history project called The People's War. It aimed to collect and preserve the memories of those who lived through the Second World War, inviting the public to share their...

In this episode of the WW2 Podcast, we explore the remarkable history of the Malay Regiment during the Second World War. Formed in the 1930s as an experiment with just 25 local recruits, the regiment quickly grew into a...

In this episode, we're turning our attention to British India during the Second World War. While the war in Europe and the Pacific often dominates the narrative, the role India played—both as a military contributor and...

What was the situation in Burma following the Allied victories at Imphal and Kohima? By the summer of 1944, those two hard-fought battles had marked a major turning point in the Burma campaign. Japanese forces were in...

In this episode of the WW2 Podcast, we're turning our attention to the opening phase of one of the most brutal and vast campaigns of the Second World War—Operation Barbarossa. On 22 June 1941, Hitler launched his...

When we talk about the Second Front, most of us think of the Allied invasion of Northwest Europe—D-Day, June 1944. But in his new book, Second Front: Anglo-American Rivalry and the Hidden Story of the Normandy Campaign...

In this episode, we're doing something a little different. I recently joined Scott Bury on his podcast Beyond Barbarossa, which takes a close look at the Eastern Front of the Second World War from a Soviet perspective...

In this episode of the WW2 Podcast, I am joined by Professor James Crossland to discuss the extraordinary life of Robert Bruce Lockhart — a British diplomat, journalist, author, and secret agent. Though not a household...

In this episode of the WW2 Podcast, I am joined by Bernd Häber to discuss the remarkable story of his grandfather, Fritz Häber — a German soldier who became a prisoner of war in American custody at the end of World War...

In the early stages of America's involvement in the Second World War, the U.S. Army began forming a new kind of fighting force—elite units trained for speed, surprise, and special operations behind enemy lines. These...

During the critical interwar years, Belgium found itself walking a diplomatic tightrope—maintaining neutrality while neighbouring Germany rapidly rearmed. Faced with the growing threat of conflict, the country was...

On the morning of June 6th, 1944, war photographer Robert Capa waded ashore on Omaha Beach during the Allied landings in Normandy. What happened next became the stuff of legend: under withering fire, Capa supposedly...

Today, we are exploring a topic that doesn't get talked about much — the British tanks that ended up serving with the Red Army during the Second World War. We often think about the Soviet Union producing huge numbers of...

In this episode, I'm joined by bestselling author Damien Lewis to talk about one of the remarkable men featured in his new book SAS Great Escapes Four — Archie Gibson. Archie served with the Long Range Desert Group and...

In the final weeks of the Second World War, as Soviet forces closed in on Berlin, tens of thousands of German soldiers and civilians found themselves encircled in what became known as the Halbe Pocket. In a desperate...