September 26, 2024 • 9 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, Stephen Ambrose was one of America’s leading biographers and historians. Ambrose passed away in 2002 but his epic storytelling accounts can now be heard here at Our American Stories thanks to those who run his estate. Our next story is the story of weapons used in WWII.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we continue with our American Stories. Stephen Ambrose was
one of America's leading biographers and historians. He passed in
two thousand and two, but his epic storytelling accounts can
now be heard here in our American Stories, thanks to
those who run as estate. Our next story is a
story of weapons used in World War Two. Here is
(00:33):
Steven Ambrose.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Transport in the Second World War again utilized nothing really
new trucks were used.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Their cars.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Trucks have been used in the First World War, especially
at the Battle of Verdunn by Marshall pay Ten. The
railroad was extensively used in the Second World War. It
had also been extensively used in the First World War.
Much of the Second World War transport in the European
armies the Red Army in the German Army.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Was horse drawn.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Hitler tried to give the world the impression that he
had the most modern army, and and in a lot
of ways he did, but it wasn't as modern as
he liked to pretend that it was, and the German
p propaganda portrayed as being uh For all the pictures
that Gebels released of German tanks rolling down French roads,
and German trucks following behind. For the most part, the
(01:26):
logistical supply system of the German Army was rail drawn
from depot to depot, and then from the depots out
into the field was horse drawn.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
That was even more the case with the Red.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Army, which in fact used horses as extensively in the
Second World War as it had in the First. Although
in the First World War there were still some cavalry
units that were attempting to join the battle in the
old fashioned way with the drawn saber and the charge,
and that came to a quick end even in the
First World War and was never used in the Second
(01:59):
World War.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
And it was a bit of side.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
There's a canard here that is repeated all over the
place and is not true.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
It is that the.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Poles in nineteen thirty nine tried to fight German armor
with cavalry charging tanks.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
It's a story told.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
To illustrate I guess how poorly prepared the Poles were,
and then it's very often told by people who want
to make you think that the Poles aren't very bright.
There was no Polish cavalry attack of German tanks in
the Second World War, and mister brightness. The best mathematicians
in the world, and the guys that solved the whole
(02:34):
Enigma thing were Polish, and I think that's enough set
about the Poles and intelligence. The best truck of the
war was a product of Detroit and General Motors and others,
the two and a half ton all purpose truck, or
deuce and a half as it was called. And they
(02:55):
were manufactured in the tens of thousands and gotten over
to the European theater and gave the Allies and the
campaign of Northwest Europe in nineteen forty four forty five
and unprecedented mobility, never before equaled, never since matched. So
great was the mobility of the American army in Northwest
Europe that in the crisis of December nineteen forty four
(03:15):
Eisenow was able to move six hundred thousand men in
two weeks. Mm that's way better than what Schwarzlov had
is his capability in the desert.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
At the beginning of the nineteen nineties. Another w uh.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
American vehicle that was widely loved was the jeep that
was built by h three or four different manufacturers, all
using the same blueprints, but developed in the United States
and the envy of the world and remains, of course,
uh the standard around the world for a light utility
(03:53):
truck for military purposes. It can get over any kind
of terrain, extraordinarily reliable, very simple design and easy to fix.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Terrible to ride in, but they got you to where
you wanted to go.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
It's interesting here that the land of Mercedes and BMW
and Volkswagen got out produced by the land of Ford,
Chrysler and Chevrolet.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
We outproduced them, we out designed him better vehicles and
way more of them.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Was one of the triumphs of American industry. The most
unusual transportation vehicle of the war was the duck. These
were amphibious vehicles that could go up to ten knots
in the water and were much more reliable.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Than swimming tanks. I mean, these these babies really could.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Swim and could handle even a moderate open channel c
and were fabulous for crossing rivers. And then we're just
a dream to ride on cause they had great, big
rubber wheels once they got on shore, and they could
go down an Audubon at a top speed of fifty
miles an hour with a very soft, cushy ride for
(05:08):
up to a squad of men on each duck, or
they could carry ammunition or other things.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Oh on weapons. I forgot to talk about grenades.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
You know, when you're setting up that defensive position, you're
also to make sure all those infantry have plenty of grenades.
The American fragmentation grenade was probably the best grenade of
the war, although it had severe limitations, of which the
most obvious was you couldn't throw it very far because
it was so heavy. It damned your tear your socket
out when you were throwing it. It was a lot heavier
(05:43):
than a baseball, and it was about not much bigger
in baseball, and Americans tended to want to throw it
like a baseball, and they'd throw their socket out very.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Often in doing it.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
And even that, you couldn't throw the darn thing very
far because it was so heavy.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
The German potato mashers it was called.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
You all know what those looked like, the round canister
with the explosive and the steel a round it. And
then the long wouldn't handle and you could take those
babies and really toss them a long way. The problem
was that if it landed over there and two gis
are standing here talking and they see a potato masher
land over there.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
They saw a fragmentation grenade and an American fragmentation grain over there. Whoo,
they're on the ground.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
They see a potato masher over there, and they just
watch an interest. It's really not much more explosive power
than a firecracker, so you could throw it a long way,
but it didn't do an awful lot of damage before
leaving the land. Weapons of war one other one poison gas.
The one weapon that was not used in the Second
World War. There had been agreements signed between the wars,
(06:44):
really the first time that sovereign nations had agreed to
limit their ability to kill other people in a war situation,
agreements to ban poison gas. It was very much an
open question, however, as World War Two began whether this.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Agreement would be adhered to. It was in general.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
I think the reason that it was is, at first
of all, poison gas isn't all that good a weapon,
At least the poison gases that were available in the
First World War. It didn't have a long lasting effect.
A man rec recovery was fairly quick from uh poison gas.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
It had the.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Very big disadvantage that it depended upon the wind. Yeah,
you could fire poison gas shells and they would go off,
But then obviously your weapon, which is the gas itself,
is dependent on the wind. If the wind dies or
if the wind shifts, and it very often happens the
wind would shift, you fire off some poison gas and
it comes back in the face of your guys because
(07:50):
of a that shift in the wind. That's one reason
poison gas wasn't used in the Second World War. But
I think the bigger reason was h the experience of
the combatants of the First World War with gas. After
what I've just said, let me add to this, it's
terribly just an awful thing for human being to be gassed.
And almost everybody was in the First World War was
(08:10):
and they all had an agree, including and probably most
important of all Itdolf Hitler, and they all of them
this is an inhumane weapon.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
And if Hitler weren't going to use it, nobody else
was going to use it.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Everybody kept up their stockpiles, everybody was ready to retaliate
if the other guy began using poison gas.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
But if it was going to be used, it was
going to be.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
The Germans who would do it, and they didn't, and
apparently the reason is because Hitler himself had the experience
of being gassed.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
And you've been listening to Steven Ambrose talking about the
weapons of World War two. Go to our American Stories
and type in Steven Ambrose and you can hear more
of these stories about the weapons of World War two
as well, my goodness, on the transportation front, the deuce
and a half, of course, the cheap and of course
the way we produced planes will run, just knocking out
a plane every minute, and not just any plane, but
(09:00):
the B twenty four Liberator. And of course then his
discussion about poisoned gas and how even Hitler thought this
was unbecoming and just a devastating weapon of war. Thankfully
and luckily no one used this weapon of war in
World War two. Stephen Ambrose on the weapons of war
here on our American Stories
And we continue with our American Stories. Stephen Ambrose was
one of America's leading biographers and historians. He passed in
two thousand and two, but his epic storytelling accounts can
now be heard here in our American Stories, thanks to
those who run as estate. Our next story is a
story of weapons used in World War Two. Here is
(00:33):
Steven Ambrose.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Transport in the Second World War again utilized nothing really
new trucks were used.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Their cars.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Trucks have been used in the First World War, especially
at the Battle of Verdunn by Marshall pay Ten. The
railroad was extensively used in the Second World War. It
had also been extensively used in the First World War.
Much of the Second World War transport in the European
armies the Red Army in the German Army.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Was horse drawn.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Hitler tried to give the world the impression that he
had the most modern army, and and in a lot
of ways he did, but it wasn't as modern as
he liked to pretend that it was, and the German
p propaganda portrayed as being uh For all the pictures
that Gebels released of German tanks rolling down French roads,
and German trucks following behind. For the most part, the
(01:26):
logistical supply system of the German Army was rail drawn
from depot to depot, and then from the depots out
into the field was horse drawn.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
That was even more the case with the Red.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Army, which in fact used horses as extensively in the
Second World War as it had in the First. Although
in the First World War there were still some cavalry
units that were attempting to join the battle in the
old fashioned way with the drawn saber and the charge,
and that came to a quick end even in the
First World War and was never used in the Second
(01:59):
World War.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
And it was a bit of side.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
There's a canard here that is repeated all over the
place and is not true.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
It is that the.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Poles in nineteen thirty nine tried to fight German armor
with cavalry charging tanks.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
It's a story told.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
To illustrate I guess how poorly prepared the Poles were,
and then it's very often told by people who want
to make you think that the Poles aren't very bright.
There was no Polish cavalry attack of German tanks in
the Second World War, and mister brightness. The best mathematicians
in the world, and the guys that solved the whole
(02:34):
Enigma thing were Polish, and I think that's enough set
about the Poles and intelligence. The best truck of the
war was a product of Detroit and General Motors and others,
the two and a half ton all purpose truck, or
deuce and a half as it was called. And they
(02:55):
were manufactured in the tens of thousands and gotten over
to the European theater and gave the Allies and the
campaign of Northwest Europe in nineteen forty four forty five
and unprecedented mobility, never before equaled, never since matched. So
great was the mobility of the American army in Northwest
Europe that in the crisis of December nineteen forty four
(03:15):
Eisenow was able to move six hundred thousand men in
two weeks. Mm that's way better than what Schwarzlov had
is his capability in the desert.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
At the beginning of the nineteen nineties. Another w uh.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
American vehicle that was widely loved was the jeep that
was built by h three or four different manufacturers, all
using the same blueprints, but developed in the United States
and the envy of the world and remains, of course,
uh the standard around the world for a light utility
(03:53):
truck for military purposes. It can get over any kind
of terrain, extraordinarily reliable, very simple design and easy to fix.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Terrible to ride in, but they got you to where
you wanted to go.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
It's interesting here that the land of Mercedes and BMW
and Volkswagen got out produced by the land of Ford,
Chrysler and Chevrolet.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
We outproduced them, we out designed him better vehicles and
way more of them.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Was one of the triumphs of American industry. The most
unusual transportation vehicle of the war was the duck. These
were amphibious vehicles that could go up to ten knots
in the water and were much more reliable.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Than swimming tanks. I mean, these these babies really could.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Swim and could handle even a moderate open channel c
and were fabulous for crossing rivers. And then we're just
a dream to ride on cause they had great, big
rubber wheels once they got on shore, and they could
go down an Audubon at a top speed of fifty
miles an hour with a very soft, cushy ride for
(05:08):
up to a squad of men on each duck, or
they could carry ammunition or other things.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Oh on weapons. I forgot to talk about grenades.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
You know, when you're setting up that defensive position, you're
also to make sure all those infantry have plenty of grenades.
The American fragmentation grenade was probably the best grenade of
the war, although it had severe limitations, of which the
most obvious was you couldn't throw it very far because
it was so heavy. It damned your tear your socket
out when you were throwing it. It was a lot heavier
(05:43):
than a baseball, and it was about not much bigger
in baseball, and Americans tended to want to throw it
like a baseball, and they'd throw their socket out very.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Often in doing it.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
And even that, you couldn't throw the darn thing very
far because it was so heavy.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
The German potato mashers it was called.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
You all know what those looked like, the round canister
with the explosive and the steel a round it. And
then the long wouldn't handle and you could take those
babies and really toss them a long way. The problem
was that if it landed over there and two gis
are standing here talking and they see a potato masher
land over there.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
They saw a fragmentation grenade and an American fragmentation grain over there. Whoo,
they're on the ground.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
They see a potato masher over there, and they just
watch an interest. It's really not much more explosive power
than a firecracker, so you could throw it a long way,
but it didn't do an awful lot of damage before
leaving the land. Weapons of war one other one poison gas.
The one weapon that was not used in the Second
World War. There had been agreements signed between the wars,
(06:44):
really the first time that sovereign nations had agreed to
limit their ability to kill other people in a war situation,
agreements to ban poison gas. It was very much an
open question, however, as World War Two began whether this.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Agreement would be adhered to. It was in general.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
I think the reason that it was is, at first
of all, poison gas isn't all that good a weapon,
At least the poison gases that were available in the
First World War. It didn't have a long lasting effect.
A man rec recovery was fairly quick from uh poison gas.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
It had the.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Very big disadvantage that it depended upon the wind. Yeah,
you could fire poison gas shells and they would go off,
But then obviously your weapon, which is the gas itself,
is dependent on the wind. If the wind dies or
if the wind shifts, and it very often happens the
wind would shift, you fire off some poison gas and
it comes back in the face of your guys because
(07:50):
of a that shift in the wind. That's one reason
poison gas wasn't used in the Second World War. But
I think the bigger reason was h the experience of
the combatants of the First World War with gas. After
what I've just said, let me add to this, it's
terribly just an awful thing for human being to be gassed.
And almost everybody was in the First World War was
(08:10):
and they all had an agree, including and probably most
important of all Itdolf Hitler, and they all of them
this is an inhumane weapon.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
And if Hitler weren't going to use it, nobody else
was going to use it.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Everybody kept up their stockpiles, everybody was ready to retaliate
if the other guy began using poison gas.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
But if it was going to be used, it was
going to be.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
The Germans who would do it, and they didn't, and
apparently the reason is because Hitler himself had the experience
of being gassed.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
And you've been listening to Steven Ambrose talking about the
weapons of World War two. Go to our American Stories
and type in Steven Ambrose and you can hear more
of these stories about the weapons of World War two
as well, my goodness, on the transportation front, the deuce
and a half, of course, the cheap and of course
the way we produced planes will run, just knocking out
a plane every minute, and not just any plane, but
(09:00):
the B twenty four Liberator. And of course then his
discussion about poisoned gas and how even Hitler thought this
was unbecoming and just a devastating weapon of war. Thankfully
and luckily no one used this weapon of war in
World War two. Stephen Ambrose on the weapons of war
here on our American Stories
Host
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