The Danger Zone (DZ)

From the time of making the decision to invade Greece, military contingents, and their entourages from all over the Persian Empire descended on the capital, Susa. Herodotus tells us that this was made up of 2,641,610 fighting men. He says that he conservatively allows for an equal number of servants, camp followers, crews of provision boats and other craft that sailed with the expedition. So no less than 5,283,220 men and women des...

We didn’t start the fire. It was always burning since the world’s been turning. We didn’t light it but we tried to fight it. Hear all about our fight in the Danger Zone - amazing stories, incredible music about military history. I’m Paul. Sit back and relax – if you can. If you’re driving don’t even think of changing stations – you know how dangerous it is to take your hands off the wheel and your eyes off the road.

Tag words: Xerx...

In 480 BC a battle took place at the Thermopylae Pass, essentially between 300 Spartan warriors and the massive army of Xerxes, the mighty ruler of the mightiest empire that the world had ever seen, with 1,700,000 men at his command, so we are told. Although at another point we’re told that his forces numbered 5,283,220 men - pretty precise eh!

Now you may think that ancient history isn’t your thing. Modern warfare is what really g...

For the past few parts I’ve been like a dog with a bone. Looking at animals in war. In this programme I’m going to tell you about atomic bats, under cover pussies, tank destroying dogs and fighting chickens.

Tag words: Smoky the Yorkshire Terrier; General Douglas MacArthur; I Shall Return; the bat bomb; Lyle S. Adams; National Research Defense Committee; Donald Griffin; Project X-Ray; CIA; Project Acoustic Kitty; Great Patriotic Wa...

Animal heroes in war. Today I’m going to talk about a great Australian dog, a navy cat, parachuting turkeys, flaming pigs and did we do something disgusting to the horses that did so much for us in World War I and a whole lot more? Hang around for a surprising answer.

Tag words: animal heroes; Avenue of Remembrance Yungaburra; Merlin; Razz; Andy; Nova; Herbie; Corporal Mark Donaldson; Taliban; Quake; Lieutenant General Harry Chauve...

Animals make great friends – but in wartime, they can and do save lives. Animal heroism even has it’s own Victoria Cross – so let’s look at what animals, including slugs, have done for us in war. And let’s look at the Victoria Cross for animals.

Tag words: Animals; Victoria Cross; Red Baron; Charles Schulz; Snoopy; Manfred von Richthofen; Gunner Cedric Popkin; Dickin Medal; For Gallantry; We Also Serve; Australian Defence Forces; C...

The African campaign’s one of the most exciting of World War 2, even though it was just a side-show. It was on a small scale. So it’s easy to know the geography and the personalities. When you get to Russia the numbers and distances are so vast that it is nowhere as easy to get your heads around.

In Rommel’s diary, of his experiences in World War 2, he gave his account about why he had failed in North Africa, particularly at El Ala...

Do you want to hear about the time when Adolf Hitler, the Führer, apologised to one of his generals?

Tag words: Paul Carell; Foxes of the Desert; Field Marshall Erwin Rommel; Battle of El Alamein; Adolf Hitler; Führer; Panzerarmee Afrika; Field-Marshal Kesselring; James S Corum; Wolfram von Richthofen; Malta; Tobruk; Benghazi; Crete; General Auchinleck; Afrika Korps; General Jodl; Wolfsschanze; Winston Churchill; North African Camp...

Now I’ll tell you something that you might find hard to believe. Anti-Italian prejudices about their fighting spirit in North Africa abound, for people that know about the North African campaign, but it was the dogged fighting determination of the Ariete Division in early November 1942 that saved the Panzerarmee Africa possibly from annihilation.

And this is a good time to tell you about Hitler’s stand fast order of 3 November – wh...

By the time of the battles around El Alamein, July to August 1942, the best and newest Italian tanks, were woefully under gunned and under armoured compared to the new American made tanks that the British were getting. The Lee/Grant tanks first came into service in May 1942. By the time of the British Alamein offensive, those brand new 300 Sherman tanks that Marshall and Roosevelt had despatched to the Middle East by fast convoy, a...

The fall of Tobruk to Rommel’s Panzerarmee Afrika was Rommel’s last absolute victory of the war. Certainly he would have great success in smashing the green American army at Kasserine Pass in 1943, but the split German command in Tunisia denied Rommel command of the 10th Panzer Division which might have allowed him to have delivered a major victory to the Axis. 

So Tobruk was Rommel’s last undisputed victory. The fruits of that vic...

The big question now was, could Panzerarmée Afrika take Tobruk, that was something they had failed to do in 1941, and then, given its perilous petrol supplies and the distances that had to be covered to reach the Nile delta, how was it going to be possible to seize Cairo, Alexandria and the Suez Canal?

From May 1942 things changed dramatically, and irreversibly, for the Italian armoured divisions in supporting Rommel. Their M13, an...

Rommel was now ready to launch his 1942 summer offensive.

The climax of the Third Reich was rapidly approaching. The Germans were fighting in the city of Stalingrad, its fall couldn’t be too far off. The Germans were advancing in the Caucasus with the Russian oil fields within reach. Maybe the German advance could continue through the Caucasus and link up with Rommel. He was about to unleash his troops but in a drive that would, in...

Italian battle honours in World War II. A contradiction in terms? Italian bravery. Italian tanks had 6 gears – 1 forward and 5 reverse. The Italian battle flag - a white lion rampant on a white background.

But in this programme and a few of the following maybe, like me, you’re going to have second thoughts about these jokes that were and still are widely made at the expense of the Italians. In English speaking countries their story...

When I grew up in the 50s and 60s, and even today, the contribution of the Italian armed forces in North Africa were/are the butt of many jokes. Nothing’s changed today as far as I can tell. But let me surprise you now with some of the remarkable feats of arms performed by the Italian armoured divisions serving under Rommel.

Although it’s not part of the story of the supply nightmare that confronted the Axis forces in North Africa,...

Rommel’s advance into Cyrenaica again in 1942 had once more stretched the ability of his quartermasters to keep him supplied.

Martin Creveld, in his book, Supplying War says:

On 9 February, 100 per cent supplies could no longer be guaranteed to the troops, and by the next day tactical developments had overtaken logistical possibilities to such an extent that, because of the enormous distances and chronic lack of vehicles, no more a...

Rommel’s silent preparations for an offensive had again caught the British completely by surprise. His new attack began on 21 January 1942.

David Irving, in his book, The Trail of the Fox wrote:

His enemy lacked battle experience. Rommel outwitted, outmaneuvered and outgunned them. "Our opponents have taken to their heels as if stung by a tarantula," he said in triumph. And Armbruster echoed this: "The Tommies don...

An Italian convoy to Tripoli to supply Rommel consisted of four merchant ships, escorted by four battleships, three light cruisers and twenty destroyers. That was 100,000 tons of warships escorting 20,000 tons of merchant ships. That’s what Rommel’s shipping supply lifeline needed. You have to ask the question: Was this sort of convoy escort sustainable?

Tag words: Field Marshall Erwin Rommel; Deutsche Afrika Korp; Ian Walker; Iron...