History of the Second World War

History of the Second World War

History of the Second World War is a weekly podcast which will cover World War 2, beginning with the tumultuous years after the First World War, continuing into the descent into war during the 1930s, through the war years, and then into the post war aftermath.

Episodes

273: War at Sea '41 Pt. 11 - The End of the Mighty Hood

September 2, 2026 • 24 mins
The Battle of the Denmark Strait opened with British fire directed at the wrong German ship before Bismarck and Prinz Eugen concentrated their guns on Hood. This episode follows Hood’s catastrophic destruction, Prince of Wales’s withdrawal, the damage inflicted on Bismarck, and Admiral Lütjens’s decision to abandon the commerce-raiding mission and make for France while the Royal Navy remained in pursuit. Credit L...
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272: War at Sea '41 Pt. 10 - On the Eve of Battle

August 26, 2026 • 25 mins
As Hood and Prince of Wales raced toward Bismarck and Prinz Eugen, worsening weather, uncertain contact reports, and the limitations of Hood’s armor shaped Admiral Holland’s plan of attack. This episode follows the tense final hours before the Battle of the Denmark Strait, from preparations aboard all four ships to the identification error that sent the British guns toward the wrong target as the order to open fire was ...
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271: War at Sea '41 Pt. 9 - Found and Followed

August 19, 2026 • 22 mins
As Bismarck and Prinz Eugen entered the Denmark Strait, the cruisers Suffolk and Norfolk made contact and began the difficult task of shadowing them through fog, ice, and dangerous proximity to the German guns. This episode follows the first exchanges of the pursuit, the radar limitations confronting both sides, and the Royal Navy’s race to position its forces for the battle ahead. Credit Logo Image: https://www.flickr.com...
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270: War at Sea '41 Pt. 8 - The Operation Begins

August 14, 2026 • 27 mins
As Bismarck and Prinz Eugen departed for the Atlantic, British reconnaissance exposed their presence in Norway and set the Royal Navy’s response in motion. This episode follows the German ships through their final preparations and dash toward the Denmark Strait while examining the severe endurance constraints, aging warships, and untested crews that shaped Britain’s pursuit. Credit Logo Image: ⁠⁠https://www.flickr.co...
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269: War at Sea '41 Pt. 7 - This Seems Risky

August 6, 2026 • 24 mins
In May 1941, the German battleship Bismarck prepared for its first and only wartime cruise into the Atlantic. This episode examines the strategic pressures behind Operation Rheinübung, the compromises that left Bismarck and Prinz Eugen without the support originally envisioned, and Admiral Günther Lütjens’s growing concern that the mission placed Germany’s most powerful warship at unacceptable risk. "One scam can c...
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Listener Questions Pt. 6

August 4, 2026 • 24 mins
Geography, German Success in Russia, Economies, and much more in this listener question episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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268: War at Sea '41 Pt. 6 - Aces Down

July 29, 2026 • 26 mins
This episode follows the Battle of the Atlantic through the costly weeks of March 1941, when Germany lost three of its most celebrated U-boat commanders: Günther Prien, Joachim Schepke, and Otto Kretschmer. It examines the expanding British convoy-escort system, the battle surrounding convoy HX-112, and the decisions that pushed Dönitz to disperse his boats farther west and toward West Africa. Those losses marked the end of one pha...
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267: War at Sea '41 Pt. 5 - The Undersea Hunters

July 23, 2026 • 27 mins
This episode shifts the focus of the naval war from German surface raiders to the U-boats, tracing why they became the central German weapon in the Battle of the Atlantic and why there were still too few of them in late 1940 and early 1941. It covers the effect of French Atlantic bases, the construction of U-boat pens, cooperation with Fw-200 Condors, early combined attacks on convoys, and the contrasting struggles of British Coast...
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266: War at Sea '41 Pt. 4 - The End of Operation Berlin

July 17, 2026 • 24 mins
Operation Berlin reaches its conclusion as Scharnhorst and Gneisenau continue their Atlantic cruise, repeatedly finding merchant shipping but also repeatedly being checked by the presence of British battleships. This episode follows Lütjens through further searches, missed opportunities, encounters with Malaya and Rodney, and the final run into Brest, before turning to the RAF attacks that badly damaged Gneisenau and disrupted the ...
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265: War at Sea '41 Pt. 3 - Operation Berlin

July 13, 2026 • 24 mins
In early 1941, the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau set out on Operation Berlin, an attempt to break into the Atlantic and strike at Britain's convoy lifeline. This episode follows Admiral Günther Lütjens as he weighs weather, fuel, British patrols, and strict orders against the promise of a major commerce-raiding success, while also examining how the absence of German carrier aviation limited what the surface fleet cou...
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Listener Question Pt. 5

July 2, 2026 • 23 mins
Start off this one with a few quick hitters, then a question that takes 15 minutes to answer. Allied invasion of France in 1942? That Churchill guy you may have heard of? How did occupied economies work? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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264: War at Sea '41 Pt. 2 - Cruisers Attack

July 1, 2026 • 24 mins
This episode examines Germany's auxiliary cruisers and the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper as they carried the commerce war into distant shipping lanes during 1940 and early 1941. It follows the disguised merchant raiders that forced the Royal Navy to disperse its strength around the globe, then traces the Hipper's design limitations, encounters with convoys WS-5A and SLS-64, and repeated mechanical setbacks. Together, their operation...
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263: War At Sea '41 Pt. 1 - The Surface Raiders

June 25, 2026 • 25 mins
This episode begins a new look at the German surface raiding campaign of late 1940 and early 1941, when the Kriegsmarine tried to use cruisers and battleships to threaten Britain's Atlantic lifelines. We trace how the fall of France transformed Germany's naval options, why ports like Brest and St. Nazaire mattered, how intelligence shaped the hunt on both sides, and how the Admiral Scheer's attack on Convoy HX-84 forced the Royal N...
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262: Crete Pt. 7 - Another Defeat; Another Victory

June 17, 2026 • 25 mins
The evacuation from Crete reaches its final stage as British, Commonwealth, and Greek forces try to escape through Sphakia while others are left behind at Rethymno and across the island. This episode follows the difficult choices made by commanders and naval crews, the losses suffered by the Royal Navy, the surrender and occupation that followed, and the way the defeat shaped later judgments of Freyberg, Churchill, and the battle i...
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261: Crete Pt. 6 - Stick It Out

June 11, 2026 • 22 mins
The battle for Crete shifts toward evacuation as the Royal Navy absorbs severe losses while trying to prevent German reinforcements from reaching the island by sea. This episode follows the aftermath of the disastrous naval fighting around May 22, Cunningham's determination to keep supporting the army, the final British naval operations around Crete, and the beginning of the withdrawal toward Sphakia and Heraklion under relentless ...
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260: Crete Pt. 5 - Failed Counterattacks

June 3, 2026 • 20 mins
The Royal Navy's success in turning back the German invasion convoys in the waters north of Crete on the night of May 21st removed the threat of a seaborne landing, but it could not undo the damage done by Commander Freyberg's obsession with that very threat. This episode examines how Freyberg's misreading of Ultra intelligence about the 5th Mountain Division led him to hoard troops along the coast and withhold artillery from targe...
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Listener Questions Pt. 4

May 31, 2026 • 24 mins
War Aims and Strategic Bombing History of the Second World War is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠megaphone.f⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠m Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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259: Crete Pt. 4 - Naval Victory, Naval Disaster

May 27, 2026 • 25 mins
As the first day of the German invasion of Crete drew to a close on May 20th, 1941, neither side held the clear advantage they had hoped for — the Germans had failed to secure their primary objectives, while the British commander General Freyberg struggled with poor communications and an overriding fear of a seaborne invasion that would shape his decisions in the days ahead. This episode examines the Royal Navy's critical rol...
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258: Crete Pt. 3 - May 20th a Day of Failures

May 20, 2026 • 28 mins
The first day of the German airborne invasion of Crete, May 20th, 1941, saw paratroopers drop not only around the critical airfield at Maleme but across three other sectors of the island. Near Chania, German forces landing in Prison Valley were held in check by New Zealand and Greek troops under Colonel Kippenberger, while the poorly armed 8th Greek Regiment stopped their attackers and then re-equipped itself with captured German w...
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257: Crete Pt. 2 - May 20th at Maleme

May 7, 2026 • 24 mins
At dawn on May 20, 1941, the German airborne assault on Crete began — the largest parachute operation in history to that point. This episode covers the opening day of the battle at Maleme, where a combination of German intelligence failures and disastrous British command decisions would set the course of the entire campaign. Despite heavy losses among the German paratroopers — many cut down in mid-air or the moment they...
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