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The American Revolution (Part III)
The third and final part of the American Revolution series wraps up everything discussed so far. This episode presents information in a way that helps to enlighten anyone with the importance and the lasting impact of the revolution in creating the America we know today. Don't forget to "subscribe" to the show on Apple Podcasts and leave a review! You can check out our website for all the latest! Send your complaints, praise and general tom-foolery to contact@themondayamerican.com Part Three In this third episode of the series the action picks up right where part two left off just before the battle of New York was to begin and George Washington would be pulled to the brink of disaster only to find a way to persevere... The Battle of New York If the battle of Dorchester Heights was Washington's first display of brilliance as a commander in chief, the Battle of New York and the ensuing winter at Valley Forge certainly would knock his pride down a few pegs. This was the largest battle fought for the duration of the entire war and easily Washington's worst display of strategic leadership while simultaneously shows one of the most miraculous strategic military maneuvers attempted to this day. After a successful siege against the British in Boston, Washington sent his army to New York City ready to defend the critical port city knowing the British already had an advantage in their Navy occupying the New York harbor and surrounding waters. There were several critical disadvantages that the Continental Army faced in New York that they didn't have to contend with during the Boston campaign. To begin, there were still citizens in the city, in Boston it was largely empty. Relatively speaking, the city of New York was brimming with people, and those people were largely loyal to the British Crown. Washington had ample intelligence for the Boston campaign; here he was left desperately wanting. Washington's Historic Crossing of the Delaware River General Washington had been considering some sort of bold move since arriving in Pennsylvania. With the arrival of Sullivan's and Gates' forces and the influx of militia companies, he felt the time was finally right for some sort of action. He first considered an attack on the southernmost British positions near Mount Holly, where a militia force had gathered. He sent his adjutant, Joseph Reed, to meet with Samuel Griffin, the militia commander. Reed arrived in Mount Holly on December 22, found Griffin to be ill, and his men in relatively poor condition, but willing to make some sort of diversion. (This they did with the Battle of Iron Works Hill the next day, drawing the Hessians at Bordentown far enough south that they would be unable to come to the assistance of the Trenton garrison.) The intelligence gathered by Reed and others led Washington to abandon the idea of attacking at Mount Holly, preferring instead to target the Trenton garrison. He announced this decision to his staff on December 23, saying the attack would take place just before daybreak on December 26. Washington's final plan was for three crossings, with his troops, the largest contingent, to lead the attack on Trenton. A second column under Lieutenant Colonel John Cadwalader was to cross at Dunk's Ferry, near Bristol, Pennsylvania, and create a diversion to the south. A third column under Brigadier General James Ewing was to cross at Trenton Ferry and hold the bridge across the Assunpink Creek, just south of Trenton, in order to prevent the enemy's escape by that route. Once Trenton was secure, the combined army would move against the British posts in Princeton and New Brunswick. A fourth crossing, by men provided by General Israel Putnam to assist Cadwalader, was dropped after Putnam indicated he did not have enough men fit for the operation. Preparations for the attack began on December 23. On December 24, the boats used to bring the army across the Delaware from New Jersey were brought down from Malta Island near New Hope. They were hidden behind Taylor Island at McKonkey's Ferry, Washington's planned crossing site; security was tightened at the crossing. A final planning meeting took place that day, with all of the general officers present. General orders were issued by Washington on December 25 outlining plans for the operation. The morale of the Patriot forces was boosted on December 19 when a new pamphlet titled The American Crisis written by Thomas Paine, the author of Common Sense, was published. These are the times that try men's souls; the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. Within a day of its publication in Philadelphia, General Washington ordered it to be read to all of his troops. It encouraged the soldiers and improved their tolerance of their difficult conditions. On the morning of December 25, Washington ordered his army to prepare three days' food, and issued orders that every soldier be outfitted with fresh flints for their muskets. He was also somewhat worried by intelligence reports that the British were planning their own crossing once the Delaware was frozen over. At 4 pm Washington's army turned out for its evening parade, where the troops were issued ammunition, and even the officers and musicians were ordered to carry muskets. They were told that they were departing on a secret mission. Marching eight abreast in close formations, and ordered to be as quiet as possible, they left the camp for McKonkey's Ferry. Washington's plan required the crossing to begin as soon as it was dark enough to conceal their movements on the river, but most of the troops did not reach the crossing point until about 6 pm, about ninety minutes after sunset. The weather got progressively worse, turning from drizzle to rain to sleet and snow. "It blew a hurricane," recalled one soldier. Washington had given charge of the crossing logistics to his chief of artillery, the portly Henry Knox. In addition to the crossing of large numbers of troops (most of whom could not swim), he had to safely transport horses and eighteen pieces of artillery over the river. Knox wrote that the crossing was accomplished "with almost infinite difficulty", and that its most significant danger was "floating ice in the river". One observer noted that the whole operation might well have failed "but for the stentorian lungs of Colonel Knox".[29] Ice had formed in the river due to the Little Ice Age. Washington was among the first of the troops to cross, going with Virginia troops led by General Adam Stephen. These troops formed a sentry line around the landing area in New Jersey, with strict instructions that no one was to pass through. The password was "Victory or Death". The rest of the army crossed without significant incident, although a few men, including Delaware's Colonel John Haslet, fell into the water. The amount of ice on the river prevented the artillery from finishing the crossing until 3 am on December 26. The troops were not ready to march until 4 am. The two other crossings fared less well. The treacherous weather and ice jams on the river stopped General Ewing from even attempting a crossing below Trenton. Colonel Cadwalader crossed a significant portion of his men to New Jersey, but when he found that he could not get his artillery across the river he recalled his men from New Jersey. When he received word about Washington's victory, he crossed his men over again but retreated when he found out that Washington had not stayed in New Jersey. On the morning of December 26, as soon as the army was ready, Washington ordered it split into two columns, one under the command of himself and General Greene, the second under General Sullivan. The Sullivan column would take River Road from Bear Tavern to Trenton while Washington's column would follow Pennington Road, a parallel route that lay a few miles inland from the river. Only three Americans were killed and six wounded, while 22 Hessians were killed with 98 wounded. The Americans captured 1,000 prisoners and seized muskets, powder, and artillery. This was the basis for the turn of the entire Revolutionary War and the founding of our country. What follows is a bitter, bitter winter for the American Regular army, they hunker down at Valley Forge where thousands died. But because of the renewed confidence they had in their leader, George Washington, they stayed by his side and shared his vision of the war. They were able to overcome. A Long, Bitter Winter Washington and his troops had to retreat away to Valley Forge, the locale for the most horrific winter an army has had to endure in history. The American public and Congress began to criticize Washington for his inability to advance the war effort, because of the terrible conditions of the army during the winter of 1777. The army was undernourished and poorly clothed, living in crowded, damp quarters, and ravaged by sickness and disease. Typhoid, typhus, smallpox, dysentery, and pneumonia were among the numerous diseases that thrived in the camp during that winter. These diseases contributed to the death of 2,500 soldiers by the end of the winter, along with malnutrition and exposure to the freezing temperatures and snow. Governor Morris of New York later stated that the Continentals were a "skeleton of an army...in a naked, starving condition, out of health, out of spirits." Soldiers deserted in "astonishing great numbers" as hardships at camp overcame their motivation and dedication to fight. General James Mitchell Varnum warned that the desperate lack of supplies would "force the army to mutiny." Washington himself was aware of an increasing impatience and criticism of his leadership. A few soldiers wanted to replace him with General Horatio Gates, who had won a decisive victory in the Battles of Saratoga. Some members of the Continental Congress complained that Washington had left the surrounding countryside unprotected by moving into the isolated area of Valley Forge. Washington replied furiously: I can assure those Gentlemen that it is a much easier and less distressing thing to draw remonstrances in a comfortable room by a good fire side than to occupy a cold bleak hill and sleep under frost and Snow without Clothes or Blankets; however, although they seem to have little feeling for the naked, and distressed Soldier, I feel superabundantly for them, and from my Soul pity those miseries, [which], it is neither in my power to relieve or prevent. Washington could not have launched any campaigns during the hardship at Valley Forge, yet anti-Washington movements still arose, led by Brigadier General Thomas Conway. These soldiers worked "behind the curtains" to degrade Washington's reputation in hopes that this would enable Horatio Gates to replace him as the commander of the Continental Army. This scheme is known today as the Conway Cabal. Washington was aware of them, and addressed them by saying: Whenever the public gets dissatisfied with my service... I shall quit the helm... and retire to a private life. This silenced his main critics and easily renewed his authority as the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army; his authority was never critically challenged for the rest of the decade. As far as I'm concerned, this is one of the most incredible things about any American in our country's history. That Washington was able to not only silence his critics, but to put forth the notion that once the general public no longer wants him at the helm he will quit and retire to a private life. If we had more of that attitude in our present political climate this country would be a much, much better place.
Works Cited:
Kierner, Cynthia A. Revolutionary America, 1750-1815: sources and interpretation. Upper Saddle River (N.J.): Prentice Hall, 2003.
McCullough, David G. 1776. New York: Simon Schuster Paperbacks, 2006.
Fischer, David Hackett. Washingtons Crossing. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Chernow, Ron. Washington: A life. New York: Penguin Books, 2010.
The American Revolution (Part II) The Second of three parts devoted to the American Revolution. We go through the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Second Continental Congress' decision to declare their independence from Great Britain, and their decision to appoint George Washington as the General of the first Continental Army. An episode packed with a story of struggle, excitement and fear that is ultimately the beginning of American History. Don't forget to "subscribe" to the show on Apple Podcasts and leave a review! You can check out our website for all the latest! Intro Before the Second Continental Congress made the ultimate decision to draft the Declaration of Independence, penned by Thomas Jefferson, the revolutionary movement had yet to achieve a single unified vision. Many of the state representatives at that congressional meeting were still pushing for British loyalty after the war should they be able to achieve their goal of true representation. They saw the war as a way to let Great Britain and Parliament know the seriousness with which they viewed their purpose. Ultimately on July 2nd, 1776 the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America was voted on and approved. Two days later it was signed and ratified and the United States of America was officially a sovereign nation; it was anyone's best guess as to how long that union of states would last. Before the congressional meeting in Philadelphia, PA drafted, signed, and ratified that monumental document, the Battle of Bunker Hill gave colonial Americans a glimpse of hope that they would be able to use their untrained, unexperienced and unorganized militias to stave off the British invaders. The Battle of Bunker Hill The Battle of Bunker Hill occurred one year before the Declaration of Independence was signed. It was the first real engagement of American militia as American soldiers against the British Regular Army. The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the early stages of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peripherally involved in the battle. It was the original objective of both the colonial and British troops, though the majority of combat took place on the adjacent Breed's Hill.On June 13, 1775, the leaders of the colonial forces besieging Boston learned that the British were planning to send troops out from the city to fortify the unoccupied hills surrounding the city, which would give them control of Boston Harbor. In response, 1,200 colonial troops under the command of William Prescott stealthily occupied Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill. During the night, the colonists constructed a strong redoubt on Breed's Hill, as well as smaller fortified lines across the Charlestown Peninsula.By daybreak of June 17, the British became aware of the presence of colonial forces on the Peninsula and mounted an attack against them that day. Two assaults on the colonial positions were repulsed with significant British casualties; the third and final attack carried the redoubt after the defenders ran out of ammunition. The colonists retreated to Cambridge over Bunker Hill, leaving the British in control of the Peninsula.The battle was a tactical victory for the British, but it proved to be a sobering experience for them, involving many more casualties than the Americans had incurred, including a large number of officers. The battle had demonstrated that inexperienced militia were able to stand up to regular army troops in battle. Subsequently, the battle discouraged the British from any further frontal attacks against well defended front lines. American casualties were comparatively much fewer, although their losses included General Joseph Warren and Major Andrew McClary, the final casualty of the battle.The battle led the British to adopt a more cautious planning and maneuver execution in future engagements, which was evident in the subsequent New York and New Jersey campaign, and arguably helped rather than hindered the American forces. Their new approach to battle was actually giving the Americans greater opportunity to retreat if defeat was imminent. The costly engagement also convinced the British of the need to hire substantial numbers of foreign mercenaries to bolster their strength in the face of the new and formidable Continental Army. The Battle of New York and Washington's Growth The Battle of New York was a massive blow not only to the army under Washington's command, it was a blow to his mental fortification and resolve. The battle of New York began in August of 1776 and in terms of troop deployment it was the largest battle of the whole war. Most notably though it was a string of defeats, much like the battle of bunker hill, that saw the American army outgunned and outnumbered by a devestating margin. Somehow the American Regulars were able to quell their casualties to an unbelievably low amount given the potential they could have sustained. Much like the battle of Bunker Hill was able to create a cautious hesitancy in the leadership of the British Regulars, so too did the Battle for Brooklyn, the Battle for long Island or most known as the Battle for New York. George Washington is most known for his exceptional leadership in the Revolutionary War and from then as the first President of the United States of America. He was the kind of man with character that doesn't exist anymore; he declined what was essentially the coronation of the King of America and not only did he decline that when the people clamored for his third term, he explained to them why he must do that and what the whole war was faught for to begin with. What is lesser known about Washington is his string of failures in this battle that nearly broke his resolve, his fortitude, and the country. Without Washington the Revolution Dies George Washington was more crucial to the American "rebellion" or revolution, depending on which way you saw it at the time, than most people tend to realize. This was a man who embodied the revolution and in a way showed the American citizens to be what an American really looked like. Its important to look at who Washington was in order to understand how the country got its vision from his leadership style and his character. Washington was born in Virginia and lived the life of a farmer who was not very well educated, something he always was self-conscious of. He was a self educated man and strived to become a gentleman according to the books he was reading. He was a large physical presence as well as having a personality that could fill a room on its own. He was an excioptional horseman and Thomas Jefferson himself said he was the finest horseman on the planet at the time. This was something Washington, whether knowingly or not, used to propel his image as leader or commander in chief if you will. He was always pictured on top a horse with that type of heroic pose that you see in paintings, except that was how people saw him in real life. In one of the most exceptionally well written books describing Washington and his part of the war and revolution entirely, Washington's Crossing, the opening pages are dedicated to explaining his presence as he rode through Boston on horseback and how the people of the city saw him and were inspired just from the sight of him. He wasn't just a figure of the revolution, he was the soul of it. Works Cited: * Kierner, Cynthia A. Revolutionary America, 1750-1815: sources and interpretation. Upper Saddle River (N.J.): Prentice Hall, 2003. * McCullough, David G. 1776. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2006. * Fischer, David Hackett. Washingtons crossing. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
In the first of three episodes comprising a series devoted to The American Revolution, we discuss how we got to the point of all out war against the largest military power the world had seen so far. Who were these people that left Great Britain in search of entrepreneurial fortune and adventure in a brand new world? What made these colonists so angry that they decided their very own lives were worth less than their cause? Listen to part one and find out everything you didn't know about the American Revolution. Visit the Website for all the sources, show notes, merchandise and episodes! Don't forget to click "Subscribe" so you don't miss out on new episodes! We want to hear from you! Send an email to: contact@themondayamerican.com
A WAR AGAINST EVIL You're about to listen to the third and final part of a three part series covering World War II. If you'd like to get the full story, I'd recommend going back two episodes and getting the context before listening to this episode. If you're someone that can pick up in the middle of the story and not have a problem keeping it all straight, then by all means keep listening. In this episode we will wrap up the experience, if you even can "wrap up" something like World War II. We begin in the cold and bitter winter of 1944; this is Episode twelve, part three of the World War II series titled: A War Against Evil. I hope you enjoy. PRELUDE TO THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE When Allied forces began making their slow march towards Berlin they realized that this was not going to be a conflict that would end quickly. Shuttering visions of World War I were not far from the back of these people's minds to be sure. There were early predictions of making it back home as early as thanksgiving and Christmas; after the first few battles with the enemy the troops new those predictions of making it home in time to unwrap presents with loved ones were entirely wrong. As far as a broad overview of what was going on lets remember that this war was not just fought on one continent or region. The United States was jumping from island to island fighting a ferociously dug in Japanese defender, each Island tougher than the next as they made it closer to the Japanese mainland. The war that the American Marines were fighting, as far as they were concerned, was an entirely different war altogether. The differences between theaters are startling as well; if you listened to part one of this series you should remember the story of the Marine throwing pebbles into the skull of a dead Japanese soldier to pass the time; it was this gruesome immersion into human destruction that characterized the Pacific theater of war. I spent some time in the last episode talking about the D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy and the horrors of the paratroopers jumping in the night before. What is often overlooked is how the marines in the Pacific were going island to island and would make these landings sometimes monthly! The continual horrors that these men faced were being stuck on a ship that eventually felt like a prison while waiting on the next amphibious invasion to take place, and when they returned to that prison ship of theirs, they always returned without some of their friends who had left with them. I cannot imagine a more bitter hell than to constantly have the grueling fear of waiting on your death or waiting to go to the beach that would probably kill you; and these men were doing that over and over again. Two of the battles in the pacific that always captivate me personally are the Battle of Saipan and the Battle of Iwo Jima. The reason that the Battle of Saipan is so interesting to me is mainly just because I've been to Saipan and seen the crater holes in the walls of the old Japanese bunkers. When I was about 15-16 years old or so, or however old you are as you are about to be a Junior in High School, my dad lived in Tokyo and my sisters and I stayed with him out there for about a month during the summer before my Junior year. While we were there my dad wanted to get away for a week and we went to Saipan. It wasn't a very long flight and at that point I was just beginning to dive into reading on the Pacific theater of WWII. That week there was the most eye opening experience I might have ever had. I will never forget driving from the airport to our hotel and seeing U.S. Sherman Tanks still in the water that never made it to the beach, for on reason or another they were immobilized and never picked up but these things were in perfect condition. They were in water only about Tread deep and you could see the big white star on the side as you drove by and these things were all over! It was absolutely crazy for me to see that and think that about four guys either never made it out of that tank or they got out in a real hurry. It was just so cool to see that and those were just scattered all over the small island. I'll never forget one day we went to the base where the Japanese headquarters was for the defense of Saipan. It was like no one had touched a thing since the day the last Imperial Soldier left that base so many years ago. We walked around and I saw the hole that a direct hit created that was from a shell from a navy destroyer. I've read in books about that shot and it was surreal to touch the entry hole that the round created as it punctured through that coral wall. It made the war so real to me and it was almost as if I was going back into history and seeing everything I couldn't get enough of it. I'm saying this because I want everyone with any interest in this stuff or history at all, to go and see these things that are local to you, if you're in Belgium you can sit in a crater in the Ardennes forest where US Paratroopers dug in and endured hell on earth. If you're in South Carolina you can see some of the most important battle grounds for the Revolutionary war. You can walk where those men walked and died and it makes it such a different experience for you. One of those experiences for me was on Saipan at the edge of a cliff that went a couple hundred feet down and ended with crashing waves and jagged rocks. These were known by the locals as the Banzai cliffs. The unique part of the Battle of Saipan is that this was the first Island the U.S. Marines encountered where there were actual Japanese citizens on the island. This led to two main results: the island was more strongly defended and the defenders were much more voracious in their fighting than the marines had encountered thus far. I always pause when talking about this because there are so many humanity or morality questions that arise in WWII especially when discussing the Pacific Theater of the war. Let me just say quickly that we will discuss later the Atomic Bomb in its entirety so what I'm about to say is not said lightly and I am not saying it without remembering that event. The Japanese empire, its soldiers, generals, and politicians were some of the most brutal and despicable people who have ever walked this planet. What they did to their prisoners and their own people should never be forgotten and should never be repeated under any circumstances. I take a fairly harsh stance on this but I don't believe the acts that these people committed and imposed on other human beings should really ever be forgiven. That isn't truly the "Christian" way to view this or the mature way maybe; but when you've read and seen how evil these men forced upon the world and how willingly they were with their execution of it. I simply have trouble ever saying I can forgive what they did. Now that is not to say the current Japanese government or people should be responsible for the sins of their fathers and grandfathers, they are as innocent of those acts as I am of my own forefathers or ancestors who did things before me. I think really that the best way to try and grasp the sheer evil of that regime is to listen to Dan Carlin's Hardcore History episode titled "Logical Insanity"; its one of the most well done explanations of what was going on in this period of time that you'll ever find. This logical insanity of the time period is truly the best name to call what was essentially unfiltered chaos across the planet. All that said, we can continue back to the story in Saipan. The citizens of Japan were told lies and stories about the American marines that essentially brainwashed them into thinking a horrific group of half man, half beast soldiers were the ones on their way to get them. They were led to believe that American Marines were in the practice of eating human babies alive, torturing their prisoners and all around blood-thirsty murderers who would stop at nothing to inflict as much pain and suffering possible before their victim was set free by the sweet release of death that ends the suffering. It should go without saying that these myths were just that, myths. If anything the Imperial army and its higher ups were describing their own methods rather than their enemy's. Either way, the citizens of Japan were scared to death of the invading Marines and who could blame them? This was a day in age where TV's were not yet widespread, on Saipan they were 1,500 miles away from the main Island of Japan and obviously they weren't exactly connected to the rest of the world so who could blame them from believing the things they were told by the only government that they have ever really known? 25,000 Japanese civilians lived on Saipan. They had been informed by the Japanese government of the untold horrors that would happen to them if they fell into the hands of the Americans – how they would be brutally treated etc. As a result, and some say as a direct consequence of an order apparently sent out by Emperor Hirohito, over 1,000 Japanese civilians committed suicide as the battle came towards an end. US army film clips exist of Japanese civilians throwing themselves off 'Suicide Cliff' to escape the shame of capture and the fear of what the Americans would do to them. There is a video that you can see where a mother is carrying her infant child and a marine is about 200-300 yards away with a local translator begging for her not to jump. She ends up leaping off the cliff with her infant in arms. Its chilling to watch but so is every other video that was filmed during world war II it was an absolute tragedy of humankind what some of the people went through and saw. The battle for Saipan would be grueling, bloody and would be the bloodiest battle of the Pacific Theater until the Battle of Iwo Jima. This was also the island that was home to the largest Banzai charge of all the Japanese charges in the war. One machine gunner recalls what it was like to witness that chaos ensue: Our weapons opened up, our mortars and machine guns fired continually. No longer did they fire in bursts of three or five. Belt after belt of ammunition went through that gun, the gunner swinging the barrel left and right. Even though Jap bodies built up in front of us, they still charged us, running over their comrades' fallen bodies. The mortar tubes became so hot from the rapid fire, as did the machine gun barrels, that they could no longer be used."- First Lieutenant John C. Chapin Saipan was widely considered to be the turning point in the pacific theater of war that marked the point where Japan began losing the war; the Japanese command even had a meeting afterward to have a symbolic change of leadership in order to shake things up a little bit. One Japanese admiral said of the battle that "our war was lost with the loss of Saipan." Remember, this was the first Island with Japanese citizens and part of the group of islands that the Japanese considered within their "home islands". The loss was a heavy blow to the Japanese Empire and surely was a significant boost for the American Marines. After Saipan the next major American offensive was on Iwo Jima; its the battle where the iconic photo was taken with the US troops raising the flag on the mountain top. It was the last big battle of the pacific theater and only about three of those guys lived to see the photo become famous. The rest were killed within a day or two. It was Marine Raymond Miller who pointed out that the battle for Iwo Jima was no where near over with the raising of that flag. He remembered that the Japanese guns and positions had been concealed and dug in. "They could see us, but we couldn't see them." After the island of Iwo Jima was taken it was clear there would need to be an invasion of mainland Japan. This invasion was supposed to make D-Day look tiny in comparison based on the sheer number of people involved on both sides of the battle. The thing that most forget when looking back on it today is that the Japanese empire was still run with this very historic and traditional sense of the Bushido code; the ancient Samurai code of the warrior. Surrender was never an option and was literally the greatest shame you could bring upon yourself and your family. Every citizen was in the frame of mind that they were a soldier first and citizen second. They were training in elementary and middle schools with spears during their recess or lunch hour for the future invasion they all knew was to come. This wasn't like what Normandy was, this was military planners acknowledging that we were going to go into a country and every single person that was there was an enemy combatant. Initial allied losses for the invasion alone were estimated and projected at one million men. This was a low-ball estimate and I don't know what it must have been like to see those numbers as a soldier and retain any shred of hope that you'd make it through everything you already had and that in the future on top of it. The only way to explain pretty much anything during this time is that phrase coined by Dan Carlin: "Logical Insanity". Before we get too deep into that side of the war, though I'd like to switch gears and go back to Belgium shortly before Christmas in 1944 where American Paratroopers in the 101st and 82nd divisions were about to have the worst Christmas of their entire lives THE BATTERED BASTARDS OF BASTOGNE Shortly before Christmas in December of 1944 Allied lines were established past Antwerp, the most important port city in Belgium that had been secured only about a month or so before, and extended north into the Ardennes forest in Belgium. The city of Aachen, bitterly defended by the Nazi's was now in Allied hands and it seemed that the war in Europe might be over before the new year for the Fuehrer and the third Reich. Don't forget that Hitler was fighting a war on more front than just one. On the eastern front he was facing the Red Army of Stalin, a massive army led by completely inept commanders and ultimately by one of the worst and most evil men in history. The soviet army of Josef Stalin fits the bill for the well known expression of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." The Red Army was a crucial part of the result of WWII, without them it would have been a much more bitter assault through France, and a much stronger Wehrmacht Army focused entirely on one war rather than two. The soviets couldn't have beaten the Nazi war Machine alone and the Allies couldn't have done it without the Soviets either. Before going to much farther I want to touch on this part specifically because I think today its an often overlooked part of the war. I'll never forget a co-worker I used to work with at my summer job through high school and college. She was from Moscow and was born before the Soviet collapse in 1991 and actually grew up in Communist Russia, she and her family came to the states after the the collapse of the communist bloc and her dad was rushed out of the country because he was what basically we'd equate to a superintendent of a school district but because he was high in the communist party they had to sneak him out of the country to ensure his safety and the safety of his family. Now the reason I bring up this seemingly unrelated point is because I worked with that mans daughter for about six years and she and I would fairly often talk about old communist Russia. People incorrectly assume or argue two main points in this part of history. The first being that the soviets didn't play much of a role in the Nazi defeat and the second argument is that the Red Army didn't need allied assistance and would eventually have beaten Hitler on their own. Here's the thing with eit…
Full show notes at the publisherFrom D-Day all the way up to the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes; this episode covers individual stories of the men who fought and died in France for the sake of the world. We analyze the horrific experience that it was to be on the beach that fateful day and what it was like to experience the jaws of death. PART TWO: INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH What you're about to listen to is part two of a multiple episode series regarding the second world war. If you happen to be the kind of person that can pick up in the middle of a story and be able to listen in then keep on listening. If you are more like me and you want to get the full picture I'd encourage you to go back and listen to the previous episode, part one, which will help you develop a fuller understanding of what this episode is diving into. Many people don't understand the full picture without the complete contextual back drop, and I can hardly think of a story that requires more context, background and explanation than that of World War II. At the very least if you go back and listen carefully to the first episode you'll be able to listen to me use the same quote twice without realizing I had already done so; that might be worth it on its own. This is part two of the series and it picks up just before the Allied invasion of Normandy, France; marking the beginning of the end for the Axis. So, without any further adieu, this is part two of the World War II series on The Monday American "Into the Jaws of Death." I hope you enjoy... June 6th, 1944 marks the day that the United States landed on the beaches of Normandy, France along with the British, Australian, and Canadian forces to engage in battle the Nazi Wehrmacht Army. No one knew just what they were getting into. Its truly hard to imagine the chaos that these men were jumping into; and to top it off they were all off course by an unimaginable amount. Stories have come from this landing such as a hole getting blown into a plane fuselage that sucked two GI's right out of the plane, in another plane the floor had so much vomit on it that the men couldn't get enough traction to stand and had to wait an hour to jump. THE PRE-INVASION: The plan for the invasion of Normandy hinged on the successful landing of the army troops on the 5 beaches: Gold, Sword, Juno, Omaha and Utah. In order to make sure that these men weren't just sitting ducks on the beach they had to figure out a way to keep the German Wehrmacht (Army) from sending in their reinforcements. That involved the American 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions along with the British 6th to parachute behind enemy lines the night before in order to secure key towns and bridges to stop any Germans away from the beach landings. The paratroopers had to deal with the torment of sitting helplessly while floating slowly toward the ground as lead filled the air around them. They mayor of St. Mere noted that he saw one American dangling from a tree limb "with eyes open, as though looking down at his own bullet holes." Many of these paratroopers would land in the ocean, given a signal to jump when the plane was way off course; many others would land in a valley that had been flooded by Germans as deep as ten feet in some places and would be taken to a watery grave by their heavy kits strapped around them. By some miracle, four hours later a message was sent to the Division commander that simply stated "I have secured St.-Mere-Eglise." The message was sent from an American Colonel, and it would be the first town that the Americans liberated in the war. The paratroopers were more or less in place and ready to fight, undermanned and under equipped certainly, to defend their comrades who were on their way to the beaches behind them. Operation Overlord was about to hit its next big challenge. THE BEACH LANDINGS: Of all the things about the D-Day landings, I always gravitate back to one question regardless of what part of D-Day I'm thinking about. I always wonder what it was like to sit in that boat for the long ride over and watch everything around you happening. What would that feel like, how afraid would you have been if you thought you might be one of the 15 or so that made it off that boat out of the 40-50 that got on with you? If you could possibly fathom what that felt like, that's what these soldiers felt like nearly every single day. One soldier said about his experience on the naval ships before the landing began that "fear...is a passion like any other passion." That passion, that fear its what gripped these men. They were consumed by a passionate type of fear that I don't really know if I can adequately understand what that felt like. One of the doctors on the ship confessed to drinking "so much coffee I was having extra systoles every fourth or fifth beat." The crazy part is that he was that nervous for those men and he wasn't even leaving the ship! "The Waiting is always the worst. The mind can wander." These men weren't just fighting a physical enemy they were fighting their own psyche from ripping them apart from within. Atkinson does a wonderful job in his book The Guns at Last Light when he says "Waiting for battle induced the philosopher in every man. 'Mac,' a young soldier in the 16th infantry asked a comrade, 'when a bullet hits you, does it go all the way through?'" These were young boys, the large majority of them between 18 and 20 years old and they were about to jump off of a boat and onto a beach in order to carry out an operation where the safety and security of the world rested on the success of a bunch of boys and how they handled themselves on the battlefield. That's a scary thought to have in the back of your mind and obviously an enormous amount of pressure if you're on the ground. Those boys weren't thinking about the larger picture, they were thinking about what was in front of them and all around them. They were surrounded by death and destruction like none else, they were firmly in the grasp of the jaws of death; there was no turning back. PROBLEMS FROM THE GET GO: From the get go conditions were far from perfect. There was a thick layer of overcast clouds that shrouded the view from the air, on the ground the current was stronger than expected with high winds and rough seas. Eisenhower had already canceled the invasion once; he couldn't afford to do it again. The Airborne divisions landing the night before managed to turn chaos into success but everyone wondered how the big landing would go if it went as poorly as the jumps just a few hours before. As the ships drew near they began to drop anchor and the men began to slowly climb over the sides into their landing craft. Many of them wouldn't be able to get in the seas were so rough, on many occasions a sea swell would cause a soldier to lose footing and get thrown up and then down into his steel bottom landing boat and upon impact he would break his legs. The Cloud cover was so thick that Eisenhower had agreed to permit clumsy "blind bombing" if necessary, which hardly more effective than the name suggests. The pilots would use radar to pick the shoreline and then gauge their targets from there. Not only that but on the night before, on June 5th, he had issued an order for the bombers that were to bomb the beach before the infantry arrived to postpone their payloads for an additional 30-45 seconds in order to not hit the invasion flotillas on accident. These were conditions that only added onto a pile of issues that were working against the invaders before they had even begun, but they were able to stick through it and fight it out. At 5:36 am the ships were anchored offshore and ready to begin their assault, it was precisely at this time that allied fighter planes acting as spotters had identified muzzle flashes coming from the shore and notified the navy below; there was no more surprise its time to light it up. THE INVASION BEGINS: The naval bombardment of the Norman beaches had begun and in a moments notice there were suddenly eight hundred naval guns thundering across a fifty mile firing line. Sailors had to pack cotton into their ears it was such a massive display of firepower. Reporter Don Whitehead was there and he said it felt like "the air vibrated", Ernest Hemingway wrote about the the murderous guns of the Arkansas and Texas that "they sounded like rail way trains thrown skyward." Perhaps the best account of what it was like to actually be on one of those ships as they wreaked havoc towards the enemy comes from David K. E. Bruce who was on board the Tuscaloosa which he described as: There is cannonading on all sides as well as from the shore...The air is acrid with powder, and a fine spray of disintegrated wadding comes down on us like lava ash...The deck trembles under our feet, and the joints of the ship seem to creak and stretch...Repeated concussions have driven the screws out of their sockets [and] shattered light bulbs. And for all that might and power, the preparatory bombardment for the American beaches in operation Overlord only lasted half an hour so that they could just move on with the beach landings. In total they fired 140,000 shells, but little was destroyed. Nevertheless the GI's were about to go there and see if for themselves. BOOTS ON THE GROUND: Omaha beach is where we are going to spend most of this D-Day portion of the story because it is by far the landing site that received more than its share of difficulty to take. The Canadian force was able to mostly walk to shore, some men didn't even get wet. The British troops had some fighting but really not very much of a difficult time taking their beachhead, on Utah and Omaha beach (the two American beaches) is where the bulk of the German defense was housed; and the GI's went right up to that house and knocked on the door. The German's had prepared fearsome defenses for the Americans on Omaha beach; there were 85 machine-gun nests, which GI's nicknamed "murder holes", that was more machine guns on Omaha than three times the amount of all the British beaches combined. Most of the obstacles and barriers the GI's found as the only source for cover on the beach were so densely mined on navy officer described them "like huckleberries". the shape of the land on this section of beach made it particularly deadly. The landscape offered the ability for the defenders to lay down both plunging and grazing fire, the GI's coming to shore essentially had no where to hide. The American intelligence which was normally spot on correct, had predicted one battalion of weak and inexperienced defenders, and they had failed to detect the hidden artillery guns that the Germans used at will against the GI invaders. If they had been one battalion it would have been a different story but General Erwin Rommel, the tactical mastermind that he was, had foreseen a weakness in the line and reinforced Omaha beach with two veteran and battle hardened battalions right behind them. What was supposed to be a three to one ratio in favor of American forces ended up becoming a three to five ratio weakness. These men that were walking onto those beaches were up against every single odd they could have possibly faced, and then they landed on the beach. CARNAGE What made Omaha beach exceptionally more dangerous and difficult to capture was the amount of beachhead exits that particular strip had. There were only five ways off the beach. This allowed the German defense to concentrate all their power on only five narrow thoroughfares instead of spreading out to defend a plethora of exit routes. Like I've mentioned several times already, its impossible to know what it was like on that beach unless you were actually there. Atkinson writes: "For those who outlived the day, the memories would remain as shot-torn as the beach itself. They remembered waves slapping the steel hulls, and bilge pumps choked with vomit from seasick men making 'utterly inhuman noises'...They remembered machine-gun bullets puckering the sea 'like wind-driven hail' before tearing through ground driven boats so that, as one sergeant recalled, 'men were tumbling out just like corn cobs off a conveyor belt.'" That was just from the machine gun firing. The mortars were often the most terrifying thing that soldiers had to deal with because there was no real way to be safe from them. Mortars and artillery would, for those who aren't familiar, be shot high up and then they would fall down and explode on impact spewing shrapnel in every direction. The only way to be relatively safe from it was to be in a hole underground because the shrapnel wouldn't touch you there. The thing in the back of every soldier's mind though, was if they would be lucky enough to not have a shell land directly in their hole. Mortar fire on the beaches of Omaha spewed fragments "said to be the size of shovel blades" that would skim the shore, trimming away arms, legs and heads off the men that were on the beach that day. The contrast of these men from before the landing to how they were on the beach was startling; "Soldiers who had sung 'Happy D-Day, dear Adolf' now cowered like frightened animals." These men had no escape, they desperately gouged out shallow holes in the shingle with mess kit spoons and bare knuckles. Their mouths wide open with a look of astonishment, as instructed, which was intended to prevent artillery concussions from rupturing their eardrums. The men that were there that day remembered brave men advancing on the beach "as if walking in the face of a real strong wind...all affecting the same tight grimace until whipcrack bullets cut them down; Above the battle din they remembered the cries of comrades ripped open." BBC reporter David Howarth described the screams and sounds of these men as they laid dying in pieces on a beach far from their home, he described the sound as "a long terrible dying scream which seemed to express not only fear and pain, but amazement, consternation and disbelief." The men that were on that beach on that fateful day remembered "the shapeless dead, sprawled on the strand like smears of divine clay, or as flotsam on the making tide, weltering, with their life belts still cinched." The carnage that these men witnessed, and the fear that was unavoidable is truly beyond the point of our understanding today. These men were so stricken with fear they were like statues stuck in place; even as all their training and their fellow soldiers would remind them to get off the beach, they were paralyzed with fear beyond comprehension. In order to help create and widen the exits from the beach there were army and navy engineers that were supposed to land three minutes after the initial wave. Like the rest of the invasion, little went right for them as well some of them landed nearly a mile and a half away from their intended zone due to current or navigator error. In one of these boats an 88mm shell hit Team 14's landing craft "blowing the coxswain overboard and slaughtering the vessel's entire navy demolition squad; one man's lower trunk and severed legs were described by a seaman as 'sticking up in the water like a pitiful V for victory.'" Men were so fear struck that they "sheltered behind the German obstacles 'like clusters of bees,' even as engineers screamed, kicked, and threatened to blow their charges anyway." By seven A.M. only six of the 16 gaps that were intended to be cleared had been opened; and that cost more than half of the engineers that were there. The death on that small strip of beach that day would be something that…
Full show notes at the publisherEvery event in history has a story behind it. This is the story of the world going to war for the second time in just twenty years.
Works Cited
Sledge, E. B. With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa. New York: Presidio, 2010. Print.
Atkinson, Rick. The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945. NY, NY: Picador, 2014. Print.
Hofmann, Michael, and Ernst Jünger. Storm of Steel. New York: Penguin, 2004. Print.
McManus, John C. Grunts: Inside the American Infantry Combat Experience, World War II through Iraq. New York: NAL Caliber, 2011. Print.
Keegan, John. The Face of Battle. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1988. Print.
Kershaw, Ian. Fateful Choices: Ten Decisions That Changed the World, 1940-1941. New York: Penguin, 2008. Print.
Bishop, Morin, Mike Humphries, and Joanne Camas, eds. World War II Victory: The Pivotal Events That Won The War (2015): n. pag. Print.
Welch, Claire. Rise and Fall of the Nazis. London: Magpie, 2008. Print.
Mettler, Suzanne. Soldiers to Citizens: The G.I. Bill and the Making of the Greatest Generation. New York: Oxford U Pr., 2007. Print.
Snyder, Timothy. Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin. New York: Basic, 2012. Print.
Range, Peter Ross. 1924: The Year That Made Hitler. New York, NY: Little, Brown, 2016. Print.
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This episode is a very brief intro about the show and what it was created for. We also dive a bit into the foundation of the country and the one document that is tied to the life of the country and freedom itself. Don't forget to check out the website!
Just what is this show about anyway? After nearly a year of broadcasting through the online media of podcasts, I have decided to give you folks just now finding this show a bit of an explanation of just what this show is all about.
First and foremost this show is about stories from American History, told in a way that educates while also ensuring that the story isn't left out of history.
However, as you continue to listen to each episode you'll be able to gather that over the course of the last year the show has gone through some pretty significant changes, all for the best of course.
When it started out the show was originally meant to use history as a lens with which to view current day politics, today that couldn't be farther from our goal. We take topics and stories from the past and bring them new life by tediously researching primary sources and secondary sources in order to bring you, the esteemed listener, the best story possible.
In between each of these historical episodes or series we interview people we believe that are relevant to the show in any way. We have people on who are interested in talking about a wide array of subjects and stifling conversation is never something we aim to do!
As you listen through the episodes available you'll hear the transformation of the podcast from where it began to what it is today, the audio is shaky on a few episodes and the narration improves more and more with each story you listen to.
Its the story of The Monday American Podcast in a way, you're getting to see and hear the story of how this show got to where it is today.
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