Stay ConnectedSeason two of the largest Combined, Joint, Multinational Military History effort focuses on American and Allied Forces in Europe and the Pacific through 1944.
The 1943 series ended up with 108 episodes with contributions from across all US services, as well as contributions from our British and Canadian friends, and more.
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Dr. Christopher Rein joins me again, this time to talk about Command Relationships in 1943, although we got a little sidetracked and ended up expanding the discussion to Multinational Partnerships and even the present-day NATO Alliance. Since it was all interesting, we decided to keep it all in the finished episode.
Book recommendations from Dr. Rein's episodes:
Air University Press (https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/AUPress/)
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Dr. Stephanie Hinnershitz, senior historian with the Institute for the Study of War and Democracy at the National World War II Museum, joins me in this episode to talk about Japanese-Americans in the United States during World War II, including a little more on the Japanese-American Army units and the War Department's "loyalty questionnaire", and the role of the US Army in the Japanese-American incarceration. Dr. Hinnershitz also talks about the importance of using the correct words when talking about history, common myths and misconceptions that have continued to this day, and she offers some great advice for current and aspiring historians and researchers.
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In this episode I'm joined by Dr. Christopher Rein, a US Navy and US Air Force veteran, military historian, and managing editor at Air University Press. Among many other things, Dr. Rein talks about the "Bomber Mafia", Military Deception plans, Operation Flax, and how many of the Air "Lessons Learned" had to be learned more than once. He also presents ways that this history from 1943 can relate to our more contemporary doctrine and training focuses on Multi-Domain Operations (MDO), as well as the reminder that we are Stronger Together. There are also lots of book recommendations: The North African Air Campaign: US Army Air Forces from El Alamein to Salerno by Dr. Christopher Rein (Amazon Affiliate Link https://amzn.to/3ByGbYF) Stopping the Panzers: The Untold Story of D-Day by Marc Milner (Amazon Affiliate Link https://amzn.to/3BoGNjP) Panzers in Normandy: General Hans Ederbach and the German Defense of France, 1944 by Samuel Mitcham (Amazon Affiliate Link https://amzn.to/3Ieh3KN) The Path to Victory: The Mediterranean Theater in World War II by Douglas Porch (Amazon Affiliate Link https://amzn.to/3Oddvwa) Divisions: A New History of Racism and Resistance in America's World War II Military by Thomas Guglielmo (Amazon Affiliate Link https://amzn.to/3O6P17H) The Mediterranean Air War: Airpower and Allied Victory in World War II by Robert Ehlers (Amazon Affiliate Link https://amzn.to/42EnVcz) TORCH: North Africa and the Allied Path to Victory by Vincent O'Hara (Amazon Affiliate Link https://amzn.to/452Yl2n) Fighting in the Dark: Naval Combat at Night, 1904-1944 Edited by Vincent O'Hara and Trent Hone (Amazon Affiliate Link https://amzn.to/42Dquvq) Weaving the Tangled Web: Military Deception in Large-Scale Combat Operations by Christopher Rein (https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/September-October-2018/Tangled-Web/) Weaving the Tangled Web (full book down https://www.armyupress.army.mil/books/large-scale-combat-operations-book-set/) Air University Press (https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/AUPress/) http://www.motheroftanks.com/ads-sponsors-and-affiliate-links/
Andrew Woods from the First Division Museum at Cantigny Park joins me again to talk more Army History, this time he shares the story of LTC Charles Denholm and the 16th Infantry, including then-LTC Denholm's capture in Tunisia and subsequent escape from a POW ship which was being attacked by Allied aircraft at the time. First Division Museum at Cantigny Park (https://www.fdmuseum.org/) Charles Denholm Bio (https://www.ikn.army.mil/apps/MIHOF/biographies/Denholm,%20Charles.pdf)
In this episode I am joined by Jessica Waszak, Assistant Curator at the First Division Museum at Cantigny Park. Jessica has researched Army Medical Units and Nurses, the 48/128th Hospital in particular, and shares part of their incredible story and some of the challenges facing 1st Infantry Division soldiers and medical personnel during their time in North Africa (1942-1943).
The staff at the First Division Museum are extremely generous with their time and have agreed to provide several episodes this year, and will likely contribute to future series as well. The museum also put me in touch with COL (Ret.) Greg Fontenot who will be sharing a 3-part episode on 1ID and Army history this year, and future stories as well. In addition to 1ID history, the 45th Infantry Division Museum and Oklahoma National Guard are contributing stories and episodes, there will be 3ID history, and Airborne history, among many other topics coming up :) Several other future topics come up in the last half of this episode with Jessica.
First Division Museum at Cantigny Park (https://www.fdmuseum.org/)
US Army Center of Military History Resources:
For more info about this series, including links to all other content, check out www.motheroftanks.com
In this episode I am joined by LTC Devon Cockrell, Deputy Commander of the 2nd Psychological Operations Group, and we discuss Operation Mincemeat, as part of Operation Barclay, as well as Military Deception and the importance of trust and professionalism among the Allies' staffs and leadership to make such operations even possible. Holt, Thaddeus. The Deceivers: Allied Military Deception in the Second World War, New York, 2004. (Amazon Affiliate Link https://amzn.to/3VqOz60) Howard, Michael. Strategic Deception in the Second World War: British Intelligence Operations Against the German High Command, New York, 1990. (Amazon Affiliate Link https://amzn.to/3ARnn6B) Rein, Christopher, Ed. Weaving the Tangled Web: Military Deception in Large Scale Combat Operations, Ft Leavenworth, KS, 2018. (https://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16040coll3/id/282/) Rothstein, Hy and Barton Whaley, eds.. The Art and Science of Military Deception, Boston, 2013. (Amazon Affiliate Link https://amzn.to/3ALwKVr)
In this quick episode, I am joined by Andrew Woods, research historian at the First Division Museum at Cantigny Park. Andrew shares an article he wrote 20 years ago for the 60th anniversary of the Battle of El Guettar, and he and others associated with the First Division Museums will be contributing several episodes to this series sharing 1st Infantry Division history as it relates to the Why We Fight ~ 1943 series timeline.
Dr. Luke Truxal joins me to talk about American Airpower in 1943 and the impact of the Casablanca Conference (January 1943) on the Allies' Air Forces, which we will see develop more throughout the year. This is a long episode and there wasn't really a place for me to break it in half that made sense so it's all in one. We also have a couple of cameos from Dr. Truxal's toddler and Pixel may have made it into the final cut as well :) I think these add a cute touch to the episodes when they happen.
Dr. Truxal has a book coming out called United Against the Reich: The American Air War in Europe, which can be found through Kentucky University Press (https://www.kentuckypress.com/9780813198286/uniting-against-the-reich/). You can also get it through Amazon with this Amazon Associates link (https://amzn.to/3MXRdxR) - info regarding affiliate links.
These series began with a focus on the US Army ground forces in 1939-1941, but have evolved to include the Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and also multinational partners like the British Army, RAF, Canadian forces, and more. For those who enjoy the Air Power topics, there are quite a few on the lineup for the year.
In this episode Dr. Truxal mentions Dr. Christopher Rein, who is also contributing to this series. There are two episodes with Dr. Rein coming up soon on the Air Campaign in North Africa and Command Relationships. Dr. Sarah Myers is also mentioned, she recorded an episode back in March on the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots). Another episode on women in the Air Force is coming up with Col. (R) Eileen Bjorkman, with a couple of Royal Air Force (RAF) episodes also in the works and more later this year, including Operation Tidal Wave and Operation Starky.
TW: Holocaust episode
In this episode, Dr. Benjamin Schneider shares the story of the Holocaust, which is something I have not been able to cover well to this point in these series. The first series was mostly focused on the US Army in 1939-1941, and the second series included a few threads on roundups and the news of the mass killings, but these are topics I haven't had the bandwidth to cover well by myself. Dr. Schneider does a great job explaining this important part of the history and I cannot thank him enough for this.
Trigger Warning: This episode discusses the Nazis and, although not graphic, we do talk about some of the violence and crimes the Nazis committed during the war. You will notice that the episode music is different from the typical episodes to this point.
In the first episode Dr. Philip Blood talks about where the Germans were in 1943. Dr. Blood is an independent historian and author of "Hitler's Bandit Hunters: The SS and the Nazi Occupation of Europe" and "Birds of Prey: Hitler's Luftwaffe, Ordinary Soldiers and the Holocaust in Poland" -- I will include links below. In this second episode he talks about the Luftwaffe in Poland in 1943.
Links Dr. Philip W. Blood, Historian (website) Dr. Blood on WW2TV: Birds of Prey and SS Leadership in Hitler's War
Books: Birds of Prey (https://amzn.to/3ZYiHqD) <-- Amazon Affiliate Link Hitler's Bandit Hunters (https://amzn.to/3LscTkG) <-- Amazon Affiliate Link
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