Podcasts about german luftwaffe

In September 1940, the German Luftwaffe began raining bombs on British cities, causing death and destruction on a scale never before seen. But, in the capital, the Blitz wasn't the only threat to people's safety. Amy Helen Bell tells Jon Bauckham about London's Second World War crime wave, exploring dark moments that challenge the rosy idea of 'Blitz Spirit', and revealing how serial killers such as Gordon Cummins and John Christie exploited the chaos of war to carry out their heinous acts. (Ad) Amy Helen Bell is the author of Under Cover of Darkness: Murders in Blackout London (Yale University Press, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Under-Cover-Darkness-Murders-Blackout/dp/0300270054/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An Angelic Folly by Peter PrizelJacob Monger, a social worker at a hospice, has just been through a painful divorce and is having his two young daughters overnight for the first time. He is eager to succeed with his visit, but he must also attend to Tony, a hospice patient and Vietnam Veteran, who has a penchant for collecting records and playing Mozart's The Requiem. Tony is actively dying and is trying to settle unfinished business with his own children. Jacob's efforts to help his patient make peace with his situation before his death are made more difficult by the Arch Angel Gabriel, who is having his own qualms with his Father. As punishment for disobeying Him, Gabriel is confined to the magical heavenly chariot of Ezekiel, whose tires he must constantly replace with the souls of humans—those who have been errant fathers—to keep it running. Peter Prizel is an end-of-life care social worker. He recently received his MFA from Manhattanville College. He has published several poems and short stories. When not at work or spending time with his family, Peter can be found at museums or in some foreign country hunting for new ideas.https://www.amazon.com/Angelic-Folly-Peter-Prizel/dp/B0DJGP7B5X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2YQDPK16MXRDZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KPiUyei1U0UIQMt6__vnO2X6bJQoPIwnDkcHFrAU943GjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.RSRDPlLV-E2fjAQrvRIvJTXHSQqwZbyqIzchHo5P0V0&dib_tag=se&keywords=peter+prizel&qid=1729725416&sprefix=%2Caps%2C195&sr=8-1https://leavittpeakpress.com/http://www.bluefunkbroadcasting.com/root/twia/11724pp.mp3   The Fermented Savior by Peter PrizelMarie Martin is a young girl who is the daughter of two vineyard workers at Baron Rothchild's estate, which once housed Marie Currie's lab, causing the soil to become radioactive and magical. After the Baron leaves for Great Britain due to his Jewish origins, Marie's family is left to run the estate occupied by the Germans. While the Baron is gone, she discovers that grapes are magical and that the ones in the “white” vineyard are pro-Nazi and those in the “purple” vineyard are Jewish. The purple grapes reveal that if made into wine, they can convince those who drink them that the Jews should not be persecuted.Günter Adler is the son of a viticulturalist who worked with the Baron as his business partner in Germany before the war. Drafted into the Wehrmacht along with his father Heinz Adler, Günter finds himself helping Marie harvest the Jewish grapes to help the Jewish populace while simultaneously being under pressure to supply wine for the German Luftwaffe at Göring's orders.https://www.amazon.com/Fermented-Savior-Peter-Prizel-ebook/dp/B0DHYKFK99/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2YQDPK16MXRDZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KPiUyei1U0UIQMt6__vnO2X6bJQoPIwnDkcHFrAU943GjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.RSRDPlLV-E2fjAQrvRIvJTXHSQqwZbyqIzchHo5P0V0&dib_tag=se&keywords=peter+prizel&qid=1729725443&sprefix=%2Caps%2C195&sr=8-2https://leavittpeakpress.com/

Send us a Text Message.In November 1939, Georg Elser, acting alone, planted an immense bomb in the Beer Hall cellar in Munich. Using two high-precision clocks, he timed it to explode at the midpoint of Hitler's annual speech commemorating the Beer Hall Putsch. Hitler attended as planned, and spoke from the podium just in front of the bomb – but then left early to oversee his planned attack on France.In April 1940, Hitler rapidly seized Denmark and Norway.Then, on 10 May 1940, like a thunderbolt, the German Wehrmacht struck in the west, simultaneously attacking the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. That same day, Churchill became Prime Minister of Britain. The Allies did not suspect that the main route of attack would be through the Ardennes, leaving their forces trapped north of the German armoured columns. At Dunkirk, far more troops were extricated than had been expected, but it was still a disaster and France capitulated soon after. In this campaign Claus von Stauffenberg served as quartermaster for the Sixth German armoured division.The subsequent Battle of Britain was a failure for the German Luftwaffe, and plans to invade were quietly shelved in favour of a far more ambitious project – the invasion of the Soviet Union, launched on 22 June 1941. By October that year, with German troops at the gates of Moscow, Goebbels announced to assembled foreign correspondents in Berlin that the German advance had ‘brought the war to a close'.During the campaign in Russia, Claus von Stauffenberg came to know two of the key conspirators against Hitler – Henning von Tresckow and Fabian von Schlabrendorff. They would work towards the elimination of Hitler and the Nazis. Confronted by Nazi atrocities, Stauffenberg began to compile a dossier of war crimes committed by the SS. Then he approached senior generals, one after another, urging them to act against Hitler.Having made life very uncomfortable for himself by stirring up opposition to the Nazis, Claus von Stauffenberg sought a posting to Africa, where once again he was engaged in active combat.Written and narrated by Brian WaltersOriginal music, editing and sound design by the amazing Sam LoyEpisode TranscriptA full transcript of the episode is available hereRead the book TREASONYou can read more about Claus von Stauffenberg and the German resistance to Hitler, in the book Treason by Brian Walters.For those with iPads, Treason is available as an interactive Apple Book here.The hard copy can be bought here.If you live out of Australia, the hard copy is best purchased from Blurb.There is also a Kindle version.ResourcesFor a list of the creative commons music and sound effects used in this episode, head here.Finally …If you liked the episode, please share it: the episode link is here.And you can help us by writing a brief review and giving us a (five star!) rating.By all means contact TREASON: Claus von Stauffenberg and the plot to kill Hitler

Today we're going to look at an important episode in history, when the survival of Western civilization was under threat. In the summer of 1940, Germany was preparing to invade Britain by attacking Britain's shipping capacity, pulverizing its coastal towns, crippling its Air Force, and demoralizing the British people. But the people of Britain would not be cowed. Led by Winston Churchill, they threw their hearts into the war effort and endured a punishing blitz on their capital city, London. And about a thousand of their young men flew in the Fighter Command of the Royal Air Force—and courageously, miraculously repelled the German Luftwaffe. We'll take some personal lessons from this inspiring history—about which Churchill said, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” Links The Former Prophets Malachi's Message to God's Church Today

The 1963 film The Great Escape immortalised the audacious real-life mass escape of 76 Allied airmen in March 1944 from the German Luftwaffe prisoner of war camp Stalag Luft III in eastern Germany, now Poland. But what was the reality of the escape, who were the characters involved, and was it worth it? To help Saul and Patrick dig deeper into the story they are joined by Journalist, Historian, and author of the book The Real Great Escape. If you have any thoughts or questions, you can send them to - podbattleground@gmail.com Producer: James Hodgson X (Twitter): @PodBattleground Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Germany's Defense Ministry has confirmed the authenticity of an intercepted audio recording, of German military officials discussing plans to bomb the bridge connecting Russia to the Crimean peninsula.  5) German Luftwaffe caught planning to directly intervene in Russia-Ukraine war; 4) Chaos in Haiti as gangs threaten government; 3) Supreme Court rules 9–0 to keep Trump on ballot in Colorado; 2) Microsoft's AI assistant reveals alter ego that thinks it's a god; 1) White male student competing as girl wins gold medal at college track event over second-place black woman—and this is called “progress.” FOLLOW US! Twitter X: @SkyWatch_TV YouTube: @SkyWatchTVnow @SimplyHIS @FiveInTen Rumble: @SkyWatchTV Facebook: @SkyWatchTV @SimplyHIS @EdensEssentials Instagram: @SkyWatchTV @SimplyHisShow @EdensEssentialsUSA TikTok: @SkyWatchTV @SimplyHisShow @EdensEssentials SkyWatchTV.com | SkyWatchTVStore.com | EdensEssentials.com | WhisperingPoniesRanch.com

Germany's Defense Ministry has confirmed the authenticity of an intercepted audio recording, of German military officials discussing plans to bomb the bridge connecting Russia to the Crimean peninsula. 5) German Luftwaffe caught planning to directly intervene in Russia-Ukraine war; 4) Chaos in Haiti as gangs threaten government; 3) Supreme Court rules 9–0 to keep Trump on ballot in Colorado; 2) Microsoft's AI assistant reveals alter ego that thinks it's a god; 1) White male student competing as girl wins gold medal at college track event over second-place black woman—and this is called “progress.”FOLLOW US!Twitter X: @SkyWatch_TVYouTube: @SkyWatchTVnow @SimplyHIS @FiveInTenRumble: @SkyWatchTVFacebook: @SkyWatchTV @SimplyHIS @EdensEssentialsInstagram: @SkyWatchTV @SimplyHisShow @EdensEssentialsUSATikTok: @SkyWatchTV @SimplyHisShow @EdensEssentialsSkyWatchTV.com | SkyWatchTVStore.com | EdensEssentials.com | WhisperingPoniesRanch.com

In this episode, Alexander McCaig invites a special guest, Aage Nost, a Norwegian born spiritual scientist and metaphysicist goes deep into the  hidden Nazi Alien Mothership and it's technologies. The episode covers a broad stroke of topics ranging from German occultism to advanced alien technology.   In Bavaria, a colossal disc, measuring around 60 meters in diameter, descended from the skies, sparking curiosity and intrigue among those who encountered it. Despite their efforts, gaining access to its interior proved to be a daunting challenge. However, upon exploring its surface, they stumbled upon a peculiar spot where mere touch prompted the disc's side to unfurl, granting them entry. Inside, they encountered an enigmatic alloy that defied comprehension, a mystery that had eluded them since its appearance in 1936.   According to Wendell Stevens, the experience was nothing short of surreal. When attempting to manipulate the disc, an uncanny sensation of weightlessness befell those who pushed against it, hinting at a sophisticated mechanism within that defied conventional understanding—a gravity-nullification bubble generated by an unknown source. Efforts to relocate the disc were eventually successful, with it falling under the custody of the German Luftwaffe, the country's air force. From there, it found its way into the hands of two clandestine organizations: the Thule Society and the Black Sun, both notorious for their secrecy and exclusivity. Membership in these societies was reserved for the elite, including even Adolf Hitler himself, who purportedly joined the Thule Society.   The influx of brilliant minds and cutting-edge scientists into these covert circles catalyzed the development of a German space program, marked by innovations such as the V2 rocket. While earlier iterations failed to breach the confines of Earth's atmosphere, an extended version equipped with greater fuel capacity succeeded in achieving space travel before 1940. Capturing a glimpse of our planet from orbit, the Germans obtained a photograph that predated claims made by the American space program. Despite subsequent assertions by the United States of being the first to capture such an image, the German photograph, though grainy and modest, revealed a subtle curvature of the Earth, underscoring their advancements in aerospace technology. Moreover, it is believed that the roots of anti-gravity research within German territories can be traced back to the 1920s during the era of the Weimar Republic, marking a pivotal period of exploration and innovation in the pursuit of scientific frontiers.   Maria Orsic was associated with esoteric and occult movements in early 20th-century Germany. Born on October 31, 1895, in Zagreb, Croatia (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), she became known for her involvement in the Vril Society, a secretive group that purportedly delved into paranormal and psychic phenomena.   Orsic was a medium and a channeler who claimed to receive messages from extraterrestrial beings, particularly from a race of Nordic-looking aliens from the star system Aldebaran. These messages were said to contain detailed instructions on advanced propulsion systems, anti-gravity technology, and other scientific concepts far ahead of their time.   In 1919, Orsic, along with several other like-minded individuals, founded the Vril Society in Munich, Germany. The society purportedly sought to harness the Vril energy, a hypothetical life force akin to chi or prana, for various purposes, including psychic empowerment and technological advancement. Orsic's alleged communications with extraterrestrial entities fueled the society's belief in the existence of an ancient and technologically advanced civilization, possibly located in Aldebaran, which had seeded humanity and held the key to unlocking advanced technologies.   The secret space program unveils a range of advanced spacecraft, like the Haunebu series. The Haunebu 2, at 26 meters across, boasted a Thule Takonator 7C engine and a magnetic directional impulse generator for navigation. With a gyroscope for stability, it could reach speeds of 13,000 miles per hour and ascend to 60,000 feet in three minutes. Its plasma field bubble negated air friction, using counter-rotating mercury and red mercury chambers to generate a gravitational nullification effect.   We can see the influence of Victor Schauberger's natural principles inspired the design, aligning with the Thule Society's beliefs. This society, linked to Maria Orsic's channeling of extraterrestrial knowledge, sought to replicate nature's mechanics. The Haunebu series evolved, integrating Victallium metal and deuterium for enhanced performance. This tech remained hidden until the discovery of hidden German “ice” bases.   While much of the German technology remains hidden or destroyed, remnants persist. Base 211 in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, supposedly harbors Nazi remnants. The haboring secret advanced technologies are aggressively exploited by great powers, in order to serve its respective military industrial complex.    Speculations arise regarding their influence, even within the United States, with claims of Nazi remnants infiltrating post-war programs like Operation Paperclip and shaping entities like the CIA.   The hidden truths and unanswered questions surrounding these clandestine phenomena serve as a reminder of the complexities of untold history must be unravel into light.    Aage Nost is a Norwegian-born author, lecturer, and researcher known for his work on topics related to metaphysics, consciousness, and extraterrestrial life. He has written books on subjects such as reincarnation, past lives, and alternative history. Learn more about his work through official Youtube, LinkedIn, and Facebook channels.    As always, Higher Density Living reserves no dogma because only the truth prevails in the universe. History is judged by enlightened communities, and the Higher Density Living podcast is committed to the same cause. You are the center of the universe. Thank you for joining us on this cosmic journey, and we look forward to sharing more fascinating topics with you in the future. Stay tuned for more episodes where we delve into the profound principles that shape our existence. Remember to like, share, and subscribe for more mind-expanding content!

This well-documented story of reincarnation involves a young British boy who, beginning at the age of 3, told his parents that he had been a pilot for the German Luftwaffe and died in a plane crash while on a bombing mission. He provided sketches and stories which later verified his visions. When the remains of a German crewman were recovered from a WW2 crash site near Carl's home, researchers found pictures of that German crewman in uniform just before his last mission-pictures which showed an eerie resemblance between Carl at age 19 and the crewman. Check out the latest new Jack London episode today at 1001 Best of Jack London (links below) ANDROID USERS- 1001's Best of Jack London at Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2HzkpdKeWJgUU9rbx3NqgF 1001 Stories From The Old West at Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0c2fc0cGwJBcPfyC8NWNTw 1001 Radio Crime Solvers at Spotify-(Sun & Wed) https://open.spotify.com/show/0UAUS12lnS2063PWK9CZ37 1001 Radio Days (Now all Variety, Sun & Wed) at Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/5jyc4nVoe00xoOxrhyAa8H 1001 Classic Short Stories & Tales at Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/6rzDb5uFdOhfw5X6P5lkWn 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries at Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/6rO7HELtRcGfV48UeP8aFQ 1001 Sherlock Holmes Stories & The Best of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle at Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4dIgYvBwZVTN5ewF0JPaTK 1001 Witness...Everyone Has A Story (COMING SOON) 1001 History's Best Storytellers (Now Playing Archives Only: https://open.spotify.com/show/3QyZ1u4f9OLb9O32KX6Ghr 1001 Ghost Stories & Tales of the Macabre on Spotify (Playing Archives Only) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-ghost-stories-tales-of-the-macabre/id1516332327 1001 Tales of Escape & Suspense at Spotify - (Playing Archives Only) https://open.spotify.com/show/2HQYk53AJHTOgBTLBzyP3w APPLE USERS Catch 1001 Stories From The Old West- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-stories-from-the-old-west/id1613213865 Catch 1001's Best of Jack London- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-best-of-jack-london/id1656939169 Catch 1001 Radio Crime Solvers- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-radio-crime-solvers/id1657397371 Catch 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries on Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-heroes-legends-histories-mysteries-podcast/id956154836?mt=2  Catch 1001 Classic Short Stories at Apple Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-classic-short-stories-tales/id1078098622 Catch 1001 Stories for the Road at Apple Podcast now:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-stories-for-the-road/id1227478901 NEW Enjoy 1001 Greatest Love Stories on Apple Devices here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-greatest-love-stories/id1485751552 Catch 1001 RADIO DAYS now at Apple iTunes!  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-radio-days/id1405045413?mt=2 Enjoy 1001 Sherlock Holmes Stories and The Best of Arthur Conan Doyle https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-sherlock-holmes-stories-best-sir-arthur-conan/id1534427618 001 Witness...Everyone Has A Story (COMING SOON) 1001 History's Best Storytellers at Apple Podcast (Now Playing Archives Only: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-historys-best-storytellers/id1483649026 1001 Ghost Stories & Tales of the Macabre at Apple Podcast (Playing Archives Only) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-ghost-stories-tales-of-the-macabre/id1516332327 1001 Tales of Escape & Suspense at Apple Podcast- (Playing Archives Only) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-tales-of-escape-and-suspense/id1689248043 Get all of our shows at one website: https://.1001storiespodcast.com My email works as well for comments: 1001storiespodcast@gmail.com SUPPORT OUR SHOW BY BECOMING A PATRON! https://.patreon.com/1001storiesnetwork. Its time I started asking for support! Thank you. Its a few dollars a month OR a one time. (Any amount is appreciated). YOUR REVIEWS ARE NEEDED AND APPRECIATED! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Love is in the air on this episode of The Eurocentrist, the love of killing fascists and destroying social constructs at the same time. This is the incredible story of Yekaterina Budanova and Lilya Litvyak, two Soviet flying aces that had the German Luftwaffe gasping for air. Ben's research: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jQaKM0ZqgkzLVGMm85gefSn-DEOilKSv/view?usp=share_link Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pauljacobscomedy Aislinn's links: IG: https://www.instagram.com/callmeashleykay/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callmeashleykay FB: https://www.facebook.com/callmeashleykay Paul's links: YT: https://www.youtube.com/pauljacobscomedy IG: https://www.instagram.com/pauljacobscomedy/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pauljacobscomedy FB: https://www.facebook.com/pauljacobscomedy/

Last time we spoke about the planning for operation Galvanic and the battle of Sattelberg. The Americans were finally going to make their thrust into the central pacific with operation Galvanic. Admiral Raymond Spruance was given command of the Central Pacific Force and began building his war machine. The Americans would be employing a arsenal of new toys to hit the Gilbert Islands. Meanwhile the Japanese did everything they could to fortify the Gilberts, Marshalls and Carolines for the incoming American offensives, they would make them pay with blood for every island. Over in Green Hell the Australians were advancing up the Sattelberg road seizing Green Ridge, Coconut Ridge and other features. General Katagiri was once again on the defensive and it was only a matter of time before Sattelberg was under siege. Today we are going to cover all of this and more! This episode is The Bloody Invasion of the Gilberts Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  Last week we went through in depth the planning behind Operation Galvanic. The time had finally come to invade the Gilberts islands. To soften up the islands, carrier-borne airstrikes were made against the Gilberts and Marshalls. One of the major impacts of the raids in September and October was the evacuation of aircraft from Tarawa. Just before the raids there had been three air installations in the 3rd Special Base Force area; two airfields at Nauru and one at Tara, with a seaplane base at Makin. One of the duties assigned to these installations was to maintain patrols in the southeast corner of the Central Pacific. Patrols from Nauru covered the area south of the island, patrols from Kain covered the east and patrols from Tarawa the southeast between the other two. Yet after the removal of so many aircraft from Tarawa, now Makin had to assume full responsibility for patrolling the Gilberts area. By November there were only four amphibious reconnaissance planes left at Makin and even worse they had the dual mission of reconnaissance and anti-submarine patrol. Thus in other words there were not enough eyes on lookout. On November 10th, Admiral Spruance led out his Central Pacific force from Hawaii enroute for Tarawa aboard his flagship the heavy cruises Indianapolis. The Northern attack force, northern carrier group and interceptor carrier group all departed from the Hawaiian islands simultaneously, but they would not be traveling together. The two carrier groups moved in a parallel course followed by the Northern attack force at around 300 miles to their northwest. The two routes of approach would change around 800 miles east of the Gilberts with the Northern attack force turning to meet them. As the force made its way, Spruance warned “If … a major portion of the Japanese fleet were to attempt to interfere with Galvanic, it is obvious that the defeat of the enemy fleet would at once become paramount … the destruction of a considerable portion of the Japanese naval strength would … go far towards winning the war …” Even within the Navy there were critics of Operation Galvanic. While Spruance was taking the 5th fleet along with 30,000 marines, Vice Admiral John Towers grumbled “Spruance wants a sledgehammer to drive a tack.” The battle for Tarawa would be one of the most controversial engagements of the Pacific war.  Over at Efate, Admiral Hill's Southern force departed on November 13th to rendezvous with Turner by the 18th. On November 15th, the Relief carrier force consisting of two carriers, 3 cruisers and 4 destroyers departed Espirtu Santo and the New Hebrides. They were a last minute add-on, heading towards Nauru. Thus the southern carrier group and southern attack force moved parallel to another to rendezvous with the rest by the 18th. During the two days before the landings, both the navy and army aircraft delivered last minute airstrikes. At 3am on the 18th, Admiral Pownalls task force launched 18 fighters, followed 3 hour later by 20 more fighters then at intervals of 2-3 hours, dive bombers, torpedo bombers and more fighters. All day long these aircraft strafed and bombed Nauru. By the end of the day, 90 tons of bombs had been dropped. The pilots claimed the installations on the island were in ruins, a Japanese ship was a burning wreck and 3-4 medium bombers were destroyed on the ground. The next day saw the same carrier attack with the help of land based planes from the 7th air force bombers. The airfields on Nauru were hit, shipping as well and Nauru was thought to be neutralized. On the 19th, the interceptor carrier group of Admiral Pownalls task force launched a series of air strikes against Jaluit and Mille. Over 130 tons of bombs were dropped on them. Power stations at both atolls were destroyed, hangers burned down, buildings in ruins. The runways looked unserviceable at Mille and 3 vessels in her lagoon were heavily damaged, alongside 7 grounded aircraft destroyed. On that same day, 19 b-24's from Nukufetau and Funafuti dropped 10 tons of bombs on Tarawa causing fires and damaging her airfields. 12 more B-24s from Nanomea dropped 23 tons of bombs on Makin. Aircraft from the Northern and southern carrier groups added 95 tons of bombs on Makin and 69 tons on Betio island. One enemy plane was shot down and 3 were hit on the ground near Tarawa. Before noon on the 19th, Southern Carrier groups cruisers destroyers moved in closer to Tarawa to bombard the ground forces between the air strikes. One of the most important effects of the heavy air raids was getting the Japanese to waste a considerable amount of their ammunition against the aircraft. At Tarawa the Japanese expended an estimated 1437 rounds of 127mm AA, 1312 75mm, 51160 13mm, 46 8 inch and 104 14cm ammunition. At Makin it was perhaps nearly 10,000 rounds of 13mm. The loss of the 13mm machine gun ammunition would hurt the Japanese particularly hard since it was the base weapon for the ground defenses. Shortly before 11:30pm on the 19th the convoy entered the 17 mile wide channel between Maiana and Tarawa Atolls. The ships assumed positions west of Betio. Transports took up their debarkation positions and fire support ships moved into shore for another massive bombardment.  At dawn on 20 November, the USS Maryland and Colorado, sister dreadnoughts from  World War I of the Colorado Class, laid down a barrage of fire upon the defenders of Betio. It provided a measure of revenge for the USS Maryland, which had been damaged during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Their combined fire power of sixteen 16-inch guns was able to quickly knock out three of the four 8-inch guns defending Betio both from the lagoon-side to the north and the open sea to the south and west. A fortunate hit on one of the Japanese guns' ordnance stores sent up a massive fireball. Rear Admiral Howard Kingman, responsible for planning the bombardment of Tarawa, would tell the press aboard his ship, “Gentlemen, it is not our intention to wreck the island. We do not intend to destroy it. Gentlemen … we will obliterate it.” The air and naval barrage of the island would last 3 hours. Aboard the USS Ashland an officer boasted “They'll [the Marines] go in standing up. There aren't fifty Japs left alive on the island.” Lt Colonel Herbert Amey leading the 2nd battalion, 2nd marines boasted to his staff “As we hit the beach the planes will be strafing very close in front of you to keep the Nips down until you get in there and knock off what's left of them. I think we ought to have every Jap off the island—the live ones —by the night of D-Day.” Despite the incredible firepower, Colonel David Shoup leading the assault troops shared some concerns with Robert Sherrod working for the Time and Life magazine “What worries me more than anything is that our boats may not be able to get over that coral shelf that sticks out about 500 yards. We may have to wade in.” Colonel ‘Red Mike' Edsons went on to say of the upcoming battle “The enemy must endeavor to hold it and make sure its capture is as costly to us as possible. This will be the first attempt to defend an atoll … as it is our endeavor at seizing one.”  Before dawn the Marines woke up to a last meal of steak and eggs with fried potatoes and coffee. They all gave a final check of their combat kits, their M-1 Garand's, bayonets, 3 days of rations, water, the bedding, grenades, 125 bullets, gas masks, toiletry items, 3 pairs of socks and underwear, their entrenching tool, first aid kits and the most important item, their cigarettes. As the marines moved to their debarkation stations, military chaplains passed through the troops offering last minute homilies. “God Bless you—and go out there and bring glory to our Corps,” . Father Francis Kelley from Philadelphia and veteran of Guadalcanal ended his service with, “God Bless you and God have mercy on the Japanese.” At 6:03am the transports began lowering their boats. At 6:15am the carrier borne Hellcat fighters, Avenger and Dauntless from the USS Essex and Bunker Hill began to strafed and bomb the western beaches. At 6:40 the aircraft began departing as the battleships, cruisers and destroyers opened fire. The damage from the aerial and naval bombardments was considerable. In the immediate region of the main beaches and eastward side, little real damage was inflicted. Coconut trees, native hurts and dummy gun positions took a lot of the hits. In the area of the west tank barrier, neither the ditches nor log barricades took much damage. Just east of the main tank trap was a trench system running to the beach, this area was smashed up pretty good. One trench received a direct hit from a 2000-pound bomb which, in the words of Admiral Turner, "considerably scrambled the trench, Japs and trees for some distance." 62 enemy dead were later counted in this one area, most of whom were the victims of a combination of concussion and air bursts. In the area south of Yellow Beach and east to the East Tank Barrier all buildings were reported destroyed. Three 80-mm. antiaircraft positions at the base of King's Wharf and two light tanks revetted to act as pillboxes were severely damaged. 41 enemy dead were counted, of whom 25 were apparently killed by concussion from heavy bombs. At 8:25 the naval bombardment ended and more aircraft came in strafing. While the aircraft strafed, the 165th regiment began loading onto LCVPS and amphibian tractors carried men of the 105th regiment. At 8:15 the tractors started to head for the beach while firing rockets and machine guns against what they assumed were enemy positions. At 8:31 the tractors hit the beach and the men began to scramble ashore. Beach red 1 and 2 were quickly occupied forming the first beachhead. Following the tractors were the first three waves of landing craft at about 5 minute intervals. They were met with unfriendly studded reefs and coral boulders about 40 yards offshore. Some of the landing craft were unable to slip past the larger boulders, some were broached, stranded or forced to pull back out to sea. The failures of these landings would lead Rear Admiral Richmond Turner to create the Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT) a precursor to the US Navy Seals. The tanks were waterproofed for the landings, and managed to roll off the ramps into water.  The men struggled in swells sometimes over their heads and sought cover at the edge of the beach. At best, only three boats could be landed at one time, and the fifth wave was not able to get ashore until 10:00, over an hour behind schedule. Facing the marines was 798 men led by Lt Seizo Ishikawa, the commander of the 3rd Special Base force Makin detachment. 284 of his men were from his detachment, alongside them were 100 air personnel, 138 men from the 11th construction unit and 276 men of the 4th fleet construction department detachment made up mostly of Korean laborers. They had established 3 defensive areas. The aviation personnel took up the east, the 3rd special base men the middle and the Korean laborers the west. Thus only 284 combat troops with the rest being support staff would face the onslaught. Ishikawa had established a perimeter defense around the seaplane base on the lagoon shore. They had three dual purpose 8cm guns at King's wharf with a few machine guns. Running from the lagoon to the beach were two anti tank barriers. They were wide ditches with coconut log barriers going around 13 feet wide and 5 feet deep. Numerous anti tank guns were around them, behind were concrete pillboxes, machine gun positions, rifle pits and trenches. There were also trip wires with booby traps laid everywhere someone might creep up. Luckily for General Smith, Ishikawa's defensive positions were between the two tank barriers as the Japanese had predicted the invasion of the island would be made there. Over on Betio island were 4836 men led by Admiral Keiji Shibazaki. 1122 men were from the 3rd special base force, 1247 from the 111th construction unit, 970 of the 4th fleet construction department detachment and 1497 Sasebo 7th SNLF. The Sasebo 7th were known as the Rikusentai, elite marine paratroopers modeled on the German Luftwaffe paratroop brigades. During the Pacific war, 50,0000 Rikusentai troops were deployed. They work dark green uniforms modeled on the German paratrooper counterpart, dark-brown belts and harnesses with white anchor patches. Recruits were forced to learn by heart Emperor Meiji's 1882 Imperial rescript to soldiers. The war song Umi Yukaba was also their prophetic line “Across the sea, corpses in the water … I shall die for the Emperor.” As Marine historian, Colonel Joseph Alexander concluded in his work, Utmost Savagery, three days of Tarawa in 1995 “American expeditionary forces would not encounter a more sophisticated series of defensive positions on any subsequent island until they reached Iwo Jima in 1945. Yard for yard, Betio was the toughest fortified position the Marines would ever face.” The Americans were about to see Japan's “water edge” strategy. The directive was simply “concentrate all fires on the enemy's landing point and destroy him at the water's edge.” Rear Admiral Keiji Shibazai was an aggressive young officer who demanded his troops build defenses to “withstand assault by a million men for a hundred years.” Yet it was his predecessor Rear Admiral Sichero who had 50 pillboxes and bunkers constructed across an island that was just 800 yards at its widest points and two miles in length. Shibazaki added kettle mines to impede landing boats or direct them to his kill zones. Double barbed wire fences were dug into coral shallows encircling the island 50 to 100 yards from the shore. Yet as noted by Warrant Officer Kiyosha Ota the only Japanese officer to survive the battle for Tarawa, rear admiral Shibazaki could not get a cargo ship to bring over cement and steel to reinforce to build his planned 4500 tetrahedrons to surrounded the island nor reinforce countless pillboxes. Nonetheless Betio was bristling with a armada of guns. Betio held 4 8 inch guns, 4 14cm, 4 12.7cm, 6 8cm, 10 75mm mountain guns, 6 70mm howitzers, 8 7cm dual purpose guns, 9 37mm field guns, 27 12mm guns, 4 13 mm guns and 7 tanks with 37mm guns. Betio was a fortress full of steel, concrete and coconut log emplacements, the entire island was organized for battle. Within their defensive positions the Japanese had bombproof ammunition and personnel shelters in depth. The allies would be facing beach guns, anti-tank ditches, beach barrices, numerous obstacles and booby traps. Tarawa would be the most heavily defended atoll ever invaded by allied forces in the Pacific.  H hour, the landing of the first wave had been scheduled for 8am on November 20th, but Admiral Hill's transports had run into some problems. They arrived to the scene around 5:50am and began lowering their boats, but it turned out they were too far south and in range of the enemy's coastal guns. The Japanese opened fire on them forcing them back to the designated positions at the lagoon entrance. American warships meanwhile began bombarding the Japanese coastal guns and positions. The airstrikes arrived a bit late to the scene to add their payloads to the mix. Meanwhile two minesweepers the Pursuit and Requisite and two destroyers, Ringgold and Dashiell fought their way into the Tarawa lagoon to sweep for mines. The Japanese coastal guns fired upon them, seeing Ringgold suffering moderate damage from 5 inch gunfire. The choppy seas delayed the arrival of the amphibian tractors, thus H hour was moved to 9am. In the meantime at least one 8 inch coastal gun and two 120mm anti-aircraft batteries had been neutralized by the naval gunfire, and just about everything above ground or in open pits, like personnel, bombs, trucks and munitions were mostly likely destroyed. The camouflage screens over dugouts were wiped away and Shibasaki's network of telephone wire, most laid above ground was obliterated, thus his system of communication was paralyzed. Despite all of this the damage was not nearly enough. Along the beaches were rows of pillboxes, some concrete, steel and coconut made. At Red beaches 2 and 3 there were at least 5 machine guns pointing towards where the troops would land over a reef towards the shore. As Admiral Hill put it, "that was five too many."  By 8:55am the tractors were still late, but Hill ceased all naval gunfire anyway allowing them to begin their approach. The volume of intensity of fire grew as the boats motored in towards the landing beaches. Shibasaki's 75mm field guns and 37mm anti-tank guns were positioned perfectly to hit the incoming boats. Neither the amtracs nor the Higgin boats had enough armor to stop the shells. William Rogal's boat took a 37mm shell to her bow and Rogal recalled “the force of the explosion threw his body to the rear of the amtrac, showering everyone on the port side with blood and brains.” As Lt Lillibridges boat came under similar fire, the shells pierced their starboard and port sides simultaneously forcing the men to toss themselves on the flat bottom. Light mortars showered them all sending shrapnel into several marines. Most of the first wave boats headed towards Red beach 1, in a cove tucked between the pier and northwestern point of the island. The approached to red beach 1 held a significant amount of crossfire by weapons of various calibers. The men began to hit the beach at 9:10am. Landing ashore was the 3rd battalion, 2nd marines who were met with tremendous fire. The marines quickly ran into a log barricade. Some of their tractors were smashed up and burning dead in the water. If those inside them were still alive they climbed over the sides to try and wade ashore. The vehicles that made it onto land soon were halted by the log barricade seen marines jump over under machine gun fire. K Company took so many casualties they were unable to move past the log barricade and now had to lie in an exposed area under constant fire. By 11am K company would push a few men over the coconut barrier, but by this point the two leading companies had suffered 50% casualty rates. Reserve company L led by Major Michael P Ryan were just landing to the east and would lose 35% of their strength before even touching the each. A platoon of M4 Shermans attached to the 3rd battalion were tossed into the water but 4 of them got stuck in potholes in the coral reef and drowned out, only 2 tanks actually made it to the beach. Meanwhile at 9:22 the 2nd battalion, 2nd marines also landed in chaos and confusion at Red Beach 2. Company F was to hit the left while company E took the right and company G would act in support. Similar to Red Beach 1, a 4 foot high log barricade had been constructed to form a sea wall. Most of the barricade lay 20 yards from the waters edge, leaving a narrow open strip of deep coral sand for the marines to traverse. Numerous pillboxes and shelters lay around the barricade in intervals. Rogal's amtrac headed to Red beach 2 through mortar bursts that showered his men with shrapnel. When the boat grounded on the sand Rogal shouted “Lets go!” and the men went over the side through machine gun fire. Rogal rushed forward and could see above the seawall to the left a machine gun emplacement, it was one of the major strong points and it would kill roughly 300 marines that day. The amtracs drove onto the beaches and lowered their ramps with most of the first wave units making it to the seawall providing some shield from enemy fire. However going any further was near suicide, a few brave souls climbed over and were shot or wounded. Men sat crouched around the wall with their heads down waiting for tanks and air support. The volume of Japanese mortar, artillery and automatic fire was tremendous. F company was decimated, but managed to grab the left half of the beach near the pier, digging in on the coral sand. E Company suffered heavy casualties and the reserve G company landed in the center and immediately pinned down. As the men were huddled along the coconut barrier they began systematically eliminating enemy positions that jutted out onto the beach. Further to the east, at 9;17am the 2nd battalion, 8th marines of Major Henry Crowe began landing at red beach 3. They were backed up by 4 medium tanks of the 2nd tank battalion, 3 of the tanks would be put out of action within 2 hours. The marines at red beach 3 enjoyed more success than the other thanks to additional naval bombardment support that had lasted just until 7 minutes of their landing. They suffered just 25 casualties as the rapidly burst through the coconut barricade by driving LVTs through it. Company E led the way continuing as far inland as the triangle formed by the main airstrip and taxiways.    Colonel David Shoups 2nd marines were in dire trouble at Red Beach 2 and had to commit the reserve 1st battalion who landed there and were ordered to work their way west towards red beach 1in the hopes of aiding the 3rd battalion. By 11am, two companies in amphibious tractors came over and suffered the same fire that had decimated the other waves, but managed to get their men ashore. When General Smith heard about Shoups call for reinforcements he also sent the reserve 3rd battalion, 8th marines to relief their right flank. Boated over in LCVPs, the battalion were halted by the reef line and forced to wade ashore under heavy fire during the afternoon. Supply barges were unable to reach the beaches, forcing the reserve troops to carry the most vital supplies. Colonel Shoup had radioed the transported intermittently throughout the day asking for more ammunition ,water and medical supplies, but these calls just caused more confusion amongst the shipping. The transport commanders had been tossing boat after boat carrying supplies, but they had no real picture of the situation between their boats and the beach. Captain Henry Knowles would end up sending Major Ben Weatherwax ashore just to determine what the supply situation was. It would literally take until dawn to get a complete picture, that picture being that Shoup had received virtually none of the supplies supposed to be dispatched to him. Additionally two M4 shermans were brought up to help the battered 3rd battalion, 2nd marines who were driving across the island towards the south shore. The marines hit shelter to shelter making steady progress. The tanks got within 300 yards of the south shore when 40mm gunfire knocked them both out. The progress allowed Major Michael Ryan to discover that part of Green Beach, on the western coast of Betio was available for landing reserves. Unable to relay this to Shoup, he ultimately had to pull out and dig in to form a defensive position. While the Americans were suffering communication problems, the Japanese had a much worse one. The naval bombardment had destroyed their communications lines to the Japanese HQ, preventing Rear Admiral Shibazaki to lead, but that problem was soon solved. It was solved when a 5 inch air burst shell fired from either RInggold or Dashiell hit his HQ killing him and all the senior officers. The last message Shibazaki received before his death was from Emperor Hirohito “you have all fought gallantly. May you continue to fight to the death. Banzai”. Shibazaki had planned to launch a counterattack, but now his forces were for the first critical two days of the battle leaderless, demoralized and uncoordinated.  Concurrently the 8th marines were fighting to hold the triangle position they acquired under heavy attacks from the Japanese. F Company was in a brutal fight around the Burns-Philp Wharf facing a Japanese counterattack supported by tanks. The buildings were all ablaze as tanks and flamethrowers were firing upon everything they could. By nightfall the Japanese counterattack failed. To their right Shoups 2nd marines were unable to organize a proper attack because their forces were all over the place. They held a pinned down toehold around the beach, but many units had penetrated some 125 yards inland and no pockets were fighting all over. Throughout the night, men were frantically carrying supplies ashore, but few supplies were actually reaching the beaches. There was an enormous failure in communications. Aboard the USS Maryland, the only information General Julian Smith was receiving came from reports of observers in planes, intercepted radio messages and a few direct reports from Colonel Shoup. By 1:43pm Smith ordered General Hermle to go to the end of the pier and get an estimation of the situation ashore. At 3:10 Hermle tried the best he could to relay the information but couldn't get through. Hermle recommended the 1st battalion, 8th marines be committed to Red Beach 2, but this message never made it to Smith. Meanwhile Smith ordered Hermle to take command of the troops ashore, but this message never reached him. At 4:25 Smith ordered Colonel Hall, command of the 8th marines to land on the eastern beaches, but he also never received the message so most of his men spent the night floating. Luckily by 8:19pm Colonel Hall received a message and landed at Red Beach 2, whereupon he didn't receive any further orders. Over at Makin, Admiral Turner landed the 1st and 3rd battalions, 165th regiment. General Ralph Smiths plan called for the rapid capture of Flink point and Ukiangong Point, along with the occupation of the area east of Red Beaches to the first beachhead line around 1300 yards inland. The 1st battalion would hit Flink Point and the left half of the beachhead line. The 3rd battalion would hit Ukiangong village and Point and was responsible for the right half of the beachhead line. The 1st battalion advanced, overcoming some barbed wire, log barricades and an undefended observation tower. The3rd battalion made equal progress finding little resistance. By 10:30am the beachhead line was secured, Company A and Detachment Y had been dispatched northward to occupy Flink Point, L company with Detachment X were turning south to take Ukiengong Village and to clear the point beyond it. General SMith expected some resistance at Ukiangong, but it with the point were taken unopposed. Therefor Smith elected to establish artillery positions there. Flink Point was taken by 12:40, marking the operation quite an easy success. After receiving word at 8am that the Kotabu detachment had taken the island without opposition, Turner decided to go ahead with the landings on Yellow Beach. At 10:05am the landing forces advances towards Yellow Beach. The destroyers MacDonough and Phelps began a bombardment using their 5 inch guns. The first wave of 16 amphibian tractors began approaching as they fired rockets against the beach. Following up would in a minute was the second wave of 8 LCMS carrying medium tanks, followed two minutes later by the third wave, 7 LCMs carrying medium tanks, then another 2 minutes after was the fourth wave carrying two LCVPS with troops and 4 LCMS with light tanks. The next four waves would consist of LCVPS carrying the bulk of the assault troops and a bulldozer. At 10:25 the tractors were around 600 yards off the beach when the two destroyers ceased their firing to allow a last minute strafing run by carrier planes. As the approached, the men in the tractors crouched low to avoid the rain of bullets that began at around 500 yards. At 10:41 they hit the beaches and one amphtrack ran up the seaplane ramp on Kings Wharf. Enemy shellfire struck two amphtracks killing 5 men and wounding 12. One lone tractor lost control and drove straight across the island toward the ocean shore, directly through the main Japanese defenses. It ended up in a shell crater with two of its crew killed by enemy machine gun fire, but the others managed to jump into the brush. Upon jumping out of their tractors the Americans made their way inland by crawling along the western slope of the causeway. The pier was captured quickly, Detachment Z then divided into two groups, one to take King's Wharf, the other On Chong's Wharf. Kings Wharf was taken unopposed, but On Chong's Wharf would offer some tough resistance. The 105th regiment fought their way through dugouts and bomb proof shelters to get to the Wharf by dusk. They then began mass throwing grenades into the Wharf emplacements killing many Japanese. 35 Prisoners would soon be captured and by noon On Chong's Wharf was secured. Back over at the beach, 15 medium tanks landed on the beach with two becoming stuck in shell holes in the reef. The other tanks split up advancing east and west against the two tank barriers. Unfortunately they were not very well coordinated and began operating independently. Behind the tanks was the 2nd battalion, 165th regiment whose LCVPS grounded themselves on the reef. The landing troops had little to no opportunity to locate the incessant fire being poured upon them from the right flank. At the offset they believed the fire was coming from two battered and scuttled hulks resting near On Chong's Wharf. Their first effort to knock these out was made by a LCVP commanded by Joseph Kasper. The boat mounted three of its guns on the starboard side and ran for the hulks while firing all at once. Kasper was fatally wounded during the run and one of the guns jammed. The incessant fire was halting the men so at 11:25 and 12:50 carrier planes bombed and strafed the hulks. Alongside this the destroyer Dewey bombarded them scoring numerous hits, but by 12:07 was ordered to cease fire because a few hits hit friendlys. Finally at 12:57 Major Dennis Claire ordered a stop to the bombardments so he could lead E company to hit the eastern tank barrier. They met light resistance until they came to the area of Kings Wharf. There they ran into concealed pillboxes that would halt their advance for over 4 hours. The men tried rifle grenades, bazookas, artillery barrages, but the pillboxes kept returning fire. Then they tried a daring encirclement maneuver under artillery support. The men crawled and crept in a wide circle reaching the pill boxes 40 yards or so away. They attempted to use flamethrowers, but the defenders still fired back. Then some engineers brought over TNT which was tossed into the pillboxes and exploded just before some light tanks rolled up to fire using 37mm rounds. By 4pm the pill boxes finally ceased firing, 8 Americans had been killed taking them. E company advanced a bit before digging in for the night. F Company advanced across the atoll west to attack the west tank barrier. They did not encounter resistance, excluding the incredibly difficult jungle. By noon the reached the ocean shore where they reorganized their lines and made their way south alongside 5 Sherman tanks to assault the west tank barrier. F Company and the tanks ran into a tanktrap with underground shelters full of Japanese defenders. Some labor troops were also there armed with knives and a few rifles. F Company proceeded to use TNT pole charges to blow up the shelters and flame throwers which quickly became the preferred weapon to face Japanese underground defenses. During the fight F Company had 8 deaths and 6 wounded. By 1:30pm they reached the barrier. The 3rd Platoon of F Company were attacking a section due south of On Chong's Wharf where an enemy air raid shelter was. The shelter was around 30 feet long with blast proof entrances on either side. When they tossed hand grenades into the shelter the grenades were tossed right back at them. A sherman tank came up and started firing 75mm shells, but had no success. Then a flamethrower unit crept up and tried to fire, but the equipment was soaked from the landing and was not functioning. Thus they resorted to a TNT pole charge. The explosion did not collapse the shelter, but it killed all 12 Japanese inside it. Meanwhile countless units were dealing with machine gun positions aided by 3 shermans. The tanks gradually pierced the barrier and proceeded.  Meanwhile the 1st battalion was advancing from the west passing Joan Lake by 2pm. From there they ran into some strong machine gun posts 150 yards west of the barrier. B Company of the 1st battalion rushed over to help F company from the east side of the west tank barrier. At this point the regimental commander, Colonel Conroy had taken a shot to the head and was dead leaving Lt Colonel Gerard Kelley, the commander of the 1st battalion in charge. Kelley's first orders were for C company to bypass the pocket in the front, while A company would reinforce B company. The Japanese defenders were now trapped in the center being gradually eliminated by the 4 shermans. By 5:55pm F Company finally destroyed the last of the enemy in the center of the line and contact was made between the two battalions.  After suffering 25 deaths and 62 wounded, the 27th division had gained a good foothold on Butaritari; the West Tank Barrier had been reduced; but the enemy forces in the east still needed to be cleared. The night was a very uncomfortable one. Japanese snipers harassed the Americans the entire time; Japanese infiltrators were up to their old tricks calling out in english, throwing firecrackers and trying to jump into foxholes with knives in hand. Trigger happy Americans fired away indiscriminately, causing chaos. A man of the 152nd engineered ran along the lagoon shore at daybreak from the direction of On Chong's Wharf toward the 2nd battalions command post screaming “theres a hundred and fifty Japs in the trees!”. This caused a wave of hysteria. That morning Kelley ordered his 1st battalion to clear the remaining enemy pockets west of the barrier while the rear of the west tank barrier area was finally mopped up. To the east an air bombardment smashed the area before the eastward advance commenced. Supported by 10 shermans the Americans advanced slowly against stiff resistance, successfully overran every enemy position. Between 12-2pm they were fighting through one of the most heavily defended areas on the island. Machine gun emplacements supported by rifle pits with double apron barbed wire running back and forth were everywhere they looked. By 5pm they advanced 1000 yards at the cost of 18 deaths and 15 wounded. The next day starting at 6am the 3rd battalion advanced along the island highway towards Yellow Beach. As they reached Yellow Beach 13 medium and light tanks with some engineers fell in line with them and together they advanced towards Ukiangong Point. At 7am artillery bombarded Ukiangong Point, first targeting the east tank barrier. Until 8:20 the artillery fired nearly 900 rounds then the 3rd battalion began their assault upon forward defenses that had been abandoned during the night. By 9;15 the men seized the first 250 yards meeting only light resistance, after that it became fierce fighting. Meanwhile two detachments of the 105th regiment led by Major Herzog were dispatched to cut off the Japanese line of retreat. They performed an amphibious encirclement maneuver going through the lagoon. The men embarked on 6 LVTS and made a 3 mile dash across the lagoon to the northeastern point where they met up with friendly natives who notified them the Japanese were fleeing eastward across the reef to Kuma. They quickly seized Kuma and now the enemy on Butaritari was entirely cut off from their retreat. With artillery and tank support the 3rd battalion managed attacked the Stone Pier area. The tank commanders had learnt many lessons over the past two days and began using their big guns to reduce buildings ahead of them to infantry could toss grenades into the smaller shelters. Tank-infantry tactics were literally being developed ad hoc as the men learnt first hand lessons of war. Tanks opened up with 75mm shells knocking shelters and infantry stormed them with grenades. Soon the Stone Pier area was clear and now they began striking the east tank barrier. The east tank barrier was more heavily fortified than its western counterpart, yet the Japanese abandoned the barrier during the night. Only a few dead Japanese would be found, killed by earlier bombardments. The 3rd battalion continued past the barrier linking up with A company by 1:30pm finding no sign of the enemy. Together they advanced 2100 yards beyond the narrow neck of the island and dug in for the night. Each company created a separate defensive perimeter stretching across the width of the island in a line of about 300 yards in length. It was not long during the night when the Japanese got up to their old tricks. Following behind a group of friendly native guides, a group of Japanese infiltrators approached limiting the cries of babies. The ruse was recognized by a member of the engineer detachment who opened fire immediately killing 10 Japanese. For the rest of the night there was intermittent fire fights as infiltrators continuously attacked. The Japanese began to yell and sing songs, many sounding quite drunk.  It was not just there the Japanese attacked, over on Kuma Island at around midnight 10 Japanese attacked the defense line set up by Major Bradt's men. Although certainly shaken by the night terror, over 60 Japanese would be killed by the morning of the 23rd. This nearly wiped out the remaining survivors allowing the Americans to have firm control over Makin.  The Americans suffered 58 deaths, 152 wounded on Makin while the Japanese lost perhaps 800 men and the Americans captured 105 POW's. The Americans had held an unbelievable superiority during this battle. The ratio of American combat casualties to those of the Japanese though was remarkably high. With the battle concluded, most of the 27th division departed Makin on the 24th leaving Colonel CLesen Tenney to lead garrison forces. Tragedy hit that morning when the escort carrier Liscome Bay was sunk by the I-175 who had been hunting around Makin since the arrival of the Americans. This left the death toll at Makin 644, including Rear Admiral Henry Mullinnix. Back on Tarawa the marines were surprised the Japanese did not launch a major counterattack during the first night which was their typical strategy. General Smith landed his reserve 1st battalion, 8th marines on Red Beach 2, but they took some heavy casualties for this. Many of the men wading ashore were fired upon creating a scene of carnage. In central Betio Colonel Shoups marines unleashed a devastating artillery bombardment using delay fuzes in order to penetrate coral and log shelters to hit enemy positions around the triangle. A line just short of the taxiway on the airfield had formed, as the 1st battalion began to drive towards the south shore of Betio. The 1st battalion, 8th marines launched an attack against a strong defensive position at a juncture on the two right hand beaches to try and reestablish contact with the 3rd battalion 2nd marines. Other units of drove all the way across the island to secure Green Beach. The 8th marines were unable to make any progress against the strong Japanese positions. The major success of the day would be landing the reserve 1st and 2nd battalions, 6th marines at Green Beach and Bairiki island by the afternoon facing no opposition.  At this point Colonel Edson landed at Red Beach 2 and took command of the marine forces until General Smith landed. Colonel Edson spent his first night consulting with Shoup and Hall before ordering a coordinated attack the following morning. Edson noted, until then air and naval gunfire had been ineffective because they did not have acute knowledge of american and enemy positions. So Edson ordered spotters to get a better picture of the area and for the 2nd battalion, 10th marines artillery to come over. The next morning the 10th marines began an artillery bombardment to aid the attack. At 8am the 1st battalion, 6th marines advance eastwards down a narrow hundred yard strip of heavily fortified ground between the airfield and south shore. They rapidly progressed and by 11:00a would reach an area held by the 1st battalion, 2nd marines. It was estimated they killed 250 Japanese during this action. After completing this action new orders were issued to continue the advance east to the end of the airfield. They began advancing at 1pm and hit strong resistance. It would take until the late afternoon to clear the way over. During the afternoon the 3rd battalion, 6th marines landed at Green Beach and began advancing up the rear to aid in the assault. Elsewhere on Betio the 8th marines were making progress reducing the strong Burns-Philp Wharf position. The 18th marine engineers helped explode portions of steel pillboxes to let their colleagues storm them. One of the positions was a large blockhouse and when captured suddenly a large Japanese counterattack emerged to retake it. The 1st battalion, 8th marines on the western beaches proceeded slowly with fighting going on well into the night. Colonel Maurice Holmes 6th marines then relieved the 8th marines on the frontlines. By nightfall on the third day of the battle, the Americans now possessed all of the western end of Betio, going as far east as the eastern end of the airfield, except for some pockets between Red Beach 1 and 2. General Julian Smith finally came ashore on Green Beach just before noon assuming command. Despite the substantial gains, it was estimated that at least 5 more days of heavy fighting remaining before Betio was subdued. Smith gave Holmes the command for the final drive to the eastern tip of Betio. With the new daunting task at hand, Colonel Holmes prepared his forces for the brutal final drive, when all of a sudden 50 Japanese launched a counterattack. By the night of the 22nd, most of the remaining Japanese, roughly 1000 men were squeezed on the eastern narrow tail of the island. At 7:30 a group of 50 Japanese began attacking American positions recently just established. The 1st battalion, 6th marines had just assumed responsibility for the whole cross island line and the Japanese managed to find a small gap in the line. The Japanese used grenades and bayonets trying to break through, but the Americans were able to quickly encircle and annihilate them. Thus the Japanese were forced to launch a second probing attack later that night bringing their artillery 75 yards near the Marine front lines in an effort to screen their charges. The second attack was a two pronged movement hitting B company on the right and A company on the left. Both Japanese groups were obliterated in what became a wild frenzy of hand to hand fighting. Then after this the heaviest counterattack was launched at around 3am. The Japanese made a frontal assault for over an hour. 300 Japanese troops hit both A and B companies and like their other comrades were obliterated come the morning. These three attacks were in effect banzai charges, last ditch efforts to break the Americans, it cost the entire Japanese garrison. Holmes plans would be unnecessary to reach the eastern tip of Betio island as little opposition was found. By 10am the 1st battalion, 8th marines and 3rd battalion 2nd marines joined together to form a semicircular attack upon the last enemy pocket. They were supported by 75mm guns that unleashed carnage upon the pillboxes before marines grabbed prisoners through burst open holes from their shelters. Tarawa saw an estimated 4690 Japanese and Korean killed, with 17 Japanese and 129 Koreans POWs captured. The Marines suffered 1009 deaths, 2101 wounded and 191 missing in action. Vandegrift would tell the New York Times on December 27th "Tarawa was an assault from beginning to end. We must steel ourselves now to pay that price". November 24th would see the rest of the Tarawa atoll get mopped up and by the 29th, Abaiang, Marakei and the Maiana atolls were occupied. On the 21st the 5th amphibious corp reconnaissance company landed on Apamama under naval gunfire support from their submarine and escorting destroyer. They would encounter resistance from 23 Japanese whom they neutralized by the next day. With this Operation Galvanic has successfully been accomplished. The operation as we will see in the future weeks provided dire lessons to the allies about what the rest of the war would look like. As Vandegrift would later remark “Tarawa was the first example in history of a sea-borne assault against a heavily defended coral atoll … In the final analysis … success at Tarawa depended upon the discipline, courage, and fighting ability of the individual Marine. Seldom has anyone been called upon to fight a battle under more difficult circumstances.” It was under these circumstances, where the de facto practice of taking no prisoners would easily become the norm. The Japanese soldiers were faking deaths, hiding grenades to take allied men down with them. Suicide attacks were increasing exponentially. Thus the age of phrase would be adopted by the marines “shoot first and ask questions later”. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Operation Galvanic had finally been accomplished. It cost countless lives and would be one of the major bitter lessons learnt by the Americans during the Pacific War. The enemy was going to defend every single inch of their territory until the last man. Would America have the stomach to drive it home? 

In this episode, Dr. Rich Muller talks about the aerial defense of Germany during World War II, and how the German Luftwaffe was supplied, manned, attrited and replenished / reconstituted throughout the war and what that meant for the Allies and Allied Air Forces, We also talk a bit about the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, SAASS, which is the US Air Force's version of SAMS (the School of Advanced Military Studies) in the Army and SAW (the School of Advanced Warfighting) in the Marine Corps. Links The Luftwaffe Over Germany: Defense of the Reich by Donald Caldwell and Richard Muller (https://www.amazon.com/Luftwaffe-Over-Germany-Defense-Reich/dp/1848327412) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mother-of-tanks/message

Here are some historical events that happened on this day in the past:1777: The Articles of Confederation were adopted by the Continental Congress in the United States.1889: Brazil officially became a republic, ending its monarchy.1920: The League of Nations held its first assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.1940: The German Luftwaffe bombed Coventry, England during World War II.1969: A quarter of a million protesters staged a peaceful demonstration against the Vietnam War in Washington, D.C., which became known as the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam.1988: The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) proclaimed the establishment of the State of Palestine.Podcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/a-to-z-this-day-in-world-history-november-15th/Social Media:Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok:@atozenglish1Instagram:@atozenglish22Twitter:@atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ADonate to the show: https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/donationsRobin and Jack started a new You Tube channel called English Word Master. You can check it out here:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2aXaXaMY4P2VhVaEre5w7ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Freehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Directionless_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Directionless_EP_-_03_Day_Bird/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/eaters/simian-samba/audrey-horne/https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Joplin/Piano_Rolls_from_archiveorg/ScottJoplin-RagtimeDance1906/https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

As a wise man once said, "Whoever controls the media, controls the mind." There's no better example of that than a little piece of war-time propaganda that has stood the test of time for nearly a century; one that you probably believe yourself! Check out this week's episode to learn how the German Luftwaffe was brought to its knees with a single misinformation campaign. Follow us on Instagram & Twitter for extra content and updates! We're @FantasticHPod Email us with questions/suggestions at FantasticHistoryPod@gmail.com Fantastic History Stickers available Here! Please subscribe and leave a review! Sources: https://www.history.com/news/napoleon-complex-short https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/a-wwii-propaganda-campaign-popularized-the-myth-that-carrots-help-you-see-in-the-dark-28812484/ “The Bomber Will Always Get Through” | Air & Space Forces Magazine (airandspaceforces.com) The Original Lord Woolton Pie – Recipe No. 151 – The 1940's Experiment (the1940sexperiment.com) Music: Order by ComaStudio (royalty free) This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

[NEW] World War 1 Stories & Real Battle - ⁠Listen Here⁠ As Hitler and the Axis powers tighten their grip on Europe, Britain stands alone, defiant in the face of impending invasion. Join us as we delve into the tactics, technology, and tenacity of the RAF and their epic struggle against the German Luftwaffe. From the key players to the lesser-known heroes, we'll explore how the stage was set for this legendary air battle. Strap in and hold tight as we journey back to the summer of 1940, where the destiny of free world hung in the balance. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ww2-stories/support

[NEW] World War 1 Stories & Real Battle - ⁠Listen Here⁠ Welcome to "World War 2 Stories: Stories of War, History Stories," the podcast that brings you the untold tales of heroism, sacrifice, and determination from the most significant conflict in human history. I'm your host, Steve Matthews and in today's episode, we're diving into the remarkable story of Hanns Scharff, known as "The Gentle Interrogator." A master of psychological manipulation, Scharff was a German Luftwaffe interrogator during World War II, who earned a reputation for his humane and effective techniques in extracting valuable intelligence from captured Allied airmen. Join us as we unravel the intriguing tale of this unique figure, whose life and legacy continue to influence the field of interrogation to this day. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ww2-stories/support

This is the sixth installment in Eric Ludy's winter Daily Thunder series, 1940, which follows the epic storyline of Hitler's rise to power in Europe in the the '30's and Great Britain's unexpected stand to thwart his progress. In this episode, Eric zooms in on the Battle of Britain--explaining the importance in WW2 of ruling the air. The Battle of Britain still stands as the longest air battle of history, and it's parallel with our spiritual lives is uncanny. For we, as Christians, are also in an air battle. Our enemy is not the German Luftwaffe--it's with the Prince of the Power of the Air (a.k.a. the Devil himself).

In Episode 2 you'll hear Obie talk about being assigned to the 357th Fighter group as part of the Eight Air Force during the air war over Europe in WW2. He'll describe his introduction to the P-51 Mustang, the missions he flew and the tactics a fighter pilot needed to learn if he wanted to survive a dogfight with a skilled and determined enemy, the German Luftwaffe. 

Dana and Tom discuss a seminal movie of Dana's childhood, The Great Escape (1963): directed by John Sturges, written by James Clavell and W. R. Burnett, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Donald Pleasence, Charles Bronson, and James Coburn.Plot Summary: In WWII, a group of allied officers who have a history of escape, are placed together in a high security prison by the German Luftwaffe as these men have various skills to plan, organize, and carry out elaborate escape plans. The prisoners' escape committee, the "X" Organization, led by "Big X" RAF Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett (Richard Attenborough), soon plan a tunnel escape of 250 men. Among the group are American Flight Lieutenant Bob Hendley (James Garner), Australian Flying Officer Sedgwick (James Coburn), Flight Lieutenants Danny Velinski (Charles Bronson) and Willie Dickes (John Leyton) and Captain Virgil Hilts (Steve McQueen).You can now follow us on Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok (@gmoatpodcast) or find our Facebook page at Greatest Movie of All-Time Podcast.For more on the episode, go to: https://www.ronnyduncanstudios.com/post/the-great-escape-1963For the entire rankings list so far, go to: https://www.ronnyduncanstudios.com/post/greatest-movie-of-all-time-list

(Bonus) Operation Banquet was a British Second World War plan to use every available aircraft against a German invasion in 1940 or 1941. After the Fall of France in June 1940, the British Government made urgent anti-invasion preparations as the Royal Air Force (RAF) engaged the German Luftwaffe in a struggle for air superiority in the Battle of Britain. In May 1940, the Air Ministry had realized that beyond the normal reserves of the RAF, it may be necessary to throw every serviceable aircraft into the battle. On 17 May, an Air Ministry meeting outlined ambitious plans to use various aircraft in the event of an invasion.

Stabsfeldwebel Christian Timmig has the job of taking good pictures of Germany's fast Eurofighters - Seit über einem Monat sind deutsche Luftwaffenflugzeuge und Mannschaften an Militärmanövern im Norden Australiens beteiligt. Das ist ein historisches Ereignis, denn so weit zu fliegen, ist schon eine logistische Meisterleistung. Fotografiert und gefilmt wird das alles auch und diese Aufgabe obliegt Stabsfeldwebel Christian Timmig. Er hat sogar das seltene Privileg, in diesen pfeilschnellen Düsenjägern mitzufliegen, um Aufnahmen zu machen. Er erzählt SBS Radio von seinem exklusiven Arbeitsplatz:

The Nazi German Luftwaffe launched the first of 57 consecutive days and nights of bombing raids on London in what became known as the ...

These words were spoken August 20th, 1940, by the Prime Minister of England, to pilots of the British Royal Air Force, who had been showing great courage against the German Luftwaffe in an effort to save Great Britain from being bombed into submission. This was the Battle of Britain- these were dark days- and the PM wanted these brave men to know that they carried the undying gratitude of their countrymen for their courage and sacrifice in the face of overwhelming odds. ANDROID USERS- 1001 Radio Days right here at Google Podcasts FREE: https://podcasts.google.com/search/1001%20radio%20days 1001 Classic Short Stories & Tales at Google Podcasts https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vQURMNzU3MzM0Mjg0NQ== 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries at Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/search/1001%20heroes 1001 Sherlock Holmes Stories (& Tales from Arthur Conan Doyle) https://podcasts.google.com/search/1001%20sherlock%20holmes 1001 Ghost Stories & Tales of the Macabre on Spotify: https://podcasts.google.com/search/1001%20ghost%20stories 1001 Stories for the Road on Google Podcasts https://podcasts.google.com/search/1001%20stories%20for%20the%20road Enjoy 1001 Greatest Love Stories on Google Podcasts https://podcasts.google.com/search/1001%20greatest%20love%20stories 1001 History's Best Storytellers: (author interviews) on Stitcher https://www.stitcher.com/show/1001-historys-best-storytellers APPLE USERS Catch 1001 Heroes on any Apple Device here (Free): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-heroes-legends-histories-mysteries-podcast/id956154836?mt=2  Catch 1001 CLASSIC SHORT STORIES at Apple Podcast App Now: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-classic-short-stories-tales/id1078098622 Catch 1001 Stories for the Road at Apple Podcast now:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-stories-for-the-road/id1227478901 NEW Enjoy 1001 Greatest Love Stories on Apple Devices here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-greatest-love-stories/id1485751552 Catch 1001 RADIO DAYS now at Apple iTunes!  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-radio-days/id1405045413?mt=2 NEW 1001 Ghost Stories & Tales of the Macabre is now playing at Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-ghost-stories-tales-of-the-macabre/id1516332327 NEW Enjoy 1001 History's Best Storytellers (Interviews) on Apple Devices here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-historys-best-storytellers/id1483649026 NEW Enjoy 1001 Sherlock Holmes Stories and The Best of Arthur Conan Doyle https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-sherlock-holmes-stories-best-sir-arthur-conan/id1534427618 Get all of our shows at one website: https://.1001storiespodcast.com REVIEWS NEEDED . My email works as well for comments: 1001storiespodcast@gmail.com SUPPORT OUR SHOW BY BECOMING A PATRON! https://.patreon.com/1001storiesnetwork. Its time I started asking for support! Thank you. Its a few dollars a month OR a one time. (Any amount is appreciated). YOUR REVIEWS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS AT APPLE/ITUNES AND ALL ANDROID HOSTS ARE NEEDED AND APPRECIATED! LINKS BELOW.. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In World War II, an American bomber pilot's combat service was to last for 25 missions. However, most did not survive to see their 10th. In October 1943, John ‘Lucky' Luckadoo began his 22nd mission. The assault on Bremen, Germany was to utilize dense cloud cover to shield the B-17 Flying Fortresses. However, when they arrived, the clouds had disappeared, and 50 American pilots and crew members would lose their lives. HBH is honored to be joined by Kevin Maurer, the author of ‘Damn Lucky: One Man's Courage During the Bloodiest Military Campaign in Aviation History', and special guest - 100-year-old John ‘Lucky' Luckadoo.The Nazi submarine pens outside of Bremen  were extremely well-fortified by anti-aircraft munitions and German Luftwaffe fighter planes. Even with the expected cloud cover, the mission was to be harrowing. However, when the expected advantage was nowhere to be found, Second Lieutenant John ‘Lucky' Luckadoo thought this mission may be his last.Like 10 million other brave young Americans, ‘Lucky' answered the call and joined the US military after the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. He trained as a pilot with the US Army Air Force and was assigned to the 100th Bomb Group stationed in Thorpe Abbotts, England, where he flew bombing runs over France and Germany to destroy the Nazi war machine. A true hero, his amazing career included being awarded a Purple Heart as well as a French Legion of Honor Award, France's Highest Honor.Kevin Maurer is an award-winning journalist and NYT bestselling author. Be sure to check out his outstanding new book, ‘Damn Lucky: One Man's Courage During the Bloodiest Military Campaign in Aviation History', along with his other acclaimed work.And don't forget to Download, Subscribe, Rate and Review Heroes Behind Headlines.

In this episode of Your History Your Story, we will be speaking with the last living US Triple Ace fighter pilot from World War 2, Clarence E. “Bud” Anderson. Bud, who celebrated his 100th birthday on January 13, 2022, began his fascination with airplanes after hearing about Charles Lindbergh's famous flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927. As a boy in rural California, Bud spent hours with a friend watching bi-planes take off and land at a local air strip. Bud's love of airplanes eventually led him to join the US Army Aviation Cadet Program on his 20th birthday, one month after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the United States' entry into WW2. After receiving his wings, Bud entered the war in Europe as a fighter pilot. From November 1943 through January 1945, Bud flew 116 combat missions in his P-51 Mustang, which he nicknamed “Old Crow” and was credited with destroying 16 1/4 enemy aircraft. Bud will be sharing with us stories from his life and 30 year career in the US Army Air Corps and US Air Force, which will include vivid accounts of aerial combat against the German Luftwaffe, his combat tour in Vietnam and his friendship with a German fighter pilot which developed many years after WW2. Photo(s): Courtesy of Bud Anderson / Jim Anderson Music: "With Loved Ones" Jay Man

My special guest is author Steve Snyder who's here to discuss his book Shot Down that details his father's amazing survival after being shot down by German fighters during WWII. Get his book  Shot Down: The true story of pilot Howard Snyder and the crew of the B-17 Susan Ruth on Amazon.  Winner of 20 national book awards, SHOT DOWN is set within the framework of World War II in Europe and recounts the dramatic experiences of each member of a ten man B-17 bomber crew after their plane, piloted by the author's father, was knocked out of the sky by German fighters over the French/Belgian border on February 8,1944.  Some men died. Some were captured and became prisoners of war. Some men evaded capture and were missing in action for months before making it back to England. Their individual stories and those of the courageous Belgian people who risked their lives to help them are all different and are all remarkable.   Even before the dramatic battle in the air and the subsequent harrowing events on the ground, the story is informative, insightful, and captivating. Prior to the fateful event, the book covers the crew's training, their journey to England, what life was like on base as well as in London and the English countryside, and the perils of flying combat missions over occupied Europe and Germany.   Through personal letters, oral and written accounts, declassified military documents, and interviews - all from people who took part in the events that happened over 70 years ago (even the German Luftwaffe pilot who shot down the Susan Ruth) - the stories come alive. Adding to the feeling of "being there", are more than 200 time period photographs interspersed throughout the book.  To add background and context, many historical facts and anecdotes about and surrounding World War II are entwined throughout the book so that the reader has a feel for and understanding of what was occurring on a broader scale. SHOT DOWN is an account about brave individuals, featuring pilot Howard Snyder, set within the compelling events of the greatest conflict in world history.      It's super easy to access our archives!   Here's how:   iPhone Users: Access Mysterious Radio from Apple Podcasts and become a subscriber there or if you want access to even more exclusive content join us on Patreon.   Android Users: Enjoy over 800 exclusive member-only posts to include ad-free episodes, case files and more when you join us on Patreon.    Copy and Paste our link in a text message to all your family members and friends! We'll love you forever! (Check out Mysterious Radio!)

My special guest is author Steve Snyder who's here to discuss his book Shot Down that details his father's amazing survival after being shot down by German fighters during WWII. Get his book Shot Down: The true story of pilot Howard Snyder and the crew of the B-17 Susan Ruth on Amazon. Winner of 20 national book awards, SHOT DOWN is set within the framework of World War II in Europe and recounts the dramatic experiences of each member of a ten man B-17 bomber crew after their plane, piloted by the author's father, was knocked out of the sky by German fighters over the French/Belgian border on February 8,1944. Some men died. Some were captured and became prisoners of war. Some men evaded capture and were missing in action for months before making it back to England. Their individual stories and those of the courageous Belgian people who risked their lives to help them are all different and are all remarkable.  Even before the dramatic battle in the air and the subsequent harrowing events on the ground, the story is informative, insightful, and captivating. Prior to the fateful event, the book covers the crew's training, their journey to England, what life was like on base as well as in London and the English countryside, and the perils of flying combat missions over occupied Europe and Germany.  Through personal letters, oral and written accounts, declassified military documents, and interviews - all from people who took part in the events that happened over 70 years ago (even the German Luftwaffe pilot who shot down the Susan Ruth) - the stories come alive. Adding to the feeling of "being there", are more than 200 time period photographs interspersed throughout the book. To add background and context, many historical facts and anecdotes about and surrounding World War II are entwined throughout the book so that the reader has a feel for and understanding of what was occurring on a broader scale. SHOT DOWN is an account about brave individuals, featuring pilot Howard Snyder, set within the compelling events of the greatest conflict in world history. Wanna get creeped out? Follow our new podcast 'Paranormal Fears' on any podcast app or Apple Podcasts. Listen AD-FREE by subscribing to our channel on Apple Podcasts! On all other apps you can enjoy AD-FREE listening here https://mysteriousradio.supercast.com/ Share your thoughts and opinions! Join our new group chat on Telegram - https://t.me/mysteriousradio Visit our home on the web: https://www.mysteriousradio.com Follow us on Instagram @mysteriousradio Follow us on TikTok mysteriousradioTikTok Follow us on Twitter @mysteriousradio Follow us on Pinterest pinterest.com/mysteriousradio Like us on Facebook Facebook.com/mysteriousradio Check Out Mysterious Radio! (copy the link to share with your friends and family via text Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Were the German Luftwaffe the mighty Goliath to Britain's David during the Battle of Britain, or were they in fact more evenly matched? And what on earth was the Luftwaffe's strategy for knocking Britain out of the war? Victoria Taylor is an aviation historian who is just completing her PhD in the Luftwaffe and its politicisation under the Nazis. In this episode from the archives, she talks to Dan Snow about how the Germans approached the Battle of Britain. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Many years ago, I introduced a new format that alongside our regular episodes called “Lessons for Hannah.” Hannah is my daughter and one of the main inspirations for the Misfit Entrepreneur. I wanted to have a place where she could go and learn from her daddy and his Misfit friends throughout her life…. even after I am gone. If you haven't listened to the first episode of Lessons for Hannah, I urge you to as it gives some more background and tells the amazing story of how Hannah came to be in our lives. Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I'm going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don't hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We'd love to share it. Ok, so here goes…this week's Lesson for Hannah. Hannah, As this is the last Lessons for Hannah of 2021, I wanted to share the 3 biggest lessons I am taking away from this past year. First, I have to say, the last two years have been incredibly eye-opening, awe-inspiring, humbling, and scary and exciting at the same time. Thinking about it. It is truly amazing how much has transpired. We entered 2020 like any other year with plans and goals for life and business and just a few months later everything was thrown upside down and seemingly overnight fear gripped the world and life as we knew it stopped. For entrepreneurs like me who have different businesses in addition to my family responsibilities, it was a rollercoaster as we literally overnight had to change our businesses to keep them going and for many, find ways to even stay in business. Our employees depended on us to help them in the time of crisis and we had to step up. Additionally, our family life changed with restrictions, mandates, and a general fear of the unknown. But, we made it through 2020 and for the most part we were able to keep our businesses and lives going as close to normal as possible. As I think about, it is funny and not funny, how much “normal” has changed for the world in just a couple years. We then came into 2021 and the world seemed to perpetuate many of the things we were originally supposed to do for the short term in fighting the virus. I know for me, it seemed like things waned on a lot longer than they should have and as I write this, in many places things lockdowns, restrictions, and mandates are all still going on. In fact, Australia literally has camps people are having to stay in if they are not vaccinated or test positive. They are literally going into communities and rounding people up against their will. And that is not the only place things like this are happening. We have been fortunate that we live in a place where we have been able to get back to do things mostly the way we did before the virus, and I thank God for that. I thank God for a lot of things, and I pray the blessings given to us are given to others who need them more. As I have reflected on all of this, I have found many lessons to take away or that were confirmed for me over the last year or so. Here are the 3 most important for me. Lesson #1: Press On. I've always been one to push through and keep going. To find a way and make a way. I think any entrepreneur who has been at it long enough and found success has to do so. There have been so many times over the years building businesses where failure and losing it all was seemingly one day away. But through tremendous effort, ingenuity, a little luck, and a lot of miracles, my business partners and I have been able to make it. Being an entrepreneur will teach you what it means to endure. The big thing about the last year or so was that we had to endure in all areas of our lives. It wasn't just one area – but every aspect. We had to do in business, in our families, relationships, health – everywhere. That is truly something. As I thought about this and gained a sincere appreciation for what people around the world have had to press on through and endure, it crystalized for me. I am not sure I ever understood what it truly means to do this. What true difficulty and sacrifice on a grand scale looks like. Many people have probably seen the poster of Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of England during WWII, that says “Keep calm and carry on.” A lot of people use the phrase or hang the poster up. But, now after seeing what the world had gone through and done to itself over the last two years, I can better understand how important that phrase was. Think about, when this was being said, Britain was being bombed almost every day by the German Luftwaffe, essentially the German air force. The whole country was burning for years, and things were destroyed everywhere, not to mention all of the death. In fact, when it was all over, much of the countries of Europe were in rubble with millions upon millions dead. Keep calm and carry on. Through it all, the people of these countries pressed on. I don't believe what we have gone through with the virus is comparable to the devastation and death of World Wars – but then I think the small business, the local gym, restaurant, or haircut shop that was shut down for months on end and many had to close their doors for good. It may not have been a physical bomb that dropped from a plane that blew up their building and business, but the result was the same. Yet, people press on. We endure and we continue to. Hannah after having gone through this experience, I am more confident now that you and our fellow man can handle anything that comes our way. Lesson #2: The Truth is Precious. I think we take the truth for granted. We assume people and groups are truthful, when they may not be, or they take a piece of the truth and mix it with untruth. It is important for us to seek the real truth and not just believe what we see in a headline, a twitter post, from the media, or even people who are “in charge” telling us something. We must ask further questions and do research diligently to find the truth – and it's worth it to do the work. We have so many examples from this year in which snap judgements were made without the truth or evidence or perpetuating a narrative was more important than the truth. We've had top medical experts flip-flop many times on what to do for our health – almost weekly in a lot of cases. We've had people that the media had deemed completely guilty totally exonerated when they went to trial and the evidence was finally revealed. And conversely, we've had people that the media and even politicians stood behind and said they were victims, only to find when the evidence came out that they were the ones perpetuating the crime against themselves for publicity- creating a hoax. We must not take things for granted and ask “What is the truth.” Because the truth seems harder to come by and is precious and there is only one version of it. There is no such thing as “your truth” or “their truth,” there is only one truth. And we must, must be truthful not just in our lives with others, but to ourselves. It not only helps us live a better life, but to be better in all areas of life. That brings me to my last lesson. Lesson #3: Know Your Principles and What You Stand For. Do Not Sacrifice Them. There is not much more I should have to say on that point. Do you know what you stand for? Do you know what your principles are? For context, here is the definition of Principles - a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning. So, what is your foundation? What is it that you truly will not sacrifice even if not doing so brings pain, loss, or causes trouble in your life? Hannah, I hope by growing up with your mother and I, you have developed solid principles that you know in your heart and will not give up for anything. Please do the deep work to ask yourself what yours are and know them – because over the last year or so, I have seen many sacrifice what they said were core principles in the lives and on the world stage for personal gain or power. It is not worth it, it never is. And sacrificing these in your life will create much bigger problems than if you had endured and stuck to them in the moment they were challenged. Hannah, while we are still going through these challenging times, I see more potential and opportunity for people than ever before. People are waking up to finding their principles and seeking the real truth as a bedrock to build from – and they are pressing on and creating a better life for themselves and a better world for all of us. Even at 9 years old, you are doing this in your own way – in fact, it was during this time that you pressed on, endured, and overcame many challenges to get your black belt in Tai Kwan Do. I could not be prouder of you and I hope you put these lessons to work throughout your life. I love you, Daddy   Best Quote: Hannah after having gone through this experience, I am more confident now that you and our fellow man can handle anything that comes our way.   Misfit 3: Press On. The Truth is Precious. Know Your Principles and What You Stand For. Do Not Sacrifice Them.

Between September 1940 and May 1941, the German Luftwaffe relentlessly pounded British cities with bombs in an attempt to force the British to surrender. Ultimately whilst killing thousands and causing extensive damage the bombing offensive failed. The morale of the British public was largely undimmed and war production was never seriously impacted. The Blitz has become a key part of the British national psyche with many celebrating the 'Blitz spirit' with people coming together and helping one another during the crisis. But, as with much of history, the reality was much messier and complex. Spivs and looters profited from the chaos, people explored new ideas and sexualities, and there were new opportunities for women. In this interview from the archive of Dan Snow's History Hit the author of The Secret History of the Blitz, Joshua Levine, discusses the myths and realities of the Blitz and the social and political changes it brought about. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

An American fighter pilot doomed to die in Buchenwald but determined to survive. On August 13, 1944, Joe Moser set off on his forty-fourth combat mission over occupied France. Soon, he would join almost 170 other Allied airmen as prisoners in Buchenwald, one of the most notorious and deadly of Nazi concentration camps. Tom Clavin's Lightning Down tells this largely untold and riveting true story. Moser was just twenty-two years old, a farm boy from Washington State who fell in love with flying. During the War he realized his dream of piloting a P-38 Lightning, one of the most effective weapons the Army Air Corps had against the powerful German Luftwaffe. But on that hot August morning he had to bail out of his damaged, burning plane. Captured immediately, Moser's journey into hell began. Moser and his courageous comrades from England, Canada, New Zealand, and elsewhere endured the most horrific conditions during their imprisonment... until the day the orders were issued by Hitler himself to execute them. Only a most desperate plan would save them. The page-turning momentum of Lightning Down is like that of a thriller, but the stories of imprisoned and brutalized airmen are true and told in unforgettable detail, led by the distinctly American voice of Joe Moser, who prays every day to be reunited with his family. Lightning Down is a can't-put-it-down inspiring saga of brave men confronting great evil and great odds against survival. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/steve-richards/support

Between September 1940 and May 1941, the German Luftwaffe relentlessly pounded British cities with bombs in an attempt to force the British to surrender. Ultimately whilst killing thousands and causing extensive damage the bombing offensive failed. The morale of the British public was largely undimmed and war production was never seriously impacted. The Blitz has become a key part of the British national psyche with many celebrating the 'Blitz spirit' with people coming together and helping one another during the crisis. But, as with much of history, the reality was much messier and complex. Spivs and looters profited from the chaos, people explored new ideas and sexualities, and there were new opportunities for women. In this interview taken from our archive, Joshua Levine author of The Secret History of the Blitz discusses the myths and realities of the Blitz and the social and political changes it brought about. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Between September 1940 and May 1941, the German Luftwaffe relentlessly pounded British cities with bombs in an attempt to force the British to surrender. Ultimately whilst killing thousands and causing extensive damage the bombing offensive failed. The morale of the British public was largely undimmed and war production was never seriously impacted. The Blitz has become a key part of the British national psyche with many celebrating the 'Blitz spirit' with people coming together and helping one another during the crisis. But, as with much of history, the reality was much messier and complex. Spivs and looters profited from the chaos, people explored new ideas and sexualities, and there were new opportunities for women. In this interview taken from our archive, Joshua Levine author of The Secret History of the Blitz discusses the myths and realities of the Blitz and the social and political changes it brought about. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Team:COACH GARY HERE. THIS EPISODE OF THE ‘BRICK AND BLOCK PODCAST' FEATURES THE AUDIO VERSION OF MY July 2020 COLUMN IN MASONRY MAGAZINE. YOU PROBABLY KNOW THE COLUMN AS ‘FULL CONTACT PROJECT MANAGER'. THE TITLE OF THE COLUMN YOU ARE ABOUT TO HEAR IS: History Keeps Repeating Itself…But Will We Listen? There's a reason I wrote this column: some would look at our country and conclude that things are really messed up, right now. It's hard to argue. However…let's temper that judgment, realizing that, just about 8 decades ago the world was on the brink of war—a world war—and we came through it. In fact, the infamous “Battle of Britain” began 81 years ago this July, and that was quite a bit bigger mess than we have today, believe it or not! So, it's important to have some perspective. All considered, in some respects, this might be one of the most important podcasts I've ever done. But, then again…all of my podcasts are important! So…dig in! We begin immediately,     and by immediately,   I mean once I remind you that you can find our website at BRICK AND BLOCK PODCAST DOT COM (repeat). I'm making a point this episode about websites that support your business, and I've got an excellent example of one: Masonry Contractor Special Website. You'll see it there. That's what you're looking for. It's bullet proof, BEAUTIFUL, cutting edge, DONE FOR YOU, and practically free! You'll love this one. Check it out. Of course, if you're not a masonry contractor, we have very similar websites, but in your specialty. So…check it out. And now, Episode 17, “History Keeps Repeating Itself…But Will We Listen?”By Coach Gary Micheloni  OKAY, TEAM.    HANG ON, BUCKLE UP… LISTEN UP,  AND PREPARE TO MOVE UP.  History Keeps Repeating Itself“But…Will We Listen?”by “Coach Gary” MicheloniHave we lost sight of what's important…the goal? Have we kept our eyes on the ball? Nope. I'm writing this in June. Do things look bad and messed up right now. Yup. Do people screw up and do horrific acts. Sometimes. Makes me want to cry. I need some balance—how about you? Is the world right now the most horrible it's ever been, or is there some progress, some promise? Let's look around.Way back when, before most of us were even born, a career politician met with a head of state, with a mission of achieving, for the first time in human history, world peace. A noble goal, right? The two countries, along with the vast majority of journalists around the planet, celebrated wildly that Sept 30, 1938. And, with Germany having consumed Austria just six months prior, people really wanted this. So, a treaty was signed. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain promised “Peace for our time.” Great—it sounds so good! Could anything possibly go wrong?Well, it did: less than two years later, July 10, 1940, the Battle of Britain began and Germany attacked Britain by air. And just a few months prior to that, 400,000 British troops were almost lost at Dunkirk, France, and would have were it not for the determined citizens of the UK, who sailed across the English Channel and helped the Navy rescue fully 350,000 of them—many saved by British fishermen in their tiny boats, a few at a time. That's a lot of trips over rough water, but they got it done. There's a lesson here, isn't there?So, things were not going well. The British certainly had not achieved ‘peace for their time'. Something had to be done. King George realized he needed, as the Godfather's ‘Don' Vito Corleone might have said, a ‘wartime consigliere'. The king knew he needed leadership, and he needed it right now.Have you ever found yourself in that position? You're working on a project, trying to get it done on time and budget, trying to be a nice guy or gal, and somebody just won't get out of your way. Harms your company, kills your budget and destroys your time frame. Know what I'm talking about? You reach a point when nice for the sake of nice gets thrown out the window. To survive, you assert your right to lead, especially if you're under fire, and you begin leading from the front—again!Enter, consigliere (and now, Prime Minister) Winston Churchill. He took over as PM—from Chamberlain—early May, 1940. In a speech before the House of Commons of the UK Parliament, he let them know what was before them, and it wasn't pretty. No platitudes. No grandiosity. He reminded them that they were in the preliminary stage of one of the greatest battles in history. What did Churchill say? [TEAM, you should literally cut out this speech and paste it over your desk at work. Really!] He said,“…I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many months of struggle and suffering.You ask, what is our policy? I say it is to wage war by land, sea, and air. War with all our might and with all the strength God has given us, and to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy.He was not one to mince words. A straight-shooter (now there's another lesson here for us), Churchill termed the fiasco at Dunkirk “a colossal military disaster…” He continued:“You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory. Victory at all costs — Victory in spite of all terrors — Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival.“Let that be realized. No survival for the British Empire, no survival for all that the British Empire has stood for, no survival for the urge, the impulse of the ages, that mankind shall move forward toward his goal. "…Come then, let us go forward together with our united strength."These last several months for our country have some similarities, don't they? The battles continue. Strategies change and evolve. Hysterical people along with powerful bureaucrats seem to have their way. That was the case in 1938. They got their way then, but what happened in 1940? It's another story, completely.Eighty years ago (I'm writing this column in June), Churchill addressed the House of Commons, and shared with his people the reality that he foresaw on the horizon:I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, “This was their finest hour.”That Battle raged for 113 days. (Much longer than the lockdowns many have endured here in the USA). Parents sent their children to live safely in temporary foster homes far from the carnage of London. Britain lost over 1,400 air crew. Additionally, some 43,000 civilians were killed and 139,000 wounded. In the midst of it, August 20, 1940, knowing that his country had to win, at all costs, whatever the cost, no matter the sacrifice…and…would win—somehow, some way…he foresaw victory. In the midst of it, having watched the out-numbered and seriously out-gunned RAF keep at bay the vaunted German Luftwaffe, until both sides either knew—or realized—who would ultimately win this air battle…Churchill inspired his people to the greatness of their destiny which lay before themThe air Battle of Britain was then only half over when Churchill shared this vision with his nation. Somehow, he sensed, he foresaw, victory in all of this: the debt of gratitude they all owed to those who waged the battle in the skies. He said,The gratitude of every home in our island, in our Empire, and indeed throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unweakened by their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of world war by their prowess and their devotion.“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”All hearts go out to the fighter pilots, whose brilliant actions we see with our own eyes day after day, but we must never forget that all the time, night after night, month after month, our bomber squadrons travel far into Germany, find their targets in the darkness by the highest navigational skill, aim their attacks, often under the heaviest fire, often at serious loss, with deliberate, careful precision, and inflict shattering blows upon the whole of the technical and war-making structure of the Nazi power.October 31, 1940 that air war ended. A huge team effort. ‘Coach Gary's' thoughts:“I don't know about you, but as bad as our 2020 has been for me, I surely wouldn't trade it for their 1940!”No doubt, 2020 has been a tough year for all of us, and looks like it might continue. We often hear people telling others to ‘hang in there', ‘we'll get through this', things like that. In fact, ‘Coach Gary' has himself said precisely that on several occasions. But why do we say such things, and respond so positively when we hear them ourselves? It's because we've also witnessed these things. I love history and the lessons it teaches us because, as the old saying goes, if you don't remember the past you are condemned to repeat it. That reference was regarding the bad elements of history. But it also applies in the other direction: remember the good that you've done, the struggles you've overcome, the brilliance of your strategies, the fullness of your friendships and the depth of your faith. These things will transport you over the rough patches, down the dark roads, past the sketchy people who would seek to get in your way. Too many people are worried about things they can't control, yet turn their backs on those they can. Said another way: take the high road or the low road. As for me and my house, we'll take the road less travelled. May this become our ‘finest hour'.COACH GARY'S TAKEAWAY: Whatever your situation, ready yourself, your community, family and company and get set to take off. Go lead! Because we'll get through this—all of it. Of course we will! Coach Gary's Corner: Gary Micheloni is a construction company marketer, speaker, author, consultant…and a coach. Get Coach Gary to speak for your group. FullContactTeam@gmail.com And be sure and tell him about how you are leading! Copyright 20 Gary MicheloniCopyrigOKAY TEAM. THAT'S IT FOR TODAY.YOU CAN REACH OUT TO US BY EMAIL: BrickAndBlockPodcast@gmail.com (SPELL OUT THE WORD “AND”: A.N.D.)  Brick And BlockPodcast@gmail.comBE SURE AND SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST. IT'S IMPORTANT.WE WANT YOU TO JOIN US FOR THE NEXT EPISODE. NOW…FOR THE BRICK AND BLOCK PODCAST…THIS IS COACH GARY… THANKS FOR STOPPING BY.

Operation Frantic was a joint (sort-of) Soviet-American bombing operation at the tail-end of the Second World War. Using Ukrainian air bases that also housed the Germans and Soviets before them, the American bombers tried to help the Allied war effort by bombing eastern German targets, tried to get the German Luftwaffe's attention during D-Day and also dropped aid to the Poles during the Warsaw Uprising. How did the Soviets react to this, how did they screw up in defending their own allies and what did the American servicemen think about this joint operation? Learn more about this little-known Allied strategic bombing operation along with some great museums in Kyiv dedicated to planes, tanks and weapons! To donate: https://www.wanderingtheedge.net/reviews Facebook & Instagram: @Wanderedgeukraine For more episodes, photo credits, sources and extras, please visit: wanderingtheedge.net

Kate Molleson celebrates Coventry as UK City of Culture 2021, exploring the musical life there, its rich musical history, and talking about what the future holds for Coventrians. She begins at the heart of Coventry in the ruins of the old cathedral, which was destroyed the November night in 1940 when the German Luftwaffe flattened the city centre. It is poignantly connected to the new cathedral by Basil Spence. With its consecration began a distinctive new choral tradition, particularly under music director David Lepine. Kate talks to one of the first choristers, David Sleath, who sang at the premiere of Britten's War Requiem, conductor Paul Daniel who joined the choir in the mid 60s, and organist Rachel Mahon who is the current music director. Composer Dan Jones talks to Kate about his new work, Coventry Moves Together, which was commissioned by Coventry UK City of Culture for their inaugural day of events on 5th June, and which takes the ideas of the city's most pioneering composer, Delia Derbyshire. Kate talks to Chenine Bhathena, the Creative Director of Coventry UK City of Culture about the promises that she is making to the people of the city. Birmingham-born conductor, and recently appointed Music Director of Birmingham Opera, Alpesh Chauhan, has made Coventry his home over the last few years and talks to Kate about his impressions of the city and its cultural significance. Arguably Coventry's biggest musical export is 2-Tone Music, and Kate follows the 2-Tone trail with Neville Staples of The Specials and visits the Coventry Music Museum set up by Pete Chambers, who has devoted his life to finding out about Coventry's music history from Roman Times to the now. Central to his museum is his homage to The Specials' chart-topping song, Ghost Town.

1978 – G. R. Sullivan of Raleigh, Mississippi joined the army one month before the attack on Pearl Harbor. In this episode he recalls being assigned to an armored reconnaissance unit and boarding a ship bound for England. On Christmas Day, 1943, Sullivan’s troop ship lay off the coast of Gibraltar. He describes the submarine countermeasures and being attacked by the German Luftwaffe. While stationed in Algiers, North Africa, Sullivan had been driving for the company commander. He recounts being asked to serve as a scout car driver for General Dwight Eisenhower, a position he held for nine months until his unit left North Africa. As fighting raged on in Italy, G. R. Sullivan’s unit was driven from a small village by German artillery. He remembers being assisted by a colonel with a jeep, a radio, and a lot of American firepower. PHOTO: maritimequest.com

Katharina Loesche talks to a former German Luftwaffe jet-fighter pilot who has found a new career in Queensland. - Vom Düsenjäger-Piloten zum Fluglehrer in Queensland. Diesen Karrieresprung hat Christian Rackl gemacht und der Bayer ist damit auch sehr glücklich. Der ehemalige Luftwaffenoffizier erzählt Katharina Loesche, wie er jetzt das Leben im Cockpit eines einmotorigen Propellerflugzeugs genießt.

Ask most people about the Battle of Britain, and they will think of the Spitfires and Hurricanes of RAF fighter command in combat with the German Luftwaffe over southern England in 1940. History books will often also mention Bomber Command carrying out raids on the French and Belgian ports where the Germans were assembling the fleet of barges and small craft to be used to transport German troops across the Channel in Operation Sealion. Dur: 19 mins File: .mp3

Hello again, everybody! On this episode of Battles & Banter, Avery & Tony pine for an absent Codie but keep the ship level nonetheless by tackling the Battle of Britain, which was fought from July 10th to October 31st, 1940. 80 years ago, the skies over Great Britain were a battleground between the British Royal Air Force and the German Luftwaffe. The battle would mark a significant turning point for the Allied forces as the British held their own against the might of the German war machine. However, the battle also marked the beginning of 'The Blitz', which was the devastating bombing of London & other civilian targets by the Germans. Avery & Tony highlight the layout of the fight, and talk the pros & cons of both the British defense and German attack. They also talk A LOT about planes so hang in there. Enjoy!

An Amazon #1 Best Seller and recipient of more than 25 national book awards, SHOT DOWN is set within the framework of World War II in Europe and recounts the dramatic experiences of each member of a ten man B-17 bomber crew after their plane, piloted by author Steve Snyder’s father, was knocked out of the sky by German fighters over the French/Belgium border on February 8, 1944. Some men died. Some were captured and became prisoners of war. Some men evaded capture and were missing in action for months before making it back to England. Their individual stories and those of the courageous Belgian people who risked their lives to help them are all different and are all remarkable. Even before the dramatic battle in the air and the subsequent harrowing events on the ground, the story is informative, insightful, and captivating. Prior to the fateful event, the book covers the crew's training, their journey to England, what life was like on base as well as in London and the English countryside, and the perils of the 8th Air Force flying combat missions over occupied Europe and Germany. Through personal letters, oral and written accounts, declassified military documents, and interviews – all from people who took part in the events that happened over 70 years ago (even the German Luftwaffe pilot who shot down the Susan Ruth) - the stories come alive. Adding to the feeling of "being there", are more than 200 time period photographs interspersed throughout the book. To add background and context, many historical facts and anecdotes about and surrounding World War II are entwined throughout the book so that the reader has a feel for and understanding of what was occurring on a broader scale. SHOT DOWN is an account about brave individuals, featuring pilot Howard Snyder, set within the compelling events of the greatest conflict in world history. In 1989, a memorial to the crew of the Susan Ruth was dedicated at Macquenoise, Belgium and every year celebrations are held to honor and remember the men who are now all gone but not forgotten. It is our duty to remember. Available wherever books are sold – Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc To learn more, go to the book website at http://SteveSnyderAuthor.com Steve Snyder Bio: A graduate of UCLA, Steve Snyder lives in Seal Beach, California. In 2009, he retired from Vision Service Plan (VSP) after a 36 year career working in sales and sales management. He then began his quest to learn more about the World War II experiences of his father, pilot Howard Snyder, and the crew of the B-17 Susan Ruth. It became his passion, and after 4 ½ years of dedicated research, resulted in his book, SHOT DOWN, which has received 25 book awards. A member of numerous World War II organizations, Steve is past president of the 306th Bomb Group Historical Association. He keeps very busy making PowerPoint presentations to all types of organizations and attending air shows around the country signing copies of his book. https://www.lifecoachadele.com https://www.facebook.com/Iamyourdestinycoach https:/twitter.com/NlpAdele https:/www.Linkedin.com/in/adeleandersondch https://www.instagram.com/lifecoachadele/ #myfreedomdomday #whatdoesfreedommeantoyou #mindyourfreedom Adele's bio: I strive to live the best life possible. I am a survivor of a plane that crashed and flipped in water. That experience of drowning and how I made my escape forever change my belief in what is possible. I became obsessed with neuroscience. Wanting to understand the power of the mind. If my mind could source information locked deep within my mind, while starved of oxygen. I wanted to know how to access and use that same mind power everyday.  My experience became the driving force of my life purpose.  The stuff I now know to be true I consciously live my values. Being clear about what I do and don't want. Making value based choices to ensure I love the life I wake-up to every day I thrive on learning, growing and expanding my awareness so I can embrace all that life has to offer. This deep desire of learning enabled a degree in natural medicine, coaching certificate and Trainers certification in N.L.P. and more. My clients are successful professionals looking for or going through change. They are tired, want to be listened to and are seeking a personalized caring approach. So, if you are tired of repeating old patterns of behavior or feeling stuck, tune in here. If you experience uncomfortable or imbalanced feelings in your body, this flavorful podcast may resonate Maybe you are waking up feeling dis-satisfied in the morning? Or exhausted, living under stress or maybe you are exploring new beginnings. One that fulfills your inner purpose. Then you have found your safe haven As an N.L.P. trainer, I create perceptual shifts needed to reach your vision. And N.L.P. teaches and provide life skills for a beautiful future. Plus it installs the neuro-networking necessary for transformation My multi-dynamic and personalized approach includes a deep sense of intuition, natural medicine, neuroscience, integrity and care Clients report that they feel happier, sleep more soundly and experience feelings of deep satisfaction knowing they are living the purposeful life they have been wanting Natural health: Improving and balancing your body, mind and soul NLP Trainer: empowerment, behavioral change, accelerate and motivate learning, install excellence, improve communication and removing stress Service: Deeply devoted to creating the environment where you can move towards a life you desire and

TALES OF VALOR HALF-HISTORY: Charlie Brown & Franz Stigler | Listen into the tale of two pilots from WWII that lived by a particular code; a code that would not only leave them alive during a battle but bring them together years later.    Franz Stigler was conscripted into the German Luftwaffe in 1942 and would encounter a young American B-17 bomber pilot, Charlie Brown, on 12/20/43 and the encounter would change both of them forever.   Thank you for listening, following, subscrsibing, rating, commenting and reviewing!   http://www.instagram.com/tovpod  

In this episode we continue our discussion of World War II by looking at the Battle of Britain. One would think that all that needs to be said about this battle has been said, but that's definitely not the case. We look at the situation in Europe right before the Battle of Britain and how, with the fall of France, Britain "stood alone". What was Operation Sea Lion and Operation Eagle? We look at the stand-off between the German Luftwaffe and the British RAF. Who had the better planes? We see how the Germans faced some real operational challenges with their planned invasion of Britain and how this operation was eventually abandoned. There were a number of factors that counted in favour of the British, e.g. radar and the Ultra project. The British also managed to ramp up production while the Germans lagged behind. We end off by looking at the effects of the London Blitz. We've drawn on the work Robert Cowley, Marvin Perry, Thomas Childers (@TheGreatCourses), James Holland and Phillips O'brien. Follow the debate on twitter @PhillipsPOBrien and @James1940. Find us on twitter as well @WilliamHPalk and @C_duPlessis. Support the show (https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=Q8KGSAT37YCPA&source=url)

Karen Turner is an award-winning Melbourne-based writer who has authored many short stories along with an incredible trilogy of sweeping historical sagas - of which the most recent instalment is “Stormbird” (Fisher King Publishing, 2019).This book chronicles the life of young mother and war-widow Jessica Barrow who's life on an old farm outside of Leeds suddenly changes course when she finds an injured German Luftwaffe pilot hiding in her barn.It's a high-stakes story of forbidden love. A Downton Abbey-meets-Outlander saga which I absolutely loved.Tune in to this highly entertaining chat with this fabulous Aussie author!

286: Air Superiority // Spiritual Lessons from WW2 10 (Eric Ludy) Speaker: Eric Ludy Series: Spiritual Lessons from WW2 Study: 10: Air Superiority This is the tenth installment in Eric’s series entitled Spiritual Lessons from WW2. In this episode he talks about the German Luftwaffe (air weapon). During the Battle of Britain, in the latter half of the harrowing year of 1940, everything hinged on the Royal Air Force countering the seemingly unstoppable power of the German air machine. Eric parallels this with the battle of the “air" that each of us as Christians deal with incessantly in our thought lives. The battle for air supremacy is paramount in winning the battle that we, too, are engaged in right now.

286: Air Superiority // Spiritual Lessons from WW2 10 (Eric Ludy) Speaker: Eric Ludy Series: Spiritual Lessons from WW2 Study: 10: Air Superiority This is the tenth installment in Eric’s series entitled Spiritual Lessons from WW2. In this episode he talks about the German Luftwaffe (air weapon). During the Battle of Britain, in the latter half of the harrowing year of 1940, everything hinged on the Royal Air Force countering the seemingly unstoppable power of the German air machine. Eric parallels this with the battle of the “air" that each of us as Christians deal with incessantly in our thought lives. The battle for air supremacy is paramount in winning the battle that we, too, are engaged in right now. Support this podcast

286: Air Superiority // Spiritual Lessons from WW2 10 (Eric Ludy) Speaker: Eric Ludy Series: Spiritual Lessons from WW2 Study: 10: Air Superiority This is the tenth installment in Eric’s series entitled Spiritual Lessons from WW2. In this episode he talks about the German Luftwaffe (air weapon). During the Battle of Britain, in the latter half of the harrowing year of 1940, everything hinged on the Royal Air Force countering the seemingly unstoppable power of the German air machine. Eric parallels this with the battle of the “air" that each of us as Christians deal with incessantly in our thought lives. The battle for air supremacy is paramount in winning the battle that we, too, are engaged in right now.

These words were spoken August 20th, 1940, by the Prime Minister of England, to pilots of the British Royal Air Force, who had been showing great courage against the German Luftwaffe in an effort to save Great Britain from being bombed into submission. This was the Battle of Britain- these were dark days- and the PM wanted these brave men to know that they carried the undying gratitude of their countrymen for their courage and sacrifice in the face of overwhelming odds. NEW Enjoy 1001 Greatest Love Stories on Apple Devices here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-greatest-love-stories/id1485751552 Enjoy 1001 Greatest Love Stories on Android devices here: ​​https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=479022&refid=stpr.  Get all of our shows at one website: www.1001storiespodcast.com TEST YOUR HISTORY SMARTS! CATCH 1001 HISTORY CHALLENGE HERE: (main website all 1001 shows) https://www.1001storiespodcast.com or HERE: at Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Iwdojx2zx4jj2xj25fwupwrdcxq or HERE at Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-history-challenge/id1482436263 CALLING ALL FANS.. REVIEWS NEEDED FOR NEW SHOWS! REVIEWS NEEDED FOR NEW SHOWS! A SECOND NEW SHOW AT 1001- 1001 HISTORY'S BEST STORYTELLERS- OUR INTERVIEWS WITH SOME OF TODAY'S BEST HISTORY AUTHORS ...LINKS BELOW... all shows available at www.1001storiespodcast.com The Apple Podcast Link for 1001 History's Best Storytellers: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-historys-best-storytellers/id1483649026 The Stitcher.com link for 1001 History's Best Storytellers is:: ​​https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=474955&refid=stpr.  SUPPORT OUR SHOW BY BECOMING A PATRON! www.patreon.com/1001storiesnetwork. Its time I started asking for support! Thank you. Its a few dollars a month OR a one time. (Any amount is appreciated). YOUR REVIEWS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS AT APPLE/ITUNES AND ALL ANDROID HOSTS ARE NEEDED AND APPRECIATED! LINKS BELOW... Open these links to enjoy our shows! APPLE USERS Catch 1001 RADIO DAYS now at Apple iTunes!  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-radio-days/id1405045413?mt=2 Catch 1001 Heroes on any Apple Device here (Free): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-heroes-legends-histories-mysteries-podcast/id956154836?mt=2  Catch 1001 CLASSIC SHORT STORIES at iTunes/apple Podcast App Now: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-classic-short-stories-tales/id1078098622 Catch 1001 Stories for the Road at iTunes/Apple Podcast now:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-stories-for-the-road/id1227478901 ANDROID USERS- 1001 Radio Days right here at Player.fm FREE: https://player.fm/series/1001-radio-days 1001 Classic Short Stories & Tales:https://castbox.fm/channel/1001-Classic-Short-Stories-%26-Tales-id1323543?country=us 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries: https://castbox.fm/channel/1001-Heroes%2C-Legends%2C-Histories-%26-Mysteries-Podcast-id1323418?country=us 1001 Stories for the Road:https://castbox.fm/channel/1001-Stories-For-The-Road-id1324757?country=us Catch ALL of our shows at one place by going to www.1001storiesnetwork.com- our home website with Megaphone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sovereign Lord, you created the heavens and the earth and everything in it. Have mercy on us for you are perfect and we are sinners. Your grace and mercy is unending. Holy Spirit we beg your presence in this place. Allow us the gift of clarity; that we may hear your words today and not our own. Continue to guide us along the path you have laid out before us. Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be your name. The King of Glory, The Lord of Heavens’ Armies, Yahweh. Amen. World War II (1939 – 1945) The Blitz (September 1940 – May 1941) Nighttime bombing raids against London and other British cities by Nazi Germany during World War II. The raids followed the failure of the German Luftwaffe to defeat Britain’s Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain The daylight attack against London on September 7, 1940, marked the opening phase of the German bomber offensive against Britain, which came to be called the Blitz after the German word “blitzkrieg,” meaning “lightning war.” Daylight attacks soon gave way to night raids, which the British found difficult to counter. The British lacked effective antiaircraft artillery and searchlights, as well as night fighters that could find and shoot down an aircraft in darkness. The scale of the attacks rapidly escalated. In that month alone, the German Air Force dropped 5,300 tons of high explosives on the capital in just 24 nights. In their efforts to ‘soften up’ the British population and to destroy morale before the planned invasion, German planes extended their targets to include the major coastal ports and centers of production and supply. The infamous raid of November 14, 1940 on Coventry brought a still worse twist to the campaign. 500 German bombers dropped 500 tons of explosives and nearly 900 incendiary bombs on the city in ten hours of unrelenting bombardment… “I stood on the footway of Hungerford bridge across the Thames watching the lights of London go out. The whole great town was lit up like a fairyland, in a dazzle that reached into the sky, and then one by one, as a switch was pulled, each area went dark, the dazzle becoming a patchwork of lights being snuffed out here and there until a last one remained, and it too went out. What was left us was more than just wartime blackout, it was a fearful portent of what war was to be. We had not thought that we would have to fight in darkness, or that light would be our enemy.” Daily Herald journalist Mea Allan wrote those words in 1939 as she witnessed the introduction of universal blackout. From Thurso to Truro, from Hastings to Holyhead, Britain was plunged into darkness at sunset on 1 September, two days before war was declared. Street lights were switched off at the mains, vehicle headlights were masked to show only a crack of light, and stations were lit by candles. In the months leading up to the declaration of war, women made and hung blackout curtains and blinds, and sealed any gaps round the edges with brown paper. Did the blackout have any beneficial effects? Burglary and mugging increased, and looters took advantage of deep blackout and bombed-out houses. By the end of the first month of war there had been 1,130 road deaths attributed to the blackout, and coroners urged pedestrians to carry a newspaper or a white handkerchief to make them more visible. A coroner in Birmingham told old people to keep off the streets after dark, suggesting routine visits to the pub in the evening had to be relinquished for the war effort, as so many were killed when they stepped from pub into darkened street. Thousands struggled to work Consumer Goods and Public Rail travel, too, was made more difficult by the blackout. In darkened railway goods yards, porters struggled to read labels on freight travelling by train at night, which led to increasing delays for passengers. After the blackout was lifted in 1941, doctors had diagnosed a new condition among factory workers on the home front: blackout anemia. Just as seasonal affective disorder is recognized today as being linked to a lack of natural light in winter, so depression was a recognized consequence of the blackout during the second world war. Ultimately, 43,000 British civilians were killed and another 139,000 were wounded during the Blitz. The blackouts in defense of the German blitzkrieg had little to no effect what-so-ever minimizing or preventing the overall destruction of the bombing raids. Why do I believe events in history, such as these are important? The Church culture today seems to have taken a “blackout” approach to sharing the gospel. Taking extra care and precautions not to shine to bright and reveal our location to the enemy. We’ve allowed our preaching and our reading of the scripture to be watered down; catering to the beginner believer, instead of challenging new believers to increase their knowledge and understanding of the Bible. In our seemingly noble and intelligent effort to defend against the onslaught of raids by Satan, we’ve darkened our hearts and our minds to the thought of Satan, attempting to survive by hiding our light and not shining to bright for the world to see. Holding onto the false hope that if we don’t share our faith too strongly, Satan will just fly over us and maybe even ignore us all together. We’ve adopted a new way of living for Christ that seems, so dim compared to our ancient ancestral Christian men of the Bible We’re only hoping to survive another raid and live another day in fear and ignorance until Jesus comes again. The light shining today often feels like the false light in our world with false teachers and celebrities spewing false gospels of “discovering your individual inner light because all roads eventually lead to a heaven or better place.” “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it,” Matthew 7:13 (CSB) Lucifer, translated to “morning star, the light-bearer or light-bringer.” Satan “fashions himself into an angel of light,” Corinthians 11:14 We’re losing the light that comes from the Holy Spirit The Holy Fire light, the “divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them,” Acts 2:3. In our inability to recognize the power of the Holy Spirit’s power in our lives and in our churches, we have quenched its light. Little did we comprehend, in our effort to survive in an ever-changing and increasingly evil world, that when we quenched the Holy Spirit’s light in us and in our Churches, we gave territory to the enemy.

Today we’re going to look at an important episode in history, when the survival of Western civilization was under threat. In the summer of 1940, Germany was preparing to invade Britain by attacking Britain’s shipping capacity, pulverizing its coastal towns, crippling its Air Force, and demoralizing the British people. But the people of Britain would not be cowed. Led by Winston Churchill, they threw their hearts into the war effort and endured a punishing blitz on their capital city, London. And about a thousand of their young men flew in the Fighter Command of the Royal Air Force—and courageously, miraculously repelled the German Luftwaffe. We’ll take some personal lessons from this inspiring history—about which Churchill said, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” Links The Former Prophets Malachi’s Message to God’s Church Today

Molly Brandenburg "Letters from Bud on the D-Day 75 Commemoration" on The Erica Glessing Show Podcast #4011   Bud Brandenburg's daughter's love shines through this interview in honor of the 75th Anniversary of D-day on The Erica Glessing Show. Molly Brandenburg carefully went in and documented each letter and the stories that emerge are amazing. What does it take to end the war? “Letters From Bud” is the remarkable, first-hand account of the harrowing air war in Europe as told by WW2 flight navigator and bombardier John “Bud” Brandenburg, in his letters home during the conflict, from 1944-45. With guts, wit and grace, Brandenburg records his experiences with the daring “Koltun crew,” which flew 30 missions over Europe. Through numerous strokes of fate, the crew survived a run of missions with the “bloody” 492nd Bomb Group, a unit that endured an 80 percent casualty rate as the men faced down the seemingly unstoppable German Luftwaffe. Brandenburg's letters create a stirring picture of one young man's experiences during the war, as he served with the US Army Air Corps in Europe and then navigated supply runs with the Air Transport Command in the exotic North African and Middle Eastern theaters. Re-edited for publication by his daughter Molly, Bud's witty and often heartbreaking observations of life during the final, epoch-changing days of the war make for an unforgettable and highly adventurous read.  www.lettersfrombud.com for more! Buy the book today!   More About Erica Glessing SEO geek Erica Glessing believes when you tell your story, you change the world. Discover your zone of genius. Glessing is a #1 bestselling author 33X over, and built her company, SEO for Lead Gen, out of the desire to help entrepreneurs and small businesses be seen for their work in the world. With a strategic mindset, an easy laugh, and a creativity that meets geek sensibility, Glessing grew her podcasts to more than 100,000 downloads in 2020 alone and continues to build search engine optimization strategies for companies and influencers globally. “Global and local omnipresence requires discipline, commitment, and creativity,” says Glessing. She was originally an award-winning journalist, writing over 5000 articles for California newspapers before she built SEO for Lead Gen. Glessing is an Italian mom of three loud teens, a Corgi Aussi, and two very fat happy kitties. She lives in Northern California. You can find her: Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Sponsor Today's episode was sponsored by SEOforLeadGen.com, an SEO company dedicated to providing SEO and keyword strategy so your business can be seen and heard and generate ample leads to thrive. Resources For your own complimentary 90-keyword strategic SEO guide, go here now! KeywordResearchTools.SEOforLeadgen.com

"There are no more than a handful of Second World War Luftwaffe members alive today. Patrick Eriksson had the foresight to record these experiences first-hand before it was too late. Some witnesses ended up as senior fighter controllers. The recollections and views of the veterans are put within the context of the German aerial war history. By no means all the witnesses were from the ranks of the so-called ‘aces’." Last year I discussed the experiences of German Luftwaffe pilots fighting in the West, against the Allies, I was joined by Patrick Eriksson. Patrick has completed the second book in his trilogy looking at the Luftwaffe - Alarmstart East- this time tracking the pilots on the Eastern Front from 1941 though to the end of the war in 1945.

In July 2018, a disturbing video began to circulate on social media. In it two women and young children are shown being led at gunpoint by a group of soldiers. The captives are blindfolded, forced to the ground and shot 22 times. The government of Cameroon initially dismissed the video as ‘fake news’. But through open-source investigations – examining details such as buildings, shadows, and uniforms – BBC Africa found that the blame lay squarely on Cameroonian Forces. From the 10th July to the 31st of October 1940 the skies above Britain were a battle zone. The German Luftwaffe launched large scale attacks aiming to reach London, they were held back and ultimately defeated by the Royal Airforce which included many nationalities. The bravery of the pilots – known as ‘The Few’ - cannot be disputed but is it really true that the average life expectancy of a spitfire pilot during the Battle of Britain was just four weeks, as is often claimed. Tim Harford and Lizzy McNeill look into the statistics and consider which of the armed forces had the highest death rate. Thanks to our TVs and smartphones we are bombarded 24/7. Those whose job it is to care – doctors, nurses, mothers even – face even more relentless demands on their compassion. Until one day some feel they cannot go on anymore. We are all vulnerable to compassion fatigue – whether we are unable to deal with more bad news, or to care for our patients and children. But why do we get it? Why do we stop caring? And what is the impact on society when people just switch off and tune out? (Photo: A still from the video showing the murder of women and children by Cameroonian soldiers)

What I am going to tell you is one of the craziest serial killer stories that you have never heard of. And there are very good reason why most people have never heard of this. In 1942, Death stalked London. Death came from the sky in the form of German bombs. And on the ground it came in the form of the blackout ripper—this is the name by which the monster came to be known. But publicizing the infamous activities of the Blackout Ripper is not something that was in the best interest of the nation at that time. The reaction of the citizens of London in the face of the German Blitz, the bombing campaign unleashed by the German Luftwaffe, has always been portrayed in heroic terms. The traditional version tells us that tough British people took the bombing in strides. They’d get bombed all night only to emerge with a smile in the morning ready to go to work as if nothing had happened. In part this was certainly true, many British people displayed incredible courage and resilience in the face of the German attacks. And this was a great propaganda weapon for the British government. It allowed them to tell Germany ‘your bombs can’t shake our resolve. They are having no effect on us, so feel free to stop any time you want and spare yourself further embarrassment.’ There clearly is something powerful in the ability to take your enemy’s best shot and smile back at them. It discourages them, and forces them to reconsider their strategy. So, of course, the last thing you want is to let them know that their strikes are hurting you. If you were to admit that the blackout is giving rise to a huge black market, if you were to talk too loudly about the doubling of the murder rate in your city, if you were to discuss how the bombing campaign indirectly gave a perfect cover for an incredibly brutal serial killer, then it’d be like admitting that bombs were working in opening fissures in British society. And if you were to admit that, then you could be sure that the bombs would keep on falling. And thousands would keep on dying. So, the Blackout Ripper was not just any other serial killer. He was a potential propaganda weapon in the hands of the enemy. For this reason, he had to be stopped, and stopped quickly. And better yet, he should be talked about as little as humanly possible. So, if you are wondering why his Ripper-colleague, Jack the Ripper, is pretty much a household name, whereas few have heard of the Blackout Ripper, you don’t have to wonder no more. The context of WWII made burying this tale a wartime necessity. This is simply not a story that anyone in Britain at the time had any interest in publicizing.

During World War II, the German Luftwaffe began a massive bombing campaign over London and the surrounding British countryside known as The Blitz. By night, London would shut off all the city lights in order to make it more difficult for bombers to find targets. This also allowed for a brutal serial killer to begin stalking the city streets. #serialkiller #serialkillers #murder #world war II #podcast #history #historypodcast #horror

Michael Sedgwick was born in 1938 in Hampshire, England, home of Jane Austen, one of his literary heroines. From the age of three in the early war years, he remembers spending many nights in a cold, damp backyard air-raid shelter, listening to bombs falling all around as the German Luftwaffe tried to destroy Britain’s most […]

German immigrant and retired Air Force colonel Wolfgang Samuel uses official Air Force records and survivors' interviews to tell the story of the disarmament of the once mighty German Luftwaffe and to discuss Operation Lusty.

The popular California country music DJ, Fox news regular, and former TV anchor, Jaimee Lee teams up with researcher and author,  Dr John DeSalvo to explore the mysterious, the unexplained, and the unknown. Go to www.DrJohnRadio.com for show information and guest schedule.    Kyle Ford co-hosts with Dr John in welcoming Emory Taylor. Mr. Taylor is known for his alleged involvement in and cover-up of the UFO Secret Theory Project, which was undertaken to reverse engineer equipment the American forces captured near the end of World War II, and which was originally obtained by the German Luftwaffe in 1940, when an unidentified craft collided and crashed with a Nazi bomber during the invasion of the Netherlands. Emory Taylor along with other treasure hunters is co-discover of a Knights Templar treasure known as the Secondary German Holy Stones, which are used, among other things, to commune with high spirits. Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler sent Otto Rahn is search of these Holy Stones so that they could be made use of in secret rituals in the SS castle of Wewelsburg, which was to be the seat of an independent SS state.