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History of the Second World War: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Wesley Livesay
History of the Second World War is a weekly podcast which will cover World War 2, beginning with the tumultuous years after the First World War, continuing into the descent into war during the 1930s, through the war years, and then into the post war aftermath.
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- 2 days ago20 min
260: Crete Pt. 5 - Failed Counterattacks
The Royal Navy's success in turning back the German invasion convoys in the waters north of Crete on the night of May 21st removed the threat of a seaborne landing, but it could not undo the damage done by Commander Freyberg's obsession with that very threat. This episode examines how Freyberg's misreading of Ultra intelligence about the 5th Mountain Division led him to hoard troops along the coast and withhold artillery from targets plainly visible in front of them, all while the Germans steadily expanded their grip on Maleme airfield. The doomed Allied counter-attack of May 22nd — delayed until daylight, shattered by German fighters before it could reach the runway — marks the decisive turning point of the battle. With General Julius Ringel arriving to assume command and concentrate all German effort on driving east from Maleme, the British began their retreat toward Galatas, conceding any chance of recovering the airfield. Meanwhile, at Rethymno and Heraklion, Allied forces were holding on and even turning German supply drops to their own advantage — a stark contrast to the unraveling situation in the west that sets the stage for the final collapse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 5 days ago24 min
Listener Questions Pt. 4
War Aims and Strategic Bombing History of the Second World War is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 1 weeks ago25 min
259: Crete Pt. 4 - Naval Victory, Naval Disaster
As the first day of the German invasion of Crete drew to a close on May 20th, 1941, neither side held the clear advantage they had hoped for — the Germans had failed to secure their primary objectives, while the British commander General Freyberg struggled with poor communications and an overriding fear of a seaborne invasion that would shape his decisions in the days ahead. This episode examines the Royal Navy's critical role in the battle for Crete, exploring both the strengths and significant weaknesses of Admiral Cunningham's fleet — including the limitations of their anti-aircraft systems against the Luftwaffe — and the aggressive positioning of British naval forces north of the island to intercept German supply convoys. The episode then covers two pivotal naval engagements: the night interception of the 1st Motor Sailing Flotilla by British cruisers and destroyers, which turned back the first German reinforcement convoy with the loss of at least eight vessels and 327 men, and the pursuit of the Sagittario convoy on May 22nd, which drew British ships northward into withering Luftwaffe attack and resulted in the loss of the cruisers Gloucester and Fiji, the Warspite damaged, and over a thousand sailors killed — a day that demonstrated both the courage and the cost of the Royal Navy's commitment to holding Crete. History of the Second World War is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 2 weeks ago28 min
258: Crete Pt. 3 - May 20th a Day of Failures
The first day of the German airborne invasion of Crete, May 20th, 1941, saw paratroopers drop not only around the critical airfield at Maleme but across three other sectors of the island. Near Chania, German forces landing in Prison Valley were held in check by New Zealand and Greek troops under Colonel Kippenberger, while the poorly armed 8th Greek Regiment stopped their attackers and then re-equipped itself with captured German weapons. The people of Crete themselves joined the resistance from the opening hours, with priests and civilians taking up arms in a fierce defense that shattered German assumptions that the islanders would welcome their arrival. In the afternoon a second wave of drops struck Rethymno and Heraklion, where the delays caused by aircraft damage and dust on the airfields spread the descending paratroopers out over a long window, making them easy targets for Allied gunners and leaving the survivors scattered and disorganized. At Rethymno, Australian commander Lieutenant Colonel Ian Campbell responded with quick, decisive counterattacks that became a model of how to meet an airborne assault, capturing the commander of the German 2nd Parachute Rifle Regiment along with his full operational orders. At Heraklion the Germans fared no better, achieving none of their objectives. As night fell on May 20th, General Student faced the unsettling reality that across every landing zone his forces had been checked, and he was forced to make a fateful decision about whether to double down or abandon the entire operation. History of the Second World War is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- 4 weeks ago24 min
257: Crete Pt. 2 - May 20th at Maleme
At dawn on May 20, 1941, the German airborne assault on Crete began — the largest parachute operation in history to that point. This episode covers the opening day of the battle at Maleme, where a combination of German intelligence failures and disastrous British command decisions would set the course of the entire campaign. Despite heavy losses among the German paratroopers — many cut down in mid-air or the moment they landed — those who came down near the Tavronitis river were able to organize and push against the Maleme airfield and the critical Hill 107. The New Zealand defenders fought well, but Colonel Andrew, the commander charged with defending the airfield, was crippled by radio failures and an information vacuum that left him fearing the worst. A tank counterattack dissolved into farce, and as night fell Andrew made the fateful decision to abandon both Hill 107 and the airfield — a move that many historians consider the turning point of the battle. History of the Second World War is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- Apr 29, 202636 min
256: Crete Pt. 1 - Preparations
Following the Allied defeat on the Greek mainland, thousands of British, Australian, and New Zealand troops were evacuated to the island of Crete in late April 1941, many arriving without their heavy weapons and with morale badly shaken. This episode examines the Allied defense of Crete under General Bernard Freyberg, who despite possessing Ultra intelligence pointing clearly to a German airborne assault, fatally misread the threat and positioned his forces to repel a seaborne invasion instead. We explore how a rapid succession of British commanders, chronic shortages of aircraft and artillery, and Freyberg's misplaced confidence in the Royal Navy shaped a defense that left the island's critical airfields dangerously exposed. On the German side, General Kurt Student convinced Hitler to authorize Operation Mercury rather than a similar assault on Malta, and the episode traces the planning disputes between Student and Luftwaffe commander Richthofen that produced a two-wave airborne attack using the elite 7th Flieger Division and the 5th Mountain Division — with both sides operating on badly flawed intelligence about the other's strength and intentions. History of the Second World War is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- Apr 22, 202623 min
255: Greece Pt. 7 - The Invasion Ends
Just ten days after Germany launched Operation Marita, the decision was made to evacuate all British forces from Greece — and this episode covers the chaotic final weeks of the campaign as that decision unfolded. Greek military commander Papagos had largely given up hope by mid-April, the Greek government and royal family fled to Crete, and the 200,000-strong Greek force in Albania surrendered to the Germans on April 20th in a quiet deal that deliberately excluded the Italians. The RAF fought its last battles over Athens before withdrawing, and the Royal Navy scrambled to organize a night-only evacuation using destroyers and converted liners under constant Luftwaffe pressure that would ultimately destroy 26 ships and kill 2,000 men. Communication failures plagued the effort — at Kalamata alone, twice the expected number of troops arrived at the beaches, and half were left behind when the ships pulled away before dawn. In total roughly 50,000 men were brought out of Greece, but around 14,000 were left to be captured, all without their heavy equipment, and the entire expedition would be recorded as yet another British disaster — setting the stage for the fight to hold the island of Crete that would follow almost immediately. History of the Second World War is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- Apr 15, 202624 min
254: Greece Pt. 6 - The Invasion Begins
On April 6th, 1941, Germany launched Operation Marita, the invasion of Greece, with the 12th Army under General List striking primarily through the newly conquered territory of Yugoslavia to outflank the well-prepared Greek Metaxas Line. The opening days of the attack were harder than the Germans expected — the Greeks defended stubbornly along the Metaxas Line, particularly at the Rupel Pass, but flanking movements soon made those positions untenable, and the vital port of Salonika fell after just three days of fighting. Meanwhile, the British were dealt a serious blow when a Luftwaffe raid on the port of Piraeus set off an ammunition ship, closing the harbor for two critical days, while intelligence intercepts revealed German forces pushing through the Monastir Gap to envelop the British Aliakmon Line. What followed was a grinding fighting retreat southward by Allied forces through the Servia and Olympus passes toward the historic pass at Thermopylae, with ANZAC troops buying time against an advancing German army that was better supplied, better supported from the air, and ultimately impossible to stop — raising the alarming question of whether any evacuation from Greece could even be arranged. History of the Second World War is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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About History of the Second World War
History of the Second World War is a weekly podcast which will cover World War 2, beginning with the tumultuous years after the First World War, continuing into the descent into war during the 1930s, through the war years, and then into the post war aftermath.
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