Episodes
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On the 25th October 1415 Henry V led the English army onto the field of Agincourt. There he defeated the flower of French chivalry to win perhaps the finest victory of the medieval period, made famous by Shakespeare’s play. But who was Henry V? Brilliant general, skilled politician or simply a warmonger? And is there a figure from the past that he most resembles?
Dan Jones, the author of a new biography of Henry joins to answer these and many more questions as we try to get to the bottom of who Henry V was.
Episode Links
Henry V: The Astonishing Rise of England's Greatest Warrior King, Dan Jones
YouTube video of young Henry's surgical procedure to remove the arrowhead
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Our Operation Market Garden series concludes with a chat on the 1977 classic directed by Richard Attenborough.
Joining is Roger Moorhouse, author of The Forgers, and film maker Tim Hewitt.
Links
ChatDMZ - Market Garden
A Bridge Too Far on IMDB
A Bridge Too Far on Wikipedia
Dirk Bogarde Interview
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At 3 o’clock in the afternoon on the 20th September 1944 in Nijmegen, Holland, men of the 504th regiment, US 82nd Airborne embarked in canvas rowing boats and began an amphibious assault that was one of the most heroic in military history. Facing the well defended objective on the north end of the Nijmegen bridge over the river Waal, 134 men were killed or wounded in the crossing, more than half the force, but the attack was a success and the bridge was captured. The road to Arnhem was the final jigsaw in Operation Market Garden. Or was it?
Joining me are two historians to discuss the operation as a whole, from the airborne forces tasked with capturing Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Arnhem, to XXX corps and the German troops facing them. Gordon Corrigan takes the allied side, and Philip Blood the German.
Episode Links
It Never Snows in September, Kershaw
Sky Warriors, David
A Bridge Too Far, Ryan
Airborne Carpet, Farrar-Hockley
Arnhem 1944, Middlebrook
Arnhem, Beevor
Arnhem: Black Tuesday, Murray
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On Sunday the 17th September 1944 the 1st Airborne Division began dropping into Arnhem to begin a battle that remains iconic to this day. Within 2 days progress was proving difficult and on Tuesday the 19th, Black Tuesday, things had come to a head. The commander, Roy Urquhart had gone missing, his subordinates were squabbling over command, only 1 battalion had made it to the objective, Arnhem Bridge, and the paras had come up against stiff resistance.
Continuing our Operation Market Garden special, historian and comedian Al Murray joins to talk about that most heroic of failures, the Battle of Arnhem, and focusing on one day when success or failure was decided.
Al Murray Links
Arnhem: Black Tuesday
Command: How the Allies Learned to Win the Second World War
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Arnhem was one of the greatest battles fought by the British in World War Two. 10,000 men went in, but only 2,000 came out. We’re at the 80th anniversary and Saul David joins to discuss the plan, the personalities involved and the action itself in this special series on Operation Market Garden. Saul is the author of Sky Warriors, which is an account of British Airborne Forces throughout the war. Today we’ll get Saul’s take on the plan, the intelligence, and whether everyone did their job.
This is the first in a series. Next Al Murray joins to talk Black Tuesday, the 19th September, then Gordon and Philip discuss the wider operation as a whole, and finally the Film Club revisits A Bridge Too Far.
Saul David Links
Sky Warriors
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On the 12th March 1938 German troops crossed the border into Austria, thus completing the Anschluss, the annexation by Germany. Resistance was non existent, in fact the Wehrmacht was greeted by cheering crowds as Nazi flags were draped over the beautiful city of Vienna.
The referendum that followed may have achieved a 99.7% approval, but many in Europe were fearful of a coming war.
Jane Thynne, author of Midnight in Vienna, joins to discuss the city during the 1930s and that feeling of foreboding as communists, Nazis and spies mixed in the City of Music as it is known.
Jane Thynne Links
Midnight in Vienna
The Words I Never Wrote
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By the 1960s Richard Burton was the highest paid movie star in the world. He was paid the equivalent today of $10million dollars per picture, but when one looks at his childhood, the mind boggles at his change in fortune. Born the 12th of 13 children, his family lived in poverty, and his chances of success seemed to have peaked when he worked in a haberdashery. But by the age of 18 he had won starring roles on stage and his life was set.
Joining me today is historian and social media star Alice Loxton whose new book, 18, intriguingly features 18 significant historical figures at that formative age.
Alice Loxton Links
Eighteen: A History of Britain in 18 Young Lives
Alice on Instagram
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On the On 27 May 1942 Czech SOE agents and local resistance fighters attacked Reinhard Heyrdrich's Mercedes as it drove through Prague. Heydrich, number 2 in the SS, died in agony a few days later. This month's delayed Film Club is Anthropoid, the movie depicting the operation starring Cillian Murphy and Jamie Dornan, directed by Sean Ellis.
Joining is Roger Moorhouse, author of The Forgers, and film maker Tim Hewitt.
Links
Anthropoid on IMDB
Anthropoid on Wikipedia
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Hitler and his cronies are often derided as monsters, but that lets them off the hook. Today Richard Evans joins to look at the leading figures of Nazi Germany for who they were as human beings. We also discuss the trial Evans was a key witness for, when holocaust denier Davig Irving attempted to sue Deborah Lipstadt and Penguin Random House for libel, later dramatised in the movie, Denial starring Rachel Weisz, Tom Wilkinson and John Sessions.
Richard Evans Links
Hitler's People: The Faces of the Third Reich
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Sensitivity readers; fake history; favourite authors and actors, all are discussed in this bonus episode to coincide with the upcoming Buckingham History Festival.
Jane Thynne, Paul Lay and Miranda Malins join to talk how best to write about the past.
Episode Links
Buckingham History Festival
Jane Thynne: Midnight in Vienna
Paul Lay: Providence Lost
Miranda Malins: The Rebel Daughter
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80 years ago on the 25th August 1944, the great city of Paris was liberated as the German garrison surrendered and Allied troops arrived along the Champs Elysée. The Nazi grip on France may have been broken, but things were not all as they seem. The allied leadership was reluctant to divert precious resources, and the soldiers who arrived first were mostly Spanish. Patrick Bishop joins to discuss his new book and we discuss the initial surrender in 1940, the occupation, the impact on France today as well as the liberation. Patrick has lived in Paris for many years as Bureau Chief for The Telegraph and so brings a knowledge of contemporary events too.
Patrick Bishop Links
Paris '44: The Shame and the Glory
Josephine Baker: Paris Paris Paris
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On the 1st September 1922 the Turkish Parliament in the new capital of Ankara formally abolished the Sultanate, so ending more than 600 years of Ottoman Rule. The Ottoman Empire had ended, but in its place came the Republic of Turkey, under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Pasha also known as Ataturk. Today we discuss the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of Turkey with historian Murat Siviloglu and journalist and author Alec Marsh.
Alec’s new book, After the Flood, is a thriller set in the new state of Turkey in the 1930s and Murat is a historian of the period.
Alec Marsh Links
After the Flood
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On the 9th February 1933 the Oxford Union held a debate with the motion “That this House will under no circumstances fight for its King and country." The motion passed and in a time when such debates were big news, the result sent shockwaves through Europe. This was during the rise of the Nazis, the Soviet grip on Russia and throughout the decade there was an increase in the number of spies, and traitors, in England.
Joining me is Alex Gerlis, author of Every Spy a Traitor as we delve into the atmosphere of the 1930s.
Alex Gerlis Links
Every Spy a Traitor
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Armand D'Angour joins to discuss his new pod, but then we go into a really interesting conversation about Socrates and whether he really is the origin of Western Thought? Is there in fact a woman we should be talking about, the beguiling Aspasia.
Armand D'Angour Links
It's All Greek (& Latin) to Me on Spotify
It's All Greek (& Latin) to Me on Apple
Socrates in Love
Ancient Greek Music on YouTube
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The French Revolution, the rise of Napoleon, the Industrial Revolution and the collapse of Poland, all these major events were witnessed by Izabela Czartoryska, a Polish aristocrat who was self-taught and is the subject of Adam Zamoyski's latest book. This episode is a sweeping discussion covering many facets of Europe in the 18th century.
Adam Zamoyski is the author of 1812: Napoleon's Fatal March on Moscow and Napoleon: The Man Behind the Myth.
Adam Zamoyski Links
Izabela the Valiant: The Story of an Indomitable Polish Princess
Izabela Czartoryska - Aspects of History
Napoleon: The Man Behind the Myth
1812: Napoleon's Fatal March on Moscow
Rites of Peace: The Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna
YouTube Debate with Jeremy Paxman and Andrew Roberts on Napoleon
Narodnost: Russia and Nationalism - Aspects of History
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This week three writers join to talk summer reading recommendations from the world of history and historical fiction.
Books
Paris '44, Patrick Bishop
The King's Mother, Annie Garthwaite
Izabela the Valiant, Adam Zamoyski
Endgame 1944, Jonathan Dimbleby
Sky Warriors, Saul David
The Muse of History, Oswyn Murray
Bonjour, Sophie, Elizabeth Buchan
Iran, Ali Ansari
Spy Masters, Various
The CIA, Hugh Wilford
The Eastern Front, Nick Lloyd
The Sleeping Beauties, Lucy Ashe
Guests
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Antonia Senior - Historical Fiction Reviewer The Times
Roger Moorhouse - Historian
Richard Foreman - Author and Publisher
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When war in Europe ended on the 8th May 1945, much of continent was in ruins. Cities were destroyed and civilians were at the mercy of occupying powers, partisans, bandits and criminals. There were no police forces, no judicial system and food was scarce. Keith Lowe joins to discuss the chaos from France to Poland and Greece to Germany.
Keith Lowe Links
Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II
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On the 20th July 1944 Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg attended a meeting at the Wolf's Lair at which Adolf Hitler was present. He placed a briefcase containing high explosives under the conference table and then departed. A few minutes later the bomb exploded killing four, but crucially not Hitler.
This month's film club is Valkyrie starring Tom Cruise, the 2008 depiction of the July Plot. Joining is Roger Moorhouse, author of Killing Hitler, and film maker Tim Hewitt.
Links
Valkyrie on IMDB
Valkyrie on Wikipedia
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On the 20th July 1944, a bomb hidden in a briefcase exploded under a large table over which Adolf Hitler was examining maps of the Eastern Front. The man who had planted the device, Claus von Stauffenberg, had left just before the explosion to initiate the operation that he hoped would lead to the overthrow of the Nazi regime. The plan failed, and Hitler would survive for another 9 months before his suicide on 30th April 1945.
Was this the closest Hitler came to death? What about the November 8, 1939 when Georg Elser so very nearly succeeded where Stauffenberg would fail more than four years later. And what about Allied attempts - Operation Foxley by the British, and then the very strange idea from the American OSS? Roger covers all these in the first part of our series on the 80th anniversary of the July plot.
Part Two continues on Saturday with Valkyrie, the 2008 film starring Tom Cruise.
Roger Moorhouse Links
Killing Hitler: The Third Reich and the Plots Against the Fuhrer
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13 Minutes
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The Ancient Greeks are the font of all our historical knowledge. Now that's quite a claim, but the historian who joins to discuss makes a strong argument in his book, The Muse of History. Oswyn Murray is one of the country's finest ancient historians and in this chat, beginning with the Peloponnesian War between Athens & Sparta, many subjects are addressed including colonialism, slavery, the wonder of the ancient world, ancient historians fighting in WW1 and WW2 and why we should all learn an ancient language.
Oswyn Murray Links
The Muse of History: The Ancient Greeks from the Enlightenment to the Present
Cover of Thomas Hobbes' translation of Thucydides' The History of the Peloponnesian War
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