The Most Violent Conflict: Recent Episodes
Chris
World War II was by far the largest and most violent conflict in history. Civilian leaders and the U.S. military acted magnificently. Without the courage and sacrifices of millions of Americans, the world would have been overwhelmed by fascism. This podcast is specifically about the heroic performance of the U.S. Army in World War II.
Although many Americans wanted to return to the simpler life they remembered from before the war, the international status of the United States was profoundly and irreversibly altered by the events of World War II.
Reading from the U.S. Army Center of Military History CMH Pub 72-2.
General Marshall was Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army under Presidents Roosevelt and Truman. After the war he devised the European Recovery Program (the Marshall Plan) to rebuild the shattered economies of Western Europe.
General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz defeat the Japanese in the Pacific using a highly effective combination of land, sea and air power.
Reading from U.S. Army Center of Military History CMH Pub 72-2.
The Japanese suffer major defeats at sea and on land, the Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway, Guadalcanal, Buna and Gona.
Reading from U.S. Army Center of Military History CMH Pub 72-2.
Japan’s uninterrupted string of victories against the United States culminates with the invasion of the Philippines, the Bataan Death March and the slaughter of over 10,000 prisoners of war.
Reading from the U.S. Army Center of Military History CMH Pub 72-2.
The United States turns its focus to the war with Japan in the Pacific.
Reading from U.S. Army Center of Military History CMH Pub 72-2.
The Allies shatter the German military. Hitler commits suicide and the Nazi High Command surrenders unconditionally. The United States now turns its full attention to defeating Japan.
Reading from U.S. Army Center of Military History CMH Pub 72-2.
As Hitler squanders German military resources, American and French armies win decisive victories in the Battle of the Bulge, and Soviet troops move within 40 miles of Berlin.
Reading from U.S. Army Center of Military History CMH Pub 72-2.
The Allies launch attacks across the English Channel to drive the Nazis from occupied France.
Reading from U.S Army Center of Military History, CMH Pub 72-2.
After the South African Campaign the Allie’s turned their might to Sicily and Italy.
Reading from U.S Army Center of Military History CMH Pub 72-2.
American and British forces defeat the German-Italian forces in North Africa, and take 275,000 prisoners of war.
Reading from U.S. Army Center of Military History, CMH Pub 72-2.
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor pushes the United States into war.
Reading from U.S. Army Center of Military History CMH Pub 72-2.
The Outbreak of War, “A Brief History of The U.S. Army in World War II”, CMH Pub 72-2, Center of Military History, United States Army, Washington, D.C., 1992
World War II, and why it still matters.
Reading from U.S. Army Center of Military History CMH Pub 72-2.