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Stalingrad fell on February 2, 1943. Hitler promoted Sixth Army commander Friedrich Paulus to field marshal, a veiled directive to commit suicide, which Paulus refused to follow.

With Hitler increasingly distracted and stressed by the war, Joseph Goebbels began his own initiative to strengthen the German war effort.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“Selig Sind die Toten” from Ein deutsches Requiem.
Composed in 1868 by Johannes Brahms.
Performed by the University of Chicago orchestra and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license. Source.

Closing War Theme

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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Following the successful invasion of North Africa, the Western Allies found themselves once again in disagreement over the next step.

Roosevelt and Churchill held another conference to discuss this and other strategy questions, and chose the recently liberated city of Casablanca as the site of the meeting.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“Wisdom of the Mountains”
Composed by Serge Quadrado.
Performed by the composer and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC 4.0 license. Source.

Closing War Theme

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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The Imperial Navy had their doubts, but the Imperial Army insisted on doubling down on the effort to take control of the airfield on Guadalcanal.

But the US Marines had thoroughly entrenched their positions, while the Japanese suffered from shortages of supplies, even food. US planes flying from the airfield on Guadalcanal attacked any Japanese ship that approached the island.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Edo Lullaby
Traditional. Public domain.
Performed by Akaniji and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license. Source.

Closing War Theme

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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Hitler ordered the Sixth Army, trapped in Stalingrad, to stand fast as Field Marshal Erich von Manstein commanded the force fighting to break the siege.

But the Soviets had anticipated this. General Zhukov had already prepared a second offensive, this time one that would break through Italian Army lines and attack Manstein’s flank.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“Mars, the Bringer of War” from The Planets
Composed in 1916 by Gustav Holst. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Air Force Heritage of America Band. Public domain recording. Source.

“The Masochism Tango”
Composed in 1959 by Tom Lehrer. Public domain.
Performed by Tom Lehrer. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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The tenacious Red Army defense of Stalingrad was meant not merely to defend a city, but to draw the German Army into a trap.

On November 18, 1942, the trap was sprung. Powerful Soviet formations, gathered in secret, broke through Romanian Army lines on both flanks of the German Sixth Army, fighting in Stalingrad.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Funeral March from Siegfried
Composed in 1871 by Richard Wagner. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.

“State Anthem of the USSR”
Composed in 1938 by Alexander Alexandrov. Public domain.
Performed by the Orchestra of the Ministry of Defense of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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British and American forces landed in French North Africa in November 1942. Their goal was not so much to seize the territory as it was to persuade the French authorities there to break from the French government and rejoin the war against Germany and Italy.

American military operations were disorganized and error prone, prompting British Army officers to quip, “How green is my ally!”

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“The United States Field Artillery March”
Composed in 1917 by John Philip Sousa. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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Winston Churchill was impatient for a victory. Bernard Montgomery successfully persuaded the prime minister to give him ten weeks to prepare for one.

Meanwhile, in Gibraltar, preparations were underway for an Allied invasion of French North Africa, while US consul Robert Murphy worked in secret to persuade the French military to defect to the Allied side.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Second Suite for Military Band
Composed in 1911 by Gustav Holst. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Air Force Heritage of America Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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The Battle of Stalingrad raged on. The Germans slowly gained ground, but took major casualties.

Red Army soldiers devised new ways of tormenting their enemies, including the Soviet secret weapon, the Katyusha rocket launcher.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

The Capture of Kars
Composed in 1880 by Modest Mussorgsky. Public domain.
Performed by the University of Chicago Orchestra and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license. Source.

Closing War Theme

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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As the Battle of Stalingrad raged on, Bernard Montgomery was in Africa, laying plans for an attack that would push the Germans and Italians back out of Egypt.

And on the other side of the Mediterranean, Dwight Eisenhower was laying plans for the invasion of French North Africa. Secret negotiations were underway with high-ranking French military officers, in the hope of persuading the French in North Africa to join forces with the Americans.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Lohengrin
Composed in 1850 by Richard Wagner. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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“Time is blood,” declared Red Army General Chuikov, commander of the defense of Stalingrad. He meant that the only way to slow the German advance was by sacrificing lives.

German soldiers entered Stalingrad expecting to take the city in a few days. They were not prepared for the bloody slog that was to come.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

On the Steppes of Central Asia
Composed in 1880 by Alexander Borodin. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.

Closing War Theme

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Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.