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Germany invaded and occupied Yugoslavia and Greece with ease, and with a minimum of casualties. The assault on Crete, the largest air operation ever attempted, was successful, but only at great cost.

In the Middle East, the Axis helped encourage an anti-British coup in Iraq and persuaded the Vichy French government to support the Iraqi coup from Syria.

• Listen now:

• Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“Lil ‘Ashiqi fi-l Hawa Dala’il”
Composed in 1925 by Ahmed al-Musili. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.

Igre iz Bele krajine
Traditional. 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, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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Erwin Rommel was sent to North Africa with a German panzer corps to assist the Italians against the British. Germany also planned to intervene and aid Italy in its war against Greece in Spring of 1941.

But when a coup in Yugoslavia installed an anti-Axis government there, Hitler ordered the German military to invade that country as well.

• Listen now:

• Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“Farewell of Slavianka”
Composed in 1912 by Vasily Agapkin. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Coast Guard 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, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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As early as summer of 1940, Adolf Hitler was already planning an invasion of the USSR.

As the date grew near, Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess, fearful of plunging Germany into another two-front war, took a dramatic step. He flew to Britain in a last-ditch effort to negotiate peace.

• Listen now:

• Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Lohengrin
Composed in 1848 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, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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The Poles had done stunning work in cracking the Enigma codes, but after Poland fell, British Intelligence inherited the project.

At a country home outside London called Bletchley Park, teams of experts worked on Enigma decryption, including the famous mathematician Alan Turing.

• Listen now:

• Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“Prelude and Fugue in D Major” from The Well-Tempered Clavier.
Composed in 1722 by Johann Sebastian Bach. 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, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5. Photograph of Alan Turing statue by Antoine Taveneaux, used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 license. Source.