---

When German air units in the Mediterranean were redeployed to support the invasion of the USSR, British air and naval units increasingly threatened Axis supply lines in North Africa.

In November 1941, the British Operation Crusader broke the eight-month siege of Tobruk and drove the Axis forces out of Cyrenaica.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

---

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Violin Concerto in F Minor, “Autumn”
Composed in 1723 by Antonio Vivaldi. Public domain.
Performed by John Harrison, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 license. Source.

Closing War Theme

---

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.

---

When the US entered the war, German U-boasts began to prey on the heavy shipping traffic up and down the East Coast of the United States.

Disagreements between the US and Royal Navies, coupled with a shortage of escort ships, left American merchant ships with little to no protection.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

---

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“Ride of the Valkyries” from Die Walküre
Composed in 1870 by Richard Wagner. Public domain.
Performed by The University of Chicago Orchestra, conducted by Barbara Schubert, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0license. Source.

Closing War Theme

---

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.