In spring 1944, after the weather improved, Allied forces in Italy began an offensive that broke the Gustav line. Rome fell days later.
In Britain at the same time, Allied forces there were making final preparations for the invasion of France.
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Playlist:
Fanfare
Opening War Theme
Grand March from Aïda
Composed in 1871 by Giuseppe Verdi. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Marine Corps Band. Public domain recording. Source.
Closing War Theme
Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.
Hello Mark and greetings from London UK. I have been an avid listener to your podcast for half a decade now. Thanks for your magisterial guidance through the Histiry of the Twentieth Century. I thought I would follow up on your ‘oh and one more thing…’ item at the end of the Fall of Rome episode. I enjoyed your discussion of soldiers at Anzio. However, you missed out possibly the highest profile British soldier who went on to achieve distinction. This was Denis Healey. He was a beach master at the Anzio landings and went on to become a leading political figure between the 1960s and 1980s. Among positions he held were: Defence Secretary (1964-1970) and Chancellor of the Exchequer [the UK equivalent of Treasury Secretary] (1974-79). He was also Deputy Leader of the UK Labour Party in the 1980s. Keep up your excellent work on the podcast!
Thanks for the addendum.
I was waiting for during the “one more thing” the mention of Daniel Inouye. This always reminds me of this piece (Warning: Contains Strong Language and Spoilers Mark hasn’t gotten to yet in the Podcast): https://www.badassoftheweek.com/inouye