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The night before the dawn amphibious landings at Normandy, three Allied airborne divisions landed at the invasion site to prepare the way.

These landings were dangerous, and combat between Allied paratroopers and German garrison forces was vicious.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Piano Sonata No. 14, “Moonlight”
Composed in 1801 by Ludwig van Beethoven. Public domain.
Performed by Paul Pitman. 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, 2024, 2025, and 2026 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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The fact of German occupation of France and other members of the United Nations alliance made it inevitable that British and American air forces would be bombing their own allies and killing civilians they were supposed to be “liberating.”

This forced Allied commanders to make some hard decisions.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Miroirs
Composed in 1905 by Maurice Ravel. Public domain.
Performed by Robert Ewen Birchall 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, 2024, 2025, and 2026 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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In this Christmas bonus episode, I answer listener questions.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor (“Für Elise”)
Composed in 1810 by Ludwig van Beethoven. Public domain.
Performed by Simone Renzi. Recording used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC 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, 2024, and 2025 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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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.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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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

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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.

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Everyone on both sides knew that an invasion of France was coming in the spring of 1944. Both sides made extensive preparations.

At the same time, the Allies were struggling to secure Charles de Gaulle’s cooperation.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Second Suite in F for Military Band
Composed in 1911 by Gustav Holst. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Air National Guard Band of the Northeast. 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, 2024, and 2025 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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The US enacted its first peacetime draft in 1940, and it included African Americans, although Black soldiers were assigned to segregated units and subjected to racist treatment and even violence.

In 1941, the Roosevelt Administration oversaw the creation of the first US Army Air Forces Fighter squadron crewed by Black pilots.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“The Air Force Song”
Composed in 1938 by Robert MacArthur Crawford. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Navy 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, 2024, and 2025 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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The US Army stopped admitting Black cadets to West Point in the late 19th century. That policy remained in place until 1932. Army leadership generally considered Black soldiers inferior.

Meanwhile, in the real world, African American volunteers were serving in combat ( and in integrated units) in the Spanish Civil War.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“U.S. Field Artillery”
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, 2024, and 2025 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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American popular music in the war years was heavily influenced by boogie-woogie, as exemplified in the music of Glenn Miller and the Andrews Sisters.

The video clip above comes from the 1942 film Orchestra Wives and is a performance of that film’s breakout hit song, “I’ve Got a Gal in Kalamazoo” by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, with Tex Beneke and the Modernaires on vocals, along with an amazing song-and-dance by the Nicholas Brothers. Note that the Nicholas Brothers’ segment is separate from the rest of the performance. This was done so their dance routine could easily be cut from the film when it was shown in theaters in the American South.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Rhapsody in Blue
Composed in 1924 by George Gershwin. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Boogie-Woogie Example

Edinburgh in August
Composed in 2021 and performed by Adam Cuerden.
Used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license. Source.

Sheridan Square
Performed by the Airmen of Note of the United States Air Force Band.
Public domain recording. Source.

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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.

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With Japan on the defensive in the Southwest Pacific, and then the American capture of Tarawa, Japan’s military position in the Pacific was crumbling.

The Imperial Army and Navy bickered over allocation of resources, particularly fighter aircraft, which Japan was losing at a phenomenal rate. The Navy continued its strategy of attempting to lure the American fleet into a decisive defeat.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Water Harp Music
A water harp is a Japanese musical instrument that creates music from dripping water.
Recording by Wikimedia Commons contributor Slowsteps used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-SA license. Source.

Review March
Public domain.
Performed by the Imperial Japanese Army 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, 2024, and 2025 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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Beginning in late 1943, British intelligence began an elaborate set of deceptions, codenamed Operation Bodyguard, intended to mislead the Germans into thinking the invasion would take place somewhere else.

Among the deceptions were operations intended to make it appear that Norway, the west coast of France, the Paz-de-Calais, and Crete would be targeted. Australian-born British actor Clifton James (above), who bore a close resemblance to Bernard Montgomery, was dressed as Montgomery and sent on a tour of Allied bases in the Mediterranean, to make it appear that something was going on there.

• Listen now:

Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Variations on an Original Theme for Orchestra (“The Enigma Variations”)
Composed in 1899 by Edward Elgar. Public domain.
Performed by the Skidmore College Orchestra. 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, 2024, and 2025 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.