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On June 22, 1941, Germany began a surprise invasion of the Soviet Union. It was, and still is, the largest military operation in history.

The attack took the Soviet government by surprise, despite the warning signs, and the first weeks of the invasion saw a collapsing Red Army and a rapid German advance.

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• Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Transcendental Étude, No. 8
Composed in 1852 by Franz Liszt. Public domain.
Performed by Shuwen Zhang, and 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, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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The Dust Bowl becomes one of the worst ecological disasters in history. Charles and Anne Lindbergh endure the kidnapping and murder of their infant son.

Lindbergh became the principal spokesperson for the America First Committee, which opposed any US involvement in the war in Europe. Several of the most visible members of the committee, Lindbergh included, displayed Nazi sympathies.

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• Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

“Livin’ the Dream”
Composed by Stephen Brannan. Public domain.
Performed by Wild Blue Country of the United States Air Force Academy Band. Public domain recording. Source.

“Panama”
Composed in 1912 by William H. Tyers. Public domain.
Performed by the Dixie Players of 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, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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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.

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• 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.

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• 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.

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• 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.

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• 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.

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During the First World War, the British had broken virtually all of Germany’s codes and had excellent intelligence on German military and diplomatic communications.

The Germans were determined not to let that happen again. In the Second World War, they relied on Enigma, a machine that produced coded messages thought to be unbreakable.

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• Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Rondo alla turca
Composed in 1784 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Public domain.
Performed by Markus Staab, 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, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5. Photograph of Enigma machine by Alessandro Nassiri, used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Source.

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Germany began the Second World War with a navy that was badly outnumbered by the Allied navies.

The Fall of France and the entry of Italy into the war changed the naval balance of power. Also, Germany could now base submarines and ships on the coasts of France or Norway, much closer to the trade lanes. Now it was the Royal Navy that began to feel stretched.

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• Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Overture to Der fliegende Höllander (The Flying Dutchman)
Composed in 1840 by Richard Wagner. 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, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5. Photograph of Bismarck from the Bundesarchiv, used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-SA license. Source.

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In 1940, the British government was funding research in to a number of technologies that had the potential to help win the war; technologies like radar, proximity fuzes, jet planes, ASDIC, and of course, the atomic bomb. But the Battle of Britain was on, and British factories were turning out fighter planes and other immediate war needs. There was no spare capacity to develop and build these new technologies.

So the British turned to the United States, the nation famous for its mass production.

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• Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Water Music
Composed in 1717 by George Frideric Handel. Public domain.
Performed by the Bath Festival 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, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

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Italy’s invasion of Greece was a disaster. After a few weeks of fighting, it was the Greek Army pushing the Italians back into Albania.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the British had forced the Italians out of Egypt and were advancing into Libya. The Royal Navy launched a carrier strike against the Italian Navy’s main base at Taranto and disabled three of Italy’s six battleships.

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• Transcript.

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Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening War Theme

Violin Concerto in F Major “Autumn”
Composed in 1723 by Antonio Vivaldi. Public domain.
Performed by John Harrison. Performance used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 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, and 2023 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.