Key Battles of American History

In this episode, Sean and James discuss The Tuskegee Airmen, a 1995 HBO television movie based on the exploits of the first African-American combat pilots in the United States Army Air Corps who fought in World War II. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, James interviews Dartmouth College professor and best-selling author Matthew F. Delmont about his excellent book Half American: The Epic Story of African-Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad . In the interview, Professor Delmont gives an excellent overview of the experience of Black Americans during the Second World War. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...

One of the greatest films of all time, 1961’s Judgment at Nuremberg is a gripping courtroom drama about a small town American judge called to preside over the trial of German judges accused of crimes against humanity. Join Sean and James as they review this classic with one of the greatest ensemble casts ever. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During the Second World War, the Germans murdered 6 million Jews and about 5 million other so-called “undesirables” in what became known as the Holocaust. In this episode, Sean and James discuss this difficult but crucial topic. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Train narrates the gripping story of a German officer’s attempt to ship great masterpieces of art out of France by train ahead of the Allied advance and the efforts of the Resistance to prevent this from happening. Join James and Sean as they review John Frankenheimer’s taut 1960s war thriller, starring Burt Lancaster and Paul Schoefield. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In every nation that the Germans occupied, resistance movements emerged. In this episode, Sean and James discuss anti-German guerilla movements, focusing primarily on the resistance efforts in four nations: Norway, France, Yugoslavia, and the Soviet Union. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

America’s most decorated soldier of World War 2 was Texan Audie Murphy. When the time came for Hollywood to adapt his memoir into a film, there was no better star for the film than Murphy himself, who had become a matineé idol. Join Sean and James as they look at this surprisingly hard hitting and realistic 1955 film. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Following another long-time KBAH tradition, Sean and James discuss the life and experience of the common soldier, sailor and air crewmen in the European Theater of Operations in World War II. For the sake of time, the discussion is limited to American servicemen. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this special compilation episode, Josh Cohen of Eyewitness History shares his favorite interview moments and stories from people who witnessed some of history’s most extraordinary events. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The heroic efforts of American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines were made possible by millions of factory workers, farmers, fundraisers, government officials, and others who never left American soli. In this episode, Sean and James discuss the American home front, including the role played by women and African-Americans in supporting the war. They also discuss the U.S. government’s shameful...

In this episode, Sean and James review the 1970 World War II comedy-drama heist film Kelly’s Heroes which tells the story of a motley crew of American GIs who go AWOL in order to rob a French bank, located behind German lines, of its stored Nazi gold bars. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Sean and James examine the strategies, decisions, and conditions that dictated the course of the war, both from an overall perspective and through the different phases of the action. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 1967 film The Dirty Dozen tells the story of a penal military unit of twelve convicts who are trained as commandos by the Allies for a suicide mission ahead of the Normandy landings. Join Sean and James as they discuss this fun and exciting classic film. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Sean and James discuss some of the key weapons, technology, and innovations of the war for all the major powers, and how they impacted the course of the war. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Sean and James discuss the 1965 classic film Von Ryan’s Express, starring Frank Sinatra, which depicts a group of Allied prisoners of war who conduct a daring escape by hijacking the freight train carrying the POWs and fleeing through German-occupied Italy to Switzerland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Sean and James follow a long-established KBAH tradition by giving brief overviews of the postwar lives and careers of the major leaders, Axis and Allies, discussed in the series. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Sean and James review the 1946 WIlliam Wyler epic drama film The Best Years of Our Lives, which tells the story of three U. S. servicemen’s struggle to re-adjust to civilian life after coming home from the war. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Second World War completely changed the world. In this episode, Sean and James discuss the human cost of the war, the rise and fall of empires, the beginning of the Cold War, and major changes within the United States. Also discussed is the crucial July-August Potsdam Conference. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Sean and James discuss the 2004 German film Downfall , which gives an inside view of the final days of Hitler, his closest advisors, and the Third Reich itself. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

By the early spring of 1945, the Third Reich was on its last legs. Forces of the Western Allies crossed into Germany and pushed eastward, while in eastern Germany, Soviet forces surrounded Berlin. On April 30, Hitler committed suicide, and a week later, Germany surrendered. Join Sean and James as they tell the gripping story of the last weeks of Nazi Germany and the end of the war in Europe. See o...

In this episode, Sean and James discuss the 2014 film Fury, which tells the story of an American tank crew fighting against stubborn German resistance during the final weeks of the European theater of World War II. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Having destroyed the German Army Group Center and pushed back Army Group North and Army Group South, the Soviet Army in late 1944 and early 1945 swept through the Balkans and Poland, while thousands of German refugees fled westward. Join Sean and James as they discuss the westward drive of the Soviet juggernaut as well as the fateful February 1945 Yalta Conference. See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Teddy Roosevelt faced many challenges at the end of his life. Racked by rheumatism, a ticking embolism, pathogens in his blood, a bad leg from an accident, and a bullet in his chest from an assassination attempt. But none of that stopped Roosevelt from attempting to reassemble the Rough Riders for a final charge against the Germans in World War One, pushing them into a likely suicide mission of a...

In this episode, Sean and James discuss the 1949 classic film Battleground, starring Van Johnson, which presents a surprisingly realistic depiction of the Battle of the Bulge through the lens of a single squad. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the early hours of December 16, the pre-dawn stillness experienced by the thinly held American line at the eastern edge of the Ardennes Forest was shattered by a massive German offensive. After a summer of rapid advance, and a frustrating fall of dogged resistance to their advance towards the German border, American troops and leaders expected a period of winter quiet from an army that was thou...