Key Battles of American History

In this episode, Evan and James wrap up the military and political narrative of the Korean War by discussing the human and material costs of the war, the war’s most important short-term and long-term ramifications, and the postwar lives and careers of the war’s top military and political leaders. Washington’s Incompetence with Howard Dorre: This week, James sits down with Howard...

In this episode, Sean and James discuss the 1959 film Pork Chop Hill , which stars Gregory Peck, Woody Strode, Rip Torn, George Peppard, and many other future stars of the big and small screens. Based upon the 1956 book by U.S. military historian Brigadier General S. L. A. Marshall, Pork Chop Hill depicts the fierce First Battle of Pork Chop Hill between the U.S. Army's 7th Infantry Division and C...

In this episode, Evan and James discuss the final few months of the Korean War, including the battles for The Hook and Pork Chop Hill, the renewed peace talks, the signing of the Armistice Agreement in July 1953, and the immediate aftermath of the war. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Sean and James discuss the 2004 South Korean film, Tae Guk Gi (The Brotherhood of War), which tells the story of two brothers who are forcibly drafted into the South Korean army at the outbreak of the Korean War. The film follows the brothers all the way to the end of the war and reveals the horror of the war in its fullness. Tae Guk Gi became one of the biggest successes in the h...

In July 1951, Communist and UN representatives began conducting peace talks. But the talks went nowhere, and the Communists broke them off on August 22. Meanwhile, throughout late 1951 and 1952, both sides worked to strengthen their defensive lines. The war changed from a war of movement to a mostly static, World War I style conflict. Still, the UN launched several relatively minor offensives duri...

Based on the 1953 James Michener novel of the same name, the 1954 film The Bridges at Toko-Ri tells the story of Lt. Harry Brubaker, a fighter-bomber pilot on the aircraft carrier USS Savo Island . A WW2 veteran and Naval Reserve pilot, Brubaker was drafted back into service from civilian life. This makes him quite resentful and cynical about the war. Now he has a dangerous mission to perform, and...

In April 1951, the Chinese army in Korea launched a fifth major offensive against the UN forces deployed along the Kansas and Utah lines. The fiercest attack was against the western part of the line, defended by the 29th Commonwealth Brigade, who were positioned around the Imjin River. Despite repeated Chinese attacks, the 29th held firm, and the Chinese had to call off the attack. Meanwhile, furt...

In the fall of 1864, General William Tecumseh Sherman led his army through Atlanta, Georgia, burning most of the city along the way. From Atlanta, they marched across the state to its most important city at the time: Savannah. In this episode, James interviews Bennett Parten, Assistant Professor of History at Georgia Southern University, about his recently released book  Somewhere T...

In this episode, Sean and James discuss the 2022 film Devotion , which tells the story of Ensign Jesse Brown, the first Black US Navy fighter pilot, including his struggle against racism within the Navy and his role in key air missions during the Korean War. This film, which features stunning cinematography, includes both touching and tragic moments and is a can’t miss Korean war film. See o...

In this episode, Evan and James take a quick break from the military narrative to discuss the management of the war by President Harry Truman and his top advisors.  Your faithful cohosts also discuss the growing rift between Truman and MacArthur, a renewed Chinese military offensive, an Allied counteroffensive, and a couple of major changes in command. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Another classic Korean War film directed by Samuel Fuller, Fixed Bayonets! (1951) takes place In the first winter of the Korean War, during the Chinese intervention. A 48-man platoon is left to defend a choke point while covering the withdrawal of their division over an exposed bridge. Join Sean and James as they review this gripping film. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In late November, 1950, the Allied Eighth Army resumed their march northward to the Yalu River. To their great surprise, both units were ambushed by large Chinese forces who inflicted great casualties on the Allies and forced them to retreat southward. Join Evan and James as they discuss the epic battles of the Chongchon River and the Chosin Reservoir, plus the legendary march to the sea and evacu...

In this episode, Sean and James discuss the 1952 film Retreat, Hell! , which presents a sweeping overview of the legendary First Marine Division’s actions in the Korean War, from training camp, to the Inchon landing, to their battles with Chinese forces in North Korea, and finally to their eventual evacuation. Get ready to join in a rousing chorus of the Marine Corps Hymn with Sean and James...

The successful Allied capture of Inchon and Seoul, together with the Eighth Army’s breakout from the Pusan Perimeter, forced the North Korean army to rapidly retreat northward and brought the Allied forces to the 38th Parallel. Now, General MacArthur was faced with a decision…should the Allies dig in and consolidate their gains, daring the North Koreans to attack them? Or should they...

On September 14–15, 1950, a battalion of student volunteer soldiers led by Republic of Korea Army officers staged a small diversionary operation at Jangsari beach in Yeongdeok, on the east coast of Korea. The purpose of this raid was to distract the North Koreans’ attention from the imminent landing at Inchon, as well as to possibly disrupt North Korean supply lines. Join Sean and Jame...

Soon after the North Korean invasion of the South, Allied Supreme Military Commander General Dougas MacArthur began planning a surprise amphibious assault on the key port city of Inchon, which was more than 100 miles behind North Korean lines. This attack was risky for many reasons, but if it succeeded, MacArthur believed, it would force the North Korean army to retreat back into the North and pos...

In this episode, Sean and James discuss the 2010 South Korean film 71: Into the Fire . This film is based on a true story of a group of 71 undertrained, underarmed, and outgunned student volunteer soldiers of South Korea during the Korean War, most of whom were killed on August 11, 1950, during the Battle of P'ohang-dong. For 11 hours, they defended the local P'ohang girls' middle school, a strate...

On June 25, 1950, 150,000 soldiers of the North Korean People’s Army launched an attack across the 38th Parallel into South Korea. They quickly pushed the outnumbered, outgunned, and demoralized South Korean army southward and captured the southern capital Seoul and several other key cities. The United States rushed ground, air and sea forces to the region and set up a perimeter around the k...

This week, James brings back his friend and long-time collaborator Sean McIver to kick off a nine-part series on Korean War films. In this first film episode, Sean and James discuss a mostly-forgotten classic: 1951’s The Steel Helmet, directed by Samuel Fuller.  Filmed in just ten days on a shoestring budget only four months after the war began, The Steel Helmet portrays the Korean War...

In this episode, James and new cohost Evan Muxen (an army veteran and military historian) begin a new series on the Korean War. Evan and James give a brief overview of Korean history through the end of the Second World War and then slow down to focus on developments between 1945 and 1950. You will hear how the splitting of Korea into two halves, one occupied by the Soviet Union and the other by th...

Was President Harry Truman’s decision to use atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki necessary and justified?  In this episode, James is joined by Richard Lim, host of the This American President podcast.  James and Richard break down the various factors that figured into Truman’s decision in an attempt to answer this important question. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, James interviews Elizabeth Varon, the Langbourne M. Williams Professor of American History and Associate Director of the John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History at the University of Virginia, about her new book Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South. One of the Confederate Army’s most talented commanders, Longstreet was called “my old war horse” by Robert E....

Following the Japanese surrender, the Marines return home. Leckie resumes working at the newspaper he worked for before the war. He also starts a relationship with Vera, revealing that he never sent the letters he wrote because he believed he was not going to survive the war. Sledge, Shelton, and Burgin arrive home in the spring of 1946. Sledge is still haunted by the horrors of war, he struggles...

In this episode, James tells the fascinating history of America’s first Special Forces unit: the Marine Raiders. Formed in 1942, the Raiders played a key role in several Pacific Theater battles, including Guadalcanal, New Georgia, and Bougainville. In 1944, the Raider battalions were disbanded, and their members were reassigned to regular Marine units. Why, you ask? Listen and find out! See omnyst...

Sledge and the 1st Marine Division land at Okinawa. Cynical and exhausted, Sledge and "Snafu" Shelton show no compassion for the Japanese troops and struggle to lead new replacement Marines fresh out of boot camp. The Marines are horrified to discover Okinawan civilians, including women and children, are being forced to act as human shields. As the battle concludes, the Marines hear of a "new bomb...