Key Battles of American History

In this episode, Sean and James discuss the initial episode of the recently-released Apple TV+ series,  Masters of the Air , which tells the story of the 100th Bomb Group, part of the Eighth Air Force that bombed Germany during World War II. In June 1943, the 100th, comprising four squadrons of B-17s from RAF base Thorpe Abbots, is sent on a daytime bombing mission to destroy targets in Bremen, Ge...

In this two-part topical episode, Sean McIver returns to the podcast!  Sean and James discuss the origin of modern battleships, the history-making introduction of the HMS  Dreadnought , the first ships called Texas, and the modern USS  Texas ’ service prior to World War II. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this epilogue to the Guadalcanal series, Dave and James discuss the human and material costs of the battle for Guadalcanal.  They also evaluate the performance of both sides and the short-and long-term significance of the campaign. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During a war, combatants often ponder the deep existential questions of life. These questions form the basis of Terence Malick’s 1998 war drama The Thin Red Line. On one level, The Thin Red Line is about a U. S. Army division’s attempt to take a hill on the island of Guadalcanal; however, the film also explores many age-old questions, including “How did evil enter the world?”, “Why are humans at w...

In January 1943, American forces began slowly but surely pushing west as the Japanese mounted an effort to deceive the Americans into thinking another major offensive was coming.  In reality, the Japanese were executing Operation KE, a plan to retreat westward and evacuate all survivors from Guadalcanal. In early February, American forces reached the northwestern tip of the island, only to find th...

In this episode, Dave and James discuss the 1943 World War II war film Guadalcanal Diary , directed by Lewis Seiler. The film is based on the book of the same name by Richard Tregaskis. The film recounts the fight of the United States Marines in the Guadalcanal Campaign, which occurred only a year before the movie's release. While the film has notable battle scenes, its primary focus is on the cha...

In this episode, Dave and James discuss the Battle of Tassafaronga, the final major naval battle of the Guadalcanal Campaign. They also narrate the Americans’ November Matanikau offensive (yes, another one!) and the beginning of the final American ground offensive. Finally, your intrepid hosts discuss the Japanese December 1942 decision to…well, listen, and you will find out what! See omnystudio.c...

Undeterred by the failure of their October attempt to capture Henderson Field, the Japanese high command ordered that yet another, still bigger, attempt be made in November. This resulted in two massive ship-to-ship battles between November 13 and 15, in which dozens of warships and planes, plus over 3500 soldiers, sailors, and airmen were lost. Join Dave and James as they tell the exciting story...

On October 26, American and Japanese naval forces clashed northeast of Guadalacanal in the fourth carrier battle of the war. Soon after this, General Vandegrift ordered offensives designed to extend the Marine perimeter both eastward and westward. And on November 4, the Second Marine Raider Battalion landed on the northeastern part of Guadalcanal and soon began chasing a Japanese force of 3000 tha...

Have you ever wondered if there was a group to reach North America before Christopher Columbus? Find out more in today's bonus episode from another Parthenon podcast "History of North America." Join host Mark Vinet as he discusses the search for the first non-indigenous explorers to reach the North American continent prior to Christopher Columbus’ 1492 voyage.   If you like what you hear, subscrib...

In this episode, Dave and James discuss the second episode of HBO’s The Pacific. This episode deals primarily with the Battle of Henderson Field, especially Sgt. John Basilone’s role in the battle. Basilone and the Seventh Marines land on Guadalcanal to bolster the defenses around Henderson Field. During the Japanese attack on the Marine perimeter, Basilone, attempting to relocate his machine gun...

The Japanese defeat at the Battle of Edson’s Ridge did not deter the Japanese high command, who immediately began planning an even bigger effort to retake Henderson Field and to remove the Americans from Guadalcanal. The new operation was christened “Plan X” and would include massive air, sea, and land attacks on American positions. On the ground, this time an entire division would assault the Ame...

After the American victory at Edson’s Ridge, the Marines on Guadalcanal were reinforced by the 7th Marine Regiment, which brought the total US strength on the island to about 20,000. The American ground commander General Alexander Vandegrift decided to expand the Marines’ perimeter westward by attacking Japanese positions at the Matanikau River. In addition, an American naval force met a Japanese...

On September 12, a Japanese force of several thousand attacked the Marines’ perimeter from three directions. The most effect assault occurred south of the perimeter, near a position that became known as Edson’s Ridge. The Marine defenders, including the First Raider Battalion under Col. Merrit Edson, were greatly outnumbered but were on good ground and were supported by highly effective heavy arti...

After the disaster at Alligator Creek, the Japanese decided to launch a larger effort to recapture Guadalcanal. The objective of this combined air, sea, and land operation was to wipe out the US carrier fleet and the Cactus Air Force and to land enough soldiers to defeat the Marines on the island. In this episode, Dave and James discuss the ongoing Japanese attempts to regain control of Guadalcana...

Learn more about the Alabama Unionist soldiers in the Civil War with this exclusive interview from History Unplugged, hosted by Scott Rank. Continue listening to History Unplugged: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3Ysc7Zg Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3j0QRJy Parthenon: https://www.parthenonpodcast.com/history-unplugged-podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Dave and James discuss and review Part 1 of the epic 2010 HBO miniseries The Pacific , which follows the lives and wartime actions of three well-known Marines who served in the Pacific Theater: John Basilone, Robert Leckie, and Eugene Sledge. In Episode 1 of The Pacific , we are introduced to the three main characters and we witness the initial Marine landing on Guadalcanal, the B...

The Japanese realized that if the U. S. were able to hold and utilize the airfield on Guadalcanal, Japan’s strategic objectives in the South Pacific would be foiled. Consequently, Japanese air, naval, and land forces immediately began trying to retake the airfield, recently renamed Henderson Field by the Americans. In August, Japanese bombers began conducting daily bombing raids on the field, an e...

On August 7, 1942, elements of the First Marine Division landed on Guadalcanal. They met little opposition and quickly captured their initial objective, an airfield that the Japanese had recently built. The Marines got to work establishing a perimeter and preparing for the inevitable Japanese counterattack. Soon after, Japanese and American naval forces clashed in the first major naval engagement...

On June 4, 1942, a Japanese naval task force launched an attack on the American naval and air base at Midway Island. The task force then encountered an American carrier fleet, leading to an epic naval battle that helped change the course of the war in the Pacific. The 2019 action-war film Midway tells the story of the leadup to the battle, the battle itself, and the aftermath. Is it historically a...

In early 1942, Japan’s leaders decided to capture the key Allied port of Port Moresby on the southern coast of New Guinea, in an attempt to threaten American shipping lanes to Australia. But on its way to the port, at the Coral Sea, the Japanese fleet arrived encountered an American naval force. A month later, a large Japanese naval and air force attempted to capture the American base at Midway, b...

In the late 1960s, a Japanese film production team joined forces with an American team in an effort to produce a balanced and accurate retelling of the December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The result is the classic 1970 film Tora! Tora! Tora! which after more than 50 years still remains the definitive Pearl Harbor film. Join James and Sean McIver as they discuss the film’s story, its...

On December 7, 1941, Japanese air and naval forces attacked the American naval and air base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, killing 2400 Americans and heavily damaging the US Pacific Fleet. Over the next 5 months, Japan conquered several European and American possessions in southeast Asia, including Guam, Malaya, Wake Island, Hong Kong, Burma, Singapore, the Dutch East Indies, and the Philippines. In thi...

In this episode Sean and James discuss Band of Brothers Episode 10: Points. Easy captures the Eagle's Nest in Berchtesgaden without resistance, and the end of the war in Europe is announced. Finding a collection of 10,000 bottles of liquor, wine and champagne in a cellar at Hermann Göring's house, Winters allows the company to celebrate before they travel to Austria to become an occupying force. I...

In this special episode, commissioned by Early's Raiders Colonet Daniel Fisher, James discusses John F. Kennedy's service in the Second World War. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.