Peace In Their Time

Coverage of the French military is wrapped up today with a look at the development and equipment of their navy and air force.    Bibliography for this episode:  Baughen, Greg The Rise and Fall of the French Air Force: French Air Operations and Strategy 1900-1940 Fonthill 2018 Chant, Chris Allied Fighter Aircraft 1939-45 Amber Books 2009 Bishop, Chris The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II Bar...

Equipment and organization episode! Even if the French commanders got thoroughly discredited after 1940, the actual gear used by the army kept a decent reputation. But that might not be entirely justified as their arsenal was riddled with deficiencies all its own.    Bibliography for this episode:  Doughty, Robert Allan The Seeds of Disaster: The Development of French Army Doctrine 1919-1939 Archo...

I'm talking about bunkers today and I desperately hope you guys are as excited as I am.    Bibliography for this episode:  Doughty, Robert Allan The Seeds of Disaster: The Development of French Army Doctrine 1919-1939 Archon Books 1985 Kaufmann, J.E. and H.W. Kaufmann Fortress France: The Maginot Line and French Defenses in World War II Praeger Security International 2006 Porch, Douglas Defeat and...

Today we move away from the overview history of France to focus on purely military matters. Namely, how the French went wrong in preparing for the next war and how that would play into the disaster of 1940.    Bibliography for this episode:  Doughty, Robert Allan The Seeds of Disaster: The Development of French Army Doctrine 1919-1939 Archon Books 1985 Kaufmann, J.E. and H.W. Kaufmann Fortress Fra...

For France, lacking in both population count, natural resources, and industry when compared to their hostile neighbor, the colonies were indispensable. But the lackluster engagement from the Popular Front government would help drive local leaders from forming partnerships with their imperial overlords, as even a supposedly friendly government ruled with a clumsy hand. So while the major components...

The honeymoon period of the Popular Front was basically nil within the actual French government. The establishment may have been willing to entertain limited reforms, but sweeping changes were out of the question, killing the momentum of the entire movement and dooming it to failure.    Bibliography for this episode:  Jackson, Julian The Politics of Depression in France, 1932-1936 Cambridge Univer...

By the time the Popular Front came to power it seemed like nothing would be the same in France. Politics were polarizing, the Communists became a viable electoral force, and the old order appeared dead and buried. Strikes were sweeping the nation and the business class appeared to be in retreat. It wouldn't last, but it felt great at the time.    Bibliography for this episode:  Jackson, Julian The...

Switching topics to France in the mid-to-late 1930s, today I cover the early coming together of the Popular Front in France. Expect becoming re-acquainted with the political and economic situation there at the time, as well as an introduction to the key factions and figures that would comprise the Front.    Bibliography for this episode:  Jackson, Julian The Politics of Depression in France, 1932-...

Today I finally wrap this miniseries with a look at the Hitler Youth, how it developed and its role in the Nazi state. I also touch on the effects of Nazism on the German educational system. Like most things it had any effect on, it wasn't great!   Bibliography for this episode:  HW Koch The Hitler Youth: Origins and Development 1922-1945 Cooper Square Press 2000 (originally Barnes & Noble Boo...

Today I take a look at the development of the Nazi security apparatus while under the supervision of the SS. This will include a proper description of the activities of the Gestapo, as well as how the regular police fit into the picture, and how these groups interacted with the SD. Plus, a guest appearance from the SA.    Bibliography for this episode:  Hohne, Heinz The Order of the Death's Head:...

Today is the first of a two-parter covering the General SS. The sub-section of the group covered a lot of the administrative activities, but also oversaw the efforts to merge the police forces of Germany into the organization. This would never be totally completed, but the closeness of the SS and law enforcement in Germany was such that they would be linked for most of the Third Reich's existence....

Name of the episode says it all. Today covers the pre-war development of the SS-TV, the Concentration/Death Camp guards, and the SS-VT, the early form of the Waffen-SS.    Bibliography for this episode:  Hohne, Heinz The Order of the Death's Head: The Story of Hitler's SS Penguin Books 2000 Weale, Adrian Army of Evil: A History of the SS Penguin Books 2010 Questions? Comments? Email me at  peacein...

No story of the militarization of German society would be complete without talking about the SS. Possibly the most iconic image of Nazi Germany, aside from images of its victims, was the ominous, black-clad figure. This first installment will introduce the group, its general composition, as well as some of its high-level developments to start off this miniseries within a miniseries.    Bibliograph...

The lengths that I covered last week that the Nazis went to in order to keep the people happy were not done for the love of leisure. The demands of the Third Reich and its rearmament drive were all-consuming and behind the facade of a happy, prosperous Germany was a reality of unrelenting labor.    Bibliography for this episode:  Kershaw, Ian Popular Opinion & Political Dissent in the Third Re...

The aggression and militarization of society in Nazi Germany may have been most openly expressed in its rearmament and bellicose foreign policy, but a critical element too was in how that state engaged with its own people. Getting everyone onboard with a general war was no small task for a state in its infancy, and this week I start taking a look at how Nazism engaged with people on the street.   ...

It seemed that after the re-occupation of the Rhineland that Hitler had gotten the measure of the UK and France, and that what had seemed impossible previously was now quite the opposite. To that end, he was finally able to achieve one of the biggest goals of both the Nazis and German nationalists in general: the unification of Austria to Germany.    Bibliography for this episode:  Tooze, Adam Wag...

The name of the game for 1930s Germany was escalation. Not just in armaments, but in diplomatic moves as well. From small moves to prevent coalitions forming against them, to major plays to bring down the Versailles order, the Nazis only grew bolder as they began to realize the West lacked the wherewithal to stop them.    Bibliography for this episode:  Tooze, Adam Wages of Destruction: The Making...

We all know the Germans annexed Austria in 1938, but the story of how they tried to overthrow their southern neighbor in 1934 doesn't get as much attention. Today I'll be covering the politics and instability that created a window of opportunity, or perhaps more the scant impression of one, to be exploited by the Nazis.   Bibliography for this episode:  Emondson, C. Earl The Heimwehr and Austrian...

Military conquest was always an ambition of Hitler and the Nazis, a central thesis of theirs was that war was necessary to strengthen their nation. But while the military was built-up almost from scratch, victories were sought on the diplomatic front. Which is the new facet of German aggression being moved onto. Today specifically be about the Geneva Disarmament Conference, the colossal waste of t...

For the 200th episode I'm taking a dive into the minutia of the German Army's arsenal. Ironically, some of the most famous German weapons were only introduced in the later half of the war, when they were losing ground left and right. The years of their build-up and conquest were marked by much more modest pieces of equipment that nevertheless had their qualities.

Was the German Army of WWII the unstoppable demon army of military myth? Or were they the luckiest flock of goose-steppers ever to visit Paris? Turns out they were simply a professional force that brought just enough new ideas to the table that they made everybody else look bad there for a while. Today I break down the broad strokes of German doctrine and organization for its army, everybody's fav...

I know that half the military history internet is devoted to the technical specs of the German military in WWII, but for completions sake I'm going to be adding to that pile. Today I cover the organization, doctrine, and models of weapon used by the two supporting branches of the German military.    Bibliography for this episode:  Deist, Wilhelm The Wehrmacht and German Rearmament MacMillan Press...

In the second half of this installment, I wrap up the woes the Wehrmacht faced by the end of the 30s, problems that would never be fully resolved. Also covered is the Blomberg-Fritsch Affair, two unrelated scandals that nevertheless Hitler used as cover to solidify control of the army.    Bibliography for this episode:  Tooze, Adam Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy ...

I've been slacking a lot on the release schedule, so enjoy a second episode for this week. Today I'm still talking about rearmament, but this time it's just the planning on the military side. Turns out expanding your army to support thirty times more troops, all the while building a world-class air force from scratch, and half-heartedly constructing a navy in a little over half a decade creates so...

The reality of Nazi Germany's bid to conquer Europe and dominate the world was that it simply lacked the economic capacity to actually do those things. That didn't stop Hitler from trying though, and he pushed the economy to the breaking point getting as many weapons and the biggest army he could.    Bibliography for this episode:  Tooze, Adam Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the N...