The War Office

The Korean War saw significant changes in military aviation in a short period. In June 1950, the aerial war began with piston-driven aircraft of the Second World War such as the Yak-11 and IL-10s battling F-82 Twin Mustangs and F-80 Shooting Star jet fighters over Kimpo Air Base near Seoul. By April 1951, MiG-15s were dueling with F-86 Sabres as B-29s were bombing railways connecting North Korea w...

In March 1941, Operation Claymore, the first large-scale commando raid on Nazi occupied-Europe, was launched against the Lofoten Islands in Norway. The raid was successful and led to further raids, Operation Archery and Operation Anklet, in Norway in December 1941.  The raids convinced Adolf Hitler that the Allies would try a large scale landing in Norway and he sends more German troops to de...

On 27 December 1979, Soviet Spetsnaz commandos backed up by operatives from the KGB’s counterterror units Zenit and Grom attacked the Tajbeg Palace, the residence of Afghan President Hafizullah Amin.  After a protracted battle with troops of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and Amin's personal bodyguards, Amin was killed. The exact details of his death are unclear but what is clear is t...

The Battle of Peleliu grinds on as the Marines of the 1st Marine Division continue to fight the Japanese garrison dug into Bloody Nose Ridge. The fight also extends to Ngesebus Island, where Eugene Sledge fights and later chronicles the clearing of a Japanese bunker in the one of the better known engagements during the battle.    The US Army's 81st Wildcat Division takes over from t...

The Battle of Peleliu enters a new deadlier phase as US Marines cross the airfield and fight into the Urmurbrogol Mountain to take the island of Peleliu.  The dash across the airfield is met with fierce Japanese fire that takes its tolls on the Marines. Once the airfield is taken, the fighting mostly shifts to taking the Urmurbrogol Mountain, or as the Marines come to call it, Bloody Nose Rid...

In the early hours of 15 September 1944, the guns of an armada of United States Navy warships open fire on a tan, craggy-looking island in the Pacific. This bombardment is followed by waves of carrier based aircraft dropping napalm and firing rockets on enemy positions. The warships open fire again until the US Marines of the 1st Division, nicknamed the Old Breed, begin their assault on the island...

On 27 February 2014, armed and masked men with no insignia or identification begin to appear in Simferopol, the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in Ukraine. These “little green men,” as they will soon become better known, occupy key intersections and set perimeters around government buildings in the city. This is the official beginning of Russia’s invasion of Crimea, the first act...

After defeats at the Battle of Gazala and the fall of Tobruk, the British 8th Army is in full retreat into Egypt at the end of June 1942. Defensive positions are hastily prepared at the tiny railway station of El Alamein to stop Britain’s nemesis in the desert, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. The British 8th Army is now the only thing in the way of the Axis conquest of Egypt. Thanks to: Dr. Niall Barr...

On 10th May 1972 and the United States launches Operation Linebacker. The first day of the operation will be conducted against targets in the North Vietnamese port of Haiphong and its capital Hanoi. The response of the Vietnam People's Air Force will lead to the largest air battle of the Vietnam War. Thanks to: Dr. Brian D. Laslie - Author of ' Air Power's Lost Cause: The American Air Wars of Viet...

In the early hours of May 2nd, 2011, US Navy SEALS are en route for Pakistan are hoping to bring a 10-year search to its conclusion. Their target is just one man; Osama bin Laden. This episode covers the manhunt for Bin Laden, and the final operation to kill or capture him - Operation Neptune Spear. Thanks to: Joby Warrick - Two-time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and best-selling author of ' T...

From the team behind The Operations Room comes The War Office Podcast. Each episode deep dives into the most important military history events, battles, and people from the Second World War to the present day. Each episode features dramatic storytelling, expert guest historians, and atmospheric soundscapes. This is frontline detail like you’ve never heard before. You can listen to The War Office o...