WW2 Pod: We Have Ways of Making You Talk

When the 82nd Airborne jumped into Nijmegen they had high hopes of being the final link in the chain for XXX Corps on the road to Arnhem. But things went badly wrong and General Gavin’s men failed to grab the bridge until the operation was already doomed. John C McManus, US military historian and author, joins Al and James to discuss the 'other bridge'. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Jo...

It took a certain type of courage to serve in a tank in World War Two. Encased in steel, surrounded by highly explosive shells, a big and slow-moving target, every crew member was utterly vulnerable to enemy attack from all sides. Living - and dying - in a tank was a brutal way to fight a war. Al Murray reads a chapter of James Holland’s new book Brothers in Arms.  A Goalhanger Films production Pr...

What can we learn from exploring original training manuals? Aviation historian Christoph Bergs and YouTube historian Bernhard Kast join James and Al to discuss documents and doctrine. Stuka - The Doctrine of the German Dive Bomber http://stukabook.com/  The Assault Platoon of the Grenadier-Company November 1944 (StG 44) - http://sturmzug.com/ » Army Regulation Medium Panzer Company 1941 - http://w...

Shortly after the war a Buffalo LVT (Landing Vehicle Tracked) was taken to Lincolnshire to help with food defences. The vehicle was swept away and sank in a hole. Al Murray and James Holland visit the unearthed vehicle and hear the story of its excavation. The lads also get to speak to a veteran LVT driver. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Joey McCarthy Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter:...

If Hugo Boss didn't design Nazi uniforms, who did? Al Murray and James Holland take a deep sartorial dive into what the Wermacht wore. Al and James also discuss the upcoming festival and cardboard tanks. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Joey McCarthy Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: wehavewayspodcast@gmail.com Hosted on Ac...

Although Spain remained neutral in the Second World War, a number of Spanish citizens volunteered to fight for the British Army. Al Murray and James Holland are joined by historian Séan Scullion, to recount the tales of six extraordinary men A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Vasco Andrade Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: we...

The conflict between China and Japan escalates as the Battle of Shanghai breaks out. James Holland and Al Murray explore a battle that is often considered the beginning of the Second World War in Asia. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: wehavewayspodcast@gmail.com Hosted on Acas...

Two years before the start of the Second World War in the west China and Japan entered into a bloody military conflict which would result in millions of casualties. In the first of a two-part series James Holland and Al Murray discuss the build up to the Second Sino-Japanese War. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod W...

The Special Operations Executive was tasked by Winston Churchill to set Europe ablaze. More than 400 agents were sent into France, thirty-nine of them women. Dr Kate Vigurs has researched the story of all these female agents for her book, Mission to France: The True Story of the Women of SOE. Kate joins Al and James to discuss their extraordinary stories. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by...

Al Murray and James Holland return to Bovington Tank Museum for an exclusive tour of their new permanent exhibit ‘World War Two: War Stories’.  Curator David Willey leads Al and James through the new space, which charts the history of the Second World War through the tanks used, but more importantly the men who fought with them. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Joey McCarthy Exec Producer...

Throughout the Second World War, the Special Boat Service took part in daring assaults across Europe and Asia - usually in the dead of night and in small canoes. James Holland and Al Murray discuss these missions and the fate of the SOE in Europe A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Willow Murray Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Emai...

While on a recent road trip north Al and James were offered the chance to watch the Red Arrows’ final training session before their summer season. Squadron Leader Adam Collins - Red 10 - talks the boys through the display and explains the history of the team. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Joey McCarthy Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehaveway...

In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War as the situation in Germany deteriorated dangerously the Allies faced off in their attempt to divide up Europe. Author Giles Milton joins Al Murray and James Holland to discuss Potsdam and the personalities who oversaw the new Berlin. Plus we discover the origins of the sixty five dollar question. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Willow M...

Inside a hangar on the old RAF airfield at East Kirkby sits one of the world’s last Lancaster bombers. Al Murray and James Holland head north for the chance to scramble inside this remarkable aircraft. Pilot Andrew Panton guides the boys though the confined spaces and into the cockpit. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Joey McCarthy Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWay...

On the 6th of June 1944, LCT 7074 delivered nine tanks onto the beach in Normandy.  Al Murray and James Holland head to Portsmouth to explore the UK’s last remaining D-Day Landing Craft Tank. Historian Stephen Fisher joins them to explain the provenance of this landing craft and its significance to Operation Overlord. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Producer Tony Pasto...

Eighty years on from the US and Britain outlining their post war aims, Al and James explore the Atlantic Charter. Also up for discussion are the Berlin Olympics, Jesse Owens and the experience of black soldiers in the US military. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: wehavewayspod...

James and Al are at the D-Day Story museum in Portsmouth. They talk to assistant curator James Daly, who’s spent 7 years researching airborne operations that didn’t happen between D-Day and Arnhem. They examine the circumstances that led to to the operations being cancelled, and whether the plans were still used in other campaigns. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Produ...

In a special live edition of the pod from Chalke Valley History Festival, Al Murray and James Holland discuss the top five British blunders and successes of the war while being heckled by a bugler. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Joey McCarthy Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: wehavewayspodcast@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. S...

The final task of assaulting the Arakan Peninsula as part of the Burma campaign was given to the British 3rd Commando Brigade. Their challenge was to cut off the Japanese supply and escape routes to Rangoon. Historian Lucy Betteridge-Dyson, whose grandfather fought in Burma, joins Al Murray and James Holland to discuss the campaign and the infamous fight for Hill 170. A Goalhanger Films production...

This week the lads look at a few examples of how the Nazi regime would pick and choose how they implemented some of their ideologies. Al also gives us an update on the filming for his new history show, which this week included going paintballing in tanks with Henning Wehn. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Jon Gill Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www....

James and Al are at the historic dockyard in Portsmouth, “Saving Private Ryan” by taking a trip on an F8 landing craft. They find out about the history of amphibious landing capability from 1938, up to the the Normandy Landings and through to the Falklands War. But will it be enough to persuade them to feature the Royal Navy more in the podcast? A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry Line...

Al and James discuss why Britain never used the Highball bouncing bomb, the impact of losing battleships, the PIAT versus the Bazooka and the perils of reading your own books. Tickets for the We Have Ways Festival can be bought here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/153466810361 A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Webs...

Piston engines powered every significant Second World War air battle. Calum Douglas, who has written a brilliant book on the race for engineering supremacy, joins Al Murray and James Holland to explore the story of the men at the forefront of the battle. Tickets for the We Have Ways Festival can be bought here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/153466810361 A Goalhanger Films production Produced by H...

Dutch civilians suffered horrifically during the final winter of the war as the Germans sought to punish them for assisting the allied forces attempting to liberate Holland. Al and James are joined by Dutch historian Hans Onderwater to discuss the Hunger Winter. Tickets for the We Have Ways Festival can be bought here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/153466810361 A Goalhanger Films production Produ...

With the Italians in London ahead of the final of the European Championships, Al Murray and James Holland look at the Italian story in the Second World War. How significant were Italian colonial ambitions in British thinking? And what did Italy experience in the final years of the war. Tickets for the We Have Ways Festival can be bought here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/153466810361 A Goalhange...