rommel

In this edition of Channeling History, we channel the spirits of German General Irwin Rommel and US General George Patton.  They speak of World War 2 and the roles they played.  Rommel speaks of his force death for participation in the attempted assassination of Adolf Hitler.  Please tell your friends about this interesting show.

Sometimes called the Lee, other times the Grant.

A tank so bad it was replaced by older designs, a tank so good it replaced newer ones.

Despised by the Soviets, loved by the British, in the thick of the fighting for the best moments of German forces in Africa.

The M3 Medium was a weird looking tank that did strange things over a peculiar service history.

It certainly gives us a lot to talk about.  

Sometimes called the Lee, other times the Grant.

A tank so bad it was replaced by older designs, a tank so good it replaced newer ones.

Despised by the Soviets, loved by the British, in the thick of the fighting for the best moments of German forces in Africa.

The M3 Medium was a weird looking tank that did strange things over a peculiar service history.

It certainly gives us a lot to talk about.  

Major Donald Townsend experienced some of the most extraordinary events in British history. In My Road to Mandalay, author David Townsend recounts his father's adventures fighting with the "Forgotten Army" in the China-Burma-India theater during World War II. David expertly choreographs this story through a collection of more than 500 letters his father wrote to his family and a pen pal named Connie, who later become his wife--and David's mother.

David was inspired to write this book during the Covid lockdown in 2020 when he found a diary that recorded his father’s homeward journey from Burma in 1946. He typed this up and shared it with a dozen or so family members and close friends. Feedback was such that they all wanted to know more!

And there was a lot more! Five hundred letters had been found in his mother’s loft in 2011. Although he had already done some preliminary work on these, the lockdown provided time to do it right.

Captain Tom was also an inspiration. He was born in the same year as David's father. He served in the 14th Army and was in the major battle of Arakan, that preceded Imphal. A film ‘Captain Tom’s War’ was shown on ITV on VE Day and again in February 2021 as it had been his wish that this part of history should be remembered. It was after this latter showing that David decided that his father’s story should get as wide a publication as possible and not just be kept for family and friends. My Road to Mandalay is the result.

What makes this war story different is that it's not about blood and guts – it's the real-life story of a soldier who served in the 14th ‘Forgotten Army’ from start to finish and played a far more critical role in the re-take of Burma than his family ever envisaged, combined with amazing first-hand accounts of the battles that took place that provide a decidedly human aspect to the war.

Buy David's book: Amazon-UK | Amazon-US 

Contact David at Authoright

Show notes at https://thedigressionpodcast.com/78

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Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, the famed "Desert Fox,' was a German officer and reputed to be Hitler's favorite general. At the outbreak of World War II, Rommel was given command of the troops that guarded Hitler’s headquarters, which was a disappointment for a man used to fighting on the front lines with the infantry. But in early 1940, he was given a chance to put to use his gifts, when he was given command of the 7th Panzer Division. Although a novice as far as mechanized forces were concerned, he soon mastered the advantages and proved his leadership abilities again in the German offensive against the French channel coast in May.

In early 1941, Rommel was placed in command of the Afrikakorps and sent to North Africa to aid Germany’s ailing ally, Italy, in maintaining its position in Libya. It is here, in the deserts of North Africa, that Rommel earned his vaunted reputation, as well as his nickname, for his fox-like tactics. Winning significant victories against the British, it wasn’t until a second battle to take el-Alamein in Egypt went against him that the “invincible” general was finally called home back to Europe.

Hitler put Rommel back in northern France, to guard against an Allied invasion. Rommel’s suggestions for the precautions necessary to repel an enemy invasion were not taken seriously, and he began to lose confidence in Hitler and Germany’s ability to win the war. He assessed the support from his field commanders for removing Hitler from power and was also approached by colleagues to actually take the reins of government when Hitler was deposed.

On D-Day, Rommel’s prediction of disaster for Germany’s position played itself out. Still, Hitler would not consider negotiations with the Allies. Rommel ended up in the hospital after his car was attacked by British bombers and he was forced off the road. Meanwhile, details of a failed assassination plot had come to Hitler’s attention, including Rommel’s contact with the conspirators. As Rommel was convalescing in his home at Herrlingen, two generals visited and offered him his choice: a public show trial or take his own life.

Show notes at https://thedigressionpodcast.com/70

Sound Off! With a comment or a question at https://thedigressionpodcast.com/soundoff

Like the show? Leave a 5-star rating and review: https://thedigressionpodcast.com/review

Become a Patron or support the show in other ways at:
https://thedigressionpodcast.com/donate

Or just share our podcast with a friend! It's the best way to grow the show!!

Avec notre invité Rommel Mubenga, analyste des performances commerciales, nous parlons de la reprise de la consommation, un des éléments de la relance économique. 

Il répond aux questions de Mary et réagit aux deux chroniques de Mac Randy : 

• L'épargne des Français ne sera pas épargnée pour la reprise !
• La SNCF réajuste son offre : nouvelle carte de réduction, quoi en penser ? 

looking at the British Army in North Africa, its tactics and training in an effort to explain the difficulties the 8th Army had fighting the Afrika Korps.

Jame’s book was released last year but I’ve only recently managed to find the time to read his book 8th Army vs Rommel. And what a cracking book it is… 

If you’ve ever read about the British experience in the Deserts of North Africa during WWII, one name usually gets a mention somewhere in the narrative, that of Eric Dorman-Smith, often refered to as ‘chink’.

He can be a divisive character, sometimes portrayed as a far thinking military genius whose ideas were ignored or misunderstood. To others he represents what was problematic with both the senior British commanders Wavell and Auchinleck, whose fortunes rose and fell; he was symptomatic of retreat, reorganisation, confusion and poor leadership.

The curious thing about Dorman-Smith is so little is directly written about him, he is a footnote in the books of other desert leaders and often only gets a brief mention in histories of the North Africa Campaign.

So hopefully in this episode we’ll shed some light on ‘chink’. Joining me today is James Colvin. 

James is currently working on a history of the 8th army pre the battle of Alamein, which will be published by Helion next year (I’ll keep you all posted when it’s released).

Susan Travers was a frail old lady living in a nursing home in Paris when I met her to ask about her remarkable time in the Second World War. What she told me was astonishing and unique. It formed the basis of her memoir, Tomorrow to be Brave, which was subsequently published in twelve countries and is soon to be a film.

Here is an Amazon link to the book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tomorrow-Be-Brave-Memoir-Foreign/dp/0743200020/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1547217103&sr=1-2&keywords=tomorrow+to+be+brave

We’re in North Africa in this episode of the podcast.

The War in the desert was full of ups and downs for both Axis and Allies. In January 1941 Tobruk fell to the Allies. With the arrival of Rommel the Allies were forced back and Tobruk held out under siege for seven months, depriving the Axis of a vital supply port, before being relieved as the Allies once more swept forward. Only for it to fall in June 1942 to Rommel.

Though the British Army had expected to sacrifice Tobruk to the public at home it was a huge shock. The war had not been going well, not helped with entry of the Japanese and the fall of Singapore.

It was now Churchill wanted action, he wanted good news to report to Parliament, the British people and their new Allies the USA who had entered the war.

Operation Agreement was a daring raid on Tobruk in September 1942. Taking part were the Long Range Desert Group, the SAS, the Special Interrogation Group, the Royal Navy, the RAF… Everyone was in the act…

I’m joined by John Sadler.

Johns book “Operation Agreement: Jewish Commandos and the raid on Tobruk” tells the story of the operation.

At a time when Britain stood alone there was one shining light in North Africa.

Richard O'Conner's Operation Compass was on the cusp of capturing the whole of North Africa, before his troops were diverted to Greece. His stunning victories in 1940/41 are now rarely remembered.

Mark Buehner and I discuss O'Conner's career.

Geeks do the best show & tell - let the Garage Hour tell you how.  We've got everything from a blown quad piston (13:1 compression on av-gas will do that), fragged spider gears (from a fragged SN-95 diff), intake shrapnel (the cast Edelbrock intake didn't like that much juice), wheel chunks from a CORR race truck, to a five-inch naval shell cut and polished into a fine ashtray, the official K-Bar US Constitution (pocket-sized, of course), and titanium ore needles.

It's the Garage Hour - what did you expect?  Boring?  We don't have that.

It's also gearhead radio, so we deep-dove on our usual medley of historic, awesome and intelligent lunacy, including a full-frontal assault on big government (leave the Second Amendment alone, you leeches), plus a duscussion of fradulent pot supporters, real beer supporters (plus Captain Morgan), fun junkyard parts for fun and Phil, a second assault on epic douche and all-around limey to threaten Piers Morgan, wiring stereos versus wiring IEDs, and a whole truckload of World War Two stuff.  That's just for starters: yes, have some Garage Hour.