An introduction to my new podcast series which will be published from September dealing with the wars of German unification and influence of Otto von Bismarck on Germany and Europe. The first series will deal with the Revolutuion of 1848 and the First Schleswig War. Later series will deal with the Second Schleswig War, the Seven Weeks War between A…

In this final episode of this season, I will be discussing nuclear weapons and the threat of a nuclear war which hung over the world during the cold war.Paul Kendrick által

After Che Guevara left Cuba, he would try to led two revolutions in the Congo and in Bolivia, neither of which would succeed. He would be captured by the Bolivian Army and murdered in cold blood but he death, he would become an idea to many young people with left wing values.Paul Kendrick által

An American U2 spy plane is shot down over Cuba by a Soviet Surface to Air missile. The tension between the United States and the Soviet Union increases but President Kennedy decides not to bomb Cuba. He uses a message from the Soviet leader to end the crisis and the Soviet nuclear missiles are withdrawn from Cuba.…

An American U2 spy fight discovered Soviet missiles in Cuba. The American military chiefs wanted an invasion of Cuba but President Kennedy decides above a naval blockade of Cuba instead. President Kennedy address the nation on television to tell them of the Soviet missiles now based in Cuba.Paul Kendrick által

The Soviets send nuclear weapons and fifty thousand military personal to Cuba, all without being observed by the Americans. The Soviet nuclear missiles pose a serious danger to the United States. A biography of the Soviet military commander in Cuba, General Pliev. In October 1963, an American U2 flight will plunge the world into crisis.…

Cuban exiles with the secret support of the American Government would in 1961, attempt a landing on the south coast of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. The invasion was crushed by the Cuban Army, President Kennedy would not allow the American military to become directly involved, although the American Government involvement soon became known.…

When Fidel Castro took power in Cuba in 1959, his mask of being a liberal and a democrat fell. There would be no free elections in Cuba. Those who had fought in the Cuban revolution for a free and democratic Cuba would become the victims of repression, imprisonment and execution, another revolution was eating its children.…

1958 saw the Guerrilla armies in Cuba grow in number. The Cuban Army was sent to crush Fidel Castro and his rebels in operation summer, it nearly success but Fidel Castro led his men out of a trap. The American Government turn against the Cuban dictator and he is forced to flee. In December 1958, the rebels overcame the Cuban Army.…

During 1957, Fidel Castro guerrilla band would grow in numbers, they attacked isolated Army garrisons in Eastern Cuba and the Cuban Army would abandon parts of the countryside to the rebels. Fidel Castro would prove to a master of public relations and reassure the world he was a democrat not a Communist. A biography of his brother Raul.…

Fidel and Raul Castro would form a small army of Cuban exiles in Mexico, to train and return to Cuba, to try to overthrow the Cuban dictatorship. They would be joined by an Argentina doctor Che Guevara, his biography is given. They and eighty other rebels would travel back on a boat the Granma but within a few days most would be dead.…

Fidel Castro in 1952, when Cuba fell under a military dictatorship. He founded the Movement an underground resistance to the Cuban Dictatorship. The Movement in July 1953 launched an attack on a army garrison the attack was a failure and Fidel and his brother Raul were sent to prison but not for long for they would be released and would go into exi…

After the Spanish - American War, Americans dominated Cuba's economy. Elections are often were marred by fraud. In 1933 a revolution brought in a left wing Government but it lasted only a hundred days. It was overthrown by Batista a former sergeant who became Cuba's military strongman, he would overthrown another Democratically elected Government i…

The story of Latin America's most brutal dictator Trujillo who govern the Dominican Republic for 31 years and killed 50,000 of his people. Yet even after his death the country was political unstable and in 1965, President Johnson would sent American troops to the country to put down a left wing revolt. Also a look at decolonisation in the British W…

A political review of the states of South and Central America between 1945 and 1965. Sadly it will be a story mainly of dictators, repression, unstable political environments, corruption and poverty. Power largely in the hands of elites not the people. Armies more active in overthrowing their Governments than defending them.…

American involvement in Central America in the first half of the 20th Century. The story of two countries, in the post war period which the Americans supported coups, one in Costa Rica, which established a stable democracy and in Guatemala which overthrow and a left wing democratic Government and would led to a 36 year long civil war.…

The story of the early years of the American Central Intelligence Agency and it most important director Allan Dulles. The CIA go on from a disappointing start during the Korean War to became the oversea convert operations agency for the American Government but some of its actions would latter be questioned.…

When Eisenhower ran for President in 1952, the Korean War was an important issue during the election campaign. When he became President he tried to end the Korean War, at first time without success but then in March 1953, Stalin died and it was possible to begin talks to end the war.Paul Kendrick által

For years President Truman had failed to invest in South Korea's defence, the North Korea invasion invasion in June 1950 came as a shock but Truman decided to commit American troops to the defence of South Korea. General Mac Arthur invasion at Inchon turned around the Korean but his relation with the Truman became strained leading to the firing of …

The rise and fall of Senator Joe McCarthy, a biography of him is given. Following a speech by him in 1950 he became the most famous anti-communist in American. Hearing he chaired destroy the reputation of many. However when he started to investigate the Army, President Eisenhower was prepared to the same tactics to bring down Senator McCarthy.…

By 1945, the Soviet Union had established a highly effective spy ring operating in the United States. Many of their spies were key figures within the American Government, they also spies in the atomic bomb programme, who would pass on information which helped the Soviets build their own atomic bomb. A biograph of two Soviet spies who would be execu…

In 1964, Brezhnev ousts Khrushchev from the Soviet leadership in a coup. A biography of Brezhnev is given. He would firmly establish his leadership in 1965 and afterwards and remained leader until his death in 1982. During time it seemed that Soviet Union was strong but internal weakness was undermining it.…

The Soviets bring down an American U2 spy plane over the Soviet Union and capture the pilot, this leads an international incident. The building of the Berlin Wall in 1961, dividing the City of Berlin into two, in order to stop East Germans fleeing to the West.Paul Kendrick által

A review of the course of the Cold War in Asia between 1945 and 1965. This review will briefly deal with the effects of the Chinese Civil War, the First Indochina War, the Korean War, the start of the Vietnam War as well as other wars in Asia n this period.Paul Kendrick által

General Khan the military ruler of Pakistan decided to go to war against India in 1965. The war began in Kashmir but soon was being fought along the border between West Pakistan and India. Both sides were fairly equal in the air and in tanks and the war ended in a draw.Paul Kendrick által

In this second episode on the Sino - Indian War of 1962, I look at the fighting in the Aksai Chin region in Eastern Kashmir where Chinese troops defeated the Indian Army and occupied the region. I also look at the long term effect of the war.Paul Kendrick által

In October 1962 at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Chinese troops attacked Indian along their disputed border. This episode looks at the fighting in the North east frontier Area. A biography is given of V.K.K. Menon, the Indian defence minister who failed to prepare the Indian military for the Chinese attack.…

A biography of Indian Prime Minister Nehru and the story of his work with the international non aligned movement which attached a great deal of support from the newly independent third world nations. However relations between India and China which had been good for a decade decline.Paul Kendrick által

India and Pakistan between 1947 and 1949 fight their first war against each other for control of Kashmir. The population of the area was mainly Muslim but its ruler was not., he tried to keep Kashmir independent but when Pakistani troops invaded he was forced to call for help from India, which sent troops and airplanes to fight for control of the a…

In 1947 India was to gain its independence but it had to broken up into two nations, India and Pakistan known as Partition. In the run up to this the India was to witness an outbreak of murder, rape and the following out from their homes of millions of people. A biography of the first leader of Pakistan, Muhammad Jinnah is given.…

This is a special one off tribute to Queen Elizabeth the Second who died in September. It tells of her life and the British armed forces which she commanded from 1952 to 1965, when British troops, sailors and airmen were active in fighting in several parts of the world.Paul Kendrick által

In this episode I will tell of the rule of Mao over China following the Communist victory in the civil war to his death. It was a very bloody period with millions of Chinese dying during this time. Purges would be a regular event.Paul Kendrick által

An overview of the Chinese military intervention into the Korean War and how the Chinese military developed during the Korean War. Improvements in the Chinese logistic system and the ability to dug tunnels to avoid American firepower.Paul Kendrick által

An account of Tibetan resistance to Chinese control of Tibet. In 1959 this would led to the Tibetan uprising in which over eighty thousand people would be killed. The Dai Lai would go into exile in India and form a Tibetan Government in exile. The biography of the Dai Lai is given.Paul Kendrick által

The Chinese Communists saw Tibet as part of China. Talks between the Chinese and Tibetan Government failed to reach an agreement. The People's Liberation Army defeats a Tibetan Army led by Ngapoi, who would become an ally of the Chinese as they took control of Tibet, his biography up to 1954. is given.…

The Chinese Communists overrun the Nationalists in Southern Chain and capture the island Hainan. They then defeat the warlords in Northern Western China. The Nationalist flee to Taiwan where Chiang Kai-Shek regains power. In the United States the Republicans blame President Truman and his secretary of state George Marshall for the lost of China.…

Chiang Kai - Shek is removed from power as Nationalist leader. Stalin suggest a cease fire but the Chinese Communists reject it. A British warship is trapped by Communist artillery in the River Yangtze River. Communist troops cross the River Yangtze and capture the city of Shanghai.Paul Kendrick által

After the Communist victory in Manchuria, they march into Eastern China. The capital Beijing falls to them after a 40 day siege. The Communist win another major victory in a battle in Eastern China. An account of Deng Xiaoping (a future leader of China) during the Chinese Civil War. How Communist terror gained them control of the countryside.…

Chiang Kai-Shek in June 1946 sends his Nationalist Army into North China and Manchuria to destroy the Communists. The American Government imposed an arms embargo which includes, new motor lorries, the Nationalist supply system collapses. The Nationalist forces in Manchuria are first besieged and then defeated by the 8th Red Route Army commanded by …

After the Japanese surrender in August 1945, the Chinese Nationalist reoccupied the cites of Eastern Police along with them came their secret police led by Dai Li, known as the Chinese Himmler, his biography is given. Under American and Soviet Government pressure Chiang Kai Shek and Mao meet and pretend to reach a peace agreement. In fact fighting …

The Long March to Civil War The background to the Chinese Civil War, the fighting between the Nationalists and the Communists, in the twenties and thirites. The Long March when Mao led the Communists to North China. The uneasy peace between the two sides in order to fight the Japanese from 1937. A biography of Nationalist leader Chian Kai-Shek. The…

The American bombing of North Vietnam is halted over the 1965 Christmas period. In this final episode of this series, I look at the state of the American military effort in South Vietnam at the end of 1965 though the prism of the Fulbright Hearing in the US Senate held in February 1966. A biography of Senator Fulbright.…

Military actions in South Vietnam during November and December 1965. The American Army launch a series of search and destroy operations including operation Hump to find and kill the Viet Cong, yet none of them result in a total victory, thee Viet Cong when they wish are able to break off contact. Growing doubts exist within the American military le…

The first major battle between regular American soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division and regular North Vietnamese troops. There re two major engagements, one at landing zone X-Ray, biography of the American commander Lieutenant Colonel Moore. Hundreds of American troops are killed but even more North Vietnamese die too.…

Military operations in South Vietnam in September and October 1965. Australian and New Zealand military involvement in South Vietnam in 1965. A biography of Major Charles Beckworth an American special forces soldier serving in South Vietnam in 1965.Paul Kendrick által

At first American troops in South Vietnam simply protect American bases but General Westmoreland get permission to change their role to include search and destroy operations to go out an fin the enemy and kill them. One of the first is Operation Starlite carried out by American Marines in the north of South Vietnam.…

In this episode, I deal with the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army their effective use of ambushes and bobby traps.. I compare their main gun the AK47 and the American M14 rifle and why the more rugged AK47 proved to be a better weapon in the jungle of South Vietnam.Paul Kendrick által

In this episode I look at the American Army in South Vietnam in 1965 as it builds up its resources in the country and begins to fight the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army. I shall deal with how the American Army is organised from the command of MACV down to the battalion and company. I deal with some of the weapon of the American Army and lo…

American ground forces build up in South Vietnam, air fields and barracks are built, to cope with the needs of an army from across the Pacific Ocean. A biography of key figure in the Government of South Vietnam General Ky is given. The American Navy cuts the supply of arms and equipment across the coast in Operation Market Time.…

President Johnson orders the bombing of North Vietnam first during Operation Flaming Dart and then Rolling Thunder which would last until 1968 to force North Vietnam to give up its war in the South, The Communists would refuse to do so and the bombing campaign failed to destroy the North Vietnamese military. There was also bombing in Laos. The stor…