Amazing War Stories

In the late hours of hours of June 5th, 1944 six Horsa gliders, towed by Halifax bombers made their way across the channel. Inside the lead glider, codenamed Chalk 91, sat 30 men readying themselves for one of the most daring missions of D-Day. Little did the men realise that the next 24 hours would turn into a desperate battle for survival, as they became surrounded, deep behind enemy lines attacked by tanks, snipers and the full might of the Nazi army. Sadly, some would never see home again. These soldiers wore the maroon berets of the airborne forces, known to enemy as The Red Devils. To us, they have become known as The Dare Devils of D-Day Sign up to our newsletter for exclusive discounts here: http://eepurl.com/imr7Dk Buy our D-Day magazine here: https://bit.ly/AmazingVehiclesDDayMagazine Visit: amazingwarstories.com to find our more about this initiative. Have a war story to tell? email mystory@amazingwarstories.com Contributors: Henry Whitington - Archivist, Army Flying Museum Chris "Freddie" Kruger - Ex British Para, Amateur Historian & Curator, The Crompton Collection Dr Chris Mann - Director of The War Studies Department, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Episode Credits- Written, Researched and Executive Produced by Ed Sayer Associate Producer Lois Crompton Editing, Sound design & 3D mastering by Vaudeville Sound Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the 9th of October, 1943, one of the bloodiest air battles of the war was unfolding over German skies. Over 300 hundred fighters were attacking the Flying Fortresses of the American 1st air division, who were on a daylight bombing raid to Anklam, East Germany. The dog fighting was savage, the Germans relentless. The men on the bombers who flew that day were seasoned war fighters and those that returned said they had never experienced anything like it. It was one of the first times the American planes from the 8th Airforce had been able to strike this far into the Nazi homeland. New modifications to their fortresses meant they could now travel much greater distances - but it also presented them with a new problem. The disadvantage of long range bombing missions meant that the friendly escort fighters with smaller fuel tanks couldn’t keep up with you - so you were flying without their protection. Without the fighters for cover the Germans would attack with virtual impunity. This is the remarkable true story of 10 men in one of those flying fortresses, a plane called Lightning Strikes. By the end of the mission, three quarters of the bomber group were either destroyed or badly damaged and 50 men never made it back… They were The Ragged Irregulars of Bassingbourne.. Sign up to our newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/imr7Dk Buy merchandise to support our cause in our shop: https://shop.amazingwarstories.com/ Visit: amazingwarstories.com to find our more about this initiative. Have a war story to tell? email mystory@amazingwarstories.com Contributors: Major Rob Paley - Official Historian of the 'Bloody' 100th now known as the 100th Air Refuelling Wing Jim Cleary - Curator, 453rd Bomb Group Museum, Norfolk - visit https://www.amazingwarstories.com/museum/the-453rd-bombardment-group-museum/ Dr Chris Mann - Director of The War Studies Department, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Episode Credits- Written, Researched and Executive Produced by Ed Sayer Associate Producer Lois Crompton Editing, Sound design & 3D mastering by Vaudeville Sound Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On a moonlit night of 28th August 1944 an American Sherman M4A1-76 tank sat on a hillside watching the approaching train in the valley below. Sitting on top was a sergeant, Lafayette G Pool. There was nothing normal about this soldier however, he was the US Army’s most feared tank commander and by the end of his service he had clocked over a dozen enemy tank kills. The war film Fury is a movie like no other - directed by David Ayer it follows the exploits of a tank commander called Don “War Daddy” Collier played by Brad Pitt. Many fans don’t realise that the nickname of Pitt’s character was actually borrowed from a real person, and that man would almost single handedly drive the 3rd Armoured division straight into the guts of Nazi Germany. This is the true story of War Daddy - The Real Fury. Sign up to our newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/imr7Dk Buy the WarDaddy Book in our shop: https://shop.amazingwarstories.com/ Visit: amazingwarstories.com to find our more about this initiative. Have a war story to tell? email mystory@amazingwarstories.com Contributors: Owen Thornton - Associate Producer, Fury Davis Smith - Ex-US Marine Tank Commander David Willey - Curator, The Tank Museum, Bovington Dr Chris Mann - Director of The War Studies Department, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Episode Credits- Written, Researched and Executive Produced by Ed Sayer Associate Producer Lois Crompton Editing, Sound design & 3D mastering by Vaudeville Sound Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the 29th August 1942 a soldier of the Australian Maroubra Force placed his hand on the bipod of his Bren gun, the barrel was still too hot to hold and loaded a fresh magazine. The enemy, only yards away, were crashing through the jungle towards them. The Australian Force were massively outnumbered, exhausted and disease ridden - they knew they were staring defeat in the face. No Allied army had yet beaten the fearsome Imperial soldiers of the Japanese Army in battle. But that would soon change. The soldier gritted his teeth, grabbed the charging handle and cocked his weapon. As the Japanese ran screaming towards him he charged back at them, firing from the hip... Sign up to our newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/imr7Dk Visit: amazingwarstories.com to find our more about this initiative. Have a war story to tell? email mystory@amazingwarstories.com Contributors: Lt. Col. Todd Vail, Australian Army Kurtis Lowden - Deputy Curator, Australian Armour and Artillery Museum Dr Chris Mann - Director of The War Studies Department, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Episode Credits- Written, Researched and Executive Produced by Ed Sayer Additional Research Charles Phillips Associate Producer Lois Crompton Editing, Sound design & 3D mastering by Vaudeville Sound Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the night of 6th June 1944 at 4:50 am, an army medic jeep pulling a small two wheeled trailer, careened through the little French town of Troarn. It was under blistering attack from a garrison of Panzergrenadiers that had set up their headquarters there. But on board the jeep there were no medical supplies, or indeed, medics. All had been replaced by 7 parachute engineers with half a ton of explosives. They’re objective, to blow a bridge that was a crucial crossing for a german counter-attack. This is the remarkable true story of Major Tim Roseveare and a heroic band of 7 parachute engineers. By the end of the night, sadly, some would be captured and killed, but their legends still live on to this day. They were, The Demolition Men of D-Day... Sign up to our newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/imr7Dk Visit: amazingwarstories.com to find our more about Tim Roseveare and this initiative. Have a war story to tell? email mystory@amazingwarstories.com Contributors: Phil Campion - Ex-SAS and radio host on Force Radio Dr Chris Mann - Director of The War Studies Department, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Ben Hill - Deputy Curator, Airborne Assault Museum, Duxford Episode Credits- Written, Researched and Executive Produced by Ed Sayer Associate Producer Lois Crompton Editing, Sound design & 3D mastering by Vaudeville Sound Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former Special Forces Operative (and star of Channel 4's SAS Who Dares Wins) Jason Fox joins Bruce along with Royal Marines Colonel Nik Cavill to tell the story of this remarkable Commando Raid that started on Boxing Day 1941... Summary On the 27th December, 1941, in a small island town in the north Norwegian fjords, a German soldier crunched through the snow back to his barracks. All was calm apart from the sounds of Christmas songs still emanating from some of the bars and houses. Suddenly, in the distance, the thump of explosions and the bright lights of fireworks clearly showed people were still enjoying the yuletide celebrations. However, on the edge of the town, a massive assault was actually underway. The fireworks were flares and the explosions were the sound of HMS Kenya’s huge guns firing from the middle of the fjord. Within a few moments hundreds of British Commandos would be assaulting the peaceful hamlet... Sign up to our newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/imr7Dk To find out more about this initiative visit amazingwarstories.com Have a story to tell? Email mystory@amazingwarstories.com Contributors- Dr Chris Mann, Director of War Studies Department, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and author of 'British Policy & Strategy towards Norway, 1941-45'. To purchase please visit palgrave.com/DrChrisMann Website for Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Jason Fox; Explorer, former Special Forces Operative, TV personality and author of Life Under Fire Colonel Nik Cavill Royal Marines Commando We have also joined forces with the fantastic Royal Marines Charity to help raise awareness of their Lift the Lid campaign to raise awareness for of support available to veterans, serving personnel and their families of the armed forces suffering from mental health issues. Please Support us by visiting amazingwarstories.com where you can sign up to our newsletter, donate or buy something from our store. For more about this episode and all of the incredible stories we have in store this series, follow us on your favourite social media platform on- Facebook.com/Amazingwarstories Instagram @amazingwarstories Twitter @amazewarstories Episode Credits- Written & Researched by Charlie Phillips Director & Executive Producer Ed Sayer Associate Producer Lois Crompton Editor Tony Simmons Sound design & 3D mastering by Vaudeville Sound Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the night of the 10th November 1941 two submarines stealthily left the harbour at Alexandria and headed for Northern Libya. On board were 53 Commandos and 6 Special Boat Service operatives. Underway was one of the most audacious missions of the entire Second World War - a secret attempt to assassinate Hitler’s top General - Erwin Rommel. If they succeeded, it could alter the course of the entire conflict. Sign up to our newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/imr7Dk To find out more about this initiative visit amazingwarstories.com Have a story to tell? Email mystory@amazingwarstories.com Contributors- -Colonel Nik Cavill Royal Marines Commando -Julie Miller, curator of the Combined MIlitary Services Museum For more about this episode and all of the incredible stories we have in store this series, follow us on your favourite social media platform on- Facebook.com/Amazingwarstories Instagram @amazingwarstories Twitter @amazewarstories Episode Credits- Written & Researched by Charlie Phillips Director & Executive Producer Ed Sayer Associate Producer Lois Crompton Editor Tony Simmons Sound design & 3D mastering by Vaudeville Sound Group www.amazingwarstories.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the freezing night of December 20th 1944 men of the US 82nd Airborne, 504 Parachute Infantry Regiment fought head-on with a deadly SS Panzer Group that vastly outgunned them. This little known battle, which raged for nearly 2 days, would prove to be a pivotal turning point in the Second World War. This is the story of just 5 soldiers from a company of over 100 men, all of them heroes, all of them prepared to pay the ultimate sacrifice. Sign up to our newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/imr7Dk To find out more about this initiative visit amazingwarstories.com Have a story to tell? Email mystory@amazingwarstories.com Contributors- -Davis Smith former US Marine weaponry & tactics specialist advisor -December 44 Historical Museum La Gleize With special thanks to author Frank van Lunteren -Website http://www.frankvanlunteren.com For more about this episode and all of the incredible stories we have in store this series, follow us on your favourite social media platform on- Facebook.com/Amazingwarstories Instagram @amazingwarstories Twitter @amazewarstories Episode Credits- Written & Produced by Ed Sayer Executive producer Paul Wooding Associate Producer Lois Crompton Sound design & 3D mastering by Vaudeville Sound Group www.amazingwarstories.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the cold evening of the 20th of December 1943 over 650 Allied planes took off from their bases in England and headed for Frankfurt on what they hoped would be a decisive blow against Nazi Germany. But for one crew in particular this sortie would become a desperate fight for survival from which not all of them would return. This is the remarkable true story of the 7 men assigned to Lancaster bomber MG-A JB652. Sign up to our newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/imr7Dk To find out more about this initiative visit amazingwarstories.com Have a story to tell? Email mystory@amazingwarstories.com Contributors- -Richard Pymar- curator of The Halesworth Airfield Memorial Museum Station 365 -Flight Lieutenant Neil Farrell For more about this episode and all of the incredible stories we have in store this series, please visit our website amazingwarstories.com and follow us on your favourite social media platform on- Facebook.com/Amazingwarstories Instagram @amazingwarstories Twitter @amazewarstories Episode Credits- Written & Produced by Ed Sayer Executive producer Paul Wooding Associate Producer Lois Crompton Sound design & 3D mastering by Vaudeville Sound Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices