The Pacific Episode 1

In this episode, Dave and James discuss and review Part 1 of the epic 2010 HBO miniseries The Pacific, which follows the lives and wartime actions of three well-known Marines who served in the Pacific Theater: John Basilone, Robert Leckie, and Eugene Sledge. In Episode 1 of The Pacific, we are intr…

Key Battles of the Barbary Wars, Episode 1: America Wanted to Take 1776 to the High Seas. North African Pirates Disagreed.

In this new mini-series, Scott Rank is rejoined by James Early (his co-host on many other military history mini-series, covering the Civil War, World War One, and the Revolutionary War) to look at a little-known war that pitted the infant United States against the Barbary States of North Africa. T…

Operation Tidal Wave

On August 1 1943, a force of 177 American heavy bombers conducted a strategic bombing mission over the oil fields near Ploesti, Romania to deny petroleum-based fuel to the Axis powers. The operation was one of the costliest for the USAAF in the European Theater, with 53 aircraft and 500 aircrewmen …

FIW 10: Epilogue to the French and Indian War

In this final episode of the series, Jacob and James discuss the legacy of the French and Indian War and the post-war lives and careers of the main leaders on both sides.

FIW 9: More Conflict in the Caribbean and the Treaty of Paris

Following the French surrender of Canada, General Jeffrey Amherst began working on consolidating British control of North America. Meanwhile, British naval and ground forces captured Martinique. Spain joined the war, and Britain promptly attacked and captured the key city of Havana, Cuba. Finally, …

FIW 8: The Fall of Canada and the Cherokee War

Having lost Quebec in 1759, the French tried to retake it in 1760 but failed. Soon afterward, three separate British armies converged on the last major French possession in Canada: Montreal.  Meanwhile, in late 1758, conflict between Cherokee warriors and British colonists broke out in the southern…

FIW 7: The Quebec Campaign

While British General Prideaux was busy laying siege to Fort Niagara and General Amherst was marching on Fort Carillon, the ambitious and aggressive 32-year-old James Wolfe was preparing an assault on the French fortress town of Quebec. This massive campaign would last three months and would involv…

FIW 6: More French Losses: Guadeloupe, Ft. Niagara, and Ft. Carillon

In 1759, the British had launched a highly successful campaign to push the French out of the Ohio Country and into Canada. Influenced by British sugar magnates, William Pitt decided to order a British attack on the major French sugar-producing islands in the Caribbean. The attack on Martinique fail…

FIW 5: The Tide Turns: Fort Frontenac and Fort Duquesne

By the summer of 1758, the French position in North America was growing increasingly tenuous. The flow of food and other supplies was drying up due to the British naval blockade of North America. There were simply too many British soldiers and not enough French to fight off the various British atta…

FIW 4: Victory and Defeat: Louisbourg (again) and Fort Carillon

Beginning in 1758, the British war effort would be run by the brilliant and aggressive Member of Parliament William Pitt. Pitt opened up the government’s purse to properly fund the war effort and sent a cadre of new, younger, and more aggressive generals to try and turn the tide in North America. T…