Pearl Harbor is often remembered as a stunning Japanese success, a perfectly executed surprise attack that changed the course of the Second World War. But what if that familiar story is wrong?

In this episode, I am joined by now regular of the podcast Mark Stille to rethink one of the most famous events of the war. His book Pearl Harbor: Japan's Greatest Disaster argues that the attack was not a masterstroke at all, but a tactical disappointment, an operational failure, and ultimately a strategic catastrophe for Japan.

Mark's book is also available on Audible and Spotify.

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For this episode, I am joined by Philip McCarty to discuss his book Point of Failure: British Army Brigadiers in France and Norway, 1940 .

It is a study of the brigadiers who served in France and Norway in 1940. Rather than focusing on campaign narratives, Philip examines the men who held this rank. Their backgrounds. Their training. The influence of networks, regimental culture and staff college upon their careers. And what happened to them after the defeats in France and Norway?

This is a fresh way to approach the early-war British Army, offering insight into how the institution thought about leadership, promotion, and responsibility at a moment of intense pressure.

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In September 1939, during the German invasion of Poland, American photographer and film-maker Julien Bryan became the only foreign journalist to remain inside Warsaw during the Nazi siege. While other correspondents fled, Bryan stayed in the city, documenting the Siege of Warsaw from the streets, hospitals and civilian shelters as German bombs fell.

Bryan's photographs and film captured the impact of the Second World War on civilians, showing wounded men, women and children, devastated neighbourhoods, and the resilience of ordinary Polish people under attack. His footage became some of the first uncensored images of Nazi aggression shown in the United States and Western Europe, shaping how the war in Poland was understood abroad.

In this episode of the WW2 Podcast, I am joined by historian Pete Zablocki, host of the History Shorts Podcast and author of a recent article on Julien Bryan for WWII History Magazine. We explore why Bryan chose to stay in Warsaw, how he worked under constant danger, how his photographs and film escaped occupied Poland, and why his record of the 1939 Siege of Warsaw remains historically vital today.

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