- Episode highlight
- Introduction
- Introduction – WWII historian James Holland blends strategy, tech, personal stories
- World War II
- World War II – War’s global reach shattered lives, severed home ties, and normalized mass cruelty
@@Chris-driver normally I’d agree but it’s am and I’ve listened to the entire thing and have to get up in 3.5hrs with the kids, otherwise they’ll jump on my chest, and then start my day. Lol. I thought I’d listen to the first 30 mins and get tired but I just kept listening especially when it’s an engaging conversation with in-depth information and that combination is impossible to find. I’ll be paying for it in a few hours. Smh. Lol
I think many soldiers exposed to war have this kind of dissociation. This experience was partly the basis for a scifi novel called The Forever War which I believe was inspired from the Vietnam experience.
- Lebensraum and Hitler ideology
- Lebensraum and Hitler ideology – Barbarossa’s failure rooted in rigid, genocidal ideology over pragmatism
(Talking about Hitler ~ )"I guess... there's pros and cons" Lex Fridreich 2025
- Operation Barbarossa
- Operation Barbarossa – German mechanization overstated; logistics, rail gauge, and overreach doomed advance
Wait, wait, wait.....Chamberlin follows Churchill's idea to mine the leads, and is seen as an incompetent for it as is replaced by....Churchill????
- Soviet army had much more hardware of was much better quality. The Soviet general staff developed a ton of plans specifically to counter the German invasion in the summer of 1941 (that would shortly be followed by the Soviet counterattacks). They started a hidden mobilization prior to the invasion. They had massive fortifications across whole front. In fact they were preparing for the world world ever since 1928, when they started trading lives of their people for the military hardware and factories. What the Soviet leadership was truly unprepared for was the the state of mind of their common soldiers, most of whom were choosing desertion or capture instead of giving their lives for the regime that treated them like cattle. I can't understand how western historians still keep missing that point.
- Hitler vs Europe
- Hitler vs Europe – Nazi victory owed more to French paralysis, propaganda, and radio dominance
Holland @ "By being risk-adverse, you're actually taking far greater risk." This was an important take away for me.
At about - "History doesn't repeat itself, it couldn't possibly... But, human behavior does". Wow! What a profound and insightful statement! One of the most intelligent, original things I've heard in a really long time.
- Joseph Goebbels
- Joseph Goebbels – Goebbels’ loyalty cemented Hitler’s cult, enforcing rigid, us-versus-them fanaticism
that's pure false, he didn't want war, not with britian nor france nor usa nor anyone many accounts show his appeal for peace rejected everytime even poland rejected meeting before war, some advantageous groups were behind benefiting from this conflict, should be obvious who.
- Hitler before WW2
- Hitler before WW2 – Relentless treaty violations, secret rearmament, and psychological warfare paralyzed Europe
- Hitler vs Chamberlain
- Hitler vs Chamberlain – Chamberlain prioritized air/naval power, delayed war, but enabled critical British rearmament
James’s smile right here as he casually says “Britain owned much of Argentina” is so very, VERY British 😂❤
- Invasion of Poland
- Invasion of Poland – German command unprepared; Hitler gambled on Allied inaction, risking catastrophic miscalculation
“Nobody is ready. Except for France, I swear …”and still the French lost XD.The unintentional delivery was just hilarious Lex.
- Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact
- Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact – British-French diplomatic blunders pushed Stalin to Hitler, sealing Poland’s fate
Haha as a fan of James Holland’s Brother’s podcast, ‘The Rest is History’ “The Storm Clouds of War” was a great addition!
- was Chamberlain supposed to change the Stalin's pursuit of the World Revolution?) The whole idea behind this pact was to let Germans and Allies fight each other until Red Army is prepared to strike Germany in the back and steamroll through whole Europe defeating western armies weakened by the years of hard fighting. The only reason it didn't happen was the stunning defeat of France in 1940, which Stalin never expected.
Lex forgets that the Soviet Union were allowed to invade Finland and also take over the Baltic states without any French or British reaction. So Germany was not the only being allowed to expand their territory.
- Winston Churchill
- Winston Churchill – Churchill, seen as erratic and divisive, became PM amid chaos by default
Thanks for proving Douglas Murray RIGHT.
This is the exact same thing I hear from people criticizing Roosevelt RE Japan. Its effectively blaming the person who stands up to a bully for sticking up for their own interests and fighting back. The amount of mental gymnastics you have to do to justify that position is insane.
The arguments trying to vilify Churchill as some sort of warmonger are such nonsense and don’t deserve to even bother discussing.
- Most powerful military in WW2
- Most powerful military in WW2 – Britain’s integrated air defense, pilot training, and production outclassed German might
Image at of the German Italian pact signing............wow the guy standing looks like Putin.
Wrong. Since 1936 there was mandate to clear all attics because of bombing threads.
- Tanks
- Tanks – Sherman’s simplicity, mass production, and crew training outclassed overengineered German tanks
- Battle of Stalingrad
- Battle of Stalingrad – Hitler’s oil obsession, micromanagement, and U.S. mechanization doomed Germany
the problem with JUST focusing on the lostical problems the Axis would have refining the captured soviet oil fields leaves out the fact that Baku, alone, was roughly 75% of Soviet oil production.... its not just about obtaining resources for oneself but also denying it to the enemy.
I"m stopped in ....."Eastern front is no more strategic...." Give a break Sir Holland.
- Concentration camps
- Concentration camps – Widespread knowledge, industrialized cruelty, and mundane bureaucracy enabled mass murder
@ the Strategic Summary that ends with the Battle of Normandy is well done. Each listed decision is crucial to that Battle's final outcome. The dilemma of the Allied Bomber Commands is clearly described. For more color please add General Doolittle's decision to cut loose the fighters and their effect on the Luftwaffe and describe why US Fighter drop tanks were not implemented sooner. Compare and contrast with the Allied use of drop tanks in the Pacific theatre.
- Battle of Normandy
- Battle of Normandy – Allied air supremacy, intelligence, and logistics made D-Day unstoppable, not luck
Lex get some sleep :)
LexCam
- One might even say it's "mine" boggling :)
- Lessons from WW2
