About The Podcast
Ray Harris Jr; has a degree in history from James Madison University. I’ve been obsessed with the events and people from WWII since I first learned of them. I’ve been waiting years for someone to do a podcast on WWII and couldn’t wait any longer.Members Podcast
For listeners who just can’t get enough you can sign up to the WWII premium podcast; for only $5 per month you get an extra 2 podcasts per month (on average). More than just extra podcasts the premium service is built on member suggestions and requests.Your Stories
This is your chance to tell me the stories about you and your family’s experiences. I get lots of great emails from listeners with great stories and this is your opportunity to share these great tales with the other listeners of the podcast.Reference Library
My collection of references for you to enjoy about People, Maps, Books and Audible sources. If you have references you would to share you can do so for me and other listeners to enjoy.-
0Leningraders volunteer in such numbers that the Stavka orders several divisions to be organized, to resist the German invaders.... -
0Ioseph Jughashvili, AKA Stalin, leaves the seminary under mysterious circumstances. Following the path of his mentor Lado Ketskhoveli, Soso... -
0The people of Leningrad take an affront to Nazi Germany invading their country. The men volunteer in droves for... -
0Young Stalin begins the process of moving away from the Seminary and towards the life of a revolutionary. The... -
0Army Group South continues pressing closer towards the Soviet Capital. But General Secretary Stalin and General Zhukov attempt to... -
0Sixteen year old Soso (Stalin) enters the Tiflis Theological Seminary, on his way to becoming a priest. But what... -
0With the mud now frozen hard, Army Group Center advances on Moscow, deciding the weak link is just to... -
0Stalin, the future Soviet leader is born, far from Moscow and begins his provincial life. -
0This episode, narrated Tim Martin, of the newly launched Valiant: Stories of Heroes Podcast, covers Guderian's dash to Tula.... -
0OKH Chief Franz Halder makes plans for a modest end to 1941 for Operation Barbarossa, but Hitler overrides him... -
0The Germans smash through the latest Soviet Defensive lines. The 4th Panzer Group, along with Gen. Kluge's 4th Army... -
0Having shattered the Russian defensive line at Viaz'ma, the Germans expand on their ambitious attack plans, attacking to the... -
0The Germans and Russians clash to the west of Moscow. But within mere days, the Soviet's three Fronts are... -
0With Leningrad cut off and the far South stabilized, Hitler has decreed that the time has come to launch... -
0Hitler has renewed the drive to Moscow, Operation Typhoon, and needs the panzers from Army Group North. Which means,... -
0Leeb, commander of Army Group North launches his last major assault before having to turn over most of his... -
0The Germans come ever closer to Leningrad, so Stalin sends his best general to cope, Zhukov. -
0Army Group Center makes its way East, past Minsk and now on to Smolensk. But waiting for them is... -
0Douglas Waller's latest book, Disciples: The World War II Missions of the CIA Directors Who Fought for Wild Bill... -
0Stalin's lack of military training causes his country to loose everything to the South, west of the Dnieper River.... -
0Marshal Mannerheim of Finland agrees to attack towards Leningrad and around Lake Ladoga, but not much more than that.... -
0Hitler manages to bring Finland into his attack against Soviet Russia, but the Finns are mostly concerned with recapturing... -
0The Panzers come ever closer to Leningrad, though losing men and machines along the way. Meanwhile, Army Group Center... -
1The German invaders are now in Russia, proper and are still advancing, but suffer heavier than expected losses. But... -
0The three German Army Groups advance further into Russia, but Army Group Center has has the most success. Perhaps... -
0Now that Operation Barbarossa had been launched, Hilter attempts to convince the world that this battle is only in... -
0The leaders of the combatant countries react to Nazi Germany invading Soviet Russia. We also cover Army Group North... -
0Before the sun rises on June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany unleashes Operation Barbarossa, its attack on Soviet Russia and... -
0Earlier than most people think, Hilter started planning his war against Soviet Russia and Stalin. Operation Barbarossa begins to... -
0FDR comes through his third election and the British are expectant. Yet there are still hurdles to overcome. But... -
0President Roosevelt continues his struggle against Congress and the Isolationists in trying to help the Allies. France falls from... -
0It becomes apparant to the U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt that Britian and France are going to need American war... -
0With the failure of Operation Battle Axe and the bloody victory in Syria, Churchill finally rids himself of C... -
1Though Operation Exporter is stalled, Operation Battle Axe is launched. Yet the British attack plans are not very creative... -
0The Allies come up against stiff French (Vichy) resistence in Syria and Lebanon. But that was just to set... -
0Churchill and the Free French get their way, Vichy controlled Syria will be invaded. But C in C Wavell's... -
0Here is the last episode of the Battle of Crete. The Allies never contested for air superiority and thus... -
0The Allied defense under Gen. Freyberg continues to back pedal on Crete. Meanwhile Adm. Cunningham continues to lose ships,... -
0The Allied counter attack faulters, which allows the Germans to land more troops at Maleme. The Royal Navy is... -
0Gen. Student tries to figure out how to salvage the disaster that has befallen his airborne troops during the... -
0The Germans begin, Operation Mercury, their attack on the island, to further confuse Russia and keep the British away... -
0This is the first Episode of Alexander the Great, hosted by myself and Cameron Reilly of The Napoleon Bonaparte... -
0C in C M.E. Wavell gives into pressure from Churchill to attack Rommel, before the tanks and planes of... -
0Rommel is ready to have another crack at Tobruk, but Berlin is focused on Operation Barbarossa. Yet, Rommel gets... -
0German forces complete their conquest of the Greek mainland. Meanwhile Rommel shocks the British led forces in North Africa. -
0The Germans continue to drive south, the Greeks throw in the towell and the Allies make plans to evacuate.... -
0I've got good news and better news! I'm working hard to put out episodes on a regular schedule. AND... -
0The Alikmon Line is breached, the Allies fall back. But the German forces are right behind them all the... -
0Greece comes under attack on the same day as Yugoslavia, yet that country's quick demise, sets up the conquest... -
0Nothing can be allowed to stand in the way of Operation Barbarossa, Hitler's plan to destroy Russia. Certainly not... -
0Lt. Gen. Rommel had decided the time has come to ignore his orders and move against the Allies. While... -
0Lt. Gen. Rommel decides it's time to test the Allied forces within Cyrenaica, as well as his Italian and... -
1The Allies, with Great Britain leading the way, rush all available troops to Greece. Yet, now that Lt. Gen.... -
0As the gods themselves seem to hate Mussolini and all his endeavors, with British Commonwealth forces and Greek soldiers... -
0Here is the last episode of the Churchill Bio. Winston, looses his money, his influence and almost, his life.... -
0Churchill returns from the U.S. to find his party up in arms about the India question and Tory leader... -
0The disaffected British voters decide to give someone else a chance to deal with the country's dreary economy. Churchill... -
0Churchill finds his Camelot and then works feverishly to fix it up as his Gwenivere is not impressed. -
0Winston, now a private citizen, will stay this way for two years as British politics and his views take... -
0Churchill's post war years are full of success, tragedy and despair. He changes positions within the British Cabinet and... -
0With us for this episode is writer Kathryn J. Atwood, arthor of Women Heroes of World War II and... -
2The following is my 100th Episode Celebration. After thanking those who have shared this journey with me, I interview... -
0The Great War comes to an end. Churchill's family grows and life as Winston knew it, has been erased... -
0Churchill is cleared of the Dardanelles disaster, manages to re-enter of the government, but then almost loses it all... -
0Warning! No history is covered here. But somehow, Laszlo of The China History Podcast ended up on the East... -
0Churchill's career seems all but over. Still, he finds solace in his family, painting and life in the trench.... -
0The Dardanelles Campaign starts off well enough, but through bad luck, worse weather and weaker souls, it collapses on... -
0The British War Council decides on a Second Front to hopefully alter the slaughtering in France. Winston, with his... -
0With the outbreak of war, Churchill is ready, though the same can not be said of the rest of... -
1The events of Sarajevo cause diplomatic tension to build throughout Europe but Churchill is determined that Britain will be... -
0After a bit of trouble with the website, we are back and Episode 93 will be out soon. Thanks...
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0Churchill gets promoted to the Home Office, starts out well, but then becomes his own worst enemy. Now in... -
0Winston finds love, fights the Tories, gets promoted, nearly dies three times and humbles some Lords. -
1Winston, now in the House of Commons, plots his revenge against those who fought his father, Lord Randolph. Also,... -
2We are joined today by James Muller, professor of Political Science at the University of Alaska, Anchorage. We discuss... -
2Jack El-Hai joined me today for a conversation about his latest book, The Nazi and the Psychiartrist: Hermann Goring,... -
0Winston is determined to leave the Army and make his way to Parliament as a hero/correspondent. But the majority... -
0Churchill, having decided his course, willingly risks his life for his ultimate goal, the House of Commons. But he... -
2Winston loses those in his life he holds most dear. And to defeat boredom, he travels to Cuba to... -
0Winston makes it into Sandhurst, taking a curious route. He nearly dies at least twice, but in the end... -
1Churchill enters Harrow, but his defiant ways still exist. His father draws away from him but his mother will... -
0This episode covers Winston Churchill's birth, his early school years and his parent's or lack thereof, influence on the... -
0This episode takes us through the war in East Africa through February 1941, which is the high water mark... -
0The various British commands in East Africa are ready to move against the Italians. Well, not really. But as... -
0Gen. O'Connor is planning his next attack when the Italians decide to abandon Cyrenaica. The Race is on! Also,... -
0The British 13th Corps continues pushing west, now it's Tobruk's turn. The situation in East Africa causes only more... -
0The Italians have been pushed out of Egypt and Gen. Richard O'Connor has lost his 4th Indian Division. Still,... -
1Here is an Mp4 episode of my recent trip to the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, VA. Amazing... -
1After 6 months of planning, the British are ready to move against Marshal Graziani. -
0Greek soldiers continue to dominate and push the Italian invaders back into Albania and closer to the sea. The... -
1The last episode covering the Battle of Taranto. The second attack wave of Swordfish make for the harbor, but... -
0Adm. Cunningham updates the plan to attack Taranto, but then suffers several setbacks. These are over come, the Italians... -
0British Admiral Andrew B. Cunningham, commander of the Mediterranean Fleet has his orders: Maintain the sea lanes between Gibraltar... -
1We are joined by Steven Guerra of The History of the Papacy Podcast to discuss Italy's attack on Greece,... -
0Italy has invaded Greece, but under Prime Mister Metaxas, the Greeks are ready. The Italians are drawn in and... -
0Mussolini and Hitler deceive each other over desired territory, while Prime Mister Metaxas of Greece tries to stay below... -
0Mussolini would pay back Hitler "in his own coin" by invading Greece without first telling his Axis partner. But... -
1Here is an overview of my recent visit to the D-Day Memorial in Bedford, VA. This episode is in... -
2By 1940, Great Britain had several possessions in the Mediterranean Sea, that they would use to project power against... -
0Andrew Lambert, Laughton Professor of Naval History in the Department of War Studies at King's College London, joins us... -
1We are joined by Luke Whitehorn, special effects artist from the movie Iron Sky. WWII and Sci Fi! What's... -
0The British plan their attack against General Graziani and the Italian 10th Army. Hitler and Franco meet to discuss... -
1Marshall Graziani FINALLY moves into Egypt, but then stops. Gen. De Gaulle is in place to take Dakar in... -
1Voting for the Podcast Awards starts November 1st. Please think of me! I'm in the Cultural/Arts category. So is... -
0Jamie Redfern of The History of: Hannibal spends time with us to discuss the war in the desert, Iran... -
1This time, we cover the tension between Churchill and two of his three service leaders in North Africa and... -
0Is the influence and greatness of the Roman Empire over-rated? Listen to your's truly and other history podcasters debate... -
2WARNING: The following is not a normal WWII episode. But, it is entertaining! With the kind permission of The... -
1Zack Twamley of the When Diplomacy Fails Podcast joins me in discussing the events of Episode 60 as well... -
1Mussolini wants his Roman Empire in Africa. But the British refuse to yield. Gen. Archibald Wavell is asked to... -
2Here is the Final Episode of The Battle of Britain series. We sum up the Luftwaffe's chances of ever... -
2The Germans are convinced that Fighter Command is on its last leg. Waiting out the foul English weather, the... -
0Unable to break Fighter Command by the needed date for Operation Sea Lion, the Luftwaffe changes their tactics and... -
0September brings the beginning of the end of The Battle of Britain. London will become the Luftwaffe's target as... -
1As tired as everyone is, Kesselring of Luftflotte Two steps up the intensity of the attacks on RAF airfields,... -
0London becomes more of a target for the German bombers, until Goering warms them away. But it's too late.... -
0This episode covers 4 missed or lightly treated subjects: Operation Pied Piper- the evacuation of Britain's children, the disaster... -
4C in C of the Luftwaffe Goering calls his young bloods to Karinhall to devise a new strategy to... -
0This episode covers August 16 to the 18th. Goering plans on finishing Fighter Command on August 18th, by using... -
1August 15th was one of the greatest days of battle in The Battle of Britain. Goering makes his plans... -
1Goering is ready for Phase Two. Fighter Command's air shield will be tested as more and more raids approach... -
3The RAF and Luftwaffe size each other up and ready for Adlertag. The war in North Africa has started... -
4The brave men and women behind the RAF pilots and Fighter Command. The British people come together to defend... -
3This episode gives a glimpse into the daily routine of Luftwaffe pilots fighting over the English Channel. The Straights... -
1The Me 109E will bring Nazi Germany to greatness and to the water's edge at the English Channel. It... -
5Ray Harris appears on the Paranormal Eh? Radio show. The episode is titled 'The Nazi's and the occult'. Listen to... -
9This episode covers the beginning of the RAF and Fighter Command. Air Marshal Dowding is Fighter Command's first Commander... -
0Britain and France clash and Churchill settles the question of the French fleet once and for all. -
1Rescue operations come to a close as the Germans advance on the Allied perimeter. -
0The British, seemingly pushed into the sea, organize to save their troops to fight another day. -
0German panzers attack through the Ardennes, head for the Meuse River and the town of Sedan. -
0The Long March, 1934-1935. Mao and the Chinese Communist Party are saved by running through the mountains and jungles,... -
1Landlocked Denmark surrenders, but Norway resists. The British try to help but are not organized or equipped properly. -
1The Allies wait for Hitler and Stalin uses the war to attack Finland. But the Soviet Army is far... -
0Hitler, now in power, removes his enemies and defies the international community. -
0Japan struggles to define its policy on China, but events take the decision out the military's hands. -
0Japan continues to expand their operations into China and find themselves facing Chairman Mao, backed by the Soviet Union... -
0Japan is opened up to western ways, but the government loses control of the military. Covers from 1853 to... -
0Episode covers German politics and the rise of the Nazi Party from the Great Depression until Hitler comes to... -
1This episode covers Germany from the end of World War I to the advent of The Great Depression. REFERENCES: The Rise...
