Why We Fight ~ 1944
By Sasha Maggio (MoT)
The 1943 series ended up with 108 episodes with contributions from across all US services, as well as contributions from our British and Canadian friends, and more.
Why We Fight ~ 1944Nov 05, 2023
"Climb to Glory" (Part IV): 90-lb. Rucksacks, Mountain Warfare, and Type 3 Fun
"Climb to Glory" (Part III): The 10th Mountain Division is Tested
Returning to continue the story of the 10th Mountain Division are Doug Schmidt, Curator at the 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum Museum, and Dr. Chris Juergens, Head of Curatorial Services and Anschutz Curator of Military History at History Colorado. This time we talk about the Division heading into 1944, with an extremely challenge exercise to test their training.
Special thank you to the 10th Mountain Division Band for providing the music as a response to the challenge issued by Lt. Col. Brian Kerg in the Operation Flintlock episode.
Links
Building Camp Hale: A Deeper History of America's High-Altitude Army Training Ground (https://www.historycolorado.org/story/2022/10/07/building-camp-hale-deeper-history-americas-high-altitude-army-training-ground)
10th Mountain Division Resource Center (https://history.denverlibrary.org/research/western-history/10th-mountain-division-resource-center)
10th Mountain Division History (https://home.army.mil/drum/units-tenants/10th-mountain-division-li)
10th Mountain Division & Fort Drum Museum (https://history.army.mil/museums/fieldMuseums/fortDrum/index.html)
Ninety-Pound Rucksack (https://christianbeckwith.com/)
History Colorado (https://www.historycolorado.org/)
Why We Fight Bonus Content (https://www.patreon.com/motheroftanks)
The Nuremberg Raid - March 1944
In this episode, Dr. Thomas Bradbeer talks to me about the Royal Air Force raid on Nuremberg at the end of March in 1944. He also details some of the tactics these pilots and aircrews used, as well as the challenges they faced with the Luftwaffe, and towards the end of the episode we talk a bit about his work with the US Army's Command and General Staff College in the Department of Command and Leadership. Links Books by Dr. Thomas Bradbeer (https://www.amazon.com/Books-Thomas-G-Bradbeer/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3AThomas+G.+Bradbeer)
Army University Press SMEs (https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Experts/)
Mother of Tanks website (www.motheroftanks.com) Why We Fight Bonus Content (https://www.patreon.com/motheroftanks) One of the photos in the title graphic was downloaded from the British Imperial War Museum: ©IWM(CH12598)
The Battles of Imphal and Kohima
In this episode, Christopher Kolakowski returns to tell the story of the Battles of Imphal and Kohima in March-July 1944.
Links
Wisconsin Veterans Museum (https://wisvetsmuseum.com/)
Defeat Into Victory: Battling Japan in Burma and India, 1942-1945 by Field-Marshal Viscount (https://shorturl.at/BDWZ6)
Nations in the Balance: The India-Burma Campaigns, December 1943 - August 1944 by Christopher L. Kolakowski (https://shorturl.at/qtDPY)
"Is That the End or Do We Go On?": The Battle of Kohima, 1944 by Christopher L. Kolakowski (https://history.army.mil/armyhistory/AH-Magazine/2019AH_spring/AH111(W).pdf)
Road of Bones: The Epic Siege of Kohima 1944 by Fergal Keane (https://shorturl.at/uwKVX)
United States Army in World War II: China-Burma-India Theater:
- Stilwell's Mission to China (https://history.army.mil/html/books/009/9-1/CMH_Pub_9-1.pdf)
- Stilwell's Command Problems (https://history.army.mil/html/books/009/9-2/CMH_Pub_9-2.pdf)
- Time Runs Out in CBI (https://history.army.mil/html/books/009/9-3/CMH_Pub_9-3.pdf)
Mother of Tanks website (www.motheroftanks.com)
Why We Fight Bonus Content (https://www.patreon.com/motheroftanks)
The Third Battle of Monte Cassino
Links
Cassino Battlefields (http://www.cassinobattlefields.co.uk/about/)
US Army Center of Military History - Italy WWII Maps (https://history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/resmat/wwii/part03ETO/anzio/sec04.html)
US Army CMH Video - Anzio Landings in Italy, Monte Cassino, Russian Offensive in Romania WWII Newsreel 70842 (https://history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/resmat/wwii/part03ETO/anzio/sec05.html)
Anzio Beachhead (https://history.army.mil/html/books/100/100-10/CMH_Pub_100-10.pdf)
Anzio (https://history.army.mil/html/books/072/72-19/CMH_Pub_72-19.pdf)
Return to Cassino by Harold L. Bond (https://www.amazon.com/Return-Cassino-memoir-fight-Rome/dp/B0007DZTG0)
Cassino Battlefields Tours (http://www.cassinobattlefields.co.uk/)
Series Website (www.motheroftanks.com)
Bonus Series Content on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/motheroftanks)
The Chindits & Operation THURSDAY: Long-Range Penetration Groups in the C-B-I Theater
Links
Operation THURSDAY (https://www.hurlburt.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Fact-Sheets/Article/204577/operation-thursday/)
The Chindits - Operation Thursday (https://thechinditsociety.org.uk/operation-thursday-part-1)
Art of War Papers
Orde Wingate and the British Internal Security Strategy During the Arab Rebellion in Palestine, 1936-1939 (https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/combat-studies-institute/csi-books/ArtofWar_OrdeWingate1936.pdf)
The Coming of Modern War: The Coalition War in North Burma, 1944 by Christopher Kolakowski, pg. 7-27 (https://history.army.mil/armyhistory/AH-Magazine/2018AH_spring/AH107(W).pdf)
Wisconsin Veterans Museum (https://wisvetsmuseum.com/)
Why We Fight Bonus Content (https://www.patreon.com/motheroftanks)
The Second Battle of Monte Cassino
Links
Cassino Battlefields (http://www.cassinobattlefields.co.uk/about/)
US Army Center of Military History - Italy WWII Maps (https://history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/resmat/wwii/part03ETO/anzio/sec04.html)
US Army CMH Video - Anzio Landings in Italy, Monte Cassino, Russian Offensive in Romania WWII Newsreel 70842 (https://history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/resmat/wwii/part03ETO/anzio/sec05.html)
Anzio Beachhead (https://history.army.mil/html/books/100/100-10/CMH_Pub_100-10.pdf)
Anzio (https://history.army.mil/html/books/072/72-19/CMH_Pub_72-19.pdf)
Return to Cassino by Harold L. Bond (https://www.amazon.com/Return-Cassino-memoir-fight-Rome/dp/B0007DZTG0)
Series Website (www.motheroftanks.com)
Bonus Series Content on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/motheroftanks)
Merrill's Marauders
Links
United States Army in World War II: China-Burma-India Theater
Stilwell's Mission to China (https://history.army.mil/html/books/009/9-1/CMH_Pub_9-1.pdf)
Stilwell's Command Problems (https://history.army.mil/html/books/009/9-2/CMH_Pub_9-2.pdf)
Time Runs Out in CBI (https://history.army.mil/html/books/009/9-3/CMH_Pub_9-3.pdf)
Why We Fight Bonus Content (https://www.patreon.com/motheroftanks)
Operation Flintlock: Battle of Kwajalein - JAN-FEB 1944
Links
Coral and Brass by Holland M. Smith (https://www.amazon.com/Coral-Brass-Holland-M-Smith/dp/1548048631)
Eastern Mandates: The US Army Campaigns in World War II (https://history.army.mil/html/books/072/72-23/CMH_Pub_72-23.pdf)
The Eastern Mandates Campaign: A Staff Ride Guide for Operation FLINTLOCK - The Seizure of Kwajalein Atoll (https://www.smdc.army.mil/Portals/38/Documents/Publications/History/Staff%20Ride/CompleteBook.pdf)
The United States Army in World War II - The War in the Pacific: Seizure of the Gilberts and Marshalls (https://history.army.mil/html/books/005/5-6-1/CMH_Pub_5-6-1.pdf)
Marines in World War II - Commemorative Series
Breaking the Outer Ring: Marine Landings in the Marshall Islands (https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/Breaking%20the%20Outer%20Ring-Marine%20Landing%20in%20the%20Marshall%20Islands%20PCN%2019000312400.pdf?ver=2018-10-30-102929-470)
Why We Fight Bonus Content (https://www.patreon.com/motheroftanks)
"Big Week" - February 1944: The US Army Air Force as a Tool of War
"Patriots from the Barrio" (Part II)
US Army Hospitals and Medical Care at Anzio
Dr. Sanders Marble returns in this episode to talk about US Army Hospitals and Medical Care at Anzio in January 1944, the typical emergency care process for soldiers injured in the fighting or falling ill during this battle, medical evacuations, and the medical care options available near the front thanks to Army Hospitals that were set up at the Anzio Beachhead. We also talk about the presence of Army Nurses (all women) at these Anzio Beachhead hospitals, providing medical and surgical care with fighting just miles away.
Links
United States Army in World War II - The Technical Services
The Medical Department: Medical Service in the Mediterranean and Minor Theaters (https://history.army.mil/html/books/010/10-8/CMH_Pub_10-8.pdf)
56th Evacuation Hospital (https://www.med-dept.com/unit-histories/56th-evacuation-hospital/)
95th Evacuation Hospital (https://www.med-dept.com/unit-histories/95th-evacuation-hospital/)
Why We Fight Bonus Content (https://www.patreon.com/motheroftanks)
The US 7th Infantry Regiment & 3rd Infantry Division at Anzio, Italy 1944
Links
Dr. John McManus (https://johncmcmanus.com/)
The 7th Infantry Regiment - Combat in an Age of Terror: The Korean War Through the Present (https://johncmcmanus.com/books/the-7th-infantry-regiment-combat-in-an-age-of-terror-the-korean-war-through-the-present/)
The Deadly Brotherhood: The American Combat Soldier in World War II (https://johncmcmanus.com/books/the-deadly-brotherhood-the-american-combat-soldier-in-world-war-ii/)
Somebody Talked! The Official Podcast of the National D-Day Memorial (https://www.dday.org/someone-talked-podcast/)
We Have Ways USA (https://wehavewayspod.com/episodes/)
Why We Fight Bonus Content (https://www.patreon.com/motheroftanks)
Learning Tough Lessons at Anzio in early 1944
Links
Anzio Beachhead (https://history.army.mil/html/books/100/100-10/CMH_Pub_100-10.pdf)
Anzio 1944 (https://history.army.mil/html/books/072/72-19/CMH_Pub_72-19.pdf)
Anzio Maps (https://history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/resmat/wwii/part03ETO/anzio/sec04.html)
General Lucas at Anzio (https://history.army.mil/books/70-7_13.htm)
Why We Fight Bonus Content (https://www.patreon.com/motheroftanks)
The First Battle of Monte Cassino
Links
Cassino Battlefields (http://www.cassinobattlefields.co.uk/about/)
US Army Center of Military History - Italy WWII Maps (https://history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/resmat/wwii/part03ETO/anzio/sec04.html)
US Army CMH Video - Anzio Landings in Italy, Monte Cassino, Russian Offensive in Romania WWII Newsreel 70842 (https://history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/resmat/wwii/part03ETO/anzio/sec05.html)
Anzio Beachhead (https://history.army.mil/html/books/100/100-10/CMH_Pub_100-10.pdf)
Anzio (https://history.army.mil/html/books/072/72-19/CMH_Pub_72-19.pdf)
Series Website (www.motheroftanks.com)
Bonus Series Content on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/motheroftanks)
The Battle of Ortona, Italy 1943 (Part II)
The Battle of Ortona, Italy 1943 (Part I)
The Laws of War, Military Justice, and a Nearly Impossible Task
For anyone who might be sensitive to it, this episode does include talk of sexual assault at one point and I wouldn't want anyone to stumble upon that unexpectedly.
Dr. Ben Schneider joins me again to help answer a question that came up in the previous episode: to what extent was the US Army able to use the Military Justice System to protect civilian populations from crimes and exploitation at the hands of some of the American service members? It's complicated and this will require more episodes as we advance in the series but this is a great start to a very important topic.
Consolidating Gains, Civil Affairs, & the Allied Military Government - in Theory and in Practice - Italy 1943
US Navy Ice Cream Pirates in the Pacific in 1943
Links
USS Kidd (https://www.usskidd.com/explore-the-kidd/ship-history/)
Operation Cherryblossom & the US Army at Bougainville 1943
Links
Northern Solomons (https://history.army.mil/html/books/072/72-10/CMH_Pub_72-10.pdf)
The War in the Pacific - CARTWHEEL: The Reduction of Rebaul (https://history.army.mil/html/books/005/5-5/CMH_Pub_5-5.pdf)
The Marines at Bougainville and Cape Gloucester in 1943
Joining me in this episode is Kater Miller, curator with the National Museum of the United States Marine Corps, this time talking about the Marines fighting at Bougainville and Cape Glouscester in late 1943. The episode that follows this one will begin the US Army story at Bougainville, with Troy Lewis from the Army University Press Combat Studies Institute Staff Ride Team.
"Fight Now" performed by the III Marine Expeditionary Force Band (https://www.dvidshub.net/video/817588/fight-now-iii-marine-expeditionary-force-band)
Tanks & Alligators at Tarawa
With the Marines at Tarawa: "The Price We Had to Pay for a War We Didn't Want..."
Typhus, Trenchfoot, and Command Responsibility in Preventive Medicine in Italy 1943
Dr. Marble will be back to talk more Army Medicine in 1944.
Dispersion, Decentralization, Chaos, & LGOPs: US Army Airborne Culture & Operations in Italy 1943
Links
Dr. Rob Williams -- links to some publications (https://history.osu.edu/people/williams.6859)
"Climb to Glory" (Part II): Camp Hale and the 10th Mountain Division
Links
Dr. Chris Juergens (https://www.historycolorado.org/person/juergens-dr-chris)
History Colorado: Winter Warriors - The 10th Mountain Division in World War II (https://www.historycolorado.org/exhibit/winter-warriors)
"Climb to Glory" (Part I): The Beginnings of the 10th Mountain Division
The US 7th Infantry Regiment & 3rd Infantry Division in Italy 1943
Back again is Dr. John McManus to continue the story of the US 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, in Italy 1943. John is the official historian for the 7th Infantry Regiment, aka "The Cottonbalers" but their experience in Italy 1943 is not unique to the unit, many of the American and Allied forces were facing similar challenges fighting their way "up the boot".
John's previous episode on the US 7th Infantry Regiment and 3rd Infantry Division in Sicily 1943 is episode 53, and he will be back for the 1944 series to continue this story and possibly add to the Pacific stories as well.
Links
Dr. John McManus (https://johncmcmanus.com/)
The 7th Infantry Regiment - Combat in an Age of Terror: The Korean War Through the Present (https://johncmcmanus.com/books/the-7th-infantry-regiment-combat-in-an-age-of-terror-the-korean-war-through-the-present/)
The Deadly Brotherhood: The American Combat Soldier in World War II (https://johncmcmanus.com/books/the-deadly-brotherhood-the-american-combat-soldier-in-world-war-ii/)
Somebody Talked! The Official Podcast of the National D-Day Memorial (https://www.dday.org/someone-talked-podcast/)
We Have Ways USA (https://wehavewayspod.com/episodes/)
“Patriots from the Barrio” (Part I): The Only Mexican American US Army Unit in WWII
Massacre of the 33d Acqui Division: One of the First Acts of Italian Resistance in WWII
The Armistice of Cassibile: Becoming a Cobelligerent Nation and Recovering Honor
Links
Giulio's articles on Comando Supremo (https://comandosupremo.com/author/giulo-poggiaroni/)
Italian Military Archives (YouTube) (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc9PVgaI3Nt7y3u0YFM1Mhg)
Tule Lake, Martial Law, and Civ-Mil Relations on the American Homefront in 1943
The "One-Puka-Puka": The Japanese-American 100th Infantry Battalion in 1943
Joining me again is LTC Ben Griffin along with US Army veteran Daniel Kim to talk about the 100th Infantry Battalion or the "One-Puka-Puka" which was comprised of Japanese- American soldiers. Ben helped me start the story of the 442nd Infantry Regiment earlier in the 1943 series and this episode talks about a part of that Regiment which was the first to deploy.
The Cairo Conference (Sextant) and the Tehran Conference (Eureka) in 1943
The Kuban Bridgehead and Romania in WWII
Uprisings, Ghetto Liquidations, and the Nazi Genocidal Project
Dr. Beorn's books are linked below.
Links
Marching Into Darkness: The Wehrmacht and the Holocaust in Belarus (https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674725508)
The Holocaust in Eastern Europe: At the Epicenter of the Final Solution (https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/the-holocaust-in-eastern-europe-9781474232180/)
Between the Wires: The Janowska Camp and the Holocaust in Lviv (https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9781496237590/)
Visualizing Janowska: Creating a Digital Architectural Model of a Nazi Concentration Camp (https://www.waitmanwbeorn.com/visualizingjanowska)
Our Promise to the Dead: 100 Years of the American Battle Monuments Commission
Link
ABMC Virtual 360s (https://www.abmc.gov/virtual-360s)
The Nuanced Neutrality of Ireland and the 38th (Irish) Brigade in 1943
Links
The Finnish-Soviet Winter War 1939-40: Stalin's Hollow Victory by Dr. David Murphy, illustrated by Johnny Shumate (https://www.amazon.com/Finnish-Soviet-Winter-War-1939-40-Campaign-ebook/dp/B0BKSW2H3V?ref_=ast_author_mpb)
Allied and Axis Armor Technology in 1943
In this episode, Nicholas Moran aka "The Chieftain" joins me to talk about Armor Technology in 1943, focusing on the main Axis and Allied Armor developments, with a bit of Doctrine thrown in too. Links
The Chieftain's Hatch (https://www.youtube.com/@TheChieftainsHatch/videos)
- Stinky and the Emergency (https://worldoftanks.com/en/news/history/chieftains-hatch-stinky-emergency/)
- Stinky's Sequel (https://worldoftanks.com/en/news/history/The_chieftains_Hatch_Sinky2/)
Iron Hulls, Iron Hearts: Mussolini's Elite Armoured Divisions in North Africa by Ian Walker (https://www.amazon.com/Iron-Hulls-Hearts-Mussolinis-Divisions-ebook/dp/B00APDVFEM/ref=sr_1_1?crid=DCFV3HQC8431&keywords=iron+hulls+iron+hearts&qid=1702152464&sprefix=iron+hulls%2Caps%2C514&sr=8-1)
Fighters Over Europe: Attritional Warfare and the Americanization of the Air War in 1943
Black Week – October 1943: A Low Point and a Turning Point for the Strategic Bombing Campaign in Europe
The Combined Bomber Offensive & Family Connections to World War II
Links
Grin 'n Bear It: The Effects of Strategic Decisions on Eighth Air Force Bomber Crews from October 1943 to February 1944 by Alex Moon (https://aul.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/delivery/01AUL_INST:AUL/1295444870006836)
The Luftwaffe's Aerial Defense Over Germany
Links
The Luftwaffe Over Germany: Defense of the Reich by Donald Caldwell and Richard Muller (https://www.amazon.com/Luftwaffe-Over-Germany-Defense-Reich/dp/1848327412)
Schweinfurt, Regensburg, and Operation Starkey: Inflated Numbers, Wrong Conclusions, and False Confidence
Semper Paratus: The Greenland Patrol and the US Coast Guard in 1943
Marine Corps Amphibious Operations, Command Culture, and Operation Cherryblossom
Joining me again is Lt.Col. Brian Kerg, this time to talk Marine Corps history. This was actually the first episode we recorded. Brian talks about Operation Cherryblossom, the landings at Cape Torokina at the start of the Bougainville Campaign. He also talks about Marine Corps leadership and command culture in the Pacific Theater.
There will be other Bougainville episodes coming up but, as promised, this one is set to release on 10 November, which is the 248th birthday of the United States Marine Corps. And in celebratory spirit, I've included a little adjustment to the opening and ending.