In this episode, we'll examine the 6th Airborne Division and its combat effectiveness, focusing on how its commanding officer, Richard Gale, meticulously trained and developed the unit. The 6th Airborne was the second British airborne division to be formed, and it would first see action during the Normandy invasion. Gale’s leadership and the culture he instilled were crucial in shaping the airborne soldier’s capabilities and forging the division's cohesive fighting force.

Joining me is Andrew Wheale.

Andrew is the author of 'Ham & Jam: 6th Airborne Division in Normandy - Generating Combat Effectiveness: November 1942 - September 1944'.

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When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, it wasn't the Germans who first uprooted Stanislaw Kulik and his family—it was the Russians. Deported to a Siberian Gulag, Stanislaw's fate took a dramatic turn in 1941 when the Germans launched their invasion of the Soviet Union. Suddenly, the Russians released their Polish captives, and Stanislaw embarked on an arduous journey across thousands of miles. He eventually joined the Polish army in Uzbekistan, a path that would lead him to Britain and ultimately to the frontlines in Holland, where he fought with the Polish Parachute Brigade at Arnhem.

Joining me is Nicholas Kinloch, the grandson of Stanislaw Kulik. Nicholas has chronicled his grandfather's extraordinary wartime experience in his book, From the Soviet Gulag to Arnhem: A Polish Paratrooper's Epic Wartime Journey.

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When we think of the fighting in the Far East between Britain, her allies, and the Japanese, we often picture thick jungles, impossibly steep hills, and dense terrain. This has led to the common perception of it being an infantryman's war.

However, armour played a crucial and often overlooked role in this theatre of war.

In this episode, I'm joined by Jack Bowsher, author of Forgotten Armour. His book begins with the interwar Indian Army's struggle to fully mechanise, then traces the evolution of armoured training, logistics, and tactics.

We explore how, once tanks arrived and bunker-busting methods were developed, armoured units became decisive in their encounters against the Japanese, saving countless Allied lives.

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