127 - The Longest Campaign
The WW2 Podcast
Angus Wallace
4.6 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 15 October 2020
⏱️ 53 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said there was only one campaign of the Second World War that gave him sleepless nights, that was the Battle of the Atlantic.
The Battle began on 3 September 1939 and lasted 2074 days until 8 May 1945, when Germany surrendered. With over 70,000 allied seamen killed, lost on 3,500 merchant vessels and 175 warships. This was the longest continuous campaign of the war.
Matched against them was the Kreigsmarine. While German surface ships would sally out, this campaign is known for the u-boats that would prey upon allied convoys.
Joining me today is Brian Walter, a retired army officer, recipient of the Excellence in Military History Award from the US Army Center for Military History and the Association of the United States Army. Brian is the Author of The Longest Campaign: Britain's Maritime Struggle in the Atlantic and Northwest Europe, 1939-45.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, welcome to another episode of the World War II podcast. |
| 0:03.6 | I'm Angus Wallace. |
| 0:05.1 | British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said there was only one campaign of the |
| 0:09.7 | Second World War that gave him sleeveless nights. |
| 0:12.4 | That was the Battle of the Atlantic. |
| 0:14.1 | The battle began on the 3rd of September 1939 and lasted 2074 days until the 8th of May |
| 0:21.8 | 1945 when Germany surrendered. |
| 0:25.0 | With over 70,000 Allied seamen killed, lost on 3,500 merchant vessels and 175 warships, this was the longest continuous campaign of the war. |
| 0:38.3 | Matched against them was the Kriegsmarine, while German surface ships would sally out, this campaign is known for the U-boats |
| 0:46.6 | that will prey upon the Allied convoys. |
| 0:49.9 | Joining me today is Brian Walter, a retired Army officer, recipient of the Excellence in Military |
| 0:56.4 | History Award from the US Army Center for Military History and the Association of the United States |
| 1:01.8 | Army. Brian is the author of The Longest Campaign, |
| 1:06.0 | Britain's Maritime Struggle in the Atlantic and Northwest Europe, 193945. |
| 1:12.4 | But before that, this podcast is made possible by listeners like yourself |
| 1:17.0 | who enjoy the show and help me find the time to put it together |
| 1:21.0 | by becoming patrons. By committing to a dollar or two each month via |
| 1:25.6 | Patreon. You can find out more at Patreon.com slash W. W.2 Podcasts. If Patreon is not your thing for whatever reason and you would like to join the gang go to |
| 1:37.2 | W.w.2 podcast.com forward slash support and you'll find information on how to support the show via PayPal. |
| 1:45.0 | In doing so, if you check the box to be added to the mailing list, I will send you |
| 1:50.2 | links of extra bits of off-topic chat that would be left on the virtual |
| 1:56.2 | cutting room floor when I have them. So that's W.W2 Podcast.com |
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