D-Day: Britain and America's 'Special Relationship'
Dan Snow's History Hit
History Hit
4.7 • 13.7K Ratings
🗓️ 5 June 2023
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The 6th of June, 1944 was the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany and the pinnacle of the 'special relationship' between Britain and the United States. Hundreds of thousands of Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day and fought side by side to liberate Europe. But in the decades since the world has changed drastically - great powers have risen and fallen, and geopolitical realities have shifted along with them. How has the relationship fared through these tumultuous years? And just how special was it in the first place?
Dan is joined for this episode by Sam Edwards, an expert in Anglo-American relations and the memory of war. By discussing D-Day and the commemoration of it, they try to make sense of the fabled special relationship and figure out if it has stood the test of time.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I've really welcomed Dan Snow's history. June the 6th, 1944, one of the most famous |
| 0:06.2 | days in history, the day of days, D-Day. The day on which the Allies led by the UK and |
| 0:16.5 | the US, including contingents from many other nations, assaulted the beaches of Normandy. |
| 0:21.6 | It was the start of the liberation of Northwest Europe, and it was another nail in the coffin |
| 0:28.4 | of the Third Reich. Over the years, I've made many D-Day podcasts. I've interviewed veterans. |
| 0:33.6 | I've talked to James Holland. I've talked to other historians about what happened that |
| 0:36.9 | day. I've reported from the beaches on the various anniversaries that I've attended. |
| 0:41.2 | But this year, we decided to do something a little bit different. I want to talk to Sam Edwards. |
| 0:45.0 | He's a historian at Loughborough University. He specialises in transatlantic relations |
| 0:49.2 | and a commemoration of 20th century warfare. I wanted to ask him about the fabled special |
| 0:55.3 | relationship. As he points out, D-Day was the special relationship in action. British |
| 1:02.1 | and American troops disembarking from British and American vessels storming the coast of |
| 1:07.2 | Europe side by side. But that special relationship has come to mean so much more. Does it still |
| 1:14.7 | exist, or is it a matter of wartime contingency? Well Sam's been thinking about this his whole |
| 1:19.6 | professional career and he's here to share some thoughts with us. Enjoy! |
| 1:24.1 | He might have said, |
| 1:26.4 | The Tommy Fowl's dropped on Hiroshi. |
| 1:28.6 | God gave the king. |
| 1:30.4 | No black, quite unity until there is first and black unity. Never to go to war with one another |
| 1:36.2 | in a game. And look off and the subtle has cleared the tower. |
| 1:39.8 | Sam, thank you very much for coming to the podcast. Thank you very much for having me. |
| 1:48.6 | What are the interesting things about the American British led coalition invasion of Northwest |
... |
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