History of the Second World War

News of Bismarck's sinking brings celebration in London, but the sailors struggling in the cold Atlantic face a desperate fight for survival. This episode examines the rescue effort, the Royal Navy's reckoning with the loss of Hood, the German leadership's response to the failed operation, and how the destruction of Bismarck helped bring the era of German surface raiding in t...

More strategic bombing discussion, how did merchant shipping work, occupied economies, and more.

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After days of pursuit, King George V and Rodney finally close with the crippled Bismarck in the stormy Atlantic. This episode follows the brutal final battle from the opening salvos through the destruction of Bismarck's guns and superstructure, the British battleships' point-blank bombardment, and Dorsetshire's torpedo attack as Germany's most powerful warship slips beneath t...

With Bismarck crippled and unable to steer after the Ark Royal's torpedo attack, the German battleship's crew struggles through flooding, failed repairs, and growing exhaustion while both German commanders ashore and British forces at sea prepare for the inevitable final encounter. This episode follows the messages that revealed the ship's desperate condition, the nighttime a...

After Bismarck slips away from her British pursuers, the Royal Navy launches a desperate search before dwindling fuel supplies force the chase to end. This episode follows the intelligence breakthrough that reveals the battleship's course, the Ark Royal Swordfish strike that mistakenly attacks HMS Sheffield, and the second attack that cripples Bismarck's steering and seals he...