Tag: Britain

Codebreaking at Bletchley Park – Book tour interview with Jan Slimming

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Jan Slimming codebreaker girls

Codebreaking at Bletchley Park – Book tour interview with Jan Slimming

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3yrIEkM

Interview Timeline

Jan Slimming is a publishing professional who was six when she first heard of Bletchley Park, but it was decades later that she was compelled to research and write about this little-known part of her mother’s life. We spoke about the book, her mother’s code-breaking career and her father’s WWII captivity. Codebreaker Girls: A Secret Life at Bletchley Park (Pen and Sword Military, 2021)

0:38 – Jan talks about why she wrote about her mom’s WWII work at Bletchley Park.

5:39 – Jan talks about what the book focuses on.

10:44 – Jan talks about everyone at Bletchley Park being billeted nearby.

12:34 – Jan talks about the training or lack of among the Park personnel.

14:35 – Jan talks about how her parents met.

16:46 – Jan talks about the skills they used for code breaking.

20:49 – Jan talks about her mother’s relatives who also worked in code breaking.

23:24 – Jan talks about what her mom did after the war.

24:51 – Jan talks about her mom not talking about working for the India office.

26:49 – Jan talks about how she broke the book down.

28:31 – Jan talks about her research.

31:26 – Jan talks about touring Bletchley Park.

35:18 – Jan talks about going back to England for her research.

38:25 – Jan talks about wanting to know if her mother was assigned to finding the 18th division.

40:23 – Jan talks about her mother going through a nervous breakdown after the war.

45:45 – Jan talks about other people who had relatives at Bletchley Park reach out to her.

52:39 – Jan goes into detail about touring Bletchley Park.

53:54 – Jan talks about security at Bletchley Park.

57:30 – Jan talks about her mother meeting Ian Fleming and knowing Alan Turing.

1:00:21 – Jan is on Pen and Sword and on Facebook at Jan Slimming Author.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/3yrIEkM

https://penandswordbooks.com/codebreaker-girls.html#.YQyka0ApCUk

https://www.facebook.com/Codebreakersdaughter

Contact Information

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify Please see historyrabbithole.com for a list of my dozen or so blogs and podcasts. You’re sure to find something you like.

Guests: Jan Slimming

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: Books, audio interviews, author, podcast, Pen and Sword, Espionage, WWII, Britain,

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3yrIEkM

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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An overview of Napoleonic era artillery – Interview with Kevin Kiley

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An overview of Napoleonic era artillery – Interview with Kevin Kiley

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3gIAEnM

Interview Timeline

Kevin F. Kiley is a retired US Marine Corps artillery officer and a graduate of West Point. He has a master’s degree in Military History from and has written extensively on historic artillery and other topics. We spoke about his latest book, a dictionary of Napoleonic artillery. Artillery of the Napoleonic Wars: A Concise Dictionary, 1792-1815 (Frontline Books, 2021)

0:38 – Kevin talks about why he started writing about the Napoleonic Wars.

3:13 – Kevin talks about the focus of the book on technical artillery terms.

4:35 – Kevin contrasts field artillery and all other types of artillery.

8:01 – Kevin talks about Napoleon’s rise because of being an artillerist.

10:46 – Kevin talks about where the artillery pieces were made.

13:04 – Kevin talks about overheating artillery guns.

14:07 – Kevin talks about the gun foundries at the time.

15:30 – Kevin talks more about foundries.

16:06 – Kevin talks about naval artillery.

16:51 – Kevin talks about the artillery engineers of the time.

18:17 – Kevin talks about meritocracy in the French military.

19:29 – Kevin talks about moving artillery around.

21:35 – Kevin talks about horses and artillery teams.

22:06 – Kevin talks about horses knowing artillery commands.

22:53 – Kevin talks about how quickly gun crews could set up.

24:13 – Kevin talks about the elements needed to load and fire a gun.

25:59 – Kevin talks about the cartridge, siege loading, and the sabot.

26:41 – Kevin talks about fuses.

27:23 – Kevin talks about loading lit bullets.

28:59 – Kevin talks about the French system after 1815.

29:19 – Kevin talks about the research he did for the book.

32:42 – Kevin talks about counter-battery action.

34:05 – Kevin talks about incendiary shells.

35:43 – Kevin talks about standing up to artillery attacks.

36:30 – Kevin talks about the French at the American Revolution.

37:27 – Kevin talks about Washington’s use of artillery.

38:28 – Kevin talks about national approaches to artillery.

42:35 – Kevin talks about building cannons.

44:27 – Kevin talks about artillery in French battles.

46:54 – Kevin talks about the War of 1812.

48:04 – Kevin talks about an odd-sounding artillery term

50:52 – Kevin talks about Russian changes in artillery.

51:40 – Kevin talks about the best artillerists.

52:55 – Kevin talks about the cavalry and the artillery.

53:53 – Kevin talks about how the artillery protected itself.

54:31 – Kevin talks about artillery unit make-ups.

56:26 – Kevin talks about his various books.

1:02:49 – Kevin talks about temperature and artillery.

1:05:34 – Kevin talks about hearing loss and artillery.

1:10:20 – Kevin talks about Napoleon’s interest in naval artillery.

1:12:33 – Kevin talks about important qualities of an artillery officer.

1:13:19 – Kevin talks about interest in the Napoleonic Wars.

1:16:28 – Kevin talks about myths about the Napoleonic Wars.

1:17:47 – Kevin talks about the Russians and Napoleon.

1:22:03 – Information on the book can be found at amazon.

1:23:48 – Kevin talks about the Eastern Roman Empire.

1:25:15 – Kevin talks about how he got published.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/3gIAEnM

https://penandswordbooks.com/imprints/frontline-books/artillery-of-the-napoleonic-wars-65598.html#.YMzrCUwpCUk

Contact Information

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify Please see historyrabbithole.com for a list of my dozen or so blogs and podcasts. You’re sure to find something you like.

Guests: Kevin Kiley

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: Books, audio interviews, author, podcast, Frontline Books, editor interview, General military history, 19th century war, Napoleonic Wars, 18th century war, United States, Germany, Russia, France, Britain,

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3gIAEnM

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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How WWII hung in the balance in the Mediterranean Sea – Interview with Sir Max Hastings

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Sir Max Hastings Operation Pedestal

How WWII hung in the balance in the Mediterranean Sea – Interview with Sir Max Hastings

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3p5MJHk

Interview Timeline

Sir Max Hastings is the author of twenty-six books, most about conflict, and between 1986 and 2002 served as editor-in-chief of the Daily Telegraph, then editor of the Evening Standard. He has won prizes for journalism and his books. He has recently published a history of WWII Operation Pedestal. We spoke about the book and the operation.  Operation Pedestal: The Fleet That Battled to Malta, 1942 (Harper, 2021)

1:22 – Sir Max explains why he wrote about Operation Pedestal.

3:29 – Sir Max talks about Churchill’s thinking about Malta and Operation Pedestal.

6:45 – Sir Max discusses operations in the Mediterranean.

8:26 – Sir Max talks about the first few days of the Operation.

8:55 – Sir Max talks about how he balances the book between the Axis and Allies actions.

12:07 – Sir Max talks about Hitler’s thinking in regards to Malta.

14:55 – Sir Max talks about British successes early in the operation.

15:54 – Sir Max talks about the constant threats the British were facing each day of the operation.

21:40 – Sir Max talks about a dangerous sunset Italian and German air attack.

22:22 – Sir Max talks about how quickly the events in the operation got back to world leaders.

27:59 – Sir Max talks about the difficulties of being a ship captain.

31:46 – Sir Max talks about the civilians participating in the convoy operation.

33:31 – Sir Max talks about the Ohio and the attacks it endured.

37:10 – Sir Max talks about how mad the Royal Navy was at the Royal Air Force.

38:27 – Sir Max talks about how he got some of his information.

42:20 – Sir Max talks about the Arctic convoy.

43:19 – Sir Max talks about the sheer exhaustion of the men who were part of the operation.

46:02 – Sir Max talks about the risks taken in the operation as far as the amount of resources used.

47:47 – Sir Max talks about the emotional aspect of the burials at sea during the operation.

49:59 – Sir Max talks about the civilian burial practices and how the civilian crews acted.

52:33 – Sir Max talks about having visited Malta and their courage during the war.

54:00 – Sir Max talks about the war scars still left at Malta.

55:12 – Sir Max talks about how pivotal the few weeks of Pedestal were.

56:45 – Sir Max talks about the importance of willpower in the war.

59:22 – Sir Max talks about how little known this operation is despite its importance.

1:00:04 – Sir Max talks about his next project being about the Cuban Missile Crisis.

1:01:20 – Sir Max talks about his excitement in studying history,

1:02:35 – Sir Max talks about the importance of the story of Pedestal.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/3p5MJHk

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/operation-pedestal-max-hastings?variant=32306180489250

Contact Information

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify Please see historyrabbithole.com for a list of my dozen or so blogs and podcasts. You’re sure to find something you like.

Guests: Sir Max Hastings

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: Books, audio interviews, author, podcast, Harper, WWII, Naval Warfare, United States, Germany, Britain,

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3p5MJHk

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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