Tag: italy

WWII military history book – “Parleying with the Devil” (University Press of Kentucky, 2020) – Gaj Trifkovic interview

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Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2A73z3E

Gaj Trifkovic has had a lifelong interest in WWII especially as it relates to Yugoslavia. He earned his history degree in the subject and wrote his first book – a history of prisoner exchange in Yugoslavia during WWII. We spoke about the war in Yugoslavia, the book, and the process of getting published.

(THE AUDIO PLAYER IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST.)

0:51 – Gaj talks about how he got into studying Yugoslavia in WWII.

4:10 – Gaj talks about the five main sections of the book starting with Serbia.

6:25 – Gaj talk about the military activities and situation in Yugoslavia during WWI.

8:31 – Gaj talks about the controversial March 1943 negotiations.

12:06 – Gaj talks about the Yugoslav neutral zone.

13:08 – Gaj talks about how much the German high command knew about this prisoner exchange.

14:11 – Gaj talks about how partisans dealt with prisoner exchanges.

16:33 – Gaj talks about what prisoners the Germans took.

17:52 – Gaj talks about how prisoners chosen for exchange were sometimes treated harshly.

19:46 – Gaj talks about local prisoner exchanges by units in the field.

21:00 – Gaj talks about non-German Axis prisoners.

22:20 – Gaj talks about prisoner exchanges in other historical contexts.

24:46 – Gaj talks about how Hitler was convinced to accept these exchanges.

26:06 – Gaj talks about whether the Germans exchanged “undesirables.”

27:04 – Gaj talks about the unwritten rules of prisoner exchange.

29:20 – Gaj talks about prisoner exchange closer to the end of the war.

32:35 – Gaj talks about large-scale execution of prisoners at the end of the war.

34:26 – Gaj talks about German and Axis prisoners in Yugoslavia at the end of the war.

38:58 – Gaj talks about post-war release of prisoners.

40:45 – Gaj talks about the archives and books he used for this research.

42:27 – Gaj talks about the self-censorship on both sides about prisoner exchange.

45:55 – Gaj goes into more detail about the neutral zone.

47:11 – We discuss what might be in the current location of the neutral zone.

51:32 – Gaj talks about how well the two sides got along in the neutral zone.

55:14 – Gaj talks about why he wrote the book in English rather than German.

57:38 – Gaj talks about how he tried to emulate “The Longest Day” in the writing of this book.

1:04:59 – Gaj can be found on researchgate.net and academia.edu.

 

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/2A73z3E

https://www.kentuckypress.com/9781949668087/parleying-with-the-devil/

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gaj_Trifkovic

https://independent.academia.edu/GajTrifkovic

 

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

 

Guests: Gaj Trifkovic

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, WWII, world war 2, Yugoslavia, Communist, Nazi, Fascism, Italy, Germany, Serbia, insurgency, Croatia, Wehrmacht, Montenegro, Tito, Sarajevo, Hitler, Macedonia, fascists, American Revolution, US Civil War, Slovenia, Luftwaffe, partisan, Austrians, secret police, British, The Longest Day, Global War Studies, world war two

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2A73z3E

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Ancient Warfare – “Ancient Rome: Facts and Fictions” (ABC-CLIO, 2020) – Monica Bontty interview

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Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2B0MNTC

Dr. Monica Bontty is a professor of archaeological studies and ancient history. She teaches at the University of Louisiana-Monroe and she wrote a book on misconceptions about Ancient Rome. We spoke about the ancient Roman military from the Republic to the Empire and the research she did for the book. (The audio player is at the bottom of the post.)

1:11 – Monica talks about why she wrote a book on misconceptions about Ancient Rome.

2:26 – Monica talks about how the Roman Army changed over time.

5:15 – Monica talks about phalanx style fighting.

6:26 – Monica talks about the maniple system.

7:45 – Monica talks about the reforms of Marius.

10:45 – Monica talks about Julius Caesar and the establishment of the empire.

12:04 – Monica talks about Octavian, Anthony, and Lepidus.

17:00 – Monica talks about military life and benefits.

28:00 – Monica talks about military pride but also the trouble that soldiers got into and abuse of power.

30:22 – Monica talks about military courts.

32:34 – Monica talks about soldier complaints about centurions.

33:10 – Monica talks about where the money came from Rome to hire so many more soldiers during the time of Marius.

34:34 – Monica talks about the abruptness of the reforms of Marius.

35:10 – Monica talks about Hannibal and the Punic Wars.

38:43 – Monica talks about the Praetorian Guard auctioning off the imperial office.

40:56 – Monica talks about where the term barbarian came from.

41:52 – Monica talks about how she researched the book. Livius.org and Penelope are useful resources.

45:21 – Monica talks about the myth of the vomitoria.

48:38 – Monica talks about learning surprising things about Augustus.

50:09 – Monica talks about Nero’s popularity.

51:02 – Monica talks about Roman hygiene.

54:06 – Monica talks about the hygiene standards of the Roman Army and “bad air”.

57:25 – Monica can be found on ulm.edu.

 

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/2B0MNTC

https://products.abc-clio.com/abc-cliocorporate/product.aspx?pc=A5404C

https://webservices.ulm.edu/facultyactivities/profile/bontty

https://www.livius.org/

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/home.html

 

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 | Stitcher | Spotify

Guests: Monica Bontty

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, Nero, Caligula, Rome, Italy, Roman Army, legio, cavalry, phalanx, maniple, Marius, Julius Caesar, Augustus, military camp, barbarian, Hannibal, Pax Romana, Gauls, Egypt, auxiliary troops, Arminius, proscription, Golden Ass, centurions, Punic Wars, Praetorian Guard, Vomitoria, Nero, Hollywood

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2B0MNTC

16th century Spanish New World history book – “A Most Splendid Company” (University of New Mexico Press, 2019) – Richard Flint interview

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Richard Flint is a historian who has been writing on the 16th century Coronado Expedition for many years. His latest book deals with the global context of the expedition and we spoke about it.

0:59 – Richard talks about how he got into studying and writing on the Coronado Expedition.

4:16 – Richard talks about how this book differs from their previous books on the Coronado expedition.

12:15 – Richard addresses how military focused the expedition was.

14:40 – Richard talks about the armor used on the expedition.

19:00 – Richard describes the evidence that the expedition was not looking for gold but rather was looking for trade routes.

21:03 – Richard talks about what the motives of the native Mexican warriors on the expedition were.

25:45 – Richard talks about how they did the research to determine the roster of the expedition.

51:47 – Richard talks about non-Spanish documents that would be helpful for this research.

57:00 – Richard talks about a document he found about a slave sold four times in one day.

1:08:01 – They have a website coronado.unm.edu for more information.

Links of Interest

https://unmpress.com/books/most-splendid-company/9780826360229

https://coronado.unm.edu/

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar

Guests: Richard Flint

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, conquistadors, spain, mexico, coronado, antonio de mendoza, armor, men-at-arms, helmets, chainmail, slaves, archives, book merchants, italy, china, trade route, glyphs, priests, expedition