WWII military history book – “Night of the Assassins” (Harper, 2020) – Howard Blum interview

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3k8zaE6

Howard Blum has been a successful reporter for many years and has written numerous books on war subjects. He recently [published] released a book about a German attempt to assassinate FDR, Churchill, and Stalin during WWII. We spoke about the subject and writing the book.

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

0:41 – Howard talks about [how he] what inspired him to write about the attempted assassination of FDR, Churchill, and Stalin.

3:18 – Howard talks about 31 year old Mike Reilly was put in charge of protecting FDR shortly after Pearl Harbor.

4:44 – Howard talks about the German planning for the assassination.

7:06 – Howard talks about the situation in Iran at the time of the assassination attempt and why this Allied meeting occurred there.

11:35 – Howard talks about trying to keep the meeting in Tehran a secret.

14:37 – Howard talks about how the Germans paid forged money to a spy.

15:16 – Howard talks about the training and preparation of the a special SS action group and the rescue of Mussolini.

20:26 – Howard talks about who in the German high command planned this operation.

22:23 – Howard talks about FDR sneaking to Tehran.

25:55 – Howard talks about the archives he used. He describes the poor security for Churchill in Tehran.

30:10 – Howard talks about previous assassination attempts against Churchill, Stalin, and FDR.

31:40 – Howard talks about the Russian records he used.

34:08 – Howard talks about how close this impossible mission came to success.

35:38 – Howard talks about why Stalin was willing to meet in Tehran but not other areas.

36:40 – Howard talks about Otto Skorzeny.

38:04 – Howard talks about Mike Reilly’s commitment to protecting FDR.

39:31 – Howard talks about Allied security within Tehran.

40:52 – Howard talks about the information on the heads of the British security team.

44:08 – Howard talks about his approach to developing a new book.

48:04 – Howard talks about his previous works on war subjects.

50:21 – Howard can be found at author Howard Blum on facebook, @howardblum on twitter and on howardblum.com

 

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/3k8zaE6

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/night-of-the-assassins-howard-blum?variant=32128658898978

https://www.howardblum.com/

https://twitter.com/howardblum

https://www.facebook.com/TheAuthorHowardBlum/

 

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: Howard Blum

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, WWII, world war two, Tehran, FDR, Roosevelt, Stalin, embassy, Churchill, commandos, SVR, Mike Reilly, Germany, section six, United Kingdom, D-Day, Nazi, walk-in, Mussolini, gliders, typhoid, USS Iowa, Leslie Howard, tunnels, birthday, Pulitzer prize, Otto Skorzeny

 

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3k8zaE6

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Spanish Civil War military history book – “The People’s Army in the Spanish Civil War” (Pen & Sword Books, 2020) – Alex Clifford interview

Check out the book here https://amzn.to/3bxeXn6

Alexander Clifford is a history teacher and has a passion for study of the world wars. He delved into the Spanish Civil War and wrote a book about the Republican Army. We spoke about his new book. Check out the book here https://amzn.to/3bxeXn6

1:09 – Alex discusses how it got into studying and writing on the Spanish Civil War.

3:45 – Alex talks about the levels of hatred and killing during this war.

6:07 – Alex talks about how he breaks the book down. The focus is mainly on military history and the Republican military.

9:02 – Alex talks about the make up of both armies.

19:30 – Alex talks about what the Soviets took from the Republicans and what they gave in return.

23:45 – Alex talks about Soviet goals during the war and how the fighting was going in 1937. He also discusses the French-Soviet alliance.

32:24 – Alex talks about the communist element in the war.

39:38 – Alex talks about urban warfare and where the Republicans did best such as at Madrid.

42:52 – Alex talks about where the International Brigades came from and did.

45:16 – Alex talks about how the Republicans managed the foreign fighters.

47:12 – Alex talks about the make-up of the International Brigades.

51:31 – Alex talks about how black Americans commanded white Americans in this war.

54:13 – Alex talks about the sources for his research starting with the International Brigade literature. He took a more military history angle when looking at them.

1:00:39 – Alex talks about German and Russian documents about the war..

1:03:07 – Alex talks about the honesty of the reports he read.

1:06:14 – Alex talks about Spanish afternoon naps during the war.

1:09:00 – Alex talks about trying to assess the people’s army overall.

1:19:30 – Alex can be found on twitter @historysmost and he has a podcast titled “History’s Most.”

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/3bxeXn6

https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-Peoples-Army-in-the-Spanish-Civil-War-Hardback/p/17104

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1482668168

https://twitter.com/HistorysMost

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

Guest: Alexander Clifford

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, inter-war period, spanish civil war, world war one, WWII, Guernica, Picasso, facsism, communism, democracy, hitler, hemmingway, orwell, stalin, mussolini, ideological conflict, colonial warfare, russian civil war, international brigades, guerilla warfare, for whom the bell tolls, pan’s labyrinth, moroccan, morroco, spanish foreign legion, condor legion, messerschmit, stuka, blitzkreig, militia, WW1, t-26, poland, monarchy, republican, POUM, trotsky, may day, catalan, madrid, barcelona, artillery, felicia brown, clive of india, african-americans, oliver law, berkley, merriman, el campesino, comintern, soviet union, poland, red army, ww1

Check out the book here https://amzn.to/3bxeXn6

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.