Carentan

So when you follow their journey, they intersect with a remarkable number of defining events in that final years of the war in Western Europe.

So they train for invasion, they parachute into Normandy on D-Day, they fight through Carentan, they take part in Operation Market Garden, endure the Battle of the Bulge around Bastogne, advance into Germany, encounter a concentration camp, and eventually reach Berchtesgaden and the Eagle's Nest.

You know, the final boss, if you like.

They get there.

Yeah,

and I mean...

the word Bastogne, because we're multiple time watchers, we know what sort of weight that carries, you know? And we'll probably talk about that when we go into Carentan and Replacements and Crossroads as leading up to it.

And that's that kind of midway point of the season, of the series as well.

Meanwhile, Allied naval ships shuttling supplies had to navigate the perilous English Channel under constant threat from German torpedoes, E-boat ambushes and mines that claimed dozens of vessels before reaching the harbours.

German High Command, alarmed by the sudden breach in their Atlantic Wall, ordered a series of counterattacks, including a 7th Army sortie at Carentan and a stubborn defence of the Caen bridgeheads, but the Allies' air superiority and superior numbers prevented these efforts from turning the tide.

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was relieved of responsibility in late June when the German response proved ineffective.

Command passed to General Friedrich Hossack, whose orders ultimately failed to halt the Allied push towards Paris.

And that kind of wraps up episode two of our podcast.

Yeah, please join us next week where we'll be going into Carentan where...

It takes a different turn there where we start looking more at the psychological impact of war on soldiers, what it meant, how different people reacted to it.

And so, yeah, make sure you join us and we'll see you next week.

So you're starting to see them form these bonds.

But I think by episode three with Carentan...

The story of Albert Blythe, even though they really get a lot of his details, especially post-war, wrong, his story and just the counterattack east of Carentan, just immensely captivating.

So I think that's probably my favorite episode.

I'll say the same.

And if you want a letter, I'll send it to you saying I'm okay with you putting it in the book.

And that's kind of the story that comes out of it.

But Albert Blythe, before I let you go, Chris, just so everybody knows, he's one of the main characters from Carentan episode three.