Episode 1: Pearl Harbor

General Douglas MacArthur aboard his military ship, the USS Missouri sits down the Japanese in Tokyo Bay as they sign the surrender. He later goes on to give a speech that is based on the idea that the future is now filled with hope and that people can live in peace. 

President Truman put out an announcement that the United States had officially received the unconditional surrender of Japan. As many people throughout the world celebrated that WWII was over, the Japanese Emperor spoke out for the first time about their tragic loss. 

By the beginning of August The Big Three had settled on what would happen to Japan if they did not head President Trumans warning and surrender. After the Japanese did not stand down, two atomic bombs were dropped killing a devastating number of Japanese people. 

On Sunday 7 December 1941, Japanese aircraft attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The US Pacific Fleet was devastated and 2403 Americans were killed. But it was not the decisive strike Japan had hoped for, and it awakened a sleeping giant that would tu ... Show More

On 7th December, 1941, the Japanese Imperial Navy struck the United States. In an action which killed 2,403 Americans and destroyed 21 US warships and 188 aircraft, they also brought the US into the Second World War. But it may not have been possible without the input of a Britis ... Show More

📖 Episode Transcripts in Link Below ⬇️ Today, we will discuss the event that forever altered the course of the world: the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. This tragic episode represents a turning point in the history of World War II and humanity as a whole. https://patreon.com/Hist ... Show More

En juillet 1942 est lancé aux Etats-Unis le projet Manhattan destiné à produire la bombe atomique et gagner ainsi la course contre l'Allemagne sur la recherche nucléaire. Les travaux aboutiront le 16 juillet 1945 à l'explosion de la première bombe atomique de l'histoire à l'occas ... Show More

In April 1942, the Imperial Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet was at the height of its power, having delivered a crushing blow to the US Navy at Pearl Harbor just months earlier. This fleet spearheaded Japan's aggressive expansion through Southeast Asia and unleashed havoc across th ... Show More

The decision by the United States to drop atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 remains one of the most controversial moments in modern history. Did the atomic bombs force Japan's surrender in the Second World War? Or is this far too simple a narrati ... Show More

On this episode of Battleground '44 Saul speaks to friend of the show Evan Mawdsley about the subject of his new book -The Battle of the Philippine Sea. The often overlooked battle was one of the major naval battles of World War II that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's abi ... Show More

Mes chers camarades, bien le bonjour ! S’il y a une chose qui nous vient en tête quand on cause de la Guerre du Pacifique, il y a de bonnes chances pour que ce soit l’attaque japonaise de Pearl Harbor ! Cette attaque a provoqué l’entrée en guerre des États-Unis, alors qu’à la bas ... Show More

The U.S.S. O'Bannon was a Fletcher-class navy destroyer with an impressive array of weaponry and a solid track record in conflicts in WWII. However, even the most experienced sailors aren't perfect -- and when the O'Bannon happened upon a hapless Japanese submarine, both crew eng ... Show More

Between 1932 and 1945, hundreds of thousands of women and girls across Asia were forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army.Referred to as "comfort women", they were taken from countries including Korea, China, Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia to be raped by Ja ... Show More