logo
episode-header-image
May 2023
17m 43s

Audie Murphy | An Uncommon Hero

15-Minute History Podcast
About this episode

On the morning of January 26th, Murphy and his men saw movement in the tree line ahead. As the morning fog cleared, over two hundred German infantrymen and six Mark VI Tiger Tanks appeared and began a counterattack.


I will stop here for a moment and give you an opportunity to take in this scene. First, consider eighteen men with two armored vehicles against two hundred infantry. Faced with just these odds, there is no strategic or tactical way Murphy’s men could hold the line. Second, add the armor. A single Tiger tank was near impossible to destroy by Allied armor. To put it in perspective, one Tiger Tank could take out more than twelve American Sherman tanks before being crippled enough to be put down. It fired an 88-millimeter shell, the most powerful of the German artillery, and could decimate an entire town without any support. Six of these advanced on Murphy and his eighteen men. Six. I don’t need to tell you the odds of the eighteen men winning against such a force, because there are no odds. It's zero. Listen now and join us in awe at what happened next. Remember…this is real history.


Join us as we teach you about the life and heroism of Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier in WW2.


--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/15minutehistory/support
Up next
Jul 10
Pop Quiz | "Stagflation"
With economics being all the rage these days and everyone on social media becoming experts in tariff and spending policy, Joe and Jon discuss one of the most serious economic problems a country can face.Join us every Thursday this summer for new pop quizzes and leave a comment be ... Show More
4m 2s
Jul 7
What if? | Pizzaro & the Potato (Republish)
During the summer break, the 15-Minute History podcast team are republishing some of their favorite episodes. This episode originally aired on August 30, 2021.___From 1531-1532, Pizzaro and his group conquered and destroyed the Inca Civilization. Climbing the Andes Mountains, the ... Show More
9m 58s
Jul 2
Pop Quiz | "Sherman's Neckties"
Recently, Jon mentioned "Sherman's Neckties" in an episode that referenced the American Civil War. Now it's time to talk about these fascinating--and terrifying--examples of psychological warfare!Join us every Thursday this summer for new pop quizzes, and comment below with any t ... Show More
3m 39s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2021
Courage under fire: the story of a WW2 tank regiment
Military historian, author and broadcaster James Holland tells the story of the Sherwood Rangers, a British tank regiment which was in the thick of the action from the Allied assault on Normandy on D-Day until the final defeat of Nazi Germany. (Ad) James Holland is the author of  ... Show More
50m 4s
Oct 2022
Battle of El Alamein Explained
Fought in the second half of 1942, the Battles of El Alamein were a series of climactic confrontations in Egypt between British Imperial and Commonwealth forces, and a combined German and Italian army. Intended as a last-ditch attempts by the British to halt German gains in North ... Show More
44m 45s
Jun 2024
The Dambusters
The top-secret Dambusters mission was one so crucial that British intelligence hoped it would hasten a triumph over Nazi Germany. But it was also highly dangerous, and required the 133 pilots to fly at high speed and exceptionally low altitudes, all in the dead of night. With onl ... Show More
1h 3m
Jan 2024
The Ghost Army of World War 2
In the summer of 1944, a handpicked group of young GIs—including such future luminaries such as Bill Blass, Ellsworth Kelly, Arthur Singer, Victor Dowd, Art Kane, and Jack Masey—landed in France to conduct a secret mission. From Normandy to the Rhine, the 1,100 men of the 23rd He ... Show More
41m 39s
Aug 2022
WW2: The Dieppe Raid Disaster
80 years ago today on 19 August 1942, a 6,000 strong combined Allied landing force took part in a raid on Dieppe, Northern France.Tragically, no less than 67% of these fighters - most of them Canadians - became casualties in what has gone down in history as an unmitigated catastr ... Show More
34m 10s
May 2024
D-Day: The German Side (Episode 1)
May 1944, it is clear to Erwin Rommel that the Allied counter attack is just a few weeks away. The answer is simple - defend the Atlantic Wall. But Nazi infighting and ludicrous top-down decision making has led to chaos on the Western Front. With the 6th June just days away - the ... Show More
1h 2m
Mar 2022
Destroying a Nazi Stronghold: The St Nazaire Raid
On 28 March 1942, in the darkest months of World War Two, Churchill approved what seemed to many like a suicide mission. Under orders to attack the St Nazaire U-boat base on the Atlantic seaboard, British commandos undertook “the greatest raid of all”, turning an old destroyer in ... Show More
27m 57s
Apr 2022
Operation Mincemeat: The Deception that Changed WWII
It’s 1943. The Allies are determined to break Hitler’s grip on occupied Europe and plan an all-out assault on Sicily, but they face an impossible challenge - how to protect a massive invasion force from a potential massacre. It falls to two remarkable intelligence officers, Ewen ... Show More
29m 26s