WWI with Gary Sheffield – Part II
Professor Gary Sheffield, one of Britain’s foremost experts on WWI, returns to offer insightful analysis of the end of WWI. Mark and Professor Sheffield discuss America’s participation in the Great War, the conclusion of hostilities, the Armistice of 11 November 1918 and the Versailles Treaty. Mark draws from Professor Sheffield’s new release of “The First...
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Dr. Samuel A. Mudd House
Mark goes back to Good Friday April 1865 and President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination at Ford’s Theatre in Washington with Dorothea Barstow, the curator of the Dr. Samuel Mudd House and Museum. Later that night, assassin John Wilkes Booth, on the run and in desperate need of medical attention for his broken leg, stopped at the home...
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WWI with Gary Sheffield – Part I
Professor Gary Sheffield, one of Britain’s foremost experts on WWI, discusses his new edition book The First World War, published in association with the Imperial War Museum. Mark and Professor Sheffield review the War up until the end and American involvement in 1918. They cover the major events in the great cataclysm as well as...
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Autumn Events in History
On this week’s podcast, I take a look at some events that happened in autumn during WWII and the Civil War, as well as WWI and the American Revolution. I discuss the 1918 Meuse-Argonne offensive by the America Expeditionary Forces and the French army. Launched against the Germans on the Western Front, this final campaign...
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General George S. Patton Part II: Post WWII
Mark revisits his episode from last October with historian Kevin Hymel, who returns for the second of a two-part discussion of General George S. Patton. They cover his post-war governance in Germany and the actual story of his fatal accident and death. This is Part II of a two-part episode. Listen to General Georges S....
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Antietam with Historian Jack Mountcastle
Historian Jack Mountcastle returns to discuss the momentous battle of Antietam in September 1862. It was the single bloodiest day of warfare in American history. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, emboldened by the victory at Second Manassas in August 1862, had crossed into Maryland. Near the little town of Sharpsburg, they clashed with...
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USS Indianapolis
Mark speaks with best-selling author, Lynn Vincent, and National Geographic Historian, Sara Vladic, about their new book, Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man. Just after midnight on July 30, 1945, days after delivering the components of the atomic bomb...
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The Legion’s Fighting Bulldog with Vince Dooley
Mark has a conversation with Vince Dooley about his book, The Legion’s Fighting Bulldog: The Civil War Correspondence of William Gaston Delony. Through the letters of Delony and his wife Rosa, we get human insights into the struggles of the war both on the battlefield and at the home front. Coach Dooley is an avid student...
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Beyond the Beach: The Allied War Against France
Mark’s guest is Steve Bourque, whose new book: Beyond the Beach: The Allied War Against France takes on a subject often ignored in historical accounts. Bourque explores the effects of Allied air attacks on French towns and infrastructure in 1944 as part of the D-Day Invasion and war with Nazi Germany. In discussing the book,...
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Battle of Second Manassas
General Jack Mountcastle joins Mark to discuss the Battle of Second Manassas, the major Confederate victory in August 1862 that gave Lee the thrust to invade Maryland that September. Jack also details the extensive tour he leads for Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours that covers Manassas as well as the other key events in the Eastern...
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August History Happenings and Fall Preview
This week Mark takes a look at some events that happening during the month of August in WWII and the Civil War, including the Siege of Leningrad, the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, the infamous Quantrill’s Raiders and Nathan Bedford Forrest’s raid on Memphis. He also previews upcoming fall episodes that cover Antietam, the Allied Bombing of...
August History Happenings and Fall Preview
A look at some August events in WWII and the Civil War, including the Siege of Leningrad, the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, the infamous Quantrill’s Raiders and Nathan Bedford Forrest’s raid on Memphis. We also preview upcoming fall episodes that cover Antietam, the Allied Bombing of France in 1944, and a new WWI book by one...
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General George S. Patton: Early Years and WWII
This week on History with Mark Bielski, historian Kevin Hymel, the author of Patton’s Photographs: War As He Saw It, joins me to discuss one of America’s greatest generals. We delve into George S. Patton’s early years as well as his leadership during WWII. This is podcast is a repeat of an episode from October...
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Mort Sheffloe Redux Part 2
In this redux of a prior episode, combat veteran Mort Sheffloe continues discussing his WWII experiences in Normandy and Brittany in 1944. Mort talks about Operation Cobra and being shot by a German sniper near Brest.
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Mort Sheffloe Redux
Mark revisits his interviews with WWII veteran, Mort Sheffloe, done on location in France. Mort discusses his WWII experiences in Normandy and Brittany in 1944. Some of the interviews took place while walking the sands and in cafés at Utah and Omaha Beaches.
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Seven at Santa Cruz
Mark’s guest is Ted Edwards, whose new book, Seven at Santa Cruz, is a riveting biography of WWII pilot, Stanley “Swede” Vejtasa. It is an up-close look at the battles of Santa Cruz and Coral Sea and how Vejtasa became a naval hero fighting the Japanese in the Pacific. He flew from aircraft carriers Yorktown...
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July History: WWII and Civil War
Some cursory but analytical looks at a few key July historical events. We discuss WWII, including the Einsatzgruppen SS mission in the Soviet Union, as well as the Civil War battle of First Manassas (Bull Run). We also take a look on the lighter side—how Louisiana took an innovation from the 1930’s and raised it...
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Touring Civil War New Orleans
Nic Clark of Civil War Tours New Orleans, feels that he gives guests a “great way to see the city.” We discuss the intriguing people and places guests visit on his guided tours about the Civil War. From the French Quarter to the famous cemeteries, we see how guests can experience history in New Orleans.
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Trench Dogs
An interview with Ian Densford, artist, and animator, who has just published his graphic novel, Trench Dogs. A book that draws its inspiration from a collection of first-hand accounts from WW1. More information about Trench Dogs Inspired from assorted first-hand accounts, this fictional story of World War I is an anthropomorphic retelling of that global...
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The Civil War: Early July 1863
A quick look at the two major Civil War events that took place in early July 155 years ago and some characters who played key roles. The man who initiated the battle of Gettysburg, one of the most controversial generals who took part in it and the General who could have saved Vicksburg for the...
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Leadership: The Essential Qualities Part II
Prof. Harry Laver returns to continue the discussion on the qualities of Leadership and his book edited with Jeffrey J. Matthews, The Art of Command: Military Leadership from George Washington to Colin Powell.
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Leadership: The Essential Qualities
Professor Harry Laver joins Mark to discuss the qualities of Leadership and his book edited with Jeffrey J. Matthews, The Art of Command: Military Leadership from George Washington to Colin Powell.
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Iraq: Ancient Country, Modern Conflicts
Iraq: from ancient to modern times. Kate Tietzen joins Mark to discuss the conflicts, sometime resolutions and the evolution of the country. Her in-country research delves into the many facets of the Iraqi people, the religious factions and the nation’s friends, foes and allies.
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The D-Day Invasion-The Beach Landings
As a commemoration of the 74th Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion, Mark continues with a discussion of Operation Overlord in June 1944, especially the Omaha Beach landings and actions at Vierville Draw on D-Day.
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D-Day Invasion: Preparation and Deception
As a commemoration of the 74th Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion, Mark discusses Operation Overlord, the planning of the D-Day invasion, and the deception operations. This podcast includes excerpts from Dr. Stephen Ambrose’s lectures on WWII. You will also want to listen to my two-part interview with D-Day veteran, Mort Sheffloe (July 12 and 26,...
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