The award-winning podcast preserving the stories of the Cold War before they are lost…subscribe for free. Produced by Ian Sanders FRHistS
Few operations in Cold War history capture the imagination quite like Operation Eagle Claw. I have the privilege of welcoming back James Stejkal, a Special Forces veteran, to delve into the intricacies of this audacious mission. Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on YouTubeBecome a Patron! Operation Eagle Claw, conceived as a daring rescue … Read more
Dan served in the War Plans office of the US Army VII Corps working on counterattack plans and reorganisation of the US Army’s General Defence Plan. Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google PodcastsBecome a Patron! Dan served in the War Plans office of the US Army VII Corps working on counterattack plans and … Read more
Dan served as a lieutenant and captain in a US Army air defence artillery battalion in West Germany from 1980 until 1985. He describes details of Soviet overflights deep into West Germany and we discuss how the Warsaw Pact attempted to track their units. Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google PodcastsBecome a Patron! … Read more
This week is the 40th anniversary of the Able Archer NATO Exercise where it is reckoned that the Soviet Union and NATO almost triggered a nuclear war. Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google Podcasts An investigation by the US President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, culminating in its highly secret 1990 report “The Soviet … Read more
Mark joined the US Army on January 6th, 1981, and went to Ft Knox KY for Basic and Armor training. He graduated in April 1981 and was selected as Instructor Tank commander and trained the next cycle of recruits till August 1981. Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google Podcasts Mark was posted to West … Read more
Tom Sullivan was a tank platoon commander in Korea in the early 1980s responsible for six tanks and their crew We hear why he joined the US Army, his training, and his first impressions of Korea in the Winter of 1982. He is assigned to Second Platoon, C Company, 1-72 Armor under the toughest Company … Read more
In February 1983 US soldier Manuel Alzager was sent to a mysterious posting to the British Zone in the north of West Germany a long way from the main US forces in southern Germany. After a lengthy journey, he is picked up by a West German private and eventually arrives at the 81st USAFAD … Read more
Brian Regal entered the US Army in 1977 and served on the M60A1 tank initially as a driver. The M60A1 was America’s primary main battle tank during the Cold War, with initial deployment in 1960 and combat service through to 1991. Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google Podcasts After tank school, Brian … Read more
Every weekday on the History Daily podcast, Lindsay Graham takes you back in time to explore a momentous moment that happened ‘on this day’ in history. 1989 was a pivotal year for the Cold War. The fall of the Berlin Wall, free elections in Poland, and the almost bloodless revolutions in the other Warsaw Pact countries … Read more
In 1986 Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev said “Never perhaps, in the post-war decades has the situation in the world been explosive and hence more difficult and unfavourable as in the first half of the 1980s.” Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google Podcasts He was referring to a period of immense tension between the … Read more