The Armchair General
Can You Defeat the Nazis?
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The Armchair General
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Narrated by:
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Thomas Judd
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Rupert Farley
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By:
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John Buckley
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
Re-write the course of WWII with this revolutionary new approach to history. Take the chair of Winston Churchill and other leaders. Make the decisions that will change the war - and the world.
What might have happened if Poland was never invaded? Or if Hiroshima never happened? Or if the great evacuation at Dunkirk was scrapped? Would the war have turned out differently? Would Hitler have won?
Armchair General airdrops you, the listener, into the key historical moments and turning points of WWII - from the outbreak of war to D-Day - and thrusts you into the role of decision-maker.
Taking the chair of Winston Churchill, Field Marshal Montgomery, General Eisenhower and other leaders and soldiers from the Allied Forces, you will be primed with the contemporaneous intelligence that real leaders would have been presented with during the war - including maps and secret dossiers. Once you have examined the evidence, you, the listener, will then have to make key decisions that have the power to affect the war - and the fate of history.
How far should you parachute behind enemy lines? Should you fight on or try to make peace? Will you send more troops in or hold them back? Do you wait or do you act? Each decision will take you to an alternate chapter in the book and to either the truth or to an alternate but highly plausible new reality.
Written by John Buckley, professor of military history and expert on strategy and war gaming, this book revisits the past in forensic and fascinating detail so that you can learn how every small action (or inaction) can create a whole different history. Will your decisions follow the same course as WWII? Or will you create a new future?
©2021 John Buckley (P)2021 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Third Reich Victorious
- Alternate Histories of World War II
- By: Peter G. Tsouras
- Narrated by: David Baker
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 98
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 88
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Story4 out of 5 stars 88
This book is a stimulating and entirely plausible insight into how Hitler and his generals might have defeated the Allies, and a convincing sideways look at the Third Reich's bid at world domination in World War II. What would have happened if, for example, the Germans captured the whole of the BEF at Dunkirk? Or if the RAF had been defeated in the Battle of Britain?
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3 out of 5 stars
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A fresh look at WW2 - false but makes one wonder.
- By Eggert Eggertsson on 09-05-15
By: Peter G. Tsouras
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Nomonhan, 1939
- The Red Army's Victory that Shaped World War II
- By: Stuart D. Goldman
- Narrated by: John FitzGibbon
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 109
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 96
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 97
Stuart Goldman convincingly argues that a little-known, but intense, Soviet-Japanese conflict along the Manchurian- Mongolian frontier at Nomonhan influenced the outbreak of World War II and shaped the course of the war. The author draws on Japanese, Soviet, and western sources to put the seemingly obscure conflict - actually a small undeclared war - into its proper global geo-strategic perspective.The book describes how the Soviets, in response to a border conflict provoked by Japan, launched an offensive in August 1939 that wiped out the Japanese forces at Nomonhan.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Nomonhan: Why Japan Demurred
- By William R. Todd-Mancillas (Name includes hyphen and capitalized M). on 08-03-14
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Six Days of War
- June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East
- By: Michael B. Oren
- Narrated by: Robert Whitfield
- Length: 17 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,210
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,643
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,640
In Israel and the West, it is called the Six Day War. In the Arab world, it is known as the June War or, simply, as "the Setback". Never has a conflict so short, unforeseen, and largely unwanted by both sides so transformed the world. The Yom Kippur War, the war in Lebanon, the Camp David accords, the controversy over Jerusalem and Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the intifada, and the rise of Palestinian terror are all part of the outcome of those six days.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great overview of Middle East troubles
- By Patrick Marstall on 07-23-06
By: Michael B. Oren
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Embers of War
- The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam
- By: Fredrik Logevall
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 32 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 270
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 246
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Story5 out of 5 stars 241
In this landmark work that will forever change your understanding of how and why America went to war in Vietnam, author Fredrik Logevall taps newly accessible diplomatic archives in several nations and traces the path that led two Western nations to tragically lose their way in the jungles of Southeast Asia. He brings to life the bloodiest battles of France’s final years in Indochina - and describes how, from an early point, a succession of American leaders made disastrous policy choices that put America on its own collision course with history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Understanding Why We failed the People of Vietnam
- By VA on 03-22-21
By: Fredrik Logevall
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Blitzkrieg
- Myth, Reality, and Hitler's Lightning War: France 1940
- By: Lloyd Clark
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 90
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 81
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 78
In the spring of 1940, the Germans launched a military offensive in France and the Low Countries that married superb intelligence, the latest military thinking, and new technology. It was a stunning victory, altering the balance of power in Europe in one stroke, and convincing the entire world that the Nazi war machine was unstoppable. But as Lloyd Clark, a leading British military historian and academic, argues, much of our understanding of this victory, and blitzkrieg itself, is based on myth.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Very good and detailed about the Fall of France
- By Arthur on 03-15-17
By: Lloyd Clark
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Hitler's American Gamble
- Pearl Harbor and Germany's March to Global War
- By: Brendan Simms, Charlie Laderman
- Narrated by: Damian Lynch
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 157
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 130
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 129
By early December 1941, war had changed much of the world beyond recognition. Nazi Germany occupied most of the European continent, while in Asia, the Second Sino-Japanese War had turned China into a battleground. But these conflicts were not yet inextricably linked - and the United States remained at peace. Hitler’s American Gamble recounts the five days that upended everything: December 7 to 11.
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1 out of 5 stars
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A waste of time based on a flawed premise
- By Grant on 11-30-21
By: Brendan Simms, and others
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MacArthur at War
- World War II in the Pacific
- By: Walter R. Borneman
- Narrated by: David Baker
- Length: 19 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 80
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 74
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 75
World War II changed the course of history. Douglas MacArthur changed the course of World War II. Macarthur at War goes deeper into this transformative period of his life than previous biographies, drilling into the military strategy that Walter R. Borneman is so skilled at conveying and exploring how personality and ego translate into military successes and failures.
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4 out of 5 stars
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An interesting, but flawed, history
- By Mike From Mesa on 07-29-16
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Dunkirk
- The Complete Story of the First Step in the Defeat of Hitler
- By: Norman Gelb
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 52
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 43
In 1940, the last patch of resistance to the Nazi war machine was a little strip of beach whose name would soon be famous around the world: Dunkirk. Over 300,000 Allied soldiers crowded into the little harbor. If Hitler destroyed them, Britain would be left defenseless, and the war would almost be over. The British had other ideas. Over the next ten days, the people of Britain launched an unprecedented rescue effort. Countless little ships steamed forth from every port in England to bring the boys back home.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Real Dunkirk Story: Not the Movie Version
- By William R. Todd-Mancillas (Name includes hyphen and capitalized M). on 08-09-17
By: Norman Gelb
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Rising Sun Victorious
- Alternate Histories of the Pacific War
- By: Peter G. Tsouras
- Narrated by: David Baker
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 41
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Story4 out of 5 stars 35
In war, victory can be held hostage to seemingly insignificant incidents - chance events, opportunities seized or cast aside - that can derail the most brilliant military strategies and change the course of history. What if the Japanese had conquered India and driven out the British? What if the strategic link between the United States and Australia had been severed? What if Vice Admiral Nagumo had launched a third attack on Pearl Harbor? What if the US Navy's gamble at Midway had backfired?
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3 out of 5 stars
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victorious
- By Amazon Customer on 05-17-16
By: Peter G. Tsouras
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The Mantle of Command
- FDR at War, 1941–1942
- By: Nigel Hamilton
- Narrated by: Brad Sanders
- Length: 20 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 6
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 6
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6
Based on years of archival research and interviews with the last surviving aides and Roosevelt family members, Nigel Hamilton offers a definitive account of FDR’s masterful - and underappreciated - command of the Allied war effort. Hamilton takes listeners inside FDR’s White House Oval Study - his personal command center - and into the meetings where he battled with Churchill about strategy and tactics and overrode the near mutinies of his own generals and secretary of war.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Great Book, Terrible Narration
- By Ross Mackey on 04-11-22
By: Nigel Hamilton
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The Korean War
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 17 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 342
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 257
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 256
It was the first war we could not win. At no other time since World War II have two superpowers met in battle. Max Hastings, preeminent military historian, takes us back to the bloody, bitter struggle to restore South Korean independence after the Communist invasion of June 1950.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Inspiring and Hard Hitting
- By David Ewing on 08-06-07
By: Max Hastings
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Haig's Enemy
- Crown Prince Rupprecht and Germany's War on the Western Front
- By: Jonathan Boff
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 22
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 22
During the First World War, the British army's most consistent German opponent was Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria. Commanding more than a million men as a General, and then Field Marshal, in the Imperial German Army, he held off the attacks of the British Expeditionary Force under Sir John French and then Sir Douglas Haig for four long years. But Rupprecht was to lose not only the war, but his son and his throne. In Haig's Enemy, Jonathan Boff explores the tragic tale of Rupprecht's war - the story of a man caught under the wheels of modern industrial warfare.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Insightful look inside dysfunctional WW1 Germany
- By J.Brock on 11-04-19
By: Jonathan Boff
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The Rise of Germany, 1939-1941
- The War in The West, Volume 1
- By: James Holland
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 27 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 308
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 270
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 271
For seven decades, our understanding of World War II has been shaped by a standard narrative built on conventional wisdom, propaganda, the dramatic but narrow experiences of soldiers on the ground, and an early generation of historians. For his new history, James Holland has spent over 12 years unearthing new research, recording original testimony, and visiting battlefields and archives that have never before been so accessible.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Good Book painfully read
- By richard on 01-21-16
By: James Holland
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Hell to Pay
- Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-1947
- By: D. M. Giangreco
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 16 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 86
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 69
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Story4 out of 5 stars 71
U.S. planning for the invasion and military occupation of Imperial Japan began two years before the dropping of atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hell to Pay brings to light the political and military ramifications of the enormous casualties and loss of material projected by both sides in the climatic struggle to bring the Pacific War to a conclusion through a brutal series of battles on Japanese soil.
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4 out of 5 stars
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This is a good piece of history.
- By David on 08-09-14
By: D. M. Giangreco
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The First World War
- By: Hew Strachan
- Narrated by: Clive Chafer
- Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 166
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 146
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 146
A century has passed since the outbreak of World War I, yet as military historian Hew Strachan argues in this brilliant and authoritative new book, the legacy of the "war to end all wars" is with us still. The First World War was a truly global conflict from the start, with many of the most decisive battles fought in or directly affecting the Balkans, Africa, and the Ottoman Empire. Even more than World War II, the First World War continues to shape the politics and international relations of our world.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding narrative of the military action
- By Tad Davis on 04-30-17
By: Hew Strachan
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A Better War
- The Unexamined Victories and Final Tragedy of America's Last Years in Vietnam
- By: Lewis Sorley
- Narrated by: Basil Sands
- Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 77
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 68
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 68
Neglected by scholars and journalists alike, the years of conflict in Vietnam from 1968 to 1975 offer surprises not only about how the war was fought, but about what was achieved. Drawing on authoritative materials not previously available, including thousands of hours of tape-recorded allied councils of war, award-winning military historian Lewis Sorley has given us what has long been needed - an insightful, factual, and superbly documented history of these important years.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A thought-provoking history of the war 68-75
- By Rodney W. Schmisseur on 02-05-14
By: Lewis Sorley