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A History of Biological and Chemical Warfare
Episodes
Jun 6, 2022
Jun 6, 2022
1hr 47 sec
During World War II, the Polish resistance movement used chemical and biological weapons (CBW) against the Third Reich. The use of CBW against the Third Reich most likely originated in a secret Polish biological-weapons program, which existed in the 1930s and went underground after the September 1939 German invasion. Between 1940 and 1942, a unit of the Polish resistance movement named WKZO (Wielkopolskie Kierownictwo Związku Odwetu—the Greater Poland Leadership of the Union of Retaliation) conducted CBW sabotage in the German-annexed area Reichsgau Wartheland and its main city Posen (today’s Poznań). In this episode we examine this group with Robert Peterson.
You can find Robert's paper on the subject here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10736700.2020.1866321
sound clip credit: https://youtu.be/pw2PenZYBuw
Jun 28, 2022
Jun 28, 2022
52 min
In this episode Dan discusses his work examining the life of Edmund Tilly. After WW2 Tilly interrogated those involved in the German chemical warfare programme- which was the first to develop and produce a nerve agent ' Tabun'- on a large scale.
Sound Credits: This clip is from the 1963 film, Nerve Agents, available at the national Archives. Video found on this amazing Youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/user/markdcatlin/videos
Oct 27, 2022
Oct 27, 2022
27 min
In this episode we examine the impact of the development of gunpowder on chemical and biological warfare. We focus on China in the 9th -16th centuries. Next week we follow the spread of gunpowder west.
Show notes are available here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wIibQJYobwyhFNC-OhjnLYkOwVizIjuJ?usp=sharing
Nov 7, 2022
Nov 7, 2022
53 min
Image and sound from the US national archives.
Check out Reid's website over at Military Historian - Reid Kirby
Nov 10, 2022
Nov 10, 2022
59 min
You can find a link to Simon's work on this subject over at https://simonjoneshistorian.com/2019/08/27/first-air-dropped-cw/
Jan 31, 2023
Jan 31, 2023
58 min
You can check out Glenn's book here: Dirty War: Rhodesia and Chemical Biological Warfare 1975-1980 - Glenn Cross - Google Books
We didn't have time to cover the smaller and largely exploratory BW aspect of this programme but hopefully we will in s future episode.
Audio clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FrD4XJcOw4
May 5, 2023
May 5, 2023
14 min
The latest installment- covering the spread of gunpowder west, via the Mongols. Show notes available at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wIibQJYobwyhFNC-OhjnLYkOwVizIjuJ?usp=sharing
Aug 17, 2023
Aug 17, 2023
59 min
In this episode we examine preparations by the US in the advent of Operation Desert Storm (2003) for dealing with what was believed at the time to have been a large Iraqi CBW capability- with Al Mauroni.
Further reading:
Saddams Secrets: The Hunt for Iraq's Hidden Weapons (1999)
Why Did the United States Invade Iraq? The Debate at 20 Years (2023) https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/120569
Media Credits:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYURE58xBPE&t=548s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ6qpFpIFkY&t=243s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRJi_M2T6kc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htAWpu59bUA&t=1s
Oct 31, 2023
Oct 31, 2023
33 min
In this episode, we examine the western gunpowder revolution and consider ideas for poison weapons which were outlined at this time in numerous military manuals.
I am very grateful for the input from:
the stupendous Seth Carus, the amazing Anna Roessing, the unbelievable Una Jacob, the awe-inspiring Alexander Samuel, the terrific Tonio Andrade, and the remarkable Rainer Leng.
Show notes: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wIibQJYobwyhFNC-OhjnLYkOwVizIjuJ?usp=sharing
Nov 14, 2023
Nov 14, 2023
34 min
A history of the foundation of the French BW programme. You can find a list of Etienne's publications here: https://irfu.cea.fr/Pisp/etienne.aucouturier/