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BackStory is a weekly public podcast hosted by U.S. historians Ed Ayers, Brian Balogh, Nathan Connolly and Joanne Freeman. We're based in Charlottesville, Va. at Virginia Humanities. There’s the history you had to learn, and the history you want to learn - that’s where BackStory comes in. Each week BackStory takes a topic that people are talking about and explores it through the lens of American history. Through stories, interviews, and conversations with our listeners, BackStory makes histo ...
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Think the WWII U-Boat War was Britain’s closest brush with defeat? Think again. In this live History Rage special, historian Roger Moorhouse – author of Wolfpack: Inside Hitler’s U-Boat War – joins host Paul Bavill to torpedo one of the Second World War’s most persistent myths.
Drawing on brand-new research from the German perspective, Roger reveals why the Battle of the Atlantic was not the near-disaster Churchill’s famous quote suggests.
He walks us through:
- Why most English-language histories ignore the German side of the U-boat campaign.
- How a brief “happy time” in 1940–41 shaped Britain’s self-image as plucky underdog.
- The statistics showing how Liberty ships and countermeasures reversed the threat.
- Inside the cramped, stressful life aboard a Type VII U-boat — from “tin can rage” to PTSD-like symptoms.
- The propaganda, recruitment and astonishing casualty rates of the Kriegsmarine’s submarine arm.
- Enigma, aerial radar, hedgehog mortars and other Allied innovations that made 1943 the turning point.
It’s WWII history as you’ve never heard it before — directly from the other side of the periscope. If you’re fascinated by Second World War naval history, military myths, or the Battle of the Atlantic, this episode is a must-listen. Roger Moorhouse blends gripping stories with hard data to show how the real U-boat war unfolded — and why understanding it matters.
Roger’s new book Wolfpack: Inside Hitler’s U-Boat War (out 9 October) is the definitive account of Germany’s submarine campaign told from the inside.
🔗 Listen now to bust the “close-run” myth of the U-boat war.
📚 Pre-order Roger Moorhouse’s book: Wolfpack: Inside Hitler’s U-Boat War
https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10120/9780008644895
💬 Join the History Rage Live community – for £5/month on Patreon you can take part in monthly livestreams, ask your own questions, win prizes and bag the coveted History Rage mug.
👉 Subscribe on your favourite podcast app and leave us a 5-star review to help more history fans find the show.
Connect with Roger Moorhouse:
- Follow Roger on Twitter: @roger_moorhouse
Stay connected with History Rage on social media:
- Twitter: @HistoryRage
- Instagram: @historyrage
- Facebook: HistoryRage
Stay curious, stay passionate, and most importantly, stay angry!
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