139 - Allied Intelligence cracks Japanese codes! - WW2 - April 25, 1942

[@WorldWarTwo]

For more coverage of the war that focuses on specific daily events, check out our Instagram WW2 day by day right here: instagram.com/WW2_Day_By_Day/ We also have a series that talks about what was going on on the various homefronts, and it's creatively called ""On the Homefront"". Here's the playlist for that: kzbin.info/aero/PLsIk0qF0R1j5Ug9lCaxygenFf3lzuGXap And please read our rules of conduct before you comment, saves everyone headaches (and loads of time): community.timeghost.tv/t/rules-of-conduct/4518

[@josepetersen7112]

Love your guys work! I was a history major until I realized how hard it was to make money doing that, so loads of respect to you guys. And some money ;) Different note, I’d be interested to hear a snippet on Texas A&M university during the war. It actually put out more officers then the service schools combined.

[@greenkoopa]

I have a minor thing and I'm probably the only one. When you show maps of SE Asia, I have a hard time distinguishing which is land and which is sea because the colors run together. Maybe I just need an eye exam but you guys are doing the Lords work

[@percamihai-marco7157]

I hope that after you finish WW2 you will cover in real time the shortest war in history: the Anglo-Zanzibar war. It ended after only....48 minutes 🤣

[@Darwinek]

@@percamihai-marco7157 I assume Zanzibar won, right? :)

[@LawIV]

In speaking of collectables, you should make all of Indy's fake phone calls into NTFS and sell them or give them out to patron supporters

[@ralflewandowski7641]

Huge respect to all the Allied codebreakers of the War. Meanwhile, I can't decrypt my own handwriting from last week...

[@greenkoopa]

I know what you mean, I dont even have hands 🐢

[@mgr9699]

You and I are not so different

[@nickmcgargill6216]

My handwriting became unreadable when my English cursive merged with my Russian cursive. @.@

[@ChubbyTeletubby]

Haha. Me neither! (Not my handwriting - I've been breaking into your place at night and trying to read your notes.) Btw - would it kill you to do some dishes and clean that bathroom??? SHEESH

[@bishop6218]

Attend nursing or pharmacy school and you'll be able to decypher anything

[@SuperLusername]

Indy: "...what in the world will they do?" Me: *mumbles* "Create an ambush." Indy: "Did I hear someone say collectibles?" Me: "Que?"

[@warbrain1053]

ambush is a collectible that japan will have to pay soon for

[@luisfelipegoncalves4977]

Damn, too late

[@timwodzynski7234]

Spoiler alert ⚠️🤣🤐🤫

[@FakeAssHandsomeMcGee_]

😂😂😂

[@rafaelhernandez3690]

“Did I hear someone says jack fletcher and Raymond Spruance ?”

[@f0rth3l0v30fchr15t]

"The Luftwaffe inflict tens of thousands of pounds worth of improvement on the city of Hull"

[@Dave_Sisson]

Perhaps they didn't improve it enough? A few years ago it came about third(?) in the list of Britain's ugliest towns.

[@kurgisempyrion6125]

@@Dave_Sisson I'll say one thing about Hull - they've kept some of the bomb damaged houses as a museum site to commerate the raids.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

I noticed that Cologne has relatively few buildings dating to before WW2. Huge numbers were destroyed in the war or damaged to the point that the remnants were pulled down.

[@killbotter6998]

@@stevekaczynski3793 yea, it was basically flattened. I live in cologne and as you say i can count the buildings that predate ww2 with two hands.

[@billd.iniowa2263]

For those unfamiliar with code breaking: What Indy didnt explain was that to crack a code you need lots of transmitted words. Its very hard to break a code when the message is only a few words long. The more words you have, the faster a pattern is develops. It's those patterns you look for. In English the most used letter is "E". The least used is "Z". So if you see alot of the same letter you can surmise that it's probably the letter "E". You can then work out the rest of the letters from there. This is a very simplified explanation of course, and not all codes work the same. But the gist is there. The more info you have to work with the better.

[@eamonreidy9534]

Frequency analysis is the term you're looking for

[@anghusmorgenholz1060]

That's why the code talkers were so good a language no one in Japan had heard plus they used codes based on the Navajo nation regional dialect.

[@thethirdjegs]

Reminds me of deciphering the Etruscan language. Too few samples.

[@blaisevillaume2225]

I learned that from the Robocop cartoon when I was like 6 years old.

[@blaisevillaume2225]

never mind, it was Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century and I would have had to have been 10 years old.

[@gunman47]

There is an interesting side note this week. On April 25 1942, then 16 year old *Princess Elizabeth* (now presently Queen Elizabeth II), daughter and heir to reigning King George VI, registers for war service in the United Kingdom.

[@vdross_79]

She now fights a war against aging 😂

[@jacobnewell7845]

And is winning

[@gunman47]

@@vdross_79 I thought she was immortal? 😂One day, Operation London Bridge will inevitably happen...

[@davidwright7193]

@@gunman47 She surpasses Louis XIV in 3 years.

[@gunman47]

@@davidwright7193 If the late Prince Phillips was able to live till age 99, perhaps Queen Elizabeth II might stand a chance of doing so since she is currently 95.

[@jeremy28135]

There are not enough accolades to give this series. It's simply fantastic

[@WorldWarTwo]

That means a lot, thanks Jeremy. We're glad you're enjoying the series so much!

[@gunman47]

Such a good buildup at the ending there. Looks like an inevitable clash between the two navies will happen sooner or later at Midway!

[@ChubbyTeletubby]

Fingers crossed! 😎😐😳

[@FOLIPE]

Sooner rather than later, it seems.

[@darthcheney7447]

Coral Sea first, baby. That will be coming up real soon.

[@alexamerling79]

We meet at Midway!

[@nozecone]

I thought you were talking about the pitch for those 'collectibles' - I thought that was a pretty slick segueway ...!

[@QALibrary]

My Nan won a crossword competition and end up at Bletchley park and she worked in the Japanese code-breaking area of huts

[@Darwinek]

Nan?

[@barneyh7014]

@@Darwinek just a colloquialism for grandmother that is used in the North of England and maybe the south, i’m not sure.

[@Darwinek]

@@barneyh7014 Ah okay, thanks! :)

[@yagruumbagaarn]

Whoa, your Nan was basically Kiera Knightley in The Imitation Game.

[@Raskolnikov70]

If your grandma lost, they would have sent her to the coal mines. Good thing she was good at puzzles.

[@stlemur]

"If anything should happen to me, you must go to Lord Gort; you must say these words: 'Klaatu barada nikto.'"

[@greenkoopa]

What was that again? Klaatu, verata, nik... *cough* ?

[@kemarisite]

@@greenkoopa necktie?

[@markefatdad]

Primitive screw heads.

[@yamchadragonball6983]

Well, maybe not every single syllable, no. But basically I said them. Yes.

[@starkparker16]

Groovy

[@pnutz_2]

I forgot to mention last week, another of the Australian destroyers, HMAS Vendetta, finally made it back to port melbourne, after being towed the entire way from singapore in phases after leaving February 2nd.

[@Zen-sx5io]

That's a relief.

[@Roman_Newsreader]

It does seem that sometimes the Soviets biggest enemy are themselves.

[@danielkohli1542]

Clearly that's what they thought. With all the purges and what not.

[@Paciat]

Nothing unites humans, like a common enemy. It was important to always have that enemy, no matter who he was.

[@ReclinedPhysicist]

The Russians were their own worst enemy. Perhaps I should say Stalin was Russia's worst enemy. They won because they were able to replace their losses and Germany was not. To be sure it was not an infinite supply of manpower but it was enough.

[@Paciat]

@@ReclinedPhysicist Stalin would achieve nothing if he worked alone. By the time he got to power terror and making up enemies within the state was standard procedure.

[@jonbaxter2254]

Always has been

[@2Links]

With carriers on both sides, it is certainly a chance that we will see some naval battles where the only method of attack is airpower. It's quite an intriguing possibility.

[@korbell1089]

Carriers are a waste of vital resources! Everyone know that battleships rule the seas!😇

[@kleinweichkleinweich]

airplanes are useless against ships

[@brucetucker4847]

@@kleinweichkleinweich HMS Prince of Wales: Am I a joke to you?

[@Raskolnikov70]

@@korbell1089 Of course! The idea that a carrier could ever replace a capital ship with its big guns and heavy armor is ludicrous. The Japanese might have a slight advantage now, but just you wait until those battleships at Pearl get floated and refitted and THEN we'll see some real naval action in this war!

[@nano9285]

It almost happened during the Indian Ocean raid. The British carriers knew where the Kido Butai was but they didn't attack as they were outnumbered, while the Kido Butai never found out that it was only 150 km from the British carriers. Had it done so, it would have been the first carrier to carrier battle, a month earlier.

[@brucetucker4847]

My Uncle Andy was in Burma with the USAAF in WW2 and was at Myitkyina later in the war. He was a mechanic who spent most of his time servicing planes that were flying supplies over "the Hump" into China. None of the family had ever heard of Burma before the war and as far as they were concerned he may as well have been on the far side of the Moon. It's good to see this theater being covered in this series since so many people are unaware that it even existed.

[@Mimzyshuman2021]

I owe my life to your uncle and all WWII vets. My mom was born in a Japanese POW Camp. I owe my life to the brave men and women who sacrificed their lives, their sanity to go war. I’m humbled by their bravery. Forever grateful for my family and my life.

[@Perkelenaattori]

The thing I'll always remember about Lord Gort is seeing an old British Pathe video of him getting command of the BEF and the newsreader went "Lord Gort is only 53.. And an Irishman."

[@MurderousEagle]

What really gets me about the pacific theater is how much of a classical Greek Epic it comes across at times. Rage, loss, cunning commanders taking actions out of spite. Hell the phrase "he wept with rage" is part of the historic record for the Leyte Gulf

[@Loreless]

Do you mean Anabasis?

[@jaylowry]

The air raid on Lae and Salamaua by the Lexington and Yorktown in March is a very underrated event as Port Moresby would have otherwise likely fallen to a naval invasion in March or April. It led to the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Kokoda Track campaign, and two less carriers at Midway.

[@excelon13]

Man that ending got me excited, we're heading towards a collision between the Kido Butai, and what remains of the US Navy. _plays Midway by Sabaton_

[@greenkoopa]

You have to crouch so enemies can't detect you, Snake!

[@greenkoopa]

Seeing your pfp made me dust off the ps2 and put in Snake Eater 😀

[@champagnegascogne9755]

Let's start off with Coral Sea first... Let us witness how a naval battle against aircraft carriers of both sides would play out for the first time.

[@Palora01]

All of a sudden I'm afraid they'll use the old claim that the US Torpedo bombers at Midway drew away the japanse fighter cover.

[@amerigo88]

@@Palora01 This channel is careful enough to rely on the book Shattered Sword instead of Fuchida's nonsense.

[@2Links]

Maybe the fact that the Japanese plans rely on running on such a tight schedule will come back to bite them.

[@richardkammerer2814]

Were they banking on the Allies to quit because they wouldn’t?

[@Ronald98]

@@richardkammerer2814 yeah.. they thought that this war was like any other normal wars in history, and the allies would just surrender after some time had passed...

[@Alf_Pacino]

After all these years, I have finally, with great effort due to lack of time, watched every Great War and World war Two videos and reached "current" events. The series is nothing but impressive, in every way. I thought things were bad, but no: They were much, much worse. I don't have money to be a Patreon, the only thing I can say is: Thank you, I'm in awe of the massive effort you are doing. Even specialized historians are learning insane amounts from your videos. Keep up the good work!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Congratulations and welcome to 1942!

[@mjbull5156]

One of the reasons the Japanese are slow to change their codes has been the sheer tempo of operations they have been undertaking. Making sure every unit is supplied with the new code books is a tricky feat of logistics that would slow down their plans in the works.

[@Wayne.J]

The Japanese couldn't run the risk of two codes running the same message as it would be possible for Allies to break the new codes immediately.

[@Raskolnikov70]

Good point. It's hard to ensure all of your units have the new books in time for the switch-over when there are so many of them advancing and moving around.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

A codebook falling into enemy hands while in transit would also be a risk.

[@HistoryOfRevolutions]

Yukio Mishima once wrote: "A samurai is a total human being, whereas a man who is completely absorbed in his technical skill has degenerated into a ‘function’, one cog in a machine"

[@johngeverett]

Yeah, but we 'technical skilled' your 4 carriers to the bottom of the Pacific, so 'samurai' that, why don'cha!

[@garretth8224]

Samurai on average just like knights were assholes anyways. Lets just kill a peasant because they looked at you wrong.

[@blaisevillaume2225]

extremely self-serving propaganda

[@elektrotehnik94]

@@johngeverett lol on that burn, but I still like the samurai part & agree with "not becoming a cog in the machine"

[@jeffreysams3348]

Admiral Inoue had a brilliant understanding of Japan`s strategic situation (and along with Yamamoto had opposed the idea of going to war with the US). He also heavily criticized the navy`s fascination with the Yamato superbattleship fetish. That said, Inoue had bad luck on a tactical basis....

[@garygriffiths2911]

Admiral Inoue 'carried the can' to the failure at the Corel Sea and his front line career was effectively over - one suspects that had he made more than his fair share of enemies in the IJN by advocating carriers over battleships. He was right of course and one wonders what difference it may had made had he been placed in command of the Kido Butai instead of Nagumo.

[@Zen-sx5io]

Do you think Japan and the United States would have avoided war If Japan had left the Philippines and Hawaii alone?

[@ToddSauve]

@@Zen-sx5io There were too many other issues that would have reached a crisis point. Eventually there can only be one top dog. A simple but nonetheless true examination of the problem. Ulysses S. Grant realized that the US and Japan would clash at some point, way back in the 1880s.

[@danielharnden516]

One Admiral has bad luck and Yamamoto had a problem with his frequent flier miles. Both Good Admirals but lack of code security has huge consequences and the Allies with a few notable failures, nevertheless dominated the code war.

[@Wayne.J]

@@Zen-sx5io No, because the Philippines were being reinforced, they had ex US General as their leader of their armed forces. If bypassed, the US could declare war on Japan any day after the Malaya campaign started and IJN were in no position to attack them (unless they had prior knowledge of US involvement in the war - ie time and date and operations) U can not leave a huge amount of (potential) enemy forces across your supply lines and hope they leave you alone. Plus USA would be letting the Japanese conquest the biggest mineral and oil rich place on earth so they could potentially be a future enemy. US would attack Japan early in 1942, regardless of Pearl Harbor or a Philippines invasion.

[@sgtmajvimy]

just received the tie from this episode. As Indy wrote in the note, it is a beauty ... a Pierre Cardin no less. Thank you Indy and team. The work you are doing is so important. Much appreciated, much respect. Stay safe all.

[@VaclavB001]

The bitter end was set for Vlasov and his men.. but it came three years later. I'm sure we'll hear of Vlasov in the next episodes.

[@Goatboysminion]

I've been waiting for that myself.

[@christopherjustice6411]

Dobbie even kind of looks like a house elf. Who knew that Dobbie the elf had such a dignified military career.

[@hContentOftheInternet]

History is not only what has happened in the past but also what is happening today. I think it’s also really important to cover conflicts of the 21st century. There are some incredibly complex politics and history surrounding wars in Ukraine, Nagorno-Karabakh, Georgia, Syria and many other countries. It would be great to see those events explained from a historical perspective, without any political biases.

[@theafro]

As I watch this, I am 10ft from the remains of a german bomb dropped on Norwich, april 1942. it landed on a residential street around 3 miles from the City center. No injuries recorded, but 2 houses destroyed. It's only the tail-cone section, and was found around 1/4 mile from where the bomb exploded, on the roof of a house down the road from my uncle. It's a healthy reminder of how close, both in space and time, this war is to us today.

[@stephenroberts4895]

Something that greatly helped the Allies, particularly the US Navy at HYPO station, in the Pacific shortly before, and definitely after the Doolittle Raid, was that the codebreakers FINALLY had access to the Purple messages. That's according to Edwin T. Layton's book "... And I Was There: Pearl Harbor and Midway - Breaking the Secrets."

[@jacobnewell7845]

The grim reality of war is something so few in my generation and younger understand. It's honestly a miracle I have any comprehension of it myself. I suppose being a history buff has made me more aware of the cost

[@sage12125]

I mean it's not like we haven't had wars since then dude

[@jacobnewell7845]

@@sage12125 it's the collective ignorance that astounds me

[@Joker-yw9hl]

@@jacobnewell7845 human nature. That's why it irritates me when people complain about celebrating VE day. Not to get too political but it is usually lefty types too. Just ignorance at the end of the day

[@jacobnewell7845]

@@Joker-yw9hl no greater act of folly than to erase history

[@ToddSauve]

@@jacobnewell7845 Yes, learn your history and learn _from_ it!

[@katfrog98]

The animated maps of the fronts, particularly the 'Eastern Front,' are excellent; they are among the most helpful presentations I've seen anywhere. Thank you.

[@benback7129]

Luftwaffe: Let's hit the English in their most vital cultural cities *Immediately bombs Hull*

[@nickdanger3802]

"I'm not weird, I'm from Hull." Lucy Beaumont

[@paulklee5790]

‘From Hull It Came.!!

[@X9alpha9X]

Goddamn you Brits sure hate Hull

[@isee7668]

Aha! Norwich.

[@erikrungemadsen2081]

German bombardier: "Fritz are you sure this is ein Englander target of strategic impotance!" Fritz : "The guide said it was the center of English whalling industry!" German bombardier: "Those gentle giants of the sea, ich verstehe Fritz, Ich verstehe" single tear drops down check.

[@theoneduckson2312]

It's great Indy is able to talk on the phone with so man influential people. Imagine being able to talk on the phone with the man who sent planes across the world.

[@luciusvorenus1228]

I have a ritual I do for this show. When it airs on Saturday. I make a big cup of coffee and a double egg cheese cucumber & tomato sandwich. This is my favorite show. I love the week week by interpretation of the war. Very in depth

[@senanur1983]

Cucumber and tomato?! What kind of combination is that?

[@luciusvorenus1228]

@@senanur1983 it’s delicious With the double egg n cheese on toast

[@Raskolnikov70]

2 fried eggs, bacon and wheat toast is my tradition but I've missed it the last couple of weeks, haven't been awake when the episodes have dropped on Saturday morning. And yea, watching things unfold in real-time instead of skipping over the 'small stuff' like the connection between the Doolittle raid and Midway is amazing for understanding why things happened the way they did.

[@WorldWarTwo]

That's nice to hear, it's cool to know you have weekly ritual for our show. In terms of the sandwich, i'm not a massive fan of egg, but cheese, cucumber, and tomato make a very nice combination! Please keep up your support of us.

[@luciusvorenus1228]

@@WorldWarTwo thank you for the good show & content you put on. I look forward to sat mornings new content every week. 👍🏻

[@thomasgonzalez7133]

I just enjoy Indie's opening monologues. Just a great way to set the theme of the episode.

[@rags417]

Counting down the next two weeks to the Battle of the Coral Sea and six weeks to Midway !

[@lawrencesmeaton6930]

I am hyped for the start of Faul Blau. The context of that brutal charge across the scorching summer steppes sets the scene for Stalingrad. I think seeing the casulties mount and momentum stall for the Germans before they even reach the city week by week will really put the doomed nature of the entire operation into context from the start. Too many people start their histories of the Stalingrad campaign in September when they reach the city and miss two whole months when the german army bleeds itself dry on the steppe.

[@floydlooney6837]

First time I've seen such good reasoning for the Japanese to bet so much for Midway.

[@Raskolnikov70]

That's why I love this channel. Such a simple explanation connecting the Doolittle raid to the Battle of Midway and yet I've never heard it in years of college history classes and independent study. Going through this at the pace it happened instead of skipping between 'big events' brings these things to light more than any book could.

[@floydlooney6837]

@@Raskolnikov70 Exactly. Now it makes sense that the Japanese went "all-in" for Midway.

[@kirant]

​@@Raskolnikov70 - Absolutely. I think something that's easily lost in the simple overviews or teaching just the basic events is that none of the major figures are irrational in their own mind. There are perfectly good reasons for every event. Using WWII as a base, there are good reasons to take on the Winter War, to utilize the Maginot line, to conduct Pearl Harbor and Midway operations, to run the Doolittle raid...all of them have meaning and a thought process behind them. It might take additional time to get that context, but it's there. Midway is often is simplified to "it is too close to the US for them to ignore and Japan believes it will give the knockout blow they want" with the sudden change in movement not really being covered. The explanation given by Indy really makes that aspect a whole lot clearer.

[@Raskolnikov70]

@@kirant Another thing I've noticed about the week-to-week approach is how good it is at pushing back against the 'madman' leader tropes that get used as explanations for so many things. People want to say that things like Fall Blau in '42 or Stalin's "Not One Step Back" order were insane choices made by crazy people, but when you see them in this context - looking at what the leaders are seeing at the time, not knowing how things will ultimately end - you can start to understand why they made those seemingly insane choices. They made logical sense at the time. Looking at the Doolittle raid through our 20/20 hindsignt, yeah it seems like a pointless waste of men and planes. But the folks who pulled it off back in '42 knew they were kicking a hornets nest and that it would pay off for them.

[@pnutz_2]

7:09 Stars: soldiers sleep under them, sailors navigate by them, airmen choose their hotels by them

[@davidwormell6609]

I never knew that Gort replaced Dobbie. Thanks.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks for watching, David!

[@jurajknapec4898]

really like that new map style at 7:22 :-)

[@denvan3143]

The Doolittle raid had so many bonuses for the Allies; it was a morale boost for America, caused panic among the Japanese military leadership, distracted them from important objectives, diluted the naval forces in a new defensive posture and generated lots of Intel for the US code breakers. It was way out of proportion to the damage the bombing raid caused.

[@jonbaxter2254]

Malta: Hooray, planes! Luftwaffe: That's where you're wrong, kiddo.

[@mammamiia08]

I just want to send a HUGE THANK YOU to you who makes the subs to these vids, they have gotten so much better and I love to be able to hear what Indy says in the phone in the beginning as well. /A hard of hearing fan

[@stuart8663]

Thankyou for acknowledging the work of the Australian decryption teams. Its largely ignored and an overwhelming amount of credit is given to the US instead. in reality, in a Brisbane, Queensland suburb, IBM machines ran almost 24/7 working on decryption and analysis. In Townsville, Queensland, similar radio traffic was being intercepted, including the information about Admiral Yamamoto's intended flight - and his last one, in April 43. Your series are beyond description as to the quality. Today (April 25) in Australian we commemorate ANZAC Day. Lest We Forget.

[@nickdanger3802]

Where did the IBM machines come from?

[@maxscameraguy]

Hearing Bath pronounced with a long a is hilarious to me. Same with Hüll

[@onthatrockhewillbuildhisch1510]

At 9:47, there were also the Australian resisters on Timor...... Cheers!

[@mustainism]

I had no idea how encryption in those days worked (I barely have an idea how they work today). Thank you for the clear explanation!

[@ChubbyTeletubby]

I forget about this channel sometimes. To my detriment. This is a great thing you're doing! Thanks

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks Jacob!

[@nesa1126]

"To hard to crack code" and cracking of that code. Name more iconic duo.

[@myrddinbuyens5532]

Keep up the good work!

[@Jeromus1970]

First let me say that I'm enjoying your series tremendously. I wish I had watched your Great War series and I do plan on going back to watch it at some point. I'm very happy to be a Patreon supporter and a member of the TimeGhost Army. I have to say that I love your ties, Indy. My dad, who passed away in 2010, also collected interesting ties. He had over 400 when he passed away and would have had many, many more but Mom eventually said enough was enough. He was a college professor who taught computer classes for the non-science and technology students, primarily business majors. He would wear a different tie every day and find some way to tie it into his lesson (his pun, not mine). Sometimes they were hokey. Sometimes it would be another awful dad-joke pun. His students loved it though. He would have also found your channel fascinating. Following the World Wars as unfolding events rather than events that occurred decades, or even a century, ago is something he would have enjoyed as much as I am. It also would have played to his love of theatre and mysteries. Your ties bring back many fond memories. Keep up the great work, guys.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you for the kind words and story. Appreciate it!

[@Paddyjss2390]

My great grandfather served on the uss wasp very neat to hear about it! I know he was on it when it went down but survived.

[@Mimzyshuman2021]

May your great grandfather Rest In Peace. I owe him and all WWII Veterans my life ad my mom was born in a Japanese POW camp in 1942 in Bandung. Your grandfather is one great man to sacrifice his sanity and life to war time. My mom is 79 now and still suffers from the shadows of yesterday.

[@Nintendo0994]

that eerie music at the end of the video was spot on.

[@stephend50]

So Churchill, gave Dobby some new socks?

[@paulklee5790]

Ha ha ha..l yes!

[@CivilWarWeekByWeek]

Finally we cracked the codes, too bad we need to read the subtitles

[@samarvora7185]

Servus to Indy, Sparty and the rest of the team. Thank you for keeping our history alive. I would highly appreciate it if you could do recap episodes the events that have occurred in the war. As the war gets bigger and bigger, more and more events happen each week. It would be really great to have short summary episode every 3 or 4 months where you mostly go over maps and talk talk the ground gained/lost by the belligerents in the past months. Major events like Pearl Harbor and (spoiler) Midway needn't be mentioned. Just a suggestion from a fairly regular viewer... Thanks again.

[@driesvdc2]

LOL the pivot at the end from war story to peddling collectables was something to behold

[@pnutz_2]

0:25 another anzac day episode? I'll let someone else do the honours this time

[@Dave_Sisson]

It is also Liberation Day in South Georgia, but that is from a different war in 1982.

[@Pravaification]

"What in the world will they do?" Oh man, this is the 'darkest hour' part of the story. We better level grind and- "Did I hear someone say collectibles?" OOH! Sidequest! Sidequest!

[@LightFykki]

I would say, that foreshadowing at the end regarding Midway is one of the better ones.

[@agedejong7693]

Master has given Dobbie a uniform.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Wear it well, Dobbie

[@HannahFujisaki]

For some reason whenever my home town (Norwich) is mentioned in one of these it always makes the episode and the events in them seem more "real" and tangible, and makes me think about how these events really didn't happen all that long ago. Great episode as always!

[@Cybermat47]

Yeah, it’s going to be weird when I see Sydney and Newcastle (Australia) in one of these episodes. There is this kind of disconnect between then and now that makes it weird to visit a battlefield or meet a veteran. Also, I see you have the most underrated Danganronpa character as your profile picture lol

[@ninaakari5181]

Teemu Pukki!

[@richardkammerer2814]

Striker extraordinaire

[@HannahFujisaki]

@@ninaakari5181 hell yeah, what a player

[@warwickeng5491]

As someone who studies in Norwich it boggles the mind how something like that could have happened there

[@danield831]

Perhaps this is beyond the scope of this show but wondering if Indy and the crew could delve a little deeper into allied code-breaking? Especially the efforts of a seemingly ordinary American housewife who also happened to be a master code-breaker and mathematical genius. Her name is Elizebeth Smith Friedman. It truly is a fascinating and remarkable story. Thanks once again for an excellent episode!! Cheers, Dan D

[@neilsherman2680]

There is a book: “The woman who smashed codes” recently published. Quite good, covers the naval action in the Carribean area which is often neglected.

[@danield831]

@@neilsherman2680 The implications of code-breaking cannot be over-stated and it is not usually due to the efforts of one individual but the cooperation of a team of experts. Think for example what may have happened had the Kito Butai engaged another surprise attack on the Pacific fleet at Midway (possibly dealing the US a death-blow). Due to breaking the codes we knew they were coming and this changed the entire course of the war in the Pacific for the US

[@amb8274]

I live in Exeter, one of the victim cities of the Baedeker raids. Much of the cities medieval character was lost as a result of the bombing and poor re-construction. Last month we were reminded of the raids when a 1 ton unexploded German bomb was found and detonated damaging dozens of buildings. Thankfully no one was hurt.

[@equarg]

Oh yes. I heard about that. I bet that had at least one old German chuckling about that😅 Seriously, WW1 and WW2 munitions experts have job security for the next 250 years trying to defuse, removing, or at least IDing those things. They still kill farmers tilling their fields. Apparently “Dirt Bombs” from the American Civil War are still considered dangerous by modern bomb squads to this day. Recently a family discovered their Civil War cannon ball was actually an exploding dirt bomb. They had passed gown a few generations until someone realized what it was! The bomb squad offered to run a few non-destructive “electrical tests on it”. If it did not go off, it was inert and the family could keep it. Ran tests......*kaboom*. Bomb Squad and watching family😳. Oops. Welp. They could gather the shrapnel and pass that down, along with the story what happened at least. That bomb could of definitely pruned a few branches off the family tree😣. I read another article how another family found a “dirt bomb” and kept it on their dining room table for a few years as a discussion piece, until a guest took a closer look at at. The family was shocked when the bomb squad came knocking, in full hurt locker gear. They were upset when the bomb squad deliberately set it off. But that bomb squad was taking no chances! Edit: Specialists who know how to handle and disarm WW2 and WW1 ordinance have job security for the next 250 years it’s estimated. It’s why, long after our civil war is over, we still take those exploding cannon balls seriously. I have read a few stories where relatives have found old munitions kept as secret souvenirs from WW1, WW2, Korea, and Vietnam. One family had a freak out when moving a recently deceased Vietnam Vets sofa...a live, but thankfully still pinned, grenade fell out a slit. Thankfully, everyone fled and called the bomb squad from another house. Or a man digging in his deceased grandfathers attic found a box of live grenades from WW2. He decided to carry the box to his car and take it to a police station. A friend, who happens to be in law enforcement, happened to call while he was on his way. The idiot then just casually mentions the grenades in his trunk. The friend freaks out and tells him to pull over NOW and get the Hell away from them! The guy then pulls over, next to a postoffice, on a busy weekday! The moral. If it looks like munitions, don’t touch it! Especially grenades. If you move to an area where war has been fought, dig carefully. This is (partially) why military members can’t bring home “war booty” or souvenirs from combat these days. Last year a boy was killed when he got his hands in a real freaking grenade at a flea market!!!!

[@tams805]

@@equarg have*

[@Raskolnikov70]

I'm amazed those things stay dangerous as long as they do. When I was in the Army we had the opposite problem, with all of our older equipment constantly breaking down and needing tons of maintenance. Murphy's Law always wins.

[@simon7790]

The postwar rebuilding process of many British cities was a disaster of modernist concrete. Compared to say Lubeck or Warsaw old town which were put back more or less exactly as they were and are now fantastic cities with character and a sense of history (which many don't know were largely razed).

[@equarg]

@@GrrAargh1 Depends. Explosives tend to become more volatile the older they get. It depends how they were made, how well they were made, and the materials used. One week after the 75th anniversary if the landings of D-Day, a random bomb blew up in a (thankfully) empty field in Germany. It created a hole 33 feet wide and 13 feet deep. It just went off.....75 years to late. A family discovered in the US the Civil War cannon ball they had passed down a few generations was actually a “dirt bomb”, or exploding cannon ball. The bomb squad who got called promised the family if they ran a few “electrical tests” on it, and nothing happened, it was safe and it would be returned to them. Yep. It went BOOM. Yea. Better it went off then then pruning the family tree after someone did something “stupid” with it. Entertainment Tonight posted the footage on KZbin. Maybe the family can gather the shrapnel and pass that (safely) down to the next generation.

[@jackolantern6692]

Love this week by week coverage, but it is Indy that makes it all so palatable.

[@thechatteringmagpie]

I was really impressed that you pronounced Bath correctly.

[@minxythemerciless]

At 4:32 a cipher is not a code. From your description, the Japanese here used two codebooks rather than a cipher such as provided by the Enigma cipher machine. The Japanese did have a cipher machine designated 'purple' by the US, and they broke it, but in this battle, it wasn't relevant.

[@yorick6035]

7:10 that sounds like something from a comedy war movie, not something that should guide a bombing campaign. Truth once again stranger than fiction

[@garcalej]

“How many stars does our hotel have again?” “Too many. Perkins.....release the rat.”

[@pnutz_2]

9:05 Burma is a major food producer for the empire. I hope there's no places put under stress by this

[@MidgeCat]

No worries, Churchill will support them if food supplies are strained

[@karlmuller3690]

@@MidgeCat - "Laughs Bitterly" ... in Bengally!!

[@paulfoster3316]

you can still see some of the bomb damage from the Exeter raid

[@don2458]

Truly great WWII battle summaries and parallels. Great job!

[@oldcremona]

Indy is a pleasure to listen to and watch. I’m looking forward to all that’s coming up.

[@samoldfield5220]

15:28 Indy High af and hearing things. Wait don't tell me, it's the return of that cold you had for three years during WW1.

[@Artur_M.]

The situation of Gen. Vlasov is truly unenviable, but I have this feeling we will hear about him again.

[@hanspetrich6520]

Honestly, I think he was thinking of this moment when he made that fateful decision a bit down the line.

[@Artur_M.]

@@hanspetrich6520 No doubt about it.

[@emisat8970]

@@hanspetrich6520 He has no excuse. Stop feeling sorry for him. He was a general fighting in a war of annihilation against his people, and even when Stalin sent a plane to pick him up -- he refused it, and after he was (predictably) caught he threw his lot in with the enemy that wanted to commit genocide on his people. Kirponos had the same situation when Kiev was encircled, and Kirponos didn't turn traitor; he fought till his last.

[@hanspetrich6520]

@@emisat8970 I am not apologizing for his actions, I am just pointing out that it is likely that he used the event mentioned in this episode as a justification for what he went on to do and saw it as legitimate reason. Most people would disagree with that justification though and generally see him as a collaborator and traitor.

[@Loreless]

@@hanspetrich6520 Vlasov was a brutal merciless Commander. He ordered for a many days trainings before war where soldiers died from starvation and sunstrokes. Ironically it was a thing that helped to survive in harsh conditions for many men.

[@aaroncabatingan5238]

Yeesh, I had no idea that the entire Combined Fleet went after the carriers of the Doolittle Raid. Talk about overkill. And the consequences of that tiny raid is gigantic holy shit. While it wasn't the 'turning point of the war', it did lay the foundation for that.

[@mimosa3528]

Indy’s pronunciation of Bath really got me.

[@paulklee5790]

Bless him...

[@edwardgilmour9013]

Because the Japanese were using HF radio subject to variation in how it was reflected off the Ionosphere; Australia Set up Monitor stations in several disperse locations . Prominent was the Facilities in Brisbane in SE Queensland and those outside Townsville.

[@GraceMusyoka]

Well. That is a great ending. And a great shirt and a collectible tie if ever there was one... but your waist coat game is always on point. 4/5 because of the suspense.

[@Crimethoughtfull]

That tie is TRIPPY

[@George-bz1fi]

The best explanation of the Japanese code thing.

[@zw4732]

At 3:52, there is a photograph of an office full of codebreakers. I am curious, do you know the names of the people in this photograph? My grandfather served in the Pacific and the man on the bottom right looks an awful lot like him

[@mikaelcrews7232]

Well if he served as a band member on the USS California that might have been him!?

[@zw4732]

@@mikaelcrews7232 can you tell me more about the USS california, and where this picture comes from?

[@mikaelcrews7232]

@@zw4732 it started with Lt. Commander Joe Roachford and and Lt. Commander Layton we're two intelligent officers in the Navy before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor!! Afterwards they were short on manpower and the California was sunk but the band had mostly survived... So Roachford had an idea! Take musicians may play the same instruments but play it differently because the same rules apply on an old telegraph key... After awhile you can tell what radioman we're and what ship or base he is on!!

[@zw4732]

@@mikaelcrews7232 he was a radio man in the pacific but I don’t think he served on a ship.

[@shaider1982]

5:00 maybe the real treasure of the Doolittle raid werre the radio messages picked up along the way.

[@gianniverschueren870]

Awesome patterning, but I wish there was just a little more colour to this tie. Still pretty good. 3.5/5

[@edvin884]

Thanks for the inteligence on Japnese navy. The situation is pretty grim for the americans in this stage of the war.

[@thissheetcrazy1577]

I am addicted to all the tales . I just open a beer and I am good 😁

[@logiconabstractions6596]

Gotta love those endings. Always right on point!

[@jonathanowen9917]

Breaking the Japanese codes was crucial for Allied success in the Pacific. This led to the battles of Coral Sea and Midway that prevented the Japanese from taking over New Guinea and Midway Atoll. The Allied victory at Midway is considered to be the turning point of the war in the Pacific.

[@bcvetkov8534]

Great job as always guys! We all genuinely appreciate your efforts. God bless you all.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks, we appreciate your support!

[@Nikolapoleon]

7:56 Bill Slim? That's the most cowboy-sounding name I've ever heard given to an Englishman.

[@f430ferrari5]

If I am not mistaken at the time of right before Battle of Coral Sea the IJN actually had 11 carriers. 6 main plus 2 mid and 3 small. Here is the list: 1. Akagi 2. Kaga 3. Hiryu 4. Soryu 5. Zuikaku 6. Shokaku 7. Ryujo 8. Junyo 9. Zuiho 10. Hosho Shoho is the 11th and was sunk at the Battle of Coral Sea. She had a capacity of 30 planes like Zuiho which were part of the same class.

[@True_Bits]

6:49 Dobbie is free!

[@RickLowrance]

Awesome stuff. After Midway I'm going to watch the whole first 6 months again.

[@Southsideindy]

6 months? This show has been on for two and a half years.

[@glenmartin2437]

A perplexing, challenging and crazy situation and time to live through.

[@chrictonj9503]

Nice 'collectible' mug, nice size dimensions, but what's the volume?

[@freetolook3727]

@1:05 What are they hammering on? Can't quite make it out in the video.

[@dlareggerald]

Beautiful Series i learned ALot Thank You very very much

[@garcalej]

Hmmm....it is pickle. We have no battleships....but we do have carriers. And planes. And their carrier fleet can’t be everywhere at once, so.......

[@naveenraj2008eee]

Hi indy and team Another interesting week... This denotes strong japan during second world war.. This makes next week episode very interesting.. Thanks indy and for your cool narration.. Thanks all...🙏👍

[@georgewilliams8448]

Thank you again for all your hard work and time that you all devote to this project! I am learning so much and have trouble waiting for it to come out each Saturday morning-my time.

[@WorldWarTwo]

That's great to hear George, please keep up your amazing support of us!

[@CatsEyethePsycho]

11:58 I hear the squishing.