Merry Christmas from We Have Ways of Making You Talk. Over the next 12 days Al and James are reading extracts from some of their favourite books about the Second World War. Today Al is reading from Catch 22, by

Chapter 9: The Cauldron, by Zeno In September, 1944, the British 1st Airborne Division found itself in a fierce battle for the Dutch city of Arnhem. Al Murray reads the story of a single platoon trapped in the smoking ruins

Al Murray and James Holland explore the converted tanks used at Normandy. Also up for discussion are parachute decoys, the dangers of back-flash and who killed Michael Wittmann.

Al Murray reads an extract from Spike Milligan’s war time memoir Mussolini: His Part in My Downfall. Al and James then discuss the effects of the war on Milligan’s mental health and James provides historical context to the author’s time