James Holland and Al Murray discuss the desperate situation in Malta before Spitfires were finally sent to the beleaguered island.
The lads also debate bomber command’s decision to start attacking Berlin rather than continuing to hammer the Ruhr.
And what happened to the huge number of Italians captured by the allies in Africa?
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Al Murray reads chapters 1 through 6 from Life and Fate written by Vasily Grossman, an epic tale of a country told through the fate of a single family, the Shaposhnikovs
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 Tank!, by Ken
What measures did the government put in place to protect great works of art and culture from air raids? Al Murray and James Holland speak to archivist and historian Caroline Shenton to find out more.
Chapter 21: 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