An Unofficial 'The MeatEater Podcast' Reading List

621. The Nazis at War: Blitzkrieg (Part 2)

November 27, 2025

Description

When Hitler’s eye fell on Norway and Denmark, how did he and the Nazis enact their terrible plan of conquest? How did the Allies respond to this western campaign? And, how did the French fare...
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Books Referenced

The War in the West

Author: James Holland

Context:

Referenced as a source for statistics about iron ore imports and Nazi military capabilities. The speaker explicitly states 'they come from The War in the West by my brother James Holland' and later quotes from it regarding the Allied and German offensives in Norway.

Achtung Panzer

Author: Heinz Guderian

Context:

Described as a book written by German panzer commander Heinz Guderian two years before the invasion of France. The speaker notes it has 'the most German army titled book of all time' and discusses how Guderian wrote about tank warfare tactics in it.

Baedeker guide to Scandinavia

Author: Karl Baedeker

Context:

Referenced when describing how General Falkenhorst, tasked by Hitler to create an invasion plan for Norway and Denmark in just a few hours, went to a bookshop and bought a Baedeker travel guidebook to help him draft the plan.

All Hell Let Loose: The World at War 1939-1945

Author: Max Hastings

Context:

Referenced as a book on the Second World War. The speaker quotes from it that the Allied campaign in Norway 'was characterized by utter moral ignobility and military incompetence' and later quotes Hastings again about Churchill's schemes being frustrated by lack of means.