Loading summary
Transcript25 lines
- [00:00]
A
Weight Watchers now offers access to affordable GLP1s. It works for members like I'm Haley and I've lost 100 pounds. Weight Watchers has everything I need from weight loss medications to nutrition support and help with my side effects. It's all in one place. Weight Watchers handles the insurance for you and offers affordable cash pay options. With our program, our members are losing more weight with expert nutrition and side effect support.
- [00:25]
B
I'm Mike and I've lost 135 pounds. Weight Watchers prescribing GLP1 medications it's been life changing.
- [00:31]
A
I'm Shar and I lost 80 pounds on Weight Watchers. I realized that it would take more.
- [00:36]
B
Than a prescription to lose weight and feel good on a GLP1.
- [00:40]
A
Better results expert Support Lose more weight.
- [00:43]
B
Make it last I can't imagine doing.
- [00:45]
C
A GLP1 without Weight Watchers.
- [00:48]
A
Get started for as low as $25@weightwatchers.com GLP1 for over 60 years, we've helped millions of members find what works for them. Now it's your turn. Weight Watchers Watch it work.
- [01:10]
B
It's just after 3am on August 19, 1941, in the North Atlantic Ocean. In the control room of German submarine U201, Commander Adelbert Schnee winces as an officer knocks over an empty mug. Schnee shoots the man a withering glare but says nothing. His rebuke can wait for later, because right now, even the small a sound could give away his U boat's position. For the last 36 hours, U201 has been shadowing an Allied convoy headed for the Port of Gibraltar. Schney's vessel is just one of a wolf pack of German submarines tasked with stalking these merchant ships, and when the time is right, they will strike the fatal blow. Commander Schney holds his breath as U201 glides closer to his chosen target. Moving just below the surface of the water, the submarine inches into firing position. And then Schnee gives the order. A torpedo leaves a tube. Schney listens, senses sharp until the noise of an explosion echoes through the water. U201 is so close that the submarine even rocks from the impact. But Commander Schnee doesn't linger to see the damage he's caused. He knows that the destroyers escorting the convoy will be hunting for them within seconds, so he orders U201 to dive. Over the next few minutes, the silent submarine disappears into the depths of the black Atlantic. The only trace it leaves behind is a scattered convoy and a merchant ship in flames. Soon after U201 slips away, the stricken Allied merchant ship sinks. Among those on board who will lose their lives are 22 members of the British Women's Royal Naval Service, also known as Wrens. Across Britain, thousands of young women like them have volunteered to help the war effort. But one very special group of Wrens will soon get a chance to avenge their dead comrades and change the course of the war in the Atlantic when Operation raspberry begins on January 1, 1942 when I first began thinking about a live show, I knew I wanted it to be a little more special than just a podcast episode on stage. Something with a bit of theater to it. Because after all, I'll be live on stage in a theater. So I put together a band to accompany the stories live. And because I can't resist, I'll be joining in on guitar. I mean, I wrote the History Daily theme song, you know. So come out to see me live. For information on tickets and upcoming dates, go to historydailylive.com that's historydailylive.com and if you're in the North Texas area, buy your tickets now@historydailylive.com.
- [03:53]
C
With the American Express Platinum card, I can unlock experiences like no other. Since I'm always booking my next trip, I love that I can earn points on travel. Plus I get a resi benefit. So you know, I'm hitting the restaurants everyone's talking about. And you can find out your welcome offer after you apply, which could be as high as 175,000 points. For experiences like no other, there's nothing like Platinum. Learn more@americanexpress.com Explore Platinum Terms apply.
- [04:22]
B
From.
- [04:23]
D
Taco night in Tulum to sushi in Tokyo, make every bite rewarding with gold from Amex wherever you dine four times Membership rewards points at restaurants worldwide are piling up. Learn more@americanexpress.com Explore Gold terms and pointscap.
- [04:37]
C
Apply get that AMEX Gold Card ready.
- [04:39]
B
I'm too tired to cook.
- [04:40]
A
We feelin Five Guys or the Cheesecake Factory? Both earn up to $120 a year in statement credits of participating partners up to $10 each month when you pay with the AMEX Gold Card. Learn more@americanexpress.com Explore Gold enrollment required Terms Apply It's Navy. Hey girl, what's happen? Is that your antiperspirant? Uh, yeah, let me see that can aluminum, but I cannot pronounce that. You have to switch to native deodorant. Native's simple formula has only clean ingredients. It gives you effective 72 hour odor protection with no hydrocarbon propellants. Wow, this smells heavenly. Clean effective 72 hour odor protection isn't a myth. It's native.
- [05:26]
B
From noiser in airship. I'm Lindsey Graham and this is History. Daily. History is made every day on this podcast. Every day we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is January 1, 1942. Operation Raspberry takes on the U boats. Foreign 1942 at the Admiralty buildings in London, England. Sixteen months after U201's attack in the North Atlantic, 42 year old Gilbert Roberts sits alone in a bustling mess hall, watching the uniformed officers and sailors of the Royal Navy hurry past. He can't help but feel a pang of envy. Five years ago, Roberts was one of them, the commander of a destroyer. But then he contracted tuberculosis and was discharged from the service for medical reasons. And When World War II broke out in September 1939, Roberts was still on the sidelines. A retired officer deemed unfit to serve. He eventually found a role training sailors in counter invasion tactics on the south coast and threw himself into his work. But a few days ago, he received an unexpected invitation asking him to report to the Admiralty. So, not knowing what to expect, Roberts is a little surprised when a man slides into the chair opposite him and sets down two steaming cups of tea. Admiral Cecil Unsborn once held a senior role in British Naval intelligence. Now he's an aide to Prime Minister Winston Churchill and a vital part of the British war effort. He wastes no time on small talk. Over the next few minutes, Usborne explains why he's asked Roberts here today. He's heard great things about Roberts efforts on the south coast, in particular the inventive way that he uses games to teach his men. Roberts asks his sailors to pretend to be German commanders and has them launch mock attacks in tabletop battles. Other sailors playing as the British must work out how to counter them. It's an innovative training technique that forces the men to think more strategically. But now the threat of imminent invasion by the Germans has passed, and Admiral Usborne thinks that Robert's talents would be better used elsewhere. Since the start of the war, German submarines, or U boats, have prowled the Atlantic Ocean. They don't just target the Royal Navy, they also attack merchant ships carrying precious food, oil and other supplies from North America. So far, more than 1,500 British and allied ships have now been sunk by the U boats. But the Navy is no closer to finding an effective way of fighting back as their tea cools, Admiral Usborne leans forward and makes the stakes brutally clear. Without raw materials brought in by sea, Britain cannot keep its factories working at full capacity. And without grain imports, the country is edging ever closer to starvation. If Britain is to remain in the war, it needs to find a way to blunt the U boat threat. Hearing this, Robert wonders if he's about to be restored to command of a destroyer. But Usborn has something else in mind. He wants Roberts to use his mastery of war games to turn the tide in the Battle of the Atlantic. Roberts will be tasked with running simulations that analyze U boat tactics and identify the best way to defeat them. Realizing the opportunity, Roberts doesn't need to be asked twice. Admiral Osborne offers his hand across the table, and Roberts quickly grasps it. And just like that, Roberts is back in the Royal Navy. That same night, the newly reappointed Captain Roberts boards an overnight train from London to the port of Liverpool. Thanks to speed restrictions on the line, blackouts and the constant threat of German air raids, the 200 mile journey north is a slow one. And when Roberts arrives the next morning, he's given a tour of his new workplace. Western Approaches command the headquarters of all Royal Navy operations in the Atlantic. In one vast room, sailors plot the positions of every Allied ship on a giant map of the Atlantic Ocean. Several markers are stamped with red crosses, ships that are already lost. Small tokens indicate where U boats might be lurking. But the bustling map room is not where Roberts will be based. Instead, he's led to the derelict top floor of the building. Here, in a dusty, forgotten room, Roberts is told to establish his new unit. Roberts asks how many people he'll have, but his guide just shrugs. As far as he knows, right now, Roberts is on his own. But Roberts will need a team. And when he finds it, it will be just as unusual as the dusty room he calls home. In this unlikely looking space with his unlikely team, captain Gilbert Roberts will soon be waging epic fake battles. But the hope is that they will help the Allies win a very real war.
- [10:30]
C
Get that Amex Gold card ready.
- [10:31]
B
I'm too tired to cook.
- [10:32]
A
We feeling Five Guys or the Cheesecake Factory? Both earn up to $120 a year in statement credits of participating partners, up to $10 each month when you pay with the Amex Gold card. Learn more@americanexpress.com Explore Gold enrollment required terms apply.
- [10:47]
D
When the flu is keeping you up at night, don't try to tough it out. Knock out your flu symptoms with nyquil Intense flu. You got this. It provides powerful relief of your flu symptoms so you can sleep well through the night. Nyquil Intense flu the nighttime Sniffling, aching, aching fever Best sleep with a flu medicine Use as directed. Keep out of reach of children from Taco night in Tulum to Sushi in Tokyo. Make every bite rewarding with gold from Amex wherever you dine. Four times the membership rewards Points at restaurants worldwide are piling up. Learn more@americanexpress.com terms and points CAP apply.
- [11:23]
C
With the American Express Platinum card, you can access over $3,500 in annual value with benefits and eligible purchases across travel, entertainment and more. There's nothing like Platinum. Learn more@american express.com Explore Platinum enrollment requirements monthly and other limits in terms of.
- [11:48]
B
It's April 25, 1942, in Liverpool, England, four months after Captain Gilbert Roberts was appointed to a new post, 20 year old Janet Okal peers through a canvas sheet hanging from the ceiling, straining for a good view of the chalk and string on the floor before her. The crude markings form a map of the Atlantic Ocean, and the canvas is supposed to mimic the fog of war. Janet is playing the role of the British in a naval war game, and it's her job to get the counters representing Allied ships from one side of the floor to the other. But behind another canvas sheet on the opposite side of the room, someone else is playing the role of the Germans, and their job is to stop her. Janet is part of a small team who's working with Captain Roberts at Western Approaches Command. When he first arrived in Liverpool, Roberts struggled to get his new tactical unit taken seriously. Despite Roberts support among some of the top brass in London, many officers at Western Approaches looked down on his unusual approach to them. Roberts was playing games while they were dealing with real life or death battles on the high seas. So when it came time for Roberts to be assigned a team, no one was willing to give up their men. Instead, the only staff made available were from the Women's Royal Naval Service. But if Roberts was disappointed with his new recruits, he soon changed his mind. He saw that these young Wrens had sharp intellects and discipline and a desire to learn. So with the Wrens at his side, Robert set out to understand the behavior of U boat captains by recreating their decisions on a game board. His goal was to learn how the enemy attacked so that he could identify the most effective countermeasures. And over the past few months, Roberts and the Wrens have worked around the clock. After completing hundreds of simulations, they've made a key tactical breakthrough and Today, it's time to unveil their findings. Janet scribbles her next move on a slip of paper and passes it to another Wren. She steps onto the chalk floor to move the Allied counters. And when she does, Janet peers through the canvas again, this time toward a man watching them all from a raised platform. Admiral Sir Percy Noble is the commander in chief of Western Approaches Command and the most senior British officer overseeing the Battle of the Atlantic. He's come to see what Roberts and the Wrens have discovered. And he watches as the Wren at the map announces that the German U boats have launched their attack on Janet's ships. But Janet doesn't flinch. Over the past few weeks, she's run this exact scenario dozens of times. Early in their work, she and the other Wrens assume that the U boats fired from long range to avoid detection. But when they replayed real world engagements based on survivor testimony, they began to suspect something else. They came to believe the U boats were actually firing at near point blank range to ensure they hit their targets before immediately diving to escape detection. Once the Wrens realized this, they could come up with an effective countermeasure. They worked out that if Allied destroyers dropped depth charges around a merchant ship as soon as it was attacked, they had a far better chance of hitting the fleeing submarines. Of course, the Wrens playing as U boat commanders then changed their tactics too. They began launching their torpedoes from a greater distance. They were far less effective from there and missed their targets more often than they hit. So behind her curtain, Janet writes her next move, passes it forward, and the Wren at the map announces that she scored a direct hit on a German submarine. The normal quiet atmosphere of the simulation room is broken by Admiral Noble applauding. It might only be a mock battle, but Noble doesn't get many chances to to celebrate the sinking of a U boat. So when the demonstration is over, Noble congratulates Commander Roberts, Janet and all the other Wrens. He then asks what they've named their new tactical maneuver. Janet steps forward, her cheeks reddening, and admits that they've called it Operation Raspberry, their way of blowing a raspberry at Adolf Hitler and his U boats. Admiral Noble laughs because he likes that. Impressed with what he's seen, he immediately sends out new orders. It's time for the tactic to be tested in the real world. And only then will Captain Gilbert Roberts and the Wrens discover whether their long hours hunched over a chalk covered floor will really make a difference in the Battle of the Atlantic.
- [16:08]
C
With the American Express platinum card you can access over $3,500 in annual value with benefits and eligible purchases across travel, entertainment and more. There's nothing like Platinum. Learn more@americanexpress.com Explore Platinum Enrollment Requirements monthly and other limits in terms of supply.
- [16:33]
B
It's the early hours of May 6, 1943, in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland. A year after Operation Raspberry came up with a new way of fighting U boats. On board the frigate HMS Tay, 36 year old Lieutenant Commander Robert Sherwood swings his binoculars around as a torpedo detonates close by. A plume of water shoots up into the air a few hundred yards away. The explosion was close to a merchant ship, but thankfully it missed its target. HMS Tay is escorting a convoy of over 40 merchant ships. A wolf pack of German U boats has been tracking them for days. And just last night they sank 10 of the Allied ships in a devastating attack. Now that darkness has fallen again, the submarines are back for more. But this time Commander Sherwood knows exactly how to respond. Following the protocol of Operation Raspberry, he steers directly toward the merchant ship the torpedo was meant to hit. Then Sherwood orders his men to fire star shells. These special flares light up the night and Commander Sherwood's breath catches. In the sudden brightness, he can see the silhouette of not just one U boat lurking below the surface, but 7. Sensing a rare opportunity to destroy an entire wolf pack, Sherwood calls out orders to drop depth charges. As the explosions shake the water beneath them, the German subs scatter. But the battle's not over yet. All through the night, the U boats come back again and again, trying to slip in close for a point blank shot, exactly as Captain Gilbert Roberts and his Wrens predicted they would. But each time the convoy's escorts counter and pushed the German submarines back. By dawn, the British sailors are tired but exhilarated. Not a single Allied ship has been hit, but the oil slicks floating on the water suggest it was the Germans that have taken damage instead. Later that day, the merchant ships break off and head for their final destinations in North America. Their safe arrival is a triumph for Commander Sherwood. But the real geniuses behind this victory are hundreds of miles away on land in a chalk covered office in Liverpool. The work of Captain Roberts and Wrens like Janet Ochel has saved hundreds of lives in this one convoy alone. And by the end of 1943, more than 5,000 officers will be trained in new tactics that will help turn the tide in the Battle of the Atlantic. The once formidable U boat threat will collapse and the all important supplies of personnel, personnel, machinery, ammunition and food will flow across the Atlantic almost unimpeded. After the war, Gilbert Roberts will be presented with the Order of the British Empire. The Wrens who work beside him will receive no official recognition, no wartime honors, nor medals. But without their tactical breakthrough, Britain might have starved and been forced to surrender to Nazi Germany. Instead, victory in the Battle of the Atlantic began with Operation Rasmussen on January 1, 1942. Next on History Daily January 2, 1492 Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella catch a Granada, the last Muslim stronghold on the Iberian Peninsula. From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily Hosted, edited and executive produced by me, Lindsey Graham Audio editing by Mohammed Shazi Sound design by Molly Bach Music by Thrum. This episode is written and researched by Owen Paul Nichols Edited by Scott Reeves Managing Producer Emily Byrd Executive producers are William Simpson for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noisery.
- [20:19]
C
With the American Express Platinum card, you can access over $3,500 in annual value with benefits and eligible purchases across travel, entertainment and more. There's nothing like Platinum. Learn more americanexpress. Com Explore Platinum enrollment requirements monthly and other limits in terms of Apply.