June 6, 1944. As thousands of Allied soldiers prepare to storm the beaches of Normandy, they climb down rope nets into small wooden landing craft bobbing in the dark waters of the English Channel. Within hours, these boats will carry them into the largest amphibious invasion in history.

The craft are known as Higgins boats, named for their inventor, Andrew Higgins: a hard-driving New Orleans boatbuilder who built his reputation designing vessels that could speed through swamps, crash through obstacles, and go places other boats couldn't. Higgins was stubborn, abrasive, and relentless. The Navy repeatedly dismissed his ideas. He refused to go away.

How does a small-time New Orleans boatbuilder force his way into the military industrial complex? And what exactly is so special about these boxy little Higgins boats?

Special thanks to Dr. John Curatola, Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana. His book is Armies Afloat: How the Development of Amphibious Operations in Europe Helped Win World War II.

You can find the rest of the books we used to research this episode at historythisweekpodcast.com.

Check out new episodes of History's Greatest Machines with Dolph Lundgren on the HISTORY Channel, premiering on June 1st. Stream the next day at History.com.

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Search "World War II with Tom Hanks" wherever you get your podcasts! New episodes drop every Tuesday.

World War II with Tom Hanks reexamines history’s most devastating conflict for a new century. Across twenty hours, the series traces the war’s full arc–from the rise of fascism to Hiroshima–uncovering the decisions, hidden networks, and lasting consequences that continue to shape our world.

Episode 1 – The Beginning

In September 1939, enabled by a secret pact between Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin, Germany invades Poland with its lightning style of tank warfare, plunging Europe back into war. Adolf Hitler can now pursue his longed-for racial war, as the world watches in horror, and the stage is set for global conflict.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Dan Carlin, podcaster, Hardcore History
• Alexandra Richie, professor, Collegium Civitas
• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• Cameron Zinsou, associate professor, Command and General Staff College
• Geoffrey Wawro, professor, University of North Texas
• Jadwiga Biskupska, associate professor, Sam Houston State University
• Simon Sebag Montefiore, historian and author
• Roger Moorhouse, historian and author
• Leah Wright Rigueur, associate professor, Johns Hopkins University
• James Bulgin, Imperial War Museum
• General Wesley Clark, US Army, Ret.
• Sean McMeekin, professor, Bard College

May 30, 1945. In Washington, Secretary of War Henry Stimson calls General Leslie Groves to his office and demands answers: which Japanese cities are about to become targets for the atomic bomb? What follows will pull Stimson—a deeply religious statesman who believed in restraint, but also in overwhelming force—into a profound crisis over morality, destruction, and what modern war is becoming.

How did Henry Stimson grapple with the bomb? And after helping usher in the atomic age, how did he reckon with what he’d done?

Special thanks to Evan Thomas, journalist and New York Times bestselling author of Road to Surrender: Three Men and the Countdown to the End of World War II.

You can find the rest of the books we used to research this episode at historythisweekpodcast.com.

Check out new episodes of World War II with Tom Hanks on the HISTORY Channel, premiering on Memorial Day. Stream the next day at History.com, or listen to the episodes in the World War II with Tom Hanks podcast feed, where new episodes drop every Tuesday.

Get in touch: historythisweek@history.com

Follow on Instagram: @historythisweekpodcast

Follow on Facebook: ⁠HISTORY This Week Podcast⁠

To stay updated: http://historythisweekpodcast.com