American Combat Files

EARL RICHBURG

Welcome to American Combat Files. I’m your host, Earl Richburg, bringing America’s rich military history straight to your living room, classroom, or daily commute. Tailor-made for homeschool educators, researchers, and history diehards who want more than just the surface story—strap yourself in. We're dropping history right at your front door.

Episodes

  1. 6d ago

    Episode 8 Companion Video - Major Dick Winters at Normandy

    In this companion segment, we’re drilling down into thegranular historical details—giving history enthusiasts who might not have abackground in the military, a clear look at how small-unit tactics actuallywork. At the same time, we want to enhance the learning experience for ourhomeschool families and educators, grounding this historical moment in timelessprinciples of leadership, composure, and faith under fire. So, grab your notebooks and open your files—let’s step intothe dark skies over Normandy, France on June 6, 1944."

  2. Oct 12

    Episode #8: First Combat Jump — Major Dick Winters, Operation Overlord, and the Covenant of Faith

    The Briefing Room https://sites.google.com/view/briefingroom-homework/home Cited Sources Ambrose, Stephen E. Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101stAirborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest. New York: Simon &Schuster, 1992. (Thedefinitive narrative history detailing Easy Company's operational path,including the Brécourt Manor assault and the march to Berchtesgaden.) Winters, Dick, and Cole C. KingseedBeyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs ofMajor Dick Winters. New York: Berkley Caliber, 2006. (Major Winters’ personalmemoir detailing his tactical decision-making, small-unit leadership, andpersonal convictions throughout the war.) U.S.Army Center of Military History        Utah Beach to Cherbourg (6 June–27 June 1944).American Forces in Action Series. Washington, D.C.: Historical Division,Department of the Army, 1948. (Official U.S. Army historical documentation on the VIICorps landings, the clearing of the Cotentin Peninsula, and the Battle ofCarentan.)

  3. Oct 5

    Episode #7: Battle of Midway (June 1942) Code Breakers & Dive Bombers - Part 1 of Our 4 Part WWII Series

    The Briefing Room https://sites.google.com/view/briefingroom-homework/home Cited Sources Naval History and Heritage Command(NHHC): Station HYPO and the Battle of Midway. Documents the decryption of JN-25 signals, Commander JosephJ. Rochefort’s intelligence analysis, and Admiral Chester W. Nimitz’soperational utilization of SIGINT. Layton, Edwin T., Pineau, Roger, andCostello, John: “AndI Was There”: Pearl Harbor and Midway — Breaking the Secrets (NavalInstitute Press). Source for internal staffcommunications, Commander Eddie Layton’s tactical estimates to Admiral Nimitz,and the "five minutes, five degrees, and five miles" debrief. Primary After-Action Ruse Records: U.S. PacificFleet Communications Intelligence Intelligence Reports (May–June 1942),detailing the unencrypted Midway distillation plant message trick thatconfirmed "AF" as Midway Atoll.

  4. Sep 30

    Episode #6: Sergeant Alvin C. York — Faith, Fire, and the Battle of Meuse-Argonne

    The Briefing Room https://sites.google.com/view/briefingroom-homework/home Cited Sources The historical narration for Sergeant Alvin York's episoderelies on primary military documentation, York's personal writings, anddefinitive academic biographies. Primary Historical Sources & Military Records York’s War Diary & Autobiography: Sergeant York: His Own Life Story and War Diary (1928), edited by Tom Skeyhill. Contains York's personal entries regarding his religious conversion, conscientious objector petition, and first-hand account of October 8, 1918. U.S. Army Medal of Honor Citation: Official War Department citation for Corporal Alvin C. York (General Orders No. 59, War Department, 1919), detailing the capture of 132 prisoners and the neutralization of the German machine gun positions. 82nd Division & 328th Infantry Field Reports: Official after-action logs, maps, and battle reports from the Meuse-Argonne Offensive (National Archives and Records Administration, RG 120). 1918–1919 Affidavits & Field Investigation: Sworn testimonies from surviving squad members and field officers (Major G. Edward Buxton and Captain Edward Danforth) who conducted the immediate post-battle investigation at Hill 223.

  5. Sep 18

    Episode #5: Teddy Roosevelt & The Spanish American War

    The Briefing Room Linkhttps://sites.google.com/view/briefingroom-homework/homeCited Sources Primary Historical Accounts & Official Documents Roosevelt, Theodore. The Rough Riders(1899). Theodore Roosevelt’s first-hand memoir detailing the formation of the1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, the chaotic staging in Tampa, landing at Daiquirí,and the charges up Kettle and San Juan Hills.Parker, John H. Tactical Use ofGatling Guns in the Assault on San Juan Ridge (1898) & Gatling Gunsat Santiago (1898). Lieutenant Parker’s official tactical reports andpersonal account detailing the deployment of the .30-40 Krag Gatlings and theirsuppression fire on Spanish positions.U.S. War Department Reports (1898–1899).Official battle reports, casualties, and ordnance summaries covering the VCorps operations in Cuba, including weapon performance specs for the .30-40Krag-Jørgensen and Spanish 7mm Mauser rifles.Episode Description After the explosion that destroyed the USS Maine, The United States declared war on Spain on April 25, 1898. Thirty-nine-year-old Theodore Roosevelt was eager to join the fight. On April 25, 1898, President William McKinley appointed him Lieutenant Colonel of the First US Volunteer Cavalry, whichbecame known as the Rough Riders. The official uniform of the unit was a slouch hat, blue flannel shirt, brown trousers and leggings, and polka-dot bandanas. All in all, there were 1,060 Rough Riders.

  6. Sep 10

    Episode 4: Part 2 Private James E. Nunn POW Fort Delaware

    The Briefing Room: https://sites.google.com/view/briefingroom-homework/homeU.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Record Group 249: Records of the Office of the Commissary Generalof Prisoners (Civil War) Entries detailing prisoner-of-war registers, rollof prisoners received at Fort Delaware, Military & Military HistoryRecords Confederate Military History & Service Rolls: Roll ofPrisoners of War Captured at Gettysburg and Transported to Fort Delaware, July1863. U.S. War Department: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation ofthe Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (O.R.), Series II,Volumes V & VI (Prisoners of War Operations Microfilm Publication M266: CompiledService Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from theState of Georgia (Rolls covering the 34th Georgia Infantry, Companies Athrough K). nd Exchange Systems / Dix-Hill Cartel Administration).

  7. Sep 2

    Episode 4: Part 1 - James E. Nunn & The Battle of Champion Hill

    The Briefing Room Link: https://sites.google.com/view/briefingroom-homework/homeCited Sources National Archives and Records Administration (NARA),Microfilm Publication M266: Official muster rolls, POW transfer manifests, andenlistment cards for Company E ("Jackson Farmers"), 34th Regiment,Georgia Infantry. Series I, Volume XXIV, Parts 1 & 2 (Vicksburg Campaign):Official reports of Major General Ulysses S. Grant (USA), Lieutenant GeneralJohn C. Pemberton (CSA), and Brigadier General Alfred Cumming (CSA) detailingtroop positions, the collapse of the center defense at Champion Hill, and thebottlenecked retreat across Baker's Creek. NARA Record Group 249 (Records of the Office of theCommissary General of Prisoners): Registers of Confederate Prisoners of Warconfined at Camp Morton, Indianapolis, Indiana (1862–1865), documenting POWarrivals from the Vicksburg Campaign in May/June 1863 and subsequent transfers. Bearss, Edwin C. The Campaign for Vicksburg,Volume II: Grant Strikes the Blow. Morningside Bookshop, 1985.

  8. Aug 24

    Episode # 3: Winfield Scott & The Mexican American War

    The Briefing Room https://sites.google.com/view/briefingroom-homework/home Primary Sources & Official Records 1.      General Headquarters of the Army, General Order No. 20 (1847) Issued by Winfield Scott at Tampico, Mexico (February 19,1847). o    Details:Establishes martial law, military commissions, and council-of-war jurisdictionover military personnel and civilians for crimes including murder, rape, churchdesecration, and theft during the occupation. o    Archival Repository: Americas Collection, Woodson Research Center, FondrenLibrary, Rice University. 2.      Winfield Scott Memoirs and Dispatches o    Scott, Winfield. Memoirs of Lieut.-General Scott, LL.D. (New York: Sheldon& Company, 1864). o    Details:Scott’s personal two-volume autobiography detailing his military career,strategy in Mexico, engineering scouts, and enforcement of camp discipline. 3.      U.S. Army Official Reports & Maps o    Winfield Scott Collection (Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries).o    Details:Includes original maps of the line of operations in the Valley of Mexico(August 1847) and the survey of Mexican defenses at Cerro Gordo (April 1847).

  9. Aug 14

    Episode # 2: Daniel Morgan at the Battle of Cowpens

    The Briefing Room Link https://sites.google.com/view/briefingroom-homework/homePrimary Sources: National Park Service on Daniel Morgan: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/daniel-morgan.htm American Battlefield Trust: https://www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war/battles/guilford-court-house Secondary Sources: Institute in Basic Life Principles: https://iblp.org/daniel-morgan-he-giveth-power-to-the-faint/ History.com: https://www.history.com/articles/american-revolution-history

  10. Aug 11

    Episode # 1 Desmond Doss - Faith Over Fear

    The Briefing Room Link: https://sites.google.com/view/briefingroom-homework/home Primary Sources: Official Medal of Honor Citation (U.S. Department of War,1945): Used for the exact operational details, dates, unit designations (77thInfantry Division, 307th Infantry Regiment), location specifics (MaedaEscarpment / Hacksaw Ridge), and the officially recognized count of 75 woundedmen rescued under fire. U.S. Army Medical Department Historical Records (WWIIPacific Theater): Used for details regarding combat medic operations,equipment, casualty handling on Guam, Leyte, and Okinawa, and the specificinjuries Doss sustained from grenade shrapnel and sniper fire. Secondary Sources: Booton, Herndon M. The Unlikeliest Hero: The Story ofDesmond T. Doss (Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1967): The originalauthorized biography written during Doss’s lifetime, which documented hisexperiences with his platoon during basic training, the initial hostility fromfellow soldiers, Captain Jack Glover’s statements, and the recovery of his lostpocket Bible on Hacksaw Ridge. Sloan, Bill. The Ultimate Weapon: The Race for Okinawa(Simon & Schuster, 2007): Used for environmental and tactical contextregarding the Battle of Okinawa, the terrain of the Maeda Escarpment, weatherconditions, and the defensive network of the Japanese 32nd Army. Imaginestepping onto the bloodiest battlefield of World War II without a single weaponto defend yourself. Your comrades think you're a coward. Your commanders try tocourt-martial you. But when the smoke clears on Okinawa, Japan you are the onlyone left standing on the cliff—dragging broken bodies out of the fire. Thisweek on American Combat Files, we break down the mind-blowing true story ofPrivate Desmond Doss:

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About

Welcome to American Combat Files. I’m your host, Earl Richburg, bringing America’s rich military history straight to your living room, classroom, or daily commute. Tailor-made for homeschool educators, researchers, and history diehards who want more than just the surface story—strap yourself in. We're dropping history right at your front door.

Information

  • Creator
    EARL RICHBURG
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    10
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © EARL RICHBURG
  • Show Website
    American Combat Files