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Stories Of Conflict: Cuba, Rommel & The Art Of War

On Tuesday nights, WLRN presents stories of conflict: wars, warriors and weapons. 

On January 14, starting at 8:00 p.m., the line-up includes the Cuban Missile Crisis, the battles in the North African desert that helped turned the tide of World War II  and a new look at the art of warfare from the unusual viewpoint of the logistics that often decide who wins and who loses:

World War Two: Desert Wars (8:00 p.m.)

Throughout the long struggle against the Afrika Corps of German General Erwin Rommel, British and Australian troops were at the heart of the action as the outcome of the Second World War hung in the balance. This is the gripping story of one of the greatest military episodes in British and Australian history.

Made to coincide with the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of El Alamein, the film contains new revelations about the greatest Allied intelligence blunder of the war.

How To Go To War: Staying Alive (9:00 p.m.)

Even before the fighting begins, an army of 150,000 men needs sanitary food, warm clothes, sturdy boots, ammunition, transportation, proper hygiene and adequate sleep.

It isn't the most glamorous side of the job, but the ability to meet these demands determines whether or not wars are won. Packed full of surprising facts and new perspectives from key historical conflicts, this show reveals why the nuts-and-bolts of logistics beat tactical brilliance and battlefield heroics every time.

Cuban Missile Crisis: Three Men Go To War (10:00 p.m.)

On October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy informed the world that the Soviet Union was building secret missile bases on Cuba, 90 miles off the shores of Florida. The events of the next tension-filled 13 days struck fear across the globe as the world teetered on the edge of nuclear disaster. This film focuses on the role of three central figures — Kennedy, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

It features interviews with key witnesses and experts, including Sergei Khrushchev, son of the former Soviet premier; Ted Sorensen, former member of the Executive Committee of the U.S. National Security Council; former KGB and CIA operatives; and Captain Jerry Coffee, the reconnaissance pilot who made a split second decision to veer off course in Cuba and revealed a new type of nuclear weapon that could have annihilated invading American forces.

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