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Austria-Hungary sends an ultimatum to Serbia. The European powers respond. I also take a closer look at Russia's culpability for war. Citations and Links - Christopher Clark, The Sleepwalkers: How Europe went to War in 1914 (New York: HarperCollins, 2012) Sean McMeekin, July 1914: Countdown to War (New York: Basic Books, 2013) Samuel R. Williamson, Jr. and Ernest R. May, "An Identity of Opinion: Historians and July 1914," The Journal of Modern History 79 (June 2007), 335-387 https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/july_crisis_1914 (https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/july_crisis_1914) https://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/The_Austro-Hungarian_Ultimatum_to_Serbia_(English_translation) (The Austro-Hungarian Ultimatum) (WWI Document Archive) https://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/The_Serbian_Response_to_the_Austro-Hungarian_Ultimatum_(English_translation) (The Serbian Response) (WWI Document Archive) Contact the show - Twitter: @dnoell Email: dvdnoell@gmail.com Music - Artist: Cody Martin Song: Sir Francis Drake

Following the Franz Ferdinand assassination, Austria-Hungary would have some decisions to make regarding Serbia. Would they respond with diplomacy? Or a call to arms? I also take a closer look at Austria-Hungary's responsibility in the outbreak of the First World War. Citations and Links - Christopher Clark, The Sleepwalkers: How Europe went to War in 1914 (New York: HarperCollins, 2012) John W. Langdon, "Emerging from Fischer's Shadow: Recent Examinations of the Crisis of July 1914," The History Teacher 20, no. 1 (November, 1986), 63-86 Jack S. Levy, "Preferences, Constraints, and Choices in July 1914," International Security 15, no. 3 (Winter 1990/1991), 151-186 Sean McMeekin, July 1914: Countdown to War (New York: Basic Books, 2013) Samuel R. Williamson, Jr., "Austria-Hungary Opts for War," in Essays on World War I: Origins and Prisoners of War, eds. Samuel R. Williamson, Jr. and Peter Pastor (Social Science Monographs, Columbia University Press, 1983), 9-36 Samuel R. Williamson, Jr., "Austria and the Origins of the Great War: A Selective Historiographical Survey," in 1914: Austria Hungary, the Origins, and the First Year of World War I eds. Gunter Bischof, Ferdinand Karlhofer and Samuel R. Williamson (University of New Orleans Press, 2014), 21-33 Samuel R. Williamson, Jr., "The Origins of World War I," Journal of Interdisciplinary History 18, no. 4 (Spring 1988), 795-818 Samuel R. Williamson, Jr. and Ernest R. May, "An Identity of Opinion: Historians and July 1914," The Journal of Modern History 79 (June 2007), 335-387 https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/july_crisis_1914 Contact the show - Twitter: @dnoell Email: dvdnoell@gmail.com Music - Artist: Cody Martin Song: Sir Francis Drake

Franz Ferdinand’s assassination is a well-known event. Not as well-known is the context in which the assassination took place. Tension was building in Serbia and the Balkans long before Gavrilo Princip fired his gun. This was an act that sparked the July Crisis of 1914. Citations and Links - Christopher Clark, The Sleepwalkers: How Europe went to War in 1914 (New York: HarperCollins, 2012) Sean McMeekin, July 1914: Countdown to War (New York: Basic Books, 2013) Grayson Myers, "Contradictory Explanations and Elusive Answers: The Historiography of the Sarajevo Assassination," The Macksey Journal 1, Article 114 Robert W. Seton-Watson, "The Sarajevo Murder Trial," The Slavonic Review 4, no. 12 (March, 1926): 645-656 Veljko M. Turanjanin and Dragana S. Cvorovic, "Sarajevo 1914: Trial Process Against Young Bosnia - Illusion of the Fair Process," Proceedings of the Faculty of Law, Novi Sad 50, no. 1 (2016): 183-198 https://www.firstworldwar.com/source/austrianreport.htm https://www.firstworldwar.com/source/harrachmemoir.htm https://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/The_Assassination_of_Archduke_Franz_Ferdinand https://www.rferl.org/a/interview-christopher-clark-1914-lessons-for-today/25437773.html Contact the show - Twitter: @dnoell Email: dvdnoell@gmail.com Music - Artist: Cody Martin Song: Sir Francis Drake

New series on the buildup to World War I launching soon! Please enjoy this teaser.

Next month, this podcast will explore the buildup to World War I. In this episode, we look at the connections between the wars to show how Points of No Return is moving forward.

A reviewer on iTunes recently asked if the series featured on this podcast are connected. Today, I try to answer this question and cast a vision for the show moving forward. Contact the show - Twitter: @dnoell Email: dvdnoell@gmail.com Music - Artist: Cody Martin Song: Sir Francis Drake

By December of 1941, a Japanese attack could come at any moment. Would America notice the warning signs and be prepared? Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The Pacific Theater of World War Two had begun. This is the final narrative episode of the series. Citations - Thurston Clarke, Pearl Harbor Ghosts: The Legacy of December 7, 1941 (New York: The Ballantine Publishing Group, 1991, 2001) Richard B. Frank, Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War, July 1937 - May 1942 (New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2020) Eri Hotta, Japan 1941: Countdown to Infamy (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013) John Toland, The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 (New York: The Modern Library, 1970) https://www.history.com/news/why-did-japan-attack-pearl-harbor https://www.britannica.com/event/Pearl-Harbor-attack https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pacific-War Support the show -https://www.patreon.com/historywithdavenoell (https://www.patreon.com/historywithdavenoell) Contact the show - Twitter: @dnoell Email: dvdnoell@gmail.com Music - Artist: Cody Martin Song: Sir Francis Drake

Negotiations between Japan and America fall apart by the end of November, 1941. Their differences were too great, and mistranslations and miscommunication didn't help. A Japanese attack was looming. Citations - Richard B. Frank, Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War, July 1937 - May 1942 (New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2020) Eri Hotta, Japan 1941: Countdown to Infamy (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013) John Toland, The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 (New York: The Modern Library, 1970) timesmachine.nytimes.com Support the show -https://www.patreon.com/historywithdavenoell (https://www.patreon.com/historywithdavenoell) Contact the show - Twitter: @dnoell Email: dvdnoell@gmail.com Music - Artist: Cody Martin Song: Sir Francis Drake

Japan and America continue to negotiate (or, at least, make an attempt to do this) in the late summer and fall of 1941. By November, a serious chance of war was looming. Citations - Eri Hotta, Japan 1941: Countdown to Infamy (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013) John Toland, The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 (New York: The Modern Library, 1970) Support the show -https://www.patreon.com/historywithdavenoell (https://www.patreon.com/historywithdavenoell) Contact the show - Twitter: @dnoell Email: dvdnoell@gmail.com Music - Artist: Cody Martin Song: Sir Francis Drake

In this new series we will explore the buildup to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor (and the small things that led to it). On today's episode, we set the stage for the negotiations between America and Japan. The Japanese were building an empire in East Asia. This made the United States concerned. Citations - Irvine H. Anderson, Jr. “The 1941 De Facto Embargo on Oil to Japan: A Bureaucratic Reflex,” Pacific Historical Review 44, no. 2 (1975) Eri Hotta, Japan 1941: Countdown to Infamy (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013) John Toland, The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945 (New York: The Modern Library, 1970) timesmachine.nytimes.com Support the show -https://www.patreon.com/historywithdavenoell (https://www.patreon.com/historywithdavenoell) Contact the show - Twitter: @dnoell Email: dvdnoell@gmail.com Music - Artist: Cody Martin Song: Sir Francis Drake

In this new series we will explore the buildup to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The small things that led to this - miscommunication and mistranslation, for example - have often been overlooked. First episode available Wednesday, November 18 Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/historywithdavenoell (https://www.patreon.com/historywithdavenoell) Music - Artist: Cody Martin Song: Sir Francis Drake

Today's interview officially wraps up the series on Hitler's rise to the chancellorship. Dr. Randall Bytwerk is Professor Emeritus of Communication at Calvin University. He specializes in Nazi propaganda. We talk about the Nazi political campaigns of 1932 and what he thinks of my premise that the Nazi movement was closer to falling apart than most realize. For more on Dr. Bytwerk: https://www.bytwerk.com/ https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/ Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/historywithdavenoell (https://www.patreon.com/historywithdavenoell) Music - Artist: Cody Martin Song: Sir Francis Drake

At the end of 1932, the Nazi movement was falling apart. How would they turn things around? This is the final episode of the series. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/historywithdavenoell (https://www.patreon.com/historywithdavenoell) Citations: Thomas Childers, The Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany (New York: Simon and Schuster Paperbacks, 2017) Richard J. Evans, The Coming of the Third Reich (New York: The Penguin Press, 2003) Ian Kershaw, Hitler, 1889-1936: Hubris (New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1998) Franz von Papen, Memoirs of Franz von Papen (1953), translated by Brian Connell newspapers.com timesmachine.nytimes.com Music - Artist: Cody Martin Song: Sir Francis Drake

Hitler and the Nazis hit a high point in the summer of 1932. The coming months, however, would bring trouble. Would the Nazi movement fall apart? Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/historywithdavenoell (https://www.patreon.com/historywithdavenoell) Citations: Thomas Childers, The Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany (New York: Simon and Schuster Paperbacks, 2017) Richard J. Evans, The Coming of the Third Reich (New York: The Penguin Press, 2003) Ian Kershaw, Hitler, 1889-1936: Hubris (New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1998) newspapers.com timesmachine.nytimes.com Music - Artist: Cody Martin Song: Sir Francis Drake

1932 would be an important year for the Nazis. To start the year, Hitler ran for president against the incumbent (and the favorite to win), Paul von Hindenburg. While Hitler would not win, this was just the beginning of the story. By August, the Nazis would be at the doorstep of power. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/historywithdavenoell Citations: Thomas Childers, The Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany (New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2017) Richard J. Evans, The Coming of the Third Reich (New York: The Penguin Press, 2003) Ian Kershaw, Hitler, 1889-1936: Hubris (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1998) https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/index.htm newspapers.com timesmachine.nytimes.com The Associated Press Music - Artist: Cody Martin Song: Sir Francis Drake

Welcome to the first series Hitler Becomes Chancellor (and How it Almost Didn't Happen). There was a moment when Hitler and the Nazi movement were at risk of completely falling apart. One closed-door meeting changed all of this. This four-episode series will explain how it happened.In this episode, host Dave Noell introduces the series and takes listeners back to the 1920s to explore the roots of the Nazi movement. It was nothing more than a splinter political party in this decade. However, a parliamentary election in September of 1930 put the Nazis at the center of attention in Germany and the world. They wouldn’t give up the spotlight for the next 15 years.Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/historywithdavenoellCitations:Thomas Childers, The Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany (New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2017)Richard J. Evans, The Coming of the Third Reich (New York: The Penguin Press, 2003)Ian Kershaw, Hitler, 1889-1936: Hubris (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1998)https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/index.htmnewspapers.comtimesmachine.nytimes.comMusic -Artist: Cody MartinSong: Sir Francis Drake

The first episode of the Points of No Return in History will be available soon.*Music Credit - Artist: Cody MartinSong: Sir Francis Drake