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Beyond Barbarossa: The Eastern Front of World War 2 · Scott Bury

From Malta to Yalta—Episode 93

February 2, 2026·42 min·1 clip
Roosevelt was being treated for congestive heart failure when making decisions that shaped the world.
Scott Burry covers the Malta and Yalta Conferences of February 1945, pivotal WWII summits where Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin shaped post-war order. Explores military context across all theaters: Eastern Front Oder River crossing approaching Berlin, Western Front Battle of the Bulge aftermath, Pacific Iwo Jima campaign, and Southeast Asia fighting. Reveals Roosevelt's critical illness (congestive heart failure) while negotiating with Stalin, Churchill's failed attempt to present unified front, and the resulting agreements for unconditional German surrender and four-zone occupation.

As heard by us

A brisk guide from Malta to Yalta and into the postwar settlement.

This episode draws a clean line from Malta to Yalta. Churchill arrives in Malta on 30 January 1945, Roosevelt follows on 2 February after his fourth consecutive election win, and the discussion moves from the Western Front campaign into the talks soon to follow with Stalin.

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Why you'd press play

You want the road from Malta to Yalta laid out cleanly.

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