On the latest episode of The Rum Ration, Rejoy and Colin tackle one of military history’s most irresistible “what ifs”: what if Erwin Rommel had direct control of the German Panzer reserves on D-Day?

Rather than drifting into fantasy, they ground the discussion in the hard realities of June 6, 1944: a fractured German command system, delayed decision-making, Allied air superiority, and the brutal geography of Normandy. The episode zeroes in on the British and Canadian sector around Caen and Juno, arguing that this was the likeliest place where an earlier, sharper German armoured response could have created a genuine crisis.

Still, this is no cheap revisionism. Rejoy and Colin weigh Rommel’s instincts against the enormous strength and redundancy built into Overlord, and against the stubborn resistance of Allied troops already ashore. The conclusion is both sober and compelling: Rommel probably could not have repulsed the invasion, but he might have made Normandy even bloodier and more dangerous than it already was.

In this episode of The Rum Ration, Rejoy and Colin explore one of the darkest and least understood chapters of Canada’s First World War: the 25 Canadian soldiers executed by their own side, “shot at dawn.” Through the story of Private Fortunat Auger of The Royal Montreal Regiment, we examine the brutal logic of military discipline in trench warfare and the impossible strain placed on ordinary volunteers.

Auger was not a simple victim, nor a villain. He was a Montreal architect, an early volunteer, and a man who endured the horrors of Ypres and Festubert before repeatedly deserting the line. His execution in March 1916 became a warning to others, meant to preserve discipline in a citizen army under unbearable pressure.

This episode looks beyond easy judgments to ask harder questions about fear, duty, morale, and how armies chose to enforce obedience. It is a sobering reminder that the war claimed lives in more ways than one.

On this episode of The Rum Ration, Rejoy and Colin take listeners into the life and legend of Billy Bishop, Canada’s most famous and most controversial First World War air ace. Beginning with his dramatic final patrol over the Western Front on 19 June 1918, the episode explores both the astonishing exploits that made Bishop a national hero and the lingering questions that still surround his record.

From his unruly youth in Owen Sound and his gift for marksmanship to his rise in the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force, Bishop emerges as a bold, complex, and deeply individualistic figure. The episode also examines the machines and tactics that shaped aerial combat, especially Bishop’s “lone wolf” style of flying, which brought spectacular success but also fuels debate among historians.

Rather than offering simple hero worship or easy dismissal, Rejoy and Colin tackle the harder question: how should we understand Billy Bishop today?

On this episode of The Rum Ration, Rejoy and Colin take on one of the most revered and sobering subjects in British and Commonwealth military history: the Victoria Cross.

Beginning with the astonishing story of Charles Upham, the only combat soldier to receive both a Victoria Cross and Bar in the same war, they explore what the VC is, why it was revolutionary, and why it still carries such weight. The episode traces the medal’s origins in the Crimean War, its place as an all-ranks award for conspicuous valour, and the myths and meaning wrapped up in its bronze cross.

Along the way, they highlight Canadian recipients, including Alexander Roberts Dunn, William Hall, Smokey Smith, and Robert Hampton Gray, before, of course, coming home to The Royal Montreal Regiment’s own VC heroes: Francis Scrimger and George Burdon McKean. It is ultimately an episode about courage, sacrifice, and the human choices made under the worst imaginable pressure.

In this episode of The Rum Ration, Colin and Rejoy explore the little-known story of the Canadian Berlin Battalion, a composite unit created to represent Canada in the Allied victory celebrations in Berlin in July 1945. Joined by historian Steven Bright, they unpack why this symbolic battalion mattered, how it was assembled from units across the Canadian Army, and what its presence said about Canada’s place in the Allied victory narrative.

The episode moves through the ruins of postwar Berlin, the politics behind the parade, and the strange mix of symbolism, logistics, and national identity wrapped up in one brief moment on history’s stage.

Though the battalion did not fight in Berlin, it marched there so Canada’s wartime sacrifice could not be overlooked. It was a short-lived formation, but its story reveals how even ceremonial acts can carry deep meaning for soldiers, nations, and memory.

In this episode of The Rum Ration, Colin and Rejoy explore the story behind one of Canada’s most iconic wartime rifles: the Lee-Enfield No. 4. Joined by military industry researcher William Patterson, they look beyond the weapon itself to the vast Canadian supply chain that made it possible. From the rifle’s early roots in James Paris Lee’s design work to the industrial demands of the Second World War, the episode traces how the Lee-Enfield evolved into a weapon built for mass production.

The conversation focuses especially on Long Branch’s Small Arms Ltd. in Ontario, where nearly a million No. 4 rifles were produced. But this is not just a story of steel and machinery. It is also a story of yellow birch, labour shortages, mills, kilns, and the civilians who kept production moving under wartime pressure.

More than a tale of manufacturing, this episode reveals the “other army” behind the front lines: the workers, loggers, inspectors, and factory hands who helped turn a rifle into a legend.

In April 1951, the Korean War’s front lurches again as the Chinese Spring Offensive surges south and a South Korean division collapses, cracking the line. Suddenly, the narrow Kapyong Valley becomes the gate on the road toward Seoul. Two Commonwealth battalions are ordered to block it: the Australians of 3 RAR on Hill 504, and the Canadians of 2 PPCLI on Hill 677.

When the Australians withdraw under crushing pressure, the Canadians become the last cork in the bottle.What makes Kapyong endure isn’t a flawless plan, it’s disciplined preparation. Lt-Col James Stone’s insistence on hard, night-focused training pays off as Chinese infiltration tactics tighten in the dark. Fighting becomes close and confused, to the point the Patricias call artillery onto their own positions to break the assault. Surrounded at dawn, they hold, resupplied by air, buying the UN time to stabilize the front. Both battalions later earn the U.S. Presidential Unit Citation, but the episode also confronts a harder legacy: many Korean veterans came home to indifference and, at times, exclusion.

At Waterloo, Napoleon’s Old Guard crested the ridge and met a silent wall of British red. In this episode of The Rum Ration Podcast, Colin and Rejoy unpack the real story behind that iconic colour: not vanity or intimidation, but logistics.

Red had long signalled English authority, but in 1645 the New Model Army made it policy—cheap wool, durable dye, and easy mass production, with facing colours to distinguish regiments. In smoke-choked, black-powder battles, bright coats helped commanders track lines, reduced friendly fire, and made desertion harder.

They also bust the myth that red “hid blood” (it doesn’t). Over time, practicality became prestige: by the 18th century red meant British power, until rifled weapons and smokeless powder made visibility fatal and khaki took over. The red coat survives today as ceremony—less about tactics, more about memory. Expect practical history, dark humour, and a few imaginary sponsor breaks along the way.