The History Network Podcast
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Essays in military history
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410 Abyssinia 1868
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Author: The History Network
Sat, May 17, 2008
In 1896 20,000 Italians were thoroughly beaten by the Abyssinians at the battle of Adowa, 14,000 Italians were killed or missing with a further 4000 captured. This casualty rate was the highest of any European battle of the nineteenth century, including the Napoleonic wars. Yet only just over thirty years earlier the British with only 13,000 men marched 400 miles in three months, through mountains and over plains to defeat the Abyssinians with almost no loss of life to themselves. Dur: 11.53 File: .mp3
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409 Ninja
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Author: The History Network
Fri, May 2, 2008
The history of the Ninja is hard to trace due to the scant records kept and even fewer being still in existence today. In fact, most of what is known about the Ninja has been passed down in stories and folklore from generation to generation, thus adding to the myth and mystery surrounding them. Dur: 16.34 File: .mp3
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408 The Needle Gun
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Author: The History Network
Fri, Apr 18, 2008
For over a hundred years European armies had developed infantry tactics based round massed ranks of infantry firing in volleys to maintain a constant rate of fire, and this was due to the equipment at hand. The muzzle loading muskets, such as the Brown Bess, required a long series of actions to be carried out to load and discharge the weapon, and these were drilled in to troops from the day they joined the army. The needle gun with its bolt to open the chamber and the insertion of the bullet, increased the rate of fire and although not seen at the time would eventually lead to the end of infantry both firing and operating in mass ranks. Dur: 12min File: .mp3
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407 The Battle of Gaugamela
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Author: The History Network
Sun, Apr 6, 2008
The battle of Gaugamela would be the final confrontation between Alexander the Great and Darius III the Persian King, one in which the Persian King had to win... or lose his empire. After being beaten two years previously at Issus, Darius had brought together an army of huge proportions drawn from throughout the empire. The battlefield would be of his choosing and fully prepared. On paper the odds were in his favour with his forces out numbering the Macedonians by at least three to one... Dur:12min File:.mp3
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406 Rommel pt.1
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Author: The History Network
Fri, Mar 21, 2008
Rommel was one of the most capable German commanders of the second world war and managed to be popular not only with his own troops, the German people, and with Hilter but also with the allied forces fighting him. Popular to such an extent that the British commander General Auchinleck issued orders not to refer to Rommel by name but as "the Germans" or "the enemy". He was an old fashioned chivalrous soldier who treated prisoners with respect and disregarded orders where he saw appropriate, and his success in North Africa earned him the nickname "The Desert Fox"... Dur:22min File:mp3
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405 Tank pt2 - The Interwar Years
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Author: The History Network
Fri, Mar 7, 2008
No sooner had the tank entered the First World war and made its first tentative steps the war was over. With the closure of hostilities, armies of the world disarmed rapidly. The war had cost a fortune and the vast numbers of men in arms were a drain on the coffers. The British army which had championed the use of the tank now found its political masters had dreamed up the Ten Year Rule which stipulated that planning for the army was based on the fact that there would be no major conflict for ten years. The tank would find itself in the wilderness... Dur: 16min File: mp3
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404 Chard
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Author: The History Network
Sun, Feb 10, 2008
Midway is a small atoll in the Pacific, only 2.4 miles square and over two thousand miles from the Japanese mainland. With two airstrips and a small American naval base it was about to give its name as possibly the most important single naval engagement of the second world war, at the end of which five aircraft carriers would be sunk and the balance of naval power in the pacific shifted. File: .mp3 Dur: 19min
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403 Midway
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Author: The History Network
Sun, Jan 27, 2008
Midway is a small atoll in the Pacific, only 2.4 miles square and over two thousand miles from the Japanese mainland. With two airstrips and a small American naval base it was about to give its name as possibly the most important single naval engagement of the second world war, at the end of which five aircraft carriers would be sunk and the balance of naval power in the pacific shifted. File: .mp3 Dur:21min
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402 War by Other Means
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Author: The History Network
Tue, Jan 15, 2008
Carl von Clausewitz the military theorist and historian wrote "War is merely a continuation of politics by other means", but can we wage war with out actually going to war? Do huge armies have to face one another for us to achieve our politic ends?? File: mp3 Dur: 14min
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401 The Battle of Kohima
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Author: The History Network
Sun, Dec 30, 2007
Kohima is the capital of the Indian state of Nagaland, now in Bangladesh, high in the mountainous Naga hills. It was here the Imperial Japanese army would suffer its largest defeat of WWII thus far. The fighting was savage and proved to be a turning point for the British 14th army. It would gain a new confidence and prove its commander Bill Slim's new tactics to be a success. Mountbatten, Commander in Chief in South East Asia would describe it as: âprobably one of the greatest battles in historyâ in effect the Battle of Burmaâ Naked unparalleled heroism... the British/Indian Thermopylaeâ?. Dur: 13min File: mp3
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310 Tank part 1
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Author: The History Network
Sun, Nov 18, 2007
Throughout history armies have looked to protect themselves whilst advancing. The greek hoplites developed the phalanx while the Romans used the testudo (or tortoise) whereby their interlocking shields could minimise the effects of the enemies' long-range offensive weapons.
With the coming of the gun powder age nothing could stop a bullet, but the rate of fire was only limited. The first machine guns changed this, however. Thousands of rounds could be spewed forth slowing an enemy's advance, but it was the first world war, where the mass deployment of automatic firing weapons brought attacks to a standstill and forced armies to dig in, which in turn created another innovation on a grand scale, trench warfare. Troops dug deep defences with broad belts of barbed wire for protection, machine guns placed all along the front made it almost impossible for an army to make any decisive move. The only form of attack was endless bombardments which threw thousands of tonnes of earth into the air but would cause surprisingly few casualties... It was to combat this stalemate that the modern tank was developed.
Dur: 15min 11sec File: mp3
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309 The Battle of Balaclava
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Author: The History Network
Sun, Nov 4, 2007
In 1854 war broke out between Russia and the Ottoman Empire with Britain and France throwing there hat in with the Turks. Landing in the Crimea British and French defeated the Russians at Alma, driving them back and laid siege to Sevastopol, home of the Tsar's Black Sea Fleet. The French took up positions at Kamiesh whilst the British dug in at Balaclava... The following battle is the "boys own" stuff of legend, the "thin red line", the charge of the heavy brigade and the disastrous charge of the light brigade... File: MP3 Dur: 13min
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308 The SS
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Author: The History Network
Fri, Oct 19, 2007
The SS was established in 1925 as Hitlers personal bodyguard, a latter-day "Praetorian guard". SS members were selected on principles of racial purity and absolute loyalty to the Nazi party. By the end of the second world war they had fought in every major battle and become feared for their fanaticism and loathed for their cruelty. It was the SS that ran the concentrations camps, organised death squads and were associated with many other atrocities. File: MP3 Dur: 14min
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307 Assault from the Sea - The Story of Amphibious Warfare
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Author: The History Network
Mon, Oct 8, 2007
A few miles or so out to sea, an armada of warships is revealed by the lifting dawn mist. Fleets of landing craft battle their way through the surf to grind their way onto the beaches. Ramps slam down, boots tramp down metal and splash into water. The desperate race across the beach begins... Dur: 25min File: AAC
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306 William Tecumseh Sherman
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Author: The History Network
Sat, Sep 22, 2007
William Tecumseh Sherman is a controversial figure. The second most famous of the Union Commanders in the American Civil War he never won a major victory, yet it was his "march to the sea" splitting the confederacy and depriving it of supplies which contributed so much to the Northern victory. His scorched earth policy and the burning of Atlanta has led him to still be despised in Georgia for the devastation he caused, Sherman bluntly commented "If the people of Georgia raise a howl against my barbarity and cruelty, I will answer that war is war, and not popularity-seeking." Dur: 19min File: AAC
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305 The Victoria Cross
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Author: The History Network
Fri, Sep 7, 2007
The Victoria Cross is the highest medal of gallantry awarded by the British Armed forces, it is awarded irrespective of rank or service and even to civilians under military command. Cast from captured Russian cannons from the Crimean war this unassuming medal is only 41mm high by 36mm wide bearing a crown surmounted by a lion, and the inscription FOR VALOUR. it has only ever been awarded to just over one thousand three hundred and fifty individuals. Dur: 12min File: AAC
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304 The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
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Author: The History Network
Fri, Aug 24, 2007
In 9AD Publius Quinctilius Varus, the Roman Governor of Germania, marched over the Rhine to spend the summer at advanced posts far inside the recently conquered province. On his return a coalition of Germanic tribesmen, led by Arminius attacked and decimated the Romans, the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth legions would never be raised again and their commander, Varus, committed suicide. The result of the battle was that ultimately Germania remained independent and was never included in the Roman empire, the Roman Empire would be stopped at the Rhine. Dur: 11min File: AAC
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303 Arnhem - A Bridge Too Far
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Author: The History Network
Fri, Aug 10, 2007
Operation Market Garden was the largest airborne assault in history. Planned as the spearhead of a massive thrust into Holland, securing bridges along a thin sixty mile corridor through which the armoured columns of XXX corps would charge through relieving the parachutists as they went, and hopefully catching what they thought would be weak German resistance off guard, before finally capturing the Rhine crossing at Arnhem. The operation would lead Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick "Boy" Browning, commander of the airborne troops to exclaim beforehand "I think we might be going a bridge too far." Dur: 32min File: AAC
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302 The Maxim Gun
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Author: The History Network
Fri, Jul 27, 2007
The American born inventor Hiram Maxim whilst visiting the Paris Electrical Exhibition was told: "If you wanted to make a lot of money, invent something that will enable these Europeans to cut each other's throats with greater facility." His solution was the Maxim gun, the first self powered machine gun. Adopted by the British army in 1891 by 1905 it was in use with nineteen different armies and twenty one navies. With its invention war changed forever, and would leave it's indelible mark on the casualties of the upcoming First World War.... Dur: 10min 30sec File: AAC
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301 The Peninsular War
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Author: The History Network
Sun, Jul 15, 2007
By the year 1808 France had achieved domination over the great majority of continental Europe. Britain stood alone. In 1806 Napoleon declared the Continental Blockade, forbidding British imports to Europe, Portugal remained neutral tring to avoid the ultimatum. Napoleon needed to close Portugal, and gain tighter control over Spain since its ports were not entirely closed to British goods... Dur: 25min 30sec File: AAC
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210 The Bismarck
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Author: The History Network
Fri, Jun 1, 2007
The Bismarck sailed in May 1941, on its first and only mission codenamed RheinÃbung, its mission to break into the Atlantic and harass British shipping bringing in food and other essential materials. Five days after sailing into the Atlantic it had sunk the battle-cruiser HMS Hood, flagship and pride of the British Royal Navy and soon after was itself crippled and scuttled... Dur: 17min 30sec File Format: AAC
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209 Samurai
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Author: The History Network
Fri, May 18, 2007
The Samurai warrior has reached mythological status through modern films, television and written popular fiction. Weilding there Katana swords they lop of heads and slice through opponents with no emotion and yet held in check by there code "Bushido", they hold life and death of ordinary people at there whim. But where did they come from and is this even close to the truth? Dur: 13min File Format: AAC
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208 Total War
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Author: The History Network
Sun, May 6, 2007
With industrialisation the nature of war changed, for an army to function it needed not just men but munitions, these had to come from factories. In turn as the factory became more important to the war effort it to became a target, as did those who worked in it. By the mid nineteenth century we had seen the birth of Total War, where every resource a country can muster is engaged and put to work to win the war. Dur: 13min File Format: AAC
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207 The Macedonians and Alexander
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Author: The History Network
Fri, Apr 20, 2007
Alexander the Great is one of the greatest military commanders to have ever lived, conquering much of the known world by the time he was 30. But he could not have managed this alone, his Macedonian countrymen were the back bone to his success, who were they and why under Alexander did they become so formidable a force? Dur: 12min File Format: AAC
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206 The Gurkhas
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Author: The History Network
Sat, Apr 7, 2007
The Gurkha's have been fighting in the British army for over two hundred years, recruited from Nepal these fearsome warriors still carry their traditional 18-inch long curved knife known as the kukri into battle. Such is there fearsome reputation that during the Falklands war when the Argentinian troops heard they were about to be attacked on Mount William by the Gurkha's, nearly a whole battalion fled without firing a shot! Dur: 10min File Format: AAC
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205 Achtung Panzer
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Author: The History Network
Sat, Mar 24, 2007
Achtung Panzer is one of the most important military books of the twentieth century. Written by the German Heinz Guderian and published in 1937 it set out his theories on modern mechanized warfare, ideas of speed, tank requirements, use of aircraft and supply. It was a complete manual for Hitlers forth coming Blitzkrieg... Dur: 11min File Format: AAC
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204 "Stonewall" Jackson
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Author: The History Network
Mon, Mar 12, 2007
"Stonewall" Jackson was one of the most outstanding commanders of the American Civil. In many ways his battles would be a precursor to the modern methods of the mid twentieth century fighting where bold, swift, highly aggressive actions would prove so successful to the early German Blitzkrieg. Dur: 18min File Format: AAC
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203 The Battle of Marathon
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Author: ThAuthor: e History Network
Fri, Feb 23, 2007
The battle of Marathon has become a defining moment in world history where the fledgling Greek city states found a new confidence to defend themselves. The Persians had not been defeated on land for many decades and although not a conclusive victory it did show the Persians to be vulnerable... Dur: 11min File Format: AAC
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202 Operation Jubilee - The Battle of Dieppe
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Author: The History Network
Fri, Feb 9, 2007
On the morning of the 19th of August 1942 over 6,000 infantrymen, mainly Canadian, supported by large British naval and air contingents attacked the French port of Dieppe. By the end of the day 4,384 of the 6,086 men who made it ashore were either killed, wounded, or captured. Dur: 14min File Format: AAC
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201 The Battle of Agincourt
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Author: The History Network
Fri, Jan 26, 2007
In 1415 on a rain soaked field in France an English King with his tired, hungry and sick army faced at least three times their number of experienced, well-armed and armoured Frenchmen. Yet even with the odds heavily stacked in their favour by the end of the day the French had suffered a catastrophic defeat on the field of Agincourt... Dur: 10min File Format: AAC
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