Bloody Violent History

1. Intro  2. Dust to Dust  3.Making of a Monster  4. Taking and Holding Power  5.Tyranny by Example  6.Hubris and Downfall  7. The Enlightened Despot?  PS Woke - The Modern Tyranny Tyrants have populated every century, from the ancient pharaohs through the monsters of the twentieth century Vladimir Putin today.  They leave in their wake a trail of blood and their institutions and legacy often invo...

Jamie goes solo while we are on our end of series break.  These 'Bloody Bites' are short podcast episodes which will hopefully answer a few questions thrown up in our general podcast discussions. A kind of  BVH glossary. Let us know if you would like to hear Jamie's take on a particular topic.  talk@bloodyviolenthistory.com So It Goes Tom Assheton & James Jackson   See also: YouTube: BloodyViolent...

Jamie goes solo while we are on our end of series break.  These 'Bloody Bites' are short podcast episodes which will hopefully answer a few questions thrown up in our general podcast discussions. A kind of  BVH glossary. Let us know if you would like to hear Jamie's take on a particular topic.  talk@bloodyviolenthistory.com So It Goes Tom Assheton & James Jackson   Ref.  Sir Arthur Harris Bt, audi...

Jamie goes solo while we are on our end of series break.  These 'Bloody Bites' are short podcast episodes which will hopefully answer a few questions thrown up in our general podcast discussions. A kind of  BVH glossary. Let us know if you would like to hear Jamie's take on a particular topic.  talk@bloodyviolenthistory.com So It Goes Tom Assheton & James Jackson   See also: YouTube: BloodyViolent...

1. Intro   2. E58 - Battle of Britain  3. E55 - Gladiator  4. E59 - Artillery  5.  E47, 53 & 62 - Bloody Russia  6. Banditry  7.  E48,49 & 50 -  I.E.D  8. What’s coming in 2023 Bloody Violent History Season 2 is drawing to a close - this being our valedictory episode for 2022.  James Jackson and I have published 29 episodes since our last summary in 2021.  I hope you agree the range has been wide...

Bloody Bites are short podcast episodes which will hopefully answer a few questions thrown up in our general podcast discussions. A kind of  BVH glossary. Let us know if you would like to hear Jamie's take on a particular topic. So It Goes Tom Assheton & James Jackson talk@bloodyviolenthistory.com   See also: YouTube: BloodyViolentHistory https://www.instagram.com/bloodyviolenthistory/ https://www...

1.  Intro  2. Mindset   3. Defence and Offence   4. Air   5. Artillery   6. Armour   7. Naval   8. Asymmetric Warfare   9. Winter & Spring Thaw Today we're going to take a third look at the war being waged by Russia against Ukraine. 215 days have passed since the invasion began. In that time we've seen the Russian offensive stopped and then pushed back from Kiev and now Kharkiv in the east.  And s...

1. Intro  2. Moving Target  3. Throwback  4. Scapegoat and Redemption  5. Cold War  p.s.  Judas Iscariot Traitors have always been the most hated and vilified of creatures.  And rightly so.  Often it involves the very survival of a tribe, nation or belief and the traitor is the viper at the heart of the body politic.  We all know their names and whether it is Kim Philby or Aldrich Ames, Klaus Fuch...

1.  Intro  2. Myth & Psychopathy  3. Ancient & Classical    4. Merry England  5. Wild West   6. Bounty Hunters  p.s. Biker Gangs Whether myth or reality, Robin Hood or Jesse James, the truth behind Outlaws is often darker and more bleak than we suppose.  There was a great deal of bloodshed beyond the songs and fictional gun smoke.  John Brown was not averse to killing people in cold blood.  The bu...

1.  Today & Ukraine  2.  Classical & Biblical Times  3.  Medieval Artillery   4.  Eighteenth & Nineteenth Century  5.  Naval Gunnery  6. World War I & II   7.  Back to Today   ps  The Super Gun   Artillery has been around for millennia.  Even Philip of Macedonia and his son, Alexander the Great, were early exponents of artillery on the battlefield, and their techniques and technology were avidly c...

1.  Lead up to the Battle  2.  The Commanders and the Kit  3.  Summary of the Battle   @ 43.42 Reading,  Richard Hillary cont.... 4.  Key moments and Hot points  5.  Troops, tactics and tech  6.  Some individuals  7.  Conclusion and Aftermath Today we going to discuss the Battle of Britain with James Holland.  Fought in the skies above Britain between the Royal Air Force and Nazi Germany’s Luftwaf...

1.  Intro  2. The Terrorist in the Ancient world   3. 17th, 18th & 19th Century Terror   4. The Anti-Colonial Wave  5. Extremism and Technology 6. Spectaculars  7. State Sponsored Terrorism and the Lone Wolf   8. The Future   p.s. The Reaper Whether the Sicarii of ancient Judea or Al-Qaeda of modern times, terrorist groups and their accompanying violence have scarred human existence for millennia....

1.  Intro  2. Biblical & Classical Highwayman   3. 18th & 19th Century bandits    4. Decline  p.s. Backpack murders There has always been highway robbery.  From the tale of the good Samaritan, through ancient China and onto the infamous and murderous Thugees of India, these thieves and cut-throats have made such an impact that their legend and reputation endure.  Yet it was in 18th and 19th centur...

1.  Intro  2. Famous gladiators   3.  Allure of the gladiator  4. Types  5. Training   6. Gladiatorial spectacular   p.s. Mandingo Gladiators have intruded on the public consciousness for two millennia.  Fuelled by books and movies.  Yet the truth behind them all is often more vivid and brutal than fiction could ever convey. Training was hard, specialised skills were prized, and the spectacle was...

1.  Spanish Inquisition  2. Chinese   3.  French Revolution  4. Cheka – KGB - FSB  5. Nazi - Stasi   6. Third World  PS The Chinese future Tyrannies require their servants, and none are more obedient and loyal than the secret police.  These are the instruments off oppression and control, the guarantor of regime continuity.  Using torture and terror – and with the coercive instruments of state cont...

1.  Introduction  2. Evolution of the conflict   3.  Where things stand    4. Putin  5. The Battlefield – land, air, sea   6. Predictions and conclusions  7.   PS The intelligence game Over three months in the grinding war in Ukraine, events have shifted their focus to the Donbas.  Even here, where the Russians have a distinct advantage in artillery and rocket forces, and where its supply lines ar...

1. The Big Reveal  2.  Command Bunkers  3. Tunnels and Hidden Holes  4.  Spy Bases  5.  Secret Airstrips  6.  Summary & Postscript Secret sites have often intrigued.  From the bunkers of despots to guerrilla tunnels and underground routes, the subterranean lairs of history sometimes emerge by mistake, redundance or military victory.  Most governments have bomb-proof shelters, whether it is the gra...

1. Myth and romance  2.  Ancient world  3. Privateers  4.  Corsairs  5.  Famous Pirates  6.  State Pirates  7.  Modern Piracy  PS The Legends Pirates have always captured the imagination.  And romance and myth surround them.  Yet the reality was often bleak and violent.  We have images of peglegs and parrots, but the story of piracy often ended at the end of a hangman’s noose and a rotting corpse...

see The HALO Trust website to donate and to support the Ukraine Crisis Fund 1.  Mines & minefields - background history  2. I.E.D.s   3.  HALO and the situation today    4.  The future - will mines and IEDs be discovered and deactivate in all parts of the world. Simon Conway is a former British Army office and international aid worker who has cleared landmines and unexploded bombs in the aftermath...

1.  Dr Tom Carrell - background  2. Battlefield Medicine   3.  Route to War - the training  4. reading - The Oscillating saw @ 32.15    5.  Camp Bastion, Hellmand   6. The IED - lessons and thoughts Tom Carrell is a doctor who qualified in the 90s.  He also served as a territorial soldier based out of the Duke of York’s barracks in London.  In 2004 he was appointed consultant vascular surgeon spec...

1.  Harry Parker - background  2. The Soldier – his story   3.  His book – Anatomy of a Soldier  3a. 1st reading @ 27.17    3b.  2nd reading @ 34.02 4. I.E.D. 4. Lessons for today and tomorrow  An interview with ex-soldier, Harry Parker, who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.  Harry talks about his experience as an officer in the Rifles, having to deal every day with the dangers of operating in...

1. State of play 2. Should we have seen it coming  3.  Can Russia win    4. Long term prospects for Putin and Russia  5. Prospects for Ukraine   6. Prospects for the West Aggression and mendacity are shared characteristics of many Russian leaders and territorial expansion an on ongoing pastime.  Ivan the Terrible sought to capture the Baltic region and eventually has to settle for Siberia, while P...

1. Yemen in the 60s  2. Mercenaries in the ancient world   3. Medieval mercenaries    4. Nineteenth Century   5. Twentieth century   6. Today Mercenaries are once again in the news. And Russian use of the Wagner Group in Ukraine has raised everyone’s interest.  Yet mercenaries go back a long way, and even a pharaoh used hired help to defeat an aggressor on his boarders.  In the Middle Ages, there...

Bloody Bites are short podcast episodes which will hopefully answer a few questions thrown up in our general podcast discussions. A kind of  BVH glossary. Let us know if you would like to hear Jamie's take on a particular topic. So It Goes Tom Assheton & James Jackson talk@bloodyviolenthistory.com   See also: YouTube: BloodyViolentHistory https://www.instagram.com/bloodyviolenthistory/ https://www...

Since pre-history, both hunters and fighters have relied upon camouflage and deception to both improve their chances of survival and success in attacking their enemy.  Caesar used ships with blue sails to disguise his reconnaissance of Britain, whilst a Chinese army used thousands of bonfires to suggest to their opponents that a vast army was deserting and becoming smaller every day.  Right up to...