Forgotten Wars

What was the worst riot in American History? Watts in 1965? Detroit in 1967? The LA riots in 1992 after the Rodney King beating? These were nothing compared to the mackdaddy of them all, the New York City Draft riots. The Big Apple in 1863 was a vast pressure cooker just waiting to blow, riven by racial and class tensions, combined with disillusionment towards the Civil War raging outside. When Ab...

The Cold War led to many crazy decisions and bizarre alliances, but the Ogaden War is up there with the best of them. As Ethiopia plunged into bloody red revolution, neighbouring Somalia spotted an opportunity to conquer the disputed Ogaden region. As the fighting raged, America and the Soviet Union swapped sides mid war, while Castro’s Cuba even got involved. It would all end with a destabilised...

It's 1942 and as the Japanese juggernaut overruns South-east Asia, the eyes of the Empire of the Rising Sun fall on the Australian Port of Darwin. What followed was a devastating air raid, a tale of individual heroism and massive official incompetence. Most of all it is a story of the unthinkable happening, and a whole city having to live with the consequences that World War 2 had finally reached...

1759 is the year when everything changed, the year of victories for the British and the colonists, the year that the back of French power in North America was finally broken. Wolfe is about to lead an army against the fortress city of Quebec, the beating heart of New France. Awaiting him is the legendary warlord Montcalm, undefeated so far in this conflict. The two best Generals Britain and France...

Britain is at its lowest point in the war, its army’s once again failing to make progress, its dreams for North America seemingly gone up in smoke along with the smouldering ruins of Fort William Henry. But change is in the air, new leadership is on the way, and soon fresh armies will be heading to the new world. Soon the British and the colonists will go from the ecstasy of triumph at Louisbourg,...

In this episode we take a break from the main narrative to focus on one of the most remarkable units in American history; Rogers Rangers. Like so many innovations, they were born out of dire necessity. Britain was suffering defeat after defeat trying to use conventional tactics on the wild frontier. What worked on the plains of Europe, instead caused massacres when applied to the endless forests a...

In the shadow of Braddock's defeat, Britain's other offensives in 1755 have distinctly mixed results. As the war spreads to Europe and then around the world, Britain and her colonists must now fight for their very lives, as the French go all out for total victory. It will all end with France's greatest victory of the war at Fort William Henry, and also the wars most infamous atrocity. #britishempi...

It is 1754 and for over 60 years the rival superpowers of Britain & France have waged wars, both hot & cold, across the North American continent. Into this ancient feud steps a young Virginian colonial militiaman named George Washington. His actions will ignite a war on the American frontier that will spread across the world and lead to one Britain's worst defeats, the truly terrible failu...

Peter Ortiz is almost unknown outside the Marine Corps. Even within the Corps he doesn’t have the recognition he deserves, although his exploits in World War II were almost beyond belief. Already a decorated veteran of the French Foreign Legion and a Hollywood technical advisor, when World War 2 came, he joined the Marines and parachuted into Nazi occupied France. Fighting alongside the Maquis of...

In 1970 the small Arab nation of Jordan was on the verge of becoming a failed state, its monarchy threatened by the growing strength of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation. As the two sides maneuvered for power, a civil war was coming that would birth modern international terrorism, and change the history of both the Palestinians and the region forever. #War #militaryhistory #middleeast #...

A South American country is being ruled by a despised dictator, dabbling in Voodoo and allied to Cocaine Cartels, until America launches a daring operation to remove him. Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro? No, it’s Panama’s Manuel Noriega! Noriega was very much a creation of the US and its Cold War struggle with the Soviet Union. A brutal thug, he had been supported by the CIA as a useful asset against C...

Its 1944 and Hungarian leader Admiral Horthy is regretting making a Devil's bargain with Hitler's Germany to regain lost lands at the cost of siding with the Axis. As the Red Army advances into Eastern Europe he tries to escape the fatal hold of Germany on his country, but he has not reckoned with Hitlers favourite commando, the most dangerous man in Europe, Otto Skorzeny. #history #historynerd #w...

It's 1824 and a British army is entering the jungles of the Gold Coast in west Africa to fight the mysterious Ashanti. Find out how slavery, gross incompetence and macaroni lead to a British General being beheaded and his skull used as cup. #History #Britishempire #Historynerd #War #Militaryhistory Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During World War 2 Iran was invaded by Britain and the Soviet Union, an act that is often covered in just a sentence or two in most histories of the war. Yet it would arguably be the turning point of Iran’s modern history, setting up the domino's for the Iranian Revolution, the fall of the Shah and the rise of an aggressive theocracy. #war #history #militaryhistory #iran #worldwar2 Hosted on Acast...

 On the morning of Oct. 25, 1813, the inhabitants of the Pacific island of Nuku Hiva awoke to a startling sight, a fleet of strange ships sailed across the cobalt blue sea and landed at their island. It was an American fleet, trying to escape the British during the war of 1812. So began the most bizarre US military campaign in history, a riproaring yarn involving fights with cannibals, mutiny...

Dark times have fallen on the Republic, after the disastrous Teruel offensive the Republican zone is now split in two. The triumph of the Nationalists seems inevitable, but as the Munich Crisis begins the Republicans plot one last great offensive to turn the tide. The Battle of the Ebro will decided the fate of Spain and bring about the triumph of Franco. #war #worldwar2 #spain #history #historyne...

The Republic is still recovering from the meat grinders of Brunete and Belchite, while it faces the grim prospect of Franco overrunning what was left of its northern enclave. Desperate for a success to silence the doubters, the Communists will take the biggest gamble of the whole war. After the Battle of Teurel, nothing will ever be the same again. #war #militaryhistory #historynerd #history...

With the Communist's now dominant in Republican Spain after the May Days, they decide to launch two huge offensives. Brunete and Belchite will become disasters for the Republic, inflicting gaping wounds that will never heal. Meanwhile Mussolini embarks on a career as a Mediterranean pirate. #history #historynerd #spain #war #worldwar2 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What a difference 3 months can make. In March 1937 the Republic won its greatest victory of the civil war at Guadalajara, for the first time since the coup it seemed as though they could defeat the Nationalists. Yet by May Franco's forces were on the verge of victory in the north, after destroying the town of Guernica with the help of the German Condor Legion. Meanwhile a civil war within a civil...

As Franco's forces advance on Madrid everyone believes it will fall easily. General Mola even boasts he will soon drink coffee on the Grand Via. But it will be a much harder fight than anyone suspects, setting the scene is set for an epic contest that will leave the Nationalists frustrated, and guarantee that this will be a long drawn out war. #war #militaryhistory #historynerd #history #worldwar2...

In July 1936 the army rose up and attempted to seize control of Spain, yet the nation was so polarized that while it was successful in some areas, in others it completely failed. With Spain split in half, Civil War is the only way to victory. Meanwhile in Berlin, Rome and Moscow plots are made that will soon internationalise the conflict. #Militaryhistory #War #History #Historynerd Hosted on Acast...

The Spanish Civil War gave the world a tragic vision of the upcoming devastation of World War 2, in many ways it was its prelude. In the first episode of our series we trace the origins of the conflict, the battle between the two Spain's, as the Centre collapses and the army launches a coup. #worldwar2 #Spain #History #militaryhistory Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's 1883 and troubling news is coming out of the Sudan. Tales of a revolt in the name of God, a mysterious figure called the Mahdi who is winning victory after victory against Egyptian forces. Soon Cairo and its new master Great Britain will send one of the worst army's in history to finally put down the Mahdi, setting the stage for an epic defeat that drag Britain into multiple wars and change t...

For our first episode of 2026 we cover one of World War 2's least known failures. Its 1940 and Britain stands alone against the might of Nazi Germany, while a battle for the soul of France rages between the Free French of Charles De Gaulle and the collaborationist Vichy regime of Marshall Petain. With the Battle of the Atlantic just beginning, Britain and the Free French cook up a scheme to seize...

It's 1975 and the United States is still reeling from the Watergate scandal and the fall of Saigon, when Communist Cambodians seize an American ship on the high seas. What sounds like the start of an 80's action flick would turn into one of the most tragic, hilarious and flawed operations ever launched by the US military. #History #USA #MilitaryHistory #War Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy f...