History Undone

James Hanson is joined by Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry and the naval YouTuber  @Drachinifel  to discuss one of the most oft-overlooked engagements of the Second World War: the Battle of the Coral Sea. It was the world's first carrier-to-carrier battle, with no ships actually catching sight of each other across the four day conflict. While the Battle of Midway that followed has gone down i...

James Hanson is joined by Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry and Professor Niall Barr to discuss one of the most overlooked, but brutal campaigns of the Second World War: The Siege of Malta. Between 1940 and 1942 the tiny Mediterranean island came under a relentless siege from the Axis and was the most bombed place on Earth. It still holds the record for longest period of sustained bombing ever: 154 cons...

James is joined by historian Jonathan Trigg and Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry to discuss the largest battle in the history of warfare: the Battle of Kursk. It was one of a number of Soviet victories over Germany on the Eastern front in WW2, but would a German victory here have changed the outcome of the war and history itself? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's July 1st, 1863 and one small town in Pennsylvania is about to have its name etched into American folklore, Gettysburg. Over the course of the next three days, over 165,000 troops from the union and the Confederate forces would engage in the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War, and despite the conflict continuing for nearly two more years, the Battle of Gettysburg is considered a turnin...

On this episode of History Undone, we're delving into our archives as James Hanson is joined by Chris Copson and Dr Chris Parry as they discuss the Battle of Arnhem and the wider consequences of Operation Market Garden. Would the war have ended sooner? Would the Battle of the Bulge have gone differently? Tune in to find out! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Hanson is joined by Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry and the historian, author and broadcaster James Holland to discuss one of the most brutal and attritional battles of the entire Second World War: The Battle of Monte Cassino. Just how important was it and the Italian campaign as a whole? This is History Undone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Hanson is joined by Drachinifel and Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry to discuss the longest continuous battle of the Second World War: The Battle of the Atlantic. Between 1939 and 1945 both merchant and navy ships were attacked in the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean. Yet after 5 years and 8 months, the might of the Royal Navy helped the allies win here. So what if the Germans had won? This is...

The sixth of June 1944 D-Day 80 years on, is still the largest amphibious invasion of all time. It's a date that evokes emotion and national pride in equal measure, and it not only changed the Second World War, but history itself. Yet, what if the operation hadn't been a success? Welcome to History Undone with James Hanson, the show where we take an alternative look at the events which have shaped...

By the summer of 1941 Nazi Germany is in near total control of continental Europe. A year earlier, the German blitzkrieg swept through Belgium, the Netherlands and France, and forced the British Expeditionary Force to evacuate at Dunkirk. Then by 1941 Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria had all joined the axis, and Hitler looked further east despite a non aggression pact with Stalin's Soviet Union, Hitl...

For today's episode we're delving back into the History Undone Archive, as James Hanson is joined by Dr Adrian Goldsworthy and Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry to discuss one of the Roman Empire's worst and most humiliating defeats: The Battle of Teutoburg Forest. Only a handful of Roman troops managed to escape here as they were massacred by the Germanic tribes led by Arminius, and the battle's impact...

On this episode of History Undone, we're heading back into the show's archives to cover the Battle of Stalingrad - the biggest and bloodiest battle of all time - and how things may have transpired if the Germans had won. Joining James Hanson are the historian and author Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry and historian, author and broadcaster Jon Trigg. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...

James is joined by Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry and the historian Tim Bouverie for this episode of History Undone, discussing the unlikely alliance of 'the big three' in the Second World War. Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union were divided by culture and ideology, but united against a common enemy in Nazi Germany. Tim Bouverie joins the show to discuss the themes explored in his new bo...

James Hanson is joined by Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry and Nigel Jones to discuss the German wunderwaffe or 'wonder weapons'. Hitler's Germany was responsible for some remarkable advances in military engineering, from long-range ballistic missiles, to the world's first ever jet powered fighter plane. However, Nazi ambition far outweighed the country's wartime capacities and many of these weapons we...

For this episode of History Undone, James is joined by Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry and the historian Roger Moorhouse to discuss one of the most significant moments at the beginning of the Second World War. Despite their huge differences and animosity, in August 1939 Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression treaty otherwise known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Yet with Operation Barbar...

Today we're going back into the History Undone archive, as James Hanson is joined by Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry and the YouTuber and naval historian Drachinifel to discuss the Battle of Jutland. It was the largest naval battle of the First World War and the only time the British and German fleets went head to head. So just how significant was it and should it have ended differently? This is Histo...

James is joined once again by Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry and Professor Alexander Watson to discuss a much debated historical sliding doors moment: Britain's decision to enter the First World War. Was it the right one, or would Britain and her Empire have been better off focusing on its own concerns. Those are questions for our experts as they examine the alternate timeline, had Britain not have m...

On this episode of History Undone, James Hanson is joined once again by Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry and the historian Jonathan Walker, author of ‘Operation Unthinkable: The Third World War’. They discuss this daring, controversial and top secret plan by Winston Churchill to attack the Soviet Union at the end of the Second World War. Of course, the plan was never put into action and perhaps was nev...

We've delved back into the History Undone archives, as James is joined by Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry and one of Britain's most renowned Medieval experts Professor Robert Bartlett, to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Yet how did this day-long conflict become one of the most consequential battles in history, and why are we still talking about it nearly 1,000 years later? This is History Undone. Host...

James Hanson is joined by Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry and Nigel Jones to discuss one of the most important events in the lead up to the Second World War: the Nazi annexation of the Sudetenland and eventual invasion of the entirety of Czechoslovakia. This provocation was met with appeasement by the allies and approved by the signing of the Munich Agreement. Yet what if Britain & France had inst...

James Hanson is joined by Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry and former British Foreign Office diplomat Tim Dowse to discuss one of the most remarkable military operations of modern times: Desert Storm. The Gulf War was a war of firsts: high tech weaponry, 24-hour news broadcasting and lightning speed efficiency from the Americans. The ground offensive was over in a matter of 100 hours to liberate Kuwait...

James Hanson is joined once again by Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry and the naval historian and YouTuber Drachinifel to discuss one of the more forgotten campaigns of the early Second World War: Norway. Yet while it might seem inconsequential in the long run, this period between Spring and Summer of 1940 helped set the tone for the next few years of the entire conflict. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com...

James Hanson is joined by Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry and the military historian Andrew Robertshaw to discuss a battle which shaped the future of Europe for years to come: Blenheim. This day long conflict was part of the War of Spanish Succession, which saw the Grand Alliance of England, the Dutch Republic & Austria try to prevent Louis XIV from uniting the thrones of France & Spain. Yet t...

James Hanson is once again joined by Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry and Jonathan Parshall, this time to discuss military campaign that never happened. Operation Downfall was the ambitious allied plan to invade Japan at the end of WW2, yet this was never put into action because of the atomic bomb. Yet what if the bomb wasn't available? The end of the war and the rest of the 20th century would have loo...

The Six-Day War of 1967 was a historic victory for the state of Israel. Surrounded by hostile neighbours, the Israelis launched a preemptive strike and routed the combined forces of Egypt, Jordan and Syria, seizing vast territories including the Sinai peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights. Join James Hanson, Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry and Professor Matthew Hughes, as the...

On July 20, 1944, Claus von Stauffenberg led one of World War II’s most daring resistance plots: assassinate Adolf Hitler and overthrow the Nazi regime. But what if the bomb had worked? What if the coup had succeeded, and the resistance had taken control of Germany? Join James Hanson, Rear Admiral Dr. Chris Parry, and historian Nigel Jones as they uncover the bold plan that could have changed the...