The Dead Warrior Society

If you want to support the show - Dead Warrior Society merch is now available at our website: https://deadwarriorsociety.com/collec... ----- Before the first shots of the Rhodesian Bush War were ever fired, the structural gears of a catastrophic regional explosion were already locked in motion. Most histories drop you straight into the firefights of the 1970s. But to understand the tactical doctri...

If you want to support the show - Dead Warrior Society merch is now available at our website https://deadwarriorsociety.com/collec... ------------ Before the Bush Wars of the 1970s changed the face of modern unconventional warfare, an empire had to be carved out of the African interior. But the architect of that empire wasn't a battlefield general or a decorated military strategist—he was an...

Visit our website for a full list of books and reading materials as well as upcoming merch.  www.deadwarriorsociety.com ----- Did Montezuma actually surrender to Cortés, or has one of history’s most consequential encounters been fundamentally misunderstood?  In this episode of Dead Warrior Society, we dive deep into the first meeting between Moctezuma II and Hernán Cortés and confront one of the h...

Be sure to visit the DWS website for more at  www.deadwarriorsociety.com _____ In this episode of the Dead Warrior Society, we dive into the brutal clash between the Spaniards and the Tlaxcalans and challenge one of the most persistent myths in the history of Mesoamerican warfare. You’ve heard it before: that native armies fought to capture, not kill. That their goal was ritual, not destruction. B...

Check out the DWS website for upcoming merch as well as a reading list https://deadwarriorsociety.com/ ------ When Hernán Cortés landed on the Mexican coast, he wasn't just leading a band of explorers—he was launching one of history’s most effective Unconventional Warfare (UW) campaigns. While Spanish steel and gunpowder were formidable, the true "force multiplier" was the ability t...

Be sure to visit our website for upcoming merch. If you are interested in the books and sources used for this series, check out my recommended reading list on the website.  https://deadwarriorsociety.com/ ----- The moment Hernán Cortés set foot on the shores of Mexico, history didn’t just change, it fractured. Was Montezuma a calculating ruler playing a dangerous diplomatic game… or a man confront...

Be sure to visit our website for upcoming merch   https://deadwarriorsociety.com/ _____ In this episode of Dead Warrior Society, we dive into one of the most mysterious and eerie preludes to the conquest of Mexico, the Aztec omens of doom that supposedly foretold the destruction of the Mexica world. Years before the arrival of the Spaniards, strange and terrifying signs were said to appear across...

Be sure to visit our website for upcoming merch drops and a recommended reading list. https://deadwarriorsociety.com/ ------- Before the fall of the Aztec Empire… before the march on Tenochtitlán… there was a much smaller, messier beginning. In this episode of Dead Warrior Society, we rewind to the earliest phase of the Spanish presence in the Americas when the conquistadors were still figuring ou...

Be sure to visit our website for upcoming merch drops and a recommended reading list. https://deadwarriorsociety.com/ ------- What made the Aztec army one of the deadliest military forces in history and how did an empire this powerful ultimately fall? In this episode of Dead Warrior Society, we go inside the Mexica Army and break down the training, organization, tactics, and ideology that allowed...

The Indian Militia and Descriptions of the Indies By Captain Bernardo de Vargas Machuca https://amzn.to/4agiMw7 ---------- In this episode of the Dead Warrior Society Podcast, we dig into one of the most overlooked tactical manuals in military history: Vargas Machuca’s late-16th-century conquistador ranger handbook. Written for small, autonomous units operating deep in hostile territory, Machuca’s...

Many argue the Aztecs fought “ritual wars," symbolic battles, religious theater, capture-not-kill combat.  Cool story…  Except it falls apart the second you look at how empires actually function. In this episode of Dead Warrior Society, we dismantle one of the most persistent myths in military history: the idea that the Mexica built power through ceremony instead of strategy. Empires don’t ri...

In this episode of Dead Warrior Society, we begin a new series examining the Conquistadors and the Spanish Conquest of Mexico—starting where most narratives don’t. The first half of the episode challenges traditional scholarship by linking the Reconquista directly to the Conquest of the Americas. Rather than treating these as separate historical eras, we explore how centuries of warfare in Iberia...

In this episode, we dive deep into the waning months of the British occupation in South Carolina. Francis Marion not only led daring partisan campaigns against the Crown but also began conducting civil action as the South Carolina government transitioned from an underground resistance to a legitimate governing authority. Beyond the battlefield, Marion served as a legislator and senator, showing th...

In this episode of the Dead Warrior Society Podcast, we break down one of the most impressive—and least conventional—campaigns of the American Revolution: Francis Marion’s siege operations alongside Light Horse Harry Lee. Following up on the last episode, we pick up as Marion and Lee reunite after Cornwallis abandons South Carolina, leaving British forces stretched thin and increasingly defensive....

In today’s episode, we kick things off by breaking down U.S. Army Unconventional Warfare doctrine, focusing on the pivotal moment when a guerrilla force begins transitioning into a legitimate or semi-professional army—the point where irregular fighters start coordinating with conventional forces and become something far more capable than hit-and-run raiders. From doctrine, we turn to history. We d...

In this episode of Dead Warrior Society, we dive into the brutal and chaotic months of November and December 1780, when Francis Marion—the legendary “Swamp Fox”—went head-to-head with Banastre Tarleton, Britain’s feared cavalry commander. We break down the skirmishes, raids, and psychological warfare that defined their clashes and helped shape the southern campaign of the American Revolution. But...

In this episode of Dead Warrior Society, we dive deep into the origins of Unconventional Warfare (UW) through the lens of one of America’s earliest masters of chaos—Francis Marion, the legendary Swamp Fox. Before there was doctrine, there was instinct—and Marion’s instinct was insurgency. We break down how his campaigns during the Revolutionary War, especially the raids at Black Mingo and Tearcoat...

In this episode, we uncover the daring exploits of Francis Marion, the legendary “Swamp Fox” of the American Revolution. Known for his mastery of guerrilla warfare in the swamps of South Carolina, Marion led a small, determined band of Patriots who struck fear into the British with swift, unexpected attacks. Our story centers on the Raid at Sumter's Plantation, where Marion and his men launch...

In this episode of the Dead Warrior Society Podcast, we dive deep into the life, legend, and legacy of Francis Marion, better known as the "Swamp Fox." Far more than just a cunning guerrilla fighter, Marion's story is one of faith, conviction, and transformation through conflict. We begin with his early life in the backcountry of South Carolina, examining the religious and moral fou...

In this episode, we dive deep into Seth Harp’s new exposé on what he calls the “Fort Bragg Cartel.” The book offers a sweeping, revisionist take on American history and the U.S. military’s involvement in the Middle East, with a particular focus on JSOC’s operations both at home and abroad. Harp paints a damning picture of systemic immorality among American GIs, using the murder of Will Lavgin, Les...

After King Alfonso VI is defeated by the Almoravids, he pardons El Cid in hopes of forming new alliances. But within a year, Rodrigo is exiled once again—estranged from his king and cast back into the wilderness. Refusing to serve another Christian or Muslim lord, El Cid chooses a new path: to serve only himself. He wages war on all sides—against Alfonso VI, local Christian rulers, and the invadin...

In this explosive episode, we dive into the legendary tale of El Cid, the exiled Castilian knight whose sword may be sidelined, but whose legacy is anything but forgotten. While El Cid is holding the northeastern flank in Zaragoza, Alfonso VI takes center stage, leading a brilliant and strategic expansion of Christian borders — including the historic conquest of Toledo. But the Reconquista is far...

In this episode of the DWS podcast, we go back and examine not only El Cid’s early military career in more detail but also analyze and unpack the politically fraught situation that would inevitably led to Civil War between the Castilian royal family. El Cid is a vassal, friend, and battlefield comrade to King Sancho, the eldest brother. Because of his natural and deadly talent, Rodrigo Diaz earns...

Welcome back to The Dead Warrior Society, the podcast where history’s fiercest fighters live again. In this episode, we dive into the early life and legendary exploits of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar—better known as El Cid. From his rise through the ranks of Castilian nobility to his battlefield brilliance and uneasy alliances with both Christian and Muslim rulers, El Cid's story is as complex as it...

In this episode we discuss when the Crusades first started. Although it is a complicated concept, we dive into the intimate details of what prompted Christan peoples to take up the Cross and wage war against Islamic forces not just in the Holy Lands but really, all across the Mediterranean basin. Despite what historians claim the process of Crusading began as early as the mid 8th century and conti...