The History Network

Many 'magical' items belong to the stories of Arthur and his knights although their genesis is more complicated. Sir Percival had the shield of Joseph of Arimathea, Gawain had the shield of Judas Maccabeus, Galahad the Shield of king Evalach (which had a cross drawn on it by Joseph of Arimathea in his own blood). The knights also had named swords and lances. Dur: 17mins  File: .mp3

Magic weapons and armour are things we usually associate with the realms of myth or fantasy rather than history. And yet, in semi-historical and even historical sources throughout the medieval period we find accounts of magic weapons which bring down foes or inspire comrades, or of shields and armour which protect the wearer no matter what they faced. Dur: 26mins File: .mp3

The conquest of Mexico was a landmark in the history of the world, changing its course forever. A mere 600 adventurers, speculators and journeymen from a European nation that had only existed in its current form for a few decades, landed in an unknown land and proceeded to conquer a massive, ruthless and predatory empire in the space of just a few of years. Dur: 17mins  File: .mp3

The conquest of Mexico was a landmark in the history of the world, changing its course forever. A mere 600 adventurers, speculators and journeymen from a European nation that had only existed in its current form for a few decades, landed in an unknown land and proceeded to conquer a massive, ruthless and predatory empire in the space of just a few of years. Dur: 28mins File: .mp3

The battle of Leuctra, fought between the forces of Sparta and the Boeotian League led by Thebes, in early July 371 BC, altered forever the map of ancient Greek history. In a single afternoon, what the ancient Greeks of the early 4th century BC had come to understand as their world order was swept way. The Theban tactics at Leuctra included the revolutionary ideas of deployment in depth and of a r...

The battle of Leuctra, fought between the forces of Sparta and the Boeotian League led by Thebes, in early July 371 BC, altered forever the map of ancient Greek history. In a single afternoon, what the ancient Greeks of the early 4th century BC had come to understand as their world order was swept way. The Theban tactics at Leuctra included the revolutionary ideas of deployment in depth and of a r...

No Man's Land. Three of the most evocative words of The Great War. Never forgotten by combatants. A place of death, danger, wire, bullets, shells, poison gas, mud, rats, bodies, and fear. A place which was never safe. When going "over the top" the place where you were most likely to die, but being wounded there could be worse. A quiet place occasionally, an inferno of fire and noise at other times...

In May 1754 a young George Washington's first combat experience occurred at the Battle of Jumonville Glen located in southwest Pennsylvania in the Ohio Valley, where he defeated a small group of French on a diplomatic mission to inform the British that they needed to leave the area; it was French territory and quickly became a flashpoint in the fight for the supremacy of North America. Dur: 15mins...

On Sunday 22nd of August, 1642, Charles I of England unfurled his standard at Nottingham, it would signal the start of the English Civil war; a struggle which pitted regal power against Parliament. The war had ebbed and flowed for two years with varied success when in April of 1644 a Parliamentarian force laid siege to York, which was considered key to the Royalist defence of the north of England....

Following the surprise attack on Pearl Harbour in December 1941, Japanese forces simultaneously invaded British Malaya, Hong Kong and the Philippines. Japanese troops took just 70 days to crush the British Empire forces in Malaya and Singapore, which was surrendered on 15 February 1942. Dur: 30mins File: .mp3

On May 7, the Royal Flying Corps suffered one of their greatest losses when the great Albert Ball was shot down near Annoeullin, France. Ball had just scored his 44th victory and was pursuing another plane when he disappeared into a cloud. When he reappeared, his plane was falling from the sky and his propeller was motionless. Ball fell from the sky and his plane crashed some distance away. Lothar...

Just ten years after the Wright brothers successfully flew the world's first powered airplane, the First World War erupted across Europe and with it came the first air war. Airplanes of wood, metal, and canvas took to the skies to act as observers and engage in combat with enemy planes. The best pilots became known as "aces" and were celebrated by both sides. Dur: 27mins File: .mp3

It is a cliche that wars seldom go according to plan, but perhaps none has gone astray as dramatically as the First World War. The vast German sweep through the Low Countries succeeded only in branding the Kaiser's Reich a nation of butchers and bringing the United Kingdom into the war. Field commanders were unable to achieve the clock-work precision required by the Schlieffen Plan and the German...

If one were to travel through the modern day US state Louisiana, you would quickly be transported to what seems like another world. French language signs adorn the streets as the sounds of Zydeco or Louisiana French folk music fills the air. Most would cite the menagerie of foods combining french peasant recipes with African and native additions cooked into the various creatures inhabiting the bay...

Although a good amount of time was allowed to prepare for the operation, the campaign itself was poorly planned. Inexplicably, the 13,000 men Napoleon led across the Sinai desert towards Syria in January 1799 were not properly equipped for the desert conditions. Dur: 29mins File: .mp3

The French invasion of Egypt in the summer of 1798 was the first great seaborne invasion of the modern era. With 335 ships and almost 40,000 men, it was the largest seaborne force ever launched in the Western world – at least since Xerxes' vast fleet attacked Athens at the Battle of Salamis in 480BC. It remained the largest ever seaborne invasion throughout the nineteenth century, only to be super...

On the morning of 16 December 1914, at around 8am, the German battlecruisers SMS Von der Tann and Derfflinger opened fire on the British coastal resort of Scarborough. For the town's inhabitants the shelling seemed indiscriminate, the prominent Grand Hotel was hit a number of times, as was the medieval castle overlooking the bay and residential parts of the town. Dur: 24mins File: .mp3

In 1753, the Governor of the colony of Virginia sent George Washington, who was a twenty one year old major in the Virginia militia, to the French Fort LeBoeuf near Lake Erie in the Ohio Valley, to demand the French leave the area. This ultimatum was rejected and Washington returned to deliver the message. Dur: 20mins File: .mp3

A battle at Dorking, that never happened, and German spies that never existed were a cause of great anguish to the British in the early part of the twentieth century. The result would be the creation a secret service, the rounding up of foreign nationals and an explosion in the popularity of the spy genre; which would manifest itself with classics such as John Buchan's 'The Thirty-Nine Steps' Dur:...

We all know that Britain was last successfully invaded in 1066, when William the Conqueror defeated the Saxon King Harold at Hastings, but, that does not mean the shores of Albion have not since been attacked. In 1797 the French landed a small force near Fishguard, in Wales, and were ignominiously forced to surrender. In 1914 a German naval squadron sailed long the north-east coast and bombarded t...

The Duke of Wellington, late in life, was asked what was his most difficult battle during all his years of soldiering, after a short pause he replied with just one word, Assaye; his great victory against the Marathas in 1803. A hard fought battle, he would lose a third of his men, the Indian Marathas troops were well equipped and drilled in modern tactics by mercenary European officers. Dur: 16min...

Long time listeners might know after ten years of producing the podcast, last year Angus took the decision to return to university to study a Masters Degree in History. More by chance than design his niche turned out to be the First World War. During his studies he came across a new book titled 'Led By Lions' written by Neil Thornton, which looks at British Members of Parliament, who, serviced in...

As some of you might be aware Angus hosts the Ancient Warfare podcast, a monthly round table discussion about war in the ancient world. Last year we launched a patreon page for the podcast. Historians aren't the best paid lot, and everyone is essentially doing the podcast for free. We thought it might be a good way to help cover costs, and if you enjoy it, to tip us a $ each time we produce someth...

British soldiers in Boston were furious. They were pent up in the city by a bunch of farmers and merchants while their commander seemingly did nothing. April turned to May. The militia forces grew stronger as more companies joined the siege. By now, four colonies were represented at Boston: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. Dur: 27mins File: .mp3

On June 17, 1775, over one thousand New England militia stood on a hill overlooking Charlestown, Massachusetts and Boston Harbor. Arrayed in front of them in their scarlet and white uniforms, brushed clean for the occasion, were regiments of the British Army. Their goal was to take this hill from the erstwhile colonists-turned-rebels and fortify it, which would prevent the rebels from controlling...