The Unknown Soldiers Podcast

In the early 19th Century, the followers of the Sikh religion forged in empire in northern India's Punjab region. The threat of the British Empire led their Maharaja, Ranjit Singh, to build a powerful Western-style army. But modern armies are a loaded gun that can be just as dangerous to the wielder as to its target. The Khalsa Army, one of India's greatest fighting forces, would be the ruin of th...

Welcome to the world of Late Antiquity, where the two superpowers of the age prepare for their final showdown. The Byzantine and Sasanian Empires - also known as the Romans and Persians - face off in a world war, an apocalyptic struggle saturated with divine power and visions of doom. But neither side sees the true danger coming from the desert. Sources & Maps : https://www.unknownsoldierspodc...

The age of European imperialism is in full swing, and they have overrun every kingdom in Africa…except one: the ancient nation of Ethiopia, which faces a massive Italian invasion. At a place called Adwa, Emperor Menelik II - the last king of Africa - will fight one of history’s decisive battles. Sources & Maps : https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/episode-52-the-last-king-of-africa Aud...

Pedro II, the second and last ruler of the Brazilian Empire, was an oddity in the 19th Century: a monarch who actually did a half-decent job and worked in the best interests of his people. So of course, he was overthrown in a military coup. Let's dive into the life, legacy and tragedy of Dom Pedro the Magnanimous, one of the most fascinating men of the modern age. Sources : https://www.unknownsold...

Just a barely scripted episode talking about the historiography and my key sources for the Paraguayan War. Then I rattle off a bunch of random thoughts about the conflict and my opinions on it. Hey, I'm on vacation and content is content. Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays and so forth! See you next year! Sources : https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldiers-podcast-episodes-47-51-the...

Paraguay has lost the war by late 1868…but will they admit it? Francisco Solano Lopez drags his nation into the abyss, and the Triple Alliance shows no mercy as they grind Paraguay down. South America’s greatest war approaches its apocalyptic finale. Nations can find themselves in victory...or lose themselves in defeat. Sources : https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldiers-podcast...

Eliza Lynch, Francisco Solano Lopez's mistress and the virtual First Lady of Paraguay is one of the most famous - and infamous - figures in the history of South America. And she played a starring role in the Paraguayan War. Was she a national icon, a greedy prostitute, a wicked queen, a tragic heroine or something else? Will the real Eliza Lynch please stand up? Sources : https://www.unknownsoldie...

The Paraguayan War is in a stalemate. Paraguay and the Triple Alliance grapple with questions of war economy, homefront morale, and national will as the conflict becomes a war of attrition. And both sides are tested to their limits in the climactic struggle, the bitter grapple for the fortress of Humaitá - the Gibraltar of the South. Sources : https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-so...

As the main action of the Paraguayan War took place far to the south, the Brazilian government sent an expedition overland to recapture the occupied province of Mato Grosso. This disastrous campaign was a roadshow of human misery that somehow became a legendary Brazilian epic, and also a great demonstration of why you should never ignore the Iron Hand of Logistics. Sources : https://www.unknownsol...

In 1866, Paraguay stood on the defensive as the Triple Alliance prepared to invade. The great battles of that year, bloodbaths like Tuyutí, Boquerón, and Curupayty, accomplished very little in military terms. But the largest and bloodiest battles in South American history etched themselves into national memories, and set the war on the road to Armageddon. Sources : https://www.unknownsoldierspodca...

In 1865, Francisco Solano Lopez's armies and navies were on the offensive. Three nations joined the war against Paraguay: Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, a combination that came to be known as the Triple Alliance. Alliances have their problems, but Paraguay was fighting all alone...and as it turned out, that was worse. Especially when they had to fight naval battles with canoes. Sources : https://...

19th-Century South America was a dangerous place for new nations. One of these was a small, landlocked, deeply weird country called Paraguay. And in 1864, Paraguay's dictator made some of the worst foreign policy decisions in modern history, kicking off South America's longest and most terrible war. And you thought your political leaders were bad. Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/po...

Today’s story spans thousands of years across the globe. Our protagonists make decisions that determine the lives of thousands, wield unimaginable powers of destruction, decide the fate of nations, even as they are blind, paralyzed, shackled…by the chains of command. Let’s look through the eyes of four generals from the ancient world to the modern day. Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.c...

Some of the greatest soldiers of the American Revolution remain unknown. The women of America, both extraordinary and ordinary, worked, suffered, took action, and sometimes even fought to guarantee their new nation’s freedom. And in the process, something else would be born: the seeds of a second revolution. Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldiers-podcast-episode-45-d...

World War I is at its climax in 1918, when the Americans arrive in France. Among them are the African-American 369th Infantry Regiment. They descend into the Western Front...and ascend into legend as the Harlem Hellfighters. But they have to wage two wars: one against the Germans in the trenches; the other against racism at home. Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldier...

Inheritance disputes always bring out the worst in a family. In 1135, King Henry I of England died, plunging his realm into civil war. Let's take a look at the complexities of medieval warfare, as the grandchildren of William the Conqueror fight for his throne...but unlike the HBO show based on these events, no dragons are involved. (But there is castration, so it evens out.) Sources: https://www....

Brief update on the current status and future direction of the Unknown Soldiers Podcast. No episode this week, but more to come soon! Check the Website: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/ Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/unknownsoldierspodcast https://twitter.com/unksoldierspod

The Roman Empire under Augustus Caesar was at the peak of its power in the last years BC, when it decided to turn its attention to the dark forests across the Rhine - a place they called Germania. Betrayal, disaster, and destiny await the Legions and their imperialist hubris in the dark shadows of the Teutoburg Forest. Maps & Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldier...

When World War I broke out in Africa, the Kaiser's only warship in the area - the light cruiser SMS Konigsberg - found a new hiding place in an African jungle. The British had a new mission: track down and destroy the Kaiser's African Queen. The Battle of the Rufiji Delta would be one of history's longest - and craziest - naval battles. Where did I get my info? Here are my sources: https://www.unk...

When the Great War broke out in 1914, Germany's overseas African colonies were swept up in the maelstrom. In German East Africa, a daring Prussian officer and his remarkable Black soldiers, the Askaris, held the British Empire at bay for four long years. Welcome to the First World War in Africa...as seen by the Africans themselves. Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldi...

In the aftermath of the Spanish-American War, it was clear that the US Army was in desperate need of reform. Its salvation would come in the form of a sarcastic, kinda mean New York lawyer named Elihu Root. Let's get into some spicy, exciting, adrenaline-soaked military reform! Where did I get my info? Here are my sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldiers-podcast-episod...

The Philippine War ends not with a glorious triumph, but a descent into America's heart of darkness in Batangas, Samar and the Moro Provinces. When the people of the United States confront the truth, will they accept the reality...or cling to a glorious image? The end of the war is only the beginning. Map of the Final Campaigns: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldiers-podcast-...

Women served on both sides in the Philippine War, in capacities as varied as they were surprising. American women were activists, teachers, nurses and Army wives; Filipinas were revolutionaries, camp followers, and even warriors. But in the end, what truly made them different was their relationship to colonialism and empire. Check out my maps: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-so...

By 1900, the Americans seemed to have defeated the Philippine resistance...but the war had actually shifted into Phase 2. Ambushes, atrocities, and presidential politics swirl around America's new empire as the war gets bitter and ugly. Is it possible for America to defeat an insurgency? Map of the Campaigns of 1900: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/episode-38-the-philippine-war-part-2-...

The Buffalo Soldiers, the African-American regiments, might have been the U.S. Army's elite units of its imperial age. But Black Americans had a different experience and different reaction to the conflict, and it wasn't always positive. How did America's racial history intersect with the Philippine War? Check out my maps: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldiers-podcast-episode...