The Unknown Soldiers Podcast

Today we meet the women who followed, suffered, and died with European armies in the age of gunpowder, 1450-1850. They are the invisible people of military history, some of the greatest unknown soldiers, the women of the army: the camp followers. Maps, Images, Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/ Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/unknownsoldierspodcast https://twitter.com/unksoldi...

During the leadup to the U.S. Civil War, American adventurers tried to invade and conquer new slave territories in the Caribbean. They were called the "filibusters", and their most infamous hero, William Walker, became Central America's historical villain. Maps, Images, and Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldiers-podcast-episode-24-how-to-steal-a-country-maps-images-a...

Brief update on the present and future of the Unknown Soldiers Podcast. No episode this week - sorry! But there's a bunch of good stuff just over the horizon... Check the Website: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/ Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/unknownsoldierspodcast https://twitter.com/unksoldierspod

BONUS SHORT ROUND for the Imjin War. Don't let the title fool you. The iron hand of logistics can make or break an army, a campaign, a war...and it broke the Japanese invasion of Korea. Let's take an in-depth look at what it takes to feed an army. Check out my hand-drawn maps: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldiers-podcast-episode-20-23-the-imjin-war-series-maps Where did I g...

PART IV of the Imjin War. By 1598, the Japanese had failed to conquer Korea...if only they would admit it. The last years of the conflict will see some of the bloodiest and most horrifying events in Asian history...and their scars still refuse to heal. Check out my hand-drawn maps: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldiers-podcast-episode-20-23-the-imjin-war-series-maps Where di...

PART III of the Imjin War. In 1597, the Japanese came back for Round Two, and Korea was brought to the brink of disaster. Its survival rested on a disgraced admiral and his 13 ships...holding the line against 300. It is one of history's greatest last stands: the Battle of Myeongnyang, the Korean Thermopylae. Check out my hand-drawn maps: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldiers...

BONUS SHORT ROUND for the Imjin War. Ming China was a gunpowder empire, the East Asian superpower that would ultimately thwart Hideyoshi's invasion of Japan...with help from Little Brother, Joseon Korea. Let's take a hard look at the Chinese army in the gunpowder age. Check out my hand-drawn maps: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldiers-podcast-episode-20-23-the-imjin-war-seri...

PART II of the Imjin War. In 1593, the Japanese invasion of Korea had run into serious trouble. An overstretched army, the valiant resistance of the Korean people, and the guns of the Ming Dynasty would force the samurai to admit defeat. Or would they? Check out my hand-drawn maps: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldiers-podcast-episode-20-23-the-imjin-war-series-maps Where di...

BONUS SHORT ROUND for the Imjin War. The samurai army that invaded Korea in 1592 was a highly effective, ruthless gunpowder army, a fusion of katanas and muskets. It had some surprising strengths, and...even more surprising weaknesses. Check out my hand-drawn maps: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldiers-podcast-episode-20-23-the-imjin-war-series-maps Where did I get my info?...

PART I of the Imjin War. In 1592, a Japanese warlord named Toyotomi Hideyoshi unleashed a campaign of brutal world conquest. But even the mighty samurai would meet their match when they met a courageous Korean admiral named Yi Sun-Sin. Check out my hand-drawn maps: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldiers-podcast-episode-20-23-the-imjin-war-series-maps Where did I get my info?...

A brief introduction to the Imjin War series and Asia in the 16th Century. Need some context before we get into the story? Don't know your Mings from your Mongols? Find the answers here! Check out my hand-drawn maps: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldiers-podcast-episode-20-23-the-imjin-war-series-maps Where did I get my info? Here are my sources: https://www.unknownsoldiersp...

War elephants were a surprisingly common presence on the battlefield from ancient times until almost the present day. This is a look at the big leathery fellas - how they were trained, how they were used, who used them, and how effective they were. Check the website: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/ Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/unknownsoldierspodcast https://twitter.com/unksoldier...

The Maurya Dynasty ruled the first great empire of Ancient India. But how did the peoples of ancient India view war, combat, and conflict? The answers are much more relevant to the modern world than you might imagine. Maps, Images, Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldiers-episode-19-caesars-of-india Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/unknownsoldierspodcast https://...

The Ancient Greek King Pyrrhus of Epirus was legendary in his own time, and is still spoken of today – but for entirely different reasons. What happens when a victory in battle is not worth the cost? What happens when the victories don’t matter at all? Check the website: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/ Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/unknownsoldierspodcast https://twitter.com/unksol...

The myths of the Greek city-state of Sparta, of Spartan invincibility and Spartan warrior might, are a favorite theme of popular history. But do the facts match up to the legend? It’s time to do some mythbusting on the Unknown Soldiers Podcast. Sources, Maps & Commentary: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com//post/unknown-soldiers-episode-17-the-spartan-pr-department-maps-images-sources Soci...

In today's Unfiltered Soldiers, it's time to bust some myths about the German military of World War II - the Wehrmacht. Guest starring a glass of beer and a rant about the film "Enemy at the Gates." Check the website: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/ Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/unknownsoldierspodcast https://twitter.com/unksoldierspod

In the second (too long) Unfiltered Soldiers, meet George Washington, Father of His Country, warts and all. Learn where he sucked, where he failed, where he was wrong...and where he succeeded. Featuring guest appearances by a glass of beer and the musical Hamilton. Check the website: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/ Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/unknownsoldierspodcast https://twitt...

In World War II, the Western Allies launched two invasions of France. The first was in Normandy. The second was in Southern France: Operation Dragoon, the Other D-Day. Let's meet some forgotten heroes of World War II. Sources and Images: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldiers-episode-16-the-other-d-day-maps-images-sources Check the website: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast....

Bernardo de Gálvez, Governor of Spanish Louisiana, is one of the greatest heroes of the American Revolution...but sadly remains a footnote in U.S. history. His Mississippi River and Gulf Coast campaigns helped define the future of the young republic. Check the website: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/ Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/unknownsoldierspodcast https://twitter.com/unksoldi...

The Great Siege of Gibraltar, 1779-1783, was one of history's longest sieges and the largest engagement of the American Revolutionary War...and not a single American soldier in sight. Can the British and German garrison hold the Rock of Gibraltar? Check the website: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/ Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/unknownsoldierspodcast https://twitter.com/unksoldiers...

A global superpower has gotten bogged down in a guerrilla war created by its own mistakes. How can the forces of King George III defeat the American Insurgency? Let's look at the Revolution through British eyes. Commentary & Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldiers-episode-15-the-american-insurgency-commentary-sources Check the website: https://www.unknownsoldiersp...

The unsung heroines of the ’45, the women of the Jacobite Cause, deserve their own light in the sun. No part of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s rebellion could have succeeded without them…and they shared in the tragedy of its failure. Check the website: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/ Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/unknownsoldierspodcast https://twitter.com/unksoldierspod

This is the story of a Highland Clan Chief – Simon Fraser, Chief of Clan Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat. His life shines a light into the upheavals caused by the Jacobite Wars. But despite his importance he is a backstabbing, dirty, nasty man. Do not root for him. Check the website: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/ Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/unknownsoldierspodcast https://twitter.com/u...

PART IV of the Jacobite Wars. Two British armies collide on the battlefield of Culloden Moor. It is the death of a culture and the birth of a legend. What will rise from the stones of Culloden? Check the website: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/ Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/unknownsoldierspodcast https://twitter.com/unksoldierspod Music: Celtic Irish March (Flute Bodhran Bagpipes...

It was not an English Army or a Scottish Army, but two British Armies, that went to the battlefield of Culloden. It's time to meet the men who would fight to the death for their Princes and their causes. Check the website: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/ Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/unknownsoldierspodcast https://twitter.com/unksoldierspod