A badly designed submarine becomes the face of the french navy while accidently doing everything it can to convince people that the crew might be nazi agents. Support the show! https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys Sources: William H. Langenberg. The Mysterious Disappearance of the Bizarre Surcouf Christopher Miskimon. Seizure of the Surcouf https://www.royalmarineshistory.com/post/seizure-of-the-surcouf-operation-catapult https://www.theday.com/local-news/20161119/french-subs-visit-to-new-l...
Sep 11, 2023•1 hr 8 min
*this is a preview. to get the full episode support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/88848996?pr=true A few weeks ago Tom made a patreon goal that if we hit 5500 supporters we would read horrible fan fiction starring Muammar Gaddafi, Josef Stalin, and Leon Trotsky. It's horrible and you've been warned.
Sep 06, 2023•8 min
In the final episode of the series, we learn about the run-up to, and aftermath of, the Deutscher Herbst, or "German Autumn" of 1977. In two months in late 1977, the leadership of the first generation of the Red Army Faction would murder a high-profile German industrialist (and former SS officer), hijack a plane, and commit group suicide. And let's just say it made an impression in West Germany. Join the Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys Sources: The Red Army Faction. A Document...
Sep 04, 2023•1 hr 25 min
This is a preview, get the whole episode here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-episode-83890971 The US invents a reason to invade the tiny island nation of Grenada based on plans made from some tourist maps.
Aug 28, 2023•10 min
In this episode, we cover the early- to mid-1970s bombing campaigns of the Red Army Faction, also known as the Baader-Meinhof gang, and some of the... interesting personalities of the group members. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys Sources: The Red Army Faction. A Documentary History. Volume I: Projectiles for the People. Margrit Schiller. Remembering The Armed Struggle. My Time With the Red Army Faction. Stefan Aust. The Baader Meinhof Complex
Aug 28, 2023•1 hr 23 min
It's part 2 of our 4-part series on the Red Army Faction, in which Tom takes the lead to explain to Joe the story of 1960s German left-wing militants, their eventual downfall, and--in this episode--something you might describe as 'the world's least enthusiastic hunger striker.' Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys Sources: The Red Army Faction. A Documentary History. Volume I: Projectiles for the People. Margrit Schiller. Remembering The Armed Struggle. My Time With the Re...
Aug 21, 2023•1 hr 6 min
We've decided to answer your questions. We chose from a list and assembled the cast of Joe, Nate, and Tom to do our best to give honest feedback... or something like it. Get the whole episode on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/lions-led-by-q-1-87857214
Aug 18, 2023•9 min
Tom takes the wheel for another series. This time the Red Army Faction, a German left wing terror group funded by bank robberies and fueled by chain smoking. Get the whole series now on the Lions Led by Donkeys Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys/ Sources: The Red Army Faction. A Documentary History. Volume I: Projectiles for the People. Margrit Schiller. Remembering The Armed Struggle. My Time With the Red Army Faction. Stefan Aust. The Baader Meinhof Complex
Aug 13, 2023•1 hr 11 min
This is a preview, for the whole episode get access here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-episode-d-60639257 What if you sucked so badly at your job you almost accidentally killed the president
Aug 08, 2023•10 min
US Marines and Soldiers invade the fortress island of Saipan and end up hating each other almost as much as the Japanese. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys Sources: http://www.battleofsaipan.com/seabee.htm Philip Crowl, "Campaign in the Marianas", vol. 9 Richard Frank. Downfall: End of the Imperial Japanese Empire https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/saipan-a-crucial-foothold-in-the-marianas/ https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/duel-to-the-death/ https://warf...
Aug 06, 2023•1 hr 3 min
Joe, Francis, and Shocks watch the 2018 film, 12 Strong which comes out looking even more ridiculous as few years later. Get the entire episode here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/87002249?pr=true
Aug 01, 2023•9 min
Joe, Nate, and Tom talk about the time the US and North Korea almost went to war over a poplar tree. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys Sources: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/06/axe-murder-north-korea-1976/562028/ https://ns.clementspapers.org/briefing-books/korea-tree-incident https://medium.com/@qz_li/korean-axe-murder-incident-48f3e16e47b6 https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/09/14/north-korea-1976-axe-murder-incident-215605/
Jul 30, 2023•1 hr 20 min
Everyone has heard of Charles Taylor, the brutal dictator of Liberia. This is the story of his son, Chuckie Taylor, an American born nerd turned head of Liberian national security, international diamond smuggler, and one of the worst war criminals in Liberian history. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys *UPDATE* WE FOUND HIS RAP MUSIC https://www.youtube.com/@BentmanOfficial/about Sources: https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/chucky-taylor-liberias-other-monster/ htt...
Jul 23, 2023•1 hr 17 min
Get the whole episode on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-toyota-war-49241965 Muammar Gaddafi invades Chad with one of the most powerful armies in Africa. What happens next is one of the most lopsided defeats in military history.
Jul 21, 2023•9 min
Bad customs officers cause an uprising so bad it contributes to the fall of rome. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys Sources: Alessandro Barbero. The Day of the Barbarians. Peter Heather. The Fall of the Roman Empire. https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/the-gothic-wars-battle-of-adrianople/ https://www.historynet.com/adrianople-last-great-battle-of-antiquity/ https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/roman-disaster-at-adrianople/
Jul 17, 2023•1 hr 3 min
Get the whole episode and tons of other bonus content here: https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys Joe, Francis, and Shocks discover that Sharpe is pretty much just James Bond but poor and in the army.
Jul 16, 2023•9 min
The conclusion to the fall of singapore series! Correction: The repulse and prince of wales were not sunk by carrier based aircraft. Rather they were sunk by ground based aircraft. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys
Jul 09, 2023•1 hr 21 min
Get the entire episode here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-time-gang-85400339 Once upon a time the dictator of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, attempted to recruit a Chicago street gang from Chicago to conduct terror attacks in America. This is the very dumb story.
Jul 03, 2023•9 min
Joe, Tom, and Nate talk about the most embarrasing allied defeat of WWII Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys Pre Order Your Shirt Now! https://llbdmerch.com/ Sources: Lindsey Murdoch. The Day the Empire Died in Shame. Janet Urh. Against The Sun. The AIF in Malaya. Kirby Woodburn. Et Al. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series. Vol. I Brian Farrell. The Defense and Fall of Singapore 1940-1942. Allen Parfitt. Bicycle Blitzkrieg: The Japanese Conquest ...
Jul 02, 2023•1 hr 10 min
Michigan, led by a 22 year old governor, invades Ohio to claim Toledo. PRE ORDER THE SHIRT: https://llbdmerch.com/ SUPPORT THE SHOW: https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys Sources: Emmanuel, Greg (2004). The 100-Yard War: Inside the 100-Year-Old Michigan–Ohio State Football Rivalry. Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley & Sons. pp. 8–10. ISBN 0-471-67552-0. "The Ohio–Michigan Boundary War: Battle of Phillips Corners Marker #2–26". "The Toledo War". Geography of Michigan and the Great Lakes Region. Michigan S...
Jun 25, 2023•1 hr 13 min
Italy invades Ethiopia, gets churned into a chunky, sauce-like liquid. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys Sources: Raymond Jonas. The Battle of Adwa: African Victory in the Age of Empire Greg Blake. The First Italo-Abyssinian War: The Battle of Adwa Greg Peduto. Italy's Failed African Gambit
Jun 18, 2023•1 hr 13 min
Crusaders attempt to drive the Ottomans out of the Balkans. It does not go well. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys Sources: Aziz Antiya. Crusades in the Later Middle Ages http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_nicopolis.html https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/crusader-disaster-at-nicopolis/ https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/march-to-destruction-nicopolis-1396/
Jun 11, 2023•1 hr 18 min
*CONTENT WARNING* Joe and Tom discuss The Madness of Francisco Macías Nguema, a dictator nicknamed The Pol Pot of Africa. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys Sources: Tufts Mass Atrocity Endings for Equatorial Guinea Paul Kenyon. Dictatorland: The Men Who Stole Africa. https://web.archive.org/web/20230306160338/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3610187/If-you-think-this-ones-bad-you-should-have-seen-his-uncle.html https://web.archive.org/web/20230517050409...
Jun 04, 2023•1 hr 20 min
A group of Native Americans launch one of the longest fighting retreats in North American military history in order to escape genocide at the hands of the US government. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys Sources: Bruce Hampton. Children of Grace, The Nez Perce War of 1877 Elliot West. The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/the-last-battle-of-the-nez-perce-war/ Elliot West. Dreamweaver.
May 28, 2023•1 hr 13 min
The story of the most deadly submarine disaster in American history. Support the show and get episodes like this a week before everyone else, plus bonus episodes! https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys Sources: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/08/14/questions-about-infamous-lost-sub-thresher-resurface-navy-releases-new-documents-tied-decades-old-mystery.html https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2023/april/what-killed-thresher https://www.history.com/this-day-in-histor...
May 21, 2023•1 hr 6 min
A blind man tries to charge a line of English longbowmen. It ends exactly like you think it does. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys Sources: https://www.historyextra.com/period/plantagenet/what-happened-battle-crecy-edward-iii-hundred-years-war-victory-why/ Andrew Ayton. The Battle of Crécy, 1346 Andrew Ayton. The Battle of Crécy: Context and Significance https://www.historytoday.com/archive/edward-iii-and-battle-cr%C3%A9cy https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/deat...
May 14, 2023•1 hr 14 min
The conclusion to the saga of the Taiping Rebellion! Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys
May 07, 2023•1 hr 25 min
Trouble in the heavenly kingdom! part 3/4 Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys
Apr 30, 2023•1 hr 12 min
The Taiping rebellion spreads and the rebels create the world's weirdest gunpowder Part 2/4 Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys
Apr 24, 2023•1 hr 15 min
A man fails a civil service exam, loses his goddamn mind, and leads China into the deadliest civil war in human history. Part 1/4 Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys Sources: Johnathan Spence. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan. Stephen Platt. Autumn in the heavenly kingdom Jian Youwen. The Taiping Revolutionary Movement
Apr 17, 2023•1 hr 13 min