Host James Houser tackles forgotten wars, battles, and perspectives of military history from across the ages and across the globe. Whether it's the women of the American Revolution, lost Indian kingdoms, neglected World War II campaigns or medieval power struggles, this podcast sheds light on real people with real stories...who don't deserve to be Unknown Soldiers.
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The Hussite Revolution has defeated two crusades, the might of the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire and the medieval nobility - but now the internal struggles begin. Moderates against radicals, cities versus countryside, upper class versus lower classes. The Hussites stand ascendant over all their other enemies...but can they conquer their own internal demons? Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/episodes-67-and-68-the-hussite-wars-parts-1-and-2 Music: Bloodlust by Alexa...
A simple priest named Jan Hus gently suggests that the Catholic Church might be wrong about a few things - so they burn him at the stake, and ignite a holy war. The Church calls a crusade against Hus’s followers, the Hussites and all of Europe takes up arms against the heretics. The Hussites’ only hope is a one-eyed mercenary named Jan Žižka, and his revolutionary tactics that are so crazy they just might work. Fire, faith and thunder roll over the hills of Bohemia. Sources: https://www.unknowns...
In the year 1302, the people of Flanders revolted against their French overlords. They were just a bunch of peasants and townspeople, with simple weapons and little armor - but the French knights were in for a surprise. It’s time to take a deep dive into a single medieval battle - the Battle of Courtrai, where the common people of a small country stood their ground against the most powerful military in medieval Europe. Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/episode-66-the-battle-of...
In the year 1361, a ragged band of veteran mercenaries called the White Company marched across the Alps into Italy. One of their leaders was a middle-aged English knight named Sir John Hawkwood. He would the most infamous mercenary captain in Europe, the terror of Italy…and the harbinger of change, as the Middle Ages gave way to the Renaissance. Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/episode-65-soldier-and-fortune-maps-and-sources Music: Dragonquest by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorCh...
A five-year-old boy is marched to his execution, but at the last minute he is spared. So begins the story of William Marshal. Tournament champion, feudal lord, father, husband, hero, rebel, loyal servant to five kings, one of the most legendary knights of the Middle Ages. And in his final years, at the age of 70, he will make the most important decision of his life. Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/episode-64-the-life-and-times-of-sir-william-marshal-maps-and-sources Music: T...
After surviving Boudicca's Rebellion, the Roman province of Britannia was more or less stagnant - until a general arrived with an ambition to complete the conquest. Gnaeus Julius Agricola came to Britain in 77 AD with the ambition to lead the legions into the wild northern regions of Caledonia, a.k.a. Scotland, all the way to the ends of the known earth. And the only reason we know about this campaign is Agricola's son-in-law, the historian Tacitus, who made sure that his wife's beloved father w...
In 43 AD, the Roman Empire set out to conquer the mysterious land of Britannia. But the Roman province was barely established when a massive uprising threatened to destroy their achievements. The revolt’s leader was Boudicca, a Celtic warrior queen on a quest for freedom and revenge. This is a story about empire, resistance, one woman’s fury, and warfare at the edge of the world. Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/episode-63-furies-of-britannia-sources-and-maps Music: Vopna by ...
The Romans have come to the walls of holy Jerusalem, where the Jews await their assault and pray for a miracle. The epic Siege of Jerusalem, and the smaller Siege of Masada, mark the twin climaxes of the First Roman-Jewish War, but their mythology...and their impact...endure into the modern day. This is Part II of the story of Josephus, the Romans, the Jews, and a war for the freedom of Zion. Sources: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/episodes-61-and-62-wailing-walls-part-1-and-wailing...
This episode delves into the First Roman-Jewish War (66-74 AD), beginning in Judea under Roman oppression. It introduces Josephus, a key historian and participant, whose accounts are critical but biased. The narrative explores the complex political and religious tensions, the Roman misrule that ignited the revolt, and the initial Jewish resistance, including their victory at Beth Horon. It also covers Emperor Nero's reaction, the appointment of General Vespasian, and the brutal Roman campaign in Galilee, culminating in the siege of Yotapeta and Josephus's controversial survival.
Brief update on the current status and future direction of the Unknown Soldiers Podcast...and what's coming up next! To send me more suggestions or any ideas about future episodes, or just your commentary on the state of the pod, send them to: unknownsoldierspodcast@gmail.com Check the Website: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/ Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/unknownsoldierspodcast https://twitter.com/unksoldierspod...
Just a barely scripted episode talking about my sources, themes, missing bits and some final thoughts on the Soviet-Afghan War. Content is content. Sources : https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/the-soviet-afghan-war-series-maps-and-sources Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/unknownsoldierspodcast https://twitter.com/unksoldierspod...
The Soviet-Afghan War is over, but for both countries, the struggle has only begun. The Soviet Union begins to crumble, a collapse that is not inevitable or predictable, as the world watches in disbelief. But the world isn't watching Afghanistan, which descends into civil war, anarchy, and violence. The rise of the Taliban, al-Qa'eda, and the road to 9/11 are foreseen by nobody, and no one is trying to stop them - except for one man. And his tragedy might be the saddest chapter of this unlucky c...
In this supplement to the Soviet-Afghan war series, we examine the experiences of both Soviet and Afghan women on either side of this conflict. Soviet women served in many roles, including military and civilian, and endured many of the same experiences of the men - though one group of Soviet women, the mothers, may have suffered the most. And Afghan women had it even worse, caught between the Soviet destruction and their own radicals in the Mujahideen, the promises and cruelties of two ideologie...
The Soviets have decided that it’s time to leave Afghanistan…but as we all know, it’s much harder to get OUT of the graveyard of Empires than it is to get in. Battles still remain, as the Americans send Stinger missiles to the Mujahideen and the Soviets launch their last major attack in Operation Magistral. But the damage is already done: the USSR is on the brink of collapse, and the devastated country of Afghanistan is fertile ground for the rise of radical Islam. Sources: https://www.unknownso...
What was the experience of a Soviet conscript in Afghanistan? In this supplement to the Soviet-Afghan war series, we dive into the Soviet soldier's experience in the Graveyard of Empires. We'll see what his everyday life was like, what combat was like, what his living conditions were like. But we'll also see how the war affected him, what he thought about it...and what happened when he came home. This is the story of the Soviet Union's answer to America's Vietnam veterans: the Afgantsy. Or, in o...
The Soviet-Afghan War reaches its climax from 1983 to 1985, as atrocities and destruction ravage the civilian population. The Mujahideen are starting to lose the war, but they have outside support: from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and even the United States, from people like Ronald Reagan and Charlie Wilson and Osama Bin Laden. International aid might tip the balance – but it also might unleash forces that no one can control. Sources : https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/the-soviet-afghan-wa...
The Soviet military, a powerful force designed for World War III, was not prepared for Afghanistan. The Russian bear was overstretched, fighting a dangerous, resilient enemy called the Mujahideen, with no way forward and no way out. Its weaknesses became most apparent in a place called the Panjshir Valley, where they faced the brilliant guerrilla leader Ahmad Shah Massoud - the Lion of Panjshir. In Part II of a five-part series, we examine the war from 1980 to 1982, especially the tactics, the s...
The Soviet Armed Forces were the juggernaut of a nuclear superpower, the largest army on Earth, the embodiment of the massive, powerful Russian bear. But they were also deeply flawed. Their soldiers were mistreated, their equipment was crude, and they suffered from the paradoxes of the socialist empire. But above all, the Soviets were locked into an ideological prison of their own making: a Marxist approach to warfare. Sources & Maps : https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/the-soviet-a...
In the late 1970s, two neighboring countries were in turmoil: the Soviet Union was beginning its decline and fall, and Afghanistan was roiled by political chaos. When a socialist, pro-Soviet government comes to power in Afghanistan, it immediately comes under attack by its own people - and the Soviets have to make a decision. In Part I of a five-part series, we will see how the Soviet Union stumbled into the graveyard of empires. Sources : https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/the-soviet-a...
Before we dive into the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, it's time to get acquainted - or reacquainted - with the Graveyard of Empires. Let's take a look at the peoples, places, and history of Afghanistan before 1979. (Or, to put it another way, I wrote way too much context for Soviet-Afghan War Part 1 and spun it off into its own thing.) Sources & Maps : https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/the-soviet-afghan-war-series-maps-and-sources Email Me: unknownsoldierspodcast@gmail.com Music:...
A brief introduction to the upcoming Soviet-Afghan War series, debuting March 3. Don't know your Kremlins from your Gremlins? Find the answers here! Sources and Maps: https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/the-soviet-afghan-war-series-maps-and-sources Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/unknownsoldierspodcast https://twitter.com/unksoldierspod Email me: unknownsoldierspodcast@gmail.com...
The U.S. Army's 442nd Infantry Regiment was a unit unlike any other . Many of their families were behind barbed wire in internment camps, and all of them suffered discrimination from their own country. They didn't just fight for America…they fought to prove they were Americans. And they became America’s most decorated combat unit of World War II. Sources : https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/episode-55-go-for-broke-sources Audible Recommendation: https://www.audible.com/pd/An-Army-at-Daw...
When the American Civil War began, the state of Kentucky wanted to remain neutral - but that was never in the cards. As the Union and Confederate armies spar over the outcome of the border states, a trio of incompetent Confederate generals ensures that Kentucky will go to the Union. The climax of this story is a small but decisive battle at Mill Springs, Kentucky - and one general, Felix K. Zollicoffer, who literally never saw it coming. Sources & Maps : Coming Soon...
After the fall of their empire in 1849, the Sikhs have continued to render military service all over the world. They have served the British Empire, the modern Republic of India, the Canadian and Australian and U.S. militaries, on battlefields from Africa to China, from Italy to Burma, from Afghanistan to Palestine. This is the story of Sikhs in warfare after their conquest by the British - the legacy of the Khalsa. Sources & Maps : https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/episode-54-glor...
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 the Sikh Empire. Sources & Maps : https://www.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/episode-54-glory-of-...
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.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/episode-53-world-war-622-ad Audible Recommendation: https://www.audible.com/pd/Byzantiu...
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 Audible Recommendation: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Gates-of-Europe-Audiobook/B0B25STPTT?action_code...
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.unknownsoldierspodcast.com/post/unknown-soldiers-podcast-episodes-47-51-the-paraguayan-war-series-sources Socia...
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-paraguayan-war-series-sources Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/unknownsoldierspodcast https:/...
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-episodes-47-51-the-paraguayan-war-series-sources Audible Recommendation: https://www.audible.com/pd...
