The Falklands War, or the Guerra de las Malvinas? For today’s guest, it was the latter. Roberto Herrscher grew up singing the songs of the Malvinas at school, and in 1982 was conscripted into the Argentinian Navy to fight against the British. In this episode, find out what it was like to be conscripted, how Roberto felt and continues to feel about the war, and the continuing impact of the conflict on those who fought there and on the broader culture. Roberto is a professor of Journalism at...
Apr 22, 2022•49 min
On Sunday 18 June 1815 60,000 men were slaughtered in the Battle of Waterloo. Napoleon Bonaparte's French army was finally defeated by an almighty coalition of troops from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Hanover, Brunswick and Nassau, led by the Duke of Wellington, and the Prussian army under the command of Field Marshal von Blücher. In this archive episode Zack White, who set up Voices of the Battlefield, an oral history project featuring 41 readings of eyewitness testimony from the campai...
Apr 20, 2022•40 min
As Europe prepared for the Second World War, a challenge presented itself to the men and women of Britain’s museums, galleries and archives: how could they keep their many national treasures safe? From stately homes and slate mines, to castles and prisons, in today’s episode Dr Caroline Shenton explores the race to protect British heritage. Caroline is an archivist and historian, her new book ‘National Treasures: Saving The Nation's Art in World War II’ can be found here . For more Warfare conte...
Apr 18, 2022•36 min
The role of successful and strategic intelligence operations is a vital part of determining the outcomes of battles and wars. But with every decision having the potential of catastrophic repercussions, how do you even begin to gather intelligence on a new foe? In this third installment of a new miniseries from Warfare focusing on the Falklands War, James is joined by Nick van der Bijl - Nick served 24 years as a Regular in the British Army in armour, military intelligence, and security, and fina...
Apr 15, 2022•36 min
Today, James is the guest on our NEW sister podcast Patented, hosted by Dallas Campbell. Together, they talk us through the century-long history of military drones. Drone technology has transformed the way we wage war today. They have been key in every major conflict since at least 2008, including the current war in Ukraine. But military drones have a much longer history than you might imagine, dating all the way back to the First World War. For more Warfare content, subscribe to our Warfare new...
Apr 13, 2022•37 min
On the 7th April 1945, 702 French members of the Special Air Service parachuted into the Netherlands to recapture Dutch canals, bridges and airfields in the fight against the occupiers. This was one of the last major airborne missions of the Second World War and, despite a multitude of difficulties, it resulted in the liberation of parts of the Netherlands and paved the way for the Canadian advance. Joël Stoppels is a battlefield guide and founder of Battlefield Tours, he takes us through the mi...
Apr 11, 2022•36 min
As a mist set in and the sea began to swell, British and Argentine warships circled one another off the coast of the Falkland Islands. Yet hidden beneath the waves, HMS Conqueror - a Royal Navy nuclear submarine - stalked the packed decks of the Belgrano. This pivotal day 40 years ago witnessed one of the key turning points that shifted the course of the Falklands War. In this second instalment of a new miniseries from Warfare focusing on that very conflict, James is joined by Sir Lawrence Freed...
Apr 08, 2022•34 min
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American military aviators in American military history. They faced discrimination and segregation at home but in the skies of Europe, they became one of the most successful and feared fighter units as they escorted bombers on raids in Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Poland and Germany. In this week's episode from the archive, Dan discovers just how dangerous becoming a Tuskegee Airmen was. We also hear about a fascinating project to recover the wreck...
Apr 06, 2022•44 min
On November 15 2021 Russia tested an anti-satellite weapon, shattering one of their own satellites into over a thousand pieces. This space debris will orbit the Earth for a very long time, posing a threat to space travel and other satellites. With space increasingly becoming a site of military activity, is war in space a real possibility? In this episode James is joined by Major General Robert H. Latiff, who retired from the US Air Force in 2006, to find out whether human conflict could really c...
Apr 04, 2022•25 min
April 2022 marks 40 years since the beginning of the Falklands War - but how and why did these small islands in the South Atlantic become the setting of an international conflict? In this first episode of a new miniseries from Warfare focusing on the Falklands War, James is joined by geopolitical lecturer and author Klaus Dodds. Together they discuss why the 'Las Malvinas' dispute was so important in the 1980s and to the present day, how the war started, and whether its consequences can still be...
Apr 01, 2022•36 min
Whilst Churchill is best remembered for his achievements during the dark days of the Second World War, much of the rest of his career had much more to do with failure than success. Geoffrey Wheatcroft, journalist and author of 'Churchill's Shadow: An Astonishing Life and a Dangerous Legacy', joins Dan for this episode from the archive. They discuss Geoffrey's radical reappraisal of Churchill's life and work and the myth that continues to shape our view of one of the most complex figures of ...
Mar 30, 2022•30 min
Did build up to World War Two only begin in the 20th century, or was the century of violent imperial expansion before 1939 the ultimate cause of one of the deadliest conflicts marked in modern history? In this episode James is joined by historian and author Richard Overy to discuss his fresh perspective of World War Two. In his new book 'Blood and Ruins The Great Imperial War' - Richard argues that World War Two should be seen as the final point of nearly a century of imperial expansion across t...
Mar 28, 2022•26 min
The conflict we know today as the Vietnam War–involving the United States and the Viet Cong–was actually the second of the Indochina Wars, the first having been fought shortly after WW2 between France and the Viet Minh. In this episode James is joined by Dr Pablo de Orellana of King's College London, whose new book focuses on the often forgotten conflict that he calls the First Vietnam War. Dr Pablo's book The Road to Vietnam: America, France, Britain, and the First Vietnam War , is available he...
Mar 25, 2022•39 min
After the First World War the German Army was in crisis. Limited in the size and its equipment by the Versailles Treaty which ended the war, it was a shadow of the mighty force it had been in 1914. Help came from a surprising source. Soviet Russia. Historian Ian Johnson explains to Dan how it was the Soviets who helped rebuild the German military machine before World War Two. In this episode from the archive, explore this relationship in which the Soviets helped turn the Wehrmacht into a militar...
Mar 23, 2022•22 min
His ideas were cast aside in the early 20th century, but later went on to help Allied forces win the Second World War, but who was Julian Corbett and what were his recommendations on strategy? By combining history, emerging technology, and geopolitical structures - Corbett revolutionised the concepts behind readying Britain for Warfare. In this episode, James is joined by Professor Andrew Lambert to discuss Julian Corbett's life, ideas, and his posthumous legacy in British Warfare. For more Warf...
Mar 21, 2022•36 min
Russia and the UK have very different political structures and ambitions, from their alliance at the Battle of Navarino in 1827 to the historic low of their relations now. In this episode of Warfare, James is joined by Lord David Owen, who formerly served as Navy Minister, British foreign secretary, and EU peace negotiator in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. With over two decades of working closely with Russia, Lord Owen takes us through his knowledge of the complex history of dealings. David...
Mar 18, 2022•31 min
In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we wanted to take a closer look at Russian President, Vladimir Putin's rise to power. We've dug out this episode from June 2020, when Catherine Belton joined Dan on the pod to discuss the former KGB spy-turned political figure's rule. After working from 2007-2013 as the Moscow correspondent for the Financial Times, Catherine's career has offered an exclusive insight into workings of Putin's Kremlin. Her new book 'Putin's People' is packed with inte...
Mar 16, 2022•33 min
Boko Haram is one of the largest Islamist militant groups in Africa, with Nigeria’s ongoing battle with insurgent groups and government corruption threatening the stability and political integrity of Africa’s most populous state. But who exactly are Boko Haram? In this episode of Warfare, James is joined by Dr. Olayinka Ajala, lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Leeds Beckett University and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. With over a decade of studying the terror group ...
Mar 14, 2022•48 min
In this interview from the History Hit archive with Julie McDowall, she talks Dan through exactly how the British government prepared for a worst case nuclear scenario. They discuss surviving the attack, the women who planned to provide jigsaws to the survivors and how Britain might remake itself in the aftermath of armageddon.
Mar 11, 2022•22 min
Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine has seen warfare return to the streets of Europe for the first time in decades, with Putin's troops launching major offensives to take key cities such as Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odessa. Both Ukrainian soldiers and civilians continue to mount fierce resistance against the occupiers throughout their country's urban terrain. But what is the history of urban warfare and what can it tell us about the future of this horrific new war? In this episode James is joined by Jo...
Mar 09, 2022•23 min
Located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the elongated embayment of the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east is The Gallipoli peninsula. When we think of Gallipoli, people often look at the land-based components, but what about airpower? In this episode, James is joined by author and military historian Sterling Michael Pavelec to examine airpower and engineering in the emerging world of modern warfare. From dummy airplanes, the first...
Mar 07, 20220
In February 2022, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss voiced her support for those individuals who wanted to travel to Ukraine to help, what she interpreted as, " a fight for democracy ". These comments have come under fire from fellow politicians, journalists and former members of the Armed Forces - but why? In this episode James is joined by Giles Tremlett, to discuss the similarities, and lessons that can be learnt from the foreign volunteers in the Spanish Civil war. Tales of George Orwell's expe...
Mar 04, 2022•33 min
Of all the clubs in the world, perhaps the most extraordinary is the Guinea Pig Club, a group of Second World War veterans that suffered terrible injuries and were then treated by pioneering surgeon Archibald McIndoe. In this episode from the archive, Dan Snow visits Jan Stangreciuk, one of the few surviving members, to hear his remarkable life story. Also featuring contributions from renowned World War Two historian Roger Moorhouse.
Mar 02, 2022•47 min
By law, gay men and women were banned from serving in the British military until the year 2000. Until that year, over 250 service personnel were thrown out of the military each year because of their sexuality alone. This week James is joined by Ed Hall, who was sacked by the Royal Navy for being gay before going on to found the Armed Forces Legal Challenge Group that campaigned successfully to abolish the ban just 22 years ago. For more Warfare content, subscribe to our Warfare newsletter here ....
Feb 28, 2022•42 min
Ukraine has been invaded by Russia. But why? What is NATO’s purpose, and why does it bother Vladimir Putin so much? In this episode of Warfare, we’re joined by Jamie Shea, the Former Deputy Assistant Secretary-General at NATO, who’s sat across the table from the Russian President himself. Jamie and James explore the birth of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the questions surrounding its membership, and how it impacts the current situation in Ukraine. Jamie has decades of experience workin...
Feb 25, 2022•36 min
In August 1991 there was an attempted coup in the Soviet Union as communist hard-liners sought to re-establish the dominance of Soviet rule in Russia and its satellite states. The coup attempt collapsed after three days and it eventually led to the collapse of communism. Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as General Secretary on 24 August and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR suspended the activities of the party on 29 August. Following this, later former soviet states declared their independence which has...
Feb 23, 2022•28 min
At the end of the Second World War thousands of German children were sent to the frontlines in the largest mobilisation of underage combatants in history. In this episode James chats to Helene Munson, whose father was one of these child soldiers, about the indoctrination he was subjected to and the unthinkable perils he faced on the Eastern Front as a teenage boy. Helene's new book is available on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Boy-Soldiers-Personal-Schooling-Legacy/dp/0750997117 If you'd...
Feb 21, 2022•35 min
With a 130,000 estimated Russian troops stationed at various points along the Ukrainian border - tensions are rising not only in eastern Europe, but globally. A conflict dating back to 2013, uncertainty for Ukraine's future has only increased in the last 9 years. This week James is joined by Henry Langston, who reported for Vice from the front lines of Ukraine in 2014, to discuss the renewed Russian aggression, his first hand experiences on the line, and whether a diplomatic agreement can be rea...
Feb 18, 2022•31 min
The Atlantic Wall is one of the biggest construction projects in history a line of formidable defences stretching from the Pyrenees to the Norwegian Arctic but how effective was it? In this episode from the archive, James spoke to Dan about his recent History Hit documentary In Defence of the Reich: Hitler's Atlantic Wall . They discuss how and why the Atlantic Wall was built, Hitler's obsession with it, how effective it was and whether it could have ever been successful against an allied ...
Feb 16, 2022•21 min
Abraham Lincoln, Stag-do-esque antics, and forbidden overnight stays within the Vatican - the tale of the Last Emperor of Mexico sounds more like a period drama and not the sadly true and tragic end of Maximilian I. This week James is joined by Edward Shawcross to talk about the titular character of his new book 'The Last Emperor of Mexico: Disaster in the New World'. Together they discuss inadequate leadership, paranoid Empresses, and the role the American Civil war played beyond it's borders. ...
Feb 14, 2022•58 min
