When Diplomacy Fails Podcast
678 episodes - English - Latest episode: 15 days ago - ★★★★★ - 629 ratingsA podcast covering the build up to, breakout of and consequences of various conflicts in history. Get bonus content on Patreon
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Episodes
1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.11: A Protocol For War
April 11, 2024 05:30 - 32 minutes - 44.3 MB1956 Episode 2.11 finally takes us to that controversial moment when Britain, France and Israel began to move closer together. The Sevres Protocol was neither developed nor signed in a day, and in the first two weeks of October, negotiations critically important to the later conflict were underway. At first, Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd hoped to make use of the UN Security Council to gain British satisfaction in Egypt, and for a time he was successful in this aim, because Anthony Eden was...
1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.10: Israeli Sneaky
April 04, 2024 05:30 - 30 minutes - 41.8 MB1956 Episode 2.10 takes us to the Commonwealth, seen as so vital to British interests, but fracturing over the question of the best course of action to take against President Nasser. The Canadian, Australian and NZ governments were all uneasy at the prospect of war, and some, like the Canadian Foreign Minister Lester Pearson, advocated a diplomatic approach. While Eden forged ahead with an aggressive policy, torpedoing another conference on the Suez Canal in the process, he increasingly beg...
1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.9: The Fix Is In
April 02, 2024 05:30 - 37 minutes - 52.1 MB1956 Episode 2.9 looks at that moment which has become infamous in history – the collusion between Britain, France and Israel. We are almost ready to see these sneaky meetings take place, and for the infamous agreement take shape, but first, it is worth investigating another important and underrated angle of the Crisis. The key element of the Suez Crisis story that demonstrates how low Britain sank must be the manifest failure of the British Government to develop any legal argument in favou...
1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.8: Deception As Policy
March 28, 2024 06:30 - 34 minutes - 46.8 MB1956 Episode 2.8 examines the increasingly secretive plotting which took place behind the scenes in early autumn 1956. While Eden worked feverishly to make the conflict he desired come together, the countless variables continued to haunt him. We see here a glimpse of a common theme which will occupy us later on – the use of legal arguments to support the Anglo-French operation, on the grounds that Nasser had infringed upon British ‘rights’ and that Britain was thus entitled to compensation....
1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.7: Blind Intrigue
March 26, 2024 06:30 - 34 minutes - 47.5 MB1956 Episode 2.7 examines the steps which led towards the military intervention in Egypt, by placing the British behaviour in its imperial context. In spring 1955, Britain remained a premier power in the Middle East, while American representation in that theatre was not particularly impressive, save for the commercial connections which American citizens had with the different oil barons there. In the space of a year though, disquiet in the Middle East and several threats to Britain’s sphere...
1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.6: The Entente Rides Again!
March 21, 2024 06:30 - 28 minutes - 38.6 MB1956 Episode 2.6 looks at the increasingly close cooperation between Britain and France in light of the signal defeat of Western imperialist ambitions in Egypt. We open our episode with a defining scene – President Nasser’s nationalisation of the Suez Canal. The nationalisation of the Canal was not the moment that the world flocked to condemn Nasser’s regime, as Anthony Eden may have hoped. For a time, the Egyptian leader would be seen as unstable, aggressive and unreasonable, but this bad ...
1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.5: Oh No Cairo
March 19, 2024 06:30 - 29 minutes - 40.7 MB1956 Episode 2.5 looks at British commitments in the Middle East, and how setbacks there could massively drag down ideas of British ‘prestige’ in that region. What did the French have to fear from Colonel Nasser, and how did this tie in with later Anglo-French agreements? The answers can be found here. Also of note in this episode is the moment when the Anglo-American loan to Nasser was cancelled, which meant that the Egyptian leader would be unable to construct his Aswan Dam. With this se...
1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.4: Britain Bitten
March 14, 2024 06:30 - 38 minutes - 52.6 MB1956 Episode 2.4 examines Britain's embarrassing and dissatisfying efforts to try and make Egypt see sense. Here we see what kind of Government Anthony Eden led, and how he shook it up, or failed to shake it up, after he assumed the premiership in spring 1955. Anthony may have deserved his turn, but he would quickly exhaust the sense of goodwill he had built up over the years. In spite of his reputation for integrity and bravery when standing up to the appeasement policy of the 1930s, Eden ...
1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.3: Egyptian Conniption
March 12, 2024 06:30 - 34 minutes - 46.8 MB1956 Episode 2.3 examines British views of Suez and Nasser's new Egyptian regime. As the British government underwent a change and waved goodbye to great old men like Churchill, it was clear at the same time that this new government had no intention of changing its imperial tune. Egypt was a place to be held onto, not relinquished; Nasser was a figure to be loathed, rather than cooperated with; British prestige, as much as her long-standing strategic and security interests, depended on hold...
1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.2: Suez, A Life
March 07, 2024 06:30 - 34 minutes - 47.8 MBA French investment opportunity, an ancient idea, and a British masterstroke - discover in this episode how the Suez Canal became so monumentally important for British imperial interests in the latter 19th century, and how this interest was then carried over into the 20th century. After years of defending and expanding their stock in Suez, it was highly unlikely that Britain was going to give up its position there without a fight. Yet, at the same time, decolonisation trends across the world...
1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.1: Bitter French Pills
March 05, 2024 06:35 - 28 minutes - 39.8 MBIn this episode, we will examine the painful post-war experience of France, why it was so reluctant to let go of its colonies and how this caused it more damage in the long run. As an integral, but largely forgotten player in the Crisis, understanding the French angle is essential for us. On many occasions, the fractured French government would be the only thing holding the also fractured plans for Suez together. Here, we discover what was moving the French in North Africa, and how its bitte...
1956 Part Two: The Suez Crisis Introduction
March 05, 2024 06:30 - 19 minutes - 26.2 MB1956 now enters its second season, and we are confronted with several pressing questions. How did the British, French, Israelis and Americans become involved in Egypt, and how did these events affect what was ongoing in Hungary? The incredible spectacle of these two simultaneous crises, both caused by very different forces, and hosting very different characters, is what we have to examine next, so I hope you'll join me as we introduce the Suez Crisis - perhaps the greatest error of modern Bri...
1956 1.15: Socialism Stays
February 29, 2024 06:30 - 36 minutes - 50.7 MB1956 Episode 1.15 examines the final moments of Imre Nagy, as the Soviet noose tightened around him. But the Kremlin was not safe yet. Of particular concern to Moscow and to the Hungarians was the stance of Yugoslavia, as its embassy in Budapest provided asylum to Imre Nagy and 40 other individuals responsible for guiding and leading the momentarily independent Hungarian state. The revolution may have been crushed within a few days, but it was evidently not going to be so simple to remove ...
1956 1.14: Lessons Learned and Forgotten
February 27, 2024 06:30 - 36 minutes - 50.7 MB1956 Episode 1.14 analyses the Soviet response in the first week of November 1956, as the rug was finally pulled on Hungarian independence. Having already removed his country from the Warsaw Pact and requested Western assistance, Nagy was persona non grata in Soviet minds, yet this Hungarian communist was not finished yet. If there was any chance at all that this Hungarian state could be preserved, he was willing to engage in whatever to took to protect his people from the Soviet axe. Yet,...
1956 1.13: Crushing Hope
February 22, 2024 06:30 - 42 minutes - 57.8 MB1956 Episode 1.13 examines the unlikely triumph of the Hungarians in Budapest, even as the Soviets schemed for revenge. After somehow wresting a ceasefire agreement from the Soviet Union, the Hungarian revolution appeared – against all odds – to be secured by 28th October. Yet, this was merely a pause for Moscow, it was not the end. As Hungarians began to dream of life outside the Soviet sphere, Soviet tanks were preparing to move, and figures within Imre Nagy’s tightening circle were prep...
1956 1.12: Hope Springs
February 20, 2024 06:30 - 40 minutes - 55.9 MB1956 Episode 1.12 examines a key moment when a Hungarian student protest exploded into something far more encouraging, and for the Soviets, far more dangerous. The demands of the protesters – joined by workers, peasants, Hungarian communists, soldiers and many more figures besides – were as disconcerting as the threat the protest posed to Soviet control. Still more incredible than the growth of the protest was the transformation of this protest into a riot, and the further transformation o...
1956 1.11: Gone But Nagy Forgotten
February 15, 2024 06:30 - 36 minutes - 50.6 MB1956 Episode 1.11 looks at what happened when Moscow decided it’d be a good idea to force Rakosi, the avowed Stalinist, to share power with Imre Nagy, his opposite in almost every respect. Rakosi wished to maintain the status quo even as his favourite weapons like the secret police were taken away, yet Nagy recognised and appreciated from an early stage that much would have to change. Hungary couldn’t continue on in the manner of a repressed, unhappy vassal, especially if Moscow wished to ...
1956 1.10: I Did Nagy See That Coming
February 13, 2024 06:30 - 31 minutes - 43.9 MB1956 Episode 1.10 continues where we left off last time, and looks a bit more at the person of Matyas Rakosi. Rakosi was the Stalinist dictator of Hungary from the late 1940s, and he set about establishing a Hungarian Stalinist regime, complete with all the trappings Stalin enjoyed. For every purge, every policy and ever character assassination that the man of steel engaged in, Rakosi felt compelled to demonstrate his loyalty by going still further. He would terrorise the people of Hungary ...
1956 1.9: Desperately Hungary
February 08, 2024 06:30 - 32 minutes - 43.9 MB1956 Episode 1.9 takes a somewhat depressing journey into post-war Hungary, to present a story and a people which suffered much over the course of the Soviet occupation – also known as the Soviet ‘liberation’. Liberation from what, one may ask? Well how about liberation from national pride, freedom of conscience and that all too valuable commodity in history – freedom from fear. Fear was the key ingredient in the Soviet-Hungarian relationship between 1945-56, and in this episode we detail ...
1956 1.8: The Star Pupil
February 06, 2024 06:30 - 28 minutes - 39.2 MBWe continue our story from last time, as the Polish situation is connected to other fascinating questions. Perhaps the most significant aspect of this chapter in Soviet-Polish relations was the notable involvement of China. The Chinese, it emerged, were very interested in seeing that other peoples travelled their own ‘road to socialism’ as they had done. A Polish road to socialism would validate the unique Chinese experience of struggle over the last few decades, and it would also confirm ...
1956 1.7: Soviet Sickles
February 01, 2024 06:30 - 38 minutes - 53.3 MB1956 Episode 1.7 examines the continuing deterioration of the Polish situation, as Polish citizens dared to ask more and more questions, and to criticise the Soviet order, on their lips was one figure above all – Vladislav Gomulka (pictured). Gomulka was one figure among many who had been disgraced and imprisoned during Stalin’s numerous purges. Gomulka, it was said, was too vocal a critic, and too independent or nationalistically inclined to rule Poland in Moscow’s name. Now though, the P...
1956 1.6: Polish Hammers
January 30, 2024 06:30 - 31 minutes - 43.5 MB1956 Episode 1.6 examines the tumultuous fallout of Khrushchev’s February speech in the context of Poland. What was the Polish experience of living in the Soviet orbit? Here we set the scene and trace a bit of the background. It’s a tragic kind of story if you happen to be a Pole, or care about the sovereignty of independent states, but it also makes for fascinating listening. Here we look at a specific example of a revolutionary study, which tore the lid off of Soviet occupied Poland and ...
1956 1.5: Broken Springs
January 25, 2024 06:30 - 27 minutes - 38.1 MB1956 Episode 1.5 examines the implications for the Soviet people, as Khrushchev’s speech is disseminated through the sprawling empire. The questions which many citizens had were to be restricted and constrained by the specific parameters set down by the Soviet authorities. In short, as we’ll see in this episode, there was a fine line between debate and dissent. Pravda liked to distinguish between dissent and debate by presenting discussion of the secret speech in the spirit of party-minded...
1956 1.4: The People Are Revolting!
January 23, 2024 06:30 - 32 minutes - 44.3 MB1956 Episode 1.4 examines the immediate storm caused by Khrushchev’s denunciations of Stalin in late February. Above all, the greatest ingredient in this storm was that of confusion. Soviet officials didn’t know what to tell the assembled crowds, and schoolteachers didn’t know what to tell their pupils. How far exactly could they go in the condemnation of Stalin? This wasn’t made clear, nor was it made clear exactly what Khrushchev hoped to gain. He seemed to vacillate between wanting peopl...
1956 1.3: A Not So Secret Speech
January 18, 2024 06:30 - 31 minutes - 43.9 MBEpisode 1.3 opens with the scene which greeted Khrushchev as he performed that incendiary speech over 24-25th of February 1956. It was a pivotal day in the history of the Soviet Union, and after we unwrap its major aspects, we then tackle the key questions – how had this speech come to be, and how had Khrushchev managed to convince his peers that it was necessary? These questions require answers if we’re to understand and appreciate the world which housed the secret speech, so I hope you’ll...
1956 1.2: Bolshevik Battle Royale
January 16, 2024 06:30 - 31 minutes - 43.5 MBEpisode 1.2 follows on from where our first episode left off. Here, the power struggle between the Soviet Union’s top men is in full swing, and power plays, character assassination, genuine assassination and even more tactics besides distinguish this period of post-Stalin Soviet history. Nikita Khrushchev’s victorious succession and confirmation as First Secretary was far from certain once the struggle began, but as his rivals continued to underestimate him, and as he worked to build up his ...
1956 1.1: Death of a Comrade
January 11, 2024 06:35 - 32 minutes - 44.3 MBWhat happened when the architect of the Cold War passed away? Would the Soviet Union Stalin built adapt to a new successor, or would a set of chain reactions doom the empire in its cradle? If you want to learn more about what followed after the Korean War – as a story and as a year of significance, 1956 has few equals, and we open our narrative with the event which set up all subsequent events – the death of Josef Stalin on 5th March 1953. As far as deaths of prominent characters go, the d...
1956: Introduction to Part One
January 11, 2024 06:30 - 11 minutes - 15.4 MBWelcome to 1956, an era of schemes, revolution, propaganda, intrigue and a whole lot of diplomacy! Originally brought exclusively to patrons, I've repurposed this series for all listeners, and within it you will learn exactly why I believe this eventful year is well worth your time. Our series begins with the death of Stalin, a megalomaniacal dictator who left no successor save the clique of people who had managed to survive his paranoid wrath for several years. Nikita Khrushchev, against a...
PhD Thesis: Introduction Part 1
January 08, 2024 06:30 - 44 minutes - 60.9 MBLike what you hear? Consider signing up on Patreon to access the entire series. Thanksss! For the last four+ years, this PhD thesis has been my obsession. Like pushing a boulder up a hill, the struggle was real. But, sometimes, struggle can produce great things, and I hope you'll agree that what I made is worthy of your time. This series comes exclusively to $5 patrons, but as is customary, listeners get the first episode for free. See if you like the sound of this nitty-gritty exploration ...
Welcome to a New Season of WDF!
January 04, 2024 06:30 - 32 minutes - 44.9 MBWelcome back! Here we talk about the State of the Podcast Address' HUGE NEWS 1) Our somewhat new series1956 and how it's all going to work. Also, is it actually interesting? 2) The new PhD Thesis series for Patrons! 3) Age of Bismarck - and of course, more! Thanksss so much for the warm welcome back history friend. I haven't stopped grinning for the last few days, and it's thanks to you! Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
WDF State of the Podcast Address 1-4-24
January 04, 2024 06:25 - 35 minutes - 48.7 MBWe're back! In case you were unaware, the lack of content over the last while was because of the PhD, which is now finished. This means, yes, I am finally Dr Zack! Imagine that! I have a lot to say about the future of this podcast, and stick around for some honesty about the PhD process and how I'm doing generally after this four year plus saga. I'm really excited to dive back into podcasting after all this. And it goes without saying, but thanksss so much for all your support over the last...
Presenting: History Challenge w/ Ole Petter Høie
August 17, 2023 16:11 - 58 minutes - 80.2 MBJoin Ole and I for a fascinating chat about History Challenge, a new way for educators and students to make history thrive! If you want to try it out for yourself, the latest version of this project is available in the link below. Thanksss! Access the Battle of Britain lesson here If you can, completing this survey on your experience would be much appreciated. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
30YearsWar: Conclusion
July 12, 2023 17:03 - 44 minutes - 60.5 MBAnd so it ends. After 82 episodes and what feels like thirty actual years, we finally wrap up this fascinating period of history. Thanksss so much for tuning in! Make sure to stay to the end to learn about our plans for the Thirty Years' War book, my Matchlock series, the new Delegation Game, and other PhD details. Where do we go after this? What's next for WDF? We cover that here too! **FOLLOW THESE LINKS!** 1) To support the podcast financially in return for some extra audio content, c...
30YearsWar #82: A Return To Prague [1648]
June 29, 2023 12:44 - 33 minutes - 45.9 MBThe final episode of our series involves no shortage of intrigue, scheming and mistrust, yet it is also the moment when diplomacy arguably succeeded. After three decades of war, Europe, and the Holy Roman Empire in particular, had come to terms with the cost of conflict. Perhaps, in the future, things would be different? Perhaps, but as a brief look at our back catalogue shows, the post-Westphalian world was by no means free from the curse of war. Thanksss so much for following this series ...
30YearsWar #81: The Last Campaign [1648]
June 14, 2023 14:58 - 32 minutes - 44 MBAlthough the Dutch and Spanish had made their peace, 1648 had room for one more campaign, and there had arguably never been so much on the line. With warfare came the chance to secure more leverage at the peace table, but the Franco-Swedish allies faced problems of its own. How were the Swedes to settle the impossibly high wage bill of so many thousands of unpaid soldiers? How were the French going to pacify the many elements within society who were sick and tired of being squeezed for bar...
The State of America and the Brexit Debacle - ft Thom Daly
June 03, 2023 14:35 - 1 hour - 134 MBPlease consider supporting our podcast friend Benjamin Jacobs during this difficult time. In this special episode, Thom Daly joins me to rant about the state of education in America, how Republican ideologues ban what they don't understand, how misinformation and scaremongering replaced proper political discourse, and whether he has much hope that it will actually improve. I then discuss Brexit, explaining what it means, the different types of trade arrangements, how this affects Northern...
30YearsWar #80: Cardinal Sins [1647-1648]
May 31, 2023 18:06 - 36 minutes - 49.5 MBHere, in our third-last episode of the series, we take the time to analyse Cardinal Mazarin's motives. What kind of role did religious motivations, strategic motivations, political or economic or any other kind of motivation have upon his behaviour? Was he fighting for French security, or future French expansion? In line with this, we look at the religious question in the Empire, which had appeared like an impossible riddle in previous years. How was it possible to make everyone happy, part...
30YearsWar #79: Bavarian Bargains [1646-1647]
May 18, 2023 12:07 - 31 minutes - 43.3 MBAs the war raged, Maximilian of Bavaria was forced to reconsider his position towards his Emperor. As the Habsburgs' most faithful and important German ally since the beginning, the rumours that Max was contemplating a truce had to be taken seriously. One thing was clear though - the wily Bavarian Elector had made his name by identifying the most advantageous course, and whatever decisions he made, they would be for Bavaria and Bavaria alone. **FOLLOW THESE LINKS!** 1) To support the podca...
30YearsWar #78: Alsace and Pomerania [1646-1647]
May 03, 2023 05:30 - 30 minutes - 41.3 MBBy the end of 1646, two massive problems plagued the negotiators. For France, the matter was Alsace, a huge chunk of territory along the sensitive Rhine region, which had long served as a buffer between the French and Imperial spheres. For Sweden, Pomerania, a slice of land along northern Germany's Baltic coast, was the central issue. The process by which the powers solved these questions, the compromises they agreed, and the implications they had, are all examined here. Although in the co...
30YearsWar #77: Dutch Loose Ends [1646-1648]
April 19, 2023 16:20 - 32 minutes - 45 MBCheck out our series Diplomacy: Britain vs America to nerd out on a forgotten era of Anglo-American confrontation, complete with war scares, gunboat diplomacy, and me pronouncing many things incorrectly! It's time to get all emotional, as we tie up the Eighty Years' War between the Spanish and Dutch, which had formed an integral part of the Thirty Years' War in its earlier phase, but which had, from 1645, effectively been relegated to a sideshow of the larger war. The Dutch, and its House o...
30YearsWar #76: The Emperor's Dilemma [1645]
April 05, 2023 15:54 - 36 minutes - 50.4 MBThe Battle of Jankau in 1645, followed by Allerheim later in the year, confirmed that the Emperor could expect few miracles from the battlefield. Bavaria seemed teetering on the edge, making secret moves towards the French, while the Spanish buckled, and the Swedes rampaged throughout the Habsburg Hereditary Lands. Ferdinand III understood that his greatest chances for self preservation lay in Westphalia, and his agent, Trauttmansdorf, was sent with very specific instructions. Here, we cover...
30YearsWar #75: Westphalian Woes [1645-46]
March 15, 2023 13:22 - 35 minutes - 48.2 MBThe wide range of interests and powers that gathered at the two Westphalian cities each tell a fascinating story. Whether it was the two French agents that loathed one another; the Dutch tradition of representing each of the seven provinces; Swedish desires to legalise its control over Pomerania; Johan Oxenstierna's frequently drunken state, when he wasn't insisting on trumpets blasting to announce his presence; the Franco-Swedish request on having all Imperial estates represented at Westpha...
30YearsWar #74: Destination Westphalia [1645]
March 01, 2023 18:18 - 29 minutes - 40.7 MBAfter so long dancing around the issue, here we finally look at the moment when the Westphalian towns of Osnabruck and Munster hosted delegates from all across Europe and the Empire. Why were the French so eager to arrive with an enormous entourage? How did the delegates get their mail? How did warmer creatures cope with the cold, rainy mud of Germany? We get into it here, as well as contextualising these key early steps of the most famous peace congress of the early modern era. **DON'T FOR...
30YearsWar #73: The Pen and the Sword [1644]
February 18, 2023 18:44 - 29 minutes - 40.6 MBDon't forget that for a limited time you can get 16% off an annual Patreon membership - sign up now to get 40 hours of exclusive content AND listen to our new series on Anglo-American diplomacy from 1838-1846. Your support will help me become Dr Zack! Yes, I do still exist! In this episode we examine how the French coped with the sudden absence of Sweden, which had turned its attention to the Danes. France had to contend with several fronts, particularly along the Rhine, in the Netherland...
30YearsWar #72: Torstensson's War [1643-45]
February 01, 2023 06:30 - 35 minutes - 48.8 MBDon't forget that for a limited time you can get 16% off an annual Patreon membership - sign up now to get 40 hours of exclusive content AND listen to our new series on Anglo-American diplomacy from 1838-1846. Your support will help me become Dr Zack! By late 1643, one could be forgiven for expecting Lennart Torstensson, the Swedish commander in Germany, to take stock of his situation and plan for a new campaign in the new year. But such plans were placed on hold, because a letter from the ...
National Honour and Victorian Diplomacy
January 25, 2023 12:59 - 2 hours - 224 MBDon't forget that for a limited time you can get 16% off an annual Patreon membership - sign up now to get 40 hours of exclusive content AND listen to our new series on Anglo-American diplomacy from 1838-1846. Your support will help me become Dr Zack! It's about time I dropped my research on you guys, so in this episode we'll be plumbing the depths of something I've mentioned many times, but rarely taken the time to define or explain properly - national honour. What was it, where did it com...
Introducing Diplomacy: Britain vs America 1838-1846
January 14, 2023 21:38 - 33 minutes - 45.6 MBTo get this series and 40+ hours of extra content, make sure you sign up for an annual Patreon membership to get 16% off NOW! I couldn't have got this far in the PhD without the support of you lovely patrons, and this is my way of saying thanksss, so why not nerd out with us? Oh boy, it's finally time! Now you get to see what I've been working on over the Christmas break, an extremely chunky and detailed twelve part series examining Anglo-American relations from 1838-1846. Expect fractious ...
30YearsWar #71: Au Revoir Richelieu [1643]
January 11, 2023 20:27 - 32 minutes - 44.7 MBGet 16% off an annual Patreon membership and access to our new series examining Anglo-American Relations from 1838-46 when you sign up now! The Battle of Rocroi was a signal French triumph, but it did not transform the face of the war, either in the Netherlands or in Europe. A Bavarian victory later in the year at Tutlingen made 1643 a year of ups and owns, but of far greater consequence than who won, was who left the scene after so many years. Within a season, Cardinal Richelieu, King Loui...
30YearsWar #70: Enter Torstensson [1641-42]
December 18, 2022 20:15 - 38 minutes - 53.5 MBGive yourself an early Christmas present including over 40 hours of extra content when you sign up on Patreon! I'll even lie about you in the opening monologue! Pay for a year's membership and get 5% off! 1641 was the year when Lennart Torstensson was finally appointed commander of Sweden's mostly German army. Having hunkered down for many years in the north of the country, Torstensson understood that Sweden had to strike hard against the Imperials if anything was to change. Possessed of a ...
30YearsWar #69: Maiming Spain [1640-41]
November 30, 2022 17:38 - 31 minutes - 43.7 MBBy 1640, two rebellions shook Madrid to its core, and had a dramatic knock on effect on Spain's ability to support its Habsburg cousins in Vienna. In summer, Catalonia erupted in revolt after years of provocations and intransigence. When Portuguese soldiers were sent to quell the rising, those soldiers took home news of Spanish weakness, and by December, Portugal had broken away, and declared itself independent under King John IV. It was plain that Spain couldn't suppress the original Dutc...