On this special episode of Battle Lines, Roland Oliphant and guests tackle the late David Knowles’ favourite conversational gambit: Who is your favourite of Napoleon’s Marshals? As they ponder their own choice they look back at who the generals were, what made them ‘great’, and why they continue to capture the imagination.

Contributors

Francis Dearnley (The Telegraph’s Assistant Comment Editor)

Dr. Matilda Greig (Historian at the National Army Museum in London, specialising in the Napoleonic period.

Dr. Zack White (historian and host of 'The Napoleonic Wars Podcast')

The Napoleonic & Revolutionary War Graves Charity

To learn more about the charity that aims to provide similar care to the dead of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars to that we see from more recent conflicts, visit:

https://www.nrwgc.com/

'Napoleonic Objects and their Afterlives', edited by Matilda Greig, is available here:

https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/napoleonic-objects-and-their-afterlives-9781350415072/ 

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As mysterious drone sightings near US military bases continue to unsettle anxious citizens, we look into what a new drone age means for the future of warfare. The flying objects have been defining the battlefield for a while, dominating the wars in Ukraine, Sudan and the Middle East. But now, with the advent of Artificial Intelligence, anyone can build an autonomous killer drone. So could this herald a new age of assassinations and mass destruction? How can it be controlled? And can it be kept out of the wrong hands?

The Telegraph’s Arthur Scott-Geddes tells Roland Oliphant how he turned a toy into an assassination device and why more conversation around containing this technology is needed.

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In the first episode of our special holiday series taking a left-field look at conflict and war, we hear personal stories from two countries that have had to grapple with multiple crises in recent years: Lebanon and Afghanistan.

Journalist Sune Engel Rasmussen lived and worked in Afghanistan for nearly a decade. He spent hundreds of hours interviewing everyone from Taliban fighters to female activists for his book “Twenty Years: Hope, War, and the Betrayal of an Afghan Generation”   He talks about the lasting impact of America’s post 9/11 invasion in 2001 on young Afghans and how the Taliban managed to make such a startling comeback.

Plus: Victoria Lupton, founder and CEO of charity Seenaryo on how Lebanon is faring post-ceasefire deal and their film Tilka, which follows five women navigating the collapse of the country prior to the war.

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On today’s episode we speak to Farouq Habib from Syria’s White Helmets about returning to his home city of Homs for the first time in over a decade. He tells us about the devastation Bashar al-Assad wreaked across Syria, and how the country can heal now that the regime has fallen. Plus: The Telegraph’s senior foreign correspondent Sophia Yan has been on the Turkish-Syrian border. She’s been speaking to refugees excited to finally be able to go back, but also to Turkish Alawites who continue to have an affinity for Assad. 

Read

Syrians stream across border from Turkey as guards open crossings, by Sophia Yan:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/12/10/syrians-flood-across-border-from-turkey-open-crossings/

It’s too soon to return to Syria – its new rulers were al-Qaeda members just a few years ago, by Abdulrahman Bdiwi:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/12/10/first-person-too-soon-go-back-syria-al-qaeda-few-years-ago/

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How has a Syrian rebel lightning offensive managed to seize Aleppo from Bashar al-Assad's regime? Who are the leaders, Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham? And could it reignite the civil war? Venetia Rainey is joined by Dr Haid Haid, Syrian columnist and consulting fellow at Chatham House, to answer all those questions and more.

Plus: an Israeli conscientious objector tells her story of why she spent three months in prison for refusing to serve her compulsory military service.

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Lebanon and Hezbollah have struck a ceasefire deal - but how will it work and is Gaza next? For this emergency podcast, Venetia Rainey is joined by Maya Gebeily, Reuters Beirut Bureau Chief, and Jotam Confino, The Telegraph’s correspondent in Israel, to take the temperature on the ground. 

Plus, as thousands of displaced people in both Lebanon and Israel return home to survey the damage of 14 months of war, we look at why the deal is being treated with caution on both sides.

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One year on from the last Gaza hostage deal, Venetia Rainey speaks with Sharone Lifschitz, whose father was kidnapped on October 7th and is still being held hostage by Hamas. We also hear from Amani Ahmed, a Palestinian academic from Gaza, who was at the University of Edinburgh when the war began and after a long ordeal managed to be reunited with her family. Plus: an update of the last week's big news stories from the Middle East, including the ICC arrest warrants, Israel's attempt to assassinate another senior Hezbollah official, and Lebanon ceasefire talks.

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