Battlecast

On September 11, 1973, tanks ground the pavement of Chile’s capital city. Chilean air force jets bombed the presidential palace. Men fought in the streets. Snipers danced in between buildings, shooting friend and foe, and even each other. The whole nation was under martial law. The radio was taken over. The schools were taken over. Everything: taken over. Imagine it in your country: jets bombing the White House, tanks massing in downtown Atlanta, the military blocking websites and broadcasting coup justifications. Well, it all happened to nine million Chileans. This is their story and it’s only on Battlecast – the world’s foremost podcast on military history and its socio-political impact.

Beer this episode is Hop Dang Diggity from the great people at Jekyll Brewing. 4.5 bullets out of five. Check out their website at Jekyll Brewing.

http://media.blubrry.com/429895/archive.org/download/podcastBC17/BC17.mp3

Download link: download

References

Chile, Pinochet, and the Caravan of Death by Patricia Verdugo (Author), Marcelo Montecino (Translator), Paul E. Sigmund (Introduction)

The Overthrow of Allende and the politics of Chile, 1964-1976 by Paul Sigmund available at

A History of Chile, 1808-2002 (Cambridge Latin American Studies) 2nd Edition by Simon Collier and William F. Sater

Chile since Independence (Cambridge History of Latin America) by Leslie Bethell

Law and order in Chile by Victor Perera. The New York Times. April 13, 1975. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/13/archives/law-and-order-in-chile-in-every-chilean-there-is-a-soldier-in-every.html

Japan Triumphant

On December 7, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the United States navy at Pearl Harbor. On December 8, the United States declared war on Japan. But Japan didn’t stop at Pearl Harbor, she launched a series of daring assaults across the Pacific theater of war. On the tenth of December, the Japanese invaded the Philippines and Guam fell. On December 23, General Macarthur began his long withdrawal from Manila to Bataan. On February 22, General Douglas Macarthur is ordered to leave the Philippines. 25,000 Americans are taken prisoner. About 500 would survive the horrors of Japanese internment. The Dutch East Indies, Singapore, Hong Kong – all fall to the Japanese.

But this whole time, the Japanese know America is massing forces for a counterattack. At the same time, Australia is at war with Japan. If Australia can be isolated, the whole of the Southern Pacific Ocean would lay secure in Japanese hands. The Japanese forces could concentrate on the westward thrust of the Americans, freeing valuable resources and manpower to blunt the American counterattack that was already forming in January 1942.

Australia in the way

All that stood in the way of the Japanese advance south were a few isolated Australian platoons on Papua New Guinea. The Japanese easily landed on the north coast of New Guinea at Buna and made their way south, on the Kokoda Trail. The Kokoda Trail is a mountainous track through dense, equatorial jungle. It’s literally only a man wide and vehicles cannot penetrate it. The vegetation blots out the sun and gives the entire place a somnambulant, ghostly quality. Artillery, grenades, and hand to hand combat would decide the outcome here, not machines. It’s men against men. It’s blood. It’s mud. It’s guts and it’s all for free on Battlecast – the world’s foremost podcast on military history and its socio-political impact.

Beer this week: Cooper’s Original Pale Ale, 4.5 bullets out of 5.

Download link: download

http://media.blubrry.com/429895/archive.org/download/no_BC16/BC16.mp3

References:

Australia in the War of 1939–1945: Volume 6 by David Dexter

A Bastard of a Place: The Australians in Papua by Peter Brune

Reaping the Whirlwind: The German and Japanese Experience of World War II by Nigel Cawthorne

The Path of Infinite Sorrow: The Japanese on the Kokoda Track by Hajime Marutani

The Turn of the Tide, July 1942-February 1943: Shifting Strategic Initiative in the Pacific in World War II (doctoral dissertation) by Sean Judge, Ohio State University

From Port Moresby to Guadalcanal: Roots of Japanese Failure (masters thesis) by Michael Foster, University of Nebraska

Maps and Illustrations:

In today’s episode we have one of the most important battles in world history: Teutoburg Forest. A loose confederation of Germanic tribes, led by a Romanized German named Arminius, seeks to stem the irresistible Roman advance into the heart of Germany. It was Arminius’s actions that saved the German language. It was his actions that saved countless Germans from Roman dominion. And Roman dominion was harsh: by 9 A.D., the Roman peninsula had undergone a massive shift. It is a land teeming with slaves and poverty-stricken freemen, where 15,000 elites rule over approximately 7,000,000 disenfranchised subjects. Rome was coming and she had perfected warfare. Her soldiers are better-trained than the Germans. Her civilization is more advanced than the Germans. It should have been an easy victory for the Romans. It wasn’t. It’s epic history and it’s all for free on Battlecast – the world’s foremost podcast on warfare and its socio-political impact.

The beer this episode is Konig Ludwig – 4.5 bullets out of 5.

Download show

http://media.blubrry.com/429895/archive.org/download/BC15final/BC15final.mp3

References:

The Oxford History of the Classical World by Griffin Murray (ed.)

A History of Rome (3rd edition) by Marcel Le Glay, Jean-Louis Voisin and Yann Le Bohec

Roman History by Cassius Dio

The Annals by Tacitus

The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World: from Marathon to Waterloo by Edward Shepherd Creasy

Maps and Illustrations:

Map showing the Roman Empire and the rough location of the battle:

Map of the battle

Picture of the Teutoburg Forest today

Recreation of the wooden walls used by the Germans to constrict Roman movement

Monument dedicated to Arminius in modern-day Germany

The Battle of the Plains of Abraham was fought outside the walls of Quebec City. It decided the fate of not only the French in North America but also hundreds of Native American tribes across  the continent. In today’s show we have ethnic cleansing on a vast scale – entire provinces and regions deliberately depopulated. We have human sacrifice. We have the destruction of villages and towns. We outline a war and a battle that echoes across our time today. We show the direct link this battle has on modern Canadian politics – the vast sums spent, the thousands of man hours exhausted and the tensions of the modern Canadian state. All of it starts here, on the Plains of Abraham. In our show you’ll meet a young George Washington, who arguably starts a war between the French and British Empires. The burnt homes, the weeping widows, the lost languages, lost cultures, lost religions – it all begins at this one point in time. Steel and blood carved the modern Canadian and American states – nothing else. It’s all on today’s show and it’s all for free on Battlecast – the world’s foremost podcast about military history and its socio-political impact.

The beer this episode is La Fin du Monde from the great people at Unibroue, 4.5 bullets out of 5.

http://media.blubrry.com/429895/archive.org/download/nameless_BC14/BC14.mp3

Download link: download

References:

The War That Made America: A Short History of the French and Indian War by Fred Anderson  

The Penguin History of Canada by Bob Bothwell

A Short History of Quebec: Fourth Edition by John A. Dickinson and Brian Young

British Newspaper Accounts of Braddock’s Defeat by N. Darnell Davis. The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography Vol. 23, No. 3 (1899), pp. 310-328

A Journal of the Expedition up the River St. Lawrence by a Serjeant-Major of Gen. Hopson’s Grenadiers

An Independent Quebec: The Past, the Present and the Future by Jacques Parizeau and Robin Philpot (Translator)

Colonial Pennsylvania: A History by Joseph E. Illick and Milton M. Kline

Colonial New York: A History by Michael G Kammen

The Cajuns: Americanization of a People by Shane K. Bernard  

Maps and Illustrations:

Map of France’s land claims in North America. The area shaded yellow shows French claims. The area shaded green shows British claims.

The Death of General Wolfe by Benjamin West. Oil on canvas, 1770

General Montcalm, mortally wounded on the Plains of Abraham, is taken to Quebec. Watercolour by Louis Bombled

Initial deployment of Anglo-Americans flanking Quebec

Map illustrating the battle of the Plains of Abraham

Land Acquired by British at the conclusion of the war.

A Canadian monument showing the depopulation of Nova Scotia called La Grand Derangement

It’s our anniversary show here at Battlecast and we’re starting our second year off with an action-packed episode on the Battle of Mogadishu.  In today’s episode you’ll hear an epic story of self-sacrifice as two Delta Force operators attempt to hold back an entire city of hostiles. Meanwhile, General Garrison struggles to scrape together a relief column for the 100 men still battling for their lives in Mogadishu. It’s a battle that spawned the epic film Black Hawk Down and it’s one of our most widely requested battles. It’s modern war in all its savagery and it’s only on Battlecast – the world’s foremost podcast on military history.

The beer this month is Tusker: 2 bullets out of 5.

http://media.blubrry.com/429895/archive.org/download/Bc13final/bc13.mp3

Download link: download

Maps and Illustrations:

Map showing the location of Mogadishu in East Africa and battlefield. Courtesy the Philadelphia Inquirer / MATTHEW ERICSON.

Map of crash sites. Courtesy the Philadelphia Inquirer / MATTHEW ERICSON.

Map of first crash site. Courtesy the Philadelphia Inquirer / MATTHEW ERICSON.

Somali militiamen in a “technical” – a vehicle modified to mount a heavy weapon for combat.

Audio Clips:

Survivors from the Battle and Radio Traffic: http://inquirer.philly.com/packages/somalia/audio.asp

References:

A Modern History of the Somali by I.M. Lewis

Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden

Inside Delta Force by Eric Haney

In the Company of Heroes by Mike Durant

The Fate of Africa by Martin Meredith

“Black Hawk Down: An American War Story” by Mark Bowden. Web. http://inquirer.philly.com/packages/somalia/sitemap.asp

It’s October 3, 1993 and 160 soldiers of an American task force are making a routine raid into Mogadishu. It should have been just another minor skirmish. It became a battle that would cost the lives of thousands. On today’s show we’ve got a classic showdown of cutting-edge military technology and training versus the sheer numbers of the ill-led Somali militias. It’s a unique battle made famous in the epic war-film Black Hawk Down. It’s also our first show about modern warfare here on Battlecast – the world’s foremost podcast about war. We released this one a week early as a Christmas gift to you and want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a safe New Year. To all of you traveling out there, stay warm and stay safe.

The beer this episode is Sam Adams Winter Lager – 4 bullets out of 5.

http://media.blubrry.com/429895/archive.org/download/the_BC12/BC12.mp3

Download episode 12 here: download

Maps and Illustrations:

Map showing the location of Mogadishu in East Africa and battlefield. Courtesy the Philadelphia Inquirer / MATTHEW ERICSON.

Map of initial assault on target building. Courtesy the Philadelphia Inquirer / MATTHEW ERICSON

Locations of crash sites and target building. Courtesy the Philadelphia Inquirer / MATTHEW ERICSON

Initial deployment of Rangers around the first crash site. Courtesy the Philadelphia Inquirer / MATTHEW ERICSON

Typical Street in Mogadishu

A US Marine helicopter flies over Mogadishu. Note, this is not a Black Hawk or Little Bird helicopter. Notice the unpaved streets.

General Garrison’s letter to President Clinton. Courtesy the Philadelphia Inquirer / MATTHEW ERICSON

Audio Clips:

Survivors from the Battle and Radio Traffic: http://inquirer.philly.com/packages/somalia/audio.asp

References:

A Modern History of the Somali by I.M. Lewis

Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden

Inside Delta Force by Eric Haney

In the Company of Heroes by Mike Durant

The Fate of Africa by Martin Meredith

“Black Hawk Down: An American War Story” by Mark Bowden. Web. http://inquirer.philly.com/packages/somalia/sitemap.asp

Music References:

Kemper Crabb – “Es Kommt Ein Schiff”

http://www.kempercrabb.net/ 

Join Chris and Luke in the North Georgia bunker as they recount the Battle of the Alamo, the famous battle from the Texas Revolution. General Santa Anna, an opium addict and dictator, is bringing an army of 7,000 men to decimate the homes and firesides of Texas. Only 200 men stand in their way – more a citizen-militia than an army. Led by some of the most famous characters in American legend: William Travis, Davie Crockett, and James Bowie – the Texans will break the tide of Santa Anna’s legions on the rocks of the Alamo. Sit back and grab a beer as we tell you the story of a latter-day Thermopylae. It’s all here and it’s all for free on Battlecast – the world’s foremost podcast about the greatest battles in history.

http://media.blubrry.com/429895/archive.org/download/nameless1/BC11.mp3

Download this episode here: Download

The beer this episode is Lonestar – 2.5 bullets out of 5.

Map of Battlefield

Isaac Millsap’s letter to his family from the doomed Alamo garrison

The Alamo Today

Come and Take it Flag with Cannon

Book References

Texans in Revolt: The Battle for San Antonio, 1835 by Alwyn Barr

Lone Star: A History of Texas and the Texans by T.R. Fehrenbach

The Oxford History of Mexico by William Beezley and Michael Meyer

Fire and Blood: A History of Mexico

Music References

“Deguello” by traditional.