Tonight we’re going back to Scotland – back to the front line where Robert the Bruce  is going to roll the dice and gamble it all – facing down the gathered strength of England. He traded wine and women – a comfortable chair by the fire – for the bitter cold of water-drenched journeys, bloodshed and pain. It’s the story of a puzzle called the United Kingdom. I’m going to tell you about the time the corner piece fell off. I’m going to tell you the story of Robert the Bruce.

It’s all for free and it’s all on Battlecast – the world’s foremost podcast on war and its sociopolitical impact.

This is part two of a two part series. Check out part one here: Braveheart: William Wallace

http://media.blubrry.com/429895/archive.org/download/bc-40/BC40.mp3

Download the Outlaw King – Robert the Bruce here: Download

References:

Robert the Bruce, King of Scots by Ronald Scott

Robert Bruce: Our Most Valiant Prince, King and Lord by Colm Mcnamee

King and Outlaw by Chris Brown

Scotland: The Story of a Nation by Magnus Magnusson

A Short History of England by Simon Jenkins

Stirling Bridge and Falkirk, 1297-1298 by Pete Armstrong

In the Footsteps of William Wallace by Alan Young and Michael J. Stead

Freedom’s Sword by Pete Traquair

William Wallace: The King’s Enemy by D.J. Gray

William Wallace: The True Story of Braveheart by Chris Brown

William Wallace: Man and Myth by Graeme Morton

Medieval Britain, c. 1000-1500 by David Crouch

William Wallace is an enigmatic figure – most of what we know about him was written by his enemies but tonight we go deep down the rabbit hole to find every shred of evidence that we know about his life. It’s an epic tale complete with guerilla warfare, vicious torture, and the making and breaking of several kingdoms. Many houses will rise and many will fall – it’s like Game of Thrones but it all really happened. It’s all here and it’s all for free on Battlecast – the world’s foremost podcast on war and its sociopolitical impact.

http://media.blubrry.com/429895/ia601500.us.archive.org/11/items/bc39final/BC39final.mp3

Download Braveheart episode 39 here: Braveheart download

Maps/Pictures:

References:

Scotland: The Story of a Nation by Magnus Magnusson

A Short History of England by Simon Jenkins

Stirling Bridge and Falkirk, 1297-1298 by Pete Armstrong

In the Footsteps of William Wallace by Alan Young and Michael J. Stead

Freedom’s Sword by Pete Traquair

William Wallace: The King’s Enemy by D.J. Gray

William Wallace: The True Story of Braveheart by Chris Brown

William Wallace: Man and Myth by Graeme Morton

Medieval Britain, c. 1000-1500 by David Crouch

Dunkirk. It’s a battle that has inspired countless filmmakers, novelists, and historians – a battle that saved a nation, and quite possibly, the modern world as we know it. As a direct result of the actions of the men you will hear about in this episode, Great Britain survived to fight another day. The cornerstone of the modern world order was laid and mortared with the blood and sweat of the hundreds of thousands of men in today’s show. It was their sacrifice which built many of your civil rights. It was their blood that made possible the tens of thousands of bureaucrats growing fat on the largesse of the United Nations. 

We often hear about the hundreds of thousands saved off the coast of France – the lucky ones who made it across the channel. But we rarely hear the story of the cooks who transformed into heroes, of snipers who dueled in the dusk – where two men entered a village but only one walked away; it’s the story of men who lost their minds defending key highway intersections against thousands of battle-hardened German veterans. And it’s the lamentable story of the men left behind, the men shattered and broken, breathing their last ragged breaths on a fetid beach before darkness finally fogged their eyes. In today’s show we’ll hear them all. Their stories will live again like a second resurrection.

http://media.blubrry.com/429895/archive.org/download/bc38final/BC38final.mp3

Download Dunkirk here: Dunkirk episode 38

Maps and Pictures:

References:

To Lose a Battle: France 1940 by Alastair Horne

The Collapse of the Third Republic: An Inquiry into the Fall of France in 1940 by William Shirer

The Fall of France: The Nazi invasion of 1940 by Julian Jackson

Dunkirk: The men they left behind by Sean Longden

The Miracle of Dunkirk: The True Story of Operation Dynamo by Walter Lord

The Times Atlas of the Second World War by John Keegan

History of the Second World War by B.B. LIddell Hart

Supplying War by Martin van Creveld 

The Second World War by John Keegan

During the Boer War the British laid waste to huge swaths of South Africa. Homes were burned. Children starved. Battle raged across the countryside. Entire populations were imprisoned in concentration camps. Thousands died. This is the story.

This is part 2 of a two part series. You can find part one here: Boer War part 1

http://media.blubrry.com/429895/archive.org/download/bc37final/BC37.mp3

Download episode 37 here: Episode 37

Maps and Pictures:

References:

The Boer War by Thomas Pakenham

The Afrikaners: Biography of a People by Hermann Giliomee

Scorched Earth by Fransjohan Pretorius

The Washing of the Spears: The Rise and Fall of the Zulu Nation by Donald Morris

God Does Not Forget by Deneys Reitz

A History of South Africa by Frank Welsh

A History of South Africa by Leonard Thompson

The Boer War 1899-1902 by Gregory Fremont-Barnes

A Military History of South Africa by Timothy Stapelton

Letters from Kimberley: Eyewitness Accounts from the South African War by Edward Spiers

Letters from Ladysmith: Eyewitness Accounts from the South African War by Edward Spiers

The Cambridge History of South Africa by Robert Ross et al.

De La Rey – Lion of the West by Johannes Meintjes

General Louis Botha: A Biography by Johannes Meintjes

President Steyn: A Biography by Johannes Meintjes

The Boer War was fought across the length and breadth of modern-day South Africa. It started as a conventional fight but degenerated into a protracted guerilla war that cost the British people 230 million pounds, approximately 27 billion pounds in today’s money. But the war left another legacy in South Africa – a legacy of concentration camps that left tens of thousands of women and children dead. It was a modern war – a war of trenches and machine guns. It was a war that wiped two nations off the face of the planet and almost destroyed the Boer people as a distinct nation. The British thought the war would be a walk in the park. What they got was a promenade through hell. This is the story.

http://media.blubrry.com/429895/archive.org/download/bc36final/BC36.mp3

Download episode 36 here: Boer War Download

Maps and Pictures:

References:

The Boer War by Thomas Pakenham

The Afrikaners: Biography of a People by Hermann Giliomee

Scorched Earth by Fransjohan Pretorius

The Washing of the Spears: The Rise and Fall of the Zulu Nation by Donald Morris

God Does Not Forget by Deneys Reitz

A History of South Africa by Frank Welsh

A History of South Africa by Leonard Thompson

The Boer War 1899-1902 by Gregory Fremont-Barnes

A Military History of South Africa by Timothy Stapelton

Letters from Kimberley: Eyewitness Accounts from the South African War by Edward Spiers

Letters from Ladysmith: Eyewitness Accounts from the South African War by Edward Spiers

The Cambridge History of South Africa by Robert Ross et al.

De La Rey – Lion of the West by Johannes Meintjes

General Louis Botha: A Biography by Johannes Meintjes

President Steyn: A Biography by Johannes Meintjes

The war for the Holy Land – the First Crusade. On today’s show, we’re taking the besieged crusaders all the way from Antioch to Jerusalem. It’s an epic story filled with war, savagery, and even ghosts the whole way. It’s the story of the Holy Lance of Christ and the bloody conquest of Palestine. It’s Greek Fire and cannibalism. It’s cults and trial by fire. Get ready, because this show will make your headphones drip with blood. This is part 2 of a two part series. You can find part one here: First Crusade part 1. It’s all free and it’s all on Battlecast – the world’s foremost podcast on war and its socio-political impact.

http://media.blubrry.com/429895/archive.org/download/bc35_20191129/BC35.mp3

Download here: download

References: 

Dana C. Munro, “Urban and the Crusaders”, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Vol 1:2, (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1895).

Thomas Asbridge. The First Crusade.

Thomas Asbridge. The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land.

Kenneth Setton. A History of the Crusades. Volumes 1-6.

Anonymous. Gesta Francorum.

H.A.R. Gibb. The Damascus Chronicle of the Crusades, Extracted and Translated from the Chronicle of Ibn al-Qalanisi.

Albert. Albert of Aachen: Historia Ierosolimitana, History of the Journey to Jerusalem. Oxford Edition.

Fulcher of Chartres. Fulcher of Chartres, A History of the Expedition to Jerusalem, 1095-1127.

Raymon Ibrahim. Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West.

Rene Groussett. Histoire des Croisades. Volumes 1-3.

A. Krey. The First Crusade: The Accounts of Eyewitnesses and Participants. 

The First Crusade was a watershed moment in both Islamic and Christian history – influencing history across Africa, Europe, and Asia for centuries to come. This is the story. It’s all here and it’s all for free on Battlecast – the world’s foremost podcast on war and it’s sociopolitical impact.

I also want to give a shout out to Eric and everybody listening at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait. I know it’s hot out there. We’ll keep the beers on ice for you.

http://media.blubrry.com/429895/archive.org/download/bc34final/BC34.mp3

Download here: download

References: 

Dana C. Munro, “Urban and the Crusaders”, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Vol 1:2, (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1895).

Thomas Asbridge. The First Crusade.

Thomas Asbridge. The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land.

Kenneth Setton. A History of the Crusades. Volumes 1-6.

Anonymous. Gesta Francorum.

H.A.R. Gibb. The Damascus Chronicle of the Crusades, Extracted and Translated from the Chronicle of Ibn al-Qalanisi.

Albert. Albert of Aachen: Historia Ierosolimitana, History of the Journey to Jerusalem. Oxford Edition.

Fulcher of Chartres. Fulcher of Chartres, A History of the Expedition to Jerusalem, 1095-1127.

Raymon Ibrahim. Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West.

Rene Groussett. Histoire des Croisades. Volumes 1-3.

A. Krey. The First Crusade: The Accounts of Eyewitnesses and Participants. 

The H.L. Hunley was the first submarine in human history to effectively engage and destroy an enemy. The story of the Hunley is equal to the story of the Wright brothers’ first flight or Armstrong’s moon landing – a first step with dire repercussions for the future of the world. This is the story. It’s all here and it’s all for free on Battlecast – the world’s foremost podcast on war and its sociopolitical impact. 

http://media.blubrry.com/429895/archive.org/download/bc33final/BC33final.mp3

Download episode 33 here: download link

Maps and Pictures:

References:

Raising the Hunley: The Remarkable History and Recovery of the Lost Confederate Submarine by Brian Hicks and Schuyler Kropf

The CSS Hunley: The Greatest Undersea Adventure of the Civil War by Richard Bak

The Hunley by Mark K. Ragan

A History of the Confederate Navy by J. Thomas Scharf

Sea of Darkness: Unraveling the Mysteries of the H.L. Hunley by Brian Hicks

The H. L. Hunley: The Secret Hope of the Confederacy by Tom Chaffin

The Civil War by Shelby Foote

A History of South Carolina by Walter Edgars

Cover image is “The Final Mission” by Mort Künstler

The September 11 attacks. Almost 3,000 died. Hundreds of millions of dollars of property was destroyed. 15 pregnant women lost their babies – their bodies spontaneously aborting their children as their fellow citizens fled from the crashing towers in absolute terror. But behind all these figures – these faceless, nameless numbers – there are tens of thousands of stories. Stories that can make the most heartless men regain their heart. Stories of innocents being cooked alive in the ovens they formerly called their offices. Stories of men trampling down one another. Panic. Sheer terror – unmixed, unmitigated terror. This is the story of a day that made widows of hundreds of thousands – a day that inaugurated wars half a world away. A day of doom. A black day. A day called September 11.

Download episode 32: download

http://media.blubrry.com/429895/archive.org/download/bc32_20190826/BC32.mp3

Illustrations

References

The Forever War by Dexter Filkins

The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright

The 9/11 Commission Report available at: http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report.pdf

The Longest War: The Enduring Conflict Between America and al-Qaeda by Peter Bergen

102 Minutes by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn

Australian Broadcast Corporation: 9/11 Reporting, September 11, 2001.

“U.S. ATTACKED; HIJACKED JETS DESTROY TWIN TOWERS AND HIT PENTAGON IN DAY OF TERROR” by N. R. Kleinfield. September, 12, 2001, The New York Times.

“Everyone was screaming, crying, running. It’s like a war zone.” by Julian Borger et al. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/sep/12/expertopinions.charlieporteronmensfashion

The battles for Hue and Khe Sanh were some of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War. Hue was the third largest city in South Vietnam and its capture by Communist forces led to the first urban conflict of the Marine Corps since the Korean War. Khe Sanh was the battlefield where classical encirclement strategies faced off against the overwhelming technological might of the United States. It all makes for a riveting show and it’s all free on Battlecast – the world’s foremost podcast on war and its sociopolitical impact.

This is the conclusion of a two part series on the Tet Offensive. Find part 1 here: Tet part 1.

Download link: download

Maps and Figures