Compact Warfare

On 22 May 1455, a struggle for influence over Henry VI became a battle in the streets of St. Albans. Richard, Duke of York, and his Neville allies confronted the king's supporters, demanding the removal of their enemies from government. When negotiations failed, barricaded lanes and an unexpected attack through back gardens decided the encounter. Discover how the first battle of the Wars of the Roses left leading nobles dead, the king wounded and England facing a political settlement burdened by revenge.

Visit our website: Compact Warfare

Find us on our social media sites:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Youtube

#CompactWarfare #CompactHistories #WarsOfTheRoses #BattleOfStAlbans #MedievalHistory #EnglishHistory #MilitaryHistory #HistoryPodcast #HenryVI #RichardOfYork #StAlbans

In May 1940, Germany launched an offensive that would transform the Second World War in just six weeks. As Allied armies advanced into Belgium, German armoured columns pushed through the Ardennes and broke across the Meuse at Sedan. This episode of Compact Warfare follows the Battle of France from the uneasy months of the Phoney War to the collapse of the northern front, the fall of Paris and the French armistice. Discover how rapid decisions, failed communications and a devastating breakthrough overwhelmed armies whose soldiers continued fighting even as their strategic position unravelled.

Visit our website: Compact Warfare

Find us on our social media sites:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Youtube

#CompactHistories #CompactWarfare #BattleOfFrance #SecondWorldWar #WWIIHistory #MilitaryHistory #FrenchHistory #HistoryPodcast

On 6 November 1792, Charles-François Dumouriez led a French army against Austrian defensive positions near Jemappes, in present-day Belgium. The new Republic had survived the invasion of France, but taking the offensive presented a different challenge. Follow the campaign from the crisis of 1792 through the difficult assaults on the Austrian heights, the breakthrough that opened the road to Brussels, and the political tensions and military reversal that followed. This episode explores how a victory helped transform French confidence, even as its immediate territorial gains proved short-lived.

Visit our website: Compact Warfare

Find us on our social media sites:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Youtube

#BattleOfJemappes #Jemappes #FrenchRevolutionaryWars #FrenchRevolution #MilitaryHistory #EuropeanHistory #HistoryPodcast #CompactWarfare #CompactHistories

In March 1452, Richard, Duke of York, confronted Henry VI with an army at Dartford. His demand was action against the Duke of Somerset, the powerful royal adviser he blamed for disastrous government and military failure. But York's attempt to force a hearing ended in submission rather than victory. This episode follows England's crisis after the loss of Normandy, the rivalry between York and Somerset, and the negotiations that prevented a battle. It then traces the fragile peace through Henry's illness and York's protectorship to the bloodshed at St Albans in 1455. Discover a crucial precursor to the Wars of the Roses, when professed loyalty and armed opposition stood uneasily side by side.

Visit our website: Compact Warfare

Find us on our social media sites:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Youtube

#CompactWarfare #CompactHistories #Dartford #WarsOfTheRoses #RichardOfYork #HenryVI #MedievalHistory #EnglishHistory #MilitaryHistory #HistoryPodcast

On 1 July 1097, Seljuk mounted archers attacked an isolated column of the First Crusade near Dorylaeum. Bohemond of Taranto gathered his knights, infantry and camp followers into a defensive position, but Kilij Arslan's cavalry surrounded them. With arrows falling on the camp, Bohemond sent for the rest of the crusader army. This episode follows the fall of Nicaea, the decision to divide the march, the desperate defence at Dorylaeum and the arrival of reinforcements that turned the battle.

Visit our website: Compact Warfare

Find us on our social media sites:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Youtube

#BattleOfDorylaeum #FirstCrusade #MedievalHistory #CompactWarfare

In July 1777, Lieutenant-General John Burgoyne led a powerful British and German army south from Canada towards Fort Ticonderoga, one of the most celebrated American strongholds of the Revolutionary War. Yet the fortress's imposing walls concealed a fatal weakness. When British engineers hauled artillery onto the commanding height of Sugar Loaf, later named Mount Defiance, Major-General Arthur St Clair faced an impossible decision: defend the position and risk losing his entire army, or abandon the fort and face accusations of cowardice and treason. This episode follows Burgoyne's advance, the struggle to defend Ticonderoga and Mount Independence, the night-time evacuation, the pursuit to Hubbardton and the consequences for the campaign that ended at Saratoga.

Visit our website: Compact Warfare

Find us on our social media sites:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Youtube

#SiegeOfFortTiconderoga #FortTiconderoga #AmericanRevolution #AmericanWarOfIndependence #SaratogaCampaign #MilitaryHistory #CompactWarfare

The Battle of Edgehill, fought in Warwickshire on 23 October 1642, was the first major pitched battle of the English Civil War. King Charles I's Royalist army was marching towards London when it encountered the Parliamentarian forces of the Earl of Essex near Kineton. Prince Rupert's cavalry swept Parliament's horsemen from the field, but its pursuit left the Royalist infantry exposed to a determined counterattack. Amid cavalry charges, close-quarter infantry fighting and the dramatic loss and recovery of the Royal Standard, both armies suffered heavily without securing a decisive victory. This episode examines the political crisis that brought England to war, the movements that led the armies to Edgehill, the course of the battle and its consequences for the conflict that followed.

Visit our website: Compact Warfare

Find us on our social media sites:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Youtube

#CompactWarfare #BattleOfEdgehill #EnglishCivilWar #BritishHistory #MilitaryHistory #KingCharlesI #PrinceRupert #HistoryPodcast

On 1 September 1939, German forces invaded Poland from the north, west and south. Just sixteen days later, the Soviet Union attacked from the east. In this episode of Compact Warfare, we examine the diplomatic manoeuvring that left Poland exposed, the German strategy behind Fall Weiss, the defence of Westerplatte, the Battle of the Bzura, the siege of Warsaw and the brutal occupation that followed. Poland's organised military resistance was overwhelmed within weeks, but the invasion turned a regional act of aggression into the Second World War.

Visit our website: Compact Warfare

Find us on our social media sites:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Youtube

#CompactWarfare #InvasionOfPoland #Poland1939 #SecondWorldWar #WorldWarTwo #MilitaryHistory #Blitzkrieg #Westerplatte #BattleOfTheBzura #HistoryPodcast

On 20 September 1792, revolutionary France faced a formidable Prussian-led invasion near the village of Valmy. What followed was less a conventional battle than a prolonged artillery duel, yet its consequences were enormous. Discover how French commanders Charles Dumouriez and François Kellermann halted the coalition advance, protected Paris and helped secure the future of the French Revolution.

Visit our website: Compact Warfare

Find us on our social media sites:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Youtube

#BattleOfValmy #FrenchRevolution #MilitaryHistory #FrenchRevolutionaryWars #CompactWarfare

In May 1097, the armies of the First Crusade reached Nicaea, the fortified capital of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm. With towering walls, an open route across Lake Ascanius and Sultan Kilij Arslan returning with a relief army, capturing the city would require close cooperation between the crusaders and Byzantine Emperor Alexios I. In this episode of Compact Warfare, we examine the fighting outside Nicaea, the siege engines and mining operations used against its defences, the extraordinary transport of Byzantine ships overland and the disputed surrender that exposed tensions within the Christian alliance.

Visit our website: Compact Warfare

Find us on our social media sites:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Youtube

#CompactWarfare #SiegeOfNicaea #FirstCrusade #Crusades #MedievalWarfare #ByzantineEmpire