Murky victory conditions and an obsession with body count turn the jungles of Vietnam into a human meat grinder. While the United States struggles to manage an increasingly brutal war, Hanoi prepares a knockout blow to break the stalemate.

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I have the pleasure of interviewing Myke Cole on this episode of the show! He is a historian and the author of STEEL LOBSTERS, THE BRONZE LIE, THE KILLING GROUND, and others.

We talk about Sir Arthur Haselrige and his Regiment of Horse; a group of knights-carrying-guns that fought in the English Civil Wars. We talk about Pike and Shot tactics, historiography, and the ways in which historians argue with one another.

Grab a copy of Steel Lobsters here

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It was my joy to get to speak with Edwin Moise, a professor of history at Clemson University, and Vietnam War expert. This conversation was the culmination of many conversations had in the background as I was researching Hell in a Small Place III–and this conversation acts as a bit of a companion episode to the HISP shows.

Smoke drifts lazily upward from the consumed redoubts at Dienbienphu. A fledgling country rejoices in its newfound freedom…for a time. A line of demarcation is drawn: Communist north. Nationalist south. Larger powers move in to claim their proxies. The United States is left to reckon with a difficult question: can they win a race with a losing horse? They’re about to find out.

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Today, I have the honor of interviewing author and historian Don Hollway. His books include Battle for the Island Kingdom, At the Gates of Rome, and The Last Viking. 

It was the Last Viking that was my introduction to Hollway's work, and I was enthralled by the story of Harald Hardada, his larger than life persona and various outsized adventures.

We talk about Hardrada's legacy, dive into anglo-saxon and Viking warfare, and how Vikings as a whole are perceived today, and how that may change in the future. 

Support Don at https://www.donhollway.com/

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Total War for the fledgling Democratic Republic of Vietnam means civilian suffering, economic disaster, communist consolidation, atomic scares, and lingering hope that the tiger can wear down the elephant. For the French, it means coming face to face with their own mortality.

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France's colony in Indochina ignites in a revolutionary inferno, led by the enigmatic figure of Ho Chi Minh. As the flames spread, Western powers must decide how far they are willing to go to stamp out the communist fire.

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A Norwegian fugitive finds himself embroiled in a Byzantine political coup, and leaves his fingerprints permanently etched throughout the bloody proceedings.

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In 1066, the issue of Anglo-Saxon royal succession boils over into outright war. But as William the Conqueror's Normans invade England from the south, Harald Hardrada's Norwegians sweep down from the north.

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Coming soon, a podcast that will explore stories from our past in order to better understand the heroes we may or may not have learned about in school