Napoleon. Hitler. Charles XII of Sweden.
Three men, three empires — all frozen in their tracks by the same unbeatable opponent: General Winter.

In this chilly Dad Tangent, we explore how Russia’s infamous winter has stopped some of the most powerful armies in history. From Charles XII’s doomed march in 1708, to Napoleon’s icy retreat in 1812, to Hitler’s stalled invasion of Moscow in 1941, this episode dives into why invading Russia in winter is basically a historical no-no.

You’ll hear about:

• Charles XII and the forgotten Swedish disaster
• Napoleon’s frosty downfall
• Hitler’s summer uniform mistake
• Soviet ski troops and snow camo snipers
• Why General Winter remains undefeated

Love history, dad jokes, and the occasional deep dive into Soviet paranoia?
If you’re enjoying History with Dad and want to help keep the episodes coming, you can chip in a few bucks at:
👉 buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad

No pressure — but every bit helps fuel research, hosting costs, and (of course) caffeine-powered storytelling.
Thanks for listening, and for being part of this nerdy little adventure through the past.

The tide begins to turn.

In this episode of History with Dad, we pick up in the frozen winter of 1941–42, as the German advance stalls outside Moscow and the Red Army begins to fight back. From there, we follow Hitler’s disastrous southern gamble into the oil fields of the Caucasus, and then dig deep into the rubble of Stalingrad — the city that refused to fall.

We spotlight snipers, saboteurs, and the brutal street-by-street combat that turned Stalingrad into the graveyard of Nazi ambition. Then it’s on to Operation Uranus, the Soviet trap that sealed the fate of the German Sixth Army, and the staggering human cost of the battle — with over 2 million casualties on both sides.

We wrap up with a look at how Stalingrad changed the war, reshaped both armies, and set the Red Army on the road to Berlin.

This episode covers:

·        The winter counteroffensive of 1941–42

·        Case Blue and Hitler’s overreach in the south

·        The siege and defense of Stalingrad

·        Vasily Zaitsev and the sniper war

·        The Soviet counterattack: Operation Uranus

·        The surrender of the Sixth Army

·        The human cost of the battle

·        How Stalingrad changed the course of the war

Follow the show for more deep dives, dad jokes,and dramatic retellings of Eastern European history — all the way to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Love history, dad jokes, and the occasional deep dive into Soviet paranoia?
If you’re enjoying History with Dad and want to help keep the episodes coming, you can chip in a few bucks at:
👉 buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad

No pressure — but every bit helps fuel research, hosting costs, and (of course) caffeine-powered storytelling.
Thanks for listening, and for being part of this nerdy little adventure through the past.

When the Nazis surrounded Leningrad, 11-year-old Tanya Savicheva picked up a pencil and quietly wrote the names and dates of each loved one she lost. Just nine pages — but they became one of the most haunting records of World War II.

In this Dad Tangent, we explore Tanya’s diary, the brutal reality of the Siege of Leningrad, and how a child’s words became powerful evidence at the Nuremberg Trials. It’s a short story with a long echo — told with care, heart,and a little dad wisdom along the way.

Love history, dad jokes, and the occasional deep dive into Soviet paranoia?
If you’re enjoying History with Dad and want to help keep the episodes coming, you can chip in a few bucks at:
👉 buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad

No pressure — but every bit helps fuel research, hosting costs, and (of course) caffeine-powered storytelling.
Thanks for listening, and for being part of this nerdy little adventure through the past.

At just 14 years old, Valya Kotik wasn’tplaying games — he was blowing up German trains, sneaking through Nazi lines,and spying for the Soviet resistance in occupied Ukraine. In this Dad Tangent,we dive into the incredible true story of the youngest Hero of theSoviet Union — a boy who turned courage into sabotage andbecame a legend before his fifteenth birthday.

Join Dad for a short, powerful side trip into World War II history —complete with bravery, booby traps, and just enough pun to keep thingshistorically groan-worthy.

Love history, dad jokes, and the occasional deep dive into Soviet paranoia?
If you’re enjoying History with Dad and want to help keep the episodes coming, you can chip in a few bucks at:
👉 buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad

No pressure — but every bit helps fuel research, hosting costs, and (of course) caffeine-powered storytelling.
Thanks for listening, and for being part of this nerdy little adventure through the past.

Hitler breaks the Nazi-Soviet pact and launches the largest invasion inhistory. Stalin panics, armies clash, and civilians are caught in the middle asthe Eastern Front erupts in fire, frost, and fury.

In this episode of History with Dad, we followthe brutal opening phase of Operation Barbarossa: the fall of Kyiv, the siegeof Leningrad, and the desperate defense of Moscow. We meet resistance fightersin the forests, everyday heroes under occupation, and young people who took ontanks with potatoes, courage, and a whole lot of grit.

It’s the beginning of the bloodiest front of World War II — told with heart,humor, and a few groan-worthy Dad puns along the way.

Love history, dad jokes, and the occasional deep dive into Soviet paranoia?
If you’re enjoying History with Dad and want to help keep the episodes coming, you can chip in a few bucks at:
👉 buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad

No pressure — but every bit helps fuel research, hosting costs, and (of course) caffeine-powered storytelling.
Thanks for listening, and for being part of this nerdy little adventure through the past.

Born Lev Davidovich Bronstein, Trotsky was Lenin’s right-hand man, the mastermind of the Red Army, and Stalin’s biggest rival. In this Dad Tangent, we trace Trotsky’s rise, his dramatic exile, and his tragic end in Mexico—with an ice axe. History, betrayal, revolution—and yes, a few sharp-edged dad jokes.

How did a Georgian kid named Ioseb Jughashvili become Joseph Stalin, one of history’s most feared dictators? In this Dad Tangent, we dig into Stalin’s rise from seminary student to Soviet strongman. Hear how he outmaneuvered rivals, ruled with terror, and left a legacy soaked in fear—and grain quotas. It’s dark, it’s gripping, and yes, there’s still room for a dad joke or two.

Caught between Hitler’s Nazis and Stalin’s Soviets, Ukraine became one of the deadliest battlegrounds of World War II. In this episode, Dad unpacks the invasion, resistance, tragedy, and impossible choices Ukrainians faced. From Babyn Yar to the Red Army to stolen factories—this is the war like you’ve neverheard it. Heavy history, human stories, and a few dad jokes to help it go down.

In this Dad Tangent, we meet Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov—better known as Lenin. Yes, that Lenin. Revolutionary, political mastermind, and the guy who decided Russia needed a total system reboot.

We’ll talk about his wild journey from exiled bookworm to leader of the Bolshevik Revolution, why he was obsessed with Marxism, and how one sealed train ride across Europe flipped history upside down. Oh—and if you managed to correctly pronounce “Ulyanov” on the first try? Congratulations, language wizard. Thanks, Big Lebowski.

From pamphlets to power grabs, Lenin’s story is a crash course in how one man with an idea (and a really intense stare) can change the world.

In this Dad Tangent, we take a detour into the bizarre life and even weirder death of Grigori Rasputin—the mystical monk who somehow became BFFs with the Russian royal family. Was he a healer? A fraud? A hypnotist? A time-traveling rock star who got lost on the way to the 1970s?

We’ll look at how Rasputin earned the trust of Tsarina Alexandra, how he became a walking scandal, and how his enemies tried to kill him… multiple times. Seriously, it’s like a cartoon villain plan gone wrong. Poison, bullets, drowning—this guy just wouldn’t stay down.

Come for the beard, stay for the assassination attempts.