In this explosive episode, we dive into the legendary tale of El Cid, the exiled Castilian knight whose sword may be sidelined, but whose legacy is anything but forgotten. While El Cid is holding the northeastern flank in Zaragoza, Alfonso VI takes center stage, leading a brilliant and strategic expansion of Christian borders — including the historic conquest of Toledo. But the Reconquista is far from one-sided.

Alarmed by Christian advances, the Taifa King of Seville and key Islamic religious leaders in Cordoba call upon Yusuf ibn Tashfin and his battle-hardened and religious dogmatic Almoravid army in North Africa. Their mission? To reclaim Al-Andalus and remove the Christian yoke once and for all.
The tension explodes in one of the most epic pitch battles of the Reconquista: the clash at Sagrajas in the region of Badajoz, where Alfonso VI rallies a massive Christian coalition to face the Islamic invaders head-on.

Use Code DEADWARRIOR for 15% off
DAC Tents: https://dactents.com/

In this episode of the DWS podcast, we go back and examine not only El Cid’s early military career in more detail but also analyze and unpack the politically fraught situation that would inevitably led to Civil War between the Castilian royal family. El Cid is a vassal, friend, and battlefield comrade to King Sancho, the eldest brother. Because of his natural and deadly talent, Rodrigo Diaz earns the name “Campeador” and nearly everyone across the Iberian has heard of his military exploits and moreover when the enemy sees or hears that he is present on the battlefield they very often take flight.
Just as the war was ending, King Sancho is assassinated, and El Cid eventually finds himself adrift in foreign lands working as a sword-for-hire. He has only one choice: in order to survive he must fight.

Use Code DEADWARRIOR for 15% off
DAC Tents: https://dactents.com/

Welcome back to The Dead Warrior Society, the podcast where history’s fiercest fighters live again. In this episode, we dive into the early life and legendary exploits of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar—better known as El Cid. From his rise through the ranks of Castilian nobility to his battlefield brilliance and uneasy alliances with both Christian and Muslim rulers, El Cid's story is as complex as it is iconic.

But this isn't just a tale of swords and sieges. Throughout the episode, we explore the broader world of the Reconquista: who actually fought in it, what weapons and tactics were used, and how power was structured in medieval Iberia. We examine the layers of feudal obligation, beginning with the king himself and working down through his royal entourage, noble vassals, and military retainers, highlighting how governance, loyalty, and warfare were all deeply intertwined.

In this episode we discuss when the Crusades first started. Although it is a complicated concept, we dive into the intimate details of what prompted Christan peoples to take up the Cross and wage war against Islamic forces not just in the Holy Lands but really, all across the Mediterranean basin. Despite what historians claim the process of Crusading began as early as the mid 8th century and continued onward for hundreds of years.

In this episode of the Dead Warrior Society podcast, we explore the remarkable yet brief rise and fall of the Umayyad Caliphate in Al-Andalus.

Once centered in the magnificent city of Córdoba, the Caliphate was hailed by contemporaries as the crown jewel of the early medieval world—rivalling imperial centers such as Rome, Alexandria, and Baghdad. Historians often describe it as a beacon of cultural sophistication, economic vitality, and religious tolerance, particularly toward the Christian and Jewish communities living under Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula.

Yet, despite its grandeur, the Caliphate survived barely eight decades before collapsing into civil war and internecine conflict. If it was indeed a cosmopolitan powerhouse committed to pluralism and prosperity, why did it so quickly unravel? Was its downfall a contradiction of its supposed ideals—or a revelation of deeper fractures within?

In this episode, we confront the often-romanticized narrative surrounding the Umayyad Caliphate. We delve into the complexities behind its administration, the ambiguous treatment of non-Arab Muslims, Christians, and Muwalladun and the internal divisions that ultimately led to its demise. We also examine how its fall helped ignite the forces that would later drive the Christian Reconquista across the Iberian Peninsula.

In this first installment of our series on the Reconquest of Spain, we set the stage for one of the most defining struggles in European and World history—the fight to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula by the indigenous Catholic Hispanic-Roman peoples.

We delve into who these people were before the invasion: a tapestry of Romanized Christian cultures rooted in centuries of Hispano-Roman tradition. Then, we examine the sudden and forceful Islamic incursion from North Africa in 711 AD—an invasion marked by speed, ferocity, and strategic brilliance. Within a decade, nearly the entire peninsula had fallen under Muslim control.

But all was not lost. As cities fell and Christian kingdoms crumbled, resistance began to stir in the rugged northern regions of Asturias and Galicia. Displaced warriors, local nobles, and devout leaders began to forge the early seeds of the Reconquista.

Join us as we explore this dramatic turning point in Iberian history—a clash of civilizations, faiths, and destinies. The Reconquest begins here.

In this episode of the Dead Warrior Society, I discuss how I went from being a piss poor student who barely graduated high school to eventually getting a degree in History from an Ivy League University. Throughout my journey I made numerous errors but eventually I figured out an algorithm that worked well and helped me not only learn the material but absorb it and come up with new creative arguments to push back against my professors, historians, and other intellectuals. 

Here I will teach you my approach from start to finish. If you are someone who reads history because it is entertaining, that’s great. But if you want to really understand, absorb, and engage in various arguments taking place in the Zeitgeist , this is a great tool. 

In this episode, we explore 73 years of U.S. Army Special Forces from their inception in 1952 to modern-day operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
We start at the beginning, breaking down why the Green Berets were formed in the early Cold War era, initially as an elite unconventional warfare force. But as the threat of Soviet-sponsored communist insurgencies spread globally, the Green Berets shifted into the role of Counter Insurgency (COIN) specialists—a role that would define them for decades.
We go deep into:
• The Vietnam War, where Special Forces played pivotal roles in MACV-SOG, CIDG, MIKE Force, and other covert and indigenous operations.
• How Vietnam shaped the identity and mission of the Green Berets, and the lasting lessons—both strategic, psychological, and cultural.
• The post-Vietnam decline of Special Forces, examining the loss of institutional support and operational relevance during the 1980s and 1990s.
• Their resurgence post-9/11, and how Green Berets redefined COIN during campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, mentoring local forces, hunting insurgents, and operating deep in hostile territory.
This episode is packed with intimate historical context, first-hand stories, and strategic insights into one of the most legendary units in U.S. military history.
 
#greenberets  #SpecialForces #VietnamWar #Afghanistan #Iraq #UnconventionalWarfare #MACVSOG #MilitaryHistory #COIN #Podcast #deltaforce #specialoperations #militaryhistory #military

In this episode of the Dead Warrior Society Podcast, we take a hard look at the roots of Unconventional Warfare (UW) in the annals of American military history and what it really meant in the post–World War II era and how its legacy has been shaped, stretched, and sometimes distorted over time.

Green Berets have long claimed the title of “masters of UW”, pointing to missions in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and beyond as proof. But does the historical record back that up? Not exactly.

We dive into the complicated and often misunderstood origins of UW, how U.S. policymakers and military leaders viewed it after WWII, and why the story of Special Forces and UW isn't as clear-cut as many would like to believe.

This episode challenges the legend and explores the real story behind the Green Berets’ rise, their true mission in the early days, and how Unconventional Warfare has evolved in theory vs. practice.

In this episode, I dive deep into the question: What exactly are Special Operations? To unpack this, I turn to one of the most influential voices on the subject—Admiral William H. McRaven (ret). Using his 1996 dissertation and his well-known book, Spec Ops: Case Studies in Special Operations Warfare: Theory and Practice, I explore the six core principles McRaven outlines for successful special operations missions.

Instead of relying on the case studies McRaven uses in his book, I apply his framework to my own selection of historical operations—some well-known, others less so—to test and better understand how these principles hold up across different contexts, eras, and missions.