Send me a message

Most people know the Duke of Wellington for defeating Napoleon at Waterloo. But when asked which battle truly tested him, Wellington didn’t name Waterloo. He said Assaye.

Fought in the blistering heat of central India in 1803, the Battle of Assaye was Arthur Wellesley’s first major command—and one of the most audacious victories in British military history. Outnumbered seven to one, with just 6,500 men and minimal artillery, Wellesley led a daring assault against a Maratha army of over 40,000 troops supported by more than 100 cannon.

Become A Patron

Make A Donation

Support the show

Send me a message

John Dartnell: Veteran of the Zulu War, Indian Mutiny, and Boer War – The Forgotten Soldier of Empire

Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

Please Support My Show

Become A Patron

Make A Donation

Support the show

Send me a message

The story of Yorkshireman, Stanley Hollis, the only man to be awarded a Victoria Cross on D-Day 1944.

Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.

Please Support My Show

Become A Patron

Make A Donation

Support the show

Send me a message

The Last Stand of Richard Corfield: Britain's War with the Mad Mullah

In August 1913, deep in the arid interior of British Somaliland, Captain Richard Corfield led a force of camel-mounted troopers into what would become one of the most dramatic—and overlooked—clashes of Britain’s colonial wars. Outnumbered nearly 30 to 1, Corfield and the Somaliland Camel Constabulary faced the full might of the Dervish forces led by the enigmatic and defiant Mohammed Abdullah Hassan—dubbed by the British as the “Mad Mullah.”

Related Podcasts

Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart (The Soldier They Couldn't Kill)

John Gough: The Only British Family Awarded 3 Victoria Crosses

Please Support My Show

Become A Patron

Make A Donation

Support the show

Send me a message

Was James Bond real? Not exactly. But the man who created him was deeply involved in the shadowy world of wartime espionage. This documentary uncovers the true story of Ian Fleming’s secret war—and how it gave birth to 007.

Become A Patron

Make A Donation

Support the show

Send me a message

Become A Patron

Make A Donation

On the 16th May 1943, 19 Lancaster bombers form 617 Squadron RAF set out on one of the most daring bombing raids of WW2.

Led by 24-year-old Wing Commander Guy Gibson, their mission waste destroy 3 dams in there industrial heartland of Germany.

Immortalised in the 1955 film, starring Richard Todd; 

This is the story of the Dam Busters.

Listen to the D-Day story of actor, Richard Todd.

Support the show

Send me a message

Become A Patron

Make A Donation

Did the film Zulu get it wrong?

In the 1964 epic, Lieutenant Gert Adendorff rides into Rorke’s Drift with dire news of the disaster at Isandlwana. He explains Zulu tactics, warns of the impending attack—and when asked if he’ll stay to fight, replies:

“Is there anywhere else to go?”
But just a year later, Donald Morris’s classic book The Washing of the Spears claimed he fled—not once, but twice. Ever since, Adendorff has been caught in a storm of controversy.

Was he a deserter who abandoned his men?
Or was he the only man to survive Isandlwana and then stand alongside Chard and Bromhead to help defend Rorke’s Drift?

In this documentary, we investigate the mystery behind Gert Adendorff. Using eyewitness accounts, official reports, and modern research, we ask why history has treated him so harshly—especially when regular British officers who fled to Helpmekaar were never questioned.

This is the forgotten story of the man who may have fought in both of the Anglo-Zulu War’s most famous battles.

The Battle of Isandlwana

Support the show

Send me a message

The Quiitinshill Rail Disaster.

Britain's worst ever rail crash where over 220 people were killed including over 200 soldiers heading to Liverpool to embark for Gallipoli.

Become A Patron

Make A Donation

Support the show

Send me a message

The story of the British expedition to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) to rescue British civilians being held captive by the Emperor Tewodros in his mountain fortress at Magdala.

Become A Patron

Make A Donation

Support the show

Send me a message

The story of the British Zouaves who fought in the 19th century Papal army.

Become A Patron

Make A Donation

Support the show