A war started over a severed ear? You’d think it was a joke - until thousands of British soldiers died in the Caribbean heat, not all from battle, but from blundering leadership, tropical disease, and incompetence.

In this episode of Redcoat History, naval historian Tom Golding-Lee joins us to unpack one of Britain’s most catastrophic—and largely forgotten—campaigns: the expedition to Cartagena in 1741.

This is a story of ambition, hubris, and total military meltdown.

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Tom's Twitter account is - https://x.com/tdgnavalhistory