The Wild History Of War

Many people have heard some pretty bizarre tales from World War 2 history, but few come close to matching this one for its scale, scope and sheer absurdity. 

In this episode we'll explore how the German people's love of margarine (and the concurrent dwindling of their supply lines) led to an audacious plan that almost led to a spectacular German landgrab all the way down in the Antarctic!

Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

Support the show on Patreon
Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

Explore the show
👉 https://wildhistoryofwar.com

Contact: [email protected]

War often calls for quick thinking and unconventional tactics, but few battles have ever been won with… potatoes. But, during World War II, the USS O’Bannon, a U.S. Navy destroyer, found itself in a tense standoff with a Japanese submarine. With the enemy dangerously close, too near in fact for their deck guns to be effective, the crew resorted to a rather unexpected weapon. 

This is the incredible tale of how the USS O’Bannon used quick thinking, and a well-stocked pantry, to help sink a Japanese submarine.

Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

Support the show on Patreon
Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

Explore the show
👉 https://wildhistoryofwar.com

Contact: [email protected]

In 1788, the Austrian army marched toward Karansebes expecting to fight the Ottoman Empire.

Instead, a drunken argument somehow ended with thousands of Austrian soldiers firing on each other. Cavalry were mistaken for enemy troops, artillery opened fire on friendly forces, and Emperor Joseph II ended up fleeing for his life.

By the time the real Ottoman army arrived, the Austrians had already done most of the damage themselves.

This is the ridiculous and tragic story of the Battle of Karansebes, when an army accidentally went to war with itself.


Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

Support the show on Patreon
Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

Explore the show
👉 https://wildhistoryofwar.com

Contact: [email protected]

In one of the most ill-advised military ideas of the American Civil War, some poor donkeys were turned into self-guided ballistic missiles.

But as we'll find out, donkeys aren't always reliable when it comes to navigation!

Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

Support the show on Patreon
Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

Explore the show
👉 https://wildhistoryofwar.com

Contact: [email protected]

What do chewing gum and tiny parachutes have to do with the Cold War era Berlin Airlift?

Quite a lot, as it turns out!

This is the story of the American airforce pilot Gail Halvorsen, the "Candy Bomber of Berlin", who began dropping little sweet packages from his aircraft to the children of Berlin and accidentally became one of the most famous pilots of the early Cold War.

Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

Support the show on Patreon
Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

Explore the show
👉 https://wildhistoryofwar.com

Contact: [email protected]

During World War II, the sailors at Simon’s Town Naval Base gained an unlikely new recruit: a giant Great Dane named Just Nuisance.

After repeatedly sneaking onto trains to follow his sailor friends into Cape Town, the Navy solved the problem by officially enlisting him, giving him a rank and the right to free rail travel.

From attending parades and breaking up fights to escorting drunken sailors home, Just Nuisance became a beloved wartime mascot and one of South Africa’s most unusual military legends.

This is the funny, heartwarming story of the only dog ever officially enlisted in the Royal Navy.


Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

Support the show on Patreon
Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

Explore the show
👉 https://wildhistoryofwar.com

Contact: [email protected]

Before lacrosse became a modern sport with helmets, pads, and tiny goals, it was a massive Native American war game played across miles of open land.

But in 1763, outside Fort Michilimackinac, the Ojibwe and Sauk used it for something even more dramatic: a deception so simple the British never saw it coming.

This is the bizarre but true story of how a ball game, an open fort gate, and one very badly timed lack of suspicion helped turn a sporting spectacle into one of the strangest infiltrations in North American military history.

Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

Support the show on Patreon
Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

Explore the show
👉 https://wildhistoryofwar.com

Contact: [email protected]

In the 1950s, the CIA helped the Philippine government fight communist rebels known as the Huks. But instead of relying only on bullets and bombs, one American operative turned to something far stranger: vampire folklore.

This episode tells the bizarre true story of Edward Lansdale, the Aswang legend, and one of the CIA’s most disturbing psychological warfare operations.

Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

Support the show on Patreon
Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

Explore the show
👉 https://wildhistoryofwar.com

Contact: [email protected]

In 1932, Australia went to war against some large flightless birds. It did not go well. 

This is the infamous Emu War, a true story involving machine guns, some entirely misguided military strategy, and of course a deeply humbling loss for the Australian forces.

Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

Support the show on Patreon
Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

Explore the show
👉 https://wildhistoryofwar.com

Contact: [email protected]

For a fleeing Dutch naval vessel caught up in the middle of the Pacific theatre of war, the best thing they could do to survive was to make their warship look like…an island?

Covered in foliage, fake trees, and camouflage so ridiculous it fooled the Japanese forces, this is the story of one of the most bizarre naval escapes ever attempted.

Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

Support the show on Patreon
Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

Explore the show
👉 https://wildhistoryofwar.com

Contact: [email protected]