History's Greatest Battles
Where the course of history has been decided on the battlefield. These are the battles that made us -- a detailed, entertaining, and tangent-free program about history's greatest battles. In this podcast we journey through the constancy of human conflict, where the fates of nations and the course of global history have been decided on the battlefield. This podcast delves into our world-history's most significant and seminal battles, exploring not just the events themselves but their profound impact on the world we live in today. Each episode is meticulously crafted by ardent and dedicated history fans with a passion for military history and an appreciation for the art of storytelling. Join us as we unravel the strategies, heroics, and consequences that have shaped civilizations and forged the destiny of entire continents.
Episodes
124 episodes
The Siege of Basra, 1982-87. Chemical Warfare. Nerve Gas. A Million Casualties.
The fighting around Basra was the bloodiest of the Iran-Iraq War, grinding through thousands of lives as both sides hurled everything they had into the struggle. It was here that Iraq unleashed chemical weapons on a massive scale, forcing the w...
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Season 2
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Episode 34
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25:26
The Siege of Badajoz, 1812. Total Carnage, Absolute Gore. Napoleon's Spanish Divisions Decimated by Wellington.
When the guns fell silent and the blood-soaked ruins of Badahose lay under British control, the last obstacle between Wellington and Spain was gone. The fortress had been the key, the final lock on the door that led into Napoleon’s empire...
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Season 2
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Episode 33
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23:27
The Siege of Gibraltar, 1779- 1783. The Longest Siege in British History. Key to WWII Centuries Later.
The last great effort to reclaim Gibraltar ended in defeat, sealing Britain’s hold over the gateway to the Mediterranean. The Rock remained under the Union Jack, and with it, Britain maintained the power to dictate the movement of fleets,...
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Season 2
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Episode 32
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26:16
The Siege of Carthage, 146 BC. Rome Annihilates an Entire Civilization. A General Shames Himself Before his Wife.
Carthage... was annihilated. Its streets, once filled with merchants and soldiers, became killing grounds. Its walls, once impenetrable, were torn apart stone by stone. Its people, once masters of the sea, were either slaughtered in the ruins ...
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Season 2
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Episode 31
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27:08
The Siege of Vicksburg, 1863. The Death Knell Moment of the Rebellion. The South Reduced to Eating Rats.
With the fall of Vicksburg, the Union seized the entire length of the Mississippi River, cleaving the Confederacy in half. The South’s western states... Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas... were now isolated, their soldiers and resources cut off f...
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Season 2
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Episode 30
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35:04
The Siege of Port Arthur, 1905. Russia Humiliated. Mechanized Slaughtering Ushered in as New War Standard.
Japan’s triumph sent a shockwave through Russia... a psychological wound as devastating as the battlefield losses. Defeat at the hands of an Asian power shattered the empire’s confidence and exposed the weaknesses of its military. Meanwhile, Ja...
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Season 2
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Episode 29
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23:22
The Siege of Malta, 1565. Ottoman Power Halted in its Tracks. Muslim Invasion of the Central and Western Mediterranean Sea Ends, Forever.
The triumph of the Knights of Malta shattered the momentum of Sultan Suleiman’s ambitions, halting the Ottoman drive for total dominance over the Mediterranean. Though his empire still loomed over the region, the siege had exposed its vulnerabi...
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Season 2
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Episode 28
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29:09
The Siege of Rhodes, 1522. One Small Order of Knights Stops Islam from an Open Door to Europe.
With the fall of the city and the island, Suleiman secured uncontested Ottoman dominance over the eastern Mediterranean. No Christian stronghold remained to challenge his fleets, no force lingered to disrupt his empire’s control over these wate...
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Season 2
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Episode 27
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20:48
The Siege of Imphal, 1944. Japanese Army Left to Rot. British and Indian Refusal to Surrender Alters History.
The road to India was within the Japanese Imperial Army's grasp, but at Imphal and Kohima, the Japanese advance was not just halted, it was broken. Their columns had fought, bled, and died to reach the gates of British India, but when the final...
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Season 2
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Episode 26
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25:57
The Siege of Grozny, 1994-95. Total Russian Military Command Failure. Grozny's Apocalyptic Destruction Breeds Insurgency.
Russia’s failure to impose enduring control over Chechnya exposed a fundamental erosion of its military strength and the brittle resolve of its leadership. What should have been a swift and decisive campaign instead unraveled into a prolonged d...
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Season 2
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Episode 25
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16:28
The Siege of Baghdad, 1258. Islam Nearly Wiped from the Earth. Mongol Expansion. Wholesale Slaughter.
When the Mongols tore through Baghdad, they did not merely sack a city for its plunder or to claim power, this time they dismantled a civilization. The once-great capital of the Islamic world, a center of power, knowledge, and commerce for half...
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Season 2
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Episode 24
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23:37
The Siege of Magdeburg, 1631. Wholesale Savagery. Slaughter of Faiths.
The annihilation of Magdeburg was more than a military defeat... it was a warning, one that sent shockwaves through the Protestant states of northern Germany. Those who had hesitated, those who had wavered in their allegiance, now saw the cost ...
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Season 2
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Episode 23
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27:22
The Siege of St. Augustine, FL. 1702. Spanish Fort Unconquered. Delays British American Dominance.
Spain’s victory did more than just hold the line, it secured Florida as a critical bastion, shielding its Atlantic trade routes and standing as a barrier against the rising power of the American colonies. For decades to come, it would remain a ...
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Season 2
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Episode 22
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21:36
The Siege of Kut-Al-Amara, WWI. Longest Unrelieved Siege in British History. Iraq Formed. British Government Toppled.
Kut was the longest unrelieved siege ever suffered by a British force, and its fall sent shockwaves through the empire. It wasn't just a battlefield defeat, it was a total unraveling. The loss shattered illusions of invincibility, exposed the f...
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Season 2
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Episode 21
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21:18
The Siege of Paris, 1870 - 1871. France Falls... But France Refuses to Forget; Seeding WWI.
Paris' surrender marked the end of the Franco-Prussian War, a conflict that not only crushed the Second French Empire but also gave birth to a new European superpower. In the wake of victory, the German Empire was proclaimed, uniting the fragme...
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Season 2
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Episode 20
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22:54
The Siege of Fort Fisher, US Civil War, 1865. The South's Last Artery, Severed. Heroic Last Stand of the Damned.
The fall of Fort Fisher sealed Wilmington’s fate, shutting down the last open port of the Confederacy and severing its final link to the outside world. No more weapons. No more supplies. No more war materiel smuggled through the blockade. With ...
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Season 2
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Episode 19
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18:37
The Siege of Sevastopol, 1854 - 1855. Crimean War. First Use of Electrically Detonated Land Mines, Russia's Crimean Dreams Destroyed.
The loss of the port city shattered Russia’s campaign in the Crimean War. With Sevastopol gone, the Tsar’s ambitions in the region collapsed. His fleet was crippled, his armies bled white, and his empire humiliated on the world stage. No reinfo...
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Season 2
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Episode 18
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20:21
The Siege of Veii, ~ 404 BC - 396 BC. Rome's Walls Breached for the First and Last Time.
Rome’s victory did more than defeat a rival; it annihilated the one power that had stood as its greatest obstacle. With its most formidable enemy wiped from the map, the balance of power in central Italy shifted permanently. No force remained t...
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Season 2
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Episode 17
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15:56
The Siege of Plevna, 1877. Balkan Pan-Slavic Dream Stopped by Ottomans, but Planted Seeds for WWI.
Though the Ottomans fell at the end, their five-month stand shattered Russia’s momentum so completely that the road to Constantinople was never taken. The Tsar’s armies, bloodied and exhausted, were forced to settle for negotiation instead of c...
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Season 2
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Episode 16
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19:29
The Siege of Liege, 1914. Blindsided by Courageous Belgian Resistance, German's Lightening Plan Thwarted, Paris Saved.
Belgian resistance was not supposed to exist. The German war machine had counted on speed... on smashing through the Low Countries unopposed. Instead, Belgian troops stood and fought, throwing the invasion off balance. What should have been a r...
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Season 2
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Episode 15
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20:43
The Siege of Montségur, 1243 - 1244. The Last Stand of the Cathars. First Crusade Against Fellow Christians.
The fall of Montségur was not simply a siege, it was an annihilation of a faith. The last sanctuary of the Cathars, deemed heretics by the Catholic Church, was reduced to silence in fire and blood. Their doctrine did not fade by choice, nor by ...
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Season 2
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Episode 14
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15:15
The Siege of Boston, 1775 - 1776. America Refuses to be Ruled. Ragtag Militia Besieges and Takes Boston. America is Birthed.
By driving the British from Boston, the rebellion achieved its first decisive victory, expelling the bulk of British forces from the American colonies. This triumph was more than just a strategic success... it was a surge of confidence for the ...
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Season 2
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Episode 13
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22:52
The Siege of Tobruk, 1941. Hitler's Advance East from Africa Stopped. First Real NAZI Defeat. Oil Fields Secured. Suez Saved.
British troops refused to break, grinding down the German-Italian offensive in Egypt. Their defiance did more than just slow the Axis advance—it kept them from launching a full-scale assault on Malta, the island fortress that stood between Hitl...
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Season 2
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Episode 12
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19:10
The Siege of Sarajevo, 1991 - 1995. Ethnic Cleansing, Genocide. First UN Intervention with Force.
The relief of Sarajevo forced a turning point. Under relentless NATO bombardment and international pressure, Serbian forces withdrew, and for the first time, the government of Serbia recognized Bosnia-Herzegovina’s independence. It was a reluct...
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Season 2
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Episode 11
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16:11
The Siege of Kinsale, 1602. Ireland Falls to British Rule. Irish Seed the American Revolution.
The English victory crushed Ireland’s last real chance at freedom, locking the island under English rule, its warriors dead, its leaders in flight, and its people left to endure centuries of occupation. But the Irish who escaped carried their h...
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Season 2
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Episode 10
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22:03
