The Redcoat History Podcast

The British army officer has one of the most impressive, but also most polarising, reputations in military history.

 

On the one hand, he is the calm, polished gentleman. Sword in hand, Chin up. Standing in the smoke while the men around him look at him for courage and inspiration.

 

On the other hand, he is also seen as the chinless aristocrat. The idiot in a fancy uniform -  A man who may know exactly which fork to use at dinner, but not necessarily which direction the enemy is attacking from.

 

But which image reflects the reality?

 

In this episode we will explore the history of British army commissions…examine the brave warriors who lead us to incredible victories and look at the bizarre stories of  children with commissions, rich fools, petty tyrants, and men who had absolutely no business being trusted with soldiers’ lives.

 

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This episode is part of my new Osprey-sponsored Redcoat Vs... series - here is a link to their books - http://ospreypublishing.com/

In 1845, British redcoats arrived in northern New Zealand expecting a simple colonial campaign. What they found instead was a brutal lesson in Māori warfare. Behind walls of sharpened timber, hidden trenches, loopholes, underground shelters and cleverly designed pā fortifications, Māori warriors showed the British Army that courage and bayonets were not enough. In this episode of Redcoat Vs..., we look at the Flagstaff War which is also known as Hōne Heke’s War or the Northern War. We examine the fighting at Kororāreka, Ōhaeawai and Ruapekapeka, the strengths and weaknesses of the redcoats, the brilliance of Māori pā design, and the hard lessons the British learned in New Zealand.

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The British army’s regimental system is uniquely confusing. It’s been the backbone of the British army for centuries. Some would argue it’s the secret to our success. . . But what exactly is it? How did it begin? How has it changed over the centuries and is it still relevant and important for a 21st century military force?

Stay tuned to the end to find out my thoughts on that.

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Three more forgotten campaigns…

The strange, sprawling, global war fought by British soldiers, sailors, marines and East India Company troops in places most people never associate with the redcoat at all.

Today we are heading first to the River Plate, where Britain tries to break into Spanish South America through Montevideo and Buenos Aires with some courage, some skill, and quite a lot of  misplaced optimism

Then we go to Mauritius, or Isle de France, a French base in the Indian Ocean where Napoleon’s ships were making life deeply unpleasant for British trade.

And finally, we end up in Java, where a British expeditionary force lands in the East Indies to take on a Dutch colony that had effectively become part of Napoleon’s empire.

Three campaigns. Three continents. Three very different stories.

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Today we’re looking at the British Army as it exists now… how it’s organised, why the regimental system looks so baffling to outsiders, and who these regiments and corps actually are.

If you’ve ever looked at a list of British army regiments and been totally confused as to what each one does then this is the episode for you.

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Napoleon’s cavalry should have crushed the British - but in Spain during the Peninsular war, a smaller British force kept humiliating them. Why? That’s what we are exploring today.

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Today we’re diving into the life of one of the most famous, and in many ways, most controversial, soldiers of the Victorian British Army: Field Marshal Lord Roberts. A man adored by his troops, feared by his enemies… and not without his critics.

This isn’t just the story of “Bobs” the hero. It’s the full picture. The victories. The ambition. The rivalries. And the uncomfortable questions that still hang over his reputation.

Now, I didn’t actually conduct this interview myself - credit where it’s due. This one was brilliantly handled by my mate Chris Brice, who sits down with historian Rodney Atwood to really get into the weeds on Roberts’ life and career.

Rodney’s book The Life of Field Marshal Lord Roberts is available https://amzn.to/4eyglsG 

 

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Thanks to Osprey Publishing for sponsoring this series 'The British army Vs...' 

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In today's episode, we explore how the British Army learned to fight in North America during the French and Indian War, facing a completely different kind of warfare against Native American warriors in the American wilderness. From the shock of early encounters like the Battle of Monongahela to the gradual adaptation of redcoat tactics, this is the story of how British soldiers were forced to rethink everything they knew about war.

Fighting in dense forests against an elusive enemy who used ambush, concealment, and mobility, the British Army had to evolve or fail. This video breaks down the clash between European linear warfare and irregular woodland fighting, and explains how the redcoats adapted, improved, and ultimately became effective in one of the most challenging theatres of war in British military history.

The Peninsular War saw Britain, Portugal and Spain team up in an unlikely alliance against the might of Napoleon's France.

These days the Spanish and the British both think they won the war single-handed...But what is the truth? Was Spain a useless ally or were they actually surprisingly helpful? Let's find out.

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Now, When people think of the British Army in the age of Napoleon, they usually picture the big stuff - Waterloo. Salamanca. Lines of redcoats smashing French columns. 

But that was only part of the story.

Because the British Army of this era was not just fighting set-piece battles in Spain and Belgium. It was everywhere. Corsica. Egypt. The Low Countries. Strange little expeditions, half-forgotten raids, awkward amphibious landings, sieges, disasters, and operations that now sit in the shadows of the more famous campaigns.

And some of them are extraordinary.

In this episode, I’m joined once again by historian Steve Brown - he is a Goliath of British military history of the Napoleonic era and his books are incredible . Today he is digging into three neglected actions: the invasion of Corsica in 1794, the Ostend raid of 1798, and the Fraser expedition to Egypt in 1807.

They may be obscure, but they are anything but dull. We’ve got Horatio Nelson losing the sight in an eye, British troops smashing their objectives and then being wrecked by the weather and Highlanders and Swiss soldiers ending up in Egyptian slave markets.

So put the big battles out of your mind for a bit and grab a brew. I started off by asking Steve what made him want to research these obscure corners of the Great War against France.

 

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