The Redcoat History Podcast

Why was the Duke of Wellington so successful during the Peninsular War? w/Marcus Cribb (Ep.38)

The Duke of Wellington is probably Britain's greatest ever general. But what were the factors that made him so effective during the Peninsular War against the French?

In this episode, my good friend Marcus Cribb (@mcribbhistory on Twitter) breaks down the Duke's success.

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And I have a website - https://redcoathistory.com/

 

Napoleonic wars: The fascinating story of black soldiers in the British army (Ep.37)

Today I am joined by John Ellis to talk about a subject I knew nothing about - Black soldiers serving in British regiments during the Napoleonic wars. It turns out that there were quite a lot...a number of whom built great careers. In this episode of the Redcoat History Podcast, John explains where these men came from, how they were treated and what happened to them. 

John doesn't have much of a social media presence but with a little digging his excellent articles can be found. I've linked to a couple of them below:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/44230826

https://nottingham.academia.edu/JohnDEllis 

As for me...pls subscribe to my monthly newsletter over at https://redcoathistory.com/newsletter/ 

You can also look out for me on Twitter and Instagram where I am @redcoathistory. 

The Battle of Assaye and the 2nd Anglo-Maratha War w/Josh Provan (Ep.36)

Author Joshua Provan joins the show to talk about his new book - BULLOCKS GRAIN AND GOOD MADEIRA: The Maratha and Jat Campaigns 1803-1806 and the emergence of an Indian Army.

It's a fascinating conflict that marked the coming of age of the East India Company's Indian regiments and saw the rise of Arthur Wellesley with his stunning victory at Assaye.

Josh can be found on Twitter - https://twitter.com/LandOfHistory 

If you are on Instagram and like looking at photos of the world's battlefields then check me out - https://www.instagram.com/redcoathist...

I am also on Twitter - https://twitter.com/redcoathistory

And I have a website - https://redcoathistory.com/

The Peninsular War: Disaster at Burgos with Charles Esdaile and Mark Thompson (Ep.35)

After the famous Victory at Salamanca in July 1812, Wellington occupied Madrid. At this point, he seemed to lose his magic touch.

In this episode, I am joined by historians Charles Esdaile and Mark Thompson to learn the full story behind the campaign known as "Wellington's worst scrape". 

Mark is on Twitter https://twitter.com/MarkSThompson2

And so is Charles Esdaile - https://twitter.com/CharlesEsdaile 

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The First Anglo-Sikh War part 2: Ferozeshah and Sabraon (Ep 34)

This week is the second installment of my chat with Sikh historian Amarpal Singh all about the First Anglo-Sikh War of 1845/46. In this episode we hear all about the brutal battles of Mudki, Ferozeshah and Sabraon...arguably the toughest fights that the British army ever faced in India.

You can follow Amarpal on Twitter https://twitter.com/amarpalsidhu

and you can sign up for my mailing list here https://redcoathistory.com/newsletter/ 

Disaster in Afghanistan and the fall of Kabul - then and now (Ep.33)

A rare unscheduled and unplanned episode of the Redcoat History Podcast. In response to current events in Afghanistan, I thought it is the right time to talk about the 1st Anglo-Afghan war of 1839-1842 particularly the disastrous evacuation of Kabul. It is a horrific and disturbing story and one that seems to have some parallels with the current government in Kabul apparently on the verge of collapse.

 

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The First Anglo-Sikh War: Ranjit Singh and the road to war w/Amarpal Singh (Ep.32)

I am taking a short break from the Peninsular War this month to share with you an interview I did with Sikh historian Amarpal Singh - this is the first part of a two-part series. This week we are examining Ranjit Singh, the birth of the Sikh empire, and the road to war.  

 

To find out more about Amapal you can visit his Twitter profile here https://twitter.com/amarpalsidhu 

 

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The Battle of Salamanca: Wellington’s greatest victory? w/Gareth Glover and Marcus Cribb (Ep.31)

The Battle of Salamanca, fought in Spain on July 22nd, 1812, was one of the most important battles of the Napoleonic era. In this episode, I am joined by one of the best and most prolific writers on the British army in the Napoleonic Wars, Gareth Glover, as well as a long-time friend of the show, Marcus Cribb. This episode is packed with detail and debate - make sure to listen until the end to find out if this was indeed Wellington's greatest battle. 

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Horror in the Breaches: The Storming of Badajoz during the Peninsular War (Ep.30)

The Third Siege of Badajoz during the Peninsular War was a brutal and bloody affair. It was a huge test for Wellington and his British and Portuguese troops. They had failed twice before, could they finally capture this immense fortress that protects the southern route between Portugal and Spain?

Join Christian Parkinson aka @redcoathistory as he continues his deep dive into the history of the Peninsular War fought in Portugal, Spain and France between 1808 and 1814. It is an epic tale that saw the allied armies push back and defeat the might of Napoleon. 

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www.redcoathistory.com 

Job Maseko MM - the story of a South African Hero (Ep.29)

A bit of a change on the podcast today...bear with me as I will be back to the Peninsular War very soon...

A recent petition was launched in the UK to attempt to upgrade the Military Medal of black South African soldier Job Maseko. Some people believe that Job should have won a Victoria Cross for blowing up a German ship while he was a prisoner of war in North Africa. But what is the full story? Did racism block Job's medal? What is his legacy in South Africa and is he still remembered in his hometown? I went to find out the answer to all of those questions. . .

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