S4E8: Gustavus Adolphus: Pioneer of Combined Arms Manoeuvre with Professor Gunnar Aselius
The Swedish campaigns in Central Europe in the Thirty Years' War are remembered in folklore for their brutality, for massacres of civilians and 'scorched earth' tactics. And yet, as their leader, King...
10 Okt 202332min
S4E7: Caesar: Rome's Defensive Expansion
Julius Caesar is famous for describing hugely complicated strategic problems, then adding his famous Vini, vidi, vici: 'I came, I saw, I conquered'. But what did his strategic genius consist of? And h...
26 Sep 202333min
S4E6: Yi Sun-sin: Korea's Greatest Commander
While most of the political and military commanders whom we now call 'great' were often ruthless or megalomaniacs, Korean Admiral Yi Sun-sin is remembered not only for his military prowess but also fo...
12 Sep 202331min
S4E5: Frederick II of Prussia, The Philosopher King with Dr Adam Storring
Frederick II of Prussia, like the Era of the Enlightenment in which he lived, was torn about warfare: was it to be humanised, or was it to be perfected? As king he favoured the latter, earning the res...
29 Aug 202333min
S4E4: Alexander the Great: Son of Zeus with Dr Andrew Fear
Alexander III of Macedon posed as the 'Son of Zeus', but followed the advice of his biological father, King Philip II, to get out of Macedon and "seek a kingdom equal to yourself". Between 336 and 323...
15 Aug 202332min
S4E3: Shaka Zulu: Africa's Greatest Commander? with Professor John Laband
Shaka Zulu (c. 1787–1828) was the most powerful king in southern Africa during the pre-colonial period. He forged a polity that would become the largest in the region through the ruthless use of his r...
1 Aug 202333min
S4E2: Xerxes: The Persian Empire's Aegean Expansion with Dr John O. Hyland
Dr John O. Hyland joins Paul and Beatrice to discuss fifth-century BC Persian ruler Xerxes I, whose royal progress took him to the Western boundaries of his empire. Xerxes I tried to extend his rule b...
18 Jul 202333min
S4E1: Subotai the Valiant: Genghis Khan's Master Strategist
The credit for successful military campaigns often goes to the senior commander, when in fact, the brilliance of the operation and the planning happened at much lower levels of the organisation. This ...
4 Jul 202332min
