In a two-part episode, we dive into the Battle of Stalingrad, one of the most pivotal battles of the 20th century. Will explains the origins of the conflict between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, and Luke mostly listens politely.
Sources:
Bevor, Anthony, Stalingrad.
Hellbeck, Jochen, Stalingrad.
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In 1932, the Australian Army went to war against the emus. Needless to say, things didn’t go as planned.
Special thanks to Destin and Matt at "No Dumb Questions" for the new and improved audio!
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In this famous clash between the Sui Chinese and Goguryeo Korean kingdoms, Luke explains why you literally cannot fight a river.
Special thanks to Destin and Matt at "No Dumb Questions" for the new and improved audio!
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WWII Showdown in the desert of North Africa! The UK shows Italy that actually having a mechanized army is much more effective than saying you have a mechanized army, even against 4:1 odds.
Source:
Latimer, Jon. Operation: Compass, Osprey Publishing, 2000.
Special thanks to Destin and Matt at "No Dumb Questions" for the new and improved audio!
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Happy JOD Anniversary! That means it's fictional battle time and it's the grand daddy of all underdog victories: the Battle of Yavin! ...Death Star, its the attack on the Death Star.
Special thanks to Destin and Matt at "No Dumb Questions" for the new and improved audio!
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It's Korea vs. Japan in the Battle of Myeongnyang Strait. Will explains why you should always bring a cannon to a gun fight, especially when it's 10:1 odds.
Special thanks to Destin and Matt at "No Dumb Questions" for the new and improved audio!
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Luke presents the Battle of Pliska, pitting the Byzantines-not as underdogs for once-against the Bulgar Khanate. Remember, dear listeners: the key to strong leadership is keeping a good head on your shoulders.
Special thanks to Destin and Matt at "No Dumb Questions" for the new and improved audio!
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In our first Napoleonic battle, Will explains the finer points of infantry squares and why even world conquerors have to worry about high school bullies.
Special thanks to Destin and Matt at "No Dumb Questions" for the new and improved audio!
Sources:
Napoleon in Egypt by Paul Strathern
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http://www.battleofgatepa.com/
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/
http://www.theartofbattle.com/
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The one and only Hannibal Barca faces off against the largest Roman army yet so he can show future historians how amazing double-envelopments are. Will geeks out on tactical minutiae while Luke smiles and nods politely.
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In Episode 25, Luke shares why you should always, always consider fire ships a sound tactical option and why the enemy of your enemy is probably not your friend.
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In this episode, we learn how by squinting really hard, even Britain can look like an underdog. We also learn how the best amphibious landings come from opioid-fueled fever dreams.
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It's the Russians vs. the Swedes in the Battle of Narva. Learn how winter finally failed the Russians and why teenagers are always right.
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In this episode we go to the First Crusade for the Siege of Antioch. A coalition of European knights faces off against its greatest foe (getting along with one another) to overcome its second greatest foe: the Seljuk Empire.
Asbridge, Thomas. The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land. New York: Harper Collins, 2010.
Baz Battles. "First Crusade: Siege of Antioch 1098 AD." July 8, 2017.
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In our second and final fictional battle, Will explains the correct tactical application of wizards and tree-people, while also explaining why Gimli is the most tragic character of all.
Sources:
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Battle_of_the_Hornburg
http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/First_Battle_of_the_Fords_of_Isen
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We started this podcast 1 year ago, so we’re doing something special this month to celebrate.
As we all know, 22 years ago the world survived a brutal attack from malevolent aliens seeking to destroy humanity and strip our world of its precious natural resources. In this very special episode of Jaws of Defeat, we examine the War of 1996 - in which all of humanity stood together as one to fight off these invaders.
(It’s Independence Day. We’re talking about Independence Day in this one)
Sources:
IISS The Military Balance 1996/1997
http://independenceday.wikia.com/wiki/War_of_1996
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In 371BCE, Thebes dealt Sparta, the reigning hegemon of Greece, a blow it would never recover from. An innovative mix of hoplite tactics allowed Theban General Epaminondas to win a landmark strategic victory that put Thebes on the map... for about 30 years before they screwed it all up.
Sources:
Hanson, Victor Davis, "The Leuktra Mirage"
Ray Jr., Frank Eugene, "Greek and Macedonian Land Battles of the 4th Century BC," McFarland, 2012.
Xenophon, "Hellenica"
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This week on Jaws of Defeat, we look at the Battle of Longewala from the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. This episode has it all: 20:1 odds, poor planning, and tanks trying to maneuver in sand.
Sources:
An Assessment of the Battle of Longewala by Thakur K. S. Ludra
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010113/windows/main4.htm
The Greatest Underdog Story Ever Told - The Battle Of Longewala, Indo-Pak War 1971 by Abhishek Saksena
Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report
Indian-Pakistan War of 1971: A Modern War by Major R.G. Kyle, Royal Canadian Artillery
https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1984/KRG.htm
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Will picks up where he left off... after a digression on aircraft carrier tactics and technology... and finally finishes the Battle of Midway
Further Reading:
Samuel Morison, The History of United States Naval Operations in WWII
Mitsuo Fuchida and Masatake Okumiya, Midway: The Battle that Doomed Japan
Gordon Prange, Donald Goldstein, and Katherine Dillion, Miracle at Midway
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In our first two-parter, Will only manages to get midway through his recounting of the Battle of Midway.
Sources:
"Battle of Midway" by Craig Symonds
"Shattered Sword" by Anthony Tully and Jonathan Parshall
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In 1781, there seemed little hope for the American Revolution. The war in the north had stagnated, and the British were in the process of driving the Continental army out of the south.
And then the Royal Navy lost a battle. To the French navy.
After the Battle of the Chesapeake, the victory at Yorktown became possible, and all that followed.
Learn a bit about the engagement, campaign, and naval tactics from the age of fighting sail as we discuss the battle with a guest contributor.
Sources:
E.B. Potter and Chester Nimitz, Sea Power
Harold Larrabee, Decision at the Chesapeake
Alfred Thayer Mahan, Influence of Sea Power Upon History
John Clerk, An Essay on Naval Tactics
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In this week’s episode, Luke talks about the Battle of Tanga. Well, he mostly talks about pre-WWI colonial politics in Africa, but he gets to the battle eventually.
The main source for this episode was The Battle of Tanga, German East Africa 1914 by Maj. Kenneth J. Harvey - which can be found here: http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a416385.pdf
For more information about this battle, look into Battle for the Bundu: The First World War in German East Africa by Charles Miller and The Great War in Africa, 1914–1918 by Byron Farwell
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Will explains the Siege of Malta, which pits the Ottoman Turks vs. the Knights of St. John/Hospitaller/Malta in one of history's most epic sieges. Surprise naval attacks, incendiary weapons, and underground flame thrower fights, this one has it all.
There's a map this time!: https://twitter.com/JoDPodcast/status/884618168530063360
Our main source was Roger Crowley's Empires of the Sea
You could also check out Earnle Bradford's The Great Siege: Malta 1565
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It is difficult to overstate how disorienting France’s collapse was in the spring of 1940. A great power with one of the most advanced militaries in the world that possessed a number of numerical advantages over the German Wehrmacht was not supposed to suffer a catastrophe that would end in six weeks with Nazi troops marching down the Champs-Élysées.
Yet it did happen, despite the efforts of Allied soldiers -- including the approximately 124,000 Frenchmen who died fighting in what would amount to over twice the amount of American deaths in Vietnam.
So what went wrong? Historians, politicians, and generals have offered a wide range of explanations in the wake of the Battle of France from the moment the last shot was fired to today. Some claim French political dysfunction and the public’s supposed reluctance to fight are responsible; others look to the errors of Allied high command in the face German strategic, operational, and tactical innovation; others still point to technology and even luck.
All of these factors contributed to this massive upset, but our hosts and their guest have definite opinions.
Resources:
-Marc Bloch, Strange Defeat: A Statement of Evidence Written in 1940 (1940)
-Eliot A. Cohen and John Gooch, “Catastrophic Failure: The French Army and Air Force, May-June 1940,” in Military Misfortunes: The Anatomy of Failure in War (1990)
-Julian Jackson, The Fall of France: The Nazi Invasion of 1940 (2003)
-Ernest R. May, Strange Victory: Hitler’s Conquest of France (2000)
-Art of the Battle: Animated Battle Maps, “Battle of France, 1940”
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