When Diplomacy Fails Podcast

Korean War #44: Talking & Fighting

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Episode 44: Talking & Fighting picks up from last time with the Korean peace process, as the allies managed to sit down at last and talk face to face with the communists, at a place called Kaesong. As we’ll discover, getting the communists to sit and talk with them was only half the battle. The Chinese and Nort...

Korean War #43: Peace Talks, Almost

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Episode 43: Peace Talks, Almost presents the situation on the frontlines as it stood in spring 1951, following some promising offensives by General Ridgeway which effectively crushed the Chinese capacity to launch another great offensive again. This incapacitation of the Chinese by no means meant that the communists ...

Korean War #42: So Long, Old Soldier

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Episode 42: So Long Old Soldier bids farewell to General MacArthur in a podcast experience which has to be heard to be believed! Before we get to the point that MacArthur stood before Congress and gave that rousing farewell speech on 19th April 1951 though, we have to detail how it was that the relationship between P...

Korean War #41: Adored No More

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Episode 41: Adored No More examines the week following the shattering experience of Chinese intervention on a grand scale. With General MacArthur’s credibility in tatters, President Truman’s plan to apportion blame to his least favourite General now appeared to make all the more sense. MacArthu...

Korean War #40: Shock & Awe

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Episode 40: Shock & Awe continues where we left off last time. This was the result of the Truman administration’s months of planning and theorising, and for the sake of NSC68 and the strategy of containment, it was believed to be the right one. The Chinese had finally intervened, and thus the efforts to make th...

1956 Episode 2.4: Britain Bitten

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Episode 2.4: Britain Bitten, continues the narrative of an embarrassed and dissatisfied Britain butting its head against Egyptian stubbornness. In this episode we see what kind of Government Anthony Eden led, and how he shook it up, or failed to shake it up, after he assumed the premiership in spring 1955. Anthony ma...

Korean War #39: 'An Entirely New War'

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Truman continues to set up his General, as the allied soldiers wander into the consequences on the Manchurian border...

Episode 39: ‘An Entirely New War’ focuses on that moment in the conflict when the Chinese finally pulled the trigger and invaded in massive force between late Oct...

1956 Episode 2.3: Egyptian Conniption

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We're back with the first proper exclusive episode of 1956 part 2 - it's time to sink our teeth into some early 1950's Middle East diplomacy!

Episode 2.3: Egyptian Conniption, is a tale of Victorian Era attitudes and ludicrously delusional memorandums. As the British government underwe...

Korean War #38: The Perfect Scapegoat

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Truman serves up MacArthur, and contrary to popular imagination, it was not the General, but the President, who schemed in the background - at least at this stage...

Episode 38: The Perfect Scapegoat introduces one of the most infamous aspects of the Korean War narrative to you guys �...

Korean War #37: Burning Chinese

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Episode 37: Burning Chinese takes our story back a bit to late September, in roughly the same timeframe we covered in the last episode, to examine how the American policy was developed as the Chinese became ever more pressed to involve themselves. The official picture in Washington and among the UN allies, and of cou...

Korean War #36: Ordering Chinese

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Episode 36: Ordering Chinese picks up from the last episode, this time from the perspective of the Chinese, as in late September they were clearly faced with something of a quandary. Stalin was ramping up his campaign to urge the Chinese to intervene, and in response, the Chinese claimed that since Kim Il-sung had ye...

1956 Episode 2.2: Suez, A Life

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There's plenty more where this came from! Make sure you tune in next month for episodes 2.3 and 2.4! Thanksss!

Episode 2.2: Suez, A Life examines that critical actor in the Suez Crisis… No I’m not just talking about the British, I’m also talking about the Suez Canal! A French inv...

1956 Episode 2.1: Bitter French Pills

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First – ask yourself, do you love history?

Second – answer yes, and have a listen to us here, as we unpack the Suez Crisis, in 21 easy steps!

For everyone, episodes 2.1 and 2.2 are out now, but for those Patrons at the $5 level and above, 1956 is about to get very interesting indeed! For the rest of t...

1956 Part 2: Introduction

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For Patrons, because of Patrons...

It's because of your much appreciated support that I'm able to invest my time into series like these. You guys are the best, and all of this quality stuff over the next year is dedicated to you.

After an interesting pre...

Korean War #35: Up In Flames

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Remember your NSC reports!
NSC 68: The reason we're all here (ish).
NSC 81: The public report on compromises that pleased everyone and meant nothing. Especially no mention of the Chinese...
NSC 73: The sec...

30YearsWar: 17th Century Warfare Episode 7

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The fire by rank tactic used by Europeans in the 18th and 19th centuries had surprising beginnings, as we learn in this episode. While key military thinkers like Maurice of Nassau in the Netherlands played a pivotal role in changing how infantry were viewed and used on the battlefield, it is highly likely that he acq...

1956 Part 1: Conclusion

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It's time we wrapped up this incredible story history friends, so I hope you'll join me for our final thoughts on this very gloomy episode in history. It's been quite a journey and I have learned so much. We have seen above all that the story of the Cold War is populated by so many experiences and stories, and that t...

Korean War #34: Building Inchon

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Episode 34: Building Inchon examines the extensive diplomatic and political preparation which the Truman administration engaged with in the weeks before MacArthur’s landing at Inchon on 15th September 1950. Truman was forced to deal with several issues, including the independently minded actions of some of his own ...

1956 Episode 1.15: Socialism Stays

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Episode 15, Socialism Stays examines the international ramifications of the Hungarian Revolution as Moscow finally put it to bed. Of particular concern to Moscow and to the Hungarians was the stance of Yugoslavia, as its embassy in Budapest provided asylum to Imre Nagy and 40 other individuals responsible for guiding...

Korean War #33: Chinese Chequers

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Episode 33: Chinese Chequers continues where we left off last time, as the implications of the American approach to Korea and Taiwan are heavily felt in Beijing. Mao now had reason to believe that the war could be turned to his advantage, and that a Chinese orientated Korean satellite on the sensitive border region w...

1956 Episode 1.14: Lessons Learned and Forgotten

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It's nearly time to wave good bye to Imre Nagy and the whole rotten Hungarian situation, but before we do that, let's get a bit depressed and learn how evil prevailed in 1956!

Episode 14, Lessons Learned and Forgotten analyses the final Soviet response in the first week of November 195...

Korean War #32: Chinese Whispers

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Episode 32: Chinese Whispers follows on from Truman’s speech requesting those yummy defence budget increases, by rolling our coverage back to the immediate aftermath of the American intentions to intervene which were announced on 26th June 1950. For Mao Zedong, our main focus for the next two episodes, the really a...

30YearsWar: 17th Century Warfare Episode 6

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We return with part 6 of our series on 17th century warfare, and in this episode we have something very special for you guys – an examination of the sick man of Europe, before he was sick, but when he was certainly maligned and looked down upon. For some time, it has been supposed that the Ottoman Empire could not ...

Korean War #31: Laying Down The Gauntlet

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Episode 31: Laying Down The Gauntlet looks at the other side of the coin and how the Americans reacted to the developing war in the late summer of 1950. MacArthur attempted to follow War Plan SL-17, which stipulated that a landing at Inchon should take place in response to a Northern surge down the peninsula, but pro...

1956 Episode 1.13: Crushing Hope

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Episode 13, Crushing Hope examines what the Soviets and Hungarians did in the last week of October. After somehow wresting a ceasefire agreement from the Soviet Union, the Hungarian revolution appeared – against all odds – to be secured by 28th October. Yet, this was merely a pause for Moscow, it was not the end....

Hello patrons!

It's been a while since I checked in on you guys. I just wanted to say a huge thanksssss to all of you again for the 4 millionth time. I also wanted to mention something that has been on my mind lately, so if you'd be good enough to indulge me (again!) then read on... I'm aware that 1956 hasn't been as well received as I'd hop...

Korean War #30: Unfriendly Fire

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 Episode 30: Unfriendly Fire switches gears from the Anglo-American to the Asian angle in the war. We encounter some more controversial points, as we learn just how instrumental Stalin was in blunting the force of the North Korean People's Army, as he manipulated the situation to acquire the war he wanted. Stali...

1956 Episode 1.12: Hope Springs

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Episode 12, Hope Springs examines a key moment not just in the Cold War, but also in Hungary’s national history. When enough was believed enough, and a Hungarian student protest exploded into something far more encouraging, and for the Soviets, far more dangerous. The demands of the protesters – joined by workers...

Korean War #29: With Allies Like These

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Episode 29: With Allies Like These looks further at the Anglo-American relationship from where we left off last time. After July 1950, the British were militarily committed to Korea under the auspices of the United Nations, and under the command of General Douglas MacArthur. If these facts made Britons n...

Korean War #28: London Stalling

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How did Britain get drawn into the conflict? Find out in this first of two episodes looking at British element...

Episode 28: London Stalling, introduces us to the British participation in the Korean War, and how utterly transfixed on the American partnership Clement Atlee's administra...