[PATRONS]
The question of Germany and how the east-west divide played a role in answering that question forms the basis of the latest episode in the series. The repairing and restructuring of Germany, so that it was strong enough to contribute to Europe's rebuilding, but not so strong that it pulled another war of reven...
2018-01-11 00:02:00 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS]
In our latest installment of the series, we look at the person of Josef Stalin, a dominant figure for our wider Korean War series, and his security blanket he was in the process of creating in Eastern Europe. The spread of communism in Europe's shattered cities, combined with the looming threat of the Red Army...
2018-01-10 00:02:03 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS}
In the second episode of the CWCC, we look at how the US managed to tie Western Europe closer to its orbit through political strategy, closer cooperation and sheer economic investment. The Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan and NATO were critical building blocks in the Euro-American relationship in the late ...
2018-01-09 00:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS]
"I thought you’d be there waiting for me…what greeted me instead was the lingering stench of ashes and the empty sockets of our ruined home."
Polish citizen Samuel Puterman returns to Warsaw in late 1945.
We begin our examination of the post-WW2 world by looking at the sheer impact the conflict ha...
2018-01-08 00:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS]
Is it the forgotten war, or simply a war we need to look at differently? Let's investigate.
We need to make some things clear. We have to set out the structure and scope of this project, outline what sources we used and of course, talk a bit about how each one of the episodes will be structured. What mus...
2018-01-07 12:36:10 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS]
The Korean War is a project which I have been preparing for for several months. It is in this episode that I drop some knowledge on you guys, such as, above all, what my take on the Korean War will look like, and what exactly I have here that is so potentially controversial. My revisionist take on the conflict...
2018-01-07 12:30:50 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS] I just couldn't wait any longer. For the next few days, we'll be introducing you guys to the Korean War, and I had to start early because we simply have SO MUCH GOOD AHEAD OF US!
The Korean War was fought from 195-1953, and while many of us today have a rough idea of how it went, to most it is those two lines in a te...
2018-01-05 21:18:48 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS] Here we are as promised, opening up the new year with a detailed look at where WDF is going next, why it's going there and why you should care! We address the following issues within:
- massive thanksss given all round for a fantastic year.
- we read out the Patrons at the end
- we talk about having to launch a...
[PATRONS] Here we are the final, somewhat tragic part, of our series on Jan Sobieski. After what you've just heard I hope you're prepared for what's to come in May 2018, as we launch Poland Is Not Yet Lost!
"Am I to meet my creator?"
"Yes, Inshallah", came the reply.
At this brief conversation, Kar...
2017-12-22 00:20:14 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS] It's here! The conclusion to our 16 part story which we've been building towards for several weeks, months and years. Since we began the tale of the Thirty Years War, our narrative has, in several ways, been moving towards this incredible culmination of east meeting west. On 12th September 1683, the forces of the Ottom...
2017-12-16 22:29:18 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS] Our story reaches a fever pitch, and you'd have to be MAD to miss out!
"I know Sobieski well, where he is, flight is our only refuge. Look out upon the firmament and you will see that even Allah himself is against us! The Pasha of Damascus was right when he advised you not to attack Vienna. ...
2017-12-15 00:45:01 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS] They're Here!
After several months of waiting and buildup, we finally reach that incredible tale - when for two grisly months, the defenders of Vienna worked miracles to protect their city from the relentless Turk, and when Count Stahremberg used every fibre of his being to keep his men in h...
2017-12-10 00:02:00 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS]
Before we begin, a note on the changes in Patreon's charging system. Essentially, it will now cost you MORE to pledge to me. How much more depends on how much you are already pledging. A flat fee of $0.35 will apply to all pledges, and a 2.9% surcharge as well. Please see the links below for more informat...
2017-12-08 00:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS] Something special for all lovely fans of WDF for the month of December, it's...something completely unrelated to Christmas!
In this episode of WDF THINKS we ask the very relevant question - was Queen Elizabeth I of England all that great at diplomacy? Sure there was that whole Armada thing, but what about her actual ...
2017-12-05 21:52:43 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS]
They're here! After so many weeks of marching, Kara Mustafa's terrifying host reaches the walls of Vienna, but after a few critical days' worth of preparations, Vienna's remaining populace were as prepared as they would ever be for what was to come. Grimly reconciled to the arrival of their greatest foe, only g...
2017-12-03 00:01:59 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS] Our story is really heating up, as the Grand Hetman finally reaches the top of the greasy pole (Pole?)
"Your time has come and you know what I mean. You know that I despise any man who could have become something powerful and failed. If events crush him the way Hamlet and Macbeth were overwh...
2017-12-01 00:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS] First things first - DON'T MIND ME! Whatever I call it, it's the River Raab not the River 'Raba'. I think the phlegm has moved into my brain!
In our latest episode examines the moment when Kara Mustafa finally did it. Overcoming the expectations and assumptions of the high command of the Hab...
2017-11-25 20:06:01 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS] This is definitely my favourite episode yet! Somebody make this man into a Netflix series please!
"From our army, in these heavy times, many good men perished. Because so manly and valorous a force, as had been this Ottoman army, I know the ages never had foreseen their defeat. But because o...
2017-11-24 21:44:42 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS] Our story continues, as the Habsburgs scramble their forces together in the midst of increasingly worrying news across all fronts. Stahremberg makes an appearance, and sets to work building up the defences of Vienna for whatever may transpire. Meanwhile, Charles of Lorraine is celebrated as the man in charge of H...
2017-11-19 00:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS] Our coverage of Sobieski's incredible life and times continues!
"Beloved Lord Jesus, I cannot wait even one day longer, because great is the misery of my people as they die under the Tartar lash. We can no longer bear the humiliation. It is disgraceful and an offence in the nost...
2017-11-17 00:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS] We're not QUITE ready to watch the Turk batter down the walls of Vienna - instead, we're spending a few more minutes examining the motives of the Ottoman's two leading men. Is it really possible to properly grasp what led these two figures, Kara Mustafa and Sultan Mehmed IV, in their charge for the Golden Apple? <...
2017-11-12 00:02:02 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS]
"Soldiers, I am determined to make no change in my plans. The event will show it be well laid or not. As to what remains, I lay not restraint upon such as have not the courage to face a glorious death. Let them retire and die in flight by the sword of a Tartar or Cossack. For myself I shall remain here with th...
2017-11-10 00:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS] Our coverage of the complex and juicy diplomacy continues! While the main event is the examination at last of the Habsburg-Polish treaty of alliance, the events leading up to such an event are also something to behold. The French threat remained strong and Louis XIV's presence across the Rhine...
2017-11-05 00:02:00 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS] A very involved episode ahead, including marriage, war, war and...more war!
"Jan and Marie, because you come from special families, you must accept special obligations. The Crown needs your services. The Crown needs your help in preserving its freedom. Jealous enemies beset us on every...
2017-11-03 00:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS] What an incredible treat we have for you today! Norman Ohler, internationally bestselling author responsible for one of the most significant new perspectives on the Third Reich and Adolf Hitler joins us on the podcast for a very special collaboration. Ohler's ideas have been plucked straight from the previously underra...
2017-11-01 00:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS]
"Most curiously shaped, with a large head, an enormous belly and small feet, surely he did not give the impression of a charming and handsome man. However, his appearance was unmistakably powerful with his large brown, penetrating eyes, surrounded by deep, dark shadows. His fashionable moustache gave him a nob...
2017-10-27 00:49:33 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS] Our story is heating up, and we have loads to get through!
Albert Caprara has a really bad time in this episode, as he is plucked from his far more enjoyable job in the University of Bologna and selected by Leopold to negotiate with the Turks. These same Turks who had been preparing themselves for war for ...
2017-10-21 23:01:59 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS] "Have you come to avenge your country"
Asked Jan Sobieski's mother Zofia in 1648, when Jan and his brother Marek returned to the fortress town of Zamosc, near their place of birth, to help deal with the emerging Cossack threat under Bogdan Khmelnitsky.
Jan Sobieski could not have known it yet, but he was...
[PATRONS] We now take the opportunity to FINALLY tackle the diplomacy leading up to the last siege of Vienna!
You have all been very patient, so I am so excited to finally begin unpacking the incredibly fascinating and interconnected era of the 1680s. This episode here should tie us back to the first three episodes we di...
2017-10-14 23:02:00 +0000 UTC View Post
[PATRONS] Welcome to part two!
"Learn from other nations, study their culture and bring their ideas with you. Even if our nation offers the finest democracy since Ancient Athens, even if we don’t allow dictatorship, nor savage rule, still you will learn a lot of things by visiting the western lands. I recommend ...
2017-10-13 09:03:09 +0000 UTC View Post
