Military History Plus podcasts: The second episode of the newest series

The ongoing process of decluttering my toy/wargame room has given me the opportunity to listen to the second of the latest series of Military History Plus podcasts.

This podcast is entitled WINSTON CHURCHILL – PT 2 – THE GREAT WAR and covers Churchill’s military experience and leadership during the Great War, including his tenure as First Lord of the Admiralty, his involvement in the Gallipoli Campaign, his service as a battalion commander on the Western Front, and his eventual return to a ministerial role as Minister of Munitions and Secretary of State for War.

As I have commented before, this excellent series of podcasts from Professor Gary Sheffield and Dr Spencer Jones is a joy to listen to, and I eagerly await each new episode's upload.

Military History Plus podcasts: The first episode of the newest series

Whilst I have been decluttering my toy/wargame room, I have been listening to the first of the latest series of Military History Plus podcasts.

This particular podcast is entitled WINSTON CHURCHILL – PT 1 – HIS EARLY LIFE and covers Churchill's life up to the end of the Second South African War (Boer War) in 1901/2.

This excellent series of podcasts from Professor Gary Sheffield and Dr Spencer Jones continues to be a joy to listen to, and I can hardly wait for the next episode to become available ... hopefully later this week!

Military History Plus podcasts: The latest series

Whilst I have been building my model of the Mucking Battery/Fort Bean, I have been listening to the latest series of Military History Plus podcasts.

The series comprised the following podcasts:

1. DEEP DIVE – THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR PART 2
2. DEEP DIVE – THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR PART 3
3. YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
4. EXPLORING BATTLEFIELD TOURS: UNVEILING THEIR FORM, EVOLUTION AND SIGNIFICANCE
5. UNVEILING THE ESSENCE OF BATTLEFIELD TOURS: PART 2 OF THE JOURNEY

This excellent series of podcasts from Professor Gary Sheffield and Dr Spencer Jones are well worth listening to ... and not just because a question from me was one of those answered in episode 3!

Military History Plus bonus podcast

On Tuesday Professor Gary Sheffield announced on Twitter that there was going to be a bonus Military History Plus podcast released on Wednesday. (I know that Twitter is now called ‘X’, but it sounds silly saying that I’m reading a tweet on ‘X’.)

The bonus podcast featured the Irish military historian and writer Gerry White talking about Irish history from 1913 to 1922. The discussions covered Home Rule, the First World War, the Easter Rising, the Irish War of Independence/Anglo-Irish War, and the Irish Civil War.

This was yet another excellent podcast and I am pleased that Professor Gary Sheffield and Dr Spencer Jones decided to produce this extras podcast.

The historiography of World War I: The latest Military History Plus podcast

I managed to listen to the last of the current series of Military History Plus podcasts yesterday … and it was yet another excellent one!

Professor Gary Sheffield and Dr Spencer Jones are both well-known for their research and writings about this conflict, and I cannot think of any other historians who are better placed to discuss its historiography.

In my opinion they pretty well demolish the emotive (and inaccurate) idea that the British Army were ‘lions led by donkeys’. I first came across this interpretation of history when I read Alan Clarke’s THE DONKEYS back in the mid-1960s, and at the time it was the popular view of how warfare was conducted on the Western Front. It’s probably true to say that Clarke’s book, when coupled with the study of the ‘war poets’ as part of the secondary school curriculum and Joan Littlewood’s 1963 stage musical of ‘Oh, What a Lovely War! (and Richard Attenborough’s 1969 film version) embedded this in popular culture. Add ‘Blackadder goes forth’ into the mixture, and I suspect that this point-of-view still predominates.

However, certainly since the centenary of the outbreak of the war, this has begun to change … thanks to the work done by Messrs Sheffield and Jones amongst others. Far more people now accept that the British Army and its commanders learned the hard lessons meted out to them, and by the time of the Hundred Days campaign in 1918, they were more than capable of defeating the Germans. It has even been written that the British Army of 1918 was probably the best army that the country has ever sent into battle.

I thoroughly recommend that anyone with even the vaguest interest in the Western Front from 1914 to 1918 should listen to this podcast.

First Bull Run: Today’s Military History Plus podcast

Later this morning Professor Gary Sheffield and Dr Spencer Jones will be discussing the First Battle of Bull Run in Episode 7 of the Military History Plus podcast.

Last week’s podcast looked at the late Dr Paddy Griffith’s book RALLY ONCE AGAIN, ...

... which was published in 1986 and revised and republished as BATTLE TACTICS OF THE CIVIL WAR in 1989, ...

... so today’s podcast will hopefully be a nice follow up to that podcast.

The latest Military History Plus podcast

I managed to listen to the latest Military History Plus podcast yesterday whilst I was flocking some of my Eastern Front/Great Patriotic War collection.

This episode was entitled EXPLORING COMBAT MOTIVATION and featured an interview with Dr Tom Thorpe about his research and interest into combat motivation and resilience. The discussion covered what is meant by the term combat motivation and what factors are most important in ensuring that soldiers will fight. A range of factors were covered, including small group cohesion, ideology, and coercion.

I enjoyed this discussion, especially as it included the topic of what constitutes morale, something about which my views have changed over the years.

I highly recommend the Military History Plus podcasts. I urge my regular blog readers not to be put off by some of the negative reviews that seem to have been written by reviewers who didn’t quite understand the intended scope of the podcasts.

---

The Military History Plus podcasts take a deep dive into the fascinating world of conflict and its impact on various aspects of society. From the grand sweep of history to the intricate details of individual battles, the joint podcasters, Professor Gary Sheffield and Dr Spencer Jones will explore them all, including delving into the ways in which war has shaped art, literature, and even hobbies like wargaming and football.

Military History Plus podcasts

I spent a very productive time yesterday flocking some wargame figures and vehicles whilst listening to the excellent new Military History Plus podcasts that have been created by Dr Spencer Jones and Professor Gary Sheffield.

The first in the series included a brief introduction by the creators of the podcasts as well a discussion about what constitutes military history. I found this very interesting, and although I was brought up in the age when the so-called Victorian-style of military history predominated, my personal view that the study of the subject cannot be separated from – for example – social, political, and economic history seems to be in accord with those expressed by the podcast’s creators.

The second podcast was mainly taken up with an interview with Dr Sarah-Louise Miller, a historian specialising in the history of intelligence and espionage, and particularly the importance of women in these areas. There was also an interesting discussion about the relationship between academics who are seeking to make history more accessible and the mainstream media.

I thoroughly recommend this podcast to those of my regular blog readers who enjoy listening to wide ranging discussions about military history. I understand that the creators have already recorded a series of podcasts that will be released regularly, and I have bookmarked their website in my favourites so that I don’t miss any.