Claim OwnershipThe Redcoat History Podcast
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The podcast for military history geeks and people with a passion for good stories.
112 Episodes
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Why is the British army (man for man) so damn good and why has it been so effective over the centuries?
In today's episode we explore the unique regimental system.
If you are interested in the Zulu War, then please sign up for my mailing list to receive my free book on the subject: https://redcoathistory.com/newsletter/
You may also wish to get early access to my videos, without ads. Therefore you can join my Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/RedcoatHistory
The British redcoats of the American revolution…
Often mocked, undervalued or portrayed as red-coated imperial storm troopers with a hatred of freedom loving American rebels.
In the last episode, we looked at who they really were, their backgrounds, places of birth and how much training they received.
Well today we are joined once more by author Robbie McNiven to find out more about the 33rd regiment of foot during the revolution. There battles, how they performed and why ultimately the Americans won the war.
The 33rd were arguably Britians most elite regiment of the era…not including the Foot Guards of course…and they fought in almost every major battle of the revolution.
Robbie's book on the regiment can be purchased via this link - https://amzn.to/3J8TgvA
The British Army of the American revolution.
Like most British armies throughout history, they were over-stretched, under resourced and fighting thousands of miles from home against a tough and determined enemy.
But what do we really know about these men in the red coats?
Were they the proverbial scum of the earth?
Was the army their only option to avoid the gutter?
Where were they from and how long did had they served?
And what about the officers? Were they “foppish dandies, or oafish brutes”? Or were they well-motivated and experienced soldiers doing the best for their men?
Well today I am joined by author and historian Robbie MacNiven to discover the answers to all of these questions and more.
Robbie has written a book about the 33rd Foot on campaign during the revolution - it’s called the Pattern and I’ve posted a link below.
https://amzn.to/4cH2WLo
If you want to support me then please sign up for my mailing list here - https://redcoathistory.com/newsletter/
Many VC winners have struggled to cope with their sudden fame and our hero today is one of them. He rose through the ranks to command one of the most famous units of the South African Frontier.
He earned a VC fighting the Zulus, served with distinction against the Basothos and then mysteriously disappeared.
Today’s story is about an incredible man - but one who remains an enigma.
A special thanks to my friend Cam Simpson who researched and co-wrote this epsiode.
His books can be found here - https://amzn.to/3TmTXGt
If you are interested in the Zulu War, then please sign up for my mailing list to receive my free book on the subject: https://redcoathistory.com/newsletter/
You may also wish to get early access to my videos, without ads. Therefore you can join my Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/RedcoatHistory
Beards...currently (March 2024) there aren't many jobs in the British army that allow beards...But Pioneer Sergeant is one of them.
But what is their story? Why are they allowed beards and what is the history of this important role?
If you are interested in the Zulu War, then please sign up for my mailing list to receive my free book on the subject: https://redcoathistory.com/newsletter/
Sign up for the Patreon account to watch the videos ad free and weeks before they appear on YouTube https://www.patreon.com/RedcoatHistory
Henry Hook VC has been called the most famous private soldier in British military history.
Does the name ring a bell? I’m sure it does - he was the bad lad in the film Zulu.
We’ve spoken about him before on the show but today we are going deep, learning more about his life and about the actions that lead to his Victoria Cross at the Defence of Rorke’s Drift.
We have a brilliant interview today with well-known historian Neil Thornton.
Neil is the author of numerous military history books. His latest details the life of Hooky. . . Who was he really? Was he tea-total? Did his wife think he was dead and marry another man? And most importantly of all…what really happened inside the hospital during that horrific fight on the 22nd January 1879?
The book can purchased via this link - https://amzn.to/4a0VWqN
Today I am joined by Matthew Taylor to discuss The Corps of Colonial Marines…Escaped black American slaves who joined the British cause during the War of 1812.
The unit was a force multiplier - men who knew the battlefields like the back of their hand and were very highly motivated.
Not only were they an important part of the British war effort but their descendants still make up a unique ethnic group in the Caribbean.
Stay tuned till the end to find out about the survivors of the unit who continued to fight the Americans under the union flag - even after the war was over.
Matt's book can be pre-ordered via this link - https://amzn.to/3T7iD79 He also has a launch event taking place at the NAM on the 6th April - https://www.nam.ac.uk/whats-on/black-redcoats-corps-colonial-marines
To support the show please consider joining the Patreon over at https://www.patreon.com/RedcoatHistory - it costs just $5 a month and you receive all episodes and YouTube videos early and with no ads.
The Sepoys on the Western Front…often praised - sometimes derided.
Were they lions in the trenches or did they fail the big test against the Germans?
Were they terrified by artillery, did a huge number deliberately wound themselves, and could they operate without command and control from their British officers?
These are all thorny questions and ones which we will be examining closely today.
To discuss the topic I am joined by friend of the show David Snape.
He has written a book called A Tiger Loose on an Ice Floe - all about the Ferozepore Brigade on the Western Front in 1914-15.
If you want to buy a discounted copy of the book then please follow this link put in the discount code SNAPE5 at checkout.
You can also sign up for my free mailing list over www.redcoathistory.com/newsletter - when you do so you will receive a free copy of my eBook about the Battle of Isandlwana.
The British Army - those famous redcoats, cavalrymen and green clad riflemen - became surprisingly adept at fighting small wars of empire during the Victorian Era.
We won war after war and battled enemies from across the globe.
But it wasn’t all one way traffic.
Yes, I know it’s painful but there were quite a few defeats for the British army.
Today we are looking at five times the British army were defeated during the Victorian era.
You might be able to guess some of them in advance but stay tuned till the end to discover which defeat we consider to be the worst and why they were all worse than you think.
Thanks to Chris Brice for co-writing this episode. His books can be found via this link - https://amzn.to/49y094U
Samurai vs Redcoat. In this episode we examine the multiple times that bayonet and Katana battled during the 1860s. It includes the bombardment of Kagoshima and also the Shimonoseki campaign.
This is the story behind James Clavell’s Gaijin: a tale of samurai, imperialism, politics, war and gunboat diplomacy in the Wild East.
This podcast also sees the first American earn the Victoria Cross and the ancient rule of the Japanese Shoguns come to an end.
Thanks to Joshua Provan for researching and writing the script. His YouTube channel can be found here - https://www.youtube.com/@adventuresinhistoryland5501
His book Wild East is available via this link - https://amzn.to/3un24KU
Sign up my mailing list to receive your free eBook about the Battle of Isandlwana:
http://bit.ly/redcoathistory
1895-95.
In the latest Redcoat History Battlefield tour episode, we walk in the footsteps of Leander Starr Jameson and his troops as they try and enter Johannesburg and overthrow the Afrikaner government.
It's a fascinating tale - with a number of interesting and hard to find sites that are well worth a visit.
Please join the Patreon page for early access to content and no ads. https://www.patreon.com/RedcoatHistory
Imagine being a senior officer who has never seen service or completed any training. In fact your only qualification is a fat wallet.
To our modern sensibilities and belief in meritocracy it sounds mental. But was it? Today we are looking at the British army’s purchase system - what was it? How did it work and did it lead to an army commanded by rich nit-wits?
Thanks to Dr Chris Brice for researching and co-writing today's episode. His books can be found here: https://amzn.to/3HmTi2d
If you are interested in the Zulu War, then please sign up for my mailing list to receive my free book on the subject: https://redcoathistory.com/newsletter/
If you are very generous, you can also buy me a coffee and help support the channel via https://ko-fi.com/redcoathistory
An important and brutal war that you’ve probably never heard of…
A tribe of well-armed mounted warriors as tough as any in Africa.
A handful of surrounded colonial officials - massively outnumbered and outgunned.
Now if that hasn’t caught your attention then I don’t know what will.
Today we are talking about two sieges and the battles to relieve them during the Basotho Gun War of 1880-81.
Thanks to Cam Simpson. His books can be found via this link - https://amzn.to/47P5yDo
If you are interested in the Zulu War, then please sign up for my mailing list to receive my free book on the subject: https://redcoathistory.com/newsletter/
If you are very generous, you can also buy me a coffee and help support the channel via https://ko-fi.com/redcoathistory
This episode is a long one - a full and in-depth look at the First Boer War aka the Transvaal Rebellion. It combines a number of my previous episodes into one comprehensive examination of the fighting.
Here are my key sources: Majuba 1881: Ian Castle
A Rain of Lead: Ian Bennet - https://amzn.to/3HbbtaZ
With the Boers in the Transvaal and Orange Free State: C L Norris Newman - https://amzn.to/3Hcaszv
The Transvaal Rebellion: John Laband - https://amzn.to/3NWnox0
The Transvaal War, 1880-81: Lady Bellairs - https://archive.org/details/transvaalwar00belliala/page/n5/mode/2up
If you are interested in the Zulu War, then please sign up for my mailing list to receive my free book on the subject: https://redcoathistory.com/newsletter/ If you are very generous, you can also buy me a coffee and help support the channel via https://ko-fi.com/redcoathistory
The American revolutionary war.
Britain versus the 13 colonies.
The fledgling United States was backed by the French…but did you know that the Spanish also weighed in against the Brits?
In fact, beginning in 1779, they fought a successful campaign against the redcoats in the area of Louisiana, Missipissi and Florida.
Today I’m joined by the one and only Joshua Provan who has just written a book about the campaign and the Spanish Siege of Pensacola.
The book can be purchased here: https://amzn.to/3vc9uQV
It’s a fascinating story and one I know literally nothing about.
Sign up for my mailing list via this link: https://redcoathistory.us4.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=bbf2e8d48ae31c86209421a47&id=7846ca3476
How’s this for a career? - A gentleman ranker who fought in the Zulu war, later chased Boer Commandos across South Africa, commanded the South African Brigade on the Somme and as if that wasn’t enough, the old war horse went on to take charge of an elite division on the western front.
So who was he? Henry Timson “Tim” Lukin - arguably South Africa's greatest ever General.
Special thanks to Cam Simpson for researching and co-writing this episode. His books can be found here: https://amzn.to/3TDsjab
If you are interested in the Zulu War, then please sign up for my mailing list to receive my free book on the subject: https://redcoathistory.com/newsletter/
If you are very generous, you can also buy me a coffee and help support the channel via https://ko-fi.com/redcoathistory
The Napoleonic wars - the first Great War. An era that saw the British army come of age.
But how much do you know about the officers at the forefront of the war?
Were they all aristocratic buffoons like Henry Simmerson? Were most commissions and promotions paid for? What sort of training did they receive? And were battalion commanders actually younger and more dynamic than their counterparts in other armies?
Historian Steve Brown joins me on the show today and we are going to busting plenty of myths today…The answers to these questions really surprised me and I think you may be shocked.
Steve's fantastic book "Fit to command" can be purchased on the Helion website or via this Amazon link - https://amzn.to/46kuIJq
If you are interested in the Zulu War, then please sign up for my mailing list to receive my free book on the subject: https://redcoathistory.com/newsletter/
If you are very generous, you can also buy me a coffee and help support the channel via https://ko-fi.com/redcoathistory
A forgotten battle deep in the Rhodesian Bush…
A handful of Mounted Police battling over a thousand Shona rebels in a running battle.
Its an epic fight that deserves to be remembered.
Today we are talking about the Mazoe Patrol in what is now known as Zimbabwe.
A special thanks to Cam Simpson who researched and wrote this episode. His books on military history are excellent and can be purchased here: https://amzn.to/3QEWtX9
If you are interested in the Zulu War, then please sign up for my mailing list to receive my free book on the subject: https://redcoathistory.com/newsletter/
If you are very generous, you can also buy me a coffee and help support the channel via https://ko-fi.com/redcoathistory
The last stand of the Shangani Patrol on the 4 December 1893. In modern day Zimbabwe…
It is the stuff of legend.
A handful of militiamen surrounded and fighting to the death against an overwheleming force of Matabele warriors.
The man in command was Major Allan Wilson, a 37-year-old Scotsman.
He was a true Victorian maverick – a man of many talents.
Over the years historians have made a lot of mistakes about who he was, where he came from and his background before coming to Rhodesia.
But today, with the help of research conducted by my mate Cam Simpson, we are going to find out the true story. Let’s Learn who he really was and which battles he had fought in previously.
If you want to learn more about the Shangani Patrol here are some key works:
Pursuit of the King by John O'Reilly - https://amzn.to/47O5Xqj
A TIme to Die by Robert Cary - https://amzn.to/3QAng78
The Downfall of Lobengula by W A Wills - https://amzn.to/3FXh5VG
The infantry colours of regiments of the British Army are incredibly important - perhaps even the reason why the British army has always been one of the best in the world.
But what is their significance, and why, for centuries now, have men gone to extraordinary lengths to defend them, performing amazing feats of courage and bravery?
In todays episode I am going to answer all of those questions…share some incredible stories and, at the end, explain why colours still matter to British army regiments.
A special thanks to Dr Chris Brice for researching and co-writing this video.
If you are interested in the Zulu War, then please sign up for my mailing list to receive my free book on the subject: https://redcoathistory.com/newsletter/
If you are very generous, you can also buy me a coffee and help support the channel via https://ko-fi.com/redcoathistory
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Job deserves the VC.It is blatant discrimination for him to be denied in my opinion. Christian, this was an awesome show.
Your podcast is awesome. I am hoping to read Jame's series .
Hello redcoat history podcast !!! I just wanted to let you know that I have really enjoyed your series on the zulu wars. I have been interested in the subject for quite a number of years now and your podcasts are very entertaining and informative. thanks very much .