Compact Warfare

The Battle of White Mountain, fought on 8 November 1620 near Prague, was a short, brutal battle with enormous consequences. In less than two hours, the Protestant Bohemian army collapsed, the Habsburgs secured control of Bohemia, and the Thirty Years' War escalated into one of Europe's deadliest conflicts. This episode explores how a seemingly minor engagement triggered decades of war, religious persecution, and political upheaval across the continent. Listen now, then explore this episode and our other history podcasts at compactwarfare.com, where everything lives under one very historically dramatic roof. Visit our website: Compact Warfare Find us on our social media sites: Facebook Instagram Pinterest Youtube #battleofwhitemountain #thirtyyearswarm #habsburgs #earlymodernwarfare #europeanhistory #historypodcast

The Battle of Bosworth, fought on 22 August 1485, was the clash that ended the Wars of the Roses and reshaped English history. In this episode, we follow the final hours of King Richard III, the rise of Henry Tudor, and the chaotic battlefield decisions that changed the crown forever. Politics, betrayal, mud, steel, and one very famous last stand. Listen now, then explore this episode and the rest of the series at compactwarfare.com, where you can also discover our other history podcasts in one place. Visit our website: Compact Warfare Find us on our social media sites: Facebook Instagram Pinterest Youtube #battleofbosworth #warsoftheroses #richardiii #henrytudor #medievalwarfare #britishhistory #historypodcast

In 52 BCE Julius Caesar trapped Vercingetorix in the hilltop oppidum of Alesia, ringed it with miles of earthworks, then fought off a massive Gallic relief force from a second line. This episode explains the double fortifications, the cavalry battles, the relief assaults, and how surrender turned the Gallic War. Visit our website: Compact Warfare Find us on our social media sites: Facebook Instagram Pinterest Youtube #Alesia #Caesar #Vercingetorix #GallicWars #AncientWarfare #RomanHistory #HistoryPodcast

In 1916 the German army struck at Verdun to bleed France white. For ten grim months forts like Douaumont and Vaux changed hands, artillery ruled the field, and the Voie Sacrée kept the French line alive. This episode explains Falkenhayn's plan, Pétain's rotation system, the fortress battles, and why Verdun became a symbol of national endurance. Visit our website: Compact Warfare Find us on our social media sites: Facebook Instagram Pinterest Youtube #Verdun #WorldWarOne #Douaumont #Vaux #WesternFront #MilitaryHistory #HistoryPodcast

In September 1513, Scotland's King James IV met the Earl of Surrey near Branxton Moor. Scottish pike formations advanced off high ground into boggy slopes, where English bills and longbows bit hard. Flodden ended with a broken host, fallen nobles and a slain king, reshaping power on both sides of the border. Visit our website: Compact Warfare Find us on our social media sites: Facebook Instagram Pinterest Youtube #Flodden #JamesIV #BranxtonMoor #TudorHistory #AngloScottishWars #MilitaryHistory #HistoryPodcast

Between 1013 and 1016, England was torn by Danish invasions, shifting allegiances and brutal campaigning. This episode tracks how Sweyn Forkbeard's seizure of power set the stage, how Æthelred's return faltered, how Edmund Ironside fought back, and how Cnut finally secured the crown after Assandun and a hard political settlement with the English elite. Visit our website: Compact Warfare Find us on our social media sites: Facebook Instagram Pinterest Youtube #CnutTheGreat #VikingAge #AngloSaxonEngland #EdmundIronside #Assandun #MedievalWarfare #HistoryPodcast

Join us as we explore the dramatic clash between the US 7th Cavalry and the united Lakota and Cheyenne forces at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Learn how strategy, leadership, and overconfidence shaped one of history's most iconic last stands. Visit our website: Compact Warfare Find us on our social media sites: Facebook Instagram Pinterest Youtube #littlebighorn,#custer,#sittingbull,#crazyhorse,#americanwest,#nativeamerican,#history,#compactwarfare,#podcast

In July 1943 Germany launched Operation Citadel to pinch off the Kursk salient. Tigers, Panthers and Ferdinands met layered Soviet defences packed with mines, guns and trenches, then crashed into massed armour at Prokhorovka. This episode unpacks why Citadel stalled, how Soviet depth and artillery decided the fight, and how the counteroffensives seized the initiative for good. Visit our website: Compact Warfare Find us on our social media sites: Facebook Instagram Pinterest Youtube #BattleOfKursk #OperationCitadel #Prokhorovka #EasternFront #WWII #MilitaryHistory #HistoryPodcast

In September 1759 a silent night run on the St Lawrence put British regulars on the heights west of Quebec. At dawn their two-rank line held fire, then delivered a crushing close-range volley that broke Montcalm's advance and forced the city's fall days later. This episode traces the river gamble at Anse-au-Foulon, the short but decisive exchange on the plateau, and how Quebec's loss unpicked New France. Visit our website: Compact Warfare Find us on our social media sites: Facebook Instagram Pinterest Youtube #PlainsOfAbraham #Quebec1759 #SevenYearsWar #JamesWolfe #Montcalm #MilitaryHistory #HistoryPodcast

In June 1314, Robert Bruce met Edward II near Stirling and turned tight ground, drilled schiltrons, and smart timing into a decisive Scottish win. This episode explains why the approaches mattered, how the spearmen advanced, where the archers were blunted, and how Bannockburn shifted the wider war and Scotland's future. Visit our website: Compact Warfare Find us on our social media sites: Facebook Instagram Pinterest Youtube #Bannockburn #RobertTheBruce #ScottishHistory #MedievalWarfare #Stirling #MilitaryHistory #HistoryPodcast

In the year 9CE, a Roman army marching through the Teutoburg Forest met a storm of javelins, mud, and deception. Led by Arminius, Germanic warriors smashed three legions under Publius Quinctilius Varus at the narrow defiles near Kalkriese, turning Rome's advance into a retreat and forcing a strategic rethink on the Rhine. In this episode we unpack the ambush plan, the chaos along the choke points, the desperate night camps, and the aftermath that brought Germanicus's reprisals and a new frontier strategy. Visit our website: Compact Warfare Find us on our social media sites: Facebook Instagram Pinterest Youtube #TeutoburgForest #Arminius #Varus #RomanHistory #MilitaryHistory #Germania #HistoryPodcast

From pocket quadcopters over alleyways to long-endurance aircraft striking deep targets, drones have reshaped reconnaissance, artillery, and air defence. This episode covers how sensors and data links make drones powerful, how jamming and counter-drone systems fight back, why logistics and training matter more than hype, and where autonomy and swarms may take the battlefield next. Visit our website: Compact Warfare Find us on our social media sites: Facebook Instagram Pinterest Youtube #DroneWarfare #ModernWarfare #MilitaryTechnology #LoiteringMunitions #ElectronicWarfare #HistoryPodcast

In 1879 the British Empire collided with the Zulu kingdom on the Natal frontier. From the shock defeat at Isandlwana to the desperate stand at Rorke's Drift and the set-piece victory at Ulundi, this episode explains why the first invasion failed, how firepower and fortification reshaped the second, and how the settlement that followed broke Zulu sovereignty and sparked civil strife. Visit our website: Compact Warfare Find us on our social media sites: Facebook Instagram Pinterest Youtube #ZuluWars #Isandlwana #RorkesDrift #Ulundi #MilitaryHistory #SouthAfrica #VictorianHistory #HistoryPodcast

In 490 BCE a citizen army met an empire on the Marathon plain. Athens and Plataea formed a thin centre and strong wings, charged to beat the arrow storm, and broke the Persian flanks before the enemy could bring cavalry to bear. This episode explains the plan, the ground, the crisis in the centre, and the shoreline rout that sent the fleet sailing for home. Visit our website: Compact Warfare Find us on our social media sites: Facebook Instagram Pinterest Youtube #BattleOfMarathon #AncientGreece #PersianWars #MilitaryHistory #Hoplites #HistoryPodcast

On 26 August 1346, Edward III chose his ground at Crécy and turned a larger French army into chaos. Longbowmen, fieldworks, and disciplined infantry shattered repeated cavalry charges, while early cannon added shock and smoke to the fight. In this episode we track the march, the tactics, the storm-soaked opening, and the aftermath that led straight to Calais. Visit our website: Compact Warfare Find us on our social media sites: Facebook Instagram Pinterest Youtube #BattleOfCrecy #HundredYearsWar #MedievalWarfare #EnglishHistory #FrenchHistory #MilitaryHistory #HistoryPodcast

In June 1942, four Japanese carriers sailed to crush the U.S. Pacific Fleet near a tiny atoll. Codebreakers set the trap, dive bombers delivered the blows, and in five decisive minutes the balance of the Pacific war shifted. This episode breaks down the intelligence play, the torpedo squadrons' sacrifice, the dive-bomber strikes, and why Midway turned defense into initiative. #BattleOfMidway #WWII #PacificWar #MilitaryHistory #NavalAviation #HistoryPodcast

On the banks of the River Boyne in July 1690, William III forced a river crossing, turned the Jacobite flank at Slane, and drove James II from the field. In this episode we unpack the plans, the fight at Oldbridge, the upstream maneuver, and the rearguard to Duleek, then trace how Boyne shaped the Williamite War and the wider European struggle with Louis XIV. #BattleOfTheBoyne #IrishHistory #MilitaryHistory #WilliamIII #Jacobite #NineYearsWar #HistoryPodcast

Civil war, rival crowns, and battles fought in snow and mud. In this episode of Compact Warfare, we track the Wars of the Roses from St Albans to Towton, the Kingmaker's rise and fall, and the final clashes at Barnet, Tewkesbury, Bosworth, and Stoke Field. See how York and Lancaster tore England apart and how Henry VII forged a new dynasty from the ruins. #WarsOfTheRoses #MedievalHistory #EnglishHistory #Yorkists #Lancastrians #HistoryPodcast

From Heian frontier horse archers to Tokugawa-era officials, this episode traces how Japan's warrior class rose to power, reinvented warfare, and reshaped government. We follow the Minamoto–Taira rivalry, the first shogunate at Kamakura, the shock of the Mongol invasions, Sengoku-era castle wars, the arrival of firearms, and unification under Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu. Hear how bushido evolved from practical loyalty and reputation into a wider moral code that guided samurai life in war and peace. #Samurai #JapaneseHistory #MilitaryHistory #FeudalJapan #Bushido

In one of the most brutal turning points of World War II, Soviet and German forces fought street by street for control of Stalingrad. From factory-floor firefights to a massive encirclement that trapped the German Sixth Army, this episode of Compact Warfare explains how a shattered city on the Volga reshaped the entire Eastern Front. #BattleOfStalingrad, #CompactWarfare, #WWII, #EasternFront, #MilitaryHistory, #HistoryPodcast, #UrbanWarfare, #OperationUranus, #RedArmy, #SixthArmy, #Volgograd, #HistoryEducation