Battle Lines

On another special episode of Battle Lines, Roland Oliphant and guests look at the war memoir. How have war memoirs shaped our understanding of wars? Has the art and the role of the memoir changed over time? And will the ones written today similarly influence how future generations will remember the wars of our time?ContributorsFrancis Dearnley (The Telegraph’s Assistant Comment Editor)Dr. Matilda Greig (Historian at the National Army Museum in London, specialising in the Napoleonic period)Colin Freeman (Journalist and author)'Dead Men Telling Tales, Napoleonic War Veterans and the Military Memoir Industry, 1808-1914' by Matilda Greig, is available here:https://global.oup.com/academic/product/dead-men-telling-tales-9780192896025?cc=es&lang=en'Curse of the Al Dulaimi Hotel : And Other Half-Truths from Baghdad', by Colin Freeman, is available here:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Curse-Al-Dulaimi-Hotel-Half-Truths/dp/1906308020

On this special end of year episode, Roland Oliphant is joined by The Telegraph's Chief Film Critic Robbie Collin to look back at the best war films of the year. Plus: Are we seeing an era of growing conflict reflected on film? And what do the films we make say about our attitudes to these unsettling times?

In another special episode looking back at history, Venetia Rainey talks with the author of ‘Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs’, a book that came highly recommended by David Knowles. It’s a new look at how the Aztecs dealt with internal conflict, how they lost the war with the Spanish, and how history has misremembered them.'Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs’, by Camilla Townsend, is available here:https://global.oup.com/ukhe/product/fifth-sun-9780197577660 

On this special episode of Battle Lines, Roland Oliphant and guests tackle the late David Knowles’ favourite conversational gambit: Who is your favourite of Napoleon’s Marshals? As they ponder their own choice they look back at who the generals were, what made them ‘great’, and why they continue to capture the imagination.ContributorsFrancis Dearnley (The Telegraph’s Assistant Comment Editor)Dr. Matilda Greig (Historian at the National Army Museum in London, specialising in the Napoleonic period.Dr. Zack White (historian and host of 'The Napoleonic Wars Podcast')The Napoleonic & Revolutionary War Graves CharityTo learn more about the charity that aims to provide similar care to the dead of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars to that we see from more recent conflicts, visit:https://www.nrwgc.com/'Napoleonic Objects and their Afterlives', edited by Matilda Greig, is available here:https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/napoleonic-objects-and-their-afterlives-9781350415072/ 

As mysterious drone sightings near US military bases continue to unsettle anxious citizens, we look into what a new drone age means for the future of warfare. The flying objects have been defining the battlefield for a while, dominating the wars in Ukraine, Sudan and the Middle East. But now, with the advent of Artificial Intelligence, anyone can build an autonomous killer drone. So could this herald a new age of assassinations and mass destruction? How can it be controlled? And can it be kept out of the wrong hands?The Telegraph’s Arthur Scott-Geddes tells Roland Oliphant how he turned a toy into an assassination device and why more conversation around containing this technology is needed.

In the first episode of our special holiday series taking a left-field look at conflict and war, we hear personal stories from two countries that have had to grapple with multiple crises in recent years: Lebanon and Afghanistan. Journalist Sune Engel Rasmussen lived and worked in Afghanistan for nearly a decade. He spent hundreds of hours interviewing everyone from Taliban fighters to female activists for his book “Twenty Years: Hope, War, and the Betrayal of an Afghan Generation”   He talks about the lasting impact of America’s post 9/11 invasion in 2001 on young Afghans and how the Taliban managed to make such a startling comeback.Plus: Victoria Lupton, founder and CEO of charity Seenaryo on how Lebanon is faring post-ceasefire deal and their film Tilka, which follows five women navigating the collapse of the country prior to the war.

On today’s episode we speak to Farouq Habib from Syria’s White Helmets about returning to his home city of Homs for the first time in over a decade. He tells us about the devastation Bashar al-Assad wreaked across Syria, and how the country can heal now that the regime has fallen. Plus: The Telegraph’s senior foreign correspondent Sophia Yan has been on the Turkish-Syrian border. She’s been speaking to refugees excited to finally be able to go back, but also to Turkish Alawites who continue to have an affinity for Assad. ReadSyrians stream across border from Turkey as guards open crossings, by Sophia Yan:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/12/10/syrians-flood-across-border-from-turkey-open-crossings/It’s too soon to return to Syria – its new rulers were al-Qaeda members just a few years ago, by Abdulrahman Bdiwi:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/12/10/first-person-too-soon-go-back-syria-al-qaeda-few-years-ago/

Within the space of 10 days, opposition forces have toppled the Assad regime, ending five decades of the family’s authoritarian rule. In the streets of Damascus, Hama, Homs and Aleppo, Syrians are celebrating, saying this is a new dawn for their country. Venetia Rainey and Roland Oliphant discuss how we got here, and what happens next. Plus: renowned war photographer Paul Conroy shares his reflections on the fall of Assad, nearly 13 years after the Syrian regime injured him and killed his colleague veteran reporter Marie Colvin.

Roland Oliphant speaks with The Telegraph’s senior correspondent Sophia Yan about her analysis of satellite images showing Russia ramping up its military presence in the African state. Plus: The Telegraph’s James Rothwell on how children are being recruited to carry out gang killings in Sweden.