Forgotten Wars

It’s the British Empires turn to endure the Japanese Blitzkrieg. Malaya and Singapore are meant to be the strongholds of the empire in the east, but behind the façade alies a highly fragile reality. As Japanese troops pour into Malaya, Britain is about to face the consequences of two decades of blunders. #history #militaryhistory #worldwar2 # britishempire #historynerd #pacificwar

December 1941. The world looks on in horror as American ships burn at Pearl Harbour.But Pearl Harbour is only one part of a vast surprise offensive. Its goal: nothing less than the conquest of Southeast Asia.Starting with the Philippines, in this new series we’ll follow the Japanese Blitzkrieg as it sweeps across the Pacific, overrunning empires that had taken centuries to build and changing the fate of Southeast Asia forever.#Worldwar2 #pacificwar #history #militaryhistory #historynerd

It's 1920, and out of the wreckage of the First World War a new, fragile Polish state has emerged. But to the east a storm is coming. The Red Army of Vladmir Lenin is racing across the steppes, determined to spread the Revolution at the point of a bayonet. Poland stands in their path - the red bridge into the heart of Europe. The future of Poland, and perhaps Europe itself, hangs in the balance. #history #militaryhistory #sovietunion, #poland #war #historynerd

1920s America. A land of jazz, Prohibition, gangsters and prosperity. But in southern Illinois, a war is raging.The local Ku Klux Klan is mobilising to wipe out bootlegging once and for all.There’s just one problem.The bootleggers are going to fight back.#america #gangsters #militaryhistory #history

The enemies of Ancient Rome tried many different tactics to defeat them, from the ambushes of Arminius, to the legendary Parthian cavalry archers, who turned the sky black with their arrows. However Jugurtha, King of Numidia, had the most unique strategy of all. He tried to bribe every Roman he came into contact with, usually with remarkable success.The Jugurthine War would undermine faith in the Roman Republic, while bringing to prominence ambitious and dangerous men such as Marius and Sulla. The seeds of their great rivalry would be sown in the sands of North Africa, eventually to engulf the state in the first of many civil wars. Rome would regret ever hearing the name Jugurtha.#history #romanempire #militaryhistory #Romans #historynerd

What was the worst riot in American History? Watts in 1965? Detroit in 1967? The LA riots in 1992 after the Rodney King beating? These were nothing compared to the mackdaddy of them all, the New York City Draft riots. The Big Apple in 1863 was a vast pressure cooker just waiting to blow, riven by racial and class tensions, combined with disillusionment towards the Civil War raging outside. When Abraham Lincoln introduced a draft to fill the depleted ranks of the Union Army, violence exploded on an almost unimaginable scale. As the city descended into bloody chaos, it would take the same US army regiments that had just been victorious at Gettysburg to retake the streets. #history #militaryhistory #america #newyork #civilwar

The Cold War led to many crazy decisions and bizarre alliances, but the Ogaden War is up there with the best of them. As Ethiopia plunged into bloody red revolution, neighbouring Somalia spotted an opportunity to conquer the disputed Ogaden region. As the fighting raged, America and the Soviet Union swapped sides mid war, while Castro’s Cuba even got involved. It would all end with a destabilised East Africa, helping to set in motion events such as the collapse of the Somali state, the Black Hawk Down incident, and the piracy crisis in the Horn of Africa. #coldwar #history #militaryhistory #historynerd #america #eastafrica

It's 1942 and as the Japanese juggernaut overruns South-east Asia, the eyes of the Empire of the Rising Sun fall on the Australian Port of Darwin. What followed was a devastating air raid, a tale of individual heroism and massive official incompetence. Most of all it is a story of the unthinkable happening, and a whole city having to live with the consequences that World War 2 had finally reached Australia’s shores. #history #militaryhistory #worldwar2 #pacifictheatre #australia #historynerds