The infamous French Foreign Legion was formed by King Louis Philippe on March 10, 1831, to help the French control Algeria using mercenaries who were more expendable than native young Frenchmen.
To this day a magnet for men who want a clean break from their past, the Legion famously did not ask many questions about where their recruits came from - or if they ... Show More
Yesterday
Elizabeth of Russia's Bloodless Coup
Wearing an armoured breastplate, clasping a silver cross and seizing an Army spontoon, 31 year old Elizabeth Petrovna appeared at the HQ of the elite Preobrazhensky Regiment guards in St. Petersburg on 25th November, 1741 - intent on over-throwing Tzar Ivan VI (a baby), and seizi ... Show More
11m 23s
May 2024
L'antimilitarisme, une passion française [Le Fil de l'Epée #17]
<p>Invité : Eric Fournier, maître de conférences à l’université Panthéon-Sorbonne, co-directeur de "A bas l’armée. L’antimiliarisme en France du XIXe siècle à nos jours" (Editions de la Sorbonne, 2023)</p><br><p>Définition et balbutiements de l’antimilitarisme au XIXe siècle (1:3 ... Show More
1h 15m
Jun 2021
Franco Part 4: The Cold War & the President
The ‘White Terror’ continues. Spain’s strongman assumes power in Madrid, herding his defeated enemies into concentration camps. Franco commissions a movie to tell his own life story. Up in the mountains, die-hard rebels continue to resist. After World War Two, Franco seeks to re- ... Show More
34m 55s
Nov 2023
383. Young Napoleon: The Shadow of the Guillotine (Part 2)
Within the turmoil of the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte stands out to his military superiors, first by defeating the British at Toulon, then by putting down a royalist mob in Paris when outnumbered four to one, with a “whiff of grapeshot”. Having finally shaken off the hu ... Show More
51m 52s
Jun 2024
Armer l'Espagne républicaine [Le Fil de l'Epée #19]
<p>Invité : Pierre Salmon, maître de conférences en histoire à l’ENS de Paris, auteur d’<em>Un antifascisme de combat. Armer l’Espagne révolutionnaire (1936-1939)</em>, éditions du Détour, 2024.</p><br><p>La défaite républicaine (1:30)</p><p>Le Front populaire français face à la ... Show More
1h 4m