For my first 'special' in the summer of 2012, i attempted to tackle napoleon bonaparte, the french revolution and everything else in all of its incredible glory. I massively underestimated the task at hand, and the result was a squashed up mess which i wasn't too proud of. Good thing then I was able to return to the era in the remastered project over may-june 2017 then, wherein i redid the topic from the ground up, creating in the process an eight part series that i am actually proud of. the old series is of course still there, if you scroll down far enough, so that i never forget how far i've come. I hope you enjoy this foray into such a rich era of history. No matter how deep i go, i feel i will never give it all the depth it needs, but we do our best, so i hope you enjoy it!
In this section we cover the Wars Against the French, a term chosen because I dislike the moniker of Napoleonic Wars, as Napoleon, for the most part, didn't really want to fight all of Europe that much. The conflict, beginning in the French Revolution, entered many different phases, including that of Napoleon by 1800. All told, the conflict can be said to last from 1789-1815, and it effectively ushered in a new era of history - the long 19th century!
Wars Against the French Remastered; released over June 2017.
Classic Napoleonic Episodes...released in summer 2012, so be gentle!
WDF 10.25: SPECIAL= Wars Against The French Part One: Revolution
In this episode, we'll cover the years 1787-1797 which includes; diplomatic dancing, Robby's favourite razor, Napoleon's entry onto the scene and a bit of revolutionary war thrown in too! It introduces us nicely to the world that Revolutionary France existed within, and why the wars began to erupt with an ever more worrying frequency. How did this impact European affairs? The short answer is in a big way, the long answer, is within this podcast!
Another unfortunate citizen goes to the favourite razor of France, but fortunately for the rest of the nation this reign of terror was not to last. Courtesy: Encyclopedia Britannica
WDF 10.50: SPECIAL= Wars Against The French Part Two: TALK
Sean and I delve into a few Napoleonic issues, but then get sidetracked with Sean's immense family history and the military career of Terrence O'Reilley. Arguably this was my greatest achievement in this special, and I was really excited to bring you guys a fascinating look at just how far back this era can be ingrained on one's family. Give it a listen as two bestos chat!
We obviously had our poses down. Don't judge my woeful facial hair phase. This is the earliest photo I could find of Sean (on the left) and myself. About a month after we began this journey sort of together. Thanks for being part of this!
WDF 10.75: SPECIAL= Wars Against The French Part Three: Napoleon
How much Napoleon can one fit into 2 hours? Let's find out, as we tackle arguably WDF's biggest challenge. Did we succeed? That depends on whether you like your podcast experiences intense, or whether you like your pause button close by. I think we did a fair job. There may be room for a do-over in the future? Who knows, we'll just have to see. For now, Boney's greatest hits and misses can be found all in one place - here.
Napoleon's greatest victory - Austerlitz. Courtesy: Wikipedia/Public Domain
