243. Trafalgar: A World at War (Part 1)

Three days into the Hungarian Uprising against the Soviet Union, had the revolution escalated nationwide? How did the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev respond? And, with the threat of a Red Army invasion, would Hungary abandon the Soviet Pact? Join Dominic and Tom as they reach th ...  Show more

What triggered the Hungarian Revolution in 1956? Was Stalinism still the major political force in Hungary, even after the paranoid dictator’s death? And, how did the revolution almost bring down the Soviet Empire during the peak of the Cold War? Join Dominic and Tom as they delve ...  Show more

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the events of 21st October 1805, in which the British fleet led by Nelson destroyed a combined Franco-Spanish fleet in the Atlantic off the coast of Spain. Nelson's death that day was deeply mourned in Britain, and his example proved influential, a ...  Show more

Was the Duke of Marlborough Britain's greatest ever military commander? How did Britain face down the challenge of an expansionist France? And did soldiers during the Napoleonic Wars feel that they were living in the shadow of the Royal Navy? Military historian Saul David talks t ...  Show more

The Battle of Waterloo brought a generation of terrible warfare to a close, decisively ending the career of Napoleon Bonaparte. How did the Duke of Wellington defeat Napoleon? Why did Napoleon make a fatal blunder? And how did Waterloo shape convictions about Britain’s future rol ...  Show more