The Battle of Tours (Encore)

From September 2 to September 5, 1666, one of the largest urban fires in history took place. The Great Fire of London swept mercilessly through the city, reducing roughly 80% of its buildings to smoldering ruins, possibly killing thousands of people. In the ashes of the inferno, ...  Show more

One of the most popular music groups over the last half-century is also one of the most unlikely. They were seldom played on the radio, they almost never appeared on network television, and they only had one song ever make the Billboard top 100. Yet, they have more Top 40 albums ...  Show more

Why was the greatest and most climactic battle of the Great Northern War, the Battle of Poltova, one of the most important in all European history? What drove Charles XII of Sweden to invade Russia in the Summer of 1707, in the lead up to that totemic clash? Exactly what happened ...  Show more

Vicious civil wars. Gruelling sieges. Rebellious provinces, galling betrayals and tribes seeking revenge… Join us for the first series of History’s Greatest Battles, where we’re heading back to the Roman empire. Emily Briffett is joined by historian Dr Adrian Goldsworthy to look ...  Show more

What was Britain's first military move following the outbreak of the First World War? Where did the French launch their initial attack on the Germans? Whose army was the biggest and best of all the participants in the war? And, what unfolded at the pivotal Battle of the Ardennes ...  Show more

Why did two men - John Heenan and and Tom Sayers - illegally meet in a field in Hampshire, in 1860, to brutally fight one another, captivating Britain in the process? What can the fight tell us about the nature of Britishness in the 19th century? Was this the birth of boxing? Who ...  Show more