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Lions Led By Donkeys Podcast

ByLions Led By Donkeys
452 episodes

Podcast Summary

The Lions Led By Donkeys podcast is a military history podcast for laughing at the worst military failures, inept commanders, and crazy stories from throughout the history of human conflict. Our podcast will always be free, but if you think what we do is worth a buck you can throw us one here: https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys

#1

Episode 365 - The War of the Oaken Bucket

SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: COME SEE US IN LONDON JUNE 22ND: In which the casus belli of two 14th-century Italian city states going to war was, in popular consciousness at least, the theft of a town's wooden bucket. Some Germans get involved as well. Sources used:

2025-06-02•1hr 8mins
#2

*PREVIEW* History of Armenia 40: Armenicum, the Fake HIV Drug Invented By Armenia

This is a preview. Support the show on Patreon for the whole thing:

2025-05-29•9mins
#3

Episode 364 - The Pastry War

Come see us live in London June 22nd: A conflict breaks out between a newly independent Mexico and a newly back-to-having-kings France. It culminates in a small series of armed incursions and blockades in 1838-39. Did it start because of an aggrieved French baker? Did Napoleon’s armies advance the science of military optics because their commander wanted to look at feet? In this episode (the first one where Nate has researched, written, and hosted), we get to the bottom of the semi-apocryphal Pastry War. Sources: Atwater, James D.; Ruiz, Ramon Eduardo. "Out from Under: Benito Juárez and the Struggle for Mexican Independence." Doubleday: Garden City, N.Y., 1969. Muñoz, Rafael Felipe. "Santa Anna, el dictador resplandeciente." Fondo de Cultura Económica: Mexico, 1982. Penot, Jacques. "L'expansion commerciale française au Mexique et les causes du conflit franco-mexicain de 1838-1839." Bulletin Hispanique 75-1-2, 1973. pp. 169-201 Toussaint, Éric. "Le système dette : Histoire des dettes souveraines et de leur répudiation." Les Liens qui libèrent: Paris, 2017.

2025-05-25•1hr 16mins
#4

*PREVIEW* Zhang Zhongchang, The Dogmeat General

This is a preview. For the full episode support the show on Patreon by using the link below:

2025-05-21•10mins
#5

*PREVIEW* Lions Led By Robots 15: The G Gundam Finale

We finally did it! Thank you for joining us on this very stupid journey. GET THE REST OF THE EPISODE HERE: COME SEE US LIVE IN LONDON JUNE 22ND bigbellycomedy.club/event/lions-led…ival-southbank/

2025-05-19•10mins
#6

Episode 363 - The 1977 Dutch Train Hijacking

COME SEE US IN LONDON: A Moluccan terror group took over a train in the Netherlands, leading to the longest train hijacking in history. It only ends when Dutch Commandos launch one of the worst rescue operations in European history. Sources:

2025-05-19•1hr 33mins
#7

Episode 362 - Task Force Baum

SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: GET YOUR TICKETS TO SEE US IN LONDON JUNE 22ND: George Patton launches a very badly thought-out mission to rescue his son-in-law from a POW camp. Sources:

2025-05-12•1hr 12mins
#8

*PREVIEW* The Insane First Pilots of the US Postal Service ft. Josh Boerman

GET THE REST OF THE EPISODE HERE: COME SEE US LIVE IN LONDON JUNE 22ND

2025-05-07•10mins

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#9

Episode 361 - The K Class Submarine and the Battle of May Island

SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: Come see us live in London June 22nd: Once upon a time, the British Navy built one of the worst submarines ever put to sea and then promptly smashed them into one another repeatedly. Sources: N.S Nash. K Boat Catastrophe: Eight Ships and Five Collisions. Edwyn Gray. Disasters of the Deep: A Comprehensive Survey of Submarine Accidents & Disasters Anthony Preston. World's Worst Warships

2025-05-05•1hr 17mins
#10

Episode 360 - The Armenian Genocide: Part 4

Support the show on Patreon: COME SEE US LIVE ON JUNE 22ND: The conclusion to the Armenian Genocide series.

2025-04-28•1hr 38mins
#11

Episode 359 - The Armenian Genocide: Part 3

Support the show on patreon: GET TICKETS TO SEE US ON JUNE 22ND IN LONDON: Part 3/4 For full bibliography see episode 1 show notes.

2025-04-21•1hr 27mins
#12

*PREVIEW* The Great Locomotive Chase LIVE IN LONDON

Come see us live in London June 22nd at the Big Fat Festival: Joe and Tom take the stage at Rich Mix to tell the story about the world's first military high speed train chase. Get the whole episoide on Patreon here!

2025-04-17•10mins
#13

Episode 358 - The Armenian Genocide: Part 2

Come see us live in London June 22nd at the Big Fat Festival: Support the show on Patreon: Part 2/4 Sources: Ronald Grigor Suny. They Can Live in the Desert and Nowhere Else. Peter Bakalian. Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response Taner Akçam. Killing Orders: Talat Pasha's Telegrams and the Armenian Genocide Taner Akçam. The Spirit of the Laws: The Plunder of Wealth in the Armenian Genocide Taner Akçam. A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility Taner Akçam. The Young Turks' Crime Against Humanity: The Armenian Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing in the Ottoman Empire Vakahn Dadrian. German Responsibility in the Armenian Genocide: A Review of the Historical Evidence of German Complicity. Khatchig Mouradian. Genocide and Humanitarian Resistance in Ottoman Syria, 1915-1916 Simon Payaslian. The History of Armenia: From the Origins to the Present.

2025-04-14•1hr 27mins
#14

*PREVIEW* Lions Led By Robots 14: Horse Gundam (Real)

Episodes 38-42 of G Gundam involve a horse being made to pilot a gundam. Is this animal abuse? Which country does the horse represent? Get the full episode on Patreon here: TICKETS FOR APRIL 11TH: TICKETS FOR THE BIG FAT FESTIVAL IN JUNE:

2025-04-08•10mins
#15

*UNLOCKED* LIVE SHOW: The Voyage of the Damned (Live in London 2024)

Joe, Tom, and Nate live in London talk about the time the Russian Empire sent a fleet around the world to fight the Japanese Imperial Navy. COME SEE US LIVE IN LONDON! We're performing at Rich Mix in Shoreditch on Friday, 11th April. Tickets availbable here: THERE'S ALSO A LIVESTREAM: get tickets to view the April 11th show from anywhere in the world! Get more bonus episodes like this on our Patreon here!

2025-04-07•1hr 41mins
#16

Episode 357 - The Armenian Genocide: Part 1

Support the show on Patreon: Live show tickets: Live stream tickets: This is the story of the Metz Yegern, The Great Evil Crime, or, what it would later become known as, the Armenian Genocide. Sources: Ronald Grigor Suny. They Can Live in the Desert and Nowhere Else. Peter Bakalian. Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response Taner Akçam. Killing Orders: Talat Pasha's Telegrams and the Armenian Genocide Taner Akçam. The Spirit of the Laws: The Plunder of Wealth in the Armenian Genocide Taner Akçam. A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility Taner Akçam. The Young Turks' Crime Against Humanity: The Armenian Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing in the Ottoman Empire Vakahn Dadrian. German Responsibility in the Armenian Genocide: A Review of the Historical Evidence of German Complicity. Khatchig Mouradian. Genocide and Humanitarian Resistance in Ottoman Syria, 1915-1916 Simon Payaslian. The History of Armenia: From the Origins to the Present.

2025-04-07•1hr 26mins
#17

*PREVIEW* The Upper/Lower Canada Rebellions feat. Quinn

All good rebellions start at a bar. Note that we did not say 'successful' there. Quinn from the Failure to Launch podcast joins us as a guest host to discuss a time when francophone and anglophone Canadians joined forces to fight the British in hopes of declaring independence. Get the whole episode on Patreon here! COME SEE US LIVE IN LONDON! We're performing at Rich Mix in Shoreditch on Friday, 11th April. Tickets availbable here:

2025-04-02•11mins
#18

Episode 356 - The American Suicide Fleet of WWI

GET YOUR LIVE SHOW TICKETS: LIVE STREAM TICKETS: SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: When America entered WWI they found their Navy seriously lacking. To fill the gap, FDR bought a bunch of yachts from his rich friends and tried to turn them into subchasers. It did no go well. Sources:

2025-03-31•1hr 16mins
#19

Episode 355 - The Turtle, The World's First Combat Submarine

Liveshow tickets are now available for April 11th in London: Livestream tickets are also available for those who can't make it: SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: The Turtle was the world's first combat submarine, built during the American Revolution, and somehow, it didn't turn into an elaborate suicide device. Sources:

2025-03-24•1hr 12mins
#20

*PREVIEW* The Tarnak Farm Incident ft. Robert Evans

This is a preview. To listen to the entire episode, support the show on Patreon:

2025-03-19•10mins
#21

Episode 354 - The 1813 Battle of Medina

Liveshow tickets are now available for April 11th in London: Livestream tickets are also available for those who can't make it: PRE ORDER YOUR EMU JIMA SHIRT HERE: SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: Joe, Tom, and Nate talk about one the stupidest but certainly bloodiest battle in Texan history. Sources: Ted Schwartz. Forgotten Battlefield of the First Texas Revolution: The Battle of Medina, August 18, 1813

2025-03-17•1hr 21mins
#22

Episode 353 - The Death of Carthage

Liveshow tickets are now available for April 11th in London: Livestream tickets are also available for those who can't make it: PRE ORDER YOUR EMU JIMA SHIRT HERE: SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: Joe, Tom, and Nate talk about time the people of Carthage wove their own hair into weapons to defend their city from the Romans. Spoiler: It didn't work. Sources: Adrian Goldsworthy. The Fall of Carthage: The Punic Wars 265–146 BC David Norris. The Siege of Carthage: Death of an Empire. Military Heritage. Volume 26. No 1.

2025-03-10•1hr 18mins
#23

*PREVIEW* The Anglo-Zanzibar War ft. Riley Quinn

Get the whole episode on Patreon here! Liveshow tickets are now available for April 11th in London: Livestream tickets are also available for those who can't make it: PRE ORDER YOUR EMU JIMA SHIRT HERE: Joe and Nate are joined by Trashfuture and No Gods No Mayor's Riley Quinn to talk about one of the shortest wars in history. Sources:

2025-03-05•10mins

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#24

Episode 352 - The Attack on Mers El Kebir

SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: Joe and Nate explore the time the French surrendered during WWII, leaving the British worried if their fleet was going to change sides and fight for the Nazis. Rather than waiting to find out, they conducted the naval equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel. Sources: Philippe Lasterle. Could Admiral Gensoul Have Averted the Tragedy of Mers el-Kebir? The Journal of Military History. Society for Military History. Volume 67, Number 3, July 2003

2025-03-03•59mins
#25

Episode 351 - The 410AD Sack of Rome

Support the show on Patreon! check out our merch store: Joe is joined by the Zoo Crew to talk about the time Rome hosted the world's largest Goth convention. Sources: Zosimus. New History Michael Kulikowski. Rome's Gothic Wars: From the Third Century to Alaric. Ludwig Heinrich Dyck. The Goth Sack of Rome: Barbarians at the Gate in 410 AD. Military Heritage. Volume 7, no 2. 2005. Herwig Wolfram. The Roman Empire and Its Germanic Peoples. The Cambridge Ancient History Volume 13

2025-02-24•1hr 12mins
#26

*PREVIEW* Akira ft. Hussein Kesvani

This is a preview. For the entire episode support the show on Patreon:

2025-02-19•10mins
#27

Episode 350 - The Modoc War

Support the show on Patreon: Once upon a time, the US went to war against a small tribe in the pacific northwest, and, despite winning due to the massive power imbalance, they managed to get their asses kicked the entire time. Sources: Arthur Quinn. Hell With the Fire Out: A History of the Modoc War Terry Johnston. Devil's Backbone: The Modoc War, 1872–3 Robert McNally. The Modoc War: A Little Indian War Goes Big Kurt Nelson. The Modoc War of 1872.

2025-02-17•1hr 24mins
#28

Episode 349 - The Battle of the Kalka River ft. Milo Edwards

Support the show on Patreon: Joe and Tom are joined by Trashfuture's Milo Edwards to talk about the time a bunch of guys named Mstislav got destroyed by the Mongols. Sources: Leo De Hertog. Genghis Khan: Conqueror of the World. Richard Gabriel. Subotai The Valiant: Genghis Khan's Greatest General. The Chronicle of Novgorod. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/ Victor Kamenir. Russian Disaster at the Kalkha River. Military Heritage. Vol 20, no. 6 Robert Rossabi. All the Khan's Horses.

2025-02-10•1hr 8mins
#29

*PREVIEW* The Mutiny of the Batavia: Part 1

This is a preview. For the whole episode go to our patreon:

2025-02-05•9mins
#30

Episode 348 - The Battle of Cape Gloucester

Support the show on Patreon! check out our merch store! Marines storm ashore a rainforest-bound, diseased-filled, swampy death trap of an island to take an airfield with no strategic value. Sources: Bernard Nalty. The Green Inferno. Frank Hough. The Campaign on New Britain John Miller. History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II. Volume II: Isolation of Rabaul Al Hemingway. The Incessant Rains of the Green Inferno. WWII History Volume 9, No. 7 Sidney Phillips. The Fighting Conditions on Cape Gloucester. (video interview)

2025-02-03•1hr 27mins
#31

Episode 347 - The Shinmiyangyo Incident ft. The Worst of All Possible Worlds

Support the show on patreon! Check out The Worst of All Possible Worlds: Joe is joined by the cast of The Worst of All Possible Worlds to talk about the time the US attempted to open Korea with gunboat diplomacy in 1871. Sources: Thomas Duvernay. Sinmiyangyo: The 1871 Conflict Between the United States and Korea Eric Niderost. Military Heritage Magazine. August 2002. Vol 4, no. 1

2025-01-27•1hr 22mins
#32

Episode 346 - The Shimabara Rebellion: Part 3

Support the show on Patreon! Check out our merch store: The conclusion to our series on the Shimabara Rebellion!

2025-01-20•1hr 20mins
#33

*PREVIEW* The Fu-Go Balloon Bombs of WWII ft. Dr. Patrick Wyman

This is a preview. To listen to the entire episode support the show on Patreon:

2025-01-15•13mins
#34

Episode 345 - The Shimabara Rebellion: Part 2

Support the show on Patreon and get the final episode of this series right now: Check out our merch store: Part 2/3

2025-01-13•59mins
#35

*PREVIEW* Lions Led By Robots 12: Send in the Clowns!

This is a preview. For the entire episode, support the show on Patreon!

2025-01-08•9mins
#36

Episode 345 - The Shimabara Rebellion: Part 1

Support the show on Patreon and get the second part in this series right now! Check out the merch store! *Correction* Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered the invasion of Korea, not Tokugawa Hideyoshi. Once upon a time in Japan, shitty landlords, high taxes, and religious persecution united a diverse band of Christians, Samurai, Ronin, and farmers under the leadership of a teenager, believed to be an Apostle, in order to rise up against the Lords of Shimabara and the Shogun himself. Part 1/3 Sources for this series: Robert Bellah. Tokugawa Religion. Ivan Morris. The nobility of failure: tragic heroes in the history of Japan Jonathan Clements. Christ’s Samurai: The True Story of the Shimabara Rebellion

2025-01-06•1hr 8mins
#37

*PREVIEW* The St. Nazaire Raid

This is a preview, listen to the full episode on Patreon:

2025-01-01•9mins
#38

Episode 344 - The Battle of Hamburger Hill

Support the show on Patreon! Check out our Merch! Francis joins Joe to talk about one of the most memorable battles of the Vietnam War, which was completely and utterly pointless. Sources: Frank Boccia. The Crouching Beast: A United States Army Lieutenant's Account of the Battle for Hamburger Hill Robert L. Durham. 101st Airborne fight for Hamburger Hill. Military Heritage. Vol. 21, No. 4

2024-12-30•1hr 5mins
#39

*PREVIEW* History of Armenia 37: Armenia's Sad, Pathetic, Neo Nazi Movement

This is a preview, to listen to the whole episode, support the show on Patreon!

2024-12-25•10mins
#40

Episode 343 - The Battle of Trenton

SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: CHECK OUT THE MERCH STORE! George Washington crosses the Delaware! and then everyone's feet start bleeding. Sources: Henry Wood. The Battles of the American Revolution William Stryker. The Battles of Trenton and Princeton John Ferling. Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence Vince Hawkins. The Battle of Trenton. Military Heritage. Vol. 5, No. 5

2024-12-23•1hr 18mins
#41

*PREVIEW* The West Point Eggnog Riot

This is a preview. For the entire episode support the show on patreon!

2024-12-18•9mins
#42

Episode 342 - The Seventh Crusade and the Battle of Mansurah

Support the show on Patreon: Check out our merch store: A King has a fever dream and launches the 7th crusade, following the exact same battle plan as a previous failed crusade because he thinks he's built different. He isn't. Sources: Jonathan Riley-Smith. The Oxford History of the Crusades Alexander Mikaberidze. Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World A Historical Encyclopedia Christopher Marshall, Warfare in the Latin East, 1192–1291 Douglas Sterling. The Battle of Al Mansourah and the Seventh Crusade, 1251

2024-12-16•1hr 17mins
#43

*PREVIEW* The Battle of Fort Fisher

This is a preview, for the full episode support the show on Patreon:

2024-12-11•10mins
#44

Episode 341 - The Cadiz Expedition

Support the show on patreon! We're on Bluesky @lionsledbydonkeys.bsky.social The English launch a raid against the Spanish city of Cadiz. Instead of planning anything whatsoever, the English get drunk on the beach and die. Correction: James VI/James I. Not James IV Sources:

2024-12-09•1hr 20mins
#45

*PREVIEW* Pearl Harbor w/ The Worst of All Possible Worlds

This is a preview, for the full episode support us on Patreon:

2024-12-04•10mins
#46

Episode 340 - The Battle of Fort Driant

Support the show on patreon! Check out the merch store: Patton sends his soldiers into a tunnel meat grinder, suffering his first and only real defeat as a commander during WWII Sources: Anthony Kemp. The Unknown Battle: Metz John Nelson Rickard. Patton at Bay: the Lorraine Campaign, September to December, 1944 Duane E. Shaffer. Patton’s Lost Battle. Warfare History Network Ryan McLachlan. Battle of Fort Driant – World War II’s Strangest Engagement? War History Online

2024-12-02•1hr 34mins
#47

*PREVIEW* The Time The Cops Tried To Invade Haiti

This is a preview. To get the entire episode support our show on patreon: www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys Check out the merch store: llbdmerch.com/ All aboard the Battle Bus

2024-11-27•10mins
#48

Episode 339 - The Great Panjandrum

Check out the merch store: A British engineer attempts to create a weapon for breaching the Atlantic wall. He does not succeed. Sources: Brian Johnson. The Secret War.

2024-11-25•1hr 12mins
#49

*PREVIEW* Lions Led By Robots 11: Jordan B. PeterGundam

This is a preview. To get the entire episode support our show on patreon: Check out the merch store: Joe and Tom ponder the existence of Armenians in the Marvel Universe and the charity work of the DGVVA

2024-11-20•10mins
#50

Episode 338 - The First Boer War: Part 3

Support the show on patreon: Check out our merch store: The conclusion!

2024-11-18•1hr 33mins

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