Spelade
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Why did the Nazi high command underestimate the challenges of fighting The USSR? How did low mechanisation affect German preparations? What was Stalin doing to strengthen his relationship with Japan?
Join Al Murray and James Holland for part 3 of this titanic new series on the brutal Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, and how mistakes by warmongers on both sides led to untold tragedies on the Eastern Front of WW2.
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A Goalhanger Production
Produced by James Regan
Editor: Charlie Rodwell
Assistant Producer: Alfie Norris
Exec Producer: Tony Pastor
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Who was known as 'Smiling Albert'? Why is von Manstein overrated? What makes Model such a good general?
Join James Holland and Al Murray for part 6 as they run through the best leadership of the Western Theatre in WW2, and the best generals may surprise you.
If you're ready to go beyond the books and walk in the footsteps of heroes - visit legerbattlefields.co.uk/whwf
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Start your free trial at patreon.com/wehaveways and unlock exclusive content and more. Enjoy livestreams, early access to podcast episodes, ad-free listening, bonus episodes, and a weekly newsletter packed with book deals and behind-the-scenes insights. Members also get priority access and discounts to live events.
A Goalhanger Production
Produced by James Regan
Exec Producer: Tony Pastor
Social: @WeHaveWaysPod
Email: [email protected]
Membership Club: patreon.com/wehaveways
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Which Prussian general wore a kilt and tricked British units with his excellent English? Why did Halder lose command even after his successes in Poland and France? Who refused to wear their general insignia after the Second World War, and became a humble mechanic?
Join James Holland and Al Murray for part 5 as they run through the best leadership of the Western Theatre in WW2, and the best generals may surprise you.
If you're ready to go beyond the books and walk in the footsteps of heroes - visit legerbattlefields.co.uk/whwf
Visit ospreypublishing.com or drop by their stand by the HQ tent at We Have Ways Festival to find out more.
Start your free trial at patreon.com/wehaveways and unlock exclusive content and more. Enjoy livestreams, early access to podcast episodes, ad-free listening, bonus episodes, and a weekly newsletter packed with book deals and behind-the-scenes insights. Members also get priority access and discounts to live events.
A Goalhanger Production
Produced by James Regan
Exec Producer: Tony Pastor
Social: @WeHaveWaysPod
Email: [email protected]
Membership Club: patreon.com/wehaveways
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How did the interwar years contribute to Germany's ability to successfully invade Russia? Why was Nazi Germany so reliant on trade with The Soviet Union? When did Hitler decide to betray his pact with Stalin?
Join Al Murray and James Holland for part 2 of this titanic new series on the brutal Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, and how mistakes by warmongers on both sides led to untold tragedies on the Eastern Front of WW2.
To watch the ad-free, video-supported, version of this episode, please head to our Patreon page directly.
Start your free trial at patreon.com/wehaveways and unlock exclusive content and more. Enjoy livestreams, early access, ad-free listening, bonus episodes, and a weekly newsletter packed with book deals and behind-the-scenes insights. https://www.patreon.com/wehaveways/membership?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=episode_description&utm_content=link_cta
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A Goalhanger Production
Produced by James Regan
Editor: Charlie Rodwell
Assistant Producer: Alfie Norris
Exec Producer: Tony Pastor
Social: @WeHaveWaysPod
Social Producer: Harry Balden
Email: [email protected]
Membership Club: patreon.com/wehaveways
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Why was Hitler planning an invasion of the USSR during The Battle Of Britain? What impact did the Nazi-Soviet Pact have on WW2? How was Stalin expanding communist influence in Eastern Europe?
Join Al Murray and James Holland for part 1 of this titanic new series on the brutal Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, and how mistakes by warmongers on both sides led to untold tragedies on the Eastern Front of WW2.
To watch the ad-free, video-supported, version of this episode, please head to our Patreon page directly.
Start your free trial at patreon.com/wehaveways and unlock exclusive content and more. Enjoy livestreams, early access, ad-free listening, bonus episodes, and a weekly newsletter packed with book deals and behind-the-scenes insights. https://www.patreon.com/wehaveways/membership?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=episode_description&utm_content=link_cta
Get your ticket for We Have Ways Fest 6 here! https://wehavewaysfest2026.eventbrite.co.uk/?aff=episodedescription
Get your WHW Merch here! https://we-have-ways-members-shop.teemill.com/collection/all-products/
A Goalhanger Production
Produced by James Regan
Editor: Charlie Rodwell
Assistant Producer: Alfie Norris
Exec Producer: Tony Pastor
Social: @WeHaveWaysPod
Social Producer: Harry Balden
Email: [email protected]
Membership Club: patreon.com/wehaveways
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In 1834, Britain sent a man to China almost perfectly unsuited to the job... only to forbid him from actually doing it. William John Napier, naval officer, socialite, & dilettante with no experience in diplomacy, trade, or China, arrived at Canton convinced he was destined to break open the Qing Empire by force of his will alone. But he would not get quite the war he wanted. Nor the recognition he imagined. Nor the vindication he believed history owed him. Which is not to say he got nothing at all...
Time Period Covered:
January-October, 1834
Major Historical Figures:
The Qing Empire:
The Daoguang Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Minning) [r. 1820–1850]
Lu Kun, Governor-General of Liangguang [1772–1835]
The British Empire:
King William IV [r. 1830-1837]
William John Napier, 9th Baron Napier, Chief Superintendent of British Trade in China [1786-1834]
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston [1784–1865]
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey [1764–1845]
Major Sources Cited:
Fairbank, John K. Trade and Diplomacy on the China Coast
Platt, Stephen R. Imperial Twilight: The Opium War and the End of China’s Last Golden Age.
Wakeman, Frederic, Jr. “The Canton Trade and the Opium War,” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10.
Wakeman, Frederic, Jr. The Fall of Imperial China.
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From the koan chants of monasteries tucked between Himalayan peaks, to wending caravan paths stretching endlessly across the arid expanses of the Taklamakan & trackless steppes of Dzungaria, we finish out our look at the four primary frontier regions of the Qing Empire as of 1800, where they'd come from, how they were operated, & the imperial tonnage of headaches for Beijing that came with both.Tibet - 00:01:21Xinjiang - 00:22:08
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The world is coming to Qing's doorstep, but it has a whole other set of problems along its own frontiers...
Less chronologically tied-down than most of our episodes, today we look at two of the Qing Empire's four major "inner frontier zones" and how they - in spite of often getting upstaged by the "flashier" elements of the 1800s & Qings clashes with the wider world, many have played an even larger part in its imperial decay than the British East India Co. could've ever hoped to achieve. We start off today with Manchuria & Mongolia...
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Qianlong's empire shines as a beacon of both martial might and cultural splendor, yet its mirrored glory hides truths too fragile for celestial ambitions.
Time Period Covered:
~1770-1799CE
Major Historical Figures:
Qing Empire:
The Qianlong Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Hongli) [r. 1735–1796, d. 1799]
Grand Councillor Heshen [1750-1799]
Great Britain:
Lord George Macartney (1737-1806)
Major Sources Cited:
Bland, J.O.P. and Lord Edmund Backhouse. Annals and Memoirs of the Court at Peking.
Fairbank, John King, and Denis Twitchett, eds. The Cambridge History of China, Volume 9, Part 1: The Ch'ing Empire to 1800.
Perdue, Peter. China Marches West: The Qing Conquest of Central Eurasia.
Woodside, Alexander. The Qing in the Age of Confucian Empire.
Yuan, Wei. Shengwu ji (Sacred Military Achievements).
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In the wake of military victory, Qianlong turns inward—launching literary purges, rewriting history, and curating an image of himself as the enlightened ruler of a Confucian empire. Through censorship, spectacle, and the manipulation of memory, the Qing court fights a new kind of war: one for cultural supremacy and imperial legitimacy.
Time Period Covered:
~ 1735–1760 CE
Major Historical Figures:
The Qianlong Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Hongli) [r. 1735-1796]
Grand Secretary No'chin [d. 1749]
Historican Wei Yuan [1794-1857]
Major Works Cited:
Perdue, Peter C. China Marches West: The Qing Conquest of Central Eurasia.
Qian, Zhongshu – Tán Yì Lù, "On the Art of Poetry."
Qianlong Emperor. The Siku Quanshu (四库全书) - Qing Imperial Encyclopedia.
Woodside, Alexander. Lost Modernities: China, Vietnam, Korea, and the Hazards of World History.
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As both the Qianlong Emperor's extensive reign and the Eighteenth Century itself comes to a close, the Qing Empire faces - in spite of its outward posturing of timeless grandeur and invulnerability - an ever more uncertain future. By this time his successor, the Jiaqing Emperor, assumes power in fact, the winds of historic change have already begun to blow.
Time Period Covered:
~1735-1800
Major Historical Actors:
The Qianlong Emperor [Aisin-Gioro Hongli) [r. 1735-1796, d. 1799]
The Jiaqing Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yongyan) [r. 1796-1820]
Grand Secretary Heshen [1750-1799]
Major Sources Cited:
Crossley, Pamela Kyle. A Translucent Mirror: History and Identity in Qing Imperial Ideology.
Hsü, Immanuel C. Y. The Rise of Modern China. 6th ed.
Jones, Susan Mann, and Philip A. Kuhn. “The Chia-ch’ing Reign.” In The Cambridge History of China, Volume 9, Part Two: The Ch’ing Empire to 1911.
Rowe, William T. China’s Last Empire: The Great Qing.
Woodside, Alexander. The Centre and the Borderlands in Chinese Political Culture.
Woodside, Alexander. “The Ch’ien-lung Reign” In The Cambridge History of China, Volume 9, Part One: The Ch’ing Empire to 1800.
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What does it take to hold an empire together when conquest alone isn’t enough?
In this sweeping episode, we explore how the Qianlong Emperor fused culture, coercion, and Confucian performance to stabilize a multiethnic empire—crafting an imperial image as powerful as his armies.
Time Period Covered:
~ 1735–1760 CE
Major Historical Figures:
The Qianlong Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Hongli) [r. 1735-1796]
Grand Secretary No'chin [d. 1749]
Historican Wei Yuan [1794-1857]
Major Works Cited:
Perdue, Peter C. China Marches West: The Qing Conquest of Central Eurasia.
Qian, Zhongshu – Tán Yì Lù, "On the Art of Poetry."
Qianlong Emperor, The Siku Quanshu (四库全书) - Qing Imperial Encyclopedia.
Woodside, Alexander. Lost Modernities: China, Vietnam, Korea, and the Hazards of World History.
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The Yongzheng Emperor seeks to capitalize on his father's greatness abroad - but cautiously. He wants to exterminate the barbarians... but delicately. He wants to build better worlds... no matter how many he has to destroy in the process. He's riding for a fall.
Time Period Covered:
~1725-1731 CE
Major Historical Figures:
Qing Empire:
Kangxi Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Xuanye) [r. 1661-1722]
Yongzheng Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yinzhen) [r. 1722-1735]
Prince Yinti, the Fuyuan Daijiangjun [1688-1755]
Governor Nian Gengyao [1679-1726]
Governor-General Yue Zhongqi [1686-1754]
General Erentei [d. 1718]
Funingga [d. 1728]
Dzungar Khanate:
Tsewang Rabdan, Khong Tayiji [r. 1697-1727]
Galdan Tseren, Khong Tayiji [r. 1727-1745]
General Tsering Dondup
Tibetan Gelupa/“Yellow Hats”:
5th Dalai Lama [r. 1642-1682]
6th Dalai Lama [r. 1697]
7th Dalai Lama [r. 1720-1757]
sDe-pa Sangya Gyatso [1652-1705]
Polhanas (Polhané Sönam Topgyé) [1689-1747]
Kokonor Mongols:
Khoshots:
Güshi Khan (Torbaikhu) [r. 1642-1655]
Lhazang Khan [r. 1700-1717]
Prince Lobzang Danjin, Dalai Hongtaiji [d. 1731]
Sources Cited:
Perdue, Peter C. China marches west: the Qing conquest of Central Eurasia.
Rowe, William T. China's last empire: the great Qing.
Zelin, Madeline. “The Yung-chung reign” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 9: The Ch'ing Dynasty, Part 1: To 1800.
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Leaving behind the imperial court of Beijing, we return to the far frontiers of the northwest, where China, Tibet, Mongolia, and Russia all converge and vie for power. Glory and riches to the victors, subjugation or death for those destined to lose. Into this mix, we follow the travels of three emissaries as they cross deserts, mountains, words, and wits to ensure their sovereign emerges on top.
Time Period Covered:
~1712~1724 CE
Major Historical Figures:
Dzungar Khannate:
Tsewang Rabdan
Tsarist Russia:
Tsar Peter I
Leon Vasielevich Izmailov
Captain Ivan Unkovskii
John Bell
Governor Gragarin of Siberia
Glazunov
Great Qing Empire:
The Kangxi Emperor [r. -1722]
The Yongzheng Emperor [r. 1722-17]
Tulisen
Mongols:
Ayuki Khan of the Torghuts [r. 1673-1724]
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The Yongzheng Emperor brings Peace, Justice, & Security to his new Empire.
Time Period Covered:
1723-1728 CE
Major Works Cited:
Perdue, Peter C. China marches west: the Qing conquest of Central Eurasia.
Qin, Han Tang (秦漢唐). 不同於戲裡說的雍正皇帝 [A different Yongzheng from the work of fiction]
Rowe, William T. China's last empire: the great Qing.
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The Yongzheng Emperor's stylings:
https://bsky.app/profile/thoc.bsky.social/post/3lnvmogqntk2g
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Patreon.com/thehistoryofchina
With the passing of his titan of a father, the Kangxi Emperor's 4th curviving son Prince Yinzheng, will assume the Dragon Throne amidst a tumultuous succession. Amid betrayals and backstabbings, this unlikely monarch will ultimately find himself sandwiched between his father and his son - two uncontestable pillars of Chinese history. And yet, he'll still find ways to shine through, all his own...
Time Period Covered:
1722~1728 CE
Major Historical Figures:
Manchu:
The Yongzheng Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yinzhen) [r. 1723-35], Kangxi's 11th (4th surviving) Son
Empress Dowager Xiaogongren [1660-1723]
Longkodo, Commandant of the Capital Gendarmerie [d. 1728]
Prince Yunzhi, Kangxi's 10th (3rd) Son [1677-1732]
Prince Yinsi, Kangxi's 16th (8th) Son [1681-1726]
Prince Yintang, Kangxi's 17th (9th) Son [1683-1726]
Prince Yinxiang, Kangxi's 22nd (13th) Son [1686-1730]
Prince Yunti, Kangxi's 23rd (14th) Son [1688-1755]
O'er'tai [1680-1745]
Hanjun:
Chen Menglei [1650-1741]
Nian Genglao, Sichuan-Shaanxi Governor-General [1679-1726]
Zeng Qing [1679-1736]
Yue Zhongqi [1686-1784]
Lü Liuliang [1629-1683]
Jiang Tingxi [1669-1732]
Zhang Tingyu [1672-1755]
Li Wei [1687-1738]
Tian Wenjing [1662-1732]
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The Ransom of Canton.The lame-duck Superintendent watches helplessly as a triumvirate of Qing officials arrives to reverse every compromise his predecessor had wrought... & promptly launches the most ambitious Chinese military operation of the entire war. In the midst of that rain-soaked battlefield, a brief skirmish between British soldiers and peasant militiamen plants the seed of a legend that will haunt Chinese politics for the next century.
Time Period Covered:Feb. 1841–Oct. 1841
Major Historical Figures:
The Qing Empire:The Daoguang Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Minning) [r. 1820–1850]Yishan, Imperial Commissioner and Pacifier-General of the Rebellious (靖逆) [1790–1878]Longwen, Manchu nobleman and ministerial attaché [d. 1841]Yang Fang, Governor-General and military commander [c. 1770–1846]She Baoshun, Prefect of Canton [fl. 1840s]Yuqian, Imperial Commissioner for Military Operations in Zhejiang [fl. 1841]
The British Empire:Queen Victoria [r. 1837–1901]Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, Foreign Secretary [1784–1865]Charles Elliot, Chief Superintendent of British Trade in China [1801–1875]Sir Henry Pottinger, incoming Plenipotentiary to China [1789–1856]Sir Hugh Gough, Commander of British Land Forces [1779–1869]Captain William Hutcheon Hall, commanding HMS Nemesis [c. 1797–1878]
Major Sources Cited:Wakeman, Frederic Jr. "Canton Trade and the Opium War." The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10.Wakeman, Frederic Jr. Strangers at the Gate: Social Disorder in South China, 1839–1861.Fay, Peter Ward. The Opium War, 1840–1842.Lovell, Julia. The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China.
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Britain carries the Opium War to Beijing's unready doorstep with steam and iron, moving the crisis from the border frontiers to the heart of the imperial court itself. As imperial defenses strain and diplomacy replaces defiance, the two empires probe each other’s resolve – and discover that both of their understandings of the other have been built on little more than smoke.
Time Period Covered:July 1840 – March 1841
Major Historical Figures:The Qing Empire:The Daoguang Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Minning) [r. 1820–1850]Lin Zexu, Imperial Commissioner [1785–1850]Qishan, Imperial Commissioner and Governor-General of Zhili [d. 1854]Yiliang, Governor-General of Liangguang [fl. 1840s]The British Empire:Queen Victoria [r. 1837–1901]Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, Foreign Secretary [1784–1865]Charles Elliot, Chief Superintendent of British Trade in China [1801–1875]Sir Henry Pottinger, Plenipotentiary to China [1789–1856]Sir James Bremer, Royal Navy commander [1786–1850]
Major Sources Cited:Platt, Stephen R. Imperial Twilight: The Opium War and the End of China’s Last Golden Age.Lovell, Julia. The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China.Wakeman, Frederic Jr. Strangers at the Gate: Social Disorder in South China, 1839–1861.Fairbank, John K. Trade and Diplomacy on the China Coast.
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Lin Zexu believed moral clarity and the largest drug bust in history could end the opium crisis and avert war. Yet, as his solution drained into Humen Bay, so too did the last hope of peace between China and Britain.Time Period Covered:1836–June 1839
Major Historical Figures:
The Qing Empire:The Daoguang Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Minning) [r. 1820–1850]Lin Zexu, Imperial Commissioner and Governor-General of Huguang [1785–1850]Deng Tingzhen, Governor-General of Liangguang [1776–1846]Huang Juezi, Minister and court official (opium policy advocate)
The British Empire:King William IV [r. 1830–1837]Queen Victoria [r. 1837–1901]Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, Foreign Secretary [1784–1865]Charles Elliot, Chief Superintendent of British Trade in China [1801–1875]Lancelot Dent, Opium trader and head of Dent & Co. [1799–1875]James Matheson, Merchant and political advocate for war [1796–1878]
Major Sources Cited:Fairbank, John K. Trade and Diplomacy on the China CoastPlatt, Stephen R. Imperial Twilight: The Opium War and the End of China’s Last Golden AgeWakeman, Frederic, Jr. “The Canton Trade and the Opium War,” in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10Wakeman, Frederic, Jr. The Fall of Imperial ChinaLovell, Julia. The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China
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Great Qing begins to buckle under early 19th c. internal pressures. Unrest first erupts not at the imperial core but along its social and geographic margins. This time, we look at three of the early warning shocks: the Miao frontier rebellions, the rise of Triad networks across the southern coastal cities, & the formation of the apocalyptic White Lotus uprising.Time Period Covered:~1790s-1840s CEMajor Historical Figures:Qing Empire:Fu Nai, Qing magistrateHeshen, grand councilor under the Qianlong Emperor, (1750-1799)Miao People:Shi Sanbao, Miao rebel leader, (d. ~1796)Shi Liudeng, Miao rebel leader, (d. 1797)White Lotus Sect:Lin Shuangwen, Leader of the Tiandihui (Heaven and Earth Society), (1756–1788)Liu Song, White Lotus sect figure/leader, (banished~1775; active 1770s–1790s)Liu Zhishi, Disciple of Liu Song; charismatic White Lotus preacher, (active 1790s)Major Works Cited:Mann, Susan and Philip A. Kuhn. “Dynastic decline and the roots of rebellion” in The Cambridge History of China, Volume 10: Late Ch’ing, 1800–1911, Part 1.Naquin, Susan. "Millenarian Rebellion in China: The Eight Trigrams Uprising of 1813."Ownby, David. Brotherhoods and Secret Societies in Early and Mid-Qing China.Rowe, William. China's Last Empire: The Great Qing.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- Visa fler
