Harvest of Mars: History and War
Harvest of Mars seeks to uncover the essentials of war. Essentials that have been swept under the rug or forgotten by people and societies eager to rewrite history in a way that is intellectually pleasing. This podcast seeks to open your eyes to aspects of military history that, as Paul Fussell accurately noted, never got into the books because of what he called the Disneyfication of war. Here you will get authentic insights from someone who has a genuine love for the material.If you are curious and enjoy seeing things from a new perspective, this is the podcast for you! You do not even know a lot about military history. Perhaps you enjoy stories about the past but have never taken a history course and are just curious. It’s all good. I get students all the time who are new to history and they learn a ton because I nudge people toward new things they have not thought about rather than have them memorize facts. .
Harvest of Mars: History and War
Russia-Ukraine War, November 2023: The Unrealistic Expectations of Ukraine's Summer Offensive
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Joseph A. Campo
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Season 2
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Episode 3
"All the ingredients of a successful counteroffensive have already been unfolding over the past weeks"
- Vox, June 12, 2023
In this episode we examine Ukraine's 2023 summer offensive, specifically why it has not achieved the lofty expectations that many Ukrainian backers were hoping for. I suspect future historians will look back at the offensive and cite it as a classic case of psychological incompetence. Too much was asked and expected of what was objectively a modest Ukrainian force. NATO trained 63,000 soldiers, less troops than Napoleon had at Austerlitz over two centuries ago, and "experts" assured publics that even though Ukraine lacked air superiority, the so-called counteroffensive could break through multiple defensive lines. Needless to say, those future historians will have ample sources and examples when telling the tales of how self-delusion dictated military policy.
- Vox, June 12, 2023
In this episode we examine Ukraine's 2023 summer offensive, specifically why it has not achieved the lofty expectations that many Ukrainian backers were hoping for. I suspect future historians will look back at the offensive and cite it as a classic case of psychological incompetence. Too much was asked and expected of what was objectively a modest Ukrainian force. NATO trained 63,000 soldiers, less troops than Napoleon had at Austerlitz over two centuries ago, and "experts" assured publics that even though Ukraine lacked air superiority, the so-called counteroffensive could break through multiple defensive lines. Needless to say, those future historians will have ample sources and examples when telling the tales of how self-delusion dictated military policy.