A History of Europe Key Battles

80.1 Europe After World War One

02 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

An overview of the situation across Europe after World War One. The Treaty of Versailles. The post-war division of territories. The German Revolution ...

79.4 Birth of Turkey 1922

31 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Conclusion of the Turkish National Struggle 1919-1922. Mustafa Kemal, later known as Ataturk, leads the Turkish Nationalists against the armies of Gre...

79.3 Turkish National Struggle 1919-1922

25 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Turkish National Struggle 1919-1922The Ottoman Empire emerges defeated from World War One. The Entente Allies impose harsh conditions in the armistice...

79.2 World War 1 in the Caucasus and Greece

17 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As background to the Turkish National Struggle, this episode describes the events in the Caucasus Mountains in World War One, - conflict between ...

79.1 Ottoman Empire, World War 1, Battle for Gaza

10 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Ottoman Empire in World War One - the fights for the Suez Canal, Gaza, Jerusalem and Arabia between the British and TurksPicture: General Allenby ...

78.3 Polish-Soviet War - Conclusion

12 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1920 the Polish and Soviet Russian armies clashed in a series of battles across a wide area of eastern Europe including Ukraine and Lithuania.The S...

78.2 Polish-Soviet War - Part 2

05 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Polish Army make a pre-emptive strike against Soviet Russia. They invade the eastern borderlands, and take large amounts of territory, especially ...

78.1 Polish-Soviet War 1919-1921 (Intro)

29 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

While Western Europe's borders were settled post World War One, fighting still raged elsewhere on the continent. The most significant was the Polish S...

77.4 Russian Civil War, Conclusion

08 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Bolsheviks face numerous opponents across Russia, and struggle to gain control of all lands of the old Tsarist Empire.The White anti-Bolsheviks ma...

77.3 Russian Civil War Part 3

01 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Civil War rages across Russia from the north in Murmansk, across the Trans-Siberian Railway to the Far East, as well as in Ukraine and the Caucasus. H...

77.2 Russian Civil War, Beginning

25 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The new Bolshevik regime quickly gains control of most of former Russia Empire, but meets stiff resistance in the periphery including Finland, the Cau...

77.1 October Revolution 1917

18 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

- Introduction to the new series on the Interwar Years- A recap of Russia's involvement in the First World War- The February 1917 Revolution and Provi...

76.5 Battle of Lake Peipus 1242, Teutonic Knights vs Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod

05 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Battle of Lake Peipus or 'The Battle on the Ice' was fought on 5th April 1242 between a coalition of western crusaders led by the Teutonic Knights...

76.4 Novgorod, Alexander Nevsky

27 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Alexander Nevksy appointed Prince of Novgorod, a Russian city with its own unique culture and proud history.Lead up to Battle of Lake Peipus 1242 Host...

76.3 Conquest of Livonia 1185-1238

20 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Livonia in the 12th century was threatened by invasion from all sides; Danes, Swedes, Germans, Poles and Russians. Key events in the episode;1201 - Fo...

76.2 Teutonic Knights - Origins & First Campaigns

13 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Teutonic Order was set up in the Holy Land as a German equivalent of other military orders. The first campaigns in Europe were in response to invi...

76.1 The Baltic Sea, Early History and Wendish Crusade

06 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The geography and early history of the Baltic Sea. Also the beginnings of the Northern Crusades against the Baltic pagans. The first major campaign is...

Announcement - The Interwar Years

04 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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75.1 Interview with Stuart E Eizenstat

29 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A special episode where I interview Stuart E Eizenstat - an American diplomat and attorney. Mr Einzenstat worked on Jimmy Carter's 1976 presidential c...

74.19 Treaty of Versailles

20 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Paris Peace consisted of a group of distinct treaties, but the main concern of the delegates was the settlement with Germany, embodied in the Trea...

74.18 Endgame, 1918

29 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In Spring 1918 a massive German offensive made significant territorial gains, but ultimately not the intended breakthrough, and the Allied forces stoo...

74.17 The Final Gamble, 1918

08 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After the Russian withdrawal from the frontlines following the October revolution, the treaty of Brest-Litovsk is negotiated between Germany and Russ...

74.16 War of Attrition on the Western Front 1917

28 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

While the nations of Europe fought each other to a bitter stalemate, the President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, urged both sides to make peac...

74.15 The Russian Revolution 1917

14 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As the year 1917 dawned, Europe had been at war for two and a half years, and pressures on the home fronts were becoming intolerable. Every participan...

74.14 Battles of Verdun and The Somme 1916

30 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Europe entered the year 1916 exhausted by one and a half years of conflict of a scale hitherto unimaginable, with profound effects on citizens at home...

74.13 Eastern and Western Fronts 1915

16 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For the Germans, 1915 was a year that should not have been. Their whole strategy had been based on a quick war, but they now found themselves embroile...

74.12 Turkey and Italy Enter the War, 1915

02 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The first months of fighting in the First World War had seen no major breakthrough from any side. The Germans had captured about ten percent of France...

74.11 The Eastern Front 1914

26 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Russians strike hard against their most powerful enemy, Germany. Austro-Hungary help their German ally although their military forces are under-re...

74.10 The Western Front 1914

12 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The first main clash of the First World War was on the borders of France and Germany and in Belgium. The Belgians put up more resistance than the Germ...

74.9 Europe Goes to War 1914

28 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne. A month later Austria retaliates by declaring war on Serbia, which in turn...

74.8 Countdown to Catastrophe (First World War)

14 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Why did the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand trigger the First World War?I also describe how the long struggle between European powers for ma...

74.7 The Balkan Wars 1912-13

07 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

An analogy often given to the Balkans leading up to the First World War is a tinderbox, awaiting a flame to ignite it and set off a major conflagratio...

74.6 Italian Invasion of Libya 1911-12

17 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Italian invasion of Libya 1911.After initial successes, the Italians face strong resistance against the Ottomans and Libyanswww.patreon.com/histor...

74.5 Battle of Adowa 1896, Italian Invasion of Ethiopia

10 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Following their countries independence in the mid 19th century, the Italians hoped to establish their status among the Great European Powers by acquir...

74.4 The Annexation of Bosnia 1908

24 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the first years of the 20th century the Austrian Empire faced numerous problems, most of all the rising sense of nationalism among its various peop...

74.3 The Red Sultan and the Young Turks Revolution

17 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Ottoman Empire is in disarray and its treasury bankrupt. Under Sultan Abdul Hamid, the Red Sultan, there are violent suppression of uprisings of t...

74.2 The Russo-Japanese War and Revolution of 1905

10 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tsar Alexander II of Russia is assassinated in March 1881. He was probably the most liberal of all tsars of Russia, but succeeded by reactionary leade...

74.1 First World War - Introduction, and Treaty Of Berlin 1878

03 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A summary of the main events from the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 to the beginning of the First World War in 1914At the end of the nineteenth c...

73.3 Russo-Turkish War 1877-78

16 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In April 1877, two Russian armies invaded the Ottoman empire. The focus of the war became the siege of Plevna in Bulgaria. The strong resistance there...

73.2 Russo-Turkish War 1877-78

09 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In April 1876 news spread across Europe of appalling atrocities being committed in Bulgaria, by Turks against local uprisings. These occurred soon aft...

73.1 Russo-Turkish War 1877-78 - Background

02 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In 1875, the Balkans entered a period of turmoil as various nationalities (Serbians, Bulgarians, Macedonians, Albanians and Romanians) struggled for i...

72.1 Philippa Gregory Interview

11 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Philippa has written novels set in several different historical periods, especially the Tudor period. We discussed the period around the Glorious Revo...

71.2 Franco-Prussian War 1870-71

04 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For centuries, Europe’s German centre had been politically fragmented and weak. The continent had been dominated by states on the periphery, whose i...

71.1 Franco-Prussian War 1870-71 - Background

28 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Following Prussia's victory at Königgrätz in 1866, the North German Confederation became an instrument for Prussian dominance. All northern German s...

70.2 Battle of Königgrätz 1866

30 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Austro-Prussian War of 1866 was brief, yet its consequences were profound. It was the culminating event in a rivalry that began with the rise of t...

70.1 Battle of Königgrätz 1866 - Background

23 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Any list of decisive battles of European history would be incomplete without a battle which occurred on 3 July 1866 near the town of Königgrätz, in ...

69.2 Schleswig War of 1864

26 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When in November 1863 King Frederick VII of Denmark died, a dispute arose over who had a legitimate claim to rule over the Duchies of Schleswig and Ho...

69.1 Schleswig War of 1864 - Background

19 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A border dispute between the German Confederation and the Kingdom of Denmark in the regions of Schleswig and Holstein breaks out into an inconclusive ...

68.2 War of Italian Unification

29 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Napoleon III of France and Cavour, chief minister of Piedmont come to an agreement to try to remove Austrian influence from the Italian peninsula, and...

68.1 War of Italian Unification - Background

22 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Napoleonic Wars had a dramatic impact on Italy, completing redrawing boundaries. Even though the French were defeated, many of their political ref...

67.4 Crimean War - Siege of Sevastopol

24 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

An allied army of British, French and Italians besiege the Crimean port of Sevastopol in late 1854. Fighting also took place in the Baltic Sea and in ...

67.3 Crimean War - Russia invades Moldavia and Wallachia

17 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Russians invade Moldavia and Wallachia (in modern day Romania) and destroy the Ottoman Black Sea fleet at Sinop. Under public pressure, the French...

67.2 Crimean War 1853 - Beginning

10 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Ottoman Sultans attempt to reform their army and state, under pressure from outside powers, most notably Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, who lays claim...

67.1 Crimean War 1853 - Background

03 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The powers of Europe, especially Britain and France are concerned by the decline of the Ottoman Empire and growing power and ambition of Russia. This ...

66.4 Revolution of 1848 - Conclusion

29 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Revolutionary breaks out across Europe continent from France to Romania, Denmark to Italy. Slowly the authorities regained control but were unable to ...

66.3 Revolutions of 1848

22 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the first months of 1848, a tidal wave of revolution shook the political establishment of Europe to its foundations Events began with an uprising i...

66.2 French Revolution of July 1830, and Greek War of Independence

15 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

King Charles X of France is overthrown and replaced by his cousin Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans. Meanwhile a 10 month long insurrection in Pol...

66.1 Congress of Vienna 1814, Post Napoleonic War Period

08 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Congress of Vienna 1814 at the end of the long Napoleonic Wars led to a period of relative peace on the continent of Europe. A network of institut...

65.3 Napoleon's Invasion of Russia 1812

18 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The French army invades Russia. The Russians retreat deep into their own territory then confront the French at the inconclusive Battle of Borodino of ...

65.2 Napoleon's Conquest of Central Europe, and the Peninsular War

11 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The French invade Prussia and capture its capital Berlin, and then move into Poland and take Warsaw. Napoleon and Tsar Alexander then agreed the Treat...

65.1 Napoleonic Wars - Intro

04 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Peace could potentially have lasted after the treaties of Lunéville and Amiens of 1801 and 1802 had the great powers accepted each others’ spheres ...

64.6 Battles of the Nile 1798 and Marengo 1800

28 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Napoleon leads the French into Egypt but is defeated at the Battle of the Nile by the British. Afterwards the Russians and Austrians push back against...

64.5 French Revolutionary Wars - Napoleon's Conquest of Italy

21 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The French invade Belgium in 1794 and the Netherlands in 1795. The coalition against them starts to fall apart as individual members came to terms. Ru...

64.4 French Revolutionary Wars, Battle of Valmy 1792 and the Reign of Terror

14 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A French military victory at Valmy in 1792 and the execution of Louis XVI in January 1793 focused the growing concern across Europe about the rad...

64.3 The French Revolution 1789

07 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The French king from 1774, Louis XVI, was poorly equipped for the role of national leader at a difficult time. His tragedy was that he had good intent...

64.2 Russo-Turkish War 1788 and the Reforms of Joseph II

31 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Origins of the French Revolutionary Wars can be dated to 17th August 1787, when in Constantinople the Ottomans arrested the Russian ambassador Cou...

64.1 French Revolutionary Wars - Intro

24 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the last years of the 19th century the continent of Europe was turned on its head. France erupted into revolution in the middle of what was already...

63.2 Annexation of Crimea and Catherine the Great

05 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

www.historyeurope.net Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

63.1 Russo-Turkish War 1768-74

29 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Russo-Turkish War 1768-74, Catherine the Greatwww.historyeurope.net Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

62.2. Seven Years War 1756-1763, Part 2

24 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Seven Years War 1756-1763, Part 2www.historyeurope.netMusic composed by Joseph Haydn, courtesy of musopen.org  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pri...

62.1 Seven Years War 1756-63, Part 1

17 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Seven Years War 1756-63, Part 1Pictured - Frederick the Greatwww.historyeurope.netMusic - Joseph Haydn, Symphony 49 'The Passion', courtesy of www.mus...

61.4 War of Austrian Succession Concludes

27 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

War of Austrian Succession ConcludesPictured - Battle of Fontenoywww.historyeurope.netMusic - Winter by Antonio Vivaldi, courtesy of musopen.org Hoste...

61.3 War of Austrian Succession 1740-48

20 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Prussian Invasion of Habsburg Silesia by Frederick the GreatPictured - Maria Theresa - ruler of the Habsburg dominionswww.historyeurope.netMusic compo...

61.2 War of Polish Succession 1733–35

13 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Background to the War of Austrian Succession 1740-48War of Polish Succession 1733–35, Russo-Turkish War 1735–1739, War of Jenkins Ear 1739-1748Pic...

61.1 The Rise of Prussia

06 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Introduction to the War of Austrian Succession 1740-1748; the rise of Prussia and beginning of the European Enlightenment. Pictured - Frederick Willia...

60.4 Battle of Poltava and Great Northern War

02 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The armies of Peter the Great and Charles of Sweden fight the Battle of Poltava 1709. The Great Northern War 1700-1721 afterwards continues for a numb...

60.3 Charles XII, Peter the Great and Ivan Mazepa

25 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Charles XII of Sweden launches an audacious campaign towards Moscow through Poland, linking up with the Cossack leader Ivan Mazepa (pictured)www.patre...

60.2 Charles XII of Sweden, Great Northern War

18 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Great Northern War - Charles XII, the young new king of Sweden, defends himself from attacks from his neighbours Russia, Denmark and Polandwww.pat...

60.1 17th Century Russian Expansion

11 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The conquest of Siberia, split in the Russian Orthodox Church between new and old believers, uprising of Stenka Razin, conquest of Azov near the Black...

59.4 Conclusion of the War of Spanish Succession

21 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The French army of Louis XIV was on the ropes, but fought hard against the British, Dutch, Austrians and Prussians at the Battle of Malplaquet 1709. P...

59.3 Battles of Ramillies and Oudenaarde

14 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

War of Spanish Succession - Heavy fighting across Western Europe, including in Italy and the Iberian peninsula between troops loyal to Philip V and th...

59.2 The Battle of Blenheim 1704

07 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Battle of Blenheim was a major turning point in the War of the Spanish Succession. A British and Allied army, led by the Earl of Marlborough, marc...

59.1 War of Spanish Succession 1701-1715 Begins

30 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Carlos II, the King of Spain, was dying. He had become king at the age of four in 1665 and throughout his life had suffered appalling physical ill-he...

58.2 Nine Years War 1688-97

02 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Nine Years' War (1688–1697) was a conflict between France and a European coalition which included the Holy Roman Empire, the Dutch Republic, Eng...

58.1 Early Wars of Louis XIV

26 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Louis XIV has become the historical embodiment of the style of absolutist government where the monarch personally directs all matters of state as he o...

57.2 Battles of the Boyne and Aughrim 1690

05 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

At the battles of the Boyne and of Aughrim 1690, a force of Irish Catholics, supported by Louis XIV of France, fought against a multi-national army co...

57.1 King William III and Irish Catholic Resistance 1688-91

26 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Soon after William of Orange took control of England in the Glorious Revolution 1688 and became King William III of England, he found it necessary to ...

56.1 Glorious Revolution 1688

05 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In 1688 a large invasion arrived in England from the Dutch Republic, led by William of Orange. It was a risky move, driven partly out of fear of the E...

55.3 Siege of Vienna 1683

08 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Siege of Vienna 1683www.historyeurope.netwww.patreon.com/historyeuropeMusic: Palestrina (Adoramus te Christe); Elgar (March of the Mogul Emperors) Hos...

55.2 Build-up to Siege of Vienna 1683

01 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Build-up to Siege of Vienna 1683Picture: Jan SobieksiMusic by composer Johann Jospeh Fux - Symphony in F Major, Partita in G Minorwww.historyeurope.ne...

55.1 Emperor Leopold I and the History of Austria

25 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Habsburg Emperor Leopold I (1658-1705) faces the twin challenge of the France of Louis XIV in the west and the Ottoman Empire in the EastMusic: Ch...

54.4 Anglo Dutch Wars of 17th Century

04 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1660's and 1670's the British (after the Restoration of the Monarchy led by King Charles II) and the Dutch fight a second and third naval war f...

54.3 Death of Oliver Cromwell and the Restoration

27 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The death of Oliver Cromwell in September 1658 left the republican government in disarray. The mood of the country favoured the return of monarchy, an...

54.2 The First Anglo Dutch War 1652-54

20 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Anglo Dutch wars were not only important events in their own right, but also the earliest in a sequence of naval wars which continued into the nin...

54.1 End of the English Civil War

13 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

After the execution of Charles I, Oliver Cromwell and his Commonwealth government asserted their authority over Ireland and Scotland. They fought off ...

53.3 The Ruin and the Deluge

09 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Turmoil in northern and eastern Europe continues with war involving Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Poland-Lithuania and the Ottoman Empire. The Cossacks of ...

53.2 The Swedish Deluge, Poland 1655

02 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A Cossack uprising breaks out in 1648 partly a response to local grievances but also an attempt to retain a degree of autonomy. However, by appea...

53.1 Khmelnitsky Cossack Rebellion 1648

25 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

First Part of a series 'The Ruin and the Deluge' on the turbulent late 17th century of eastern Europe. In 1648 the Cossacks start a major rebellion ag...

52.3 The English Civil War

28 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The English Civil War Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

52.2 Build-up the English Civil War

21 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Build-up to the English Civil War, with growing tensions between King Charles I and the ParliamentMusic: John Dowland - Lachrimae, or Seven Tears; Las...