Shows / Battleground
Battleground
A history podcast that explores the narratives, turning points, and characters that shape conflicts, encompassing a blend of social and military history. Following on from the series on the Falklands War, best-selling military historians Patrick Bishop, Saul David, and Roger Moorhouse turn their attention every Friday to the war in Ukraine, and every Wednesday look back at the significant wars, events, and figures from conflicts around the world.Goalhanger Podcasts
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Episodes
Battleground271. The Siege of Breslau: Where Nazi Fanaticism Met the Red Army's Fury
In this episode Saul David is joined by Roger Moorhouse to discuss the grim realities of the Siege of Breslau, a city trapped by Hitler's desperate, suicidal…
Battleground270. Failed Diplomacy: Putin Rejects Trump's Peace Push in Ukraine
This week, Saul David and Roger Moorhouse dissect the latest diplomatic manoeuvres and frontline developments in the Ukraine war. Donald Trump's…
Battleground269. Battleground '45 - Your Questions Answered
In this episode of Battleground '45 Saul is joined by Roger Moorhouse to take a deep dive into a host of fascinating listeners questions on the second world…
Battleground268. From Kharkiv Nights to Hollywood Lights: Kateryna's Story
This week, we bring you a remarkable interview where Patrick spoke with special operations unit commander Kateryna Ratyshna, a young woman from Kharkiv who has…
Battleground267. Is peace possible, or will Putin's conditions derail everything?
The ceasefire deal agreed between the US and Ukraine faces immediate hurdles. Patrick Bishop and Saul David dissect the news surrounding this fragile…
Battleground266. Operation Varsity: Crossing the Rhine
This week on Battleground, Saul David and Patrick Bishop dissect Operation Varsity, the audacious Allied airborne operation across the Rhine in March 1945…
Battleground265. Ukraine's Next Chapter
In this special episode recorded in the heart of Kyiv, Saul and Patrick speak with Anton, director of the Ukrainian Institute for the Future, about the…
Battleground264. The Aid Cut and the Letter: Ukraine's Response to US Pressure
In a whirlwind 24 hours, the geopolitical landscape has shifted dramatically. Join Saul David and Patrick Bishop on this episode of Battleground as they…
Battleground263. British Isles, Nazi Rule - The Nazi Occupation of the Channel Islands
In this episode of Battleground '45 Saul and Patrick look at the Nazi Occupation of The Channel Islands, the only part of British territory occupied by the…
Battleground262. US Pauses Military Aid to Ukraine - Emergency Episode
In yet another emergency episode Patrick and Saul give their immediate reaction to the news that the US has put an immediate halt on all military aid to…
Battleground261. Emergency Episode: Trump clashes with Zelenskyy
In this emergency episode Patrick is joined by Roger Moorhouse to react to the extraordinary scenes in the White House Oval office yesterday, as President…
Battleground260. Navigating the Trump Maelstrom
This week, Patrick is joined by returning friend of the podcast Julius Strauss, as Saul takes a well-deserved break. The whirlwind of events surrounding…
Battleground259. Burma - The Forgotten Victory
In this episode of Battleground 45, Saul David is joined by renowned historian Rob Lyman who delves into the often-overlooked but crucial British campaign in…
Battleground258. 3 Years On - Your Questions Answered
Marking the somber three-year anniversary of the invasion, Saul and Patrick address the questions you've sent in. We analyse the strategic shifts, the human…
Battleground257. Trump's Ukraine Betrayal: What's Next for Europe?
With the worst fears about the Trump administration having been realised, Saul and Patrick digest the disturbing realities of this weeks news. Not only has…
Battleground256. Aid and Art in a Time of War
In this episode of Battleground: Ukraine Saul and Patrick sit down with British photographer Mark Neville in the Ukrainian capital. Mark's lens has captured…
Battleground255. Trying to Understand the Trump Administration's Ukraine Policy
The Trump administration is pushing for a peace deal in Ukraine, but with Ukraine and Europe sidelined. Is this a path to peace, or a US retreat and a new…
Battleground254. US-Russia Talks: Is Trump Selling Out Ukraine?
This week on Battleground, Patrick and Saul analyse the historic turning point in the Russia-Ukraine war. Following a Trump-Putin phone call, talks have begun…
Battleground253. Collecting the Fallen: Ukraine's Grim Harvest
Join Saul in today's episode of Battleground as he speaks with Boldizsár Győri, a young Hungarian journalist who has embedded himself in war-torn Kharkiv…
Battleground252. Iwo Jima: Eight Square Miles of Hell
Iwo Jima. A seemingly insignificant speck of land, yet its capture proved crucial in the Pacific theatre. On this episode of Battleground, Saul is joined by…
Battleground251. Has Trump secured a deal with Zelensky?
In this week's Battleground podcast Saul and Patrick discuss the first clear signal that the US will not abandon Ukraine. This is in response to Trump's…
Battleground250. The Khartiia Brigade and Kharkiv's evolution.
In another bonus episode recorded on the ground in Ukraine's embattled eastern city of Kharkiv, Saul and Patrick speak to a Ukrainian Soldier from the Khartiia…
Battleground249. The Bombing of Dresden, strategically justified or an Allied war crime?
On February 13th, 1945 British bombers began one of the most devastating attacks of WWII: the bombing of Dresden. Considered one of the most controversial…
Battleground248. Will Putin be able to flatter Trump?
Armed with new insights from their recent trip to Ukraine, Saul and Patrick discuss the latest developments surrounding the ongoing conflict. They take a look…
Battleground247. From the Pearl of the Black Sea to the Embattled city of the East.
In another special episode recorded on the ground in Ukraine, we start from the pearl of the Black Sea - Odesa, where we are joined by friend of the podcast…
Battleground246. Shaping the Post-War World at The Yalta Conference
In this episode Patrick is joined by writer and historian Giles Milton, who is expertly placed to discuss the seismic events of the Yalta conference which…
Battleground245. Kupyansk, Kharkiv, and Trump's sanctions threat
In this episode Saul and Patrick are in the Northern edges of Kharkiv a short distance from the frontlines and the Russian border. They also discuss some of…
Battleground244. The Soviets arrive in Germany
In this episode Saul speaks to Roger Moorhouse, about the first time that Soviet forces stepped foot on German home soil in East Prussia. It was also the first…
Battleground243. Reaction from Ukraine to Trump's inaugural address.
In this episode from the road in Ukraine Saul and Patrick discuss Donald Trump's inaugural presidential address. Their reflections on it a day later and also…
Battleground242. Battleground returns to Ukraine & a Russian microcosm in Transnistria.
In this episode we return in person to Ukraine, but we start in Ukraine's neighbouring state of Moldova, a fellow former soviet republic where we were joined…
Battleground241. Ukraine captures North Korean troops
This week, Saul and Patrick discuss the incoming Trump administration plans or lack thereof, for bringing the war in Ukraine to a peaceful settlement. They…
Battleground240. The Second World War along the Elbe River
In this episode of Battleground '45, Saul is joined by historian Keith Lowe to discuss their upcoming history tour along the Elbe. The Elbe river runs down…
Battleground239. Ukraine - your questions answered.
In this bonus episode of Battleground: Ukraine, Saul and Patrick address a wide range of listeners questions, from possible peace negotiation strategies to…
Battleground238. Is this the final chapter of the war in Ukraine?
With President Trump’s inauguration only ten days away speculation swirling around as to whether the last chapter in the Ukraine war is about to open. Together…
Battleground237. Looking ahead to Battleground '45
In this episode Saul and Patrick will be looking forward to how the Second World War developed in its final year, highlighting the hinge moments and giving you…
Battleground236. A New Era of Warfare
In the first Battleground: Ukraine podcast of 2025, Saul and Patrick speak to friend of the podcast Askold Khruselnysky, who spent Christmas close the front…
Battleground235. The British Criminal Underworld in The Second World War.
This week on Battleground '45 Patrick is joined by author Mark Ellis, to discuss an often overlooked aspect of life during the second world war, the world of…
Battleground234. The War in Ukraine in 2024
In this last podcast of 2024, Saul and Patrick will be ranging over the big moments in the Ukraine conflict in all its various dimensions and trying to see…
Battleground233. The Red Army's winter offensives
Joining Saul to discuss the multiple westward offensives of the Soviet Red Army in the winter of 1944/45 is friend of the podcast Evan Mawdsley. Together they…
- Battleground
232. Battleground Christmas Special
In a now annual Battleground tradition, for a special Christmas treat we've recorded a special festive episode discussing the standout history books of the…
Battleground231. Ukraine kills Russian general on the Kremlin's doorstep.
In this episode Saul and Patrick digest the two major events of the past week: Donald Trump’s interview with Time magazine, with some highly revealing comments…
Battleground230. The Siege of Budapest
In the final days of 1944 the Red Army closed in on the Hungarian capital of Budapest, and amidst the utter chaos of the siege members of the Hungarian fascist…
Battleground229. How Assad's fall reshapes the Ukraine conflict.
With the shock waves of the fall of Bashir al Assad still reverberating Saul and Patrick look at the way this profoundly important event has reshaped the…
Battleground228. The Battle of the Bulge
On December 16, 1944, Hitler launched his 'last gamble' in the snow-covered forests of the Ardennes in Belgium, hoping to smash through the Allied lines in the…
Battleground227. Syria Special
In this special bonus episode Saul and Patrick react to the remarkable and astonishingly fast developments over the weekend in Syria, where rebel forces have…
Battleground226. Syrian Rebels threaten Russian assets
Saul and Patrick reflect on a week of instability across the globe and in particular the news that rebel groups in Syria, have recaptured parts of Aleppo and…
Battleground225. Berlin, Rommel and Liberating the Netherlands.
Covering a wide range of fascinating topics from the race to Berlin to the liberation of Finnmark in the far north of Scandinavia, Saul and Patrick address…
Battleground224. Will Ukraine lower the age of Conscription?
In this week's edition of Battleground Ukraine Saul and Patrick discuss the fallout from a series of escalations last week, the US's push for Ukraine to lower…
Battleground223. Odesa in Love and War
In a powerful interview Patrick speaks to author Julian Evans who has over the past 30 years build his own powerful connection to Ukraine and in particular the…
Battleground222. Battleground '44 - The Middle East
In this episode Patrick is joined by historian and former British Army Officer Sir Simon Mayall, to discuss the Middle East - both the region's role in the…
Battleground221. A week of dramatic escalation
In what has been one of the most dramatic, dangerous and consequential stages of the war, Saul and Patrick react to the latest developments of a very dynamic…
Battleground220. The extraordinary story of Pamela Churchill Harriman
Joining Patrick to discuss the remarkable story of one of the most significant female figures of the Second World War - Pamela Churchill Harriman, is Sonia…
Battleground219. Exhaustion in the East - A dispatch from Kharkiv.
Joining Patrick and Saul from Kharkiv to discuss the situation in the east of Ukraine is Belgian journalist - Arnaud De Decker, Arnaud has been reporting from…
Battleground218. What is Trump's plan for Ukraine?
To discuss what has been a fascinating and dramatic week Saul and Patrick look to Washington for signs of of how Ukraine’s titanic struggle with Russia might…
Battleground217. Why Trump's victory has provided hope to some in Ukraine.
Why does Trump's election provide hope for some in Ukraine? Well joining Saul and Patrick from Kyiv to discuss this, is friend of the podcast Joe Lindsey. Joe…
Battleground216. Sinking the Tirpitz - Part 2
In the second episode of the story of the British quest to sink the formidable German battleship Tirpitz, Patrick picks up the story following Operation Source…
Battleground215. Remembrance Day special
To mark Remembrance day in the UK, Patrick and Saul discuss the history and symbolism behind the occasion, and also speak to veterans and organisers they met…
Battleground214. Uncertain times ahead for Ukraine.
Reflecting on Trump's seismic win in the US presidential election earlier this week, Saul and Patrick discuss what this means for US support for Ukraine in its…
Battleground213: What Trump’s victory means for Ukraine - reaction special
In this emergency special Saul is Joined by Roger Moorhouse to discuss their immediate reaction to Trumps election victory and what it means for Ukraine and…
Battleground212. Sinking the Tirpitz - Part 1
In the first of two episodes, Patrick and Saul discuss the Royal Navy's quest to sink the formidable German battleship Tirpitz, the heaviest battleship ever…