The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast

Join J. David Markham and Cameron Reilly as they re-unite after nearly a decade to dissect the travesty that is Ridley Scott's 2023 film, "Napoleon". The post Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #61 – Ridley's Travesty appeared first on Napoleon.

After a break of 3.5 years, WE'RE BACK, BABY! Sir J. David Markham – yes, he's an actual KNIGHT now (see photo below) –  and Cameron Reilly are back with a brand new episode. And what brought the show out of retirement, we hear you ask? The wonderful new 800-page biography by Andrew Roberts “Napoleon The […] The post Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #60 – Andrew Roberts, Napoleon The Great appeared first on Napoleon.

Here's a plug for the Life Of Caesar podcast, hosted by Cameron and Ray Harris. It's been going since Dec '13, has about 80,000 listeners and ranks in the Top 100 podcasts in the USA, UK, AUS and CAN, so check it out! The post Check Out The Caesar Show appeared first on Napoleon.

Hey folks! It's been nearly 18 months since the last podcast! Can you believe it!? This is a special episode to celebrate and promote a special Napoleonic event that is currently happening in Melbourne – Napoleon: Revolution to Empire. I had the chance today to chat with Sophie Matthiesson, one of the curators at the […] The post Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #59 – Napoleon @ The NGV appeared first on Napoleon.

Welcome back! I know, I know, it's been 8 months since our last podcast. Sorry folks. On this episode, our special guest is again Nicholas Stark, a 20-year-old wunderkind who David and I first met in Paris back in 2008, and who is studying at West Chester University in Philadelphia and a Fellow of the […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #58 – Wolfe Tone & The Irish Rebellions 1796-98 appeared first on Napoleon.

And once again we are fortunate to have Nicholas Stark back on the show to finish our series on Napoleon and Haiti. Today we focus on the claims that Napoleon directly ordered atrocities to be committed in Haiti. Did Napoleon, as Claude Ribbe claims, invent the gas chamber? (We find no evidence for that.) Did […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #57 – Haiti Pt 3 appeared first on Napoleon.

We're back with Nicholas Stark to discuss St. Domingo / Haiti and Napoleon's reinstitution of slavery in 1802. Was Toussaint L'Overture really a “saint” (his name translates as “all saints” or “all souls opening”)? Was Napoleon really a racist? Nick does another amazing job of delving into the primary sources from this period to paint […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #56 – Nick Stark on Haiti (Part Two) appeared first on Napoleon.

WELCOME BACK! I know – it's been a long, long…. long time! But we are glad to be back! On this episode, our special guest is Nicholas Stark, a 19-year-old wunderkind who David and I first met in Paris back in 2008. Nicholas is an undergraduate at West Chester University and a Fellow of the […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #55 – Nicholas Stark on Napoleon and Haiti (part one) appeared first on Napoleon.

Our own J. David Markham was recently interviewed on Australian radio regarding a lock of Napoleon's hair recently found in Sydney's town hall. Listen to David's interview here! The post David Markham on Australia's ABC Radio appeared first on Napoleon.

Welcome back! It's been a long time between shows, I'm so sorry! But you'll LOVE this episode, trust me, it was worth waiting for! Our guest today is Dr Philip Dwyer, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education and Arts, School of Humanities and Social Science, History Dept, University of Newscastle, Australia. Philip has a long list […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #54 – Dr Philip Dwyer appeared first on Napoleon.

We're very lucky to have Alexander Mikaberidze back to discuss a few more important Russian generals and the crossing of the Berezina.     The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #53 – Alex Mikaberidze part 4 appeared first on Napoleon.

Alexander Mikaberidze joins us again on this episode to share deep biographical details about the major Russian Generals around the war of 1812 – Kutusov, Bagration, Barclay de Tolly, Tolstoy – the men who defeated Napoleon with a highly unusual strategy.     The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #52 – Alex Mikaberidze on The Russian Generals appeared first on Napoleon.

Our guest today is again the wonderful Alexander Mikaberidze. We continue the discussion from where we left off in Episode 50, talking about Napoleon's entry into Moscow, the burning of Moscow, and the “strategic withdrawal”. Was the burning of Moscow deliberate strategy on behalf of the Russians? If they hadn't burned it, would the outcome […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast 51 – Alex Mikaberidze on The Burning of Moscow appeared first on Napoleon.

We made it to 50! w00t! Thanks to everyone for supporting our little show over the last few years. It's been an honour to create these shows for you. Can I ask a favour? Would you mind going to our iTunes page and rating the podcast? The more ratings we get, the more people find […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast 50 – Guest Alex Mikaberidze on Napoleon and Alexander appeared first on Napoleon.

Breaking away from talking to historians about Napoleon, today we have as our guest Australian businessman and political powerbroker, Michael Kroger. Michael joins us to discuss his fascination with Napoleon, which extends to having 5 floors of his Melbourne mansion decorated in the Empire Style and owning (among other things) one of only seven original […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #49 – Michael Kroger appeared first on Napoleon.

Continuing our series of chats with eminent Napoleonic scholars, today our guest is Rafe Blaufarb, Ben Weider Eminent Scholar and Director of the Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution at Florida State University. Dr. Blaufarb is a specialist in Revolutionary and Napoleonic France. He is the author of several books on the social and […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #48 – Rafe Blaufarb appeared first on Napoleon.

Welcome back! On episode #47, David and I have our first special guest! Jerry Gallaher is Past President of the Napoleonic Alliqance and author of the 1976 classic account of one of Napoleon's greatest Marshals, Louis Davout – “Iron Marshal – A Biography of Louis N. Davout.” He's also a true gentleman, scholar and totally […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #47 – Louis Davout, The Iron Marshal appeared first on Napoleon.

Hi folks. As you'll have seen in my last post, Ben Weider, President and Founder of the International Napoleonic Society, passed away on October 17, 2008. As Ben was a major influence in Napoleonic circles, a tireless promoter of the Emperor's achievements, and, not least, a very close friend and colleague of David's, we wanted […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #46 – In Memory of Ben Weider appeared first on Napoleon.

Well…. here we are folks. The end of the chronological part of our story. It's been two-and-a-half years in the making. Sometimes I never thought we'd get here. In many ways, I wish we hadn't. But it had to happen – and so – on today's episode, the Emperor – dies. We discuss his last […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #45 – La Mort de Napoleon appeared first on Napoleon.

On today's episode, David and I talk about Napoleon's struggles with Hudson Lowe, the theory that he was slowly being murdered while on St Helena, poisoned by someone in his own retinue, his sexual escapades with Albine de Montholon, and whether or not he had a “foxhole” religious conversion. The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #44 – The Murder Of Napoleon appeared first on Napoleon.

The story of Napoleon's years on St Helena is dominated by one man, whose name is infamous in Napoleonic history – Sir Hudson Lowe, Napoleon's “jailer”. The Duke of Wellington later said that he was “a very bad choice; he was a man wanting in education and judgement. He was a stupid man, he knew […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #43 – Sir Hudson Lowe appeared first on Napoleon.

Would you like to spend some time with David and I in Paris? Keep an eye on this blog over the next couple of weeks for details but it will be in the evening of July 13th, probably at the Cafe de la Paix around 5pm. On today's episode, we discuss Napoleon's journey on the […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #42 – The Prisoner of Longwood appeared first on Napoleon.

Hey folks – do you think we can make David's new book, THE ROAD TO ST HELENA, the #1 History book on Amazon? Buy five copies today, give them to your friends, and make Napoleon NUMBER ONE! In this episode of The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast we examine how the British government came to the conclusion […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #41 – The Lion Roars appeared first on Napoleon.

Hey folks – do you think we can make David's new book, THE ROAD TO ST HELENA, the #1 History book on Amazon? Buy five copies today, give them to your friends, and make Napoleon NUMBER ONE! On today's show, David examines the political machinations the British went through to make sure Napoleon never set […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #40 – The Road to St Helena appeared first on Napoleon.

I know it's been a while between drinks, my friends, but there are good reasons. Listen to today's show to learn more! Today we finally… FINALLY… get Napoleon on “the boat”! David walks us through Napoleon's last days in France and his reasons for choosing to surrender himself to the British instead of making a […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #39 – Au Revoir France! appeared first on Napoleon.

Let me start off by apologizing for my audio – it seems I had the wrong microphone on. Luckily I'm just the button pusher so the impact is small.

Somehow we managed to get another entire episode just out of Joseph Fouche, Minister of Police, Duke of Otranto, and his machinations after Napoleon's abdication to try to ensure his own position of power in post-Napoleonic France. We also talk about what's happening during this period of instability with Marshals Ney, Davout and Murat. Napoleon, […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #37 – Fouche's Machiavellian Machinations appeared first on Napoleon.

In this episode David explains the Machiavellian machinations of Joseph Fouche in the days after Waterloo; how Napoleon was trying to manage the destiny of the Empire from his bath; and the events leading up to Napoleon's final abdication from the throne and then declaring a regency in the name of his son, Napoleon II. […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #36 – The End Of The Empire appeared first on Napoleon.

First of all, let me wish you all a happy 2008 from David and myself. Second, please allow me to apologize – both for the delay in this episode of our little show as well as the audio problems with it. As I explain in the introduction to the show, there was a major technical […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #35 – After Waterloo appeared first on Napoleon.

The Battle of Waterloo, along with the Battle of Wavre, was fought on 18 June 1815, and was Napoleon Bonaparte's last battle. His defeat put a final end to his rule as Emperor of the French. It is probably one of the most famous battles in history. It has been the subject of much debate […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #34 – The Battle of Waterloo Part 2 appeared first on Napoleon.

On this episode we discuss the first two major battles of the 1815 Waterloo campaign – Quatre Bras (16 June) and Ligny (16 June). The Battle of Quatre Bras was fought near the strategic crossroads of Quatre Bras, Belgium, on 16 June 1815 between Wellington's Anglo-Dutch army and the left wing of the Armee du […] The post The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast #33 – The Battle of Waterloo Part 1 appeared first on Napoleon.

Re-established on the throne of Paris in April 1815, Napoleon introduces a new Constitution and begs the Monarchs of Europe and Great Britian for peace. His envoys are rebuffed and his letters returned unopened. The Allies, still ensconced at the Congress of Vienna where they have been since November 1814, declare Napoleon an international outlaw […] The post #32 – The Hundred Days Part Two appeared first on Napoleon.

Napoleon, separated from his wife and son (who had come under Austrian control), cut off from the allowance guaranteed to him by the Treaty of Fontainebleau, and aware of rumours that he was about to be banished to a remote island in the Atlantic, escaped from Elba on 26 February 1815 and returned to the […] The post #31 – The Hundred Days appeared first on Napoleon.

Today we look at the period immediately after Napoleon's first abdication in 1814 – his suicide attempt, the Allies' discussions about where to send him (the Treaty of Fontainebleau), and his incredible work ethic once he arrived in Elba. Then we examine his reasons for deciding to leave Elba after a mere ten months and […] The post #30 – The Journey To Elba appeared first on Napoleon.

As 1814 begins, Napoleon is surrounded by problems following the Battle of Leipzig, but he still has some fight left in him. In this nearly two hour long episode, David takes us through the failed peace talks, The Six Day War, the betrayal of Murat, Ney and the surrender of Paris, Napoleon being a mere […] The post #29 – The First Abdication appeared first on Napoleon.

As Napoleon's ‘friends' continued to betray him, by late 1813 the total Allied armies east of the Rhine probably exceeded a million men. By contrast Napoleon's forces had dwindled to just a few hundred thousand. Short on horses, soldiers, food and ammunition, Napoleon soldiered on, fighting off his enemies in battles at Dresden and Leipzig […] The post #28 – The Battle Of Nations appeared first on Napoleon.

In our mighty 27th episode, almost another full 90 minutes, David and I look at the events leading to the War of the Sixth Coalition. After the terrible losses Napoleon suffered on his “strategic withdrawal” from Russia, his political position in Europe was significantly weakened. In 1813, Prussia, who had been an ally of France […] The post #27 – War of the Sixth Coalition appeared first on Napoleon.

Recorded on Napoleon's 238th birthday, we celebrate by making this our LONGEST show yet! 93 minutes of Napoleonic fun! Well, actually, as the subject is the Russian campaign, perhaps not so much fun for Napoleon and his troops, but fun for us to discuss nonetheless. In this episode we find Napoleon marching into Moscow, the […] The post #26 – The Invasion Of Russia (Part III) appeared first on Napoleon.

In this episode, David talks us through The Battle of Borodino, which took place on September 7, 1812, and was the largest and bloodiest single-day battle of the Napoleonic Wars, involving more than a quarter of a million soldiers and resulting in at least 70,000 casualties. Next stop – MOSCOW. For further reading, I recommend: […] The post #25 – The Invasion Of Russia (Part II) appeared first on Napoleon.

On June 24, 1812, the Grande Armée of approximately 600,000 men, the largest army assembled up to that point in European history, crossed the river Neman and headed towards Moscow. In this episode, we focus on the first few months, and follow Napoleon as he captures Vilna, Vitebsk and Smolensk. We examine why Napoleon was […] The post #24 – The Invasion Of Russia (Part I) appeared first on Napoleon.

In this episode we explore the political events that resulted in Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, the tragedy that formed the central events of Tolstoy's War and Peace and which saw Napoleon raise the largest army in history up until that time, 500,000 – 700,000 men (historians vary on exactly how many there were). […] The post #23 – The Road To Moscow appeared first on Napoleon.

Welcome back! It's been a long time between episodes. To celebrate our return, we have a very special guest co-host – Prof. Bob Packett from “History According To Bob”! Bob is the Godfather of History podcasting. It was his show that gave me the idea to start our little Napoleon podcast and we're very excited […] The post #22 – Au Revoir Josphine, Bonjour Marie-Louise and the King of Rome! appeared first on Napoleon.

In 1809, Austria decided to break the peace treaty they had signed after Austerlitz in 1807 and this lead to The War Of The Fifth Coalition. In this episode we discuss the events leading up to Austria's attack and Napoleon's response. The war ended with the Battle of Wagram, Napoleonic France's last decisive military victory. […] The post #21 – The War Of The Fifth Coalition appeared first on Napoleon.

Welcome to the dramatic conclusion to the Peninsular War! It's a long episode, possibly our longest, but we were determined to conclude this affair today! In episode #19 we gave you some background on how Napoleon ended up in the Iberian peninsula. Today we pick it up from about the time Joseph was made the […] The post #20 – The Peninsula War (Part Two) appeared first on Napoleon.

After the Battle Of Trafalgar (1805), the relationship between Spain (which had previously declared war on France in 1793 and then an alliance in 1795) and France soured. In 1807, Spain was in turmoil, due to infighting between their disinterested Bourbon king Charles IV, his son Ferdinand and the Spanish Prime Minister (also the not-so-secret […] The post #19 – The Peninsula War (Part One) appeared first on Napoleon.

Welcome to the tragic Episode 18 of the Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast here on The Podcast Network. Once again, David and I would like to thank everyone for the wonderful feedback and comments we have received since the last episode. We both really appreciate it and it's added motivation to keep producing the show although, as […] The post #18 – The Battle Of Trafalgar appeared first on Napoleon.

On this marvelous 17th episode, recorded almost 200 years after the actual events occurred, we examine the final months of the “Fourth Coalition” leading up to the “Treaty of Tilsit”. Russian forces, lead by Count von Bennigsen, were crushed by Napoleon's army at Friedland on June 14, 1807. Three days later Russia asked for a […] The post #17 – The Battle of Friedland and the Treaty of Tilsit appeared first on Napoleon.

After Napoleon completely crushed the Prussians at Jena-Auerstedt, Europe was in shock. Back home in Paris, some were concerned that Napoleon's continued success might blind him to opportunities for peace. Meanwhile, Russia's Czar Alexander had his armies advance on Warsaw, forcing Napoleon to march to meet them. Early in 1807, he fought an extremely bloody […] The post #16 – Eylau, Poland and Maria Walewska appeared first on Napoleon.

The twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt (older name: Auerstädt) were fought on October 14, 1806 on the plateau west of the river Saale in today's Germany, between the forces of Napoleon I of France and Frederick William III of Prussia. The decisive defeat suffered by the Prussian army resulted in Prussia's elimination from the […] The post #15 – The Battle of Jena-Auerstedt appeared first on Napoleon.

The Battle of Austerlitz (also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors) was a major engagement in the Napoleonic Wars during the War of the Third Coalition. It was fought on December 2, 1805 about four miles (6.4 km) east of the modern Czech town of Brno, then part of the Austrian Empire. The […] The post #14 – The Sun of Austerlitz appeared first on Napoleon.

This episode is pretty special – David and I recorded it sitting together, in the same hotel room, same city, same country and, as David likes to point out, on the same day (usually we’re in completely different timezones). As we were both in a strange city (San Francisco) and didn’t have access to our […] The post #13 – The War of the Third Coalition appeared first on Napoleon.