Prime and Load!
Welcome to the Prime & Load Podcast! This podcast is dedicated to exploring the pivotal wars, battles, strategies, and figures that shaped the 18th century. From the rise of powerful empires to the dramatic shifts in military tactics, we delve into the stories behind the soldiers, commanders, and innovations that altered the course of history. Whether you’re a military history buff or just curious about this transformative period, we’ll guide you through the battles, conflicts, and the evolution of warfare that defined an era.
Episodes
Episode Summary
Today in 1776 General Sir William Howe launched his attack on Washington's army on Long Island. In this episode, hosts Dr. Alex Burns, Dr. Andrew Bamford, and Lee Gugino are joined once again by National Park Service historian Jason Wickersty.
In this episode, we'll talk about how the British lost the initial race to occupy New York and how Charles Lee turned the...
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The Howe Brothers and the American Revolution by Ira Gruber
Episode Summary
Was Sir William Howe a sluggish, indolent commander more interested in Mrs. Loring than winning a war, or was he the most sophisticated logistician of the 18th century? On this 250th anniversary of the 1776 New York Campaign, hosts Dr. Alex Burns, Dr. Andrew Bamford, and Lee Gugino ar...
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Episode Summary
In 1756, the shores of the Oswego River became a critical flashpoint that would determ...
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Iron and Blood by Peter Wilson
The Army of Frederick the Great by Christopher Duffy
Episode Summary
How did a "pancake flat" swamp in Northern Germany transform into the most formidable military machine in Europe? For much of the early 18th century, the Austrian Habsburgs mocked the Prussian military as an eccentric "pet project" of "toy soldiers". Yet, u...
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The Hessians by Dr. Friederike Baer
The Hessian Mercenary State by Charles Ingrao
A Generous and Merciful Enemy by Daniel Krebs
Episode Summary
"He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny." With those words in the Declaration of Independence, ...
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Can a single lost island lead to the execution of a British Admiral by his own government? In 1756, a spark in the North American wilderness ignited a global conflict that would become the Seven Years' War. The French set their sights on the strategic "key to...
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In Fight for a Throne by Christopher Duffy
Episode Summary
The smoke has cleared over Culloden Moor, but for the Jacobite cause, the disaster is only beginning. While popular memory often ends with the final charge, the reality of the "'45" was a protracted, harrowing aftermath of dispersed regiments and ...
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Old Fort Niagara's 300th Birthday!
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Memoir Upon the Late War in North America by Pierre Pouchot
The Siege of Fort Niagara 1759 by Brian Leigh Dunnigan
Episode Summary
For three centuries, a lone fortress has stood guard at the mouth of the Niagara River, witnessing the rise and fall of empires. In this special 300th-anniversary episode, the ta...
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Great and Glorious Days by James Faulkner
Marlborough as Military Commander by David Chandler
The Art of Warfare in the age of Marlborough by David Chandler
Episode Summary
Could a single afternoon shatter the hegemony of the "Sun King" and reshape the map of Europe? In May 1706, the War of Spanish Succession hung on a knife’s edge as ...
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Recommended Reading: The Holy Roman Empire in the 18th Century and Wurttemberg in the 18th Century by Peter Wilson
Episode Summary
Was the Holy Roman Empire really "not holy, not Roman, and not an empire"? Hosts Dr. Alexander Burns deconstruct Voltaire’s famous quip to reveal a sophisticated, decentralized political system that governed German Central Europe ...
It has been an incredible twelve months of deep dives, research, and podcasting. Today, Lee, Alex, and Andrew are taking a step back from the 18th century to take a personal look at everything that has happened with Prime & Load over the past year. We want to take this opportunity to reflect on how much the show has grown, share our favorite moments from behind the mic, and talk candidly about what it takes to pu...
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Episode Summary
Is the "Highland Charge" a romantic myth? In this edited episode of Prime and Load, we welcome back Dr. Aaron Johnston to deconstruct the final, bloody hours of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. While pop culture paints a picture of wild h...
In the spring of 1741, the Austrian high command looked at the Prussian Army and saw a joke. To the battle-hardened veterans of the Habsburg Empire, Frederick II’s men were nothing more than a parade-ground army obsessed with perfect drill, but completely untested in the mud and blood of real combat.
At the Battle of Mollwitz, the Austrians intended to brush them aside. And for a moment, it looked like they had.
...
Decades before the American Revolution or the Seven Years' War, the British Empire assembled an armada of over 180 ships and 30,000 men. Their target: the Spanish stronghold of Cartagena de Indias. It was the largest expeditionary force the British had ever assembled, and it was supposed to be a crushing blow in the War of Jenkins' Ear.
Instead, it became a masterclass in the friction of war.
Today on Prime & Load,...
When we think of 18th-century warfare, our minds usually jump to the fields of Flanders, the forests of North America, or the rolling hills of Central Europe. But while the Western powers were fighting over border forts and overseas colonies, a completely different scale of war was raging in the East.
Across the vast, unforgiving expanse of the Pontic Steppe, the Russian and Ottoman Empires were hurling hundreds of th...
January 1746. The Jacobites have just won another stunning victory at Falkirk Muir. But instead of marching south, Bonnie Prince Charlie finds himself overruled by his war council and forced into a controversial retreat back into the Highlands.
History often jumps straight from the victory at Falkirk to the tragedy at Culloden, ignoring the critical months in between. But the war did not stop.
In this episode of Prime ...
In the English-speaking world, we often view the French Army through the single lens of the Seven Years' War. We see the disaster: the loss of Canada, the retreat from India, and a reputation left in tatters.
But this is a dangerously limited view of the 18th-century French War Machine. To judge them only by their defeats is to miss how they defined the very art of war for the rest of Europe.
In this episode, Lee Gugin...
How do you turn the chaos of an 18th-century battlefield into a set of rules? How do you simulate the "fog of war" that plagued commanders like the Duke of Cumberland or Marshal Saxe?
In this special episode of Prime & Load, we explore the art and science of Historical Wargaming.
We are joined by Rich Hamilton and Gary McClellan from Wargame Design Studio (WDS). We dive deep into their origin stories, how they went...
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Recommended Reading:
Rebellious Scots to Crush by Andrew Bamford
Can a victory be as damaging as a defeat? In January 1746, the Jacobite army had just completed a harrowing retreat from Derby, yet they were about to field the largest and most dangerous force of the entire war. Join hosts Dr. Alex Burns and Dr. Andrew Bamford as they ...
On New Year’s Eve 1775, in the midst of a blinding blizzard, the Continental Army launched an assault on the fortress city of Quebec. It was the climax of the first major offensive of the American Revolution, a bold attempt by Congress to seize the "14th Colony" and drive the British Empire off the continent.
In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Paul Knight to break down the 1775 Invasion of Canada. We analyze ...
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