When Diplomacy Fails Podcast

After so many weeks of preparation, it is finally time to journey to Warsaw where the Council for Russian Freedoms presents its mission. Accompanied by volunteer forces from all over the world, the message is clear - the extinction of Bolshevism and the rescuing of Russia. However, beneath of the surface of the good intentions and proud speeches, lurks dark rumours, doubts and further conspiracy...*****The Delegation Game is possible because of your support and interest - make sure to spread the word, engage with the debate, and look at the different ways you can help this project succeed!->Become a delegate and play the Delegation Game for just $6 a month!->Support the podcast financially and access ad free episodes with transcripts from just $2 a month! ->Follow WDF on Twitter! ->Join the Facebook group!->Subscribe on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are you ready for this? After a long time teasing you all, it's time I dropped some incredibly exciting news on the world. This news has the potential to change history podcasting FOREVER...sort of, but first and foremost, it means big changes for you and I. I hope you'll have a listen to the first half of this show to hear my news and get to grips with what I'm all about. Pat yourself on the back and say a huge thankssss with me, for seven wonderful years of history podcasting! Who would have thought that after seven years of talking to myself, you would all still be listening! Happy birthday to us, and thankss for being the best history friends a guy could ask for [self hug]Here are the questions I cover in this episode:What’s a typical day of work for you with the show? How are you managing to do all this? What black magic are you using to make days last 48 hours etc.? How is teaching? Do you think you’ll revisit BGTW again? How do you get through sources so quickly? Do you see Sean anymore? What’s your fa

My agora friends and others are going to be in New York for a special conference on 29th June - meet Mike Duncan, Kevin Stroud, David Crowther and more! Search Intelligent Speech Conference now! Use the code WDF to get 5% off your ticket!OTD 100 years ago, the switch was finally pulled, and Greek soldiers were landed in Anatolia for the first time in centuries. The cause was the city of Smyrna, that centerpiece of Greek culture and history which, Greek premier Venizelos claimed, was eager to welcome its compatriots. Yet, the act of the landing is as fascinating as the story which led up to this event. It was a story of Hellenic romanticism, background intrigue, a selective application of self-determination, a lot of Greek pressure oh, and did I mention, a whole lot of Greek pressure.On the surface, this act seemed to be the peak of Venizelos' career. It was merely a stepping stone, potentially, for the realisation of a Greater Greek Empire which straddled the Hellespont. And yet, several problems lurked behin

My agora friends and others are going to be in New York for a special conference on 29th June - meet Mike Duncan, Kevin Stroud, David Crowther and more! Search Intelligent Speech Conference now!The story of Greece comes under our microscope at long last. Here we are introduced to a fascinating vision, yet another example of what might have been. Greater Greece was a project which appealed to many people outside the realm of Greece itself, and in this episode we will get to grips with the origins of the idea in Greek, but mostly in British foreign policy. It was in Britain, as we'll see, that some of the most enthusiastic supporters of an enormous Greek empire existed. This 'redeemed' Greece would expand its power and influence across the Hellespont, into Constantinople, into Anatolia, all over the Aegean, and virtually everywhere else that a smattering of Greek culture and history could said to have resided.We also recap in this episode how Greece got to this point. Greece was, in spite of what Premier Venize

The President Marshall arrives in London to take his seat alongside the big three in the Council of Eight, as a very exhausted SIR Alistair Tancred accompanies him. Awaiting Foch in London are several developments; the Minor Council continues to quarrel, the League of Nations is under severe threat, and the concerned nations prepare themselves to contribute men to the cause of Russian freedom, after a rocky start...**********The Delegation Game is possible because of your support and interest - make sure to spread the word, engage with the debate, and look at the different ways you can help this project succeed!->Become a delegate and play the Delegation Game for just $6 a month!->Support the podcast financially and access ad free episodes with transcripts from just $2 a month! ->Follow WDF on Twitter! ->Join the Facebook group!->Subscribe on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My agora friends and others are going to be in New York for a special conference on 29th June - meet Mike Duncan, Kevin Stroud, David Crowther and more! Search Intelligent Speech Conference now!Somehow, we managed to cram an hour of content in an episode that examines the 8-10 May 1919! That's because in that episode, a great deal happened which requires our attention, so sit down and relax as we talk about...Italy again??!! Well yes, but other issues too. How would the Germans respond to the peace terms? What plans did the allies have in place in the event that the Germans refused to accept? The two week deadline was ticking downwards, but considering all we've seen so far, it should be no surprise that sceptics and realists alike imagined that this two week deadline was not the final word...*******The Versailles Anniversary Project is possible because of your support and interest - make sure to spread the word, engage with the debate, and look at the different ways you can help this project succeed!->Vis

On this day 100 years ago, the Germans were finally presented with the treaty had been under construction for nearly five full months. What would they think of it? That remained to be seen, but in the process of handing this treaty to them, the German delegation, represented by Ulrich von Brockdorff-Rantzau, would be given a chance to speak while seated, before the entirety of the plenary conference on afternoon of 7th May 1919. It was a scene which the allies had never expected to behold, but as soon as the German foreign minister began talking, two things were clear. First, despite the fact that they hadn't got the treaty in their hot little hands, the Germans had tapped into the rumours which were swirling around, and they hadn't liked at all what they had gathered. Second, and arguably more importantly though, the spectre of the German foreign minister defying the allies and their treaty went down like a lead balloon. Brockdorff-Rantzau's performance, while in content was not explosive, in style it w

In our longest episode to date (and hopefully ever) we examine the incredible story of the first week of May 1919, by delving into primary sources never before used on a podcast, and rarely used in books! This delivers to us a narrative rich in detail and plainly, in length, but it is a necessary chapter to absorb in our story simply because it is so fascinating. The Italians, as is commonly known, walked out of the Peace Conference in the last week of April. Therefore, a reasonable history enthusiast might conclude that the big three would ignore them, and that they would spend more time talking about Germany instead, especially since the German delegation was present in Paris, and eagerly awaiting the moment when they would be handed that peace treaty which the allies had been working on for so many months by this point.And yet, an incredible truth of the 1-6 May 1919 is that, in spite of all of these facts which would recommend a speedy resolution of the German peace, and the conclusion of the first phase

The German delegation had arrived in Paris, but despite the confident exterior, Ulrich von Brockdorff-Rantzau would have known full well that all was not well back home. Germany was tottering on the edge of the abyss, and nowhere was this danger more acute than in the traditionally safe, conservative heartland of the Empire - Bavaria. What had led this second state of Germany to veer so far to the left, and so far from its old roots? Was there any hope for Bavaria, or was it destined to be another Budapest? Germans were determined that the answer should be nein, but the aftershocks of this trauma were not something that could be so easily contained...*******The Versailles Anniversary Project is possible because of your support and interest - make sure to spread the word, engage with the debate, and look at the different ways you can help this project succeed!->Visit the homeland for this new project!->Become a delegate and play the Delegation Game for just $6 a month!->Support the podcast financially

The 30th April was a strange day. It was barely a microcosm in the grand scheme of the Paris Peace Conference, and it was wedged awkwardly between the Italian walkout and the German arrival, not to mention the madcap adventures of the drafting committee, as hundreds of overworked printers and technicians worked to get the Treaty finished within 48 hours - the intended deadline at this stage. It is little wonder that the big three were busy then - they held no fewer than FIVE meetings on the same day. What did they have to show for it by the end? Some notes taken on the Italian feelings, the confirmation of Japanese intransigence over China, and French stubbornness over Alsace-Lorraine...and that was it! If the allies continued to work without working like this for the next few days, then it didn't look good for either the drafting committee, or the Peace Conference itself. As a new month dawned, the big three seemed more sluggish than ever...***********The Versailles Anniversary Project is possible because of

At long last, the German delegation has arrived in Paris, and resides in the exact same hotel where in 1871, the French government was forced to kowtow to Bismarck. What a coincidence! Leading the delegation was Ulrich von Brockdorff-Rantzau, a Wilhelmian German official of the old order, so it seemed. Brockdorff-Rantzau was the German Foreign Minister, and was utterly determined to get what he believed was Germany's just deserts - a peace treaty based on the Fourteen Points. Anything less than that, and he was bound to be unhappy. Yet, even as the German delegation arrived, a key problem was brought out into the open - the peace treaty STILL wasn't ready! This was far from the only problem which lay in store...***********The Versailles Anniversary Project is possible because of your support and interest - make sure to spread the word, engage with the debate, and look at the different ways you can help this project succeed!->Visit the homeland for this new project!->Become a delegate and play the Delega

OTD 100 years ago, perhaps the most infamous international organisation in history was officially blessed by the plenary conference of the Paris Peace Conference. This made it essentially impossible to ignore that institution, or to fail to bake it into the final Treaty of Versailles. And so it was done. Yet, at the time, on that eventful day, and in that stuffy room where the minor and major nations debated the pros and cons of the vision, there could be no way of predicting what this League of Nations would mean. It seemed, at its core, to represent hope. In this episode, I examine that moment when it was established. To men like Wilson, who had envisioned some version of this League since he had first left the United States in late 1918, it must have seemed like a dream come true, but even at this early stage, not everyone was convinced...*******The Versailles Anniversary Project is possible because of your support and interest - make sure to spread the word, engage with the debate, and look at the differe

As the Conference at London works towards several compromises, we tune in to some new arrivals, some storm conference scenes, and a weighted meeting between the President Marshal, Ferdinand Foch, and the delegation of British, Swiss and Spanish delegates sent to meet him. They would arrive in Foch's office uncertain of precisely what to expect, but they would leave with yet another proposal...*********The Delegation Game is possible because of your support and interest - make sure to spread the word, engage with the debate, and look at the different ways you can help this project succeed!->Become a delegate and play the Delegation Game for just $6 a month!->Support the podcast financially and access ad free episodes with transcripts from just $2 a month! ->Follow WDF on Twitter! ->Join the Facebook group!->Subscribe on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's time we cleared the air about reparations and war guilt, arguably the two most controversial elements of the Treaty of Versailles. Here, making use of studies long since ignored or forgotten, we unwrap the reality of the Germans were actually faced with, what the infamous articles actually said, and why the Germans determined, rather than face their mistakes, to make up a whole load of stuff about how unfair their lot was! It's a stunning tale of propaganda and deliberate duping, and may be one of the most revealing episodes we release, so have a listen!********The Versailles Anniversary Project is possible because of your support and interest - make sure to spread the word, engage with the debate, and look at the different ways you can help this project succeed!->Visit the homeland for this new project!->Become a delegate and play the Delegation Game for just $6 a month!->Support the podcast financially and access ad free episodes with transcripts from just $2 a month! ->Follow WDF on T

Here we take stock of the situation by the last week of April 1919 by focusing our microscope on two apparently unrelated, but hugely important issues – specifically the future of the Rhine, and the status of the city of Danzig. These two issues of the Rhineland and Danzig were intrinsically linked with the outbreak of the Second World War, and it is thus important in our narrative to establish where they came from. As we will learn here, not only did these two issues provide Hitler with different opportunities, they also represented, to Woodrow Wilson, an opportunity to send a unique message to the Italians...*********The Versailles Anniversary Project is possible because of your support and interest - make sure to spread the word, engage with the debate, and look at the different ways you can help this project succeed!->Visit the homeland for this new project!->Become a delegate and play the Delegation Game for just $6 a month!->Support the podcast financially and access ad free episodes with trans

On 24th April 1919, Italy left the Paris Peace Conference. This stunning development was a long time coming, and was a natural result of the behaviour of the big three. Notwithstanding the justness of Italy's demands, these demands had brought her into the war, and now that it was plain the allies would not listen, Vittorio Orlando felt he had little choice other than to call the allied bluff. It was a decision that had been predicted for some time, and though they had tried to avoid this rift widening between them, no member of the big three cried for Italy. Unfortunately though, while they did not cry for Italy, the allies found they could not escape her long shadow. Orlando's victory, if it could be called that, was that Italy's smell lingered long after she had gone. The walkout was a significant development either way though, and paved the way for later disasters and misunderstandings which all served to hamper the steady flow of the conference. It's a long and winding tale, but it's one I had a great ti

We finally turn our attention to Italy in this episode history friends, where the relationship of Vittorio Orlando with his peers in the big five comes under our microscope. What were Italy's demands? Why was Italy upset with how its interests had been received? Were these interests fair, or unjust altogether? How do we balance our innate repugnance at Italy's expansionist demands with the fair point that without those promises made to her, 500,000 of her men would still be alive, and 900,000 unwounded? It was quite a conundrum, and as the Italian government was beginning to fear, the allies were content to abandon this conundrum in favour of easier relations with the Americans. This was what the Italians feared, but they were not about to give up without a fight...*******The Versailles Anniversary Project is possible because of your support and interest - make sure to spread the word, engage with the debate, and look at the different ways you can help this project succeed!->Visit the homeland for this new

Hello dear listeners, this is a jack of all trades episode, which serves several purposes:It explains what the Suez Crisis was, and why you should be interested in it.It examined each one of the episodes, providing audio previews for most of themIt announces our Q&A episode due on 18th May - our 7th birthday, and I need your questions!It serves as a call to arms, for history friends everywhere, to support this show in whatever way you can, in the run up to that birthday.The best way to support this show monetarily is through Patreon, and while it has been said before, in this episode it is said again, just how important this financial support is, and how much of a difference you can make. In return you'll get far more than $5 gets you these days, as well as some awesome audio goodies and my eternal gratitude. Let's smash 300 patrons and make the long term of success of this show guaranteed, from just $1 a month!If you want to skip the Call to Arms in the beginning of the show, go to the timestamp of rough

Episode 12 of the game sees our focus hone in on one eventful day, 19th April 1919, where three separate meetings were held, and where dreams were debated and dashed. The Japanese put forward their long anticipated racial equality proposal - which you will have to vote for - and the dominions made their cases before a packed plenary council meeting. With Poincare present, as the Premier of France or shill of Foch depending on your perspective, the stage was set for some memorable exchanges and weighted debates. Then, at the last moment, a bombshell was dropped which promised to dramatically alter the future of Russia, Europe and the world! From the grave, the Tiger's roar could still be heard...*******The Delegation Game is possible because of your support and interest - make sure to spread the word, engage with the debate, and look at the different ways you can help this project succeed!->Become a delegate and play the Delegation Game for just $6 a month!->Support the podcast financially and access ad

You can order Tim's book here! Something very special for you indeed history friends! A mere days away from launch, the lovely Tim Bouverie joins us for a fascinating chat about his monumental book, Appeasing Hitler: Chamberlain, Churchill and the Road to War, available in all good book stores! To say this book is monumental is to do it an injustice - in fact, I would go as far as saying, if you read any book on the build up to the Second World War in your life, you must read this. Just like I have attempted to reimagine the outbreak of the Great War from Britain's perspective, so too does Tim here work hard to bring us a refreshed look at that infamous foreign policy device. But, it'd be wrong to pigeonhole his book, or this episode, as an examination of appeasement in the late 1930s. We certainly do that, but we delve deep into other matters as well - believe it or not, even the Treaty of Versailles and the Suez Crisis come up in our discussion, and how could they not? If you had the impression th