Hanchuk Targets History

The Battle of Bannockburn took place June 23-24, 1314, with the army of Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, fighting the army of King Edward II of England.  It is one of Scotland's most celebrated victories.

Operation Chastise, which is better known as the Dambusters Raid, took place on the night of May 16, 1943 during World War II.  It was a daring RAF attack on German dams in the Ruhr Valley using some rather unique bombs.

The Battles of Frenchtown and the subsequent River Raisin Massacre took place January 18-23, 1813 around the Frenchtown settlement in what is present-day Monroe, Michigan.  It happens to be the deadliest fight to ever take place on Michigan soil, and had the highest loss of American lives for any battle during the War of 1812.

A little known event in the life of a well-known historical figure.  The Battle of Fort Necessity took place on July 3, 1754, and marks the first military action seen by a young colonial officer named George Washington.  It's also the battle that is credited with starting the French and Indian War.

Today's episode talks about the famous clash that brought about an end to the Wars of the Roses and ushered in the Tudor dynasty - the Battle of Bosworth Field, which took place on August 22, 1485.

The Battle of Valmy took place on September 20, 1792.  It is one of the early battles of the French Revolution .  Though not as well-known as some later battles, it has heroics, a questionable military decision, and is highly significant to the further development of the revolution.

On January 15, 1919, a tank holding around 2.3 million gallons of molasses collapsed in Boston's North End neighborhood flooding the streets.  Although it sounds like an amusing historical anecdote, it was actually a large disaster that killed and injured many.

In this episode, Hanchuk talks about World War I and the Battle of Lake Tanganyika, which was actually a series of naval engagements between December 1915 and July 1916.  Apart from being significant to the war's central African theater, it also served as the inspiration for a novella and classic motion picture.

In this lengthy episode, Hanchuk talks about what is, perhaps, the most famous shootout of the American old west - the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

During World War II, the Allies staged Operation Overlord, the amphibious invasion of the Normandy area of France.  What few people realize is that a second amphibious invasion, this time in the south of France, took place a few months later.  This was Operation Dragoon, and this episode talks about that forgotten event.

During the Korean War, the commander of the United Nations forces was General Douglas MacArthur - at least until April of 1951 when President Harry Truman decided to fire him.  In this episode, Hanchuk talks about the circumstances that led to MacArthur's removal.

The Third Servile War was a slave revolt from 73-71 BC in the time of the Roman Republic.  Few people know it by name, but most have heard of one of its leaders - Spartacus.

The United States flag is perhaps one of the most recognizable national flags in the world.  In this episode, Hanchuk takes a brief look at how this well-known symbol of America came to be.

The Aleutian Islands stretch across the northern Pacific and are part of Alaska.  One of the forgotten battles of World War II is when Japan invaded and occupied two of them.  The United States, of course, responded by taking those islands back.  In this episode, Hanchuk takes the listener through the planning, attack, and outcome of the campaign.

The 1919 Treaty of Versailles was the formal peace treaty ending World War I between the Allies and Germany.  To be blunt, it was a poor treaty, but not for the reasons most people think.  In this episode, Hanchuk debunks some common notions about the treaty and argues the real reasons that it resulted in a flawed peace.

In the 1430s, Johannes Gutenberg perfected the process of moveable type printing.  This led to a printing revolution that had a profound effect on society from that point forward.  In this episode, Hanchuk talks about how it all happened.

On June 18, 1815, Napoleon suffered his final defeat at the epic Battle of Waterloo.  In this episode, Hanchuk talks about what led up to it and how the battle played out.

We all know, of course, that World War I was a world-wide war.  But what we often forget is that it was a total war as well.  In this quick episode, Hanchuk talks about what was happening on the home front.

When one thinks of the French Revolution, especially the Reign of Terror, the guillotine immediately comes to mind.  In this episode, Hanchuk traces the history of this well-known execution device - heads will roll.