
Lions Led By Donkeys Podcast
The Lions Led By Donkeys podcast is a military history podcast for laughing at the worst military failures, inept commanders, and crazy stories from throughout the history of human conflict.
Our podcast will always be free, but if you think what we do is worth a buck you can throw us one here:
https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys
Latest episodes

Jun 2, 2025 • 1h 9min
Episode 365 - The War of the Oaken Bucket
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In which the casus belli of two 14th-century Italian city states going to war was, in popular consciousness at least, the theft of a town's wooden bucket. Some Germans get involved as well.
Sources used:
https://allthatsinteresting.com/war-of-the-bucket
https://www.historynet.com/what-we-learned-from-the-battle-of-zappolino-1325/
https://militaryhistorynow.com/2020/10/18/beyond-the-pail-the-unbelievable-war-for-the-oaken-bucket-2/
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/bloodiest-medieval-war-fought-bucket.html
http://www.zappolino.it/battaglia.htm

May 29, 2025 • 10min
*PREVIEW* History of Armenia 40: Armenicum, the Fake HIV Drug Invented By Armenia
This is a preview. Support the show on Patreon for the whole thing:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/history-of-40-by-130083617

May 25, 2025 • 1h 16min
Episode 364 - The Pastry War
Come see us live in London June 22nd:
https://bigbellycomedy.club/event/lions-led-by-donkeys-podcast-live-big-fat-festival-southbank/
A conflict breaks out between a newly independent Mexico and a newly back-to-having-kings France. It culminates in a small series of armed incursions and blockades in 1838-39. Did it start because of an aggrieved French baker? Did Napoleon’s armies advance the science of military optics because their commander wanted to look at feet? In this episode (the first one where Nate has researched, written, and hosted), we get to the bottom of the semi-apocryphal Pastry War.
Sources:
Atwater, James D.; Ruiz, Ramon Eduardo. "Out from Under: Benito Juárez and the Struggle for Mexican Independence." Doubleday: Garden City, N.Y., 1969.
Muñoz, Rafael Felipe. "Santa Anna, el dictador resplandeciente." Fondo de Cultura Económica: Mexico, 1982.
Penot, Jacques. "L'expansion commerciale française au Mexique et les causes du conflit franco-mexicain de 1838-1839." Bulletin Hispanique 75-1-2, 1973. pp. 169-201
Toussaint, Éric. "Le système dette : Histoire des dettes souveraines et de leur répudiation." Les Liens qui libèrent: Paris, 2017.

May 21, 2025 • 10min
*PREVIEW* Zhang Zhongchang, The Dogmeat General
This is a preview. For the full episode support the show on Patreon by using the link below:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/129495255?pr=true

May 19, 2025 • 10min
*PREVIEW* Lions Led By Robots 15: The G Gundam Finale
We finally did it! Thank you for joining us on this very stupid journey.
GET THE REST OF THE EPISODE HERE:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/128927315
COME SEE US LIVE IN LONDON JUNE 22ND
bigbellycomedy.club/event/lions-led…ival-southbank/

May 19, 2025 • 1h 33min
Episode 363 - The 1977 Dutch Train Hijacking
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A Moluccan terror group took over a train in the Netherlands, leading to the longest train hijacking in history. It only ends when Dutch Commandos launch one of the worst rescue operations in European history.
Sources:
https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9789048555796-004/html?lang=en&srsltid=AfmBOopTs6kSVyzglNe9ZE0NzwO_2weL5McjhDU6iWQ3mOsH7_gDPyjF
https://www.sbs.com.au/language/dutch/en/article/40-years-on-questions-remain-the-extraordinary-story-of-the-1977-dutch-train-siege/4y5ex2171
https://nltimes.nl/2017/05/30/dutch-govt-releases-transcriptions-1977-train-hijacking
https://www.dutchnews.nl/2018/07/court-clears-marines-for-killings-in-1977-moluccan-train-hijacking/
https://www.historischnieuwsblad.nl/hansina-uktolseja-1955-1977/
https://www.nytimes.com/1977/06/16/archives/20day-ordeal-aboard-the-hijacked-dutch-train-as-described-by-those.html
https://nltimes.nl/2018/07/25/dutch-state-accountable-1977-train-hijackers-deaths-court-rules
https://nltimes.nl/2018/05/08/moluccan-train-hijackers-die-new-witnesses-say
https://web.archive.org/web/20070716051414/http://www.nrc.nl/binnenland/article721950.ece/Herdenking_voor_kapers_van_trein_bij_De_Punt_1977_
https://www.delpher.nl/nl/kranten/view?query=Treinkaping+bij+De+Punt&page=7&sortfield=datedesc&cql%5B%5D=%28dategte+%2201-01-1977%22%29&cql%5B%5D=%28datelte+%2231-12-1977%22%29&coll=ddd&redirect=true&identifier=ddd:010959646:mpeg21:a0156&resultsidentifier=ddd:010959646:mpeg21:a0156&rowid=2
https://nltimes.nl/2014/11/20/unarmed-hijackers-killed-train-hijacking
https://www.dutchnews.nl/2017/10/marines-in-court-over-shooting-of-activists-in-1977-de-punt-train-hijacking/
https://apnews.com/general-news-b390fa1dad6147ab9179c262a49f80b4
https://time.com/archive/6848782/terrorists-the-commandos-strike-at-dawn/

May 12, 2025 • 1h 12min
Episode 362 - Task Force Baum
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George Patton launches a very badly thought-out mission to rescue his son-in-law from a POW camp.
Sources:
http://oflag64.us/ewExternalFiles/whitaker-richard-tfb-article.pdf
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/costly-failure-pattons-raid-liberate-hammelburg
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-ii/task-force-baum-george-pattons-controversial-mission-to-rescue-his-son-in-law-from-a-pow-camp.html
https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/witnessing-pattons-failure-a-prisoners-view-of-the-task-force-baum-raid/

May 7, 2025 • 10min
*PREVIEW* The Insane First Pilots of the US Postal Service ft. Josh Boerman
GET THE REST OF THE EPISODE HERE:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/128348764?pr=true
COME SEE US LIVE IN LONDON JUNE 22ND
https://bigbellycomedy.club/event/lions-led-by-donkeys-podcast-live-big-fat-festival-southbank/

May 5, 2025 • 1h 18min
Episode 361 - The K Class Submarine and the Battle of May Island
SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON:
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Come see us live in London June 22nd:
https://bigbellycomedy.club/event/lions-led-by-donkeys-podcast-live-big-fat-festival-southbank/
Once upon a time, the British Navy built one of the worst submarines ever put to sea and then promptly smashed them into one another repeatedly.
Sources:
N.S Nash. K Boat Catastrophe: Eight Ships and Five Collisions.
Edwyn Gray. Disasters of the Deep: A Comprehensive Survey of Submarine Accidents & Disasters
Anthony Preston. World's Worst Warships
https://web.archive.org/web/20150924120339/http://www.public.navy.mil/subfor/underseawarfaremagazine/issues/archives/issue_49/KforKatastrophe.html
https://www.westernfrontassociation.com/world-war-i-articles/the-battle-of-may-island-january-1917-and-k-class-submarines-of-the-first-world-war/

Apr 28, 2025 • 1h 39min
Episode 360 - The Armenian Genocide: Part 4
The hosts dive into the Armenian Genocide, intertwining humor with a poignant reflection on cultural erasure and survivor struggles. They investigate the strategic significance of the Incirlik Air Base and its ties to the genocide. The discussion extends to the moral dilemmas of historical figures and critiques the narratives surrounding complicity in atrocities. With a blend of serious themes and light-hearted anecdotes, they encourage critical thinking about overlooked history and the ongoing fight for recognition of past injustices.