
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

Feb 17, 2025 • 1h 24min
Episode 350 - The Modoc War
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Once upon a time, the US went to war against a small tribe in the pacific northwest, and, despite winning due to the massive power imbalance, they managed to get their asses kicked the entire time.
Sources:
Arthur Quinn. Hell With the Fire Out: A History of the Modoc War
Terry Johnston. Devil's Backbone: The Modoc War, 1872–3
Robert McNally. The Modoc War: A Little Indian War Goes Big https://www.historynet.com/the-modoc-war-a-little-indian-war-goes-big/
Kurt Nelson. The Modoc War of 1872.
https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/the-modoc-war-of-1872/
https://www.militarymuseum.org/Modoc1.html
https://www.csuchico.edu/alva/projects/2012/the-beginning-of-the-end.shtml
https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/labe/intro.htm

Feb 10, 2025 • 1h 9min
Episode 349 - The Battle of the Kalka River ft. Milo Edwards
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https://www.patreon.com/c/lionsledbydonkeys
Joe and Tom are joined by Trashfuture's Milo Edwards to talk about the time a bunch of guys named Mstislav got destroyed by the Mongols.
Sources:
Leo De Hertog. Genghis Khan: Conqueror of the World.
Richard Gabriel. Subotai The Valiant: Genghis Khan's Greatest General.
The Chronicle of Novgorod. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://faculty.washington.edu/dwaugh/rus/texts/MF1914.pdf
Victor Kamenir. Russian Disaster at the Kalkha River. Military Heritage. Vol 20, no. 6
Robert Rossabi. All the Khan's Horses.

Feb 5, 2025 • 10min
*PREVIEW* The Mutiny of the Batavia: Part 1
This is a preview. For the whole episode go to our patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/121558125?pr=true

Feb 3, 2025 • 1h 27min
Episode 348 - The Battle of Cape Gloucester
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Marines storm ashore a rainforest-bound, diseased-filled, swampy death trap of an island
to take an airfield with no strategic value.
Sources:
Bernard Nalty. The Green Inferno.
Frank Hough. The Campaign on New Britain
John Miller. History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II. Volume II: Isolation of Rabaul
Al Hemingway. The Incessant Rains of the Green Inferno. WWII History Volume 9, No. 7
Sidney Phillips. The Fighting Conditions on Cape Gloucester. (video interview) https://marinesidphillips.com/sid-phillips-on-capegloucester.htm

Jan 27, 2025 • 1h 22min
Episode 347 - The Shinmiyangyo Incident ft. The Worst of All Possible Worlds
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Check out The Worst of All Possible Worlds:
https://www.worstpossible.world
Joe is joined by the cast of The Worst of All Possible Worlds to talk about the time the US attempted to open Korea with gunboat diplomacy in 1871.
Sources:
Thomas Duvernay. Sinmiyangyo: The 1871 Conflict Between the United States and Korea
Eric Niderost. Military Heritage Magazine. August 2002. Vol 4, no. 1
http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20100407175236/http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/marine_amphib_korea.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20041011181532/http://www.kimsoft.com/2000/sherman.htm
https://hsp.org/blogs/hidden-histories/the-other-korean-war-a-little-known-conflict-in-american-history

Jan 20, 2025 • 1h 21min
Episode 346 - The Shimabara Rebellion: Part 3
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The conclusion to our series on the Shimabara Rebellion!

Jan 15, 2025 • 13min
*PREVIEW* The Fu-Go Balloon Bombs of WWII ft. Dr. Patrick Wyman
This is a preview. To listen to the entire episode support the show on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/120043217?pr=true

Jan 13, 2025 • 60min
Episode 345 - The Shimabara Rebellion: Part 2
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Part 2/3

Jan 8, 2025 • 10min
*PREVIEW* Lions Led By Robots 12: Send in the Clowns!
This is a preview. For the entire episode, support the show on Patreon!
https://www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-lions-led-119556306

Jan 6, 2025 • 1h 9min
Episode 345 - The Shimabara Rebellion: Part 1
Support the show on Patreon and get the second part in this series right now!
https://www.patreon.com/posts/early-episode-2-119362620
Check out the merch store!
https://llbdmerch.com/
*Correction*
Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered the invasion of Korea, not Tokugawa Hideyoshi.
Once upon a time in Japan, shitty landlords, high taxes, and religious persecution united a diverse band of Christians, Samurai, Ronin, and farmers under the leadership of a teenager, believed to be an Apostle, in order to rise up against the Lords of Shimabara and the Shogun himself.
Part 1/3
Sources for this series:
Robert Bellah. Tokugawa Religion.
Ivan Morris. The nobility of failure: tragic heroes in the history of Japan
Jonathan Clements. Christ’s Samurai: The True Story of the Shimabara Rebellion