Radio War Nerd EP #119 — Chechen Guerrilla Songs + Polish-Soviet War

Combing through Caucasus-related episodes while reading Sabres of Paradise, an imperfect but interesting account of the Murid wars and Imam Shamyl. Apparently a big influence on Frank Herbert for Dune!

Good episode, good music, but cruel cruel tease. I have been waiting since day one for a 3 hour grindhouse special: Chechen War I and Chechen War II. This behind the music just felt like the special features dvd.

With respect to Lenin's apology to the Polish activist who warned him that the Polish peasants would not back the Soviets, Lenin had clearly not learned from experience. From his writings (Revolution at the Gates: Zizek on Lenin, the 1917 Writings - Slavoj Zizek) Lenin was shocked when the German workers followed their flags rather than socialist sentiment at the outbreak of the first world war. Marx warned during the Franco-Prussian war that gains and losses made by military means would have consequences down the line, yet even within his own family, national prejudices were not far from the surface at that time - Karl Marx by Francis Wheen pp324. I can understand Pilsudski's rejection of Socialism if he was trying to build a nationalist state. Socialism requires solidarity among workers across borders. It may not always (if ever) materialise but if you want a them-and-us kind of state, socialism is probably not for you.

Hi! DeGaulle had already fought in WW1. Even became a PoW and spent some time of the War in a PoW Camp. Legend says that there he met a Russian officer with whom he became friend. The Russian officer was Tukhachevsky.

You never really cared much about the revolutionary war?

Benjamin Franklin <a href="http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/letter-to-peter-collinson/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">worried about people from shithole countries</a> long before either Wilson or Trump: <i>I am perfectly of your mind, that measures of great Temper are necessary with the Germans: and am not without Apprehensions, that thro’ their indiscretion or Ours, or both, great disorders and inconveniences may one day arise among us; Those who come hither are generally of the most ignorant Stupid Sort of their own Nation[...]Not being used to Liberty, they know not how to make a modest use of it; and as Kolben says of the young Hottentots, that they are not esteemed men till they have shewn their manhood by beating their mothers, so these seem to think themselves not free, till they can feel their liberty in abusing and insulting their Teachers.</i>

Killer tunes! Really enjoyed "The Night When The Wolves Were Born" Thanks for another great episode!

how about an episode on the siege of Königsberg?

Anybody know if RWN ever did an episode on the pre-American Civil War border war in Kansas + maybe on John Brown's raid? I could've sworn I saw an episode like that once and now I can't find it

'Tanks are nothing to worry about for well-trained cavalry' was, indeed, true. First of the idea of 'Polish cavalry charging German tanks' is very effective, but ultimatly untrue German propaganda. In the situation in question Polish cavalry had, successfully, charged a German Infantry Regiment (the 76th if memory serves) when German tanks moved into the area and chased the Polish cavalry off by MG fire. But by this point Polish cavalry functioned as mounted infantry with their AT assets, tankettes and absolutly capable of standing against a German tank force of equal size, with German tanks being thin-skinned, under-gunned, mostly blind without infantry support.

Great interveiw. Dolan's poetry corner is a hell of a thing.

The song "when wolfs were born" is the actual song of the Ichkerian republic written by Ali Dimaev (originally from an old Chechen poem). The song was originally in Chechen but Mucuraev sang it in Russian.

The war nerd's comment about "Platoon" and why people fight made me wonder whether he has ever heard of SLAM. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.L.A._Marshall" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.L.A._Marshall</a>