Epic History Newsletter #22 (Patreon)

Dear Patrons,

After kicking off 2025 with the Battle of Trafalgar, there are plenty of projects in full swing and new videos on the horizon. Here are your latest updates on the production pipeline and our 3D video poll result!

New 3D Video Poll Result

Military topography won the first round, and World War One's Western Front has won the second round with a convincing 42% of the vote. Thanks to all the 429 Citizen-Patrons who took part!

Originally, 'the Western Front' was going to be a general guide to trench layouts, bunkers, communication trenches etc. But a few Patrons mentioned Verdun in the comments (shoutout to TankerBricks, Andrew Herbst), and I've decided this is a much better idea! So this has now become 'The Battle of Verdun in 3D'. That's all we know at the moment, but obviously we'll be paying particular attention to places like Fort Douamount, which I was lucky to enough to visit a few years ago. Verdun is really a battlefield like no other, and a battle like no other. We hope we can do it justice in three dimensions.. updates in due course.

Production Updates

American Revolution Episode 1

Work is well advanced on Episode 1, which sets the scene in Britain's American colonies, and charts the escalating conflict between Patriots and Parliament up to the Boston Tea Party. Aiming for a mid-February release.

Rise of China Episode 2

Hot on its heels, will be the second part of our China series, covering the rise of Chiang Kai-shek, victory over the warlords, civil war with the Communists... and invasion by the Japanese.

Also - many thanks to all the Patrons who offered feedback and assistance on Episode 1, particularly our hunt for original Chinese quotations, and our efforts at Mandarin pronunciation! We have now uploaded an improved version - with adjusted pronunciation and small factual corrections - on the original Patreon post.

World War Two

WW2 has been on a back-burner while we clear the decks of other projects, but work is now progressing on Episode 1. This covers 1931 - 34, and charts the impact of the Great Depression, the rise of the Nazis, the Italian war in Libya, the election of FDR, political assassinations in Japan.... let's just say, it's wide-ranging.

One Cool History Thing

This week we've been reading about the latest discoveries at Pompeii, including a huge private bathhouse. You might recall James writing about his visit to a full scale replica of a Roman villa last year... well this new find is so well-preserved it looks like it could have been built yesterday. In fact, archaeologists found tools and building materials within the property, showing that it was mid-renovation when disaster struck. It's a real snapshot in time, summed up nicely by one of the archaeologists, Dr Alessandro Russo, speaking about the coins and jewellery discovered alongside two skeletons:

"When we find this kind of object, the distance from ancient times and modern times disappears and we can touch a small piece of the life of these people who died in the eruption."

That's everything for this week. Thanks as always for your incredible support and we look forward to bringing you more updates soon!

Toby