Epic History Newsletter #34 (Patreon)

Dear Patron,

If you've had a look at the Epic History Blackboard lately, you'll know February is going to be a packed month - we're hoping to bring you no less than four premieres in four weeks! That leaves less time for newsletter writing, so let's get straight to the updates.

Production Updates

World War Two - 1938

We're already editing our next episode, which focuses on the year that promised 'peace in our time', but may actually have made World War Two inevitable. We'll cover Hitler's annexation of Austria, the Sudetenland crisis and Neville Chamberlain's desperate attempts to avoid another European war. Meanwhile in China, the biggest battle of the war rages around the city of Wuhan. Its outcome will have major implications for Japanese strategy.

Battle of Verdun Part 1

We're currently animating 3D scenes, including a model of Verdun's most famous fort, and gathering archive footage and photos for this two-part series. We're hoping we can get this all ready for 21st February - the 110th anniversary of the battle - but it will be a close run thing..

Hundred Days Episode 1

Also in animation - the first episode of our Hundred Days series. The opening part will focus on Napoleon's escape from Elba, his march on Paris and preparations for war, and will end as French troops cross the frontier. British historian Dr Zack White is our historical consultant for this series - some of you may know him from his excellent Napoleonic Wars podcast!

ULTRA Part 3

The penultimate episode of our ULTRA series will round off February's releases. Bletchley Park's codebreakers face a seemingly impossible challenge when the Kriegsmarine introduces a new version of Enigma, while the war against Axis forces in North Africa may hinge on Bletchley Park decrypts.

Also in February - look out for Rise of China All Parts - a 4k, 3 hour compilation released to mark Chinese New Year!

As some of you will have seen, the YouTube channel passed 3 million subscribers this week. We want to say a special thank you to every Patreon supporter, because you are a major part of the reason we've made it to this milestone. We shared this image on social media - obviously, being the internet, some people missed the point that we were gently satirising AI image generation, not endorsing it! - but we know you are a more sophisticated audience.. How many mistakes can you spot?

Finally, just a reminder that Patrons are charged 'per creation' - that is, per new video - and that you can set a monthly limit on your contributions. February looks set to be a busy month, so please do put a limit in place via your Patreon member settings if that suits your budget. There will, of course, be quieter months!

That's all for this newsletter. Once again, thank you for your amazing support as we look forward to an exciting February.

Toby