The Battle of Waterloo

Dan Snow's History Hit

History Hit

History

4.7 • 12.9K Ratings

🗓️ 17 June 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Dan is joined by his dad, veteran broadcaster Peter Snow, to tell the incredible story of the clash between Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington on June 18, 1815. This showdown shattered Napoleon’s dreams of empire and redrew the map of Europe. Packed with heroic last stands, strategic genius, and catastrophic missteps, Waterloo was a battle that changed everything in just one day.

This episode marks exactly 10 years of Dan Snow's History Hit, and in it, Dan and Peter reflect on the very first episode of the podcast they did together and everything that has come since.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore

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Transcript

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0:00.0	In our new season of This Is History, prepare yourself for a tale of the ultimate frenemies.
0:05.0	Two cousins locked in a bitter fight for power, from boyhood companions to deadly rivals.
0:10.6	This is the story of King Richard II, who becomes a magnificent but murderous tyrant.
0:16.0	His nemesis, a dashing nobleman famous across the world.
0:19.4	It's his cousin, Henry Bollingbrook.
0:21.5	Will Henry be the man to stop him?
0:23.4	The story continues.
0:24.9	Join me, Dan Jones, on This Is History, a dynasty to die for.
0:28.2	Available wherever you get your podcasts.
0:32.9	Hi, folks. Welcome to Dan Snow's history hit.
0:37.4	The reason I'm giggling slightly is because I've been told
0:39.5	that I've now said that 1,649 times because today marks exactly 10 years since I've started doing
0:49.5	this podcast. It all began in June 2015, back before podcasts were really a thing, before my youngest child
0:58.1	existed when Obama was in the White House, Britain was in the EU, Queen Elizabeth was on
1:02.9	the throne, before the pandemic, a different world. I mean, she and Putin were in power,
1:08.6	well, you know, not everything's changed.
1:16.4	I recorded an episode, and it was just me and my dad in a cheap hotel room,
1:17.8	and we went straight to a subject.
1:19.0	We knew pretty well.
1:20.8	And that was the Battle of Waterloo.
1:23.5	We just written a book about it for the 200th anniversary.
1:27.8	And our setup was certainly a little more primitive than it is now.
	...

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