The Sword of Allah refers to Khalid ibn al-Walid, the prophet Mohammad's top general. Khalid commanded over 100 battles and never lost, making him the most undefeated general in history. He usually fought in the front lines either as a cavalry commander or as a champion dueler. This is the first of a two-part episode. This part will cover Khalid's conquest of Byzantine Syria:

Some famous battles on the Syrian front include: Bosra, Ajnadayn, and Damascus. The Siege of Damascus saw the first use of Khalid's unit of elite cavalrymen, the Mobile Guard. However, the greatest battle in the theater was the Battle of Yarmouk. Khalid had removed from command by Umar (Abu Bakr's successor) but he still had operational command because the nominal commander respected him so much. The Battle of Yarmouk was fought between 100,000 Byzantines and 30,000 Arabs along a battle line 12 miles long. After a series of significant duels (including one where Khalid personally persuaded an enemy commander to convert to Islam), the main battle began. For the first few days, it was a stalemate. Eventually, though, Khalid managed to maneuver his cavalry all the way around the Byzantines and flank them.

Soon after the battle, Umar, who believed that Khalid was gaining too much power, removed Khalid from command completely.

For more information, read:
Dictionary of Battles by David Chandler
http://www.ezsoftech.com/islamic/ohod.asp
http://islambyquestions.net/moreAbout/Hunayn.htm
http://islam.pakistanway.com/showtopic.aspx?topicid=266&typeid=25
http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Articles/companion/10_abu_bakr.htm
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9045249/Khalid-ibn-al-Walid
http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Articles/companion/00_abu_bakr.htm
http://www.islamicawakening.com/viewarticle.php?articleID=1206
http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/muslimwars/articles/yarmuk.aspx

Military History Podcast is sponsored by Armchair General Magazine

The Sword of Allah refers to Khalid ibn al-Walid, the prophet Mohammad's top general.  Khalid commanded over 100 battles and never lost, making him the most undefeated general in history.  He usually fought in the front lines either as a cavalry commander or as a champion dueler.  This is the first of a two-part episode.  This part will cover Khalid's conquests of Arabia and Persia:

Khalid ibn al-Walid originally fought with the Meccan Quraiysh tribe against Mohammad and the Muslims.  However, he converted after the Battle of the Trench and joined the forces of Mohammad.  His first campaign as a Muslim commander was into Ghassanid Territory to fight the Battle of Mutah, in which he led an expert retreat after the first three Muslim commanders were killed.  His second campaign involved attacking south and east in order to conquer the Arabian Peninsula.  He participated in the conquest of Mecca and in the Battle of Hunayn. 

After Mohammad's death, Abu Bakr took over and formed the Rashidun Caliphate (the first of three great Islamic Empires with the other two being the Umayyad and Abbasid Dynasties).  Khalid led the campaign to reconquer all the tribes that left the Muslim confederation after Mohammad's death.  Specifically, he commanded the Muslims at the Battle of Yamama, which was fought against the "liar prophet", Musailima.

After the Arabian Peninsula was retaken, Khalid was put in charge of the Rashidun invasion of Iraq (which was held by the Sassanid Persians).  Some of the famous battles of the invasion include the Battle of Chains, the Battle of Ullais, the Battle of Hira, and the Battle of Al-Anbar.  However, the most famous is the Battle of Walaja, which is known as the eastern Battle of Cannae because of Khalid's successful double envelopment of the Persians.  To this day, Khalid and Hannibal are the only ones to pull this off against a numerically superior force.  The Battle of Firaz is also important because Khalid defeated a Persian army ten times his own (in numbers). 

The second part of this episode will cover Khalid's exploits in Syria.

For more information, read:
Dictionary of Battles by David Chandler
http://www.ezsoftech.com/islamic/ohod.asp
http://islambyquestions.net/moreAbout/Hunayn.htm
http://islam.pakistanway.com/showtopic.aspx?topicid=266&typeid=25
http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Articles/companion/10_abu_bakr.htm
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9045249/Khalid-ibn-al-Walid
http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Articles/companion/00_abu_bakr.htm
http://www.islamicawakening.com/viewarticle.php?articleID=1206
http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/muslimwars/articles/yarmuk.aspx

Military History Podcast is sponsored by Armchair General Magazine

Warsaw is the capital of Poland.  It's motto is "Contemnit Procellas", which means "it defies the storms".  It is a fitting motto because Warsaw continues to be the site of many uprisings, rebellions, and power shifts.  Two of them were especially devastating:

• Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (1943): Led by Mordecai Anielewicz of the ZOB and the ZZW.  1000 Jewish resistance fighters vs. 2842 German SS forces.  Jews are defeated, and deportations to extermination camps continue. 
  
• Warsaw Uprising (1944): The largest underground movement in all of WWII.  Poland's attempt to assist the Allied war effort and make a statement to the USSR that they are not interested in being occupied.  The Polish Home Army (AK) manages to hold off the Germans for a while but, without Russian or Western assistance, the resistance crumbles.

Eventually, the war ended and Poland became part of the Warsaw Pact (signed in Warsaw).  45 years later, Poland would be the first country to revolt from Soviet rule.  Warsaw is now the 8th most populous city in the EU.

For more information, read:
http://www.polishresistance-ak.org/Main%20Page.htm
http://www.historynet.com/magazines/world_war_2/3032951.html?page=6&c=y
http://www.achtungpanzer.com/pol/kubus.htm

Military History Podcast is sponsored by Armchair General Magazine

The Defense Department's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) was founded in 1958 in order to ensure that the science gap remained in the US's favor.  Many great empires, such as the Mongols, Chinese, Ottomans, Mughals, and later, the Soviets, fell from grace because they missed out on major military revolutions, such as the Gunpowder Revolution, the Two Industrial Revolutions, and the Information Revolution.  America was determined to not let it happen to them. 

Since its creation in 1958, DARPA has been at the forefront of technology and innovation.  It's inventions since 1958 include:

• Satellites
• GPS
• M-16 Rifle
• ARPANET (predecessor to the Internet)
• Stealth Fighters (F-117, B-2, F-22)
• Cruise Missiles
• UAVs (Predator, Global Hawk)
• UGVs (SWORDS, TALON, Packbot)

DARPA now focuses on nine major areas:

• Robust, Secure, Self-Forming Networks
• Detection, Precision ID, Tracking, and Destruction of Elusive Targets
• Urban Area Operations
• Advanced Manned and Unmanned Systems
• Detection, Characterization, and Assessment of Underground Structures
• Space
• Increasing the Tooth To Tail Ratio
• Biorevolution
• Core Technologies

Many of its current "Revolution in Military Affairs" projects fall under the Future Combat Systems Program.  This includes the Future Warrior battlesuit that can change color, carry more, become harder than kevlar, heal the user, connect directly back to the command post, sense dangers, change temperatures, and reinforce human muscles.

For more information, read:
http://www.darpa.mil/
War Made New by Max Boot
Foreign Affairs (January 2007): The Real Meaning of Military Transformation
Foreign Affairs (July 2006): The Military’s Manpower Crisis

Military History Podcast is sponsored by Armchair General Magazine

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