Category: Greece

Dmitar Tasic interview about his WWI and 1920s military history book “Paramilitarism in the Balkans” (Oxford University Press, 2020)

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Dmitar Tasic interview about his WWI and 1920s military history book “Paramilitarism in the Balkans”

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3jlpFQP

Interview Timeline

Dmitar Tasic studies and teaches Balkan history. He’s recently published a book on his studies of the paramilitary groups that existed in Yugoslavia and surrounding regions during WWI and into the 1920s. We spoke about the subject and the book.

(THE AUDIO PLAYER IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST.)

0:45- Dmitar explains how he got interested in paramilitarism in the Balkans.

2:27 – Dmitar explains why the book covers 1917 to 1924.

6:01 – Dmitar defines paramilitary in this situation.

9:00 – Dmitar talks about the gear of paramilitary forces.

13:17 – Dmitar talks about the type of men who became paramilitaries.

16:04 – Dmitar talks about the organization of these groups and casualty numbers.

21:18 – Dmitar discusses how much democracy there was in these paramilitary organization.

25:42 – Dmitar talks about how Ottoman rule affected the development of these paramilitary forces.

31:00 – Dmitar talks about Ottoman reprisals against [the] uprisings.

33:17 – Dmitar talks how these groups were provided weapons and gear.

36:21 – Dmitar talks about what resources he used for his research.

38:07 – Dmitar talks about some of the research difficulties he had in his research because of the communist regimes.

42:24 – Dmitar talks about reading police reports about paramilitary events. He also discusses how these organizations were able to accommodate themselves with state support.

50:05 – Dmitar talks about the social activities of these groups.

54:55 – Dmitar talks about being impressed by their physical and mental strength.

1:04:33 – Dmitar can be found on academia.edu.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/3jlpFQP

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/paramilitarism-in-the-balkans-9780198858324?cc=us&lang=en&

Contact Information

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar and on Instagram @crisalvarezwarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify Please see historyrabbithole.com for a list of my dozen or so blogs and podcasts. You’re sure to find something you like.

Guests: Dmitar Tasic

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: Books, audio interviews, author, academic, podcast, Oxford University Press, Modern War, 

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/3jlpFQP

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Ancient Greek warfare military history book – “Greek Warfare beyond the Polis” – (Cornell University Press, 2020) – David Blome interview

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Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2RPMPDo

David Blome became interested in Ancient Greek warfare while in the Marine Corps. He later earned his doctorate degree while also doing archaeological research in Greece. His first book is on Ancient Greek warfare and we discussed his work.

1:01 – David talks about how his interest in Ancient Greek warfare started when he was in the Marine Corps and he read the Iliad.

3:16 – David talks about the focus of the book on the classical period.

4:16 – David talks about upland Greeks versus lowland Greek.

5:58 – David talks about how he incorporated military history into Greece’s mountainous regions.

7:52 – David talks about what was usual and unusual in Greek warfare.

10:40 – David talks about military activities at night.

13:50 – David talks about the two types of heroes in Greek literature. He discusses how different groups lived their lives.

16:19 – David talks about other differences in military approaches in Greek culture.

18:04 – David talks about hierarchy in the Greek military.

19:49 – David touches on naval warfare and Homer’s catalogue of Greek ships.

22:12 – David talks about differences in weapons, armor, and food.

24:45 – David talks about the differences in crop availability in different parts of Greece and where people can maneuver in the mountains.

27:09 – David talks about the lack of fortifications during the classical period.

30:19 – David talks about how territorial lines were established in classical Greece.

32:10 – David talks about the resources and archaeological evidence he used for his research.

35:02 – David talks about the ancient historians he used.

37:11 – David talks about his own archaeological research and work in Greece.

46:13 – David talks about wanting to know more the governments of these Greek groups.

50:23 – David talks about the importance of the word “league.”

51:56 – David talks about originally being very critical of the Spartans.

58:15 – David can be found on academia.edu.

 

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/2RPMPDo

https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501747526/greek-warfare-beyond-the-polis/#bookTabs=1

http://independentscholar.academia.edu/DaveBlome

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Guests: David Blome

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, ancient war, ancient greece, Illiad, Iraq, Troy, marine corps, military, deployment, Persia, Athens, Sparta, Thebes, polis, city-states, phalanx, Phoecians, Odysseus, Diomedes, Xenophon, Arcadia, Homer, hoplite, Atolia, Thessalians, plutarch, Thucydides, Macedonia, Bronze Age, iron Age, Atolian league, Founding Fathers

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2RPMPDo

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.