In looking back through history, it is kings, queens, politicians and generals who steal the limelight. Those people who actually "do" the bidding are often much less well known. How many people are familiar with Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, Marshal of France? The foremost military engineer of his day, he was renowned not only for building fortifications but for developing the art of siege craft. Dur: 15mins File: .mp3

It had been largely accepted that "Charles the Sufferer", the feeble and sickly King of Spain, would die without an heir. The nearest claimants to the Spanish Crown were the king's cousins; the Bourbon King of France, Louis XIV, and the Austrian Habsburg Leopold I, the Holy Roman Emperor. Married to Charles's Sisters, both had a strong claim. With the succession storm brewing Europe's monarchs entered into agreements in order to place themselves in favorable positions at the moment of Charles's death. Some aligning themselves with the house of Bourbon, others with that of Habsburg. Dur: 23 mins  File: .mp3

There is no single factor to blame for the outbreak of the First World War. At best we can say that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, was the catalyst setting in motion a string of events that resulted in war. For decades tensions had been mounting between the European powers. It was these tensions that lead to a complex web of alliances, which would eventually drag the great powers into war. Dur: 19mins File: .mp3