Battles of the First World War Podcast

Following the discussion of German plans for their next great offensive, we turn now to French and Allied plans to meet this next attack.    Allied Supreme Commander Marshal Ferdinand Foch and French Army commander GEN Philippe Pétain intended to respond to this next attack differently: as soon as the Germans overextended themselves, a swift Allied counterattack would follow.    The BFWWP is on Pa...

***Technical note: My apologies on the audio reverb that may be heard in this episode.    A concise history revealing New Jersey's vital industrial, military, and civilian contributions to America's World War I effort.   During World War I, New Jersey played a prominent role in the manufacturing of war-related munitions, created the infrastructure necessary to train and mobilize troops, and suppli...

The story behind an often erroneously captioned photograph of the First World War, and remembering the man in it.    The BFWWP is on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BattlesoftheFirstWorldWarPodcast.    Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com. Follow us on BlueSky at @WW1podcast.bsky.social:   https://bsky.app/profile/ww1podcast.bsky....

This episode will visit the German strategic situation in June 1918 and the resulting plans for their next offensive, which would be called "Friedensturm:" the Peace Offensive. The BFWWP is on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BattlesoftheFirstWorldWarPodcast.    Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com. Follow us on BlueSky at @WW1podc...

A short exploration of the American poet Archibald MacLeish's connection to the First World War, and his poem "The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak." The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak   Nevertheless they are heard in the still houses: who has not heard them?   They have a silence that speaks for them at night and when the clock counts.   They say, We were young. We have died. Remember us.   The...

Authors Paul Friedland and Robert Hornick join us on the podcast to discuss their thoroughly researched, well-argued and thrilling biography of a now-forgotten German spy during WW1.    One of the most notorious German spies of the twentieth century, Lothar Witzke lived a life that reads like a thriller. Convicted of espionage in 1918, he was the only German spy sentenced to death by the United St...

In 2022, just as the world began to open after the isolation of a global pandemic, Briana Gervat set out to walk the length of the Western Front. Beginning at the border that France shares with Switzerland she went into the wild in search of hope and in search of peace. For 500 miles, she climbed over the mountains of the Vosges, through the battle-scarred landscapes of Verdun, the Marne, and the...

Author, historian, and battlefield guide Susan Raby-Dunne joins us to discuss her book "John McCrae: Beyond Flanders Fields."    Most Canadians are familiar with John McCrae through his iconic poem "In Flanders Fields," which was penned on the battlefields of the First World War and remains a symbol of remembrance to this day. Although he will always be remembered as a war poet, the Guelph, Ontari...

Part 7 of the ongoing discussion continues to look at the French Army in 1917. We look at the state of the French Army going into 1917, where the army itself was in good shape but its leadership was an entirely different story. The rising star of GEN Robert Nivelle and the politics around his ascension is discussed, as well as the offensive that bears his name and destroyed his career.    The indi...

British Army veteran and University of Wolverhampton PhD candidate Phil Watson joins the podcast for a fascinating discussion on British doctrine in the Great War. (Which YES, they did have a doctrine.)   Phil has a couple of questions for the listeners as well, in the interest of generating discussion:   Regarding the "chateau generals," why were chateaus the place for generals?   Regarding the i...

Independent historians Eric and Tom Langie, a father and son duo, come on the podcast to discuss the extraordinary life of their ancestor Henri Langie and the book they have written about him, "Henri Langie: From War Volunteer in WW I to Honorary Major in WW II."   Henri went from a schoolteacher to a stretcherbearer and officer in WW1, to professiona soldier and later a battalion commander and PO...

Author Antony J. Bell comes on the podcast to discuss his novel "A Penny a Shell." From the author's website:    "In a WWI munitions factory, the lives of three women converge on a dangerous production line where a single spark means the difference between a bonus and a burial.   Eliza Wren, a desperate mother, races to pay a looming debt to save her family from eviction. Sarah Jennings, a defiant...

The guns of Blücher-Yorck were still smoking when the Germans reoriented and hastily launched a new offensive between Montdidier and Noyon. The goal was to straighten the line between two bulging German salients, seize more of the Soissons rail line, and continue to drive towards Paris.    But the French Army had other ideas: unleashing GEN Charles Mangin.    A lot will be learned in the Battle of...

Steven Girard, US Army veteran and veteran battlefield guide, comes back on the podcast to discuss the American Expeditionary Force's Tank Corps during the First World War.    Suggested reading:   Treat 'Em Rough: The Birth of American Armor 1917–20 - https://www.casematepublishers.com/9781612006680/treat-em-rough/   Pershing's Tankers: Personal Accounts of the AEF Tank Corps in World War I - http...

Dr. Eric Story, a Historian-in-Residence at Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University in London, Ontario in Canada, and Adjunct Professor at Wilfred Laurier University, joins us on the podcast to discuss the struggles faced by disabled Canadian veterans after the First World War. We begin the talk with a broad look at what Canadian veterans faced in the 1920s, and then look at...

Independent historian Alfons Philippi of Germany joins the podcast to discuss his German-language book on the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, Die Vergessenne Schlacht (The Forgotten Battle). We also discuss the family history that led him to write the book, as well as the impact of 20th century history on his family.  Link to Die Vergessene Schlacht: https://amzn.eu/d/03UW7TY   The BFWWP is on Patreon: h...

The battlefield of the Second Battle of the Marne was shaped by an earlier German offensive in late May and early June of 1918: Unternehmen Blücher-Yorck. Looking to draw away French reserves from the Flanders and Picardy areas, German GEN Erich Ludendorff aimed a new German attack in a sector where the French were particularly vulnerable: the Chemin des Dames.   Early and stunning success by Germ...

Adam Pearce and his uncle Ron Howard have spent the past few years visiting the graves of the UK's and British Commonwealth's Victoria Cross recipients. They hope to raise awareness of not just  the recipients of the British Army's highest award for valor, but of the other men buried with them in Commonwealth War Graves cemeteries on the Old Front Line and elsewhere around the world.    Also, to B...

Authors and historians Andrew Lucas and Jürgen Schmiseschek come on the podcast to discuss their collaborative work on the Saxon Germans on the Flanders front during the Great War.    Where to buy "Fighting the Kaiser's War:"   https://royalsaxonarmy.co.uk/index.php/our-publications/13-fighting-the-kaiser-s-war The BFWWP is on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BattlesoftheFirstWorldWarPodcast.    A...

Author and grandson John Chase, MD comes on the podcast to discuss his book based on the letters his grandfather, John DeWitt, wrote home during the First World War.    From Hellgate Press: When recently retired orthopedic surgeon Dr. John Chase stumbles upon a hidden trove of over 80 letters from his grandfather, John DeWitt, written from the trenches of World War I, he embarks on a life-changing...

Founders of the New Ypres League Dr Dominiek Dendooven and Roger Steward join the podcast to discuss a worthy remembrance project for the old Ypres battlefields: replacing and restoring the demarcation stones that marked the limit of German advances throughout the Great War.  Where to donate -   New Ypres League vzw: www.newypresleague.com The BFWWP is on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Battlesof...

In the prelude to the prelude of the Second Battle of the Marne in 1918, we set the clock back to December 1917 to look at the position of the Allies at that point in the war. Specifically, we look at French Army commander General Philippe Petain's Directive No. 4 issued that month. In this short memo Petain advocated for a defense in depth strategy on the front lines, as Entente forces began to p...

Cape Ann, Massachusetts resident Brett Hawkes comes on the podcast to discuss his long bicycle trips through France, where he followed in his Doughboy grandfather's WW1 footsteps. The BFWWP is on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BattlesoftheFirstWorldWarPodcast.    Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com. Follow us on BlueSky at @WW1p...

This is a quick episode to make listeners aware of a fundraising drive by the New Ypres League to restore some of the post-WW1 demarcation stones in the Ypres, Belgium area.    Where to donate: https://www.newypresleague.com/   There will be a talk released in early December where the New Ypres League will go into more details about their fundraiser, but for now we wanted to get the word out as so...

Educator and First World War enthusiast Kristin Stelfox comes on the podcast to discuss some of the first and pathbreaking American women war correspondents who covered the first years of the war.    New Ypres League: https://www.newypresleague.com/   "An Unladylike Profession" by Chris Dubbs - https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/an-unladylike-profession-american-women-war-correspondents-in-world-war-i/...