Battles of the First World War Podcast

Hey Folks, this episode is a recap of the 2022 Lost Battalion Tours Meuse-Argonne Tour and of my four weeks in France. It's unscripted, so forewarned is forearmed: there is a good amount of umms and uhhs in there, and I apparently say "okay?" a lot now. There is, however, a lot of joy in telling you about my adventures in France.   Lost Battalion Tours - Get on our mailing list! Email: lostbattali...

The AEF continued attacking the German Army in the Meuse region in October 1918, but made little gains. American Doughboys, while fighting to the best of their ability, were nearing exhaustion in the third week of the Meuse-Argonne offensive.   Villages of note:   Cornay Exermont Romagne-sous-Montfaucon Cunel   The BFWWP is on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BattlesoftheFirstWorldWarPodcast .   ...

Under French command, the US 114th Infantry Regiment attacked into the Meuse Heights on October 12, 1918. The experience of Company B, 114th Infantry, was unfortunately typical of the American experience of fighting in World War I. Then-CPT William Reddan later recorded those experiences in his searing memoir "Other Men's Lives: The Experiences of a Doughboy, 1917-1919." Villages of note:   Samogn...

The Right Bank of the Meuse extends the Meuse-Argonne front as counterattacks and attacks continue in October 1918.  In the American 29th Division's sector, the 113th Infantry Regiment attacks into the woods and hills near Ormont Farm. 2LT Joe Lawrence's memoir provides a vivid tale of the fighting there. Villages of note:   Consenvoye Sivry-sur-Meuse Haumont-prés-Samogneux   The BFWWP is on Patre...

Joining us this episode is Matt Dixon, the host of the Footsteps of the Fallen podcast, and I am so excited he is here! Matt is a military historian, battlefield researcher and guide, author and, of course, podcaster. He too, has an amazing depth of knowledge about places all along the Old Front Line of the Great War's Western Front. Matt has 30 years of researching and writing behind him, and I c...

This episode we are joined by an incredible guest, Mr. Paul Reed of the "Old Front Line Great War Podcast."    Paul Reed has written a number of books about WW1 including the best-selling "Walking the Somme" and "Great War Lives." He also works in Television and has worked on and appeared in numerous programmes including BBC Timewatch , Meet The Ancestors , War Hero in My Family and Who Do You Thi...

The Americans finally have to face facts and deal with the punishing German artillery on the Meuse Heights. On October 8th, 1918, two American and two French divisions expanded the Meuse-Argonne offensive by attacking the enemy on the Right Bank of the River Meuse.    Villages of note:   Samogneux Consenvoye Haumont-prés-Samogneux   Lost Battalion Tours 2022 in the Meuse-Argonne! Come join us.   E...

A short review of Maarten Otte's new book, "The Meuse-Argonne 1918: The Right Bank to the Armistice."   Book link here:   https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-Meuse-Heights-to-the-Armistice-Paperback/p/19110   Order it from your local bookstore so that you support your local businesses.  The BFWWP is on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BattlesoftheFirstWorldWarPodcast .    Any questions, comments o...

Finally, the retired United States Army motto finds a proper use.   On October 7th, 1918, PVT John Lewis Barkley, a scout in the 3rd Division AEF, decided "to make things interesting for the Germans for a while." With a captured machine gun and some four thousand rounds of ammunition, he engaged an enemy battalion-sized unit.    Single-handedly.    From inside an abandoned tank.    Here is his sto...

Returning guest and University of Oklahoma PhD candidate James P. Gregory tackles the subject of the US 5th Marine Regiment on Blanc Mont on October 4th, 1918, a day that would see the highest casualties ever taken by the Marines until World War Two a generation later. James argues that events and leadership led to "a calamity of errors" with deadly results for the Marines on the ground.    James'...

October 4th, 1918: the AEF 5th Corps launches new attacks on the German lines in the Meuse with two fresh divisions, the veteran 32nd and 3rd. The attacks center on the Kriemhilde Line defenses around Gesnes-en-Argonne and north of Cierges-sous-Montfaucon.    Matt Dixon's "Footsteps of the Fallen" is a podcast you need to listen to:   https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/footsteps-of-the-fallen/i...

On October 4th, 1918 the AEF 1st Army launched a new series of attacks on the Meuse battlefront, hoping to break the German lines. On the army's right front, the 80th and 4th Divisions of 3rd Corps found themselves fighting in the Bois des Ogons and the Bois de Fays.    Folks, check out the new intro and outro music from listener Brian F., aka Aislingeach!   More of Aislingeach's awesome music is...

I wanted to tell you about a podcast that I think you will really enjoy. It is called Everything Everywhere Daily.   If you are a remotely curious person, and let's face it–if you are listening to this podcast, you are more than a remotely curious person–you'll love Everything Everywhere Daily.    Every day you will get short episodes averaging about 10 minutes, which tell stories from every era o...

We have had some folks ask, so we have delivered. Guests on this impromptu episode are Robert J. Laplander and Alexander Curran.    This is an unfiltered recap of our recent trip to France! While there we conducted a field recon for the Doughboy MIA project that made some wonderful and important friendships for us. Our newest team member, Alex, discusses a Doughboy MIA case that is very close to h...

Author James Carl Nelson joins me in discussing his latest book , "The York Patrol: The Real Story of Alvin York and the Unsung Heroes Who Made Him World War I's Most Famous Soldier."     The passing of a century and other events has worked to create and solidify the legend of SGT Alvin York, where the story goes that York single-handedly (or nearly so) took on the German Army, killed some 25 enem...

On October 8th, 1918, seventeen men of the AEF 82nd Division went on a fateful patrol into the Argonne Forest. One of them would become a legend.    This episode will tell the story of Alvin York, both from the conventional telling and a newer recounting from the side of the other sixteen men there.    The BFWWP is on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BattlesoftheFirstWorldWarPodcast .    Any quest...

Join us for a great discussion with Aaron Heft, currently serving as a SFC in the Army National Guard. Aaron works as a unit historian with the Army National Guard's Leader Development program, where he uses lessons from the past to train and prepare today's soldiers for the battlefield.    He joins us to discuss the American 28th "Keystone" Division in World War I, a unit of primarily Pennsylvani...

Efforts to relieve the Lost Battalion and break the German hold on the Argonne Forest led to an innovative attack devised by AEF 1st Corps commander LTG Hunter Liggett.    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 Twitter at @WW1podcast,...

With mounting hunger, wounds, and death, MAJ Whittlesey and his command continue to hold out in the Charlevaux Ravine. As Whittlesey has said, there will be no surrender.    The only book you need to read on the Lost Battalion:    https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B06X6N13V8&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_BYXX2G0SGFR7DK0MB2X7   The BFWWP is on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/B...

Recently I was invited to a Zoom discussion with some other WW1 enthusiasts to talk about what we can do to keep the memory of WW1 alive in these post-centenary times. At that talk was Mike O'Neal, a longtime WW1 aviation enthusiast, and we quickly connected to get Mike on the podcast talking about his lifelong passion.    Folks, if ever there is an example of being bold and striking out for what...

The established narrative of the Third Battle of Ypres identifies the end of the muddy and blood-soaked struggle in Flanders with the capture of the Passchendaele village ruins in November 1917. However, there were further operations in the Salient just weeks later, and one of them occurred on the night of 2nd December, 1917.    Dr. Michael LoCicero joins us for an in-depth discussion of the creat...

Surrounded, with no food or medical supplies and dwindling ammunition, the American forces trapped in the Charlevaux Ravine face a new and unforeseen enemy: friendly fire.    The only book you need to read on the Lost Battalion:    https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B06X6N13V8&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_BYXX2G0SGFR7DK0MB2X7   The BFWWP is on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/...

Having established a perimeter on a steep hillside in the Charlevaux Ravine, a force of some 700 men under US MAJ Charles Whittlesey digs in to await reinforcements and further orders.    Soon realizing they are surrounded, Whittlesey puts out an order: No falling back. The position is to be held at all costs. The Germans put that order to the test on October 3rd, 1918.    The only book you need t...

On October 1st, 1918, fresh from being relieved from encirclement in the Small Pocket on l'Homme Mort, the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 308th Infantry Regiment are ordered to attack into the Argonne yet again.    Led by MAJ Charles Whittlesey, the two battalions plunge into the Ravin d'Argonne, and on October 2nd, the Americans break through the German lines and into Charlevaux Ravine. The story...

Listener discretion advised: This episode contains some language, as well as racial terms and themes that are considered offensive. These terms and themes are being used here in the context of the First World War era.    Ok, so the episode title is a lackluster attempt at clickbait. But if I have gotten you to click on to this episode, do please stay. What follows is an interesting discussion on a...