Battles of the First World War Podcast

On the 14th and 15th of July, 1916, the British 4th Army began its first attacks on High Wood, igniting a brutal struggle for important high ground on the Somme battlefield.   Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com or the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook. We're also on Twitter! Follow us at @WW1podcast. Not int...

The French 6th and 10th Armies grind on through July and August 1916.   Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com or the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook. We're also on Twitter! Follow us at @WW1podcast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com . Please consider reviewing the Battles of...

The Pozieres Ridge battle continues as the Australians of the 1st ANZAC Corps fight for Pozieres village, the Windmill, and Mouquet Farm.   Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com or the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook. We're also on Twitter! Follow us at @WW1podcast. Not into social media? Email me directly at...

On the 23rd of July, 1916, the Australians of the 1st ANZAC Corps attacked the village of Pozieres on the left of Bazentin Ridge. The Diggers had arrived on the Somme.   Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com or the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook. We're also on Twitter! Follow us at @WW1podcast. Not into soci...

The story of the 1st South African Infantry Brigade in the battle for Delville Wood, 15th-20th July 1916.   Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com or the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook. We're also on Twitter! Follow us at @WW1podcast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com . Pleas...

On the 14th of July 1916, the British 4th Army launched its second major attack on the Somme, focusing its efforts on the German 2nd line on Bazentin Ridge.     Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com or the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook. We're also on Twitter! Follow us at @WW1podcast. Not into social media?...

Between the 3rd and 12th of July 1916, the British struggled to capture Mametz Wood. This episode covers the grinding fight conducted almost exclusively by the 17th and 38th (Welsh) Divisions.   Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com or the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook. We're also on Twitter! Follow us at @...

South of the Somme, the French continue their successful attacks on the Germans after the 1st of July. To the north, from the 2nd through the 14th of July, the British begin grinding towards the German second position with local, uncoordinated attacks. The Germans work desperately to recover their defense. Everyone bleeds.   Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website...

This episode we will briefly examine the causes of why the British attacks on the 1st of July 1916 were so costly and only partially successful.   Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com or the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook. We're also on Twitter! Follow us at @WW1podcast. Not into social media? Email me dire...

This episode we take a side road on the Somme to honor four British men who were awarded the Victoria Cross on the 1st of July 1916.   Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com or the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook. We're also on Twitter! Follow us at @WW1podcast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verd...

1st July 1916, Pt 2: the British Army attacks on the Somme. In this episode the front line from Fricourt to Gommecourt will be covered.   Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com or the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook. We're also on Twitter! Follow us at @WW1podcast. Not into social media? Email me directly at v...

1st July 1916: after one week of bombardment the French and British Armies attack on the Somme. In this episode the front line from Fay to Fricourt will be covered.   Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com or the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook. We're also on Twitter! Follow us at @WW1podcast. Not into social...

Hey Folks, welcome to the Battles of the First World War Podcast. Today we will be conducted an interview with Professor William Philpott, who is Professor of the History of Warfare in the Department of War Studies at King's College in London. So please join us and listen as a very nervous podcaster screws up his guest's name and the internet connection goes haywire right during the first question...

In this second part of  The Stahlhelm, the Casque Adrian, and the Tin Hat, we take a look at the British soldiers preparing themselves for the Battle of the Somme. The British Expeditionary Force of 1916 was vastly different from the Old Contemptibles who had come across the Channel in 1914, and this was a very different army from its German adversary and even its French ally.    Any questions, co...

On June 24th, 1916, the Allied bombardment of the German trench lines at the Somme began. 3,000 guns pounded away at the enemy. The bombardment was so loud it could London.   As the shells rain down we will take a look at the armies and the men who will be fighting the Battle of the Somme, as well as the German defenses on that part of the Western Front.    Any questions, comments or concerns plea...

The Germans attack at Verdun and wreak havoc on the Franco-British plans for the Somme offensive. As the Mill on the Meuse pulls ever more French soldiers into the fire, the British Expeditionary Force takes on a larger role in the coming battle. By the end of May GEN Sir Douglas Haig confirms the BEF will lead the Somme attack on 1 July 1916.   The weeks go by and while stating their goals remain...

1915 saw none of the major offensives that rocked the rest of the Western Front, but it was not a quiet sector of the line. Despite the French and Germans having a "live-and-let-live" policy that didn't keep them from killing each other with exploding underground mines and regular infantry battles.   Towards the end of 1915 GEN Joseph Joffre of the French Army worked on coordinating a strategy amo...

In the opening months of World War One war came to the Somme departement of France as the Allies and the Germans sought to outflank each other during the "Race to the Sea." The hasty trench lines scratched out in autumn 1914 would largely be the same front line that would be assaulted on July 1st, 1916. 

The Battles of the First World War Podcast is a new podcast that looks to go in-depth into the battles of the Great War of 1914-1918. The goal is to really go into the details of how and why these battles unfolded and happened as they did. In telling the narrative of these clashes we can revisit some of the stories of the men and women who lived, fought, and died during the first titanic struggle...