A firsthand look at what it meant to attack and take an enemy position during WW1.

Many thanks to Alex Lyons for the inspiration for this episode. Thanks, man!

Link to Henri Desagneaux’s memoir:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22219805-a-french-soldier-s-war-diary-1914-1918

The BFWWP is now on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BattlesoftheFirstWorldWarPodcast. 

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. Follow us on Twitter at @WW1podcast, and on Instagram at @WW1battlecast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com. Please consider reviewing the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes. 

Steven Girard, US Army veteran and veteran battlefield guide, comes back on the podcast to discuss the American Expeditionary Force’s 2nd Division during the First World War. 

Note: The 2nd Division was organized at Bourmont, France. 

Villages & towns of note:

Landres-et-St. Georges

Imécourt

Mouzon

Koblenz, Germany

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, the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook, and on Instagram at @WW1battlecast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com. Rate, review, and subscribe to the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.

The story behind a famous photograph from the First World War of the men of 10th (Service) Battalion Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) in the Arras sector in 1917.

Chris Baker’s article: 

https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/10th-scottish-rifles-trench-raid-and-an-oft-used-photograph/

Many thanks to Chris for permission to use his article.

The BFWWP is now on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BattlesoftheFirstWorldWarPodcast. 

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. Follow us on Twitter at @WW1podcast, and on Instagram at @WW1battlecast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com. Please consider reviewing the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes. 

This episode we are joined by the powerhouse team of Alex Churchill & Beth Moore to talk about the Great War Group that they created and run with their crack team. What a great conversation. 

Join the Great War Group!

https://greatwargroup.com/

Check out Istoria Travel:

https://www.istoriatravel.org/

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, the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook, and on Instagram at @WW1battlecast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com. Rate, review, and subscribe to the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.

Randy Gaulke, WW1 historian and founder of Knee Deep in History Tours, returns to the podcast to talk about the state of the German Army in October 1918. 

Join Randy at Knee Deep Into History:

https://kneedeepintohistory.com/

Randy’s bibliography:

Asprey, Robert B. The German High Command at War: Hindenburg and Ludendorff Conduct WW1.

Lengel, Edward G., Editor. A Companion to the Meuse-Argonne Campaign. Wiley Blackwell, 2014.

McEntee, Girard Lindsley, Col. US Army (Retired). Military History of The World War: A Complete Account of the Campaigns on all Fronts Accompanied by 456 Maps and Diagrams. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1943.

Moyer, Laurence. Victory Must be Ours: Germany in the Great War, 1914-1918. Hippocrene Books, New York.

United States War Office. Histories of Two Hundred and Fifty-One Divisions of the German Army which Participated in the War (1914-1918), London Stamp Exchange LTD., 1989.

Watson, Alexander. Enduring the Great War: Combat Morale and Collapse in the German and British Armies, 1914 – 1918. Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Zabecki, David T. The German 1918 Offensives: A Case Study in the Operational Level of War.

Routledge, Oxon and New York, 2006.

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, the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook, and on Instagram at @WW1battlecast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com. Rate, review, and subscribe to the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.

Part 2 of the ongoing discussion looks at misconceptions about the French Army, and French personalities of the war we should know about but, for reasons, do not. We wrap up with some advice on visiting the French battlefields of the Great War: guide books, how to prepare, what to expect, etc.

This was another conversation that deeply impressed me with the breadth and depth of knowledge of the participants. Like I say in the introduction, grab a notebook and a pen, because you are about to learn a lot.

Joining us for this discussion are:

• Christina Holstein, author of several incredible guides to the Verdun battlefield, amongst other published works and articles,

• Alex Lyons, the man who spends his free time telling us the story of his Poilu great-grandfather on Twitter,

• Steve Marsdin, a student and researcher of the 1914 Battle of the Frontiers and its effects,

• Jim Smithson, author of “A Taste of Success: The First Battle of the Scarpe. The Opening Phase of the Battle of Arras 9-14 April 1917” and two guide books on the Arras battlefields,

• James Taub, Associate Curator at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, PA, and a public historian with a specialty in French history, and its presentation to American audiences.

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, the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook, and on Instagram at @WW1battlecast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com. Please consider reviewing the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes. 

LTG Hunter Liggett took command of the American Expeditionary Force’s 1st Army in October of 1918. He had his work cut out for him–1st Army desperately needed reorganizing, refitting, and retraining. 

Robert J. Laplander and I collaborated on creating an audiobook version of his book “Finding the Lost Battalion: Beyond the Rumors, Myths and Legends of America's Famous WW1 Epic” and here it finally is. 

The audio version of “Finding the Lost Battalion” comes to you in podcast form, ready to download and provide nearly 36 hours of the retelling of America’s WW1 epic of devastating modern battle and indomitable bravery under horrific conditions. 

Purchase here for $25 USD:

https://battlesofthefirstworldwar.supportingcast.fm/

Also available through Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/0qcRm8x3W7gpbFjOk78Z6L

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, the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook, and on Instagram at @WW1battlecast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com. Please consider reviewing the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes.

US Army National Guard officer and historian Jonathan Bratten comes on the podcast to discuss his book, “To the Last Man: A National Guard Regiment in the Great War, 1917-1919.” The regiment discussed is the 103rd Infantry Regiment, a unit in the 26th “Yankee” Division. 

Jonathan joins us to discuss the 103rd’s engagements in the Meuse-Argonne in October 1918.

Link to the book:

the-last-man.pdf">https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/combat-studies-institute/csi-books/to-the-last-man.pdf

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, the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook, and on Instagram at @WW1battlecast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com. Rate, review, and subscribe to the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.

This was so much fun to host–with the help of Alex Lyons, a fantastic group of WW1 enthusiasts were gathered for what will be the first of a multi-part series of discussions of the French Army and the French experience during WW1. 

France went to war in 1914 as a country of 40 million people. Its army went to war in 19th century uniforms of dark blue tunics and red trousers, calling up 8.5 million Frenchmen over the next four devastating years. When the guns went silent in November 1918, the Adrian-helmeted and horizon-blue clad PCFs– pauvre con du front, or poor bastards at the front–had seen 1.4 million of their brothers fall on the field of battle, with another 4.2 million wounded–a million of those wounded significantly disabled for the rest of their lives. 

Joining us for this discussion are:

• Bart Debeer, who co-wrote a Dutch-language Western Front Guide for Beginners with a friend
• Bryn Hammond, whose blog “Vingt Frong”  aims to “awaken interest in the French experience of the First World War in an English-speaking audience,”
• Alex Lyons, the man who spends his free time telling us the story of his Poilu great-grandfather on Twitter,
• Steve Marsdin, a student and researcher of the 1914 Battle of the Frontiers and its effects,
• Jim Smithson, author of “A Taste of Success: The First Battle of the Scarpe. The Opening Phase of the Battle of Arras 9-14 April 1917” and two guide books on the Arras battlefields,
• Dr. Rich Willis, author of the forthcoming “Fighting for the Butcher: British Troops Fighting in General Mangin’s Xe Armée, July-August 1918”

I’m really excited to present this first discussion on these fascinating topics, and I hope you enjoy this first talk. 

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, the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook, and on Instagram at @WW1battlecast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com. Please consider reviewing the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes. 

The second of a two-episode look at the Commander-in-Chief of the AEF, GEN John J. Pershing, from the personal to the professional.

Robert J. Laplander and I collaborated on creating an audiobook version of his book “Finding the Lost Battalion: Beyond the Rumors, Myths and Legends of America's Famous WW1 Epic” and here it finally is. 

The audio version of “Finding the Lost Battalion” comes to you in podcast form, ready to download and provide nearly 36 hours of the retelling of America’s WW1 epic of devastating modern battle and indomitable bravery under horrific conditions. 

Purchase here for $25 USD:

https://battlesofthefirstworldwar.supportingcast.fm/

Also available through Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/0qcRm8x3W7gpbFjOk78Z6L

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, the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook, and on Instagram at @WW1battlecast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com. Please consider reviewing the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes.