The Great War's most infamous day is also its most misunderstood.

At the tail end of Fourth Army's front, Congreve's XIII Corps and Fayolle's Sixth Army achieve remarkable success.

Livens Flame Projector: CLIP

For Henry Horne's XV Corps, July 1st 1916 was a day of mixed success.

The awful pattern repeats itself as III Corps drives on Ovillers and La Boiselle.

Gommecourt, Serre, Beaumont-Hamel and the Slaughter of the Somme.

The old British front line, looking northeast toward the German trenches. Note the drop in elevation.

"Y" Ravine,

We begin our discussion of July 1st by examining X Corps' attack on Thiepval village.

A survey of the British, French and German armies on the eve of the Somme.

The Somme plan meets stiff opposition in London and Paris. 

Plans for the Somme shift as Verdun rears its ugly head.

The origins of the Somme before Verdun screwed everything up.

Douglas Haig: The Man vs The Myth

The battle of Verdun reaches its climax.

Map of the battlefield, note its "H" shaped outline.

The ancient Citadel in downtown Verdun. To enlarge, right click-view image.

Monument to Fleury residents who fought at Verdun.

"Remains" of Fleury

Markers indicating where houses and businesses once stood.

The imposing Ossuary.

View from a top the Ossuary, looking southeast towards Fleury. Note the concentrated battlefield: the interpretation center is visible along with the white path leading to the village. The ridge beyond was the German objective of June 23rd.

Yours truly at the entrance.

Traveling to France tomorrow, will be in Verdun on Thursday followed by a few days in Rome. Back to regular shows upon my return on Oct 16.

The warriors of France and Germany engage in an bloody stand off for Fort Vaux.

Postcard commemorating Raynal's final pigeon and subsequent plaque.

Just an update on the state of the show. I took a summer job at a live music venue, and the hours have been hectic so I've found little time to focus on the podcast. Episode 46: The Fall of Fort Vaux is written, and once I carve out a free day it will be posted. It should be up in the coming weeks. August might be a difficult month, but because fewer acts have been booked there should be some more flexibility with the schedule. July was a monster, so I'm glad it's nearly over.

Since the job is so mind numbing, I've had a lot of time to think about how I want to approach things. Once things settle down for good in September, we'll hit the ground running and press forward. I've acquired a lot of great sources on the campaigns in the Mid-East and Caucasus, and I also plan to create a mini cast (5-8 eps) that focus exclusively on the air war. As a huge aviation nerd, that should be a lot of fun!

So have no fear, the show is not cancelled but I've had to put it on the backburner for a while. Apologizes for the delay but I hope that when we get back on the track this break will be well worth it.

-Daniel.

The fighting at Verdun intensifies as the Germans seize the crests of Mort Homme and Hill 304.

Under Brusilov's leadership, a resurgent Russian army smashes the Austro-Hungarians; Conrad surrenders to Falkenhayn's oversight.

With Tsar Nicholas II in charge of her armed forces, Russia looks to a fresh start; In Galicia, Aleksei Brusilov plans his masterpiece.

*Note: St. Petersburg was renamed Petrograd in 1914. I refer to both in the appropriate context. -Dan

Mashable

A review of Verdun and a look at the British home front, which sees radical change under the direction of David Lloyd George and the Ministry of Munitions.

A retrospective look at the battle of Jutland.

The battle of Jutland rages into the night.

A decade after Dreadnought revolutionized naval warfare, the battle fleets of Great Britain and Germany finally meet.

EDIT: Since they were armoured cruisers, Arbuthnot was part of First Cruiser Squadron, not First 'Light' Cruiser as incorrectly stated. -Dan

The battle of Jutland begins on the afternoon of May 31st, 1916.

Reinhardt Scheer assumes command of the German battlefleet, and the war in the North Sea kicks into high gear.

Conrad sees red, and attempts to eliminate the Italians with a single blow. At Verdun, the French discover retaking Fort Douaumont will require a bit more planning.

Battered and bloodied, Austria-Hungary limps its way into 1916.

Russia under goes some rapid internal changes.

Desperate to capture the Meuse Heights, the German 5th Army extends operations onto the west bank of the Meuse. When things falter, both armies commit more men to "the Mincer".

The battle at Verdun began on February 21st, 1916. Nothing would ever be the same.

Falkenhayn begins laying the ground work for the coming battle at Verdun.

As 1916 beckons, both the Allies and Central Powers realize they're in for another bloody year.

In this episode we discuss the sinking of the Cunard liner Lusitania and what it meant for the first unrestricted U-boat campaign.

To contest the supremacy of the Allied fleets, Germany unleashes the first unrestricted U-Boat campaign in February, 1915.

*Gahh when I say the Russians retreated 500 miles, I mean 500 kilometers of course.  -Dan

SMS Blucher capsizing at the battle of Dogger Bank (January 1915).

An ambitious Anglo-French attack in Artois and Champagne is met with disaster. At the battles of Loos, the BEF makes use of chlorine gas for the first time.

Serbia is the latest victim of Falkenhayn's combined offensive. The Serbs refuse to surrender, opting to evacuate and continue the fight elsewhere.

On May 23rd, 1915 an energized but divided Italy enters the Great War. This episode examines why the Italians initially chose neutrality, only to declare war against their former allies.

A combined Austro-German offensive in May 1915 collapses the Polish Salient, forcing the Russians into a 4 month 310 mile retreat. The war on the Eastern Front is effectively over.

The Dardanelles campaign unravels as the Allies land on the Gallipoli peninsula.

With German efforts concentrated in the East, the Allies begin looking for alternative ways to break the deadlock, leading their focus to fall on the Dardanelles and Gallipoli peninsula.

This week we examine German strategy in 1915, and Falkenhayn's decision to unleash chlorine gas at the Ypres Salient.
 
40 Maps That Explain World War One (Trench map is #26)

Despite popular theory, the war does not end by Christmas. This week we are on the Western Front for the early goings of 1915.

Did Europe really cheer the outbreak of war?  An examination of the Western home fronts provides a glimpse into "the spirit of 1914".

Hello all, I hope the holidays are treating you well!

My local newspaper printed a brief article I submitted about the 1914 Christmas truce, so if you are interested in reading it I've pasted the full text here. -Dan

No Man’s Land match a myth

Hamilton Spectator

Christmas in the trenches 100 years ago (Dec. 18)

The piece on the 1914 Christmas Truce is another example of how we prefer the myths over the realities of the First World War. The circumstances surrounding the truce are highly debatable, and none more than the supposed soccer match between British and German soldiers in No Man's Land. First off, No Man's Land was no place to organize, let alone play a soccer match. Even in 1914, the ground was heavily cratered, dotted by barbed wire and uncollected dead, so the notion that a game spontaneously broke out in the middle of it is ridiculous. Second, the risk of enemy troops getting an unobstructed view of one's trench lines was far too great to allow prolonged fraternization; and third, soccer balls were simply not in abundance at the front.

Sources which we use to support this myth are unreliable. The lion's share coming from British testimonies which are often second-hand accounts, and historians have yet to uncover anything substantial from the German perspective. The choice to begin the piece with the quotation: "the gas clouds rolled no more" was careless. Chlorine gas did not appear on the Western Front until April 1915, nor do the accounts of Gerald Blake mention anything about a soccer game being played.

As we mark the centenary of the First World War, we should use this opportunity to shed light on the realities of those years, and not reinforce myths which no longer stand to modern research.

Daniel Clark, Hamilton

A look at the larger world at war, and Graf Spee makes his voyage into the history books.

The final months of 1914 draw to a close on the Eastern Front. The Russians flex their military muscle, while the Austro-Hungarians suffer a defeat which helps doom their army.

Our first look at events on the Eastern front; The Austrians humiliate themselves against the Serbs. While in East Prussia, the Russians are annihilated at Tannenberg.

The lines stagnate across the Western theatre.Near the Belgian town of Ypres, German and British troops learn a harsh reality.

Please note: The Asine runs west of Verdun, not east as I state in the episode. -Dan

Map of Western theatre (Sept-Nov 1914) Right click to view in full.

Mass grave at Langemark German Cemetery

The war on the Western Front opens up, as the German army cruises through Belgium to the gates of Paris. The allies unveil a new secret weapon on the battlefield.

I apologize for the delay this week. I had a heck of a time getting all this stuff sorted out but this is a much better version then I what had originally written. -Dan

Map of the Western Theater, August-September 1914. Note the borders have been modified to to reflect 1914.

Two German battle cruisers escape the pursuit of the Royal Navy and seek refuge at Constantinople. The entry of the Ottoman Empire by November 1914, ensures that fighting would no longer be restricted to the European continent.