The Great War Podcast

40: "Repel all boarders!"

The battle of Jutland rages into the night.

39: Ghosts in the Mist

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

38: The Run to the South

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

37: The Trident

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

36: Conrad's Folly

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.

35: A Prison of the Nations

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

34: Russia From the Ashes

Russia under goes some rapid internal changes.

33: No Success Anywhere

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".

32: Thunder and Earthquake

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

31: The New Way

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

30: Character of the Coalition

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

29: Travelling on a Volcano

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

28: Order, Counter Order, Disorder

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).

27: Puff From a Cigarette

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.

26: Field of Blackbirds

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

25: Sing the Love of Danger

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.

24: The Great Retreat

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.

23: No Risk Too Great- Part 2 of 2.

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

23: No Risk Too Great- Part 1 of 2.

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.

22: Codename: Disinfection

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)

21: The Road Ahead

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

20: We're All in This Together

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

The Christmas Truce

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

19: Numbers are Everything

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

18: Where Loyalties Lay

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.

17: War of the Eagles

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.

08: Dreadnoughts and What Nots

With the war in the Far East raging in the background, Germany attempts to drive a wedge between France and its allies, but only succeeds in bringing them closer together.

I know I had stated there would be no episode this week, but unfortunately the long weekend plans fell through. -Dan

Beyond the Foxholes Podcast: http://www.breakthroughassault.co.uk/p/beyond-foxholes-podcast.html