Uncategorized – Page 10 – Battles of the First World War Podcast

Episode SA17: BFWWP Tactical Pause

The BFWWP has to be put on pause until mid-May or end of May 2020, despite the great momentum we’ve been gaining recently. It’s for a good reason. Listen in and you’ll see why.

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.

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Episode SA16: “Insert Laugh Track Here:” A Cross-Cultural Conversation on Visiting France

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the idea of visiting France, or felt it was something too foreign and too out of reach?

In this episode, I speak with Carol Kieffer and Randy Gaulke, two experienced residents and tourists of France. Carol, author of “Living and Working in France: Thriving through Understanding” and cross-cultural training coach, and Randy, seasoned tourist of the Meuse-Argonne region of France and battlefield tour leader, come on the show to strip away some of the misconceptions and misunderstandings many Americans may have about France and visiting it.

What follows is a nearly hour-long conversation where we discuss traveling through France, proper social etiquette, what to expect from French restaurants, shops, and supermarkets, how to prepare, and how to set yourself up to make the most of your experience. We even bring up squat toilets…really, it’s worth the listen.

Ultimate credit for the realization of this podcast goes to Mrs. Laurie Gaulke, whose connections created the conditions that allowed everyone to come together. Thank you so much!

Links to Carol Kieffer and her book, “Living and Working in France: Thriving through Understanding”

amazon.com/author/carolkieffer

For cross-cultural coaching contact Carol at kiefferculture@gmail.com

Carol is on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/carol-kieffer-trainer/

For Randy Gaulke’s excellent website on the Meuse-Argonne

https://meuse-argonne.com, and his new tour company website, https://kneedeepintohistory.com.

For an overview of Randy’s travel tips: http://meuse-argonne.com/?page_id=278

“La Vie en France” blog entries: http://meuse-argonne.com/?cat=275

Mike and Rob Laplander are also offering WW1 battlefield tours through Lost Battalion Tours.

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.

Check out this episode!

Episode 61: Meuse Argonne – Shot to Pieces

The expected breakthrough after Montfaucon doesn’t happen. The 79th and 37th Divisions continue grinding their way north, facing ever-hardening German resistance.

Purchase Andrew Capets’ book “Good War, Great Men” here:

https://goodwargreatmen.com/313/

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

Lost Battalion Tours Contact Information – Join Us on the Battlefield!

Mike’s contact info: verdunpodcast@gmail.com

Robert’s contact info: 308infantry@gmail.com

Robert’s website: http://www.findingthelostbattalion.com/

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Episode SA14 – An Interview with the National WW1 Museum’s Ms. Lora Vogt

In this episode we have a very special guest: Ms. Lora Vogt, is the Curator of Education at the National World War I Museum and Memorial. Founded in 1926, the Museum holds the most comprehensive collection of Great War artifacts in the world and has been ranked one of the top 25 museums in the country. Under Ms. Vogt’s guidance, the Museum has consistently broken records for public program attendance, educational participations and developed internationally recognized curriculum and online exhibitions.

Ms. Vogt will give the BFWWP community a virtual tour of the National World War I Museum and Memorial and some of its exhibits. If you have never visited the National World War I Museum and Memorial and are on the fence about it for any reason, I am quite sure this episode will end any such doubts.

National WW1 Museum and Memorial Links:

https://www.theworldwar.org/

The Panthéon de la Guerre

https://www.theworldwar.org/explore/exhibitions/past-exhibitions/panth%C3%A9on-de-la-guerre

Museum Shop:

https://shop.theworldwar.org/

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

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Episode 60: Meuse Argonne – Taking Montfaucon

Montfaucon, in the center of the American 1st Army’s attack front, is taken down by Doughboys of the 37th, 79th, and 4th Divisions.

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

Lost Battalion Tours Contact Information – Join Us on the Battlefield!

Mike’s contact info: verdunpodcast@gmail.com

Robert’s contact info: 308infantry@gmail.com

Robert’s website: http://www.findingthelostbattalion.com/

Check out this episode!

Lost Battalion Tours – Testimonial

Hey Folks, Mr. Jeremy Bowles very graciously came on the podcast to share his tour experiences with Robert J Laplander with us. Jeremy is a WW1 historian and reenactor, and the journey he had in the Meuse-Argonne with Rob was so moving it simply needs to stand alone as its own mini-episode.

Listen to Jeremy’s story about being in the Meuse, and know that the goal of Lost Battalion Tours is to provide you with the same experience in August of 2020. So come join us!

Lost Battalion Tours

Mike’s contact info: verdunpodcast@gmail.com

Robert’s contact info: 308infantry@gmail.com

Robert’s website: http://www.findingthelostbattalion.com/

Jeremy closes his experiences with the poem “We Shall Keep the Faith” by Moina Michaels, which was the moving response to LTC John McCrae’s “In Flanders Fields:”

Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields,

Sleep sweet – to rise anew!

We caught the torch you threw

And holding high, we keep the Faith

With All who died.

We cherish, too, the poppy red

That grows on fields where valor led;

It seems to signal to the skies

That blood of heroes never dies,

But lends a lustre to the red

Of the flower that blooms above the dead

In Flanders Fields.

And now the Torch and Poppy Red

We wear in honor of our dead.

Fear not that ye have died for naught;

We’ll teach the lesson that ye wrought

In Flanders Fields.

Source: http://www.greatwar.co.uk/poems/moina-michael-we-shall-keep-faith.htm

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Photos of Jeremy Bowles, the Poppies, and His Relatives Who Served in France

Jeremy Bowles standing in a field in the Meuse region, near where his grandfather served.

The poppy bush Jeremy found with Robert Laplander. Poppies do not bloom in the fall, when Jeremy was visiting France.

Jeremy’s grandfather: Andrew P Craig, B Co., 314th MGB, 80th Division

Jeremy’s Great-Great-Uncle: PVT Franklin Ellenberger, K Co., 128th Inf. Regt., 32nd Division. KIA/MIA Oct. 7th, 1918 in the vicinity of Gesnes, France.

Episode SA12 – The Other Sixteen, an Interview with James Gregory

We’re taking a short break from the Meuse-Argonne narrative to listen to a different angle on a very famous event. It happens that the famous event occurred during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, so this ties in nicely with our current focus.

Most of us have heard of or know the story of Alvin York, the famous SGT York who took on dozens of Germans, killed several, and captured 132. He is one of the most famous–if not THE most famous–American soldiers to emerge from the Great War. However, on the fateful day of October 8, 1918, York was part of a squad with sixteen other men engaged in battle.

In this episode we’re going to have James Gregory talk to us about his upcoming article “The Other Sixteen,” which focuses on the other men who were with Alvin York that fateful day in the hills near Chatel-Chehery near the northern tip of the Argonne Forest.

James Gregory is pursuing a PhD at the University of Oklahoma. He is a noted author and historian of the Marine Corps and Second Division in World War I. He deals primarily with soldier biographies and cultural impacts of the war, and I thoroughly look forward to listening to the results of his research.

“The Other Sixteen” will be available soon in the US Army’s Infantry magazine, which can be found online at:

https://www.benning.army.mil/infantry/magazine/

Jame’s two books can be found here:

https://www.hellgatepress.com/james-p-gregory-jr/

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Lost Battalion Tours Announcement

JOIN US!!!

Lost Battalion Tours is a collaboration between WW1 author and historian Robert J. Laplander, and Mike Cunha, master of ceremonies of the Battles of the First World War podcast and battlefield explorer.

Our inaugural tour will be an 8-day trip to the Argonne region August 8-15, 2020. Those of you who have traveled with Robert in the Argonne before know this is no sight-seeing bus trip; this is down in the dirt, where it happened stuff! Now YOU can join us for a trip you won’t soon forget!

You will stay IN the Argonne, at a small French hotel, as part of your Argonne immersion experience. You’ll see all the important spots concerning the battle, including a first hand tour of the whole story of the Lost Battalion with the #1 LB guy in the world.

On top of that, each tour can be tailored to fit almost any special request visit by guests. And all of this for a one time, all inclusive price of just $1200.00 per single guest, or $1000.00 per guest in groups of two or more (this price does NOT include air fare).

Space is limited to just 14 guests though, so don’t wait – contact Mike Cunha or Robert J. Laplander today for more details. More information is coming this week so stay tuned, but if you’ve been thinking that you’d like to experience the AEF in France, THIS is your chance!

This makes a FABULOUS Christmas gift, at a very affordable price that your significant other will treasure forever! Don’t miss out! Contact us today and join us – We are along the road parallel 276.4… waiting for you!

This announcement was so exciting that not only did I use my excited voice, but Robert Laplander’s two dogs, Buddy and Rebel, immediately started wrestling each other for a spot on the tour–true story!

Mike’s contact info: verdunpodcast@gmail.com

Robert’s contact info: 308infantry@gmail.com

Robert’s website: http://www.findingthelostbattalion.com/

Check out this episode!