Uncategorized – Page 12 – Battles of the First World War Podcast

Episode SA8: Armistice Day 2018

A short reflection on Armistice Day, 2018.

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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 50: Meuse Argonne – The Battle of St. Mihiel

On the 12th of September 1918, well over a half million American Doughboys of the AEF First Army went on the attack with their French allies. Less than forty-eight hours later the St. Mihiel Salient–long a painful thorn in the French Army’s side–had been completely destroyed.

St. Mihiel was the first independent offensive carried out by the American Expeditionary Force of World War One, and it was a solid success.

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Episode 49: Meuse Argonne – An Interview with Robert J. Laplander

On the centenary of the story of the Lost Battalion, we have a very special guest who will talk to us about this epic tale of American heroism, leadership, grit, and a stubborn will to resist in the First World War.

Robert J. Laplander is the author of “Finding the Lost Battalion: Beyond the Rumors, Myths and Legends of America’s Famous WW1 Epic.” An enthusiast of the Great War for decades, Mr. Laplander has amassed a vast collection of documentation and paraphernalia related to the story of the men of the US 77th Division who were surrounded by the Germans in the Charlevaux Ravine from the 2nd through the 7th of October, 1918. This collection has helped inform the definitive history he has written of the men of the 306th Machine Gun Battalion, and the 307th and 308th Infantry Regts and their epic five days in the Argonne.

Mr. Laplander is considered an authority on the subject of the Lost Battalion, and has appeared in numerous radio and television interviews, including PBS’ 2017 3-part documentary named “American in the Great War.”

For more information on the Lost Battalion, Mr. Laplander’s work, and Doughboy MIA (Remember, $10 for them), please see the following links:

http://www.findingthelostbattalion.com/

https://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/doughboy-mia-home.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/great-war/

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

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Episode 48: Meuse Argonne – Allies on the Attack

In the summer of 1918 the Germans were spent, and the Allies began rolling them back. Supreme Allied Commander Marshal Ferdinand Foch had a plan to smash the enemy back and potentially end the war that year.

GEN John J “Blackjack” Pershing and his American Expeditionary Force were to play a major role in Foch’s plan, but to Pershing only as an independent force under his command. The story of the plans for the Meuse-Argonne Offensive is one of two very strong personalities coming together after a long, bumpy road.

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

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Episode 47: Meuse Argonne – An Interview with Randy Gaulke of Meuse-Argonne.com

It’s time to start the new battle we’re going to cover, which will be the American-led Meuse-Argonne Offensive of 1918. We’re going to begin with an interview with Mr. Randy Gaulke, a fellow WW1 enthusiast, researcher, website master, and battlefield tour guide.

Mr. Gaulke runs the website www.meuse-argonne.com, which contains a wealth of information regarding the 47-day battle that defined American involvement in the Great War. The website contains several features such as bibliographies, articles, research statistics, travel tips, and a feature called “People of the Meuse-Argonne,” where individuals who study, write about, or live in the Meuse-Argonne give a quick biography of themselves. There is also a meuse-argonne.com FaceBook page, which connects you with hundreds of like-minded and incredibly helpful folks who readily share information, photos, and travel tips.

Please check out: www.meuse-argonne.com

and

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1624894481060334/

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

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Episode SA7: An Interview with the Hawthorn Ridge Crater Association

During my recent trip to France, my crew and I had the most wonderful experience when we visited Mr. Andy Robertshaw and Mr. Colin Winn and their archeological dig team out at the Hawthorn Crater on the Somme. How we met the people of the Hawthorn Crater Association will be told in the interview that follows–it was just a stunningly amazing day amongst so many amazing days out there on the Somme and previously in the Argonne.

For many years the Hawthorn Crater has sat in relative obscurity on the Somme battlefield. It has been overgrown with trees and brush, and it has remained enough off the beaten path that most tourists have bypassed it altogether. The Hawthorn Crater Association is changing that. Through limited clearance of diseased trees and careful archeological digs conducted with the enthusiastic support of the people of nearby Beaumont-Hamel village, Mr. Robertshaw, Mr. Winn, and several others are bringing the story of the crater and the men who lived in it, fought in it, and died in it, back to life.

As I will say at the end of the interview, this is not just digging in the earth looking for pieces of metal from the Battle of the Somme. It is so much more than that, as you will hear. And to be clear: no archeological dig is just digging in the dirt, it’s really important and fascinating stuff!

Due to some technical difficulties, Mr. Robertshaw was unable to join us. The VOIP connection also tended to be a bit wobbly at times, but I think overall you’ll be able to understand things fairly clearly.

Please follow the Hawthorn Ridge Crater Association on Twitter to stay up to date: @HawthornRidgeCA

The BFWWP is 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. 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 First World War Podcast on iTunes.

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St. Mihiel – Blockhaus Field Hospital and MG Post

A German Blockhaus that served as a field hospital in the St. Mihiel sector.
Inscription left by a recent traveler.
Walking in the woods near St. Mihiel.
Christophe took us into the woods to explore well-preserved German positions in the former support and reserve lines of the St. Mihiel Salient.
Gunner’s position. During the war there would have been a wooden plank above the machine gun storage area on which the gunner would have stood. A loader would have stood beside him.
The machine gun storage area.
Going inside the position.
Christophe in the observer’s post.
Observer slit, now filled in after a century.

Episode 46: Belleau Wood – Warriors Into the Woods

On June 6, 1918, men of the 5th and 6th United States Marine Regiments assaulted the German positions in Belleau Wood. So began a three-week battle for a one-mile square patch of wood that would enter US Marine Corps and American WW1 legend.

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

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Episode 45: Belleau Wood – Among the Distant Trees

The third major German attack on the Western Front in late May 1918 led to the release of the American 2nd Infantry Division to Allied Command to stem the enemy tide. The 5th and 6th Marine Regiments, part of that US Army division, set up positions just south of a patch of forest known as Belleau Wood.

This episode is dedicated to the men and women of the United States Marine Corps, and to the men and women of the US Army 2nd Infantry Division.

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

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Episode 44: Verdun – Je Fait Verdun

The Battle of Verdun came to an end on December 18, 1916.But the Verdun salient remained a violent sector of the Western Front until the very last days of World War One.

In this final episode of the Battle of Verdun the after-effects of the 1916 onslaught in the Meuse are covered, from military losses to political casualties to the lingering effects on the battle on the battlefield itself.

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

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